Historic social democratic policy options remain for the Albanese Government with support from a united front with progressive senate crossbench members. In contrast, News Corp fosters nostalgia for the return of LNP majorities under strong conservative leaders like John Howard as Andrew Hastie hovers over the Opposition shambles waiting for his leadership chance against Sussan Ley.
This nostalgia was embedded in the opinion piece by associate editor Chris Kenny in Weekend Australian (31 January 2026). It longs for the Opposition shambles to be patched up to restore neoliberalism as our national banner in the One and Free traditions of Australian conservatism.
News Corp steers a global financial empire from New York with investments in popular entertainment streaming services, real estate, business and military intelligence. News Corp offers its HUMINT services to defence contractors and intelligence services by far-right governments globally. These canny investment decisions coexist with ongoing tax avoidance strategies here.
Editorial fear generated by News Corp outlets makes our leaders overly cautious. Tax evasion deprives the Albanese government of this option to act on issues such as appalling levels of imprisonment in the NT as presented by ABS data. Where are the editorial calls from News Corp editorial offices for action on these issues?
Average daily imprisonment rates in Australia
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners
From 30 June 2024 to 30 June 2025, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners increased by 10% (1,561) to 17,432. Over the same period, the age standardised imprisonment rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners increased from 2,318 to 2,500 prisoners per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adult population.
Ignoring social democratic options to cope with financial crises was a feature of the two major economic crises of the modern era as noted by Gemini Google Bard (GGB) for the Depression of the 1890s and the Great Depression of the early 1930s.
In both cases, Australian GDP fell by 10 percent with mass unemployment of over 20 percent of the workforce.
Banner headlines and commentaries in news Corp outlets insist on similar neoliberal responses today in a quest for One and Free agendas in politics.
The current economic growth rate of over 2 percent. This achievement is still accompanied by a growing social divide in part fuelled by the diversion of tax revenue away from real areas of social need. Labor leaders should be worried about this divide as the far-right of Australian politics steals traditional Labor rhetoric on such issues to win hearts and minds in disadvantaged regional and outer metro federal electorates.
Labor leaders were too slow to act in the recession of 1990-91 as shown by GGB data. Paul Keating successfully challenged Bob Hawke as leader in 1991 to unfreeze tight levels of public sector spending to produce a surprising victory for the True Believers at the election on 13 March 1993.
Turning Certain Defeat into the Victory of the True Believers in 1993
Taming the Recession Bumps Since 1945
The time for more proactive social democracy is now as noted by Paul Bonghiorno’s opinion piece in The Saturday Paper (31 January 2026).
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 comments on this and related articles can be recorded on theaimn.net site.
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Paul Keating managed to turn certain defeat into that victory for the True Believers in 1993.
When News Corp pays legitimate Australian taxation, I might look more at their headlines and editorials
Let’s have more investment in mixed social housing around transport nodes to ease the housing crisis in our cities and regions.
Thanks for your commentary Denis. More funding and prioritisation is needed to close the gap.
The Gold Coast has become unaffordable with median family housing prices topping $1.5 millon. Why does the Gold Coast always vote for the LNP at federal levels? Perhaps voters are dazzled by the sunshine as these electorates would have preferred Peter Dutton as their own One and Free Leader.
Come on Albo. The far-right are stealing Labor’s thunder. Be proactive in your defence of Australian social democracy and seek links with the progressive members of the crossbench in the senate. The crossbench has its own values but their support is vital in these reactionary timers.
Another excellent article Denis. Thank you.
Time to limit total executive salary packages to nom more than ten multiples (10X) of the lowest paid worker with any surplus overpayment taxed at 110% and all foreign payments made for work done in Australia to be disclosed and deemed income earned in Australia.
The SMH 020226 promises unspecified ”BIG THINGS”” from the Albanese LABOR government now that they have had six months of the new tenure. But like all thinking voters I shall wait and see whether this is typical political exaggeration or real voter based policy.
The surge in support for One Nation is a dangerous development. Albo must hit the Social Democratic buttons in his office as One Nation is stealing Labor’s outreach in the regions and outer suburbs populated by some very disadvantaged people who seem to be attracted to Trump style populism. Albo has the policy resources to deliver but seems to be in fear of a conventional backlash.
Labor’s thunder has been replaced by boring middle class rhetoric. Who is recruiting the new generation of Labor insiders as polling booths in the regions and outer metro areas are supporting the far-right in increasing numbers?
Some voters in the regions still support Labor with some good results in Parkes Electorate against Jamie Chaffey of the Nationals.
Labor gained a majority in some polling booths like Minindee and Broken Hill.
Keep up the good campaigning Nathan Fell for Labor in these regions Back oF’Bourke. In Bourke itself. the swing was to the Far Right.
Tax evasions by US and British multinationals did not foster a good interest rate call on 3 February: Why does the far-right ignore the problem of tax evasion?