Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Exclusive: Anthony Albanese overruled push for public NACC hearings

3 17 70

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 3d

More than 2 years after the NACC was established, it hasn’t held a single public hearing. Now we learn the PM pushed to make it harder to hold them.

Public hearings are vital to building trust - the Govt should be making them easier, not harder.
www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/2025/10...

The Saturday Paper can reveal that the prime minister and other ministers from NSW intervened in cabinet to constrain the operations of the country’s leading integrity body.

www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au

10 77 200

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 5d

Even former gambling execs are calling for action on gambling ads.

Good to hear the Minister is restarting talks on reform, but what’s needed is courage from the PM to take on vested interests & pursue a complete ban on ads - just as the Murphy Review recommended.
www.afr.com/politics/fed...

14 39 140

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 5d

$1.5 million of 🇦🇺 taxpayer💰per head but asylum seekers still going without food.

Huge contract blowouts, added to the cost of the latest secret MOU with Nauru raises serious questions of gross mismanagement.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Refugees and asylum seekers on Nauru going hungry despite government spending $1.5m a year for each person

The Australian government is spending millions of dollars a year to house asylum seekers, yet many say they can not afford food and are forced to skip meals

YWCA Canberra | Our Lives: Women in the ACT

4 72 150

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 12d

YWCA Canberra are close to reaching a massive 2,500 responses to the 2025 Our Lives Survey.

There's still time to make your voice heard on issues like work, cost-of-living pressures, housing and personal safety.

Tap👇 to do the survey now:
sustineo.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

YWCA Canberra is undertaking an anonymous survey of Canberra women and non-binary persons aged 16 years and over to gauge the lived experiences of women and gender diverse persons in Canberra.

sustineo.qualtrics.com

7 25

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 13d

While some leaders may call climate change a "con job", we know it's impacting ever corner of our country.

Ignoring these warnings & failing to invest in action + adaptation betrays communities across the country and leaves us unprepared.
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/se...

Australia’s horrifying climate future in four charts – and how we can avoid the worst

Maps released by the Australian Climate Service show just how bad things will get for heatwaves, drought and coastal flooding

'Waiting for the axe to fall': Fears for jobs in AI boom

9 47 170

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 13d

Govt should be investing now in pathways to upskill & retrain workers whose jobs are likely to be impacted by AI.

We're almost at the end of 2025 & still have no guardrails in place to regulate potential harms from the tech that is impacting every aspect of our lives.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

Artificial intelligence is coming for our jobs — but will it take them away, or just give us a powerful new assistant?

National Gambling study finds More Australians harmed amid rising participation

6 18 68

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 13d

Both harm & participation are ⬆️ - especially in younger Australians.

Yet the Albanese Govt continues to ignore the work of their late colleague, Peta Murphy, by not implementing the Murphy Review recommendations in full - including a full ban on gambling advertising.
aifs.gov.au/media/nation...

New research reveals gambling participation and harm is rising in Australia and is linked to other serious issues including suicidal thoughts, intimate partner violence and financial stress.

aifs.gov.au

3 27 83

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 13d

The Govt should be introducing legislation to provide more transparency, not less.

Their proposed changes to FOI are deeply troubling, though not surprising given in the last parliament they were the 2nd most secretive in 30 years.

That needs to change.
www.canberratimes.com.au/story/907156...

Australia's FOI system is broken, but proposed reforms miss the mark

This proposed bill risks doubling down on the very problems it should be fixing.

Essential workers face being priced out of ACT homes: Property Council

4 49 120

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 15d

This is a warning the ACT govt must pay attention to.

Govts used to construct housing for key workers, now we face them being priced out of buying in our city.
www.canberratimes.com.au/story/907198...

House prices are up 115 per cent, but wages have only risen 84 per cent since 2007.

Pensioners say they are just 'waiting to die' as specialist costs rise

2 15 70

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 16d

Out of pocket costs are putting specialist medical care out of reach of pensioners & many other Australians.

We need a healthcare system where people can access the care they need, not just what they can afford.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

Victorian pensioner Eddie Rushforth says he does not know whether his bowel cancer has returned because he cannot afford the cost of the scans.

All pensioners to pay for 'non-clinical' care under home care changes

14 32 130

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 16d

Our aged care system needs to be sustainable but expecting pensioners to pay $50 for a shower doesn’t seem viable.

Inspector General of Aged Care has raised serious concerns with the new Support at Home program & we’ve got a senate committee inquiry looking into it.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

Older Australians entering the aged care system will have to pay for "non-clinical" services such as showers and help with medication under wide-ranging changes taking effect in November.

Australia must do more to end Gaza war says author of ‘genocide’ report

16 44 130

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 16d

Formal recognition of the state of Palestine overnight is a welcome step but we must also listen to the experts outlining what further steps Australia & other nations must take to prevent the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
www.afr.com/politics/fed...

Chris Sidoti, author of an independent UN probe alleging Israel is guilty of genocide, has urged Australia to step up efforts to end the Gaza war

www.afr.com

5 46 160

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 16d

An almost five month wait on the priority list for housing, babies being born in crisis accommodation & a long term decline in public & social housing compared to population - we have to do better.

Housing has to be a priority & treated like a human right.
www.canberratimes.com.au/story/906673...

Some homeless 'unhousable' due to government policy, advocate says

An ACT minister said some people prefer the lifestyle of sleeping rough.

'We couldn't do it all at once': ACT in talks for east section of CSIRO land

5 28 90

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 17d

Canberrans are in dire need of more social and affordable housing.

I’ve always been briefed by both the ACT and Federal govts on the basis that the whole CSIRO Ginninderra site was being divested.

I want to know when this changed and why the go slow.
www.canberratimes.com.au/story/906962...

'Complex issues' in ongoing negotiations over old experiment station.

US giants urge Trump to push back on Australian tax law

8 62

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 20d

The Govt just set a 2035 emissions reduction target of 62–70%.

That’s below science & flies in the face of the duty we have to protect the people & places we love.

State commitments have 🇦🇺 headed for ~70%. This lowers the bar & makes it harder to push for more global ambition.

6 34 91

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 20d

If you’re interested in the strength of our democracy, this is worth a read.

Labor & the Coalition rammed electoral reform laws through parliament to make it harder for minor parties & indies.

Now there's a bill to reduce transparency in the FOI system.
theconversation.com/why-the-rise...

1 31 61

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 20d

While 🇦🇺s pay tax to fund the services we all rely on, multinationals have been profit shifting & dodging tax on their 🇦🇺 revenue.

Do not allow big US companies to dictate our tax policy.

Things like no. of employees & tax paid should not be ‘commercial in confidence’.
www.afr.com/politics/fed...

Business groups in the US have urged the US President to press Australia to back down on tax laws that they say put them at a competitive disadvantage.

www.afr.com

3 42 140

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 20d

🇦🇺 needs a strong 2035 target to protect the people & places we love. Climate scientists tell us it must be a min of 75%

The Govt have an opportunity to show leadership & put long-term wellbeing ahead of vested interests

History will judge them on this.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Labor’s 2035 emissions target a ‘sliding doors’ moment for future generations

Australia must lead other nations in committing to 1.5C pathway for safety, security, prosperity and the environment, experts say

Don’t stop the music: Jimmy Barnes signs on to save ANU school

6 30 93

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 21d

Even more support to save the ANU School of Music.
www.afr.com/work-and-car...

A group of 35 musicians have called on the ANU to halt proposed changes to the School of Music saying it will rob musicians of future professional careers.

www.afr.com

2 13 48

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 21d

Disasters are multiplying & the costs are set to skyrocket.

The ADF is already stretched, & shouldn't be asked to carry this burden.

We need to decide who pays for disaster relief: ordinary Australians, or the fossil fuel industry fuelling the damage?
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

Dedicated disaster force needed to prevent ADF being overwhelmed: report

A dedicated disaster recovery force is needed, or else responders and defence forces could be "overwhelmed" by multiple concurrent natural disasters, the National Climate Risk Assessment warns.

Gambling lobby’s sponsorship of Australian parliament’s sports club condemned by crossbench MPs

9 38 100

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 21d

Shameless of the gambling industry’s peak body to try and leverage parliamentary sport and then also associate themselves with a local mental health group doing great working to prevent suicide.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Exclusive: Kate Chaney calls on PM to remove Responsible Wagering Australia’s membership, which allows sponsors to access ‘key opinion leaders’

Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, major UN report finds

2 26 100

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 21d

What is the threshold for sanctioning PM Netanyahu and his govt?!

Signatories to the genocide convention like 🇦🇺 must take action in the face of genocide, including taking measures to stop it.

The global community has to do more.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide in Gaza, according to the "most authoritative assessment" to date.