It sucks to see the same right-wing bullshit propaganda working in Australia too. Lower class people being conned into voting against their interests.
this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2026
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It sucks because it's so obviously Americanised. Almost none of the arguments actually bear scrutiny here. American nationalism is dumb but if you look at the history of the country, the arguments at least can be strung together through the mythmaking of the US in the past. Here, though, it just makes no sense. We have medicare, we have public schools, we have gun control. All the ONP arguments only make sense in a vacuum apart from any other part of Australian life (including their own platform).
This is a pretty clear case of older people being susceptible to Facebook scams which are allowed to run rampant, and a total lack of control from the government except to send a bunch of the Australian people's data overseas. I don't know why they tolerate this.
Disagree - its pretty obvious why one nation is popular - 1. we have been in a per capita recession for 2 years and labor who have claimed that they will reduce migration numbers have done the opposite, increased spending and taxes bleeding voters to ON, -2. the past lib govt moved left on energy and wasted a metric fton of money during COVID bleeding voters to ON. I am not and never will be a one nation voter but I can see why they are popular its not 'Americanisation' its not facebook its not dumb people its not low class people, the same pattern is playing out in germany, sweden, italy etc and major centrist parties are to blame.
Prediction - if ON get in I expect they will implode into infighting which has been their past MO when they make gains.
Per capita recessions have been very common in Australia for the last several decades.
I thought labor recently changed the rules regard ing visa hopping which is predicted to get numbers under control?
Since 2019 the Australian economy on a per capita basis has gone down the toilet particularly 2022 through 2024 its not common for sustained multiple quarters. The average Australian is poorer than they were 4 years ago which for a nation with our resources is perplexing. And labor said they would get migration under control 2 years ago noting specific targets none of which they met. Falling standard of living = rise of extreme parties of both the left and right.
This is the perfect example. What you're saying doesn't make sense. First, you talk about per capita recession and then pivot to migration, even though you don't show a link between the two. Then, you say Labor claim to reduce migration numbers "have done the opposite", but the NOM is clearly visible. It only had a response from opening out of Covid, but other than that it's settled around the same as the previous number. Labor have also overall reduced the numbers further. So what the heck does this mean?
If you look at ONP policy, they also want to increase net migration, depending on how you want to spin it, and they keep flip flopping on the actual goals. But sure, trust them over established parties. This is what I mean, there's no argument that I can follow along with and say "ohh, that's what you want", because it's paper thin.
the past lib govt moved left on energy
I don't know what this means but at this point no one wants fossil fuels and forcing the government to pay for it is just idiotic. So yeah, the LNP "moved left" on energy in the sense that they still want to support fossil fuels.
I can see why they are popular
OK but you're not communicating it. Why are they popular? They have no policy, they just grief, their own members are frustrated because they don't have any sort of basis to connect on, and the way the party is structured, Pauline Hanson is effectively dictator.
There is no world in which basically every ONP member doesn't defect from the party in the first term. This is what happened last time, it'll happen again. The only reason people are paying attention is because of brainrot from social media. That brainrot only makes sense in an American context, only happens on Facebook, and frankly I'm a little sick of folks making arguments that don't hold water and then going "they're not dumb". Like bro.
it's not economic class. it's pig ignorance
"Lower class" only ever said by someone with no class.
And it isn't true. One Nation support crosses economic boundaries. The only thing that truly unites a One Nation voter is they are people who will trade away their futures and those of their countrymen for a bunch of BS.
What we must do that stupid yanks couldnt is not leave our mates and families behind to be caught up in this crap. They were morally broken long before MAGA. They watched as kids got shot in schools every month for years and did fuck all. We aren't like that. Get out and talk sense to people if you care about them and ignore all the social media bullshit.
Spend some quality time with the oldies and they have less time to be sucked into all the online propaganda.
My parents are too far gone.
I really despise trying to reason with people who aren't being reasonable.
I'm from the lower class you nitwit.
The class without which the parasite classes could not survive.
EDIT: But because the 'lower' classes are disadvantaged, they are more susceptible to demagogues who do the dirty work of the 'upper' parasite classes.
I was born into the manual working class. I saw from close-up what my parents did to survive. I got the opportunity to study and become part of a non-manual 'middle-class'. There are dickheads in all classes but when a class or a 'mafia' of obscenely overprivileged but morally void families and groups (and their servants) are in charge our society and the natural world are in deep trouble.
The PHONey Party, much like MAGA and all the other current right-wing 'populist' political movements, groups and governments, is a symptom of the alienating sickness that is affecting the world.
The words you're looking for is working class.
The only two classes are working class and owning class, with a very, very small blurred boundary where very, very high income workers start owning more income generating assets to eclipse their worked income.
"Lower class" isn't something you hear anymore these days, for good reason.
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Would that there was no 'class'.
Generally I'd agree with what you just said, but PHON's target demographic, the typical middle aged white (especially rural) Australian genuinely is just a lower class of sapien. Believe me, I'm surrounded by them on a daily basis.
Many genXers and boomers arent able to critically evaluate social media with the distrust that it’s earned. They came from an age where the person who presented the opinion was real and could be held accountable for it. i dont think they have a visceral feel for how almost everything they see now has been put in front of them with the intent to sell something or shape their opinion. They believe it when some unaccountable fake account tells them something with conviction. (Which is why Im not on r/australia and use Fedeverse/Lemmy ❤️)
Yes, strongly agree. With many people the solution to fix our families’ views would be to start from insight like this, instead of condemnation and outrage.
Yeah, agree. I feel like it's more older gen x, there's such a divide in gen x, older can sometimes have identical views to problematic boomers. (Obviously it's not an across the board definition) I'm gen x, but closer to millennial and I can't relate to gen x. My political leanings have always been very left.
The effected gen x and boomers come from a time when they got all their information from "the news" and just believed it. The news has since, essentially, become entirely coopted by the evil forces we know. Even as a little kid I would ask questions of the news, my parents couldn't answer and just yelled at me for asking.
If you hand your thinking over to someone else, you are outsourcing that ability for yourself.
That combined with hard bias' embedded within the manipulative representation of events. And manipulative phrasing leaning on "othering", relying on the social anxiety of being ostracised if you oppose said views. It essentially forms a cult.
Forgive me if I repeat this poorly, I'm just relying on the electrified meat cased within my skull, but there was one thing most of the old and dandy philosophers agreed on, that you should be able to put down entirely all that you believe, so as to not accidentally fall for propaganda. It's not a new thing, propaganda. And none of us are impervious. And then you have to be careful of not causing a confirmation bias for yourself, when seeking to question everything you believe.
It all starts with questions.
I'm a boomer (as many of you may be sick of hearing) and have to keep reminding you that a segment of my generation were there on the streets fighting to end the Vietnam War, nuclear weapons proliferation, sexism, anti-homosexuality laws and racism and to legislate for Aboriginal land rights, safe reproductive rights, environmental protections and so on.
It is true that by comparison to today's society, times were simpler but they were no less political. We were aware of propaganda (as you say, it is not a new thing) and how it always seems to lead to the oppression of those who had the least resources to fight with (except each other).
Perhaps dividing ourselves (yet another division) by generation is another artificial way of alienating us from one another. So long as we believe unthinkingly in an 'us and them' we are a lot easier to manipulate and be pushed into squabbling amongst ourselves. Just what the empire managers want.
Perhaps dividing ourselves (yet another division) by generation is another artificial way of alienating us from one another. So long as we believe unthinkingly in an 'us and them' we are a lot easier to manipulate and be pushed into squabbling amongst ourselves. Just what the empire managers want.
Bingo!
Yeah, I phrased it "problematic boomers" to try and differentiate between those with predominantly poor views currently and those without. I'm sorry I should have done more to highlight that there isn't one mind among all, because its not fair and don't believe that at all.
I absolutely agree with you that the generational divide has been used to cause division in so many ways. I'm sorry I caused you to feel like you had to defend your gen. I also really appreciate that you gave me that whole run down, that's fucking awesome to see all gathered up in one place like that. (I know there's more, too.)
I was more hinting at how to talk to people with problematic beliefs, in that questions can be powerful and propaganda comes for everyone, left and right alike. Because we're all people who can fall for some bullshit, sometimes. If we know we're just as likely to fall for bullshit as "they" are, it humanises "them" and then maybe all it takes is a good conversation (maybe not always) and you plant seeds of what if.
I'd absolutely love to sit around a campfire with you and ask you a billion annoying questions about everything you've seen. Not for the same reason, just because those chats can be awesome and you seem like you could paint a good picture of what you've been through. Hope we're still friends!
Crikey, we were never not friends. All is well.
I feel somewhat embarrassed you might think I was some sort of groovy, militant activist. I certainly was always on the left side of politics and was involved in a few things but I was never your 'out there' collectivist or whatever. I was too naive to begin with.
Some people as they get older become more conservative and/or more cynical because they see that whichever party is elected, when it comes to the big, important matters, it makes little difference. Like, for example, sending our young people to kill others and destroy their homes and communities when these people have never harmed us, just for the benefit of empire, or, supporting massive industries that extract, pollute and harm nature, societies and individuals, or continuing the economic system that favours the haves at the expense of the have-nots (which keep increasing). So be it boomers, X, Y or Z, without some understanding of the machinations of empire, we will more than likely do what most do: look after 'me' and 'mine' and get caught up in whatever form the current rat race is in order to keep our heads above water or take advantage of our situation if we are lucky to have a good one.
We can all learn from each other. I am learning so much from reading what those of you who are younger than me (which is just about everyone here) have to contend with and your viewpoints. Aussie Zone can be our campfire.
81-born here. Very Xennial. Very Left. Some of my siblings are born in the 60s, and though older Xers, are very much like Boomers. It's sad.
Aww! My little bro was born in 81, too! Good year, it seems. Although weirdly I seem more progressive than him, I was talking to him the other day and he defended capitalism! By the goddess I gotta school him and then pay out on him for that, for as long as its possible.
I have to laugh that the only thing that makes my generation noticed is bad political choices
I can’t argue with it to a large degree though
I’ve been voting Green for 35 years. It’s frustrating
Edit: c’mon, you got booted off r/Australia too, didn’t you. My ban was for saying I hoped Hanson died of covid, for that I was ‘brigading’
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Yep, we are in the midst of our own Australian flavoured MAGA movement. The irony is that most of the people who I know support One Nation also understand how bad MAGA has been for the USA and world at large.
Doesn’t stop them from voting for bigotry though.
Are they aware they're just voting for Gina?
Yes they are.
That's even more terrifying.
Most of them think Rineharts a great Australian, providing jobs and donating to things.
Both aren’t true; the first is demand of a resource that belongs to the Roy mob and the second is a tax dodge; we’re paying the donations.
providing jobs
I hate that people believe that this is what people with the capital do, as if they created the human need or want that a job fulfills.
It's really absurd if you take like 5 seconds to think about it.
They hoard the money, and society let's them. That's it.
Pretty much.
Here, it’s stolen from the local mob and her father was pretty clear on what he thought should happen to Aboriginal people.
She’s an absolute fucking grub. None of what she has is earned. I don’t know what the fucks happened to us, idolising people like that has never been an Aussie thing.
Someone with more photo editing skills than me should make a One Nation poster with that award winning portrait of Gina that she tried to suppress.
Luckily my immediate family are good eggs, but dealing with it in extended family is a huge headache. Any genuine logical criticism plays into the narrative of "elitist ridiculing" persecution complex that PHON has made... It almost 'vaccinates' their supporters against genuine logical argument as to why One Nation is terrible.
The normalisation of extreme ideology is heartbreaking and exhausting.
Just say "Pauline Hanson has been in parliament for 30 years, she's done fuck all. At this point she is the elite." If they say something about her being a battler, say "it's easy to fight when billionaires are playing for your private jet and flights to Italy. "
Problem is, that doesn’t land a punch. She’s accessible. That matters more.
Attendance? Most of those attending the night the NDIS amendments were voted on in the Senate abstained from voting and most of those were Labor. It’s not an argument unfortunately. Well, it doesn’t land.
I’d disown my parents if they called me Bronte anyway.
😆
PHON party members and volunteers would really be doing more good to society if they were simply turned into cat food. Any voters who vote for them or even just seriously entertain the idea of doing so need to be sent back to school until they can write at least a 5,000 word essay about what fascism is, how to spot it, and why it's a bad thing, actually.
This phenomena has been seen at least in the USA and the UK. And whilst the issue is clear the other side I see is condescension. Calling them names and blaming generations is a sure fire way to underestimate the issue and why it is happening. Its not a surprise when we have counties and communities divided by wealth inequality and politicians unwilling to tackle issues. Cost of living is out of control. People are grouchy and they are seeing it only get worse despite promises from this gov and the last one. So they are looking for another spouting promises. We all know populists wont make a difference and likely make it worse.
I am not saying I know the answer, and I am not saying indoctrination isn't an issue. But its not unexpected, and calling others names or dismissing them as dumb is only likely to push people further to their beliefs.
Is there a politician strong enough to lead through this and call out the media and money feeding and broadcasting hate?
Shoebridge may be that politician and if he is, what a job he has and how many will play dirty against him.
We aren’t lacking in those politicians; we’ve probably got the most robust Senate in particular, we’ve ever had.
The problem is the population actually connecting with and supporting these politicians. I mean of course the Greens and some indies like Pocock. Whether it’s lack of decent media coverage or the population itself (which I think is the case just as much as the first), either way they’re being ignored and overlooked.
Labor can’t respond; it’s too unwieldy in the sense it has to do caucus before it can make a decision and it’s as guilty of many of the corruption, jobs for the boys, Zionist support and lobbying as the others are, so it has no solid ground to fight on. Add being inaccessible as people and cruel to the disabled, any pension other than aged (even aged tbh) then the writings on the wall as we see.
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