Ben Eltham
@beneltham.bsky.social
Writer, journalist, researcher, trade unionist
Pinned
Ben Eltham
@beneltham.bsky.social
· Sep 8
RALLY TO SAVE MEANJIN
Thursday 11 Sep 9am
Outside the Melbourne University Publishing office, 715 Swanston St, Carlton.
A number of Australian writers and editors will speak in support of this vital cultural institution
Thursday 11 Sep 9am
Outside the Melbourne University Publishing office, 715 Swanston St, Carlton.
A number of Australian writers and editors will speak in support of this vital cultural institution
"I helped a young girl who had been pepper sprayed in the face and collapsed into a seizure on the pavement. She was convulsing, incapacitated. As she lay there on the ground, police sprayed her again in the face." Eyewitness account by Andrew Brown michaelwest.com.au/this-was-pla...
This was planned. And Chris Minns owns it. - Michael West
NSW Police have assaulted dozens of peace protestors who gathered to protest the visit by Israeli president Isaac Herzog to Australia.
michaelwest.com.au
February 9, 2026 at 11:24 PM
"I helped a young girl who had been pepper sprayed in the face and collapsed into a seizure on the pavement. She was convulsing, incapacitated. As she lay there on the ground, police sprayed her again in the face." Eyewitness account by Andrew Brown michaelwest.com.au/this-was-pla...
Chris Minns and the NSW Police running lines about "the crowd really took part in some type of contagion of groupthink" and "small videos being put up ... out of context"; but somehow despite the "rolling melee of violence" there were no injuries to police www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...
Live: Minns admits clashes 'don't look good' but defends police after Herzog rally clashes
Twenty-seven people were arrested, including 10 for assaulting police, on Monday night at a demonstration against Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit to Australia.
www.abc.net.au
February 9, 2026 at 11:09 PM
Chris Minns and the NSW Police running lines about "the crowd really took part in some type of contagion of groupthink" and "small videos being put up ... out of context"; but somehow despite the "rolling melee of violence" there were no injuries to police www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...
Reposted by Ben Eltham
“Collection of Handwritten Letters from Children in Detention Center” sounds like an exhibit in the Holocaust Museum.
1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken.
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
February 9, 2026 at 6:31 PM
“Collection of Handwritten Letters from Children in Detention Center” sounds like an exhibit in the Holocaust Museum.
I was looking at the TV feed of Herzog’s media conference today and I thought, “good work by the bodyguard to hold an umbrella up.”
It was Chris Minns
It was Chris Minns
One of the most pathetic pictures of anyone I've ever seen
February 9, 2026 at 10:24 AM
I was looking at the TV feed of Herzog’s media conference today and I thought, “good work by the bodyguard to hold an umbrella up.”
It was Chris Minns
It was Chris Minns
Reposted by Ben Eltham
NEW: A Queensland software engineer has been in a four-and-a-half year long battle with Services Australia to get a look at a MyGov app's source code.
He says we should be able to scrutinise it to make sure it's secure. Services Australia says it's a national security risk.
www.crikey.com.au/20...
He says we should be able to scrutinise it to make sure it's secure. Services Australia says it's a national security risk.
www.crikey.com.au/20...
February 9, 2026 at 4:49 AM
NEW: A Queensland software engineer has been in a four-and-a-half year long battle with Services Australia to get a look at a MyGov app's source code.
He says we should be able to scrutinise it to make sure it's secure. Services Australia says it's a national security risk.
www.crikey.com.au/20...
He says we should be able to scrutinise it to make sure it's secure. Services Australia says it's a national security risk.
www.crikey.com.au/20...
Reposted by Ben Eltham
Guardian Australia reporter Jordyn Beazley filmed this video not long ago of police moving towards protesters down Elizabeth Street in the Sydney CBD following the rally at Town Hall.
February 9, 2026 at 9:50 AM
Guardian Australia reporter Jordyn Beazley filmed this video not long ago of police moving towards protesters down Elizabeth Street in the Sydney CBD following the rally at Town Hall.
sOcIaL coHEsiON
Extraordinary footage. Police pulling off people engaged in peaceful prayer.
February 9, 2026 at 10:12 AM
sOcIaL coHEsiON
Reposted by Ben Eltham
My explainer on today's NSW protest challenge 'Isaac Herzog visit: protesters lose challenge to sweeping special police powers. What now?' #protest #auslaw
theconversation.com/isaac-herzog...
theconversation.com/isaac-herzog...
Isaac Herzog visit: protesters lose challenge to sweeping special police powers. What now?
NSW Supreme Court decision suggests a balance must be found between the right to protest and the need to protect public order.
theconversation.com
February 9, 2026 at 8:07 AM
My explainer on today's NSW protest challenge 'Isaac Herzog visit: protesters lose challenge to sweeping special police powers. What now?' #protest #auslaw
theconversation.com/isaac-herzog...
theconversation.com/isaac-herzog...
Reposted by Ben Eltham
Bad Bunny has a consulting historian. news.wisc.edu/pop-star-bad...
Pop star Bad Bunny needed a Puerto Rican history scholar. UW–Madison had just the one.
Bad Bunny collaborated with UW–Madison history professor Jorell Meléndez-Badillo on Puerto Rican narratives that accompany the new album “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.”
news.wisc.edu
February 9, 2026 at 4:46 AM
Bad Bunny has a consulting historian. news.wisc.edu/pop-star-bad...
Reposted by Ben Eltham
the police presence at Town Hall is unfuckingbelievable. They are deep inside the station, stopping and searching people at the top of the stairs from the platform. Absolutely off the charts I have never seen anything like it and I have protested for over 40 years.
February 9, 2026 at 5:48 AM
the police presence at Town Hall is unfuckingbelievable. They are deep inside the station, stopping and searching people at the top of the stairs from the platform. Absolutely off the charts I have never seen anything like it and I have protested for over 40 years.
Reposted by Ben Eltham
I have many, many favourite Kudelka cartoons but this, from 2011, is possibly one of the best Aus pol cartoons ever drawn.
February 9, 2026 at 1:49 AM
I have many, many favourite Kudelka cartoons but this, from 2011, is possibly one of the best Aus pol cartoons ever drawn.
Reposted by Ben Eltham
Reposted by Ben Eltham
Kudelka from when Gillard's portrait was unveiled
(sorry, no alt text.)
(sorry, no alt text.)
February 9, 2026 at 4:12 AM
Kudelka from when Gillard's portrait was unveiled
(sorry, no alt text.)
(sorry, no alt text.)
Reposted by Ben Eltham
Reposted by Ben Eltham
Vale Jon Kudelka (1972-2026). He was one of the sharpest political cartoonists this country has ever produced. He saw through the folly and cant but never let it dim his own warmth or decency. Thoughts are with his family. You can read his essay on cartooning here:
satpa.pe/fZGzqRE
satpa.pe/fZGzqRE
Lessons from political cartooning
After being diagnosed with an inoperable glioblastoma, The Saturday Paper’s editorial cartoonist took time to consider what really matters – and it is not politics.
satpa.pe
February 9, 2026 at 5:19 AM
Vale Jon Kudelka (1972-2026). He was one of the sharpest political cartoonists this country has ever produced. He saw through the folly and cant but never let it dim his own warmth or decency. Thoughts are with his family. You can read his essay on cartooning here:
satpa.pe/fZGzqRE
satpa.pe/fZGzqRE
Reposted by Ben Eltham
You’ll hear it said that Jon Kudelka was a genuinely wonderful and generous man, this was undeniable, and the interactions I had with him bore that out, he was also a fucking punisher of hypocrites, he adored fighting bad people, and he had picked some quality enemies
February 9, 2026 at 4:42 AM
You’ll hear it said that Jon Kudelka was a genuinely wonderful and generous man, this was undeniable, and the interactions I had with him bore that out, he was also a fucking punisher of hypocrites, he adored fighting bad people, and he had picked some quality enemies
Reposted by Ben Eltham
Kudelka on 18c from 2017
February 9, 2026 at 4:05 AM
Kudelka on 18c from 2017
Reposted by Ben Eltham
Reposted by Ben Eltham
I can’t express how outrageous this whole thing is, but I’ve given it a go! #auspol
For shame @albomp.bsky.social @chrisminnsmp.bsky.social
For shame @albomp.bsky.social @chrisminnsmp.bsky.social
February 9, 2026 at 1:42 AM
I can’t express how outrageous this whole thing is, but I’ve given it a go! #auspol
For shame @albomp.bsky.social @chrisminnsmp.bsky.social
For shame @albomp.bsky.social @chrisminnsmp.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben Eltham
Vale to an amazing man and legendary, brilliant cartoonist.
The cartooning community is in mourning today.
The cartooning community is in mourning today.
Cartoonist Jon Kudelka has passed away, his wife Margaret has confirmed.
www.facebook.com/margaret.kud...
www.facebook.com/margaret.kud...
February 9, 2026 at 1:42 AM
Vale to an amazing man and legendary, brilliant cartoonist.
The cartooning community is in mourning today.
The cartooning community is in mourning today.
One of the best people
Cartoonist Jon Kudelka has passed away, his wife Margaret has confirmed.
www.facebook.com/margaret.kud...
www.facebook.com/margaret.kud...
February 9, 2026 at 1:44 AM
One of the best people
Here, on the ABC, is an entire article on Victorian bushfires ... with not a single mention of climate change www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...
Why Victoria is prone to 'some of the scariest fires' in the world
Some of the world's most destructive bushfires take place in the southern state. Its unique mix of fierce winds, high fuel loads and rugged terrain are to blame.
www.abc.net.au
February 8, 2026 at 11:14 PM
Here, on the ABC, is an entire article on Victorian bushfires ... with not a single mention of climate change www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...
Reposted by Ben Eltham
“The research pointed to the former Morrison government’s job-ready graduate scheme as directly relating to the decline. Implemented in 2021, that scheme substantially increased the cost of arts & creative courses to cheapen Stem courses”
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Australia in danger of becoming an ‘artless country’ as enrolments in creative courses collapse
Research suggests surging costs under Morrison government’s job-ready graduate scheme and axing of dozens of subjects largely to blame
www.theguardian.com
February 8, 2026 at 10:13 PM
“The research pointed to the former Morrison government’s job-ready graduate scheme as directly relating to the decline. Implemented in 2021, that scheme substantially increased the cost of arts & creative courses to cheapen Stem courses”
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Reposted by Ben Eltham
My theory that AI maximalists don’t know how to use a computer remains undefeated so far
February 8, 2026 at 9:46 PM
My theory that AI maximalists don’t know how to use a computer remains undefeated so far