Ben Spies-Butcher

“Simply Cannot Be Ignored”: How Australia’s fossil fuel industry shaped the climate future by capturing economic models Heatwaves and bushfires burned across southern Australia this January thanks in part to climate change. An Australian government agency once insisted it might not happen.

In 1988 an innocuous Australian government agency was tasked with gathering statistics for industry. Its work made it a flashpoint for critics who charged that it helped rationalise climate denial.

With ABARE's internal records now open access, I took or look for @drilledmedia.bsky.social.

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Questions about Randa Abdel-Fattah inclusion in NSW writers festival The NSW government makes contact with the board of next month's Newcastle Writers Festival about the inclusion of Palestinian author Randa Abdel-Fattah, the ABC understands.

Clearly it’s time to appoint a permanent officer in the government to look over all the festival programs. Some fellow in a centralised office where all the art can be submitted beforehand, to make sure it’s socially cohesive. Some kind of Chief Approver, if you like www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Liberal MP complains to ABC managing director about Tony Armstrong’s satire special Melissa McIntosh, who claims Always Was Tonight violated ABC charter, has been dubbed the ‘Liberal party fun police’ by the Greens

McIntosh’s complaint said the knowledge that the child actors depict such scenes was "grotesque and a clear contravention of the ABC’s Code of Practice".

If only she was as concerned about the grotesque actual treatment of First Nations children by LNP govts.
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/j...

Tweet from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum: "Anne Frank was targeted and murdered solely because she was Jewish. Leaders making false equivalencies to her experience for political purposes is never acceptable. Despite tensions in Minneapolis, exploiting the Holocaust is deeply offensive, especially as antisemitism surges."

The US Holocaust Museum being more outraged by Tim Walz saying that, like Anne Frank, children today are in hiding from armed agents of the state, than they are about the fact that children are in hiding from armed agents of the state, is why Holocaust remembrance culture is in crisis.

Feel like a man throwing a homemade IED into a large crowd at an invasion day rally should be bigger news

Greens Call for Universal Basic Income Trial for Bristol - Bristol Green Party Bristol Green councillors have put forward a motion to Bristol City Council calling for the Government to fund a trial of universal basic income (UBI) in the city. A universal...

Great to see Bristol's Green councillors making case for a trial Universal Basic Income - a guaranteed payment that would have huge benefits for groups like care leavers, and give a massive boost to culture and the arts. bristolgreenparty.org.uk/greens-call-...

Watered-down superannuation reform to go back to Parliament Superannuation is supposed to be for retirement. Unfortunately, it has become like Australia’s own internal tax haven and inheritance scheme for wealthy people.

"Superannuation is supposed to be for retirement. Unfortunately, it has become like Australia’s own internal tax haven and inheritance scheme for wealthy people." @taxjustice.net's Mark Zirsnak #ThePoint
thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...

Let’s be clear: if the Palestine Action hunger strikers die, the government will bear moral responsibility | George Monbiot The three remaining hunger strikers have been convicted of nothing. Yet with astonishing cruelty, ministers refuse to listen to their reasonable demands, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

If the Palestine Action hunger strikers die - which they could do at any moment, as they are now very close to the end - it will be the government that killed them. Today’s column explains why. Please share, and write urgently to your MP.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Also while I was madly packing up my house, a new paper came out where we consider how housing ties together the Australian public and the Reserve Bank of Australia - adding a new layer of complexity to monetary policy making.

www.ppesydney.net/content/uplo...

Treasury figures reveal $18 billion capital gains windfall for Australia’s richest 10 per cent The latest tax expenditure figures released on Friday by the Treasury department show this financial year the richest 10 percent of Australians will receive $18bn worth of tax breaks from the capital ...

"Treasury figures reveal $18 billion capital gains windfall for Australia’s richest 10 per cent"

Form me in @thepointau.bsky.social
thepoint.com.au/off-the-char...

AFR headline: "A National Crisis: Business backs Bondi royal commission"

How about business leaders first institute all the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry?

Zohran Mamdani Vs. the Real Estate State Can the mayor-elect overcome the snares being set for his affordable housing agenda?

"How else is New York’s City Hall booby-trapped to prevent progress on housing? What forces barricade the staircase, and what snipers lie in wait for a mayor who dares challenge the real estate state?"
Spectacular essay on the real deep state of FIRE sector jewishcurrents.org/zohran-mamda...

Shockwaves in Europe & in Asia. As Policytensor puts it "We have the W Hemisphere, Europe & the Middle East but no Asia. The only core, vital US interest in the Indo-Pacific is described as the security of sea-lanes,supply chains,&critical minerals. No mention of Japanese, Korean,Taiwanese security"

Listen to George Megalogenis, @frankbongiorno.bsky.social @bspiesbutcher.bsky.social @emilyrosefoley.bsky.social and I discuss if Australia is entering a new political era. With record electoral shifts reshaping class, gender, race, and power dynamics, what does the future hold for our democracy?

Great to see this event we organised, with funds from @auspsa.bsky.social and featuring George Megalogenis, @frankbongiorno.bsky.social @bspiesbutcher.bsky.social @lizhumphrys.bsky.social & @emilyrosefoley.bsky.social has been made into a podcast by UTS Impact Studios.

pod.link/1760672339/e...

America’s Polarization Has Become the World's Side Hustle The 'psyops' revealed by X are entirely the fault of the perverse incentives created by social media monetization programs.

“America’s Polarization Has Become the World's Side Hustle”

too many people just focus on supply side of foreigners using tech for disinformation. Its the demand side - American society is broken yet wealthy - that makes it a business model
www.404media.co/americas-pol...

Males (Average daily number) Indigenous Non-indigenous 2022 3,881.7 270.8021887 2023 4,119.4 266.419147 Sep-24 4,454.5 263.0404971 Dec-24 4,518.3 259.3942345 Mar-25 4,652.8 265.7101833 Jun-25 4,715.1 269.4114629 Sep-25 4,717.3 267.8862789

The latest corrective services data is out today, and it points a horrific picture of the systemic racism in our judicial system #PointLive
live.thepoint.com.au

Poverty is not evidence, the presumption of innocence must apply to everyone In the final days of October, the Federal Government quietly inserted a last-minute amendment into an unrelated bill. It has been trying to rush through a change that would allow police and the Home A...

"Poverty is not evidence, the presumption of innocence must apply to everyone" Smashing column by @kristin8x.antipovertycentre.org & @maiyazize.bsky.social #ThePoint
thepoint.com.au/opinions/251...

Macclesfield Central (Cheshire East) Council By-Election Result:

🌍 GRN: 41.8% (+19.7)
🌹 LAB: 28.6% (-25.7)
➡️ RFM: 15.8% (New)
🌳 CON: 9.1% (-4.5)
⚖️ EQU: 2.5% (New)
🔶 LDM: 2.2% (-7.7)

Green GAIN from Labour.
Changes w/ 2023.

The Young Greens of England and Wales is officially the largest youth and student wing of any British political party.

Greens: "With overall Green Party membership now at over 150,000, the Young Greens have over 40,000 members – making them larger than Young Labour."

Our co-director @bspiesbutcher.bsky.social will be speaking to the Economic Society of Australia tomorrow in Sydney (and online). He'll be discussing AI, #BasicIncome and much more.

Registration details below.

If AI takes most of our jobs, money as we know it will be over. What then? AI’s evangelists are promising a future of almost unimaginable prosperity. There’s good reason to be sceptical.

I'll be building on this recent @theconversation.com piece

theconversation.com/if-ai-takes-...

I'm speaking to the Economic Society of Australia (Central) in Sydney (and Webinar) on Wednesday about the future of jobs, money and the economy after AI, discussing hashtag #BasicIncome, Fully Automated Luxury Communism, Techno-feudalism and more.

esansw.org.au/event/64812/...

Good question. Will have to think...

The Australian Basic Income Lab is proud to endorse Basic Income for a Just Transition, a bold proposal from @equalrightorg.bsky.social @give-directly.bsky.social BIEN and Project Deep.

bsky.app/profile/did:...

As the home ownership dream fades, Australians may be open to a frank conversation about house prices One of the most basic axioms in Australian politics is that voters support rising house prices. John Howard expressed this axiom when he infamously remarked that no one had ever told him “I'm angry wi...

Great piece from my colleague @alistairsisson.bsky.social exploring the implications of our voter data on the ##HousingCrisis
johnmenadue.com/post/2025/10...

The 1st publication from the 2025 Cooperative Election survey was launched yesterday

prepared by the Macquarie Housing & Urban Research Centre, this report explores perceptions of housing affordability and perceived solutions

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Fascinating stuff from @bspiesbutcher.bsky.social and the gang - check it out!

Yes, there's significant diversity in every cohort, even when there are big differences between them. All of these groups have millions of people, but it might mean the folks you know aren't 'average' ;)

Most Australians agree there’s a housing crisis. But they differ on what’s causing it – and how to fix it New research shows older voters believe immigration is crunching housing supply, while young voters blame high interest rates and low wage growth.

What do voters think about the housing crisis? Just out in @aunz.theconversation.com our piece (w @shaunwilson.bsky.social @alistairsisson.bsky.social Kristian Ruming and Adam Stebbing) for MQ's Housing and Urban Research Centre exploring #Housing attitudes
theconversation.com/most-austral...