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DRIVING THE DAY

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO BLOCK AN EXECUTION LIVESTREAM?

Australian political parties on the left and right rejected the U.S. government plan to livestream a military execution — ”abhorrent,” “barbaric,” “deeply problematic,” “Roman amphitheater stuff,” you get the picture — but did anyone check if the eSafety Commission’s powers were fit for purpose to stop it?

Feeling streamish: After seeking advice on whether it could preemptively order a take down, an eSafety spokesperson told Playbook said the regulator “does not have powers to proactively prevent a livestream from occurring online.” The spokesperson hedged by insisting online services “have responsibilities under Australia’s online safety regulatory framework to protect users from harmful material.”

Behind the scenes: eSafety might not have the power to stop the video in advance, but they do have the ability to conduct phone diplomacy. And they’re reserving the right to shut it down the second the stream begins.

Is six weeks enough to stop it? The Dec. 4 (Australian-time) execution is a novel situation, and obviously more notice than terrorists conducting a massacre would give. Could it be enough time to throw an amendment onto the legislative barbie to prospectively block the video?

WHERE IS DIGITAL DUTY OF CARE HEADED?

The Albanese government’s proposed digital duty of care is slammed as censorship by the U.S. government and Liberals. The issue will play all week, with introduction of the bill slated for Thursday.

The execution livestream provides a living case study of the sort of novel harm a minister or Parliament might want to stop under a digital duty of care.

The catch: Short of blocking the internet itself, without the cooperation of platforms, it is probably technically impossible for a government to block a livestream that’s deliverable through any social account.

Which brings us to the Greens demand to beef the digital duty of care by adding a right for individuals, not just the eSafety Commissioner, to sue social media platforms after the fact for alleged breaches; for example, harm they experienced by watching a live execution the platform knew was coming and allowed to stream anyway.

Pro: Private legal action is an important complement to public enforcement. Rights are not complete if they can only be enforced by governments, and while regulators are in a strong position to pursue deterrence, there are still harms and losses that are better addressed by private claims which may deliver compensation — itself a form of justice, and a financial disincentive large companies fear.

Con: Would make the proposed law even more unpalatable for the Trump administration because of its potential impacts on American tech companies.

Punt: One tactical option for the Coalition and Greens is to team up to delay the bill in committee, or send it to inquiry.

PARTY ROOM

360 DEGREE JOSH

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle would each have been proud of the media roll out the deposed King of Kooyong achieved for his political comeback memoir.

If you’ve been living under a left-wing rock, Josh Frydenberg had not one, but two, Sharri Markson episodes, three days of wall-to-wall News Corp print coverage, and a “60 Minutes” interview. Rumors that he is the incognito editor of The Australian are entirely unfounded.

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE … Angus Taylor isn’t facing the prospect of a leadership challenge before the Victorian state election, Nov. 28. But the ease with which Frydenberg commands attention is a reminder that Taylor’s struggles extend beyond the CPAC stage or national opinion polls.

Everywhere he turns, Taylor is blocked — Coalition figureheads who know how to, and like grabbing, attention: Tony Abbott, Andrew Hastie, their former ally Barnaby Joyce and Frydenberg. And they all live under the mushroom cloud of Pauline Hanson.

ANGRY ANGUS: Perhaps it’s no wonder that Taylor is turning up the anger in his communications. Check this Instagram post which is either real talk, or someone losing their cool. It followed Taylor’s somewhat glass-jawed Insiders appearance Sunday.

Have you noticed more politicians swearing in social posts? Send us examples and ideas on why it’s happening: canberraplaybook@politico.com and WhatsApp 0494 380 487.

THE MAINSTREAMING OF PAULINE HANSON: ACCI will host a Hanson keynote at its Parliament House summit this morning (the prime minister is joining the gala dinner).

The Australian reports Hanson will say that “you cannot lift productivity and living standards without profitable businesses,” and attack Labor MPs who have “never run a business.” Hanson ran a successful seafood takeaway before entering parliament, while One Nation critics argue it is structured more like a business than a party.

KNIVES OUT FOR CHALMERS? Former Queensland Labor Secretary Cameron Milner has stuck the knife into Treasurer Jim Chalmers for the second week in a row in his column in The Nightly. Milner is a former chief of staff to then opposition leader Bill Shorten, and Queensland Labor secretary.

Milner correctly notes Chalmers’ five climb downs since the budget — but it’s such a long way from his praise for Chalmers as recently as July 2025, when he described Chalmers as offering a “masterclass in leadership.” What’s up?

WAGE RISES FOR SOME — AS GREENS SHARPEN ECONOMY ATTACK LINES

We’re watching whether the Greens keep their economy focus, after David Shoebridge used his first question in Senate question time as leader to attack Labor for stagnant real wage growth. “Oh, good question!” said a surprised Liberal Deputy Leader Jane Hume Monday.

Labor will hate that: Shoebridge is thumbing his nose at Labor demands that parties of the left should fight One Nation, not each other, and the Albanese government wants credit for increasing wages — for some.

The government announced overnight it will fund a pay increase averaging $1,370 to 460,000 health, disability and community service workers, following Fair Work Commission findings that workers in these industries have been undervalued. The total bill is $630 million a year. We’ve asked what employers in those sectors will have to contribute.

APS PAY RISE — HOLD THE CHAMPAGNE! The Public Service Commission will table its pay offer for roughly 196,000 public servants this afternoon, after three months at the bargaining table.

What to expect: Something “responsible and sustainable” according to Playbook’s ministerial sources. That means less than the 11.2% offered from March 2024 to March 2027 (which broke down to be a little more than the Wage Price Index projected for the June 2023 quarter). That’s also not a real pay rise, because inflation is 4%.

Jeff Lapidos, the tax branch secretary at the Australian Services Union, bets it will be a “low-ball” offer of 10%, given already strained departmental budgets.

The vibe: A bit tense. The commission tried to come after (sacred) flex time last month, and unions aren’t happy. That said, they’ll have to use their words for now, because protected strikes are not a legal option until March, after the current agreements expire.

THE PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW

VIRGINIA HAUSSEGGER — ‘THE TOOLS BEING WEAPONISED AGAINST WOMEN ARE FRIGHTENING’

Haussegger, author of “Unfinished Revolution: Feminist Fight Back” is a finalist in the 2026 Australian Political Book of the Year Award. She told POLITICO’s Ryan Heath that the backlash against women is forcing a wider conversation about equality and how it can be defended.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

You expected readers to challenge the idea of a feminist revolution. Did they?

Not a single person has asked what I mean by a feminist revolution, either here or overseas. There is a really strong angst among not just women, interestingly, but men as well and the conversation begins with an unspoken agreement that there is a global gender war and that it is ugly.

The tools being weaponized against women now are frightening. It’s different from what our feminist foremothers faced.

You trace a distinction between equality and liberation. What’s the difference?

The American women’s liberation movement worked outside the system. Australia worked inside the system. Australians including Elizabeth Reid had a different emphasis: She argued that if we focus too much on equality — having the same rights as men and access to the same opportunities — we may reach a point where we think the job is done because we can tick off numbers on a graph.

Where do you see backlash taking shape now?

Digital misogyny is being curated by a small group of powerful tech billionaires in the United States. For some, it is ideology; for others, it is the commercial benefit of disunity, disruption and aggression. We’ve had blocked ads for our Generation Women events because speakers’ bios included words such as “lesbian,” “queer” and “feminist.”

What can men who want to express healthy masculinity do?

A young man asked me for advice at an event; it was heartbreaking. He was probably early in his experience of relationships and very aware of what women are enduring, but he didn’t know what to do. I don’t have a neat answer. I am surprisingly optimistic, though. The Man Cave is doing great work with boys in schools. Chanel Contos’ Teach Us Consent team is doing marvelous work among young people.

Intersectionality is atmospheric for many of them. It is part of who they are. While I went into writing this book feeling very angry and quite jaded about the position of women, by the time I got to the end, I felt quite optimistic.

You say Australia has a feminist foreign policy, even though the government does not call it that.

We have had an international gender equality strategy since 2023, and Australia is one of the leaders in this space. Julie Bishop, as foreign minister, directed a major share of aid spending toward programs that included gender equality, even though she would not call herself a feminist. Women’s policy, pushed persistently, has helped produce changes that support women and families and broaden how we understand gender. We do not always label it feminist policy, but that is what it is.

Which Australian feminist should today’s generation know better?

Elizabeth Reid. Gough Whitlam appointed her as his women’s adviser in 1973, giving her direct access to the prime minister. She was hounded by the media and left the country, for a major career at the United Nations. She is 85 and still radical. She sees revolution as something you live every day. That has changed my understanding of what it means to keep pushing for transformation.

CANBERRA MEETS WORLD

DEAL OR NO DEAL: Trade Minister Don Farrell has delivered an ultimatum to the Coalition (and Greens): Back his EU free trade agreement or lose the deal entirely.

“There is no second chance with the EU if we choose to walk away from this deal. There is no room for negotiation here,” Farrell told a group of CEOs in parliament yesterday.

Nationals interest: The Coalition say they won’t support the deal in its current form, with the Nats particularly angry about what they say is a dud deal for Aussie farmers. They want Farrell to go back to Brussels with a new set of demands.

Yes, but: You can’t renegotiate with the EU. First, it’s 16 times the size of Australia’s market. Second, if you think the Australian Senate is hard — trying getting sign-off from 27 member countries who all have their own fractured Senates. It was 10 years overall, three years of sustained negotiations and a lot of headaches to get to this point.

How Green is Labor’s trade garden? The Greens are Labor’s best bet through the Senate. But Shoebridge is playing hardball again, telling Playbook they haven’t settled on a position. He either didn’t know or didn’t care that the deal is the first FTA to commit Australia to climate emissions reductions. Read the full story from Finn McHugh on the EU trade deal.

AIR JORDAN: The PM will welcome the Middle Eastern country’s King, Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, who’s flown to Canberra for a visit today and tomorrow. Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr. is also in town.

STATE OF THE NATION

CLIMATE CHANGE DEPARTMENT FACES DRASTIC CUTS

Australia’s climate change bureaucrats were urged to cut up to 30% of their internal budgets, and hit AI-driven efficiencies of up to 3% a year, to preserve the department’s ability to deliver its highest priorities.

“The proposed approach requires all groups to contribute to a central funding pool that is reallocated to the highest departmental priorities,” according to the Australian Government Consulting report, seen by POLITICO.

The review exposes the intensity of funding pressures at the department, which was hit with cuts of $188 million Australian dollars in the 2026 federal budget.

Read the full story on the department horse trading by Miriam Webber.

NEW ANTISEMITISM ROYAL COMMISSION HEARING

The Anti-Semitism Royal Commission announced it will hold a hearing to take additional evidence on the circumstances of the Dec. 14 Bondi terror attack including: the terror threat level, conduct of intelligence and law enforcement agencies, security at the Chanukah by the Sea event, intelligence sharing, and resourcing for counter-terrorism and effectiveness of current powers.

The hearing will be classified (and closed to the public) to avoid prejudice to national security and the ongoing criminal proceedings relating to the attack.

Given the campaign by sections of the media and the Coalition opposition to extend the Royal Commission and have it question Albanese government ministers, it’s interesting to see it retracing old ground examined in its second bloc of hearings.

Some of these topics, such as counter-terrorism resourcing, are government decisions made on the recommendation of agencies about their budgets. The Albanese government attempted to block some material on funding being handed to the royal commission by claiming public interest immunity (it revealed cabinet-in-confidence deliberations about a “current and controversial” topic). Royal commissioner Virginia Bell said no thanks – I’ll take a look.

On Sunday Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke was asked if he’d attend: “I was ready if they’d wanted me. My view was always; that’s a matter for the Royal Commission.”

STATES VS. REDDIT IN SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGE

The states and territories have all made submissions urging the High Court to uphold the validity of Australia’s under 16 social media account ban.

NSW argued that the implied freedom of political communication is not a “right to contribute to a particular forum or to speak to a particular audience” — making a virtue of the fact teens can still access social media, just not have an account.

No First Amendment here: Victoria noted NetChoice, which represents U.S. tech companies, had supported Reddit’s bid to have the law struck down, but warned that First Amendment cases from the U.S. are of “very little assistance” in deciding the Australian law.

South Australia went on an interesting tangent, calling for the High Court to overturn its own precedent about how the implied freedom of political communication is applied, and ask whether a law is “reasonably necessary” instead of considering “suitability” and “adequacy in the balance.”

The Reddit case is due to be heard in November. It’s a pretty big asterisk on Communications Minister Anika Wells TIME100 Next 2026 rising star gong — step one is make sure your law survives challenge.

AGENDA ASSISTANT

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will update numbers on overseas arrivals and departures at 11:30 a.m.

All will be revealed on the RBA’s September rates decision. Minutes from the meeting are out at 11:30 a.m.

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen will speak at ACCI’s Parliament House summit at 9:10 a.m. on Australia’s future energy security. Anthony Albanese will attend the gala dinner at Parliament House from 6:30 p.m. as guest of honour.

Jim Chalmers gives the Bernie Fraser ovation for The Australia Institute at Shine Dome. We were going to recommend the $15 livestream tickets, but even they are sold out, alongside the 250 in-person tickets.

COMMUNITY CORNER

MOVES AND APPOINTMENTS

It’s a big round of assistant commissioner promotions at Australian Taxation Office: Jarred Needham, Alexander Nicopoulos, Emma Butler, Emma Chamberlain and Andrew Fenn.

Steven Morris-Gardiner — promoted to senior executive lawyer at the Australian Government Solicitor.

Elizabeth Petrovic — appointed assistant secretary, policy and program management at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Joe Ritchie — appointed branch head, gas markets at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

BIRTHDAYS

Labor MP Emma Comer; former Labor MP for Canberra Annette Ellis turns 80; U.S. Democratic congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; swimming legend Ian Thorpe.

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eSafety can’t pre-block execution livestream — yet