
“We Are the Resistance” is a powerful political protest anthem for everyone standing against authoritarianism, corruption, extremism, and the ongoing attacks on democracy by Donald Trump, MAGA Republicans, and the Project 2025 agenda. Blending emotional lyrics with a defiant call to action, this song speaks for millions of Americans who still believe in the Constitution, the rule of law, equality, voting rights, truth, and freedom. From corruption in Congress to attacks on democracy and the rise of authoritarian politics, “We Are the Resistance” channels the anger, hope, courage, and determination of ordinary people refusing to stay silent. If you oppose Trumpism, Christian nationalism, racism, fascism, billionaire corruption, and the erosion of democratic institutions, this anthem is for you. Join the resistance, raise your voice, and stand with those fighting to protect democracy before it’s too late.
My application to Australian Politics:
Senate committees reviewing legislative changes relating to gambling laws, social media controls for minors and the optimum level of restraint in NDIS spending should be at the forefront of national debate and discussion.
These reviews are vital to the restoration of a progressive reform agenda in Australian centre-left politics as shown in the most recent polling in the Weekend Australian (4-5 July 2026). Far right gains have trimmed Labor majorities in Victoria and amongst Over 50 aged voters in all states.
Taken in the right spirit to fine tune spending restraints, the outcomes of senate committees can forge a more united front between federal Labor, the Greens and other progressive members of the crossbench to counter these polling trends.

Negotiations with the Greens and other crossbench members allowed the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and negative gearing reforms to pass both houses of parliament in an amended form as the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 and the Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026.
Senate committee recommendations to proposed reforms of gambling advertising, NDIS funding issues and fine-tuning of social media controls will make a positive contribution to restore the balance in mainstream politics.
All sides of politics are competing for relevance in the shadow of the recent national Newspoll

The Newspoll results do suggest that the electorate welcomes these negotiated amendments. The quest for legislative relevance is a good sign. Of course, the results might be uncomfortable at times. Forging a united front is vital to the restoration of faith in case of needs-based political agendas. This is legislative excellence at its best so that final outcomes can be owned by all sides of progressive politics with opportunities for the far-right of politics to offer dissenting opinions if required.
Josh Butler of the Guardian (24 June 2026) warns that the two months deadline on deliberation from the Senate Inquiry into NDIS pending restraint might generate new demands for fiscal compromises. The Albanese Government can accept the most responsible of these recommendations in the context of agreed upon changes to more austerity in the aged care sector:
The aged care sector received a substantial $3.7 billion investment package. Rather than seeking expenditure restraint in the form of cuts, the government focused on structural improvements, including incentivizing the construction of 5,000 new residential beds per year and fully funding personal care services under the “Support at Home” program. This represents a strategic shift where the government has chosen to absorb costs – such as removing out-of-pocket expenses for personal care – to stabilize the sector’s long-term viability.
In fiscal reforms of NDIS, the Senate Committee will review the proposed changes. More optimum changes might be appropriate here:
The government has moved to tighten eligibility criteria through the implementation of standardized, evidence-based functional capacity assessments. By curbing rapid cost increases and prioritizing “reasonable and necessary” supports, the budget seeks to return the NDIS to its original intent. Additionally, significant investments in fraud detection – including the ongoing Fraud Fusion Taskforce—aim to reduce non-compliant payments and ensure integrity.
The Albanese Government has the fiscal capacity to be kinder to NDIS reform even if some defence spending options are also reformed. Perhaps there could be fewer joint air and naval patrols in the South China Sea with US convoys to annoy our most profitable trading partner and potential source of vital investment in the 2030s when the Trump administration is consigned to history.
Fiscal Capacity for More Moderate Reform Exists
| Sector | 2026-27 Focus | Projected Fiscal Stance |
| NDIS | Reform & Consolidation | 3.6 per cent increase during the forward estimates to 2029-30 representing a $37.8 billion savings agenda |
| Aged Care | Targeted Investment | 5.4 per cent increase in the forward estimates representing a $3.7b investment package. |
| Defence | Capability Growth | 6.4 per cent increase in in the forward estimates and $887b. in additional total funding to 2035-36 |
Responsible supporters of the Albanese Government could sing along with the Resistance Group in the USA as the mid-term elections approach in November. A good result for the Democratic Party will make President Trump a lame duck leader for the next two years.
Locally, these changes should consolidate the improvement in Labor’s polling in the latest National Newspoll in the shadows of challenges evident in more disadvantaged regional and outer metro federal electorates.
Denis Bright (pictured) is a financial member of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA). Denis is committed to consensus-building on the critical issues raised in each article.
Your feedback advances the cause of citizen journalism.
Also by Denis Bright
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Australian Political Futures: From Media-Generated Nostalgia to Responsible Class Politics
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The aimn.net is already part of the resistance.
Feedback from the old 51st State Down Under
Irish Australians are always part of the Resistance despite efforts by intel services to break our progressive connections to the Labor Movement here and to Sein Fein back in Ireland.
Regrettably, Ireland is still controlled by a centre-right government after negotiations about a new coalition in the 2024 election.
However, President Catherine Connolly was elected in November 2025 as a left-leaning independent with suport from Sinn Fein, Labour, Social Democrats, People Before Profit and the Green Party.
It is a long time before the 2030 election but polling is good for the Irish Left.
Michael Mrtin is still serving as Taoiseach (PM) in coalition with other Centre-right parties. Sinn Fein has never been part of any Irish cabinet.
The Irish centre-right government allows US military planes to access Shannon Airport if they carry no arms. The US responds by using military charter flights like Omni Air which may carry armed military personnel military supplies to NATO operations.
There is a groundswell of support against such compromises with Irish neutrality.
We actually had an article on our old site about the Castle Hill Rebellion in … I’ve forgotten the year – 1803 or thereabouts… which was also known as the Irish Rebellion. The plan was to take Sydney. Off the coast sat a French war ship, waiting for the signal that Sydney had fallen.
They never reached Sydney.
I can’t help but think of the way the US revolution relates to the colonisation of Australia. Joseph Banks was on Cooks historic trip to what is now known as Australia, with a secret task to find a suitable place for a British colony, a penal colony. With the republican movement in what is now the US ceasing to take in the British crims, Australia was the plan.
Of course the Brits did things a little differently in their colonising process.
I am a bit surprised that so little is mentioned at the flow on effect the US revolution had on Australia.
love the anthem, ”We are the Resistance”which reminds one of the previous Australian anthem, ”We the People” that reminded politicians that they work for the voters. How inconvenient.
Castle Hill Rebellion 1804: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Hill_convict_rebellion#:~:text=Led%20by%20veterans%20of%20the,March%201804%20at%20Rouse%20Hill.
There is a lot of interesting early Australian history to still be discovered that seems to counter the official version currently taught. The role of Banks, before, during and after the Cook ”Venus Research” needs to be properly examined.
Interesting read Denis!
Thanks Michael Taylor.
Australia has never been a monocultural society. Even in indigenous times, there were many nations.
The indigenous people of Australia were oppressed even more than the Irish in early colonial times. In Brisbne, Doondella was executed on a special noose in the CBD in the mid-1850s where city workers now eat lunch in the park there.
Our PM’s family history is also a challenge to monoculturalism.
Anthony Albanese was not even told the truth about his father Carlos whom he met in Apulia in 2009.
The story of Amnthony’s mother is also touching. Anthony was raised in public housing to internalise his loyalty to working class values. RIP Maryanne Ellery-later Albanese.
Irish Australians were promient in the broader Labor Movement here. US intel knew all that and supported the NCC and the DLP to break up the unity of the Labor Movement in the 1950s.
Anthony Albnese must be careful with the latest rounds of US intel initiatives to talk up our defence speending at the expense of social housing and commitment to indigenous community development over charity and paternalism.
Defence spending is growing at an exponential rate that is faster than NDIS spending and commitment to real indigenous community development.
Tourism should be sharing the spirit of the land in remote areas like the Kimberley, parts of NT and Savanna ecosystems in Northern Queensland which in basking in winter sunshine now uin so-called Katter country.
Access to these national treasures is unaffordable to most Australians without the cash needed for Kimberley cruises and 4WD interactions with outback landscapes.
Hi, Irish. I agree with every word.
Small world, but my honours thesis was about the very point you raised; oppression of the Aboriginal people in the formative years leading up to federation and the White Australia policy.
Jacqui Lambie sent me this in an email in support for a petition she is raising.
Our veterans have already paid the price for serving this country.
Many of them left defence with injuries they’ll carry for the rest of their lives. They shouldn’t have to fight Canberra all over again just to get the treatment they need.
But that’s exactly what’s about to happen.
From 1 July 2027, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs wants to introduce a $5,000 annual cap on allied health services for Veteran Card holders.
Let’s call this what it is: a cut to veterans’ healthcare.
Physiotherapy. Psychology. Exercise physiology. Occupational therapy. These aren’t luxuries. They’re the treatments that keep veterans mobile, mentally healthy, independent and connected to their communities.
Please sign the petition!
For around 25,000 veterans, that $5,000 cap could run out long before the year is over. Then what?
More paperwork. More delays. More uncertainty. More veterans wondering whether they’ll be able to afford the care their health professionals say they need.
That’s not good enough.
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide made it crystal clear: veterans need better support, not more barriers. Healthcare should be based on clinical need, not an arbitrary dollar figure dreamed up by bureaucrats.
We owe them better…
When Australians put on the uniform, we ask them to risk everything for us.
The very least we can do is make sure they get the healthcare they need when they hang up the uniform.
I’m fighting to stop this cap, but I need your help.
Jacqui
Support the Lambie Petition Protecting Medical Care for Returned Service Personnel.
Military personnel were promised life-time medical services in return for joining/volunteering for military service. THAT WAS THE DEAL!!
Now the self-serving DVA desk jockeys want to slash that medical care!! This is a Breach of contract!!
The DVA is a classical public service department of desk jockeys, personally secure in their employment and uncaring in the dispensation of government services.
My late mother was ex-Service and held a DVA Gold Card due to crossing Bass Strait that was a war zone. She applied for pension increase from the DVA who declined, until taken to the Tribunal where the decision found in her favour.
The cost of that DVA legal action was a one day appearance for a QC + snotty-nosed spoilt brat junior plus preparation plus Tribunal costs. Think $5000-$10,000.
The DVA then sat on their hands and delayed the decreed payment for 28 weeks until Tony Windsor MP for New England took an interest, resulting in the necessary back payment of 28 weeks pension increase plus correctly increased pension until her passing.
The cost to the DVA of providing the pension increase would have been less than the cost of litigation.
@ Michael Taylor: Perhaps you might post a precis of your thesis because the topic remains relevant even today.
Thanks for an interesting update on important reforms and the role of senate committees
Thanks for your appeal to our readers, Thommo.
I have responded by signing the petition, Thommo: https://lambienetwork.com.au/pages/scrap-the-cap.
I was away for a couple of days and came to the computer to check my bank balance!
I am burdened by a Qld. state government land tax of $11,200 a year payable in advance for the full discount on a fibro house at Noosaville which my deceased father purchcased for $7,000. This ownership stops me from receiving an old-aged pension and drains the superannuation left for both members of my household.
I called to the Government Revenue Office at 150 Mary Street Brisbane about this matter but access to this office is off-limits to the public.
I received an automated reply from the local Member to a polite email on this issue. The State Treasurer, GRO Office and Under Treasurer choose not to reply to my concerns.
Over 45 per cent of revenue in the Qld. state budget is provided by Canberra in grants and GST allocation. Some of this revenue is allocated to political spin in television advertisements and letter-boxed leaflets.
Despite the LNP’s opposition to larger public sector at all three levels of government, its leaders here are always appealing for more funds from Canberra.
There were no changes in the land tax threshold in the 2026-27 state budget to assist me as promised by the LNP in Opposition.
Keep up te good work Thommo on behalf of the Venerans. I support your cause.
Some of my elderly relatives volunteered for both world wars. All had health problems from their commitments in a bygone era when support was limited.