Labor wants to fix your feed. Canberra won't fix its own.

Presented by Today's theme is old political systems struggling to respond to new pressures: algorithms, insurgent populists, public servants getting treated like politicians and Question Time still operating like a two-party theater. If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up for free here. ESSENTIALS DRIVING THE DAY Both major parties sit for their caucus meetings this morning and Labor MPs are likely to get a first look at Communication Minister Anika Wells' digital duty of care plans. We hope she's brought her Ooshies to help confused MPs understand. DUTY OF CARE — IS THE COALITION DEALING ITSELF OUT? It's concerned Labor's bill could amount to government censorship (as opposed to tech companies deciding what you see). The draft legislation will be released this week and would allow Australians to switch off the algorithms that control their social media feed. Nationals Leader Matt Canavan, who spent last week railing against the 'feminization' of Australian schools, fears there's a left-wing conspiracy at play. Canavan's question: 'The government's focused on targeting one side of the political debate,' he said. 'Why aren't they talking about the likes of Hasan Piker and the radical transgender ideology that is pushed down our kids' throats?' Our questions for Canavan: Republicans are attempting to make Piker, a controversial American progressive streamer, into a campaign issue before the U.S. midterms. Does aping their talking points — about someone most Australians have never heard of — really cut through here? And if Piker is being rammed down anyone's throat — wouldn't that be through the algorithms Labor wants to turn off? If the Coalition's a no, then …: Labor will need a yes from the Greens, who want an 'opt-in' model. 'I don't know what the purpose of opt-out is. The default setting should be the people we choose to follow,' communications spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young told the ABC. 'Then, if they want to opt-in to big tech's curated algorithm, then fine.' Eyes overseas: The U.K. media is taking note of Labor's plan. PUBLIC SERVICE BOSSES FIGHT BACK The federal government's most senior public servants have backed a senior defense official who took issue with politicians sharing clips of parliamentary committee hearings, saying it exposed officials to 'ridicule, hostility or abuse.' It is a rare intervention from a group that usually gives as little as possible away, Miriam Webber reports. This submission is as pointed as it gets in public service speak. The authors, the Secretaries Board — made up of the heads of the 16 departments, the Australian Public Service Commission and the National Indigenous Australians Agency — says the backlash is severe and could cause people to leave the APS. Clips can leave out important context, depict public servants as personally responsible for government decisions and invite abuse harassment, its submission reads. 'Comments on the videos of officials shared to social media often have comments added by other social media users that are highly offensive and sometimes defamatory,' the bosses wrote. Yes, but: Officials who don't answer questions succinctly, or who attempt not to answer them, are infuriating members of Parliament across the political spectrum. What punters are saying about these clips: 'Filth,' 'political puppet,', 'pig,' 'KKK member,' 'incompetent retard,' 'parasite,' 'putrid mutt,' 'fraud,' 'lying corrupt grub.' Reality check: Women are subject to the worst abuse. For a reminder, see our recent Playbook interview with Julie Posetti, an expert in how online threats and abuse make the jump to real-world violence. What they said: 'We are concerned that some parliamentarians may not have a clear understanding of the role of public servants.' What they meant: A lot of you barely understand our system. What they want: 'We ask the committee to consider options to prevent the potentially harmful use of committee evidence on social media,' the secretaries said. What they might get: Guidance to MPs on how to share with context, avoiding commentary that targets individuals. Tell us your views — anonymous feedback welcome. This town doesn't work if public servants, ministers and members of parliament can't work together. PARTY ROOM BACK TO THE SUPER One Nation wants to give Australians the option of diverting 3 percent of their superannuation to their rent or mortgage. 'This is the people's money … This is not the government's money,' Pauline Hanson said Monday. Hanson suggested 7 million Australians — any renter or mortgage holder — would be eligible. Yes, but: 'People's money' becomes the government's problem if they spend it all on consumer items rather than income-producing assets and then need to turn back to the government for handouts. The SMH's senior economics correspondent Shane Wright is withering in his assessment of the proposal: 'Inflationary today, impoverishing tomorrow.' Gotcha! In a yet another prickly interview with 7.30 Monday night, One Nation treasury spokesperson Barnaby Joyce claimed being asked whether the party had modeled the inflationary impact of the plan was a 'gotcha question.' How to flirt with One Nation: The Coalition is kind of, sort of agreeing with Hanson. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor says 'we'll announce more about that closer to the election.' Liberal Sen. Andrew Bragg says One Nation's plan 'is a start' and fellow frontbencher Andrew Hastie says we shouldn't 'poo-poo policy suggestions in a reflexive way.' The takeaway: Another parliamentary sitting week begins with One Nation seizing the agenda. Taylor wanted to talk about illicit tobacco and flag burning, but Hanson is talking about the economy and cost of living. While both major parties are struggling with One Nation, Labor has clearer points of pushback than the Coalition, which is still trying to work out whether to play nice with Hanson. SUPER HEROES READY FOR BATTLE: We're between 12 and 20 months from the next election and you can already picture the government's election ads. Answering one of Labor's multiple Dorothy Dixers on super yesterday (more on the Dixer mess below), Treasurer Jim Chalmers has declared the election a 'referendum' on the scheme. 'The Shadow Treasurer [Tim Wilson] hates compulsory super. Sen. [Andrew] Bragg hates compulsory super. One Nation hates compulsory super,' Chalmers said. ONE NATION — VETERAN VETTING PROBLEM: One Nation's vetting is under the microscope again, after the former partner of its Victorian leader, Warren Pickering, accused him of illicit drug taking. Pickering vehemently denies the claims, first reported by The Australian. Hanson stuck to her decades-old line that 'this is a personal matter,' also arguing that Pickering's time as an army combat engineer is a character reference, because she's 'sure they do vetting there.' ON THE CROSSBENCHES AI KILL SWITCH: Independent Andrew Gee wants parliament to introduce a 'kill switch' for rogue AI. His private members' bill proposes mandatory requirements for developers to maintain shutdown capabilities and to report critical incidents, as well as powers for the government to shut down systems that pose severe threats. Data center moratorium: Gee, who represents the NSW regional electorate of Calare, has also called for a pause on data centers until the government introduces strict safeguards to protect productive agricultural land and water resources. Data venter: He's not alone! U.S. Republican Sen. John N. Kennedy has labeled AI developers 'high IQ stupid people' and 'terrible marketers.' More from our U.S. colleagues. MERCH MERCHANT: United Australia Party Sen. Ralph Babet seems to have spent his four years in Parliament on social media and, on occasion, working for his brother's real estate agency. When he isn't telling Playbook that his main goal for the rest of the year is 'giving space to Pauline,' he is selling merchandise to his 122,000 followers on X — 'Staunch, by Senator Babet.' That includes t-shirts with Babet smoking a cigar, a 'Zero Testosterone' t-shirt featuring Albanese and a 'Feminine not Feminist' crop top. Babet plans to return to the private sector after his grueling six-year term. LABOR — FIXING ONE FEED AT A TIME: After a week of suspect social media posts from Labor MPs, their colleague Dan Repacholi got this one right. QUESTION TIME ALL SEEING, ALL HEARING: Monday's spectacle of democracy was memorable only for Speaker Milton Dick warning he has 'supersonic hearing,' as he booted Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson and Labor MP Mike Freelander for interjecting (we think Freelander was falsely accused). Angus Taylor got an A for effort, in demanding Labor release its 'secret housing modeling.' (A note to Angus: That secret modeling is in the Budget papers.) SAME BLIND SPOTS: Question Time Monday reinforced that we're in a political twilight zone where politics in the real world is now a three-party system, but the House of Representatives chamber is still stuck in two-party mode, desperately clinging to old ways. Nix the Dix: Playbook will keep banging on about this — Dorothy Dixer questions have no place in a modern democracy's Question Time. All they do is shout 'this system is broken,' to disaffected voters. They also waste insiders' time. Parliament has already admitted this in a 2019 inquiry. Fix everyone's feeds: The government wants to fix our social media feeds — but it won't fix a feed it already controls, the questions it allows its own members to ask. The Opposition should want this fix; it's in its direct self-interest. But it's not on the table because they still believe that the long-term duopoly of easy and fake questions can be maintained forever. Papering over opportunity for debate through Dorothy Dixers is throwing away a chance to demonstrate a different kind of conversation — the kind that stops voters tuning out or defecting to fringe ideas. Could Speaker Milton Dick please apply his superpowers to this challenge? BY THE NUMBERS 25 percent: How much you're shortchanging your super if you take 3 percent out of a 12 percent contribution. $44: How much an Australian on a $90,500 salary would be able to divert out of their super each week. $91,000: How much a typical 30-year-old worker's super balance would be dented by the time they retired, according to AMP chief economist Shane Oliver. Five: The number of times One Nation treasury spokesperson Barnaby Joyce clarified or added to an answer from Hanson at yesterday's press conference. Three: The number of questions directed at the PM which he punted to his ministers in Question Time. STATE OF THE NATION CHARITY CRACKDOWN: Treasury wants feedback on a bill to make its regulation of charities more transparent. The legislation would require the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commissioner to publish the reasons behind decisions to revoke charity registrations, as well as investigations undertaken. Consultation is open until Oct. 2. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT PRODUCTIVITY Australia has a productivity problem. We need to work out who is responsible. What is really holding Australia back? We're starting a rolling debate with Canberra Playbook readers. What does your workplace, industry or community reveal about the productivity problem? This isn't an invitation to blame your opponent. It's an invitation to not end up like the U.K., which has had flatlining productivity for 19 years (our GDP per hour worked fell 0.2 percent in 2025-2026). — What is stopping Australia from bringing in the skills and capabilities it needs? — Where can workplaces be better managed? — What makes Australian businesses and workers integrate AI slower than the U.S. and China? — What difference would more risk-focused capital and greater competition make? — Are we measuring the wrong things — overlooking real productivity gains? We'll be back to this next week with an interview with the Productivity Commission's Danielle Wood, but here's three prompts to get you thinking: — Economist Cathal Leslie in AFR, with arguments on rethinking migration approaches and tax rates for workers over 65. — Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Andrew McKellar, who told ABC Perth: 'We need to invest more in skills and skilling young Australians, but we also need to encourage older Australians who want to keep working.' — Klaus Schwab, the World Economic Forum founder, who believes AI can enable radical simplification in workplaces and thinks many executives 'mistake procedural control for the capacity to respond.' He adds: 'The tipping point comes when corporate functions such as human resources, finance and governance dominate the organizational system instead of serving and enabling its value-creating functions. Rigidity then cultivates mediocrity.' CANBERRA MEETS WORLD DEMOCRACY DELAYED: Solomon Islands PM Matthew Wale has suspended Parliament indefinitely after staring down a challenge to his leadership. Wale says he hopes MPs will return 'before Christmas' to pass the budget. Ben Packham's full report is in The Australian. The context: Wale was forced to skip last week's PIF leaders meeting after his Home Affairs Minister Manasseh Maelanga filed a no confidence motion. The motion has been withdrawn and a new one can't be heard while Parliament isn't in session. Wale, a key friend of Canberra, survives for now. Beijing does not approve of Wale's pivot to Canberra, or his calls for a regional security pact. Precedent: 2007 was the last time the Solomon Islands parliament was suspended for similar reasons. Good timing: Wale's survival was confirmed just a day before the ABC's Stephen Dziedzic reported leaked texts showing Australia and Solomon Islands have agreed in-principle on a landmark treaty. Canberra would offer Solomon Islands $980 million in additional funding under the deal. Our question: Is Canberra scrambling to get this done before Wale loses power? MAPPING AMERICAN MILITARY INFLUENCE: The Guardian has published this breakdown of the 92 defense facilities in Australia that the U.S. military either controls or can access. Unsurprisingly, the Greens have seized on the report. Just as unsurprisingly, Foreign Minister Penny Wong is having none of it. 'You want us to cut ties with most of the world, and most of your policy would ensure we wouldn't have a functioning defense force,' she said yesterday. 'Nevertheless, you are entitled to those views. The government doesn't agree with them.' THIRD ANNUAL KANGAROO CUP: Australia's new Ambassador to the U.S. Greg Moriarty will host the third annual Kangaroo Cup, a tennis tournament co-hosted by the Australian embassy and CNN, at his D.C. residence on Sept. 27. LOCAL CANBERRA AI MASTERCLASS: As AI progresses rapidly, the choices governments make today will shape the region's strategic, economic and security landscape for generations to come. Hear from experts at the forefront of the technology at the Sydney Dialogue AI Masterclass in Canberra on Sept. 14. Limited tickets are on sale now. WOULD YOU DO A 5K RUN INSIDE A SHOPPING MALL? Sept. 26 at Canberra Outlet is your best chance. CANBERRA CLASSIC HOLDEN CLUB is providing a free 'Show and Shine' day from 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12 at the National Archives of Australia to celebrate all things Holden; 1950s and 60s models will be on display. COMMUNITY CORNER NFL TIME IN MELBOURNE: The Los Angeles Rams will play the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne for the NFL's first regular-season game Down Under this Friday at the MCG. The cheapest tickets left, when Playbook checked are $180, rising to $500 and above for good seats. MOVES AND APPOINTMENTS PROMOTED: Angus Taylor's senior economic adviser, Steven Hamilton, is now his director of policy. Rob Bower, a long-serving Taylor staffer, had been acting in the role. NEW SPOKESPERSON: Greens Sen. David Shoebridge is the party's new spokesperson on AI and digital rights, as it pushes for a moratorium on data center construction in Australia. OVERSEAS POSTING: Former NSW Labor Opposition Leader Jodi McKay is now in post as NSW's senior trade and investment commissioner for South Asia. BIRTHDAYS Krishani Dhanji, political reporter at The Guardian; Nardia Dazkiw, strategic communications director at the University of Melbourne; Damien Ryan, Alice Springs' longest-serving mayor; U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.