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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 6h

Misogyny is being mainstreamed. Cruelty is being organised. So is solidarity. Monsters aren't multiplying. Permission is spreading. Here's how we take it back. 👇 #IAmJaneDoe #March4Justice #EnoughIsEnough suebarrett.substack.com/p/we-are-all...

suebarrett.substack.com

We Are All Jane Doe

Misogyny is being mainstreamed and cruelty is being organised. So is solidarity. It's time to understand what is happening, and to stand up and fight.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Testimonials come in 3 grades: legitimate, opaque, manufactured. Dave Hughes stacks 2 opaque testimonials then accuses critic @aaronsmith333.bsky.social of being paid rather than fixing the claims. Always check what's underneath the voice. #auspol suebarrett.substack.com/p/the-politi...

suebarrett.substack.com

The Political Persuasion Playbook, Part 5: Testimonial

BYV: when someone you like stands in for evidence you don't have.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

An OpenAI agent broke into a Medicare portal in June. The Govt found out 84 days later. Now it admits our hacking laws require intent, and an AI agent is not a legal person. Civil law has already rejected "the AI did it." Criminal law has not caught up. suebarrett.substack.com/p/an-ai-agen...

suebarrett.substack.com

An AI agent broke into a government system. The government now says our laws may not reach anyone.

BYV: The government has confirmed the legal gap at the centre of this case. Who decides what happens next, and what to ask your MP before the rules are rewritten.

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Tony Cartledge @decentral21.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Sue Barrett at her most inspiring. A must-read for #Auspol

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Every system of control keeps a list of things you're not supposed to discuss. Don't talk money, politics, who funds your MP, Gaza... We call it keeping the peace. It's silencing & it's how the system protects itself. Silence is a vote. Find your voice. 👇 suebarrett.substack.com/p/the-conver...

suebarrett.substack.com

The Conversations They Don't Want Us To Have, and Why Silence Is No Longer an Option. Find Your Voice.

People Power, Chapter 4: We are not bystanders. Here's what we've been told not to talk about, what our silence is costing us, and how to find your voice and change the system.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Borrowed prestige isn't evidence. Ask what's under the shine. Angus Taylor launched his migration policy with Howard watching. Albanese called Curtin "the founder" of the US alliance while framing his own Trump strategy as Labor tradition. This is transfer suebarrett.substack.com/p/the-politi...

suebarrett.substack.com

The Political Persuasion Playbook, Part 4: Transfer

BYV: how borrowed prestige stands in for evidence.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

2 leaders left the same National Cabinet meeting with different stories about data centres. AEMO expects data centres to go from 3% to 13% of grid electricity by 2035-36. Nothing is law yet. Draft standards come first. Read them against what each leader said suebarrett.substack.com/p/who-pays-w...

suebarrett.substack.com

Who pays when AI Data Centres plug into the grid?

BYV: The rules on who pays for AI's power demand are still being written, and two governments left the same meeting with different stories.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

"I wonder how corruptible we all are. Has anyone measured that?" Turns out, yes. And the real finding isn't who's corruptible. It's that 1 person refusing making everyone refusal possible. That's what happened on a stadium tour. Read what it takes to go first suebarrett.substack.com/p/i-wonder-h...

suebarrett.substack.com

"I Wonder How Corruptible We All Are." A Friend Asked Me That. A Stadium Tour Just Answered It.

What Macklemore, the artists who walked in solidarity, and an Australian orchestra's own revolt reveal about how corruptible we are, and what actually pushes us toward resisting instead.

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Gavin Miller @glmiller.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

make sure to read this & repost it pls

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Every room has 3 types of people in it. The Corruptible want power to use on you. The Captured were taught to stop noticing. The Friction pay the cost so you don't have to. The resistance grows every time someone else decides the cost is worth paying. suebarrett.substack.com/p/why-power-...

suebarrett.substack.com

Why Power Attracts the Corruptible: The Three Faces of the Efficiency Machine.

People Power, Chapter 3: A boardroom, a Senate hearing, a stadium stage, a prison cell. The same 3 types of person show up in all four rooms, and only one of them is worth trusting with your future.

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Gavin Miller @glmiller.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

People - Nick Bryant is THE preeminent journalist covering the madness that is 🌎🗽🏈 🌭. Pls consider getting behind him & subscribe to his Substack. + 📻 Saturday Extra 7am ABC RN - unmissable @suebarrett.bsky.social historyneverended.substack.com/p/trust-me-i... @nickbryantoz.bsky.social

historyneverended.substack.com

Trust me I’m a very stable genius

Footnotes #9: Tribal politics in an age of AI.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

"Australian values." "Resilience & reform." Warm words both sides use to sound like they've said something. Angus Taylor won't say if he backs multiculturalism. Check what's under the phrase. Glittering Generalities - 3rd in our Political Persuasion Playbook suebarrett.substack.com/p/the-politi...

suebarrett.substack.com

The Political Persuasion Playbook, Part 3: Glittering Generalities

BYV: words that feel good, so you stop asking what they mean.

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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

"US foreign policy now hardly exists. It’s been replaced by random whims blurted out by an ignorant, easily confused amateur, who hasn’t done his homework, hasn’t thought through the implications of his declarations, and might very well change his mind without warning..." www.ms.now/news/trump-i...

ms.now

Trump stumbles into an international incident of his own making in Ireland

The underlying issue is best approached with a nuanced understanding of history, culture, diplomacy and regional politics. Trump skipped all that.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

A new federal bill would fine platforms up to $109.2 million for failing to protect users, promising Australians real choice. The catch: Gov wants opt-out, Greens want opt-in. Submissions close 22 Sept, 12pm: mailto:digitaldutyofcare@communications.gov.au suebarrett.substack.com/p/who-gets-t...

suebarrett.substack.com

Who gets to decide what you see online?

BYV: A contested algorithm opt-out, a minister with new powers, and a White House objection. The digital duty of care bill, explained.

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Lizzy Schofield @musictplove.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Too important not to read . “We are not numbers. We are human”

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Gavin Miller @glmiller.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

People, this article is brilliant.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

We turned people into #s. Now we're paying for it. It's 50 years of a system with no warning light, sprinting toward "efficient" while nobody watched what it was costing real people. AI just put a rocket under it. Time to put the human back in the equation. suebarrett.substack.com/p/the-doctri...

suebarrett.substack.com

The Doctrine That Built the Efficiency Machine, and What Happens When Everything Is Reduced to a Number.

People Power, Chapter 2: A pay cheque, a nursing home bed, a childcare place, a power bill, a vet bill, a GP appointment. Once a person becomes a number, someone else decides what that number is worth

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

"Anti-boy ideology" "Captain No" "Leftover" "Antisemite" Labels that end arguments before they start. They're verdicts, not evidence. Labels are used to shut down debate. The test is always the same: what specific, checkable fact is this word standing in for? suebarrett.substack.com/p/the-politi...

suebarrett.substack.com

The Political Persuasion Playbook, Part 2: Name Calling

BYV: the label built to end an argument before it starts.

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Tony Cartledge @decentral21.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Sue Barrett fires me up like no one else. She is a true light in our democratic darkness. Play the aido and get inspired. #uspol

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Last night in Goldstein, I gave a speech on the first act of citizenship: sorting signal from noise before you can hold anyone in power to account. Full speech now up on Substack in podcast and written form. Onward we press. suebarrett.substack.com/p/sorting-si...

suebarrett.substack.com

Sorting Signal From Noise Is the First Act of Citizenship

Holding power to account and taking back our democracy, a speech to Goldstein, 8 Sept 2026

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Dr Emma Shortis argues Australia has never really examined its relationship with the United States. It has simply assumed the alliance means safety, decade after decade, government after government. Your Vote. Your Future. suebarrett.substack.com/p/our-bigges...

suebarrett.substack.com

Our biggest ally is now our biggest risk. Here's what that actually means.

BYV: A US submarine, an Australian sailor, and a war Australia never voted for. Why the alliance needs answering to, not just believing in.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

The machete isn't real. It's AI. The people who paid for it - 100% real. Ex-IPA staff engineering to move your vote in November against your own best interests. Fear moves faster than facts. That's not an accident, it's the entire business model. suebarrett.substack.com/p/we-are-not... #auspol

suebarrett.substack.com

We Are Not Being Warned. We Are Being Worked. It’s Called Propaganda.

Democracy Watch AU Alert: The machete, the flood, the bunker, and an end of days meant quite literally.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

The camera above the self-checkout scans you. You're not served. You're processed. This week Coles confirmed it's ending its Palantir contract - bc 85,000 people refused to let it go. People power works. Start with a smile & a 'good morning', today, for free. suebarrett.substack.com/p/we-are-not...

suebarrett.substack.com

We are not numbers. We are humans. Why it’s time to reclaim our humanity.

People Power: Chapter One - What a supermarket checkout reveals about loneliness, algorithms, and everything we have let a machine take from us. It is time we took it back.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

There are lies, damned lies & statistics. Welcome to The Political Persuasion Playbook, Part 1: Card Stacking - a propaganda technique named by the Institute for Propaganda Analysis. Select the facts that support one side, omit the ones that complicate it. suebarrett.substack.com/p/the-politi...

suebarrett.substack.com

The Political Persuasion Playbook, Part 1: Card Stacking

BYV: Every fact can be true. That is exactly what makes it work.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

The Age Pension rises $35 a fortnight from 20 September. Deeming rates rise the same day too, clawing back part of that gain for some pensioners. Like a pay rise and a rent increase landing together, only one makes the headline. Your Vote. Your Future. suebarrett.substack.com/p/your-pensi...

suebarrett.substack.com

Your pension goes up this month. For some, it will also go down.

BYV: The indexation increase is real. So is the deeming increase that quietly offsets it.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Grieving isn't scheduled. Neither is rebellion. Choosing gratitude in the middle of a genuine fight isn't surrender. It's refusing to let bitterness win the war even while you're still winning the battle. Final piece in a 4-part series Gratitude is rebellion. suebarrett.substack.com/p/the-142-da...

suebarrett.substack.com

The 142 Days: What Gratitude Actually Built, and Why It Was Never Just About Me

Part Four of four: the story this series has been building toward, the moral case for gratitude made explicit, and what it looks like when the practice stops being a practice

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Tim Wilson wants you frightened for small business. ✅ He cited 375,331 business exits last year. ❌ He left out the 460,461 new businesses that started, and record net growth of +85,130. Same ABS release. Half the story. Representation or Propaganda? #auspol suebarrett.substack.com/p/australias...

suebarrett.substack.com

Australia's Shadow Treasurer Wants You Frightened For Small Business

Tim Wilson sent one number from a release with two. He's the man who wants to run the country's finances. Small business in Australia grew last year. He didn't mention that either.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

If a Gov algorithm makes a decision about you most Australians assume that's the end of the conversation. It's not. You have a right to ask for the reasons behind it & the rules used to reach it, not just a letter stating the outcome. Your Vote. Your Future. suebarrett.substack.com/p/how-to-cha...

suebarrett.substack.com

How to challenge an automated government decision

BYV: When a computer says no, you still have the right to ask a human why.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Hostile complexity - Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny - Apple Podcasts share.google/nL8cGN3bBxa5... Excellent podcast Alex Fein from Redbridge. Explains a lot

share.google

Hostile complexity

Podcast Episode · Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny · 25 August · 48min

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

An algorithm assessed Australians' aged care needs. 4Corners found it under-assesses people with cognitive decline/frailty. Senate voted to abolish it. Govt hasn't acted on that vote: the tool remains under review. Same pattern as Robodebt. Ask your MP why. suebarrett.substack.com/p/the-aged-c...

suebarrett.substack.com

The aged care algorithm is what happens when nothing measures wellbeing

BYV: Robodebt and the aged care algorithm are a decade apart and two different governments. The failure is identical.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

There's a loop running underneath modern life: Insecurity. Accumulation. Disconnection. Back to insecurity. It runs on every income bracket bc the thing driving it doesn't check your bank balance. Part 3: The loop, the science & what actually breaks it. 👇 suebarrett.substack.com/p/the-loop-h...

suebarrett.substack.com

The Loop: How Insecurity Becomes Materialism, and What Can Interrupt It

Part Three of four: materialism isn't a wealth problem, it's a cycle that runs on insecurity at every income level, and gratitude is one of the only things research shows can interrupt it

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Every year the Fed Govt hands out GST revenue to the states & every year a fight breaks out over how much each state gets. This week's Productivity Commission report on WA's GST deal is the latest round. Your Vote. Your Future. You know what to do. suebarrett.substack.com/p/how-the-gs... #auspol

suebarrett.substack.com

How the GST actually gets shared out, and why it keeps causing fights

BYV: The money isn't taken from one state and handed to another. It comes from the federal budget, and that distinction is where most of the confusion starts.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

The Productivity Commission just called Australia's GST deal with WA "a costly mistake," after $23 billion in extra payments since 2018 that could reach $60 billion by 2030. Every state but WA wants it scrapped. Read why 👇 Your Vote. Your Future. #auspol suebarrett.substack.com/p/the-gst-de...

suebarrett.substack.com

The GST deal every state but one wants gone

BYV: A damning report doesn't change a single dollar. Only Federal Cabinet can do that, and it can wait until after the next election

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Your brain on gratitude, and it's not what you think. Grievance culture needs your brain running on threat and scarcity. Gratitude trains it the other way. That's not sentiment. That's rebellion. Read more here 👇 suebarrett.substack.com/p/your-brain...

suebarrett.substack.com

Your Brain on Gratitude: What the Neuroscience Actually Shows

Part Two of four: gratitude isn't a feeling, it's a measurable neurochemical event, and the research now proves what Cicero only sensed.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Victoria just scrapped group voting tickets. The system that let parties secretly redirect your preferences after you voted is gone. However deceptive party names built to trap your vote are still registered. Check before you vote 1 in November 2026. #auspol suebarrett.substack.com/p/victoria-f...

suebarrett.substack.com

Victoria finally closes the loophole

BYV told you in June about the deliberate con built into Victoria's upper house voting system. On 11 August, Victorian Parliament closed it. Here's what changed & what it means when you vote in Nov.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

76-79% of Australians have backed that ban for months. It didn't move the bill. What did: testimony from a former NRL player about VIP inducements. Senate committee reports 17 Aug. Ask your senator & MP how they'll define "predatory." Your Vote. Your Future. suebarrett.substack.com/p/who-was-co...

suebarrett.substack.com

Who was consulted before the gambling ad bill was written, and who wasn't

BYV: A Senate committee reports on the government's gambling advertising bill on 17 August 2026. A friendless gambling bill just became a Labor-Coalition deal. Who was consulted still matters.

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Tony Cartledge @decentral21.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

"... we cannot afford to lose sight of the interconnectedness of people, resources, services and the common good, or take for granted what long-term thinking and cooperative effort can build." #Auspol Thank you, Sue. suebarrett.substack.com/p/the-daily-...

suebarrett.substack.com

The Daily Practice of Gratitude Is a Defiant Act of Rebellion

Why choosing gratitude in a fractured world isn't sentimental, it's structural, and the first of four pieces on what it actually asks of us.

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Lizzy Schofield @musictplove.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Wonderful advice in such a heavy news cycle every day

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Gratitude as a defiant act of rebellion. Not soft. Not naff. Rebellion. Cicero called it the parent of all virtues. Simmel called it the moral memory of mankind. Part 1/4 part series. Every solution begins with a conversation. This one starts with thank you suebarrett.substack.com/p/the-daily-...

suebarrett.substack.com

The Daily Practice of Gratitude Is a Defiant Act of Rebellion

Why choosing gratitude in a fractured world isn't sentimental, it's structural, and the first of four pieces on what it actually asks of us.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

"Record investment" is almost always true and almost always meaningless. The real test: does the funding grow faster than real costs, or just faster than last year's number? Four questions to check any funding announcement, from any government, today. 👇 suebarrett.substack.com/p/how-to-rea...

suebarrett.substack.com

How to read a government funding announcement

BYV: A step-by-step guide to spotting the difference between "more money" and "enough money"

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Record Investments. Real Cuts. 2 governments, 2 claims of record investment in family violence & homelessness services. Both technically true. The catch is indexation. Read beyond the headline. 👇 Your Vote. Your Future. #auspol open.substack.com/pub/suebarre...

open.substack.com

Record investment, real cuts.

BYV: How two state governments can both be telling the truth about "record investment", and still be leaving frontline services short.

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

@theageaustralia.bsky.social gave Tim Wilson 5000 words. ✅ Winnie the Pooh ✅ Blue socks What didn't make the cut? The undisclosed shareholding. The OAIC inquiry. $108 million windfall. JSCEM testimony. Colour is not character. Charisma is not accountability. 🤔 open.substack.com/pub/suebarre...

open.substack.com

The Addendum: What the Age's Tim Wilson Profile Left Out

The Age Gave Him Five Thousand Words, and Space for Winnie the Pooh and Blue Socks. The Record Deserved a Few Hundred More. Colour Is Not Character, and Charisma Is Not Accountability.

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Tony Cartledge @decentral21.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

"Pioneers don’t wait for the whole map before they walk. They walk, and the map gets truer with every step." Thanks for your inspirational writing, Sue. It makes taking this first step into my local electorate much easier. #Auspol

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Sue Barrett - Onward We Press @suebarrett.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

One Nation is the wrong answer to the right question. 10 articles unpacking why. Article 11 turns it into something you can use. No reason to feel helpless. No reason to wait. You're part of what decides it. Onward we press. A Democracy Field Guide 👇 open.substack.com/pub/suebarre... #auspol

open.substack.com

A Democracy Field Guide: What A Better Answer Actually Looks Like

One Nation is the wrong answer to the right question. Part Eleven: not the argument, the frame around it. A guide for anyone ready to stop diagnosing and start doing something.

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Tony Cartledge @decentral21.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Who stands for you? "Against a population of more than 27 million, that means well under half a per cent of Australians hold any formal say in what the two parties that have governed this country for generations actually stand for, or who gets to run for them." #Auspol

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Gavin Miller @glmiller.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

This is a phenomenal article - succinct & cogent.

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