⚙️ Political Gadgets News | Saturday, 10 October 2026

Bluesky says US execution livestream and AUKUS alliance dominate #auspol as Victorian election looms

BlueSky #auspol  ·  10 October 2026, 04:29 AEST  ·  443 posts  ·  AI-generated

The dominant thread in Australian political conversation on Bluesky over the past day was the United States, with a Pentagon plan to livestream the execution of the Fort Hood shooter drawing repeated calls for Australia to reassess its alliance with Washington. Posters linked the story to “shared values” remarks by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Defence Minister Richard Marles, with many demanding an explicit condemnation and renewed scrutiny of AUKUS. Strong reaction also followed Canberra’s silence over US pressure on the International Criminal Court, which one commentator described as a failure of the rule of law.

Key issues included migration, with the Coalition’s proposed cut to net overseas migration of 100,000 a year drawing criticism that it chases One Nation votes, while sectors such as aged care and hospitality warn of workforce losses. The Reserve Bank’s credit card surcharge ban and the Tax Office’s delayed credit card payment ban also drew complaints from small businesses and commentators, and the collapse of the Firmus data centre float prompted commentary on AI valuations. Victorian politics featured heavily ahead of the November 28 election, with Greens and Labor polling strongly, One Nation attacks on the Greens, and a viral claim that a fake “Pro-Palestine Party” had been registered to split votes.

The tone was overwhelmingly hostile, with the most-liked posts, including a 127-like call for Albanese to explain the US alliance, targeting the government’s foreign policy and the major parties’ perceived closeness to donors. One of the most widely shared posts, from a Victorian Greens-aligned account, urged voters to check candidates’ deceptive party names ahead of polling day. Discussion of the day’s Victorian and federal poll numbers suggested a volatile contest in which the Greens are gaining ground.

Top topics: US Execution Livestream  ·  AUKUS Alliance  ·  Net Migration Cuts  ·  Victorian Election  ·  Credit Card Surcharge Ban

AI-generated from BlueSky #auspol posts.

Exact Contracting to build Mutitjulu utilities and solar upgrade at Uluru

Exact Contracting Pty Ltd has won a $122.3 million Director of National Parks contract for the Mutitjulu Essential Services and Renewables Project.

Exact describes itself as an Australian-owned company established in Alice Springs in 1992. Its founder, Greg Rhodes, started Rhodes Contracting, which later became Exact. It opened an Adelaide support office in 2002 and works in agriculture, civil, mining and water. IBISWorld lists a 1992 incorporation date and describes it as a provider of road, pipeline, water infrastructure, crushing and mining services. IBISWorld also reports 2026 revenue of about $317 million and 424 employees, though other directories give different figures. A recent listed project is the Tanami Road upgrade and seal for the Northern Territory Government, from 2022 to 2025.

The project will replace power, water and sewer services for Mutitjulu, Maruku and Rangerville. It also includes a 1 MW solar array and a 3 MW battery system. The government says this will reduce reliance on diesel. Parks Australia told a parliamentary committee the existing services are more than 30 years old, non-compliant with current standards and increasingly unreliable. The committee was told the works would be the Director of National Parks' largest single procurement. Its 2024 estimate was $91.87 million, excluding GST. Ministers said preparation work would start first, with full construction expected in January.

Sources: exactcontracting.com.au; ibisworld.com; aph.gov.au; miragenews.com; pv-magazine-australia.com; yanun.com.au [link]

All tenders

$168,069,899 in Fed Govt contracts given today. Top spend was with Exact Contracting Pty Ltd ($122,327,828) Exact Contracting Pty Ltd has received $122,327,829 in contracts this year. [link]

Consultant Tenders

$511,531,212 in Federal contracts to the big consultants in 2026. $0 yesterday. {76} [link]

Flights

The VIP fleet flew at least 1,863 km in the last few days. That’s 2 planes doing 4 flights over 5 hrs and 39 mins and costing around $74,532. [link]

What’s Parliament doing

Parliament… is not sitting today. There are no committees today. {90} [link]

Fed Govt Outsourced labour costs

Government Temporary Staff Tenders in the last day: $3,709,615 [link]

How does the tender money flow…

YTD tenders for Department of Employment and Workplace Relations: $1,913,591,895 [link]

Donations

Stephen Whately made $69,950 in Federal political donations. [link]

Politician Expenses

Anne Aly (Reps, Cowan, Labor) claimed $1,526,694 in expenses over the last 4 reported quarters for major categories such as travel, offices and cars. That is $878,988 more than the median. #auspol [link]

Double Donors

Australian Hotels Association – Federal Office donated $245,778 in 2024-25. That was $135,907 to Labor and $109,871 to the Coalition. {4491} [link]

Parliamentary attendance

Karen Grogan (Sen, SA, Australian Labor Party) attended 89% of possible votes. [link]

Political advertising on Google

Political advertising spend with Google in last 24 hours: $5,100. (YTD: $3,725,400) [link]

Political advertising on Facebook

Political advertising on Facebook on 6 Oct: $130,957 ($32.0m so far in 2026). Top spender: These ads ran without a disclaimer ($13,769). Biggest categories: Charity $23k, Party/Candidate $22k, Advocacy $22k. Full breakdown: https://politicalgadgets.com/SocialMedia/facebook_stats/2026-10-06.html [link]

Votes-Like-Taylor-O-Meter

Jodie Belyea (Reps, Dunkley, Lab) is 44.93% Angus Taylor [link]

Politicians’ Shareholding Index

Just for fun – here is our index of politicians’ shareholdings measured against the index. [link]