Tom Marshall-Davis
@tommarshalldavis.bsky.social
PhD candidate, Monash University. Works on Australian political culture (I write junk about the Liberal Party). World expert on Brendan Nelson I guess.
Is the beard important? Did they have to engineer some kind of special spacesuit to deal with static electricity in a high-oxygen environment or something? I get that he's, y'know, The First, but why is THIS a first that's important enough for paragraph one?
December 30, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Is the beard important? Did they have to engineer some kind of special spacesuit to deal with static electricity in a high-oxygen environment or something? I get that he's, y'know, The First, but why is THIS a first that's important enough for paragraph one?
The point is, it's generally a good thing for anti-hate speech campaigns to be educative, at least in addition to, if not instead of, repressive. If the behaviour of the right since the 90s is any indication, telling people "you can't say that" without telling them why is unlikely to help.
December 20, 2025 at 8:05 AM
The point is, it's generally a good thing for anti-hate speech campaigns to be educative, at least in addition to, if not instead of, repressive. If the behaviour of the right since the 90s is any indication, telling people "you can't say that" without telling them why is unlikely to help.
There are other points that're less unacceptable. "Globalise the intifada" is militaristic and has clear antisemitic implications, although I wonder if, like "from the river to the sea," it's not in many cases being adopted by well-intentioned (but ignorant) activists who don't get the connotations.
December 20, 2025 at 8:02 AM
There are other points that're less unacceptable. "Globalise the intifada" is militaristic and has clear antisemitic implications, although I wonder if, like "from the river to the sea," it's not in many cases being adopted by well-intentioned (but ignorant) activists who don't get the connotations.
Although NSW police physically endangering people in the name of being tougher on crime (of whatever kind) isn't exactly new. Recall the invasive full-body searches on teenagers at music festivals, adopted as an alternative to pill-testing under the Berejiklian Govt. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...
Royal commission into Bondi Beach terror attack needed, NSW premier says
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns is supporting calls for a royal commission to be held into the Bondi Beach terror attack, which claimed the lives of 15 innocent people.
www.abc.net.au
December 20, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Although NSW police physically endangering people in the name of being tougher on crime (of whatever kind) isn't exactly new. Recall the invasive full-body searches on teenagers at music festivals, adopted as an alternative to pill-testing under the Berejiklian Govt. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...
NSW Government now allowing police to remove face-coverings at protests for any reason (as opposed to, y'know, an actual reason). "Face-coverings" is supposed to make it sound scary (balaclavas); but lots of people, in COVID times, wedged in crowds of thousands, will be penalised for wearing masks.
December 20, 2025 at 7:55 AM
NSW Government now allowing police to remove face-coverings at protests for any reason (as opposed to, y'know, an actual reason). "Face-coverings" is supposed to make it sound scary (balaclavas); but lots of people, in COVID times, wedged in crowds of thousands, will be penalised for wearing masks.
The woke green-lefties who run the ABC are at it again - this time, running the Royal Carols (Christmas, as we know, is the reddest of all the holidays)
December 20, 2025 at 3:34 AM
The woke green-lefties who run the ABC are at it again - this time, running the Royal Carols (Christmas, as we know, is the reddest of all the holidays)
Also worth noting Abbott's unusually chill reactions in his new book to, e.g., the massacres in Francoist Spain (or, say, colonial Australia). Abbott isn't typical of people worried for Australian Jews, but he's not the only one on the right who seems to think not all massacres are created equal.
December 19, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Also worth noting Abbott's unusually chill reactions in his new book to, e.g., the massacres in Francoist Spain (or, say, colonial Australia). Abbott isn't typical of people worried for Australian Jews, but he's not the only one on the right who seems to think not all massacres are created equal.
Tony Abbott's just released a statement on the "Bondi Pogrom". It's understandable, I guess, that, since the most significant pre-Bondi attack within Australia was Lindt, the scale of Bondi is genuinely shocking, but this death-spiral of increasingly extreme rhetoric is getting a little frightening.
December 19, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Tony Abbott's just released a statement on the "Bondi Pogrom". It's understandable, I guess, that, since the most significant pre-Bondi attack within Australia was Lindt, the scale of Bondi is genuinely shocking, but this death-spiral of increasingly extreme rhetoric is getting a little frightening.
Feels appropriate that, when "post-Howard" turned 18, the Liberals celebrated by playing to anti-immigrant rallies, dumping even the most half-assed of commitments to climate action, and scrambling for the leadership, while Barnaby Joyce was jumping ship to One Nation. Talk about path-dependency.
Incidentally thought to myself this week: If you were alive when John Howard was last in office, you can have a social media account (also drink, vote etc)
December 17, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Feels appropriate that, when "post-Howard" turned 18, the Liberals celebrated by playing to anti-immigrant rallies, dumping even the most half-assed of commitments to climate action, and scrambling for the leadership, while Barnaby Joyce was jumping ship to One Nation. Talk about path-dependency.
Reposted by Tom Marshall-Davis
a friend reminded me of the existence of Conor Court publishing and after twenty minutes on the website I discovered it: the perfect Christmas gift for young and old, friend or foe
December 16, 2025 at 10:31 AM
a friend reminded me of the existence of Conor Court publishing and after twenty minutes on the website I discovered it: the perfect Christmas gift for young and old, friend or foe
Price and Joyce have very different appeal, though - Price's utility, to the right, is that she makes anti-Indigenous rhetoric more plausible. Joyce is seen to have more agency - he's a Sky hog too, but he also plays to the cultural idea of Nats as a check on big-city Liberals much more effectively.
December 9, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Price and Joyce have very different appeal, though - Price's utility, to the right, is that she makes anti-Indigenous rhetoric more plausible. Joyce is seen to have more agency - he's a Sky hog too, but he also plays to the cultural idea of Nats as a check on big-city Liberals much more effectively.
There's Barton in 1901 and Deakin in 1903 running unopposed, but feels like "technically 100%" goes against the spirit of the exercise.
November 16, 2025 at 10:42 AM
There's Barton in 1901 and Deakin in 1903 running unopposed, but feels like "technically 100%" goes against the spirit of the exercise.
It's an awful movie. But it's genuinely interesting. The movie doesn't deny that Amazon staff are underpaid, or that their work is demeaning - the message is that they deserve to be badly compensated for demeaning work, because they're all idiots.
November 7, 2025 at 3:24 AM
It's an awful movie. But it's genuinely interesting. The movie doesn't deny that Amazon staff are underpaid, or that their work is demeaning - the message is that they deserve to be badly compensated for demeaning work, because they're all idiots.
Anyone see the Amazon War of the Worlds movie? Where the moral is that the 24-hour surveillance state is actually good so long as you get rid of the bad apples, and the Amazon delivery-guy son-in-law is an incompetent clown who only saves the world cos of Amazon's new same-day-delivery drone? Wild.
Wow, sounds like Jeff Bezos is mad
(from A Washington Post editorial entitled "Zohran Mamdani’s victory is bad for New York and the Democratic Party")
(from A Washington Post editorial entitled "Zohran Mamdani’s victory is bad for New York and the Democratic Party")
November 7, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Anyone see the Amazon War of the Worlds movie? Where the moral is that the 24-hour surveillance state is actually good so long as you get rid of the bad apples, and the Amazon delivery-guy son-in-law is an incompetent clown who only saves the world cos of Amazon's new same-day-delivery drone? Wild.
Reposted by Tom Marshall-Davis
NEW at #VIDAblog!
Eli Branagh and Taylah Evans discuss their experience hosting ‘Thinking Beyond Liberal Narratives of Progress’, a one-day symposium held in response to the recently published Personal Politics: The Remaking of Gender, Sexuality, and Citizenship (2024).
Find out more here ⬇️
Eli Branagh and Taylah Evans discuss their experience hosting ‘Thinking Beyond Liberal Narratives of Progress’, a one-day symposium held in response to the recently published Personal Politics: The Remaking of Gender, Sexuality, and Citizenship (2024).
Find out more here ⬇️
Reflection: ‘Thinking Beyond Liberal Narratives of Progress’ Symposium | Australian Women's History Network
Eli Branagh and Tahlya Evans reflect on their experience hosting the ‘Thinking Beyond Liberal Narratives of Progress’ symposium.
www.auswhn.com.au
October 28, 2025 at 11:36 PM
NEW at #VIDAblog!
Eli Branagh and Taylah Evans discuss their experience hosting ‘Thinking Beyond Liberal Narratives of Progress’, a one-day symposium held in response to the recently published Personal Politics: The Remaking of Gender, Sexuality, and Citizenship (2024).
Find out more here ⬇️
Eli Branagh and Taylah Evans discuss their experience hosting ‘Thinking Beyond Liberal Narratives of Progress’, a one-day symposium held in response to the recently published Personal Politics: The Remaking of Gender, Sexuality, and Citizenship (2024).
Find out more here ⬇️
The point of the Warringah rules - and any so-called democratisation push in the Liberal Party today - could only ever be to hand the party to its parliamentary extremists, using an appeal to the membership and the branches to dress it up in some phony legitimacy.
October 29, 2025 at 5:00 AM
The point of the Warringah rules - and any so-called democratisation push in the Liberal Party today - could only ever be to hand the party to its parliamentary extremists, using an appeal to the membership and the branches to dress it up in some phony legitimacy.
As proxies for "moderate" and "right" the combined support ("support") for Price-Hastie-Taylor and Ley-Spender(?)-Wilson seems pretty realistic. But when you shed genuine prospective leaders for three elections in a row, none of the options are realistically going to drum up much actual enthusiasm.
October 29, 2025 at 4:56 AM
As proxies for "moderate" and "right" the combined support ("support") for Price-Hastie-Taylor and Ley-Spender(?)-Wilson seems pretty realistic. But when you shed genuine prospective leaders for three elections in a row, none of the options are realistically going to drum up much actual enthusiasm.
Seems to reflect, more than anything, how little name recognition any of them have. Price and Hastie making a fuss seems to have swallowed up whatever support Taylor might've had (even though Price is a Senator, and a Liberal of convenience).
🚨 NEW: Just 13% of Australians think Sussan Ley is the best person to lead the Liberal Party, according to new Essential polling
Among Coalition voters, 22% think she is the best to lead, while 20% think Andrew Hastie would be better
Among Coalition voters, 22% think she is the best to lead, while 20% think Andrew Hastie would be better
October 29, 2025 at 4:53 AM
Seems to reflect, more than anything, how little name recognition any of them have. Price and Hastie making a fuss seems to have swallowed up whatever support Taylor might've had (even though Price is a Senator, and a Liberal of convenience).
This is all very exciting - I guess that's the word - but remember that defecting to (and, inevitably, becoming the parliamentary leader of) these far-right parties is a well-established way for right-wing Coalition MPs to make what (to them) is meant to be their graceful exit from politics.
Barnaby Joyce confirms conversations with Pauline Hanson amid speculation on possible defection to One Nation
Barnaby Joyce confirms conversations with Pauline Hanson amid speculation on possible defection to One Nation
Former Nationals leader insists ‘nothing locked in’ for next step after announcing intention to leave party
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Barnaby Joyce has confirmed he has spoken with the One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, as he weighs a possible move to the far-right party after a spectacular breakdown in his relationship with the Nationals.
However, Joyce insisted on Monday that “nothing is locked in”. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
October 20, 2025 at 3:25 AM
This is all very exciting - I guess that's the word - but remember that defecting to (and, inevitably, becoming the parliamentary leader of) these far-right parties is a well-established way for right-wing Coalition MPs to make what (to them) is meant to be their graceful exit from politics.
Horne was always a keen observer of the national grindset.
October 15, 2025 at 5:16 AM
Horne was always a keen observer of the national grindset.
Reposted by Tom Marshall-Davis
Abbott was so bad as PM that his own socially conservative side of the party were plotting to dump him after less than 18 months - including Hastie's predecessor in Canning the late Don Randall. He's got considerably weirder since.
October 11, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Abbott was so bad as PM that his own socially conservative side of the party were plotting to dump him after less than 18 months - including Hastie's predecessor in Canning the late Don Randall. He's got considerably weirder since.
You aren't swayed by Peter Fitzsimons pointing out that it could, hypothetically, be worse?
October 9, 2025 at 5:39 AM
You aren't swayed by Peter Fitzsimons pointing out that it could, hypothetically, be worse?
The party's at a low ebb when the best endorsement for a guy people are actually talking about as a leader is still "he thinks war crimes are bad, sometimes". www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06...
'Cold, hard truth': Hastie breaks silence after Ben Roberts-Smith verdict
Former SAS captain and Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has expressed his relief at Ben Roberts-Smith losing his defamation trial, saying the courage of former colleagues in giving evidence against the Victor...
www.abc.net.au
October 4, 2025 at 1:20 AM
The party's at a low ebb when the best endorsement for a guy people are actually talking about as a leader is still "he thinks war crimes are bad, sometimes". www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06...
Doesn't there need to be a backbench for there to be a backbench revolt?
October 3, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Doesn't there need to be a backbench for there to be a backbench revolt?