⚙️ Political Gadgets News | Friday, 2 October 2026

Bluesky says Australian politics dominated social media discourse as new Greens leader David Shoebridge vows to challenge Labor and rising corporate tax avoidance triggers anger.

BlueSky #auspol  ·  02 October 2026, 05:29 AEST  ·  566 posts  ·  AI-generated

David Shoebridge’s election as Greens leader on Wednesday energised the left of Australian politics, with supporters calling for the party to “annihilate the duopoly” while critics accused Labor of panic-driven attacks. The new leadership promises a combative approach targeting both major parties and fossil fuel interests, marking a tactical shift from predecessor Larissa Waters. Simultaneously, Australian Tax Office data revealing that over one-quarter of major corporations paid no income tax in 2024–25—including tech giants Microsoft, Netflix and Optus parent Singtel—sparked sustained outrage across the platform about inequality and corporate capture of the tax system.

Key issues emerged across four dominant tensions. First, the Greens leadership contest exposed deep divisions within Labor ranks, with senior figures like Murray Watt attacking Shoebridge’s “strident” agenda while supporters argued Labor has abandoned working people and climate action. Second, corporate tax avoidance dominated conversation, with users contrasting billionaire wealth accumulation against struggling wage earners and disabled Australians facing NDIS cuts. Third, environmental approvals continued to fracture the political landscape: NSW’s approval of the Hunter Valley coalmine extension to 2045 drew fierce criticism of both major parties’ fossil fuel alignment. Fourth, cost-of-living pressures—mortgages, rentals, inflation—fuelled both Labor criticism and One Nation’s appeal, though many flagged the latter as a billionaire-backed distraction.

A standout exchange saw veteran Simon Rosenberg assert that Shoebridge is labelled “strident” and “radical” merely because he challenges “the cosy toxic centrist neoliberal consensus,” resonating strongly across feeds. The overall tone was combative and frustrated: anger at institutional failure, corporate impunity, and the perception that neither major party serves ordinary Australians—though whether the Greens can channel that discontent remains contested.

Top topics: Greens Leadership Challenge  ·  Corporate Tax Avoidance  ·  Labor Party Tensions  ·  Fossil Fuel Approval  ·  Cost of Living Crisis

AI-generated from BlueSky #auspol posts.

Defence-focused Canberra testing firm Informatech wins National Blood Authority ICT testing work

Informatech Pty Ltd has won a $7.86 million testing and coding services contract with the National Blood Authority.

Informatech is a privately held Canberra ICT firm founded in 2015. Australian Defence Magazine reports that it was started by Nathan Bligh, his wife Amanda and fellow Navy officer Scott Cleburne. It first offered specialist ICT testing. The company describes itself as veteran-led and focused on Defence ICT, including cyber security and security compliance. Its listed specialties include verification and validation, test management, cloud and data-migration testing, and infrastructure testing. ADM reported turnover forecast at about $60 million for FY2023-24, up from $48 million the year before. It also reported staff growth from about 50 to more than 200 in two years. Informatech ranked 22nd in the AFR's list of fastest-growing companies and was named ACT Growth Company of the Year in the 2024 Telstra Business Awards.

The Authority runs a set of ICT platforms it calls Blood Sector Systems, supported 24/7. They include BloodNet, the national online blood ordering and inventory system, plus BloodPortal and BloodSTAR, which manages access to government-funded immunoglobulin products. The systems also include ABDR and MyABDR. The Authority has recently added multi-factor authentication across these systems. BloodNet was rebuilt as BloodNet5 by an in-house team and integrates with hospital laboratory systems and the Red Cross blood service. The ANAO has listed BloodNet as a potential 2026-27 audit topic. Testing work of this kind would sit in that environment, though the public tender notice does not detail which systems are covered.

Sources: linkedin.com; australiandefence.com.au; blood.gov.au; itnews.com.au; publicspectrum.co; anao.gov.au [link]

All tenders

Fed govt contracts given today came to $35,495,709. The winner is Informatech Pty Ltd ($7,857,591) Informatech Pty Ltd has received $15,891,418 in contracts this year. [link]

Consultant Tenders

$509,540,704 in Federal contracts to the big consultants in 2026. $0 yesterday. {833} [link]

Flights

The VIP fleet flew at least 5,581 km in the last few days. That’s 3 planes doing 7 flights over 16 hrs and 41 mins and costing around $135,621. [link]

What’s Parliament doing

Parliament… is not sitting today. There are no committees today. {57} [link]

Fed Govt Outsourced labour costs

Government Temporary Staff Tenders in the last day: $10,327,659 [link]

How does the tender money flow…

YTD tenders for National Archives of Australia: $20,535,091 [link]

Donations

MDH made $97,000 in Federal political donations. [link]

Politician Expenses

Karen Grogan (Senate, SA, Labor) claimed $413,386 in expenses over the last 4 reported quarters for major categories such as travel, offices and cars. That is $186,737 less than the median. #auspol [link]

Double Donors

Qube Holdings donated $63,000 in 2024-25. That was $33,000 to Labor and $30,000 to the Coalition. {3533} [link]

Parliamentary attendance

Basem Abdo (Reps, Calwell, Australian Labor Party) attended 93% of possible votes. [link]

Political advertising on Google

Political advertising spend with Google in last 24 hours: $9,150. (YTD: $3,659,100) [link]

Political advertising on Facebook

Political advertising on Facebook on 28 Sep: $111,877 ($30.9m so far in 2026). Top spender: FixVictoria Incorporated ($7,415). Biggest categories: Advocacy $39k, Party/Candidate $20k, Charity $14k. Full breakdown: https://politicalgadgets.com/SocialMedia/facebook_stats/2026-09-28.html [link]

Votes-Like-Taylor-O-Meter

Sally Sitou (Reps, Reid, Lab) is 40.18% Angus Taylor [link]