What did I miss? Australia’s political week in fast-forward

They came after Pauline, they came after Barnaby, and now they are coming for Malcolm Roberts.

 The results of Labor’s economic meddling are in. Rents are going up, housing prices are coming down, mortgage repayments are going up, and Labor also briefly considered tinkering with the idea of charging capital gains tax on the sale of the classic car you’ve worked on forever. (They backed out of that last one pretty quick!) Your labour counts for nought of course.

(Unless you are at BHP, Australia’s biggest company, where 63 union members walked off the job in a strike that was meant to cripple the Pilbara. Quite the union hit job…? The final numbers are being debated and the unions are insisting it was a success.)

In other news, people are hearing about a tax on the sale of assets when one’s partner dies. Is this for real? Isn’t that called a death tax?

There are so many questions.

My latest weekly round-up in The Spectator Australia, What did I miss?

All we’ve heard this week is One Nation didn’t do this, and One Nation didn’t do that.

They came after Pauline, they came after Barnaby, and now they are coming for Malcolm Roberts.

Not one of these One Nation politicians has sent mortgages through the roof, put the cost of… pic.twitter.com/B11075Tpg2

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) July 18, 2026

How will the Liberal Party atone for their ‘failings’?

The Liberal Party once stood for the individual, the family and free enterprise.

During the pandemic, I recall John Howard’s advice to Josh Frydenberg, then Treasurer, words to the effect of ‘now is not the time for ideology’. It has all gone pear-shaped for the Liberal Party from that time on. Many of the Party’s actions, even Tony Abbott’s, were not in the spirit of the individual, the family, or free enterprise.

Rather than return to the Party’s creed, Peter Dutton attempted to show his soft side. The man who took on Australia’s national security agencies and forced them to do their jobs suddenly went limp. It was a disastrous result and, in my opinion, one where his advisors are largely to blame.

Sussan Ley then went full Labor-lite. It was as if she had listened to Scott Morrison in the 2022 election debate where he agreed with Albanese that the Labor Party made all the great innovations in Australian politics, but the Coalition ended up having to pay for them. Talk about a non-policy. It had me cringing worse than Fawlty Towers.

In the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes wrote:

Michael de Percy concludes the Liberal party has made some huge mistakes over the last 15 years, and is paying the price in the current polls. The crux of his argument is that the Liberals have to break away from the Establishment and identify with the people – which effectively is what the Hanson party has done, as they see it. But as Michael also contends, the Liberals have strayed too far from their spiritual roots – smaller and less intrusive government, lower taxes and greater personal responsibility. As a party, the need to rediscover those roots urgently, and frame their electoral alternative to both Labor and ON around them. Angus Taylor is not as eloquent as his wife, perhaps, but his policy thinking certainly is heading in that direction.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, How will the Liberal Party atone for their ‘failings’?

 

Can One Nation break through the glass ceiling to the majors?

One Nation has struck a chord with Australians who are sick and tired of the same old Uniparty.

Pauline Hanson is like the Rocky Balboa doll: ‘You can kick it, you can beat it, it does everything. That’s right, takes a terrific beating.’

In my opinion she was Australia’s first political prisoner. Of course, Hanson was exonerated. But you can’t get much more underdog than that.

Hanson has also been consistent. She doesn’t need to say she is a conviction politician (like Albo used to tell us before gaslighting became the new normal). Nothing says conviction more than living by conviction.

In the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes wrote:

One Nation’s polling may or may not have peaked, but in terms of voter share it is up equal to, or ahead of, the two major parties. Will it stay there? Will it crack the ‘glass ceiling’ in actual elections? Michael de Percy thinks so, as One Nation rides the wave of voter dissatisfaction with their major party choices. But with ascension to major party Olympus comes what Pauline Hanson seems to hate – scrutiny. Of ideas, policies and, yes, people. That even includes One Nation people scrutinising other One Nation people, as we’ve seen this week with Barnaby Joyce dissociating himself from certain views of Malcom Roberts. Arguably, One Nation has some political growing-up to do if it aspires to electoral greatness. Being prepared to offer costed policies would be a great start.

In the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall wrote:

There is a lot of talk about the survival chances of One Nation as a potential major party. Michael de Percy runs through the essential things that Pauline Hanson and her colleagues will have to get right if One Nation is to survive this trial by fire. Are these unfair standards? Probably. But at the moment, all of their political competitors are out to get them.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Can One Nation break through the glass ceiling to the majors?