Duncan "Donuts" MacFarlane
@darth3pio.bsky.social
Interpreting the world through an autistic brain. Interested in computers and trying to understand humanity.
Increased law enforcement budgets are a bandaid fix for a deeply inequitable society that only serves to increase inequity, suppress voter turnout and undermine democracy.
January 26, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Increased law enforcement budgets are a bandaid fix for a deeply inequitable society that only serves to increase inequity, suppress voter turnout and undermine democracy.
When deaths from malnutrition are an historical footnote and food insecurity has been addressed. As long as protecting profit remains the primary motivator of political decision-making none of those issues that affect communities will be addressed.
January 26, 2026 at 12:53 PM
When deaths from malnutrition are an historical footnote and food insecurity has been addressed. As long as protecting profit remains the primary motivator of political decision-making none of those issues that affect communities will be addressed.
The strongest guardrail is community itself and I'm encouraged by the anti-ICE actions that you can collectively turn it around but the fight doesn't end when the fascists are gone from office, it ends when those living on the streets are living in supportive accommodation rather than moved along.
January 26, 2026 at 12:53 PM
The strongest guardrail is community itself and I'm encouraged by the anti-ICE actions that you can collectively turn it around but the fight doesn't end when the fascists are gone from office, it ends when those living on the streets are living in supportive accommodation rather than moved along.
I can say with great assurance that thanks to the institutions in place here in Australia that I am supported to vote and they exist because we have a strong turnout. Democracy will grow itself if the fundamentals are right.
January 26, 2026 at 12:38 PM
I can say with great assurance that thanks to the institutions in place here in Australia that I am supported to vote and they exist because we have a strong turnout. Democracy will grow itself if the fundamentals are right.
... it needs to support the 35% of voters who are demographically more likely to be low income to be able to vote. Speaking as a low income worker with disabilities I can say with certainty that being spoken down to won't encourage turnout and living in poverty won't enable turnout...
January 26, 2026 at 12:38 PM
... it needs to support the 35% of voters who are demographically more likely to be low income to be able to vote. Speaking as a low income worker with disabilities I can say with certainty that being spoken down to won't encourage turnout and living in poverty won't enable turnout...
... If you only enable those with assets to vote you'll primarily get policy that appeals to asset owners and leans into wealth concentration. If the party of the middle class wants to get into office on their own merits and not because they're the other party...
January 26, 2026 at 12:38 PM
... If you only enable those with assets to vote you'll primarily get policy that appeals to asset owners and leans into wealth concentration. If the party of the middle class wants to get into office on their own merits and not because they're the other party...
One Nation has proposed that only those who have worked for at least 5 years be allowed to vote. This is the same misguided idea that has shaped the democracy over there...
January 26, 2026 at 12:38 PM
One Nation has proposed that only those who have worked for at least 5 years be allowed to vote. This is the same misguided idea that has shaped the democracy over there...
On the inverse, if you've got a financial advantage you'd be more incentivised to vote for the status quo even if the status quo is turning towards fascism. The fundamental issue is turnout and what underlies that is inequity.
January 26, 2026 at 12:38 PM
On the inverse, if you've got a financial advantage you'd be more incentivised to vote for the status quo even if the status quo is turning towards fascism. The fundamental issue is turnout and what underlies that is inequity.
Right, but their post-election analysis looks at those who voted, not those who didn't. And if you're low income with no job security you might pick work over voting, the shift will come when choosing to vote doesn't come with an immediate financial penalty.
January 26, 2026 at 12:08 PM
Right, but their post-election analysis looks at those who voted, not those who didn't. And if you're low income with no job security you might pick work over voting, the shift will come when choosing to vote doesn't come with an immediate financial penalty.
There's a nickname here in Australia for those vocal right wing young men who don't seem to sway the vote much... Trust fund babies.
January 26, 2026 at 11:55 AM
There's a nickname here in Australia for those vocal right wing young men who don't seem to sway the vote much... Trust fund babies.
... but if you've got long voter lines because the polling places aren't open as long then it would need to be providing portable seating or water bottles and snacks.
January 26, 2026 at 11:54 AM
... but if you've got long voter lines because the polling places aren't open as long then it would need to be providing portable seating or water bottles and snacks.
More accurate numbers would come with a deeper penetration of voter turn out, the goal there needs to be enabling the 30-40% of eligible citizens that won't, don't or can't vote to turn out. And that's where I think those embellishments like the democracy sausage or the bake sale might help...
January 26, 2026 at 11:54 AM
More accurate numbers would come with a deeper penetration of voter turn out, the goal there needs to be enabling the 30-40% of eligible citizens that won't, don't or can't vote to turn out. And that's where I think those embellishments like the democracy sausage or the bake sale might help...
Still not sure that those numbers aren't being run through a shadowy think tank somewhere, when the right wing news orgs were telling us the same dynamics were at play here too in the last election it was the complete opposite and our Labor party increased their majority.
January 26, 2026 at 11:54 AM
Still not sure that those numbers aren't being run through a shadowy think tank somewhere, when the right wing news orgs were telling us the same dynamics were at play here too in the last election it was the complete opposite and our Labor party increased their majority.
The same generational issues exist there and I may have read it wrong as a foreigner but my take is the push towards fascism is the conservative attempt to block that political shift before it gets a chance to take off.
January 26, 2026 at 11:38 AM
The same generational issues exist there and I may have read it wrong as a foreigner but my take is the push towards fascism is the conservative attempt to block that political shift before it gets a chance to take off.
The dynamics of the preferential system and the compulsory voting now means they just don't have the numbers to push that agenda.
Those who have experienced the brunt of the neo-liberal experiment have a long memory and the political numbers to begin to exact change.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Those who have experienced the brunt of the neo-liberal experiment have a long memory and the political numbers to begin to exact change.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
New figures show Coalition's 'existential' millennial problem getting worse
As Liberals prepare to fly to Canberra to hash out their net zero stance, results from the Australian Election Study suggest those under 45 have continued to drift away from the Coalition.
www.abc.net.au
January 26, 2026 at 11:33 AM
The dynamics of the preferential system and the compulsory voting now means they just don't have the numbers to push that agenda.
Those who have experienced the brunt of the neo-liberal experiment have a long memory and the political numbers to begin to exact change.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Those who have experienced the brunt of the neo-liberal experiment have a long memory and the political numbers to begin to exact change.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
We still have the indoctrination through shadowy think tanks but the goal is about influencing policy rather than votes.
January 26, 2026 at 11:07 AM
We still have the indoctrination through shadowy think tanks but the goal is about influencing policy rather than votes.
... of the Nationals so there's something of a civil war in Australian conservatism at the moment as they work out how they're going to split themselves up into smaller and smaller parties and become even more irrelevant.
January 26, 2026 at 11:02 AM
... of the Nationals so there's something of a civil war in Australian conservatism at the moment as they work out how they're going to split themselves up into smaller and smaller parties and become even more irrelevant.
... not lose any of their voter base while also transitioning to this new norm, that the asset owning boomers are no longer the biggest voting bloc. In order not to lose any more urban seats the Libs need to moderate but that's incompatible with the more conservative rural voter base...
January 26, 2026 at 11:02 AM
... not lose any of their voter base while also transitioning to this new norm, that the asset owning boomers are no longer the biggest voting bloc. In order not to lose any more urban seats the Libs need to moderate but that's incompatible with the more conservative rural voter base...
The Nationals (rural conservatives) and Liberals (urban conservatives) have broken up the coalition agreement twice in less than 12 months but in order to have any chance of forming a government they both need each other for the numbers, the dilemma is that they also need to...
January 26, 2026 at 11:02 AM
The Nationals (rural conservatives) and Liberals (urban conservatives) have broken up the coalition agreement twice in less than 12 months but in order to have any chance of forming a government they both need each other for the numbers, the dilemma is that they also need to...
As a result of the collapse in polling for the Liberal/National Party coalition (conservative opposition), they're trading numbers but it's not significant enough to get them into government.
January 26, 2026 at 10:47 AM
As a result of the collapse in polling for the Liberal/National Party coalition (conservative opposition), they're trading numbers but it's not significant enough to get them into government.
Australia manages over 91% turnout and that helps moderate politics so that, outside of the most conservative electorates, you are not going to end up with extreme candidates and they therefore don't take over the whole system.
January 26, 2026 at 7:06 AM
Australia manages over 91% turnout and that helps moderate politics so that, outside of the most conservative electorates, you are not going to end up with extreme candidates and they therefore don't take over the whole system.
... of a small fine if someone fails to vote with good reason. Adjacent to the fine, normalise voting through a cultural embellishment like the democracy sausage (sizzle) or bake sales at the polling places that make it a more special day.
January 26, 2026 at 7:06 AM
... of a small fine if someone fails to vote with good reason. Adjacent to the fine, normalise voting through a cultural embellishment like the democracy sausage (sizzle) or bake sales at the polling places that make it a more special day.
... with the big two because it allows voters to rank their preferred candidate by number from best to worst on the ballot. Across an electorate it means the least worst aka consenus candidate gets in.
Secondly, introduce compulsory voting with the chance (not a guarantee, more of a lucky dip)...
Secondly, introduce compulsory voting with the chance (not a guarantee, more of a lucky dip)...
January 26, 2026 at 7:06 AM
... with the big two because it allows voters to rank their preferred candidate by number from best to worst on the ballot. Across an electorate it means the least worst aka consenus candidate gets in.
Secondly, introduce compulsory voting with the chance (not a guarantee, more of a lucky dip)...
Secondly, introduce compulsory voting with the chance (not a guarantee, more of a lucky dip)...
People in the US, diversify your political system, bipolar D vs R politics don't really allow for nuance in debate. Scrap first past the post and transition to prefential voting that allows for minor parties and independents to politic on their own platforms rather than having to caucus...
January 26, 2026 at 7:06 AM
People in the US, diversify your political system, bipolar D vs R politics don't really allow for nuance in debate. Scrap first past the post and transition to prefential voting that allows for minor parties and independents to politic on their own platforms rather than having to caucus...
The reason 'flooding the zone' is so effective is that you're replacing one thing with another. Changing the date is replacing the thing with nothing so there is always going to be friction with those who want to keep the day.
January 26, 2026 at 5:25 AM
The reason 'flooding the zone' is so effective is that you're replacing one thing with another. Changing the date is replacing the thing with nothing so there is always going to be friction with those who want to keep the day.