
He was tired of the Watchers on the Watch, for they interfered with everything. But in these strange in-betweens it was his Cross to bear, before they took over.
Attention was elsewhere, with the reestablishment of American Empire. It was impossible, just there, from his distance, to foretell their future. But here, they swirled and dipped and settled, expressed disappointment, settled into place, while the Watchers disbelieved, nothing will convince me, and a pale faced Albo faced an uncertain future, a public humiliation.
For better or for worse, probably marginally better, Albo would face the chopping block of history.
While the conservative candidate, Dutton, had failed to stay faithful to his working class base, had failed, indeed, to establish any real electoral base at all, had been entirely gutless in standing up to the woke wave, had openly expressed his fealty to the big end of town, including his great mate Gina Reinhart, the richest woman in the country, and all was lost, here, there, in the daily routines.
Crash landing on Earth. A betrayal. Or lack of discipline.
He woke up with thoughts he would rather not repeat, filth extended from the outside, or through crumbling walls of the psych. And fealty. None had been shown to him, and none would be returned.
They were strange times, the birds rising from the swamp. And all, all would be better. A lousy thing to do to someone. And those same same thoughts kept recurring, familiar from previous episodes: We are not human. We have never been human.
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‘Acting like petulant children’: Price, Hanson slam latest Australia Day protest
The perpetrators behind the vandalism of a Captain Cook statue in Sydney have been accused of acting like “petulant children” over the outrageous protest against Australia Day.
GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA
The Coalition is leading in the polls as of 24 January 2025
Showing the estimated two-party preferred vote (◆) for Labor and the Coalition compared with their result in the 2022 election (◇)
40%45%50%55%60%2022 electionCurrent averageMargin of error*2pp47.953.152.146.9
Primary support is growing for minor parties and independents
Showing the estimated primary vote (◆) for Labor, the Coalition, the Greens and other parties and independents compared to their result at the 2022 election (◇)
10%15%20%25%30%35%40%primary vote35.739.332.626.919.520.912.313.2
Guardian Graphic | Poll averaging model by Dr Luke Mansillo and based on work by Professor Simon Jackman; poll data sourced from pollster websites and media reports. *The margin of error is a 'credibility interval', which is a range that we are 95% certain contains the estimated population support for each party
Albanese challenged his opponent to election debates at the press club during the campaign, joking: “I’ll even offer to give Peter Dutton a lift down from Parliament House in case he can’t find it.”
Mocking Dutton’s criticism of local councils and businesses which declined to expressly celebrate Australia Day, he called on Dutton to join him in a bipartisan citizenship ceremony in Canberra on Sunday.
“I sometimes think Peter Dutton every year has a fight with an imaginary friend over something that most Australians are just getting on with, Australia Day. And one of the things that Australia Day celebrates is the fact that we’re not a Soviet-style command system,” he said.
“You know, like, just chill out, get on with life.”
THE NEW DAILY
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to “just chill out” about Australia Day controversies.
Albanese was asked after a speech to the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra on Friday whether he supported calls to boycott pubs and businesses that don’t back the national celebration on January 26.
It came after polling in the Nine newspapers on Friday showed public support for marking the national holiday on that date had risen from 47 per cent to 61 per cent in the past two years.