#Columns

April 19, 2019 – Table of contents Clive Palmer’s fake Queensland Nickel worker Pat Dodson for Indigenous Affairs Minister . Clive Palmer’s fake Queensland Nickel worker Clive Palmer addressed the media in Brisbane on Monday to announce Queensland Nickel workers would be paid the rest of their entitlements from the 2016 collapse of the refinery. […]

The Australian Electoral Commission (@AEC) is one of our most trusted national institutions (albeit with a couple of blots on its copy-book, including a re-run of a senate election for Western Australia). Watching the electoral shenanigans in the United States with its state-based, highly partisan voting systems for national elections, we can only give thanks […]

April 18, 2019 – Table of contents Zali Steggall speaks to Margo Kingston Jon not happy Cost of Coalition’s direct action climate change policy is $3.5 billion Fascism finds a home for the election . Zali Steggall speaks to Margo Kingston Zali Steggall spoke to Margo Kingston the day after the sexualised attack on her […]

The river is our memory, we walk along it and remember our history and our ancestors by looking at the marks and places. Uncle Badger Bates, Barkandji elder, with Katherine McBride. Submission to AAS Report on Menindee Fish Kills If you only watch the mass media you could still miss some big stories about the […]

Former Olympian Zali Steggall talks to Margo Kingston about her campaign to bring honesty back into politics and take on Tony Abbott for the safe Liberal seat of Warringah

April 17, 2019 – Table of contents The ghost of Twitter past has visited George Christensen Misogyny changing minds in New England Bill Shorten clears up superannuation policy as he campaigns in Cowan Scott Morrison picks some carrots as he campaigns in Tasmania IPA plan to sell the ABC Dickson profile False accusations in Dickson […]

April 16, 2019 – Table of contents Leaving the National Party Love shown for the ABC Show us your costings . Leaving the National Party Margo Kingston has interviewed Rob Oakeshott on why he left the National Party and became independent. On the road with Rob Oakeshott in Cowper. . Love shown for the ABC […]

Huw Kingston (@Huw4Hume) describes himself as a small businessman, an adventurer, an environmentalist and a writer. But everything changed for him the day Malcolm Turnbull was rolled as prime minister, and, further influenced by his responsibility as a grandfather, Huw decided to run as an Independent in the NSW electorate of Hume. Huw spoke with […]

We frail humans, no matter how savvy we think we are, are all prey to the partisan predations of crafted propaganda. We spend our daily lives immersed in advertising logos, slogans, celebrity, branding, seductive visuals and audio lures. We have psychological scar tissue we hardly recognise. This is despite our supposedly increased awareness of and […]

Rob Oakeshott Independent for Cowper chats with Margo Kingston live on the election trail, as noted by Rob, Margo is the first journalist in twenty years to embed themselves in his campaign.

April 15, 2019 – Table of contents Bill Shorten blitzing tough Victorian seats Scott Morrison has a go on the dozer in Deakin Clive Palmer suddenly agrees to pay Qld Nickel workers Poll numbers for One Nation decline . Bill Shorten blitzing tough Victorian seats Opposition Leader Bill Shorten hit some tough to win Victorian […]

Helen Haines (@HelenHaines1) was chosen by supporters of Voices 4 Indi  as the successor to Independent MP Cathy McGowan to contest the federal seat of Indi in north-east Victoria. Margo Kingston (@margokingston1) caught up with Helen Haines for the No Fibs podcast and spoke about Helen’s passion for Indi and her involvement in the Voices […]

April 14, 2019 – Table of contents How to get elected Bill Shorten campaigns on health in Reid Scott Morrison campaigns on youth unemployment in Petrie Tax cuts to the highest income earners . How to get elected Ruth McGowan writes, “I wrote Get Elected both at the urging of my sister Cathy McGowan, the […]

April 13, 2019 – Table of contents Tony Abbott’s wanderings Election campaign posters disappear in Wentworth but not for Liberal candidate Bill Shorten pledges funding for skin cancer awareness Scott Morrison pledges funding for youth mental health Peter Dutton issues an apology . Tony Abbott’s wanderings Tony Abbott has been out and about in Warringah […]

April 12, 2019 – Table of contents Unsettled science The youth vote in the seat of Griffith Tax Attack Peter Dutton attacks Labor candidate Ali France . Unsettled science Tony Abbott is back with another altered position on climate change. Nick Baker reports that Mr Abbott said, “The so-called settled science is not quite as […]

For those who still think our rural community of Indi is asleep on a slow train to a washed-out railway bridge, I suggest that the activity in the streets and halls all over the place should be arresting. In the main shopping strip of Euroa, on Tuesday evening this week, cattle farmers, woolgrowers, lamb producers, […]

This podcast has no interviews, it just comes straight from the heart. A heart that is a little bruised and battered from what feels like a persistent and blatant attack on our freedom and our rights. Fellow Australian Julian Assange was arrested yesterday by British officers and now faces a very real threat of extradition […]

Professor Morgan Pratchett is a research fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, based at James Cook University, Townsville. He has broad interests in population and community ecology of coral reef organisms, especially corals and fishes. His current research focuses on major disturbances that impact coral reef ecosystems, with a view […]

The upcoming federal ballot has been dubbed the ‘Climate Election’, so it’s time to put Australia’s long list of recent prime ministers — and the nation’s political parties (including some Independent candidates) — under the climate change magnifying glass to explore what’s really possible to achieve for climate policy at the poll. Australian PMs and […]

April 11, 2019 – Table of contents Scare at Peter Dutton’s office turns out to be a rat trap Indi, you give me fever Scott Morrison calls the election for May 18 Adani set to feature in election campaign . Scare at Peter Dutton’s office turns out to be a rat trap Allyson Horn was […]

The man behind Warringah’s superhero, Captain GetUp, is Gerard Benedet. The orange character arrived on Sydney’s northern beaches via a post by The Australian. The Twitter account describes itself as arriving, “to tell you what to think and how to act this election! Authorised by Gerard Benedet, Advance Aus Ltd Brisbane.” As Nine Entertainment Corporation’s […]

Like the waters of the Murray-Darling Basin, communities run deep in regional and rural Australia. From the Hawkesbury River and the central coast of New South Wales to the Murray River and the valleys and ranges of north east Victoria, people gathered at Parliament House overlooking Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin to listen to Cathy McGowan’s […]

Anthony Pesec was born and raised in Canberra and spoke with Margo Kingston about his mission to represent the best interests of Canberrians in the Senate as an Independent.

Rebekha Sharkie (@MakeMayoMatter) was so committed to the opportunity to represent the electorate of Mayo that she took the bold move to take out a second mortgage on her house and quit her job. Thankfully, the story ended well and her dedication to the community was rewarded with a large swing that secured her the […]

This week has been full of devastating news about the effects of climate on the Great Barrier Reef. I interviewed David Cazzulino from Australian Marine Conservation Society Cairns. David talks about the link to climate change and the damage it’s doing to coral. On The bright side he covers the Fight For The Reef campaign. […]

Alice Thompson (@Indy_Ally) is running as an Independent for the safe Liberal seat of Mackellar. Alice spoke with No Fibs Founder, Margo Kingston (@margokingston1) on the latest episode of the No Fibs podcast about why she is running and how she’ll be different.

April 8, 2019 – Table of contents Political tension over Adani ahead of poll The campaign for Indi kicks off Electric car policy flare-up Federal budget a success or a failure, depending on who you read . Political tension over Adani ahead of poll Queensland LNP Senator James McGrath has reportedly threatened his own federal […]

What do shouting at the television and gardening have in common? From little things big things have grown. Gather ’round people, let me tell you a story… or two. Whilst a television was not one of the perks of an Aboriginal stockman’s life in the Northern Territory in 1966, the story of Vincent Lingiari and […]

April 6, 2019 – Table of contents Shouting at the television and planting gardens. Donations to One Nation. Election Speculation. Tony Abbott a Chinese ‘patsie’ or patsy? Checking in with Mallee. . Shouting at the Television and Planting Gardens Lesley Howard from NoFibs has written, “What do shouting at the television and gardening have in […]

(April 5, 2019) Pre-election day 1 – Electric vehicles, derision in News Corp ranks and Adani may pose a problem Electric vehicles During an interview on the Kyle and Jackie O show, a question on electric vehicle (EV) recharge times led opposition leader Bill Shorten to state that it takes 8-10 minutes to charge an […]

The starter’s gun is about to go off, so I thought I’d let you know who we are, where we’re at and how you can help. The mission No Fibs is back to support and report the campaigns of quality independents standing in safe Coalition seats who are committed to strong action on climate change […]

I wonder whether the ordinary voter is not becoming sick and tired of the vested interests which unduly influence the present political parties and yearn for the emergence of a third political force representing middle of the road policies which would owe allegiance to no outside pressure group. Don Chipp (from Hansard) This quote is […]

Oliver Yates is a former Macquarie banker, and head of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, who spoke with Margo Kingston about his campaign to run for the seat of Kooyong as an Independent

Margo Kingston interviews Dr Kerryn Phelps, member for Wentworth to discuss why authenticity and delivering on promises is key to her campaign.

How are political parties using loopholes to hide political donations? How are political donations influencing policy outcomes in Australia? Would 100% publicly funded political campaigns even be viable? Charlie Caruso chats with Kate Griffiths of the Grattan Institute and together explore some inconvenient truth about political donations in Australia

Our climate is warming and this is causing changes in the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem which makes the Reef more vulnerable to possible impacts particularly over summer and cyclone season. In 2016 and 2017 there was unprecedented back-to-back coral bleaching on the Reef north of Cairns. Fortunately this bleaching was not repeated in the summer of 2018, but the […]

In 2015, Julie Bishop declared that Wyatt Roy would be the prime minister of Australia by 2029. Journalist Jana Wendt wrote a lengthy exposé for SBS on him ascending to that role. Yet, in the following year, he had lost his Queensland seat of Longman and Ms Bishop was chastising him for visiting the Iraq […]

Former Queensland premier Campbell Newman’s attempt to jump on the Greens-bashing wagon has failed miserably. Days of back-and-forth action between the major parties over preferencing One Nation and the Greens reached a crescendo on Friday night, but Mr Newman had the wrong year for his attack; he also seemed unaware that his own Liberal National […]

Margo Kingston interviews Independent candidate Jeremy Miller to discuss the safe seat of Lyne and his approach to replacing Dr David Gillespie, who this week announced his support for a government-backed coal-fired power plant.

@CharliCaruso interviews New England Independent Candidate @adamblakester and touched on the major issues and concerns facing Barnaby Joyce’s electorate, and the greater state of political dysfunction in Australia

Welcome to the second episode of the No Fibs Podcast series, following the previously condensed version of this podcast. It includes long-form, un-cut interviews with WA Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John, director of the Flux Party Daithí Ó Gliasáin, and Felicity Ruby. More commonly referred to as the AABill, the Assistance and Access Bill (2018) was […]

I am honoured to produce the very first No Fibs podcast, in which I’ve focused on a summary explainer of the Assistance and Access Bill (2018). This first episode is a cut-down version that condenses three interviews I conducted over the past week with WA Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John (@Jordonsteele); Daithí Ó Gliasáin (@okdaithi) who […]

The closest I have come to an election campaign was handing out How-to-Vote cards in the Victorian state election last year, but I must admit to being an interested observer of #Auspol since the 2013 federal election which saw a local independent unseat a major party incumbent in the hitherto safe Liberal seat of Indi. […]

A few months out from the 2019 Australian federal election the flurry of graphs, predictions and opinion pieces about “safe seats” and “seats in danger” have begun to fill my Twitter feed. These predictions — numbers that often dictate target electorates for a procession of campaign buses — is largely based on the data of […]

The way I see it, every safe Coalition seat must be in play in the sense that quality indies ask tough questions incumbents are forced to answer. That requires courageous indies & committed, creative citizens because a weakened local media can’t do it. Ready to play? #ausvotes — Margo Kingston (@margokingston1) February 22, 2019 Hi. […]

Here’s my attempt to explain the preferencing imbroglio in Wentworth and how to vote strategically to defeat the Lib. Preferences are causing trouble in Wentworth, and if we’re not careful the left will elect the Liberal – a terrible blow for climate change, Nauru refugees, gay rights and lots more. Here’s how they work. Say […]

NSW resident and non member of the Queensland parliament, Dee Madigan, has been referred to the state’s ethics committee for ridiculing Jarrod Bleijie MP.

Part travelogue, part storytelling about the UN climate conference COP23 in Bonn, Germany, this article was originally published at Sustainable Fawkner blog by Nofibs reporter John Englart. Kermit, the Growling Grass Frog couldn’t resist the opportunity of hitching a ride in my bag to Bonn, Germany and COP23. What frog doesn’t want to see the […]

Ongoing coverage of the Queensland election campaign for 2017. Check back for updates.

The Courier Mail claims of Queensland power station closures and blackouts under question.

Ongoing coverage of the Queensland election campaign for 2017. Check back for updates.

Ongoing coverage of the Queensland election campaign for 2017. Check back for updates.

Ongoing coverage of the Queensland election campaign for 2017. Check back for updates.

Bonn, Germany: The first Climate Action Network (CAN) Fossil of the Day award at the UN Climate Conference COP23 was a small Ray of the Day. There is a certain leader who is on everyone’s mind at this UN Climate Conference, so the first CAN Fossil of the Day award is actually an award for […]

A blog to explore the solicitation of political donations by Malcolm Roberts in relation to Queensland’s electoral laws. Check back for updates.

Latest report from Nofibs reporter John Englart in Bonn Germany for the UN Climate Change Conference: In the immediate vicinity of the latest UN climate change conference COP23 and the largest lignite mining area of Europe, twenty five thousand people demonstrated for the immediate implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement in the city of Bonn, […]

A blog recording the The Courier Mail and The Sunday Mail front pages and how they feature in the campaign. Check back for updates.

Ongoing coverage of the Queensland election campaign for 2017.

On an international level, the politics around climate action have moved substantially since 2015 and the signing of the Paris Agreement. I was at the UN climate change conference in Paris – COP21 – and it was a significant moment. But the politics in Australia is still heavily mired in the past, and the vested […]

A rolling blog exploring the specific legislative and/or constitutional steps the Queensland Greens will use to stop the Adani Carmichael coal mine should they win the balance of power in the Queensland election. Check back for updates. Table of contents Jump to comments section. Questions for the Queensland Greens. Answers from the Queensland Greens. Annastacia […]

Ongoing coverage of the Queensland election campaign for 2017.

One Tweet to bind them all.

After Emma Alberici questioned Malcolm Turnbull’s commitment to liberalism, Chris Kenny lept to the defence of the PM. So we now have a Liberal PM who's whacking a tax on banks, interfering in energy mkt & now using taxpayer $ to prop up commercial media 🤔 — Emma Alberici (@albericie) September 13, 2017 The green left […]

Andrew Bolt breaks Godwin’s Law in marriage equality campaign.

‘Let’s attack North Korea’ mentality takes out the award for this week.

Marriage equality is the topic of this week’s Gold Kenny award.

Former The Courier Mail editor and current The Daily Telegraph editor Christopher Dore wins a Gold Kenny.

Tensions high in #qldpol as Labor and LNP launch Twitter election missiles.

A policy decision in 2012 has led to a 210,000 tonne jump in the volume of interstate waste being tipped in Queensland.

In a series of tweets, the One Nation leader claims to have pressured the Queensland Government into announcing legislation to protect seniors in retirement villages hours after a community forum. However, the policy had been announced a month earlier.

In a rare note of tripartisan support, Liberal, Labor and Greens politicians were all present at the launch of the ground breaking National Strategy on Climate and Health and Well-being for Australia by the Climate and Health Alliance. The world’s first health and climate framework policy initiative has been in development for over a year […]

George Christensen claims some refugees shouldn’t be in Australia and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton knows all about it.

This article was originally published at Climate Action Moreland by John Englart, who has attended COP21 and COP22 as an NGO observer. President Trump has announced the United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, but says he is also open to a renegotiation. Germany, France, Italy and other nations say that the Paris Agreement is […]

The Queensland Land Court has ruled against the New Hope application to expand its existing open-cut New Acland Coal mine (Stage 3) in Queensland’s Darling Downs which was proposed to operate for an additional 12 years to 2029. This is first time the Queensland Land Court in a contested case has outright rejected a coal […]

In a workshop on how non-party actors can boost climate action at the UN #SB46 climate negotiations in Bonn, Australia shamelessly supported business and fossil fuel interests in the discussion on development of conflict of interest policy for UN climate negotiations. The negotiations in Bonn started well, with Australia noting the need for sustained and […]

It was revealed at Santos AGM in Adelaide on 4 May 2017 by Chairman Peter Coates that the company business plan is based upon a 4 degrees temperature rise scenario from climate change. This is at odds with commitments outlined in a statement on climate risk disclosure in April to investors. Santos Chairman Peter Coates […]

A short blog for those who like to speculate on the Queensland election date.

Climate activists are this morning occupying the Melbourne offices of Downer EDI, a mining infrastructure company, to protest participation in developing the Adani Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin of Queensland. The mine is widely seen as a climate carbonbomb with no social license. [View the story “Protest occupies Downer EDI office: Don’t get […]

Mark Ellis was part of a group of six Queensland police officers who in 1994 dumped three children in the bush at Pinkenba.

Police were predicting 400 people might turn up, instead up to 5000 scientists and science supporters rallied and marched through Melbourne streets as part of the global #marchforscience rallies organized in about 600 cities and towns around the world. Australia’s scientists have already felt Federal budget cuts for science research and funding for the CSIRO […]

John Englart published this article on The Great White shark, climate change and ocean carbon cycles on his climate blog. The latest media ‘hysteria’ about shark attack arises from a tragic fatal bite incident when WA teenager Laeticia Brouwer was mauled by a shark at the popular surf break – Kelp Beds – near Esperance […]

Adani’s coal export terminal at Abbot Point was in the direct path of Category 4 Cyclone Debbie. There was reason to expect a large storm surge, but this did not occurr, but the destructive winds and torrential rain caused Adani to release a large amount of contaminated water into the adjacent wetlands and ocean. On […]

Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce’s favouritism for New South Wales exposed.

The Queensland LNP’s Shadow Science Minister Tarnya Smith appears not to understand the NAPLAN program.

While Queensland Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls dithers on the question of preferencing One Nation, others appear to be making the decision for him.

Under scrutiny, Pauline Hanson has taken down the 2015 web page which celebrated the arrival of her Jabiru aircraft.  

The unauthorised diary of George Christensen’s Tropical Cyclone Debbie adventures.

Those uppity Greens are daring to speak about climate change while severe Tropical Cyclone Debbie beat the shit out of the Whitsunday Islands (Read this report of Hamilton Island), Proserpine and Bowen, and now threatens extensive flooding from torrential rainfall for central and SE coastal Queensland. The accusatory tone from Malcolm Turnbull and other Liberal […]

Tropical Cyclone Debbie is forecast to cross Central Queensland coast on Tuesday morning as a Category 4 Severe tropical cyclone. It will bring destructive winds greater than 200km per hour plus a storm surge with a king tide innundating low lying coastal properties, and torrential rain causing flooding. It is also cooling sections of the […]

Rail freight company Aurizon Headquarters in Brisbane was occupied by Adani protestors today. Aurizon have put in a funding application to the Northern Australian Infrastructure Fund (NAIF) to build the coal freight railway line from the Galilee basin to the coast at Abbot Point. Yesterday in Canberra 13 community organisations launched a major campaign that […]

A special $20 million worker transfer package was announced today for workers affected by the closure of Engie’s Hazelwood Power Station. This will allow early retirement for workers at other LaTrobe Power stations creating places for Hazelwood workers that want to continue their careers in power generation. This transfer package is an important component of […]

Western Australian voters go to the polls this Saturday on March 11. There is the smell of change in the air, and in the polls. Liberal Party Premier Colin Barnett has had two terms in government since 2008 and is seeking a third term. Even so, the Labor Opposition lead by Mark McGowan needs a […]

Fracking is in it’s relative infancy in Western Australia, but is at the stage where it could be substantially expanded to encompass the Kimberley, the grain belt and south-west. Author Tim Winton has made an impassioned plea in the lead up to the Western Australian state election due to be held on 11 March, on […]

To ensure it’s clean green reputation of it’s agricultural sector, and to guarantee the health of rural farming communities Victoria became the first Australian state officially banning fracking. It was motivated by a strong community lead campaign for a ban on gas exploration from 2011. Legislation was passed in the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper […]

The minimum Feed-in tariff for solar PV owners in Victoria will more than double due to changes the Dan Andrews Labor Government has made to the regulation of pricing for solar PV owners. Current minimum feed-in rate is 5 cents per kilowatt hour. Victoria’s independent regulator, the Essential Services Commission (ESC), has determined the new […]

Record sea surface temperatures in the coral sea are again threatening massive coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef for the second year in a row. If sea surface temperatures don’t cool in the next few weeks, this will be the first time there has been back to back bleaching on this massive scale. “In […]

Pauline and Adam Hanson have been trying to offload their Gold Coast property at Biggera Waters since 2008.

The Singapore deal to acquire land around the existing defence bases at Shoalwater Bay & Townsville may have been kept from Queensland voters at the 2016 federal election.

The Liberal party in three states – Victoria, South Australia and Queensland – vowed to drop state based renewable energy targets if elected. This follows Federal Liberal Party war on renewables and climate policy conducted since Abbott took power in 2013, continued under Prime Minister Turnbull. While climate action at the Federal level has followed […]

Australia is currently the hottest place on the planet with the heatwave in SE Australia according to the Climate Reanalyzer site for Saturday 11 February. And last year (2016) was the hottest year on the planet in recorded history, following two previous years which also set the record. Update: Climate scientists calculate that Climate change […]