The vast majority of the news this year has been utterly depressing. Disturbing and horrific events from across the world and on our streets are beamed onto our screens, much of them confusing, confounding and downright bewildering prompting the response “that’s just how it is” or ‘there’s nothing I can do to change things.” Such defeatist responses are precisely the reaction that the political and economic elite are seeking from the public.
It is no coincidence that today’s news feed is faster and more confusing than ever. To emphasise this point, we are now living in times where a week’s worth of international events is equivalent to that of years’ when compared to a decade ago. Our domestic politics is not trailing far behind as monumental shifts take place at home. The collapse of the Liberal and National Party coalition and One Nation’s surge in the opinion polls are just a couple notable examples. The barrage of news hitting our screens from the left and right, from above and below is as rapid as it is bewildering leading the public into a state of cognitive dissonance triggering political apathy and a sense of defeatism.
So, what is actually going on and what sense can we make of this emerging dynamic that is propelling the rate of acceleration and confusion whilst further entrenching the status quo at the expense of the rest of society?
Ignorance and confusion stalk the planet This year commenced with U.S President Donald Trump greenlighting a new barrage of conflicts and aggressive escalations spanning the globe. On 3rd January our screens were saturated with the illegal US bombing of the Venezuelan capital killing over 80 people followed by the illegal capture of its President, Nicolás Maduro. Despite claims of a war on drugs, the US illegally blockaded the nation, engaged in piracy by illegally boarding and hijacking international ships headed to Venezuela and its military summarily killed scores of civilians on small boats and fishing vessels. Since the attack and the kidnapping of President Mudaro, little if nothing has been said in relation to the war on drugs. Yet, US President Trump and his administration have boasted of now controlling Venezuela’s colossal oil reserves. To add to the pace of confusion, Trump announced a “Board of Peace” to deal with the ‘Gaza situation’ which effectively sidesteps the role of the United Nations. He also promised to back Iranian anti-government protesters whilst his Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents rampaged through US cities rounding up 75,000 people and killing several civilians in the process. Meanwhile, the self-titled ‘peace president’ joined the indicted war criminal President Netanyahu who is currently engaged in the genocide of Palestinian civilians by unleashing a war against Iran during negotiations in Oman, and assassinating Iran’s religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The utter confusion, contradiction and mayhem being unleashed by the world’s superpower is head-spinning.
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The state of confusion is not restricted to the USA. In the UK, prime minister Starmer’s close associate, advisor and political powerbroker Lord Mandelson is being investigated for fraud as evidence emerges of his leaking confidential trade secrets to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. This comes after he was sacked as British ambassador to the US in September. The bewildering state of news was compounded with former prince Andrew’s intimate and disturbing links to Jeffrey Epstein which promoted his arrest by UK police.
In Europe, the EU continues to trumpet its highfalutin democratic values whilst imprisoning its journalists and sanctioning its citizens for daring to question the EU’s escalating militarism, query its spending and the further financing of the discredited and increasingly corrupt Ukrainian leadership. As the situation in Europe spins out of control, attacks on the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese have stepped up. Based on her observations and criticisms of Israel’s ongoing genocide and the support of several western democracies, she and her family have been hit with further sanctions by the Whitehouse. Such issues are just some of the disturbing and baffling news stories being reported from abroad.
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At home
Back on our shores, the scale and pace of confusion and contradiction are well on the rise. The mystifying views and actions taken by politicians and business leaders continues to further add to the mountains of ‘stuff’ that the public are inundated with on a daily basis. The breathtaking scale of news is retuned and amplified by the corporate owned and government-controlled media.
In August 2025, the Federal government promptly expelled the Iranian ambassador to Australia based on allegations that his government was behind two antisemitic arson attacks in Australia. Meanwhile, the Albanese-led ALP government has done little to question or sanction Israeli officials despite the daily horrors of its ongoing genocide in Gaza. The mass slaughter of Palestinian citizens has not prompted the federal Albanese–led ALP to expel the Israeli ambassador to Australia, nor sanction the state of Israel. To further confound the public, federal and state governments merrily rolled out the red carpet for Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Despite Herzog’s active and ongoing support for the IDF’s horrific actions in Gaza and southern Lebanon, the Australian government has ignored its obligations under international and domestic law. It has also flown in the face of its own calls for social cohesion by inviting the president of a nation that bombs, starves and tortures Palestinian civilians on a daily basis.
Despite the government’s calls for calm, the peace protesters that gathered to rally against the in NSW Israeli President’s visit were subjected to a disturbing level of force and violence by the NSW police. For several years, state and federal governments have escalated actions to muzzle peace protests on university campuses, crack down on protesters supporting Palestinians in the face of a genocide in Gaza and demonising those rallying against international arms exhibitions. Both state and federal governments have incrementally moved to shut down free speech as witnessed by the arrest of an 18 year-old female student and a male under Queensland’s strengthened hate speech laws for wearing a singlet.
As our governments arrest citizens for wearing singlets with slogans, the federal government merrily delivered 49 refurbished M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine as part of a $1.7 billion military aid package. It also is investing over $12 billion in a major, decade-long upgrade of the Henderson defence precinct and HMAS Stirling in Western Australia to support AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines that may or may not be delivered. As part of its military spending this year, it has set aside finance for infrastructure projects at five military bases in the Philippines whilst our roads continue to crumble, homelessness increases and energy prices soar through the roof. The confusion and contradiction is utterly mind-bending as the federal government willingly shells out billions of dollars to the military whilst watching one in six children (750,000) and one in seven adults (860,000) live in poverty.
The public can be excused for being perplexed by the federal government’s policy of permitting gas export companies to pocket billions of dollars in profit from Australian resources while paying little or no tax. Currently, the gas exporter industry is not subject to paying royalties on more than half of gas exports. Within a four-year period, multinational companies have pocketed $149 billion exporting gas from Australia royalty-free. Since 2015 when exports began, the current arrangements have led to the tripling of wholesale east coast gas prices and the doubling of electricity prices adding to the cost of living crisis sweeping the nation. Meanwhile, both the major parties (whilst in government) have allowed our nation’s resources to be sold by multinational corporations minus royalties and a tax that recompenses the Australian public.
While profits from our nation’s gas fields flow directly into the pockets of multinational corporations, government HECS revenue in 2022-23 netted $4.9 billion. Yet, the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax (PRRT) revenue barely secured less than half that amount at $2.3 billion. In 2023-24 HECS/HELP revenue increased rose to $5.1 billion while the PRRT fell to less than a quarter that amounts to just $1.1 billion, despite increased profits being made due to the increase demand in the international market.
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It is disturbing that the federal government continues to support the free flow of gas profits into the coffers of multinational corporations whilst placing a debt burden on young Australians for years to come once they leave university in search for a job. Is the government’s role to support its citizens or to ensure that multinational corporations sustain high profits from Australia’s natural resources? The facts are plain to see.
It is mystifying that the federal ALP has actively targeted its primary supporter, the union movement. Since its beginnings, the ALP has worked at progressing the rights of workers. Through the trade union movement, the ALP has received steadfast support and nurtured several trade union members to reach the party’s leadership role. Since the 1980’s the ALP has gradually undermined its traditional support base in the union movement by dismantling the pillars of the industrial relations landscape. With the pivot towards the neoliberal agenda, ALP governments have weakened industrial relations laws and overseen the deterioration of workers’ rights and entitlements which have continued to be stripped back under successive Liberal and National Party coalition governments. Today, the union movement is a faint shadow of its former self due to ALP and Liberal and National Party coalition’s agenda that has transformed Australia into a neoliberal service economy.
The Royal Commission into Union Corruption and the Royal Commission into the Banking sector demonstrates the ALP’s willingness to undermine its traditional union support base and kowtowing to the financial sector. It is noteworthy that the term ‘corruption’ was employed when investigating the union movement and not the banking sector. In spite of the Royal Commission’s findings of widespread misconduct across Australia's financial sector, and a culture prioritising profit over customers and the law, not a single banking executive was found guilty of wrong doing. Despite of the proportionately greater impact of the widespread misconduct uncovered by the Royal Commission into the Banking sector, both the political class and the media’s attention and calls for justice into the banking sector have been relatively mute. To date, barely one-third of the Royal Commission’s recommendations have been fully passed into law. In contrast to this, the Royal Commission into Union Corruption continues to fester as evidenced by the disproportional coverage by the corporate owned media, and the ALP’s relatively active pursuit of unions and its members. Egged on by the corporate owned media, the ALP has cast a very broad net extending beyond the Victorian branch of the CFMEU, by targeting the national branch and its wing of industry super. It is perplexing to understand why an incredibly broad net has been cast across the union movement whilst the significantly more damaging effects of banking misconduct has been largely shelved?
Whilst the major political parties pontificate about high standards, integrity in the office and accountability, what exists in reality if quite the opposite. In his campaign launch ahead of the federal election, Anthony Albanese promised Australians that the ALP would improve government standards and integrity following the Morrison years. He promised to ‘end the waste and the rorts, and honour your values and hard work.’ When in government, the ALP moved to establish a review of the public sector board appointment process. Headed by Lynelle Briggs AO, "the Briggs Review" identified systemic failures in the current appointment of plumb jobs in the public service. The review noted that the process was "not fit for purpose" and lacked sufficient checks and balances to prevent patronage. After the two-year delay in releasing the review, the Albanese-led ALP finally introduced a watered-down version of the review entitled Australian Government Appointments Framework (effective February 2, 2026). The rejigged framework has fallen well short of the fundamental changes recommended by the 2023 Briggs Review. Despite promises to improve governmental standards, the public was kept in the dark as it was excluded from discussions about how its recommendations should be implemented. The framework set aside the robust recommendations put forward by Lynette Briggs and included broad exemptions permitting the prime minister to override its requirements. Furthermore, the rejigged review asks ministers to use independent panels only “when appropriate and proportionate”.
Again, the public have been left in the dark and the political elite have facilitated the weakening of accountability and transparency measures whilst whistleblowers calling out corruption in government and other institutions languish in jail.
The road is left wide open for government to manipulate the levers of power, parachute friends into plumb jobs which ultimately leaves the door wide-open for cronyism in the Commonwealth appointments process, thus further eroding public trust in government and its officials. The sheer number of contradictions and the broad scale of confusion generated by the political and economic elite is bewildering. By leaving the public in the dark and communicating a confused narrative via the mass media, its intended effect is to promote a politically apathetic citizenry. Reactions like ‘you can’t fight city hall’ and ‘you can’t do anything because it’s a done deal’ are the responses they want to hear.
Propagating contradiction and manufacturing confusion are but a couple of the prongs on the one percent’s trident of tactics. Keeping the public in the dark and treating them like little children are also used to insult the public’s intelligence.
Ignorance stalks the media landscape The infantalisation of the public is a growing scourge across the mainstream media. Australia’s political leaders routinely communicate to the public as if talking to young children by simplifying vital issues into slogans or meaningless catch cries. Mainstream political pundits transform complex issues into binary terms of black and white, right and wrong. Public consultation is discouraged and public opinion that does not align with the dominant narrative is muzzled. In terms of national security and international affairs, the public is completely left in the dark and discouraged from consultation or engagement. With the waning of investigative journalism comes the decline in accountability and transparency of government, business and key institutions.
Cheerleading wars of aggression
Barely into the third month of 2026, the US and its ally, Israel have committed another act of blatant aggression. In the opening attack on Iran, a girls’ school was bombed killing over 175 children and staff. Before the dust settled into day one, the federal government was amongst the first of nations to fully support the USA’s bombing. To befuddle the Australian public, Prime Minister Albanese and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong have employed an array of verbal gymnastics to avoid using the term ‘war’ and present US aggression as an act of defence rather than offence. By side-stepped the public, the federal government promptly announced that it would send military materiel to the Persian Gulf. Asked if this means that we are at war, minister Wong refused to utter the ‘W’ word and opted for the term ‘collective defence of our Gulf allies.’ By avoiding questions about the legality of such attacks under international law, the government has displayed sheer arrogance and a basic lack of respect for the Australian population. Immediately after the initial US and Israeli missile strikes, the government’s narrative mirrored Whitehouse talking points by presenting the pubic a story that the US war on Iran is one of defence, aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear missiles. Meanwhile, the entire issue of the USA and Israel breaking international law and bombing densely populated cities with civilians has been airbrushed out of the mainstream news. The fact that Israel has recently attacked Syria, Iran, Yemen, Lebanon, Qatar, conducted strikes in Tunisian, Maltese, and Greek territorial waters whilst committing genocide in Gaza seems to be of no consequence to the government representing Australians. The Albanese-led ALP appears quite comfortable treating Australians like little children by keeping the public in the dark and feeding the population a diet of rich composting rhetoric. More importantly, violence against certain populations is being normalised by the mainstream media.
In the national interest
In terms of issues of national interest, state and federal governments have largely kept the public in the dark. The major parties regularly side-step public consultation, avoid debating vital issues such as joining the AUKUS pact, conducting military operations overseas (eg. Afghanistan) and providing finance, military hardware and training to foreign nations (eg. Ukraine). Despite the ramifications of joining alliances that could drag Australian sons and daughters into a conflict with the great powers, both former and current LNP coalition and ALP governments have concerted their efforts to limit the public’s awareness by doing deals behind closed doors, then announcing them based on a narrative fit for little children.
The AUKUS deal largely bypassed public scrutiny. Well into the deal, Australians learned that taxpayers would be sinking $12 billion into the submarine carpark to host USA and UK nuclear submarines in Western Australia. The public have not been consulted with regards to the disposal of radioactive waste from allied submarines or the stationing of foreign nuclear subs and personnel. More recently, it has been revealed that the deal includes an unspecified amount of funds to be dedicated to supressing public opposition to foreign submarines coming into our shores. This little know fact should be setting off alarm bells, as its implications on freedom of speech and democratic rights are dire.
The AUKUS pact commits Australia to militarily supporting the increasingly belligerent USA and UK in a conflict that could go nuclear. The obligations of this military pact will require blood and treasure from Australian families should the time come. Yet, the current ALP government and former LNP coalition felt comfortable to keep the specifics of the deal shrouded away from public scrutiny.
The infantalisation of the Australian public by successive governments was borne out by the previous LNP coalition government portraying our largest trading partner, China as the new bogey man. The ratcheting up of rhetoric against China as an aggressor, and the souring relations enabled former Treasurer Josh Frydenburg to “find” $368 billion for the purchase of nuclear attack submarines (a purchase that appears to be a dud). However, he nor his coalition colleagues nor the current ALP government appear to have little interest in dedicating the billions needed to lift the 750,000 children out of poverty or wipe out student debt, or resolve the homelessness crisis that continues to plague our cities and suburbs. Once again, the public have been treated like little children and left out of the debate. Meanwhile, questions remain as to whether Australia will ever see a single submarine? Was the government duped? Where is government transparency and accountability?
Foreign affairs
The Australian public has been largely kept in the dark in relation to foreign affairs. Our military actions in the South China sea have largely gone under reported by the corporate owned and government-controlled media. Counter-actions by China against our air craft and naval ships in the South China Sea of have been described by the mainstream media as dangerous and provocative. Australia’s actions have been reported as operating in ‘international waters’ and within the ‘right to freedom of navigation”. However, the Australian public have been left in the dark about our operations approximately 8000 Km away from our naval bases in Freemantle. The fact that the Australian Navy is active a stone’s throw away from China’s largest submarine base goes unreported. The fact that Australian P-8A Poseidon aircraft routinely drop thousands of sonar buoys to track China’s submarines leaving their base goes unreported. Without this information, the Australian public cannot analyse nor draw accurate conclusions about Australia’s actions in close proximity to China. Nor can the public join the dots and draw a conclusion into China’s decision to circumnavigate Australia with its naval ships. By keeping the public in the dark or feeding it a curated narrative and omitting vital facts, the political elite actively undermines that public’s ability to understand the potential consequences of our nations actions and calculate the real dangers fermented by the political elite. The flow of information to the public shrouds the context and actual events that may trigger a military conflict.
The Australian government is yet to fully explain to the public the reason and rational for Australia’s 20-year involvement in Afghanistan. The stationing of troops in the Middle East remains unclear, and our support and involvement with AUKUS, Ukraine and the Philippines continue to be opaque at best. By blurring important issues of national security, curating a particular narrative of international affairs and treating the public like infants, the political elite are in effect acting in an anti-democratic fashion. Omitting vital information from the public arena, stifling public debate, crushing peace protesters and supporting governments opting for war rather than peace and negotiations are the hallmarks of authoritarian regimes.
Nurturing political apathy
As humans, we are not designed to process high levels of information, nor are we capable of making sense of all the confusion, contradiction and the disinformation that is weaved into the daily news cycle. Yet, the nature of news and opinion broadcast by the corporate owned and the state-controlled media outlets are delivered in a manner designed to keep the public in a state of constant bewilderment. The rapid pivot from confusion to contradiction, complexity to child-like explanations are key to disorientating the public’s perception of reality. By undermining the public’s ability to gather facts, understand vital issues and develop a clear sense of reality, citizens are unable to form accurate views and opinions. Disrespecting the public’s intelligence, infantalising the population and saturating news outlets with confusing and contradictory views and opinions helps to keep the public dazed, depressed and mired in a sense of defeatism. All this facilitates the continuance of the status quo.
Due to the approach employed by the political and economic elite, our society like other western countries have been plagued by high levels of stress and anxiety. Despite being more connected today, isolation and loneliness is running rampant through our communities. Although we are living in times of apparent material wealth, more and more individuals are feeling less fulfilled and have a greater sense of purposelessness. The facade of democracy is wearing thin as corporate interests overshadow the needs of the community. The illusion of powerlessness is being nurtured by the one percent to ensure the status quo remains in place. As a corollary, depression is a growing scourge in society, which is treated by an underfunded health system.
Given the constant stream of contradictory views, confusing decisions, horrific images and a narrative that bares little resemblance to reality, it is little wonder that political apathy is on the rise. The declining rates in voting and the pivot to populist parties find their roots in the cynicism fanned by opportunistic politicians. As successive governments repeatedly place corporate interests ahead of public interests, their answer to cover up the neoliberal mess is to manufacture narratives that do not resemble reality.
Fight the power
The signs that neoliberalism is not working is evident across the planet. The increase in number and intensity of global conflicts is a telling of a collapsing economic system. When working to international law no longer benefits those in power, conflict is an answer. The profusion of confusion, and the normalisation of violence backed by a narrative that no longer resembles the reality are the hall marks of system collapse. Unfortunately, the impact is evidenced by the rise in stress, anxiety and depression across the populations. Meanwhile, the rise in political apathy and the sense of defeatism is being nurtured by those in power designed to quell dissent by maintaining the status quo. At this is the juncture in time, political activism is essential. For certain, neoliberalism and the political and economic forces that continually support the failing system clearly cannot guarantee a secure and prosperous future. Nor can it guarantee future survival in the face of environmental collapse, escalating wars and conflicts that threaten both the economic and environmental viability of the planet. For the one percent to continue the status quo, the public needs to feel powerless, and political apathy is the key to the continuance on the current system. However, there is a way out of the current neoliberal quagmire.
History is about change. Being aware of what is at stake and what the public needs to do are the two essential starting points. As many leaders of the world continue to escalate death and destruction through war and environmental degradation, it is vital that you draw a red line in the sand and take action to halt the chaos. Researching the facts, communicating them within your circle of friends, family and within community are key to raising consciousness in society. Actively calling out the false narrative that clogs our screens 24/7 is imperative as defeatism is the guaranteed path to failure. It is vital that we shift away from propping up corporations and home-grown oligarchs who feed off the public’s purse. We are at a point where we no longer can afford supporting a long line of billionaires while we have large numbers of children and adults living in deep poverty.
The public need to demand facts from the political elite by being informed and part of the decision-making process. Good decisions can only come from understanding the reality on the ground and the facts of the matter. For far too long, the political and economic elite have sidelined the public from the decision-making process. As such, the nation is in it decaying state: multinational companies pumping out our natural resources virtually tax free. Australia’s oligarchs feeding off the public purse whilst poverty rises. Infrastructure is in a state of decay; the normalisation of war and violence on large populations, and politicians widening the doors to patronage for their mates while whistleblowers remain in custody. Therefore, it is time jettison the current system of decay that is destined to take down our collective future. Your next actions will be vital.
Anthony B – Website Editor
March 2026
