One Dark Winter

 

People are livid. This is no longer tall-poppy syndrome or healthy scepticism. They want the whole system burnt to the ground. The divide between ordinary Australians and the political class could not be greater. Politicians lecture us about what they stand for and then do the opposite. They may not all have lived by the skin of their teeth, but few have ever scrounged for durrie butts while properly down and out.

The gap shows in the numbers. Jim Chalmers and Chris Bowen post ‘the facts’ on housing and energy. Westpac says mortgage applications are down 20 per cent, Commonwealth Bank 15 per cent, while yet another renewable energy project heads into administration.

The Coalition cannot atone for its own failings. People remember it is part of the problem. While many politicians enjoyed European summer holidays, ordinary Australians shivered their way to work – truckies and factory hands, tradies in the frost, cleaners battling cold and damp, retail staff dealing with self-entitled bush lawyers, country servos wrestling regulations designed for big business, and small operators forced to restructure trusts because Labor wants more of other people’s money.

Any wonder they want to put a match to the whole system.

Michael de Percy, 

Well then, in the depths of his own humiliation and despair a grey crane would come visiting his backyard, a mythological symbol of renewal. 

An injured pigeon took up residence, hobbling on a broken foot.

Brightly coloured Rosellas filled the branches of a tree; and down at the dog park a flock of those ancient birds, black cockatoos, flew by, while offshore an osprey swirled in the gusting wind, it's old home at the end of the pier destroyed by developers.

Honeyeaters came to feed on the grevilleas at the front of the house.

And all around him was treachery; straight out, quivering, dishonestly, bleakly evil treachery. 

So that was the nation today; a damned bloody mess.

While everyone waited to see what would happen next: a national collapse driven by decades of truly deceitful leadership and secretive government agencies hunting heads, and making ever greater fools of themselves. 

He remained quiet; while the dregs dredged from the muddy abyss departed into their own hell holes. Be quiet. Be strong. Courage, strength, determination, good will, good health, high intelligence, truthfulness, compassion, forbearance.

Grant us these gifts; oh Lord. While the Time Lords winked and whirled, and the clifftops came alight with fires of an army encampment, the company of strangers, and a dark force which saw us all on a precipice.

NEWS

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and other Coalition figures have intensified personal and diplomatic attacks on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over the so-called “melon-gate” controversy. Headlines such as “Taylor demands Albanese apologise to Japan PM Sanae Takaichi over melon gesture” and “Japanese ambassador to Australia downplays Albanese melon gaffe as Taylor claims PM has ‘stuffed up’” captured the week’s focus. Taylor described Albanese’s podcast remarks about crown melons gifted by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as “insulting” and “beneath the office of prime minister,” insisting “the prime minister should make a personal apology” and that he had made “an egregious error.” Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume called the comments “grubby” and “inappropriate,” while Pauline Hanson labelled the attitude “disgusting” and demanded an “open apology.”

sbs.com.au

Economic management remains a core line of attack, with Taylor accusing Labor of damaging living standards through “big government.” In coverage under headlines like “Labor’s ‘big government’ hammering living standards, says Taylor,” the Opposition Leader cited negative data on growth, inflation and real wages, arguing the government’s agenda is “dragging down living standards and hammering real wages.” Earlier budget debates featured claims of broken promises on taxes; Taylor asked why Albanese wanted to “pull up the ladder on hard-working Australians” with what he called “toxic taxes,” and vowed the Coalition would reverse key measures. Critics have linked these policies to broader cost-of-living pressures and productivity concerns.

afr.com

One Nation under Pauline Hanson has capitalised on dissatisfaction, positioning itself as a sharper critic of Labor on immigration, culture and governance while polls show its support rising. Hanson and her party have criticised high migration levels and what they portray as government failure to address voter grievances, with headlines reflecting student protests against Hanson alongside Coalition unease about the minor party’s surge. Hanson has urged focus on removing Labor, stating the real enemy is the Albanese government, while some Coalition figures have debated closer cooperation. Andrew Bragg’s National Press Club speech drew attention under related coverage, with the shadow housing minister acknowledging that major parties had “buggered it up” and warning of national decline if policy failures continued.

theguardian.com

Broader opposition and crossbench scrutiny has extended to transparency, housing and other issues, with critics portraying the government as out of touch or ineffective. Recent reporting highlighted demands for documents related to the melon comments and ongoing complaints about immigration targets and construction rules. Bragg and colleagues have argued for major reforms to housing standards and migration settings, while Taylor has framed the choice as removing a “rotten” Labor government. These lines of criticism occur against a backdrop of shifting polls in which One Nation has challenged Labor’s primary vote, underscoring the intensity of opposition focus on Albanese’s leadership and policy record.