The Standard You Walk Past Is the Standard You Accept We check the character and competence of everyone we employ. Why do we lower that bar for the people who make laws?

The Standard You Walk Past Is the Standard You Accept.
We check the character and competence of everyone we employ. Why do we lower that bar for the people who make laws?

Character. Competence. Record.
New Tuesday piece at Before You Vote. 👇
#auspol
open.substack.com/pub/suebarre...

Brexit lit the match and Donald Trump spread the fire. History shows exactly where this level of inequality leads. Listen: https://loom.ly/5TMmK2E

#oligarchy #dictatorship #dictatortrump

Good on you, Gavin.
We all need to find our voice and let them know what we want.
Onward we press.
Sue x

Exactly, Gavin. This is how we do it - all of us doing our little bits on mass.
Onward we press.
Sue x

Submarine Dreams: understanding Australia's commitment to AUKUS Despite increasing evidence that the Aukus nuclear-powered submarine pact is destined to fall over, the Australian Labor Government remains committed to the deal. But as the government doubles down on...

powerful article SB. Re: 'One small honest step today. One email to your MP' + if you can meet your MP, As Doug Cameron said - & it doesn't have to be AUKUS:
"get groups of people who are concerned about .. to go & visit their local MP" 55min

australiainstitute.org.au/event/submar...

Thanks, Lizzy.
Onward we press.
Sue x

Thanks, Tony.
Onward we press.
Sue x

Chaos is deliberate. Courage is chosen. And we are the system. The Chaos-Comfort Paradox: why we grip what is failing us, and how we take back the ground.

The chaos is not accidental. It is manufactured by people who benefit when the rest of us are too exhausted to push back.
But exhaustion is not weakness. It is biology. And biology can be interrupted. Courage is the small step taken anyway.
Onward we press.

open.substack.com/pub/suebarre...

Politicians Can Legally Lie to You in an Advertisement. Most Australians Don't Know That Either. BYV: South Australia banned it 25 years ago. The rest of Australia is still waiting. Here is why - and who is fighting to change it.

Politicians Can Legally Lie to You in an Advertisement. Most Australians Don't Know That Either.

New Friday piece at Before You Vote. 👇

Your Vote. Your Future.
#auspol
open.substack.com/pub/suebarre...

Blame investors, not immigrants, for housing crisis It is investors, not migrants, that are driving the housing affordability crisis in their never-ending pursuit of profits, reports Isaac Nellist.

Blame investors, not immigrants, for housing crisis www.greenleft.org.au/2026/1451/analysis/blame... #Auspol

Defund, don’t debate – the playbook for silencing dissent The closure of the Grace Tame Foundation exposes a troubling pattern – dissent isn’t debated, it is defunded through pressure applied behind the scenes.

My Grace Tame article was also published on Pearls and Irritations

johnmenadue.com/post/2026/04...

This Is Exactly What We Warned You About BYV: A false claim. An authorised flyer. No legal consequence. Welcome to Australian democracy outside South Australia.

Two by-elections. Two false attacks on independent candidates. One playbook.

Both claims are false. Both are entirely legal - everywhere except South Australia.

New Tuesday piece at #BeforeYouVote. 👇

Your Vote. Your Future.
open.substack.com/pub/suebarre...

#auspol

Ethical AI is possible in the same way ethical business is possible: imperfectly with constant vigilance & only when the people building it are held accountable for the values baked into their choices. This billboard is evidence of what happens when nobody demands Ethical AI & Business.

She Outworks Everyone and She’ll Never Ask for a Raise. What a Billboard at Bristol Airport Tells Us About AI, Gender, and the Urgent Need for Regulation

She Outworks Everyone & She’ll Never Ask for a Raise.

Ethical AI amplifies human capability. It does not monetise human inequality.

I've written about what this means for business, regulation & ethical AI adoption. 👇
open.substack.com/pub/suebarre...

Thanks, Rob.
Onward we press.
Sue x

When did disagreeing with someone become grounds for destroying their life's work? No court. No law broken. No democratic process. That is not a debate. That is a veto.

Debate is democratic. Defunding is not. Know the difference.

Read and decide for yourself👇
open.substack.com/pub/suebarre...

How Preferential Voting Actually Works - and Why Your Vote Is Never Wasted BYV: The system was designed to give you genuine freedom of choice. Most Australians don't know that. Some parties are counting on it staying that way.

BYV: How Preferential Voting Actually Works - and Why Your Vote Is Never Wasted. New Friday piece at #BeforeYouVote - everything you need to know before Nepean and Farrer. 👇

Your Vote. Your Future.
#auspol
open.substack.com/pub/suebarre...

When Your Ally Becomes Your Problem BYV: The polling is in. Australians across the political spectrum are watching who puts their interests first - and who doesn't.

61% of Australians blame Trump for rising petrol prices
39% of One Nation's own voters agree
100% tariff on Australian pharmaceuticals

Some politicians bet everything on that alliance

The bill just arrived

#BeforeYouVote → Your Vote. Your Future. 👇
#auspol

open.substack.com/pub/suebarre...

Robert Reich on how the Democrats lost the working class - ABC listen In October 1994 then US Labor Secretary Robert Reich wrote his old friend and now boss, Bill Clinton, a letter with an urgent warning. “We’re in danger of losing Congress” he said. “Polls show that th...

Thank you @rbreich.bsky.social for this fantastic interview on Late Night Live. I encourage everyone to have a listen. It makes a lot of sense about how big money ruined democracy and what must be done to change the system for the betterment of everyone.
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

Sun and Wind Are Energies of Peace F**k Fossil Fuel Wars: On the machine that profits from war, the communities already building the alternative, and why sun and wind may be the most powerful peace strategy of our time.

Sun & Wind Are Energies of Peace. F**k Fossil Fuel Wars: On the machine that profits from war, the communities already building the alternative & why sun and wind may be the most powerful peace strategy of our time.

🔗 Read and share with 5 people: 👇
#auspol
open.substack.com/pub/suebarre...

Another excellent piece by Sue Barrett, would be a very good teaching aide for young people and is also an in depth explanation of how easy it is to manipulate people.
@suebarrett.bsky.social is essential following

Yep

How to Tell a Policy from a Slogan - and Why the Difference Could Cost You Everything BYV: For every Australian who suspects they’re not getting the full story.

Take the #TimWilson test. In 2025 he ran for a federal seat on lower inflation, safer communities & affordable homes. None of them are federal responsibilities. Is your candidate doing the same thing - promising what they cannot deliver?

Latest #BeforeYouVote 👇
open.substack.com/pub/suebarre...

Before you vote helps you to make informed decisions about politics Most Australians want the same things — a decent life, healthcare that works, kids with a future, and a fair go that’s real, not just a slogan. Before You Vote helps you cut through the spin, understa...

www.beforeyouvote.com.au Live. Free. Independent. Built for every Australian who suspects they're not getting the full story. Packed with civic tools, explainers, guides & assessments so you know what - and who - you are voting for #beforeyouvote. Share with 5 people. Your Vote. Your Future.
#auspol

"The problem is not just unseriousness. It is cowardice. A political class so captured by polling, so beholden to vested interests, so terrified of losing the next election, that it has forgotten why it wanted to win in the first place." #Auspol

Thank you. And I know Tracee. She's the real deal. All the best in Nepean.
Onward we press.

A great article. I'm in Nepean and can't wait. The Goth experiment has blown up in a lot of locals faces. A lot of money spent for no return. Fortunately we have an independent standing, let's hope she is as good a candidate as she appears.

Where Have All the Leaders Gone? BYV: Australia is facing serious times. It deserves serious political leaders. What it has instead is a political class that checks the polls and vested interests before it checks its conscience.

Where Have All the Leaders Gone? Australia is facing serious times. It deserves serious political leaders. The uncomfortable truth at the heart of today's #BeforeYouVote post. With by-elections in Nepean & Farrer, stop voting for brand and start voting for record.👇
open.substack.com/pub/suebarre...

"If the community independents were setting the economic agenda right now, where would we be?"

Much better off, that's for sure. #Auspol

Thanks Gavin. And yes the article by Allan is outstanding.