2/6 — LABOR SAID "FOR THE 50TH TIME" IT WOULDN'T TOUCH NEGATIVE GEARING. THEN IT BACKFLIPPED AND RAISED $77 BILLION. Same test, one party at a time. Labor first, because it's in government. In April 2025, weeks before the election, Anthony Albanese was asked yet again to rule out changes to negative gearing. "Yes. How hard is it? For the 50th time." Here's what the record shows. Negative gearing. The May 2026 Budget changed negative gearing and capital gains tax, raising $77.2 billion over ten years. His words the next day: "We have changed our position." Tax cuts. Before the 2022 election Labor promised to keep the Stage 3 tax cuts. After it, Albanese said: "My word is my bond." In January 2024 he changed them. Someone on $200,000 was promised $9,075 a year and got $4,529. Power bills. "$275 for household by 2025." It never came. Electricity rose 22.4% in the year to June 2026 as the rebates ran out. Homes. Labor promised 1.2 million new homes in five years from July 2024. In the first two years 355,820 were finished, about 124,000 behind the pace needed. And your mortgage. The Reserve Bank has raised rates four times this year to 4.60%, the highest since 2011. On the average new loan that's about $470 a month more. In fairness, most taxpayers did better under the redesigned tax cut, the Reserve Bank sets rates, not the government, and Labor says the election "wasn't the limit of our ambition". But negative gearing, the tax cuts and the $275 were all promised before a vote and broken after it. That's not a plan. That's a sales pitch. Same standard, every side. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: Anthony Albanese, 9 Apr 2025, via SBS News; Commonwealth Budget 2026-27; Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026; Anthony Albanese, 13 May 2026, PM transcript (pm.gov.au); Anthony Albanese, ABC RN Breakfast, 11 May 2026; Anthony Albanese, Sky News, 19 May 2022, via RMIT ABC Fact Check; "My word is my bond", quoted on Sky News, 28 Jan 2024; Anthony Albanese, National Press Club address, 25 Jan 2024; ABC News, 8 Feb 2024; Grattan Institute, Albanese's tax cut plan: who wins, who loses, 2024; Anthony Albanese, press conference, Parliament House, 3 Dec 2021 (anthonyalbanese.com.au); ABS Consumer Price Index, June 2026; National Housing Accord completions, via UDIA, 8 Oct 2026; RBA monetary policy decisions, 2026; ABS Lending Indicators, June quarter 2026. Repayment figure: author's calculation, $731,000 principal and interest over 30 years.

1/6 — EVERY MAJOR PARTY HAS BACKFLIPPED. THREE LEADERS GONE, THE COALITION SPLIT TWICE AND A "50TH TIME" PROMISE BROKEN, ALL IN 12 MONTHS. Politicians will tell you whatever they think gets your vote. So I went back through their record since last October. October 2025. Labor indexed its new super tax threshold. In February 2023 the Treasurer said: "I don't intend to index the $3 million threshold." November 2025. The Nationals and then the Liberals dumped net zero by 2050. The Energy Minister who launched that target in 2021 was Angus Taylor. December 2025. Barnaby Joyce, Deputy Prime Minister when the Nationals signed up to net zero, joined One Nation, weeks after quitting the Nationals. January 2026. The Coalition split for the second time in eight months, this time over hate speech laws. February 2026. The Liberals rolled Sussan Ley by 17 votes. The new leader is Angus Taylor. March 2026. David Littleproud quit, saying he was "buggered". Matt Canavan took over the Nationals. May 2026. A year after saying "For the 50th time" he would not touch negative gearing, Albanese changed it and capital gains tax, raising $77.2 billion over ten years. "We have changed our position." October 2026. The Greens changed leaders, and the Coalition now promises "the biggest cut to immigration in Australian history". Who's making these calls? Albanese went from a minister's research officer in 1985 to party official to MP in 1996. That's 41 years in politics, and he's paid $607,000 a year. Canavan was Barnaby Joyce's chief of staff before entering the Senate. In the 2019-22 Parliament, one in five MPs and senators came from jobs as political staff. And voters have noticed. Labor and the Coalition together now hold just 47% of the primary vote. In fairness, Taylor worked in business and farming before politics, and parties are allowed to change their minds. But when the policy changes as soon as the polls do, you weren't voting for a plan. You were voting for whatever they thought you wanted to hear. Same standard, every side. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: Jim Chalmers, joint press conference with the Prime Minister, Parliament House, 28 Feb 2023 (ministers.treasury.gov.au); Treasurer's superannuation announcement, 13 Oct 2025, via ABC News; Nationals federal council vote, 1 Nov 2025, via The New Daily, 2 Nov 2025; Sussan Ley, press conference, Canberra, 13 Nov 2025, via The New Daily; Angus Taylor, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, media release, Australia's plan to reach our net zero target by 2050, Oct 2021 (minister.industry.gov.au); Barnaby Joyce, social media statement, 8 Dec 2025, via InDaily (AAP); David Littleproud and Sussan Ley statements, 22 Jan 2026, via The Daily Aus; Liberal partyroom ballot, 13 Feb 2026, via ABC News; Canberra Times, 12 Mar 2026; Anthony Albanese, 9 Apr 2025, via SBS News; Commonwealth Budget 2026-27; Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026; Anthony Albanese, 13 May 2026, PM transcript (pm.gov.au); ABC News, 5 Oct 2026; Angus Taylor, Coalition migration policy, 6 Oct 2026, via ABC News; Parliamentary Handbook biographies, Hon Anthony Albanese MP and Senator the Hon Matthew Canavan (aph.gov.au); Remuneration Tribunal decision, Jun 2026, via The Albany Advertiser, 11 Jun 2026; Per Capita, The Way In: Representation in the 46th Australian Parliament, May 2022, Table 6; YouGov News24 Pulse, 13-20 Oct 2026, via The Poll Bludger. Combined vote: author's calculation.

THE ALBANESE LIE LIST. THE LIST THAT NEVER ENDS. "$275 off your power bill." Electricity up 22.4% in a year once the rebates ran out. "No intention of making any super changes." Said again on national TV. Two days later, a new super tax. "My word is my bond." Stage 3 rewritten. "For the 50th time." Negative gearing and capital gains changed in the next Budget. A gambling report from a colleague who died of cancer. Australians losing $32 billion a year. Answered 1,049 days later, with no ad ban. Robodebt hurt 433,000 Australians. The watchdog has never held a public hearing, and nobody is going to court. A $411 million referendum, then a Makarrata Commission that was "not what we have proposed". AAP FactCheck: False. Islamic State-linked returnees, kept quiet for four months. One now charged with terrorism offences. 1.2 million homes promised. 124,000 behind. 169,000 households waiting for public housing. $10 billion for social housing. 1,432 homes after three years. "No one will be removed without somewhere to go." 241,000 off the NDIS, most of them kids. A record $860 million on consultants, and PwC back on the list. Fuel supply "secure". Three days later, the legal minimum cut. Diesel now near $3. "End the rorts." Then $559 million by invitation, 73.2% to Labor seats. "No, we are not." Fifteen days later, Palestine recognised. A royal commission would "delay action". Twenty-five days later, a royal commission. "A two in front." Four rate rises, and about $470 a month more on the average new mortgage. "I did not speak to the former Qantas CEO before a decision was made." The diary shows a meeting. Interest on the national debt: $27 billion last year. About $51,000 a minute. And the list goes on… Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: as cited in Parts One to Eighteen; Final Budget Outcome 2025-26.

10/12 — SNOWY 2.0'S TUNNEL WAS PLANNED ON ONE BOREHOLE EVERY 760 METRES. Snowy 2.0's main tunnel runs 16 kilometres through five rock formations and nine anticipated fault zones. According to the contractor's submission to Parliament, it was planned on about 22 boreholes, roughly 760 metres apart, with one gap of 1.75 kilometres. The contractor's own words: "ordinarily, boreholes would be undertaken every 100 metres". One of those fault zones, the Long Plain Fault Zone, crosses the tunnel for about 1.4 kilometres. Further investigation found the original machine would almost certainly get stuck there, so in 2024 Snowy Hydro ordered a fourth boring machine. It is heading into the fault zone now. Snowy Hydro's chief executive says that if the rock squeezes it, freeing it could take "months or years". Snowy Hydro's own submission names "design immaturity at the point of the final investment decision" as the first cause of the blowout. Drilling in a national park is restricted, and that's a fair point. But billions were committed before anyone properly knew what was underground, and you've been paying for the discovery ever since. But there's more… Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: FGJV Submission 3 to the JCPAA (paras 11, 17-18); Snowy Hydro Submission 4, p.3; Snowy Hydro chief executive, 7NEWS, 20 Sept 2026.

MATT CANAVAN SAYS WE NEED TO MAKE MORE THINGS HERE. HIS SIDE WAS IN GOVERNMENT WHEN 5,400 CAR JOBS AND HALF OUR REFINING WENT. After visiting Sable Engineering in Macksville, the Nationals leader posted: "We need to make more things here in Australia." He blames Labor's taxes, net zero and mass migration, and says the Nationals have "the solutions". So I checked what happened to making things the last time the Nationals were in government. Cars. On 11 December 2013, three months into the Abbott government, Holden announced it would stop building cars here, about 2,900 jobs. The Acting Prime Minister that day was the Nationals leader, Warren Truss. He said government actions had little influence on the decision. Treasurer Joe Hockey said there was no more money for Holden. On 10 February 2014 Toyota followed, another 2,500 jobs. Three months later the Budget cut $618 million from the car industry's support scheme and ended it in 2018. The last Holden and Toyota came off the line in October 2017, still under the Coalition. That's about 5,400 plant jobs before you count a single parts supplier. Fuel. BP shut Kwinana, WA's only refinery, by March 2021. ExxonMobil announced Altona's closure the month before. About half the country's refining capacity, gone under the Coalition. In 2020 our refineries met about 42% of fuel demand. By 2025 it was 21%, and 87% of our diesel is now imported. Net zero. In October 2021 the Nationals agreed to back Morrison's net zero by 2050 target. Canavan opposed it, but it was his party's deal. Same standard. Ford announced its closure in May 2013 under Labor, 1,200 jobs. Three more refineries closed between 2012 and 2015 under both sides. And under Labor, manufacturing fell to a record low 5.1% of the economy in early 2025, despite the $22.7 billion Future Made in Australia plan. In fairness, Canavan has a point on some of it. Total tax hit 30.2% of the economy in 2024-25, the highest since 2007-08. Net migration hit a record 538,000 in 2022-23. And in 2021 the Morrison government did offer up to $2 billion to keep the last two refineries running to 2030. But "we need to make more things here" is a hard sell from a side that was in government when Holden, Toyota, Kwinana and Altona all went. If the Nationals have the solutions, the first question is why they didn't use them in nine years. Same standard, every side. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: Matt Canavan, social media post, Oct 2026; The New Daily, 11 Dec 2013; InDaily, 10 Feb 2014; GoAuto, Budget 2014: Auto industry support slashed, 14 May 2014; Al Jazeera, 23 May 2013; Argus Media, 10 Feb and 10 Mar 2021; NAB, 10 Apr 2026; IEEFA, Managing Australia's diesel squeeze, Apr 2026; AP via News4Jax, 25 Oct 2021; ABS national accounts via MacroBusiness, Jun 2025; Commonwealth Budget 2024-25; ABS taxation revenue 2024-25 via The Nightly, 21 Apr 2026; ABS Overseas Migration 2024-25; Mining Weekly, 17 May 2021. Job total: author's calculation.

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3/3 — THE VICTORIAN LIBERALS GOT $11.8 MILLION FROM THEIR OWN COMPANY. THEY BOOKED IT AS DIVIDENDS, SO IT WAS NEVER A DONATION. Vapold Pty Ltd is the company that received $36.9 million when the Victorian Liberals sold their Exhibition Street headquarters in 2018. It lodges federal returns as the party's associated entity. Its shareholders hold the shares for someone else. The federal record shows Vapold paid the Victorian Liberals $18,984,521 from 2018-19 to 2024-25. The Victorian record shows how the party booked it. In its returns to the Victorian Electoral Commission, the Liberals list Vapold money paid into the state campaign account: $3,863,012 in July 2019, "Dividend from subsidiary". $4,990,393.89 in 2023-24, "Dividend and management fees". $2,640,975 in 2024-25, "Dividend and management fees". Plus $96,250 and $165,000 in "Management fee", and $13,750 as a "Loan from Associated Entity". That's $11,769,381, all recorded as receipts "other than political donations". Not one dollar counted as a donation, so not one dollar counted against the cap of about $5,000 that applies to you. In 2023-24, Vapold's "dividend and management fees" were 37% of everything the Liberals' Victorian state account took in that year. Another $7.2 million of what Vapold paid on the federal record isn't itemised under Vapold's name. Some of it may sit inside the $7.7 million the Liberals booked in 2022-23 as "Intercompany transfers". The return doesn't say. Vapold was never a nominated entity, so the High Court case and the repayment rule don't touch it. And its own Victorian returns show $0 every year, because they only cover its state campaign account. Same standard for Labor. Its company paid it $9.5 million on the federal record, and its Victorian returns show none of it. In fairness, a dividend from a company you own isn't a gift, and this is the party's own property money from selling its own building, not a donor's. The commission's own definition of a gift includes property from an associated entity, but a genuine dividend on shares the party owns is generally treated differently. But this is how the system works. The cap stops you giving more than about $5,000. The party's own company can put $11.8 million into its Victorian campaign account, and the official record calls it dividends. Same standard, every side. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: AEC Transparency Register, detailed receipts, Vapold Pty Ltd to Liberal Party (Victorian Division), 2018-19 to 2024-25; VEC Disclosures, annual returns of the Liberal Party Victorian Division and Vapold Pty Ltd, 2018-19 to 2024-25 (itemised receipts, stated purposes and total income); ASIC extract, Vapold Pty Ltd, ACN 004 957 699; VEC, Funding glossary; Real Estate Source, Nov 2018. Totals: author's calculation.

2/3 — THE LIBERALS' BIGGEST BACKER PAID THEM $11 MILLION. VICTORIA'S ELECTORAL RECORD NAMES $1.8 MILLION OF IT. Same test, other side. The Cormack Foundation was the Victorian Liberals' nominated entity. It lives on dividends from Commonwealth Bank, BHP, Wesfarmers, NAB and Rio Tinto, and at 30 June 2024 the High Court record put its net assets at $89,656,938. The federal record. AEC returns show Cormack paid the Victorian Liberals $10,990,000 from 2018-19 to 2024-25. $4,700,000 of it came in 2024-25, the biggest single year to the Victorian Division in 27 years of AEC data. The Victorian record. The Liberals' returns to the Victorian Electoral Commission itemise every amount paid into their state campaign account. I opened all seven. Cormack is named just four times: $59,000 and $213,129 in 2020-21, then $200,000 on 27 September 2022 and $1,300,000 on 12 October 2022. That's $1,772,129. The other $9,217,871 isn't itemised under Cormack's name, including every dollar of the $4.7 million. There's a catch in the record itself. In 2022-23 the Liberals' state account also took in $7,742,868 listed only as "Intercompany transfers" from the party itself. The return doesn't say where that money started. Look at the timing of what is there. $1.5 million arrived seven weeks before the November 2022 state election. The repayment rule only reaches above-cap money still unspent in the state account on 15 April 2026. On the named record, that's a fraction of what Cormack paid. And the commission's guidance says electoral expenditure can be paid "from the state campaign account or another account." In fairness, the years with the most Cormack money missing from the named record, 2018-19, 2021-22 and 2024-25, were all federal election years, and federal campaign money is required to stay out of the state account. Cormack is legally independent; the Federal Court found the party owns at most a quarter of it. And money does move from the Liberals' federal campaign account into the state account: $1,881,465 in 2024-25, recorded as "Reimburse costs". Taxpayers have also given the Liberals a $10,472,987 advance public funding entitlement for this election. But two official records of the same money don't match, and only one of them is the Victorian regulator's. If the Liberals want to show that none of the $4.7 million touches this campaign, the account statements would settle it. But there's more… Same standard, every side. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: AEC Transparency Register, detailed receipts, Cormack Foundation to Liberal Party (Victorian Division), 1998-99 to 2024-25; VEC, Advance public funding for the 2026 State general election (updated 9 Sep 2025); VEC Disclosures, annual returns of the Liberal Party Victorian Division and Cormack Foundation, 2018-19 to 2024-25; Hopper v Victoria [2026] HCA 11; Alston v Cormack Foundation [2018] FCA 895. Totals: author's calculation.

1/3 — LABOR'S OWN COMPANY PAID VICTORIAN LABOR $9.5 MILLION. LABOR'S RETURNS TO THE VICTORIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION SHOW $0 OF IT. Victorians are told the state's donation laws let them see who funds the parties. So I checked two official records side by side. The federal record. Labor Services & Holdings is the trustee company that was Victorian Labor's nominated entity, the vehicle the High Court case was about. Its directors are party office-holders or people the party picks. AEC returns show it paid Victorian Labor $9,544,671 from 2018-19 to 2024-25. $4,598,000 of that was in 2022-23, the year of the last state election. The Victorian record. Every year Labor lodges a return with the Victorian Electoral Commission itemising the amounts paid into its state campaign account. I opened all seven, 2018-19 to 2024-25. There isn't a single line from Labor Services & Holdings. Not one dollar. The company's own Victorian returns show $0 income every year. Why? Victoria's disclosure system only covers the state campaign account. Money in a party's other accounts is reported federally, once a year, months later, and the federal return doesn't say where it ended up. Yet the commission's own guidance says parties can pay electoral expenditure "from the state campaign account or another account." Now the part that matters before 28 November. Victoria's new law makes parties repay nominated-entity money over the cap, but only what was still unspent in the state campaign account on 15 April. On the commission's own record, Labor's state account received nothing from its company in seven years. On that record, there is nothing to repay. What Victorians can see: in 2024-25 Labor's state account took in $14,784,949. Only $213,362 was disclosed as donations. And taxpayers have given it a $12,655,133 advance public funding entitlement for this election. In fairness, all of this is lawful. Federal campaign money is required to stay out of the state account, and the company may be paying staff, premises or debts. But 2022-23 had no federal election. But $4.6 million moved in a state election year, and the state regulator's record shows none of it. Labor could say where it went. Nothing requires it to before you vote. But there's more… Same standard, every side. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: AEC Transparency Register, detailed receipts, Labor Services & Holdings to ALP (Victorian Branch), 2018-19 to 2024-25; VEC Disclosures, annual returns of the ALP Victorian Branch and Labor Services & Holdings, 2018-19 to 2024-25 (itemised "amounts received other than political donations"); VEC, Annual returns for nominated entities; VEC, Advance public funding for the 2026 State general election (updated 9 Sep 2025); Hopper v Victoria [2026] HCA 11. Totals: author's calculation.

9/12 — SNOWY 2.0 HAS SPENT $11.1 BILLION OUTSIDE THE RULES THAT GOVERN MOST GOVERNMENT SPENDING. Snowy 2.0 has cost $11.1 billion so far, by the Auditor-General's count. Almost none of the checks that apply to other government spending apply to it. Snowy Hydro doesn't have to follow the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, the core rule of which is value for money. Its own investment papers say so. It has used sole-source arrangements where competitive bidding was "not possible", and in May 2022 it had about 323 subcontracts on its own register, four public notices on a tender site, and none on AusTender. The Auditor-General can only examine it when a parliamentary committee asks. That's why the last two audits happened when they did. The $2.6 billion equity agreement signed in September 2024 reached the public as a note about events after balance date in the annual report a month later. And when former senator Rex Patrick tried to see the monthly project reports, Senate answers put the government's legal bill at $507,506 at the tribunal stage alone. Every one of those is lawful. Government business enterprises are given commercial freedom on purpose, and Snowy Hydro says that freedom lets it move quickly. But it was designed for a company earning its way. This one has taken about $6 billion of public equity and a $4.5 billion loan, and the number the public is waiting for is still not public. But there's more… Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: Auditor-General Report No.39; Snowy Hydro annual report 2023-24 (events after balance date); Auditor-General Act 1997 s17; Snowy Hydro final investment decision papers; Senate Question on Notice (Lambie), as reported by Rex Patrick.

THE ALBANESE LIE LIST. PART EIGHTEEN: THE MEETING. On 10 July 2023 the government refused Qatar Airways 21 extra flights a week into Australia. Qantas had lodged its opposition in October 2022. Fewer flights means less competition, and less competition means dearer fares. On 5 September 2023 the Prime Minister told Parliament: "I once again confirm I did not speak to the former Qantas CEO before a decision was made." His diary, released under Freedom of Information in January 2024, shows a half-hour meeting with Alan Joyce at Parliament House on 23 November 2022. Five weeks after Qantas lodged its opposition. Almost eight months before the decision. His answer: "Qatar was not raised." He says the meeting was about industrial relations, and he called the criticism "an absurdity". That year Qantas posted a record $2.47 billion underlying profit. The ACCC later took it to court for selling tickets on flights it had already cancelled. Qantas agreed to a $100 million penalty. And in 2023 the Financial Review reported the Prime Minister's son was a member of the Qantas Chairman's Lounge. The Prime Minister said he had "completely" complied with his disclosure obligations. In fairness, no inquiry has found Qatar was discussed at the meeting. But he met the Qantas boss before the decision Qantas wanted most, and told Parliament he hadn't spoken to him. You decide. But there's more… Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: House of Representatives, 5 Sep 2023, via Australian Aviation, Jan 2024; PM diary released under FOI, via The New Daily and Michael West Media, Jan 2024; Qantas annual results, Aug 2023; ACCC v Qantas, Federal Court, 2024; SBS News, 22 Aug 2023.

$266 BILLION OF AUSTRALIA'S EXPORTS RUN ON DIESEL. WE IMPORT 87% OF IT AND HOLD 31 DAYS. Ask any politician what pays the nation's bills and they'll say exports. Here's what pays for the exports. Last financial year Australia exported $646.6 billion. Iron ore, coal, gold, alumina and beef were $266 billion of it, 41% of everything we sell to the world. Add gas and mined commodities are nearly half. Every tonne of ore, coal and beef is dug, hauled or farmed on diesel. Mining and its trucking use 11.5 billion litres a year, 35% of all the diesel in the country. Our biggest export, iron ore, and coal account for more than 80% of mining's diesel. Now look at where the diesel comes from. 87% is imported. South Korea alone sends 8.7 billion litres a year, then Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and India. We're the biggest diesel importer on earth, about 10% of all diesel shipped by sea. We used to make our own. In 2020 our refineries met about 42% of fuel demand. By 2025 it was 21%. BP closed Kwinana and ExxonMobil closed Altona in 2021 under the Coalition. Three more were closed between 2012 and 2015, under both sides. Western Australia, home of the Pilbara, hasn't refined a litre of its own fuel since 2021. And the buffer? 31 days of diesel nationally, by the Minister's own figure, down from 33 in April. WA's emergency stockpile is 20 million litres. Rio Tinto gave up 8 million litres of its own delivery to help fill it. In fairness, both parties let the refineries go, importing is usually cheaper, and the government has announced a $3.2 billion reserve and higher minimum stocks. But the reserve has no date, the refineries aren't coming back, and $266 billion a year of exports depends on a fuel we barely make and hold about a month of. That isn't a fuel problem. It's a national security problem. Same standard, every side. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: DFAT, Australia's top 25 exports 2024-25; IEEFA, Digging mining out of diesel dependence, Oct 2026 and Managing Australia's diesel squeeze, Apr 2026 (citing DCCEEW Australian Energy and Petroleum Statistics); Australian Petroleum Statistics, via NRMA, Mar 2026; ABC News, 24 Sep 2026; Argus Media, 10 Feb and 10 Mar 2021; NAB, 10 Apr 2026; Chris Bowen, LinkedIn, 24 Oct 2026; WA Government, 6 May 2026; Australian Mining, Apr 2026. Export totals and shares: author's calculation.

BOWEN SAYS EV SALES DOUBLED BECAUSE AUSSIES "UNDERSTAND" WHAT'S GOOD FOR THEIR POCKET. THEY DOUBLED BECAUSE FUEL WENT THROUGH THE ROOF, WITH A $1.35 BILLION TAX BREAK ON TOP. Chris Bowen posted that EV sales more than doubled this September, outsold petrol cars for a second month, and that it shows "everyday Aussies understand that what's good for the planet is good for your pocket too." The numbers are right. Here's what he left out. The market didn't grow. 108,778 new vehicles were sold in September, up just 1.8%. EVs rose 117.7% to 26,287. Petrol fell 36.2%. People didn't buy more cars. They switched. The war started on 28 February. By March diesel was over $3 a litre and some service stations had run dry. That month EV sales hit a record, and the Commonwealth Bank put it down to the fuel crisis. "Outsold petrol" means by 269 cars. Three in four new cars sold in September still run on fuel, and almost every truck delivering your groceries does. Now the pocket. The tax break on EVs bought through salary packaging cost an estimated $1.35 billion last financial year, more than 10 times what Treasury first forecast. The leasing industry's own data found 48.2% of EV lease customers earned over $150,000. The government is now winding it back from 2027. And who builds the cars? Australia hasn't made a car since 2017. September's EV leaders were Tesla, 5,654 cars, and Chinese brands BYD, Geely and Zeekr. Every car that tax break supports is built overseas. Charging isn't free either. Household electricity rose 22.4% in the year to June. In fairness, cheaper EV models have arrived, many owners will genuinely save on running costs, and nobody in Canberra started the war. But this isn't a nation suddenly converted. In March the car industry's peak body said it was "too early to determine if this represents a structural shift in the market." It's families looking at $2.43 petrol and $2.85 diesel and switching, with a tax break that's worth more the more you earn. Taking credit for a choice people were pushed into isn't leadership. Same standard, every side. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: Chris Bowen, LinkedIn, 6 Oct 2026; FCAI VFACTS September 2026, via CarExpert, Oct 2026; FCAI VFACTS March 2026 and Tony Weber, via Commonwealth Bank newsroom, 7 Apr 2026; The Nightly, 23 Mar 2026; FuelRadar, 1-23 Oct 2026; EV Central, Sep 2026 sales; Treasury Tax Expenditures and Insights Statement, via Drive; ABC News, 4 May 2026; NALSPA and Electric Vehicle Council data, via AFR and Drive; ABS CPI June 2026.

SHALOM PROPERTY CLEAN Today the Shalom men got their whippers snippers, hedges and mowers out and cleaned up all 3 of the properties! Our boys had a great day full of laughs and hard work. These men are really trying to change their lives and it shows in their work ethic and motivation to get through each day, working together side by side helping one another reaping what they harvest. not only do the fellas live with each other, they also work along side with each other, and I’m telling you, they aren’t afraid to get there their hands dirty to make their living space clean. Changing your lives doesn’t just involve working on the heart, it involves working from the start and these boys do whatever it takes to change every aspect of their lives no matter how many rakes it takes or hedgers they have to wield. Shalom House, leading the way in Australia Holistic Rehabilitation, Reintegration and Re-Socialisation.

BEAUTY FOR ASHES Our ladies have had a wonderful time attending the Ashes to Beauty Women’s Conference at Christian Revival Church, spending time there last night and again today. It’s been a great opportunity to step away from the usual routine, spend time together and hear some encouraging messages about healing, growth and moving forward in life. These experiences give our ladies a chance to connect with other women, be encouraged and reflect on just how far they’ve come in their own journeys. A big thank you to Christian Revival Church for welcoming us and putting together such a special event. We’re grateful our ladies could be part of it. Shalom House, “Leading the way in Australia Holistic Rehabilitation, Reintegration & Re-Socialisation”

SHALOM WORKS - BUILDING SKILLS, BUILDING LIVES The Shalom Works trucks have been flat out across the Perth region this week, tackling a variety of projects and producing outstanding results throughout the community. From laying beautiful paving at a winery in the Bickley Valley to major excavation works and operating machinery to prepare for large limestone retaining walls, the boys have been putting in the hard yards. Alongside these big projects, crews have also been busy with renovations and a range of other paving jobs, working together to deliver quality results. But at Shalom Works, it’s about much more than just getting the job done. Every day brings new opportunities for the fellas to learn practical skills, build confidence and develop a strong work ethic. Through teamwork, structure and daily routine, the men are discovering the importance of responsibility, discipline and having a sense of purpose. It’s not just about building walls, laying pavers or transforming properties; it’s about building better men and creating a foundation for a brighter future. Shalom House, “Leading the way in Australia Holistic Rehabilitation, Reintegration & Re-Socialisation”

THE ALBANESE LIE LIST. PART SEVENTEEN: "A TWO IN FRONT." IT WAS PROPPED UP WITH YOUR MONEY, AND NOW YOU'RE PAYING FOR IT. On 19 February 2025, ten weeks before the election, Albanese told ABC Radio Melbourne inflation had gone "from having a six in front to having a two in front". "We have been successful, more to do, but it's heading in the right direction." Here's what he didn't say. The two was the headline number, 2.4%. The measure the Reserve Bank actually watches, trimmed mean, was 3.2%. A three in front. And the 2.4% was dragged down by electricity, which the Bureau of Statistics said fell 25.2% over the year. Why? The Commonwealth's energy bill rebates. Without them, the Bureau said, power prices would have risen that quarter, not fallen. Taxpayers paid to pull the number down. Then the rebates ended. Electricity rose 22.4% in the year to June 2026, "largely due to the ending" of the rebates, the Bureau said. Now look where we are. Inflation for the year to August: 4.0%. A four in front. Rates were cut three times in 2025, the first the day before he spoke. Every one of them has been taken back. The Reserve Bank raised in February, March, May and September 2026. The cash rate is 4.60%, the highest since 2011. On the average new loan of $731,000, this year's rises add about $470 a month. That's $5,600 a year, after tax. Diesel averaged $2.85 a litre this month. The Treasurer, 30 September: "Inflation is still too high in our economy… Of course I take responsibility for our part in the fight against inflation." In fairness, the 2.4% was a real number and the Reserve Bank sets rates, not the government. But he sold Australians a two in front that his own rebates helped produce, while the Reserve Bank's preferred measure had a three. The rebates are gone, the power bills came back and the rate cuts went with them. Heading in the right direction? But there's more… Same standard, every side. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: PM transcript, ABC Radio Melbourne, 19 Feb 2025 (pm.gov.au); ABS CPI December quarter 2024, 29 Jan 2025; ABS CPI June 2026; ABS CPI, released 30 Sep 2026; RBA monetary policy decisions, 2025 and 2026; ABS Lending Indicators, June quarter 2026; FuelRadar, 1-23 Oct 2026; Treasurer press conference, 30 Sep 2026. Repayment figure: author's calculation, $731,000 principal and interest over 30 years.

8/12 — SNOWY HYDRO COSTED REPLACING ITS CONTRACTOR TWICE AND NEVER APPROACHED AN ALTERNATIVE. Snowy Hydro costed replacing its contractor twice, and never approached anyone else. In January 2020 an adviser estimated replacement at about a quarter of the contract value and up to a year's delay. In August 2022, with Clough collapsing, the updated advice said 35 to 46 per cent of the $5.3 billion contract and up to 34 months. The advice named capable alternatives. The Auditor-General found Snowy Hydro "did not engage directly with any of them." In February 2023, four days after Webuild took over Clough, Snowy Hydro sought advice on termination. In July the board rejected it. The reset that followed was negotiated over about 61 meetings with no formal agendas and no minutes. Snowy Hydro says the outcomes were captured in the draft contracts. That deal moved the cost risk onto taxpayers. Snowy Hydro now tells Parliament re-tendering had "an even more remote prospect" of being cheaper or faster. That may be so. But the decision that put the risk on you was made without a minuted record of how it was reached. But there's more… Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: Auditor-General Report No.39 (paras 2.20-2.55, 2.100); Snowy Hydro Submission 4 to the JCPAA, p.13.

NEW RESIDENTS TACKLE THEIR FIRST MONTH New residents have arrived this week to have a crack at changing their life around. The block crew is where it all starts for the men when they enter the Shalom program. The first month can be very tough for some residents who may be coming off alcohol and substances on top of missing family and loved ones that they’ve left behind on the outside. Over this time on the block in the initial stages of their program residents are getting to know each other, learn the Shalom culture as well as learn basic trade skills as they get in to a working routine. Shalom House, “Leading the way in Australia Holistic Rehabilitation, Reintegration & Re-Socialisation”

BOWEN SAYS OUR FUEL SECURITY IS "SOLID". DIESEL IS AVERAGING $2.85 A LITRE AND WE HOLD LESS FUEL THAN IN APRIL. Chris Bowen posted today that "Australia's fuel security remains solid." 39 days of petrol, 31 of diesel, 28 of jet fuel, 45 ships on the way. Here's what he left out. In April he said 44 days of petrol, 33 of diesel and 30 of jet fuel. Every one is lower now, and so are the ships and litres due since mid-October. His department says the stock figures include fuel "on water in our exclusive economic zone", and the four-week figure includes fuel already on ships. The same fuel can show up in his days, his ships and his litres at once. Now your end. Diesel has averaged $2.85 a litre this month, petrol $2.43, up 39.5 cents on the September quarter. That's about $24 more for a 60-litre tank of petrol. The excise relief ended on 3 August. Diesel moves every truck, tractor and grocery delivery, so you pay it again at the checkout. We are the world's biggest diesel importer, about 10% of all diesel shipped by sea. In September an analyst warned rationing was a real risk within weeks if the US imposed a severe diesel export ban. The money. The $14.8 billion package includes a $7.5 billion facility buying diesel cargoes since April. I can't find what it paid. The $3.2 billion reserve has no date for when it will be full. A UTS supply chain academic wrote that some tankers waited offshore "in some cases for months without unloading". Same standard for the Coalition. Its plan was 60 days of supply by 2030, not now, with an extra cent a litre at the pump. In fairness, nobody controls a war in the Middle East, both sides ran our stocks down for years, and that same analyst credited Bowen with acting early. But a month of fuel, less than in April, partly at sea, at $2.85 a litre, isn't "solid". Minister, what have the cargoes cost, how much of today's stock is still on the water, and when will the reserve be full? Same standard, every side. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: Chris Bowen, LinkedIn, 24 Oct 2026; DCCEEW, fuelplan.gov.au fuel statistics, 13 and 16 Oct 2026; FuelRadar, Australia fuel price report, 1-23 Oct 2026; Dept of Infrastructure, fuel excise relief fact sheet, Jul 2026; Treasurer and Prime Minister, Strengthening Australia's fuel resilience, 12 May 2026; Bowen and King, fuel reserve, 18 Aug 2026; ABC News, 27 Apr and 24 Sep 2026; Sanjoy Paul, UTS, via Daily Cargo News, 11 Sep 2026 (tank cost: author's calculation).