⚙️ Political Gadgets News | Friday, 13 November 2026

Bluesky says Victorian election noise, Gaza and COP31 dominate #auspol as Labor faces mounting criticism from left and right

BlueSky #auspol  ·  13 November 2026, 04:29 AEST  ·  563 posts  ·  AI-generated

The day’s conversation on #auspol was dominated by the approaching 28 November Victorian state election, with One Nation drawing sustained fire over its candidate vetting, its first aircraft and its student-led protests, while Labor and the Greens traded accusations over preferences. Alongside the state contest, posters on the left and right alike turned their anger at federal Labor over its Israel policy, its fossil fuel exports and its handling of COP31, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese the most frequently named figure.

Key issues included Gaza and Israel, with repeated calls to sack Special Envoy Jillian Segal and to revisit Australia’s ties to Israel, alongside a federal plan to place ASIO and the Australian Federal Police under one roof to counter online radicalisation. Climate action featured heavily, as posters seized on an ANZ decision to stop financing oil and gas pipelines and on criticism that Australia is still expanding fossil fuel exports at COP31. Banking and cost of living were also prominent, with ASIC suing the Commonwealth Bank over $8.5 million in small business fees, and NAB facing a bill of nearly $170 million for underpaying staff. Disability advocacy funding cuts, AUKUS and data centre concerns rounded out the discussion.

A standout moment came when a widely shared post from a Labor-critical account pointed out that the UN chief had called out Australia’s climate record the day after Albanese said he was “proud to be a leader on climate action”, a post that drew more than 100 likes. The overall tone was sharply critical and frustrated, with many users describing a sense that neither major party offered a credible alternative, and a noticeable push toward Greens and independents ahead of the poll.

Top topics: Victorian State Election  ·  Gaza and Israel  ·  Climate and Fossil Fuels  ·  Banking and Cost of Living  ·  Labor Criticism

AI-generated from BlueSky #auspol posts.

Allens wins Defence Henderson site contract

Allens has been awarded a Department of Defence contract worth $123.75 million for the "Henderson Site".

Allens is a Sydney-based commercial law firm. It says it traces its history to 1822 and is among Australia's big six firms. It is an independent partnership owned by its partners. Since May 2012 it has operated in an alliance with the UK firm Linklaters, and the two firms remain financially independent. Together they have a network of about 40 offices. Wikipedia lists 149 partners and about 1,200 personnel.

The tender record cites an exemption for the leasing of immovable property. The record does not say which Henderson site is involved, and the contract title gives no further detail. Defence has been developing the Henderson Defence Precinct at the Australian Marine Complex in Western Australia. In August 2026 the Australian and WA governments confirmed the precinct's site at the complex's Common User Facility. The precinct is planned as a Commonwealth-owned hub for naval shipbuilding and sustainment. It is also planned as the home of depot-level maintenance for nuclear-powered submarines. Austal is the Commonwealth's strategic shipbuilder at Henderson. Any link between this contract and the precinct is not confirmed by the sources.

Sources: allens.com.au; en.wikipedia.org; lawyersweekly.com.au; austal.com; theotherforce.wa.gov.au; navalnews.com [link]

All tenders

Fed govt contracts given today came to $282,945,036. The winner is ALLENS ($123,750,000) ALLENS has received $123,750,000 in contracts this year. [link]

Consultant Tenders

$567,141,043 in Federal contracts to the big consultants in 2026. $4,143,604 yesterday. – PWC: $109,400 – KPMG: $11,550 – Deloitte: $4,022,654 {1695} [link]

What’s Parliament doing

Parliament… is not sitting today. There are committees today. {3} [link]

Fed Govt Outsourced labour costs

Government Temporary Staff Tenders in the last day: $9,958,134 [link]

How does the tender money flow…

YTD tenders for Department of Health and Aged Care: $3,315,487,700 [link]

Donations

Australian Banking Association made $857,010 in Federal political donations. [link]

Politician Expenses

Carina Garland (Reps, Chisholm, Labor) claimed $634,248 in expenses over the last 4 reported quarters for major categories such as travel, offices and cars. That is $70,263 less than the median. #auspol [link]

Double Donors

Organon Pharma donated $62,400 in 2024-25. That was $36,300 to Labor and $26,100 to the Coalition. {7669} [link]

Parliamentary attendance

Rebecca White (Reps, Lyons, Australian Labor Party) attended 94% of possible votes. [link]

Political advertising on Google

Political advertising spend with Google in last 24 hours: $255,000. (YTD: $5,779,800) [link]

Political advertising on Facebook

Political advertising on Facebook on 9 Nov: $169,350 ($37.3m so far in 2026). Top spender: Victorian Labor ($23,892). Biggest categories: Party/Candidate $59k, Advocacy $41k, Business $18k. Full breakdown: https://politicalgadgets.com/SocialMedia/facebook_stats/2026-11-09.html [link]

Votes-Like-Taylor-O-Meter

Basem Abdo (Reps, Calwell, Lab) is 3.80% Angus Taylor [link]

Federal Grants – Last 24 Hours

In the last 24 hours the Australian Government awarded $11,769,976 across 1,510 grants. Biggest: a confidential recipient ($444,000). Full electorate breakdown: https://politicalgadgets.com/grants/map/ [link]