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Travis Jordan

@grugstan.bsky.social
2.2K followers 965 following 4.3K posts

professional good boy // democracy, cities and tech // travisjordan.work // these are my own opinions and not those of my employer he/him // living in Meanjin Brisbane

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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
One member one vote is a great idea when there’s a real contest of ideas among candidates that inspire members with their policy nous, well articulated growth strategy and orientations to power.
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Liam Hogan @liamhogan.id.au · 27/09/2026
This is a shopping list of Australian housing myths, including my favourite, ‘there used to be housing commissions’. Yes, and the absence of public housing is a real factor in crisis. But the Cwth and State housing commissions built a tiny fraction of our cities, the vast majority was private built
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I love our unemployment system. Oh you’re unexpectedly out of work? We’ll pay you half your rent a fortnight from three months in the future. Good luck!
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I was already a Car Throttle fan but I’m really enjoying the reboot of The Grand Tour. It’s nice to have a high budget car show presented by car nerds of the YouTube and Meet variety (where most car hobbyist stuff takes place these days) rather than slick TV journalists.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
🌀🌀oooo you wanna buy merch you wanna preorder a shirt so bad you wanna make sure our budget pencils in the black oooo🌀🌀
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I haven’t digested the migration changes yet but in most things, stronger enforcement of generous rules is better than loose enforcement of strict ones. I don’t like a lot of visas (including student ones) because the restrictions don’t make policy sense and are often needlessly cruel.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Services Australia's hold music for their dedicated older person's line is a yacht rock instrumental cover of Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart which seems... on the nose.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
We’ve all landed on AI “art” as the defining aesthetic of reactionaries — but there’s more to how it’s the favourite tool of NIMBYs. It lets them visualise their fears and anxieties and without confronting obvious inconsistencies. Like a 22 storey building representing a 9 storey development.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Nearly a decade ago, the Guardian did a Songs of Brisbane feature series, completely with a reader poll, interviews with critics and musos and some great retrospectives Inspired by all people moving to town for work and the Olympics, I’m making a crash course on Brisbane music — one song each band
music.apple.com
Great Queensland Songbook by Travis Jordan on Apple Music
Playlist · 18 Songs
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
One of the tragedies of modernity is the death of hyperlocal sodas. There are few greater joys than going to a fish and chip shop and seeing a fridge full of mysterious drinks time forgot. This message brought to you by a delicious Saxby’s Cherry Cheer on the banks of Taree’s Manning River.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Shaking my head and frowning at the beauty of man’s creation
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
It’s DISGUSTING how beautiful the Bondi to Bronte Cliff Walk is. OBSCENE. PORNOGRAPHIC.
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Fraser @condimentwords.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I’m just not in the headspace for a strongest El Niño on record
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
[manifesting] I WILL be at Freakon this year
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
good morning canberra
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Some Personal News: I've finished up with QCOSS after a lovely year supporting Queensland's community sector – and I'm back on the hunt for short-term and freelance contracts. I'm a little more mobile and can duck away for a few months for jobs interstate too (if I can make double rent stack up).
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
You should go see Stephanie Lake Company’s Vista. brisbanepowerhouse.org/events/steph...
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RanTLaw @rantlaw.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
The standard for a new tech being acceptable shouldn't be merely 'does this have a use case?' there also needs to be a weighing of its possible abuses. This is particularly so with products that are being pitched to the public at large.
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jam @socialistboat.dad · 15/08/2026
AI/LLMs generally can bluff their way through a pretty good first impression but they have trouble staying on task and following through a project to completion and like. That's only cool when I do it
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Real Queensland Patriots know the perfidious IOC conspired to stop Brisbane having the woodchop at the 2032 Games because they fear our masculine power.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Brand new horrors at the Ekka this year. Not satisfied with AI generated art and signage (including official Ekka signage), the new meta for stalls is AI-generated theme songs blaring at you at full volume.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
I just did my Census and mum's and even both together and having to call mum to confirm things and get my housemate to do her section still took less than half an hour. This felt way quicker than the previous Censuses I've done?
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
What this misses is that compared to Melbourne and Sydney, there's little by way of cultural and social experinces in the CBD that keep people after work. Especially small to mid sized venues since Metro Arts moved to West End and Tribal became a Hillsong.
brisbanetimes.com.au
Are you part of Brisbane’s missing 20 per cent? How much foot traffic has dropped
Pedestrian traffic in the heart of the CBD has not returned to pre-COVID levels. Big changes are coming to the city, but will they be enough to revitalise what has been lost?
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Consider a migration system that explicitly said we're only allowing people to come to the country to do jobs at lower wages and with less investment needed for local training – while sacrificing the pro-social migration rules that promote Australia as an open, welcoming place – might fuel tensions?
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
I'm gonna be driving down to Canberra and Sydney at the start of September (cos I can't look at screens while I'm driving) so if you're there or enroute either way, hit me up for a coffee and a chinwag.
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Digital Rights Watch @drwaus.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
You may have seen the news about KMart's smart glasses selling out. Smart glasses are being marketed as a lifestyle accessory but they're actually covert recording devices that anyone can buy off the shelf; we should be treating them that way.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
While I understand and appreciate there are kids with unique circumstances that need some flexibility in their education, one of my most conservative beliefs is that for everyone else, no-one should get the nice special schooling until everyone's able to access it.
theguardian.com
Montessori learning is being shut down at Leah’s school – is a push towards ‘explicit instruction’ to blame?
Critics say the one size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for all students and there are questions about the body that helped design it
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
I got so annoyed at Betoota posting about brick six packs I made a slide deck.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
I wish I could remember who here remarked that one of the defining features of Teals is that their leadership and voters are genuine technocratic liberals in the purest sense. They don't want member control over policy and strategy, they want someone who is the Most Qualified in charge.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
A Royal Commission into the ENTIRE Victorian construction sector, you say? That's SO INTERESTING.
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Tom Studans @maximumwelfare.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
#BREAKING 🚨 Labor in their draft 2026 platform have replaced their previous statement of belief 'that there should not be poverty in a country like Australia' with a 'recognition' the social security system should support 'better health and wellbeing'.
A fair social security system

91. Labor believes in a strong, adequate and fair social safety net and that there should not be poverty in a country like Australia. Labor is committed to a social security system that keeps people out of poverty, whether they are unemployed, working age, escaping family or domestic violence or in retirement.A fair social security system

90. Labor recognises that a strong social security system supports not only economic security but also better health and wellbeing, and that when people have the means to meet their basic needs and make choices about their lives they experience stronger social and health outcomes.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Once again the issue of the ACT Assembly's constitution being unfit for modern governance is a hot topic – with the resignation of the Deputy Chief Minister last week causing a talent crisis followed quickly by an independent review finding there's simply not enough MLAs to run a territory.
canberratimes.com.au
ACT needs a bigger Assembly and it'd be cheaper than adding a local council: review
A bigger Assembly is 'more cost-effective' than local councils.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
I hosted Christmas in July last night 🎅
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Philanthropy Australia's conference is coming to Brisbane next month and I thought I might see if I can go along to network for some of the grassroots arts and urban organisations I work with. Tickets are $2,900 each... That's more than some of organisations I work with have in annual income...
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Late last year, there was a shocking revelation that the median age of a Queensland LNP member was 72. Today it's been revealed that the Liberals nationwide have a median age well into the 60s and overwhelmingly male. The median Australian is 38 and the median voter is 44 – both Millennials.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
If all you can ever point to as to why there'll be more local growth despite low wages, poor job prospects and skyrocketing house prices is "the weather", don't be surprised if your major city gets a huge brain drain and just becomes Australia's retirement village.
brisbanetimes.com.au
Brisbane’s planning zones are changing, but these suburbs remain ‘locked down’
Brisbane has some of the strictest residential zoning in the country when it comes to detached houses.
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Matthew Bowes @mbowes.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Australian cities are upzoning to allow for more apartments and townhouses, with the aim of getting more homes built. But policy makers need better tools to assess how effective these policies can be. It all starts with better understanding commercial feasibility. 🧵
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
🗣️🗣️🗣️ homemade passionfruit cordial with passionfruit I grew myself 🗣️🗣️🗣️
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Forgetting your headphones when you're walking to the shops is great for idly dreaming of the kinds of things you'd do if money was no object. This time I was thinking about how much I miss News Magazines – and what I value about newspapers today that I don't see enough of. And I dreamt of this:
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
While ambitious homebuyers might have previously looked to Brisbane for "value for money" to get a large house on a large block of land within a reasonable commute – those days are behind us and they're never coming back. Brisbane needs to get used to being a big city. The future is flats.
brisbanetimes.com.au
Brisbane’s lost its affordability crown. But is our lifestyle worth it?
In just 12 months, the income required for a couple to buy a median-priced home in Brisbane has risen by about $14,000 per person.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Divisions in the House are performances. The function they serve is to create vision for social media and TV. The problem with inefficiency on one hand and ensuring voters' know the outcomes of votes on the other isn't to reform divisions – it's to have mandatory electronic voting on all motions.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
JSCEM's interim report into the 2025 Federal Election is out and mainly deals with safety and voter experience at polling booths – recommending mandatory codes of conduct and volunteer registration systems and new political signage restrictions – but this is the one that jumped out. ABOUT TIME!
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
If the federal government actually wanted to help kids from low-SES backgrounds go to uni, they'd expand access to Youth Allowance to kids over 15 in low-income families and significantly increase the rate so kids didn't have to work to pay rent or support their family while they study.
abc.net.au
What to know about the government's proposed university reforms
The government will spend an extra $3.6 billion over a decade on new university places, but some are warning the money could be wasted.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Despite being our leanest year for public funding, gamemakers came through and helped Freeplay raise a RECORD amount of money for Parallels this year. Because of that, we've slashed ticket prices bigly and we're going to livestream the event for free to everyone!
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
I’m insanely late to the party but damn For All Mankind is stellar television.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
I got my mum reassessed for MyAgedCare for the first time in five years and she got assessed for the highest tier of Support At Home and a bunch of other services. But the medium term outcome is me being out of pocket an extra $500 a month for her care – to a total of $7,500 a year.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
I don't know how it happened by I've started doing the Nixon from Futurama "awoo" noise
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Forty PATRIOTS joining us to wage WAR on the housing CRISIS by SACRIFICING their lunch break.
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Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈 @maxdubler.com · 14/06/2026
The Lead Paint Theory of Anti Gentrification holds that activists can prevent displacement and preserve housing affordability by preserving neighborhood disamenities and blocking investment in quality of life improvements like parks, bike lanes, and libraries. It does not work.
Tweet from “rent controller OG” 

Taking down freeways in some situations would open the community to gentrification—what protects the community is the damn freeway.
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Travis Jordan @grugstan.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
I’m used to Con Funk from nerd events but I’m at RACQ MotorFest today and there’s a whole distinct new funk for car nerds. I can only describe it as smoking a pack of black market cigarettes, soaked in mushroom soup made with the mould scraped off an armchair that hasn’t been cleaned in a decade.
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