Just looking at the week's frontpages for a "headline of the week" choice, and um, what the fuck is this?

Tonight on Spin Cycle we're delighted to welcome Walkley award-winning journalist, social commentator and co-host of We Used to be Journos @janfran.bsky.social. Plus, the first ABC strikes in two decades and much more. On @3rrrfm.bsky.social from 7 with me and @rachelwithers.bsky.social

Spin Cycle ft Jan Fran* starting 7pm/now: www.rrr.org.au *Jan not pictured, but she was here for a pre-record and it was excellent

Ed Husic was unceremoniously dumped from Labor’s frontbench last year — and he did not go quietly. His anger has faded, but he still won’t be shutting up any time soon, @rachelwithers.bsky.social writes. www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/25/e...

Everytime I read this headline (which I did propose) I hear “Not Ready to Make Nice” by The Chicks. Anywhere here's my chat with Ed Husic.

Is this anything

We love to see it. ⚰️

Will Anthony Albanese muster the courage to take on the capital gains tax discount? He'll have to go through these four influential groups first, @rachelwithers.bsky.social writes. www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/03/c...

A loud minority made submissions to the CGT Senate inquiry claiming changes would see the sky fall in. Economists, think tanks, housing groups, unions, and even the Mathias Cormann-led OECD say otherwise, arguing the regressive tax discount entrenches inequality, rewarding wealth over work.

It’s not just an illegal war. That would be bad enough. Today, the Albanese government clearly admitted they gave our support to a war, without even knowing why it was launched. From us: www.lamestream.com.au/albanese-sup...

"the Liberals’ women problem can be traced to the Howard govt’s neoliberal agenda, which sidelined moderates and 'ignored the social conditions & structural origins that create inequalities' — including those faced by, you know, *women*." @rachelwithers.bsky.social www.crikey.com.au/2026/02/16/a...

The Liberal Party is chasing right-wing voters off a right-wing cliff, failing to even try to win back the urban, educated women who have locked them out of the cities until further notice.

Opinion | The Liberals need to win back all sorts of voters. But they especially needs to win back professional, urban women — and Angus Taylor is unlikely to help there, @rachelwithers.bsky.social writes.

The Liberals have an ongoing, existential issue with women — one that far predates the recent rise of One Nation, and which has seen the share of Coalition-voting women reach increasingly new lows.

"Our focus is on reducing women in the House of Reps, but we're on track also reduce our female vote to zero too." chaser.com.au/national/ang...

Jane Hume using her opening remarks as deputy to attack Labor for only being focused on politics. Irony is as dead as the Liberal Party.

They've only gone and done it. 🤣 youtu.be/vAiT5MXlitA?...

Kiss of death. #auspol www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5Nh...

Dan Tehan on ABC incapable of articulating why he backed a change in leader this morning. Keeps saying "we'll hear from Angus soon", unable to say what "values" or "vision" he was backing. A little glimpse into how incoherent a Taylor-Tehan leadership team would have been.

If the cap fits. My @smh @theage cartoon.

"I have no interest in the Deputy Leadership." Do not discount the chances of this man coming out of this as leader.

Maybe next they could do a video analysis of Gaza footage to see whether its population has been impacted by the genocide.

Tonight on Spin Cycle on @3rrrfm.bsky.social we are joined by @daanysaeed.bsky.social to describe what he saw at the Herzog protests in Sydney and the media response. Plus Libs keep holding each other’s beer and more. With @rachelwithers.bsky.social and @theshufflediary.bsky.social at 7pm

What in the numerology is going on in Sussan Ley's comms team rn? All of these have been posted in the last 5 hours - on Facebook, insta, x and LinkedIn 😂

Fabulous opening from @rachelwithers.bsky.social: "The Coalition’s achingly slow drip feed of a spill finally started flowing overnight, with Angus Taylor resigning from whatever role it was he held in shadow cabinet to spend more time counting the numbers." www.crikey.com.au/2026/02/12/f...

How's the social cohesion

#EXCLUSIVE: The brother of an Australian aid worker who was killed in an Israeli drone strike in Gaza is urging the prime minister to press for more action on her case during the Israeli President Isaac Herzog's state visit. #auspol www.sbs.com.au/news/article...

I truly doubt Albanese is going to tackle our broken tax system — at least not without mollifying the changes to the point of uselessness. I'd love to be wrong though!!!!

Opinion | There's never been a better time for Anthony Albanese to address the inequality caused by capital gains. But @rachelwithers.bsky.social isn't holding her breath.

No notes.

If the NSW government has any interest in maintaining faith with its own public, it will ask the DPP to investigate police actions on Monday night without NSW Police involvement, with a view to prosecuting the cops who committed assaults. Or it can carry on blaming the victims; Minns' choice.

I’d lost faith in Anthony Albanese’s willingness to meaningfully address intergenerational inequality. I’m prepared to eat my words — assuming he follows through.

"Social cohesion is a scam, a strategy employed by the powerful to delegitimise and suppress the voices of the less powerful... If you are othered by powerful groups, you become the victim of cohesion, not the beneficiary; what you get from social cohesion is a punch from an armed official."

Yes yes, but did you hear Sydneysiders attempted to protest?? After the government asked them kindly *not to*???

6/ 'The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said he was “devastated” by the scenes but said they had “undermined” the protesters’ cause and the Israeli president’s visit was appropriate.' If it wasn't already obvious, both Minns & AbL0 are products of the Sussex Street sausage-making machine.

Illustrative, from a very smart friend:

Huh. Almost like absolutely everyone saw this coming from the minute the government invited the Israeli head of state and told Sydneysiders they couldn't protest about it. Another win for Social Cohesion™

There is something weird and disturbing about how many NSW police in the footage of abuse of protesters have the Thomas Sewell facial hair.

Right, so the police and Premier are running a line that you can't look at single clips of police assaulting peaceful protesters. You have to understand the context. Hmmm where have I heard that before?

Ah yes, social cohesion in action

-Cop grabs guy with his hands up by the shirt -Cop trips over his own bike, dragging guy with him by his bag -Other cops start viciously *punching* guy as the unco bike cop drags him along? Would almost be funny if it wasn't so disgusting. Psychos.

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

Helicopters, metal detectors, snipers on roofs in Bondi?? Australia feeling really socially cohesive right now, so glad the government decided to make that a priority 🫠

Here's a threat of Kudelka Gold

Vale, Jon Kudelka. And as always, Fuck Cancer.

Utterly devastating. Jon Kudelka was so good and so compassionate and so funny. *Nobody* skewered the Albanese government better. Rest easy, Jon 💔

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...

Interesting to hear Jane Hume complain about the Liberals not having introduced any policies this term. Is this not the same Jane Hume who told Insiders, as a frontbencher, “we don't have policies, we are in opposition, not in government”?

Brilliant from Matt Golding @goldingcartoons.bsky.social

Ummmm?? This is unexpected from the AFR. The times they are a-changin'?