Weekly Roundup - Top Articles and Commentary from Week 20 of 2026

  

Here are links to some selected articles of interest and our posts from this week.

• Bark Loud, Beg Quiet: Iran's Ceasefire Theatre
• Must see Babylon Bee AI Vidoe of America Wihtout Republicans
• The Great Net Zero Retreat
• Porkies from the PM?
  
• Labor's Budget Problem:Australians Know Who Caused The Crisis

We welcome all feedback; please feel free to submit your comments or contact me via email at grappysb@gmail.com or on X at @grappysb

Labor’s Budget Problem: Australians Know Who Caused the Crisis

 

Tomorrow night, Treasurer Jim Chalmers will hand down a budget already heavily pre-announced through a carefully managed stream of leaks. As always, the government wants the headlines written before the actual numbers arrive. The problem for Anthony Albanese and Labor is that no amount of political choreography can hide the underlying reality: the Australian economy is in deep trouble, and much of the damage is self-inflicted.

For nearly three years Australians have been told that every economic pain they experience is somebody else’s fault. Inflation? Global conditions. Housing crisis? Investors. Energy prices? International markets. Interest rates? The Reserve Bank. Young Australians unable to buy homes? Apparently their parents and grandparents.

Never the government.

Yet the pattern is unmistakable. Labor inherited an economy recovering strongly after COVID, with unemployment low and commodity exports booming. Instead of using that position to rebuild productivity and economic resilience, they embarked on one of the biggest expansions of government spending and bureaucracy in modern Australian history.

Government’s share of the economy has ballooned from roughly 24% of GDP to around 27%. The public service has exploded in size. Billions have been poured into programs, subsidies, consultants, climate schemes and administrative empires, often with little evidence of competence or measurable return.

At the same time productivity — the real engine of long-term prosperity — has been sliding backwards. Australians are working harder to stand still.

And when the economy started slowing, Labor reached for the easiest short-term fix imaginable: mass immigration.

Record immigration numbers temporarily inflate headline GDP figures and create the illusion of economic growth. Politicians then boast the economy is “still growing,” while ordinary Australians experience the exact opposite in their daily lives. GDP per capita stagnates or falls, wages struggle to keep pace, and infrastructure groans under the pressure.

Housing has become the clearest example of this failure.

Australia simply has not built enough homes, roads, transport systems, hospitals or utilities to cope with the unprecedented population surge. The result has been devastating, particularly for younger Australians trying to enter the property market.

Rents have exploded. House prices remain detached from reality. Home ownership — once an achievable aspiration for ordinary working Australians — is increasingly becoming a fantasy.

Now, having helped create the crisis, Labor is trying to redirect public anger into a narrative of “generational inequity.” Suddenly the problem is not government policy, uncontrolled migration, inflationary spending or planning failures. No, apparently the real villains are older Australians who managed to buy homes decades ago under very different economic conditions.

It is a deeply cynical strategy.

Young Australians are right to be angry. But they should be angry at governments that flooded the country with population growth while failing to build the infrastructure to support it. Angry at reckless spending that fuelled inflation and drove interest rates higher. Angry at energy policies that have increased costs across the economy. Angry at governments that talk endlessly about “equity” while making life objectively harder for the next generation.

The emerging leaks suggest tomorrow’s budget may go even further down this dangerous path.

Labor appears ready to break previous assurances regarding capital gains tax settings and trust arrangements — another example of a government discovering that economic reality eventually catches up with political spin. Investors and small businesses are once again being positioned as convenient revenue sources to fund ever-expanding government spending.

Of course, the rhetoric will be wrapped in fairness, sustainability and “responsible reform.” It always is.

But Australians are becoming increasingly sceptical of a government that never seems to accept responsibility for any failure while constantly searching for new groups to blame.

The deeper concern is that Australia is drifting into a low-productivity, high-tax, high-spending economic model where governments attempt to manage decline through redistribution rather than create prosperity through growth.

A nation cannot tax, subsidise and regulate its way to prosperity indefinitely.

Eventually reality intrudes.

Tomorrow night’s budget may provide a few temporary sweeteners and carefully targeted handouts. There will no doubt be optimistic language about resilience, fairness and future opportunity. But beneath the marketing campaign lies an uncomfortable truth:

Australia’s cost-of-living crisis, housing crisis and productivity collapse are not random events. They are the direct consequences of policy choices.

And increasingly, Australians know it.

Porkies from the PM: How Long Can This Last?

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese seems to believe that if he says something often enough, Australians will simply accept it — even when they have seen the opposite with their own eyes.

That is the central theme of a blistering recent analysis by Chris Kenny, who catalogues what he describes as a growing pattern of denial, backflips and outright porkies from the Prime Minister. (Sky News Australia)

The problem is no longer just political spin. Every politician spins. The problem is that Albanese increasingly appears to think reality itself is negotiable.

Chris Kenny highlighted repeated examples where Albanese has denied previous statements, rewritten history, or attempted to walk away from promises Australians clearly remember hearing. Energy bill reductions. Tax policy. Housing commitments. Economic promises. Again and again, the story changes once power has been secured. (The Australian)

And now comes the real test: the budget.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is preparing to hand down a budget that reportedly abandons or waters down commitments Labor used heavily during the last election campaign. Australians were promised relief from soaring living costs, cheaper power bills, responsible spending and economic competence. Instead, families are facing stubborn inflation, crushing housing costs, rising debt and increasing pressure on household budgets.

Yet somehow, according to Albanese, none of this is Labor’s fault.

That is what makes this so dangerous.

When a Prime Minister refuses to acknowledge obvious reality, good policy becomes impossible. Governments can only solve problems they are willing to admit exist. If every failure is rebranded as success, if every broken promise is explained away, and if every contradiction is denied despite video evidence, then accountability disappears.

Chris Kenny argues this pattern has become habitual — almost reflexive. (The Australian) Australians are told not to believe what they saw, what they heard, or what Labor promised only months earlier.

It creates a corrosive effect on trust.

Democracy depends on voters believing that words still matter. Election campaigns matter. Commitments matter. If politicians can simply gaslight the public after every election, cynicism grows and public confidence collapses.

And there is another problem here. Weak leadership at home has consequences abroad. A government disconnected from reality domestically often projects confusion internationally as well. Australia faces major strategic and economic challenges — energy security, defence concerns, rising debt, declining productivity and cost-of-living pressures. This is not the time for a Prime Minister who appears more focused on narrative management than hard truths.

Australians can handle difficult news. What they resent is being treated like fools.

The coming budget may well expose the gap between what Labor promised and what it can actually deliver. If so, the real political issue will not just be broken promises — it will be whether Albanese once again tries to pretend the promises were never made in the first place.

Because eventually reality catches up.

Even with politicians.

Chris Kenny’s video:

The Great Net Zero Retreat

For years, Net Zero was the unquestioned mantra of the Western world.

Governments preached it.
Corporations pledged allegiance to it.
Academia and media enforced it.

Dissent wasn’t debated — it was dismissed.

But something has changed. Quietly at first… now unmistakably. The tide is turning.

Reality Bites

A recent report highlighted a growing trend: countries and industries are abandoning or scaling back Net Zero commitments. (Watts Up With That?)

Not rebranding. Not delaying. Backing away.

Why? Because reality has finally collided with ideology.

The Cost Explosion No One Could Ignore

For years we were told renewables would be cheaper, cleaner, and inevitable.

Instead, what we’ve seen is:

• Soaring electricity prices
• Grid instability
• Industrial flight from high-cost regions

Even traditionally enthusiastic regions are struggling to sustain ambitious targets, as rising costs make those plans harder to deliver. (therightinsight.org)

It turns out you can’t run a modern economy on slogans.

The Iran War – A Brutal Reminder

Then came geopolitics. The recent tensions involving Iran delivered a blunt message:

The world still runs on fossil fuels.

When supply chains are threatened, when shipping lanes are at risk, when energy security becomes existential — wind turbines and solar panels don’t keep the lights on.

Oil, gas, and coal do.

Suddenly, energy policy wasn’t about virtue signalling.
It was about survival.

AI – The Energy Elephant in the Room

Just as Net Zero policies were straining energy systems…

Along came AI.

Data centres, machine learning, and global compute demand are exploding.
And they don’t run on wishful thinking.

They require vast, reliable, always-on energy.

The uncomfortable truth?

The push for Net Zero is colliding head-on with the energy demands of the future.

From “Great Reset” to Great Retreat

For over a decade, Net Zero was framed as inevitable — the only path forward.

Now?

We are seeing:

• Projects cancelled
• Targets watered down
• Investments redirected
• Politicians suddenly… less vocal

Even climate coverage itself appears to be losing urgency in public discourse. Not because the messaging changed. Because the economics did.

Why This Matters

This isn’t a minor policy adjustment. It’s a fundamental shift.

For the first time in years, decisions are being driven by:

• Cost
• Reliability
• National security
• Economic survival

Instead of ideology.

Overdue — But Welcome

Let’s be clear. This shift isn’t happening because policymakers suddenly had a change of heart. It’s happening because: They ran out of road.

You can only ignore:

• skyrocketing energy bills
• struggling industries
• fragile grids
• geopolitical realities

…for so long.

The Bottom Line

Net Zero isn’t dead. But the blind, unquestioned march toward it? That’s over.

What we’re witnessing now is something far more grounded: A return to reality.

And frankly— It’s about time.

Bark Loud, Beg Quiet: Iran’s Ceasefire Theatre

There’s a pattern emerging in the aftermath of the Iran–US ceasefire, and once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

Iran barks in public… and begs in private.

On the world stage, the Iranian regime is all chest-thumping bravado. Victory is declared. The United States has been “defeated.” Reparations are demanded. Iranian ships, they insist, must have free passage through the Straits of Hormuz—as if they’re dictating terms after a triumph.

And the threats? Relentless.

Destroy US assets. Strike neighbouring countries. Escalate at will.

It’s theatre. Loud, aggressive, designed for domestic consumption.

But then comes the other side—the quiet diplomacy, the back channels, the repeated attempts to re-engage Washington. The same regime that claims victory keeps circling back, trying to extract concessions, probing for weakness, hoping for a way out.

That’s not the behaviour of a victor.

That’s the behaviour of a regime under pressure.

The Reality Behind the Rhetoric

The United States, for its part, isn’t playing along.

The message has been consistent:
We’re willing to talk—but only if Iran is serious.

No reopening of the Straits under threat.
No concessions for bluster.
No deals while nuclear ambitions remain on the table.

And, crucially, no urgency.

Because time is not Iran’s ally.

The Octopus Has Been Crippled

Think back to the image: Iran as the octopus.

For years, its reach extended across the region—Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, militias in Syria and beyond. Each arm projecting power, spreading influence, keeping conflict at arm’s length from Tehran itself.

But those arms have been cut back—severely.

Proxy networks degraded. Supply lines disrupted. Command structures fractured. What was once a sprawling regional force now looks more like a wounded creature, lashing out but losing reach.

And now, for the first time in a long while, the head itself has been hit.

Directly.

Why the Bluster Matters

So why the noise? Why the constant declarations of victory?

Because the regime has something far more immediate to fear than the United States.

Its own people.

Not long ago, an uprising shook the foundations of the state. It didn’t fade away—it was crushed. Brutally. Tens of thousands dead or disappeared, dissent silenced by force.

That kind of repression doesn’t create stability.
It creates pressure.

And pressure builds.

For Iran’s leadership, admitting defeat externally risks triggering collapse internally. Acknowledging weakness could embolden a population already simmering beneath the surface.

So they maintain the illusion.

Victory abroad. Strength at home.

Even when neither is true.

Sanctions, Blockades, and the Slow Squeeze

Meanwhile, the economic reality tightens.

Sanctions bite. Trade routes constrict. The blockade acts not as a sudden shock, but as a slow, tightening noose. Every week without relief compounds the strain—on industry, on currency, on daily life.

This is not sustainable indefinitely.

Which is precisely why the regime keeps returning to the negotiating table—informally, indirectly, persistently.

They need a deal.

But they don’t want to look like they need one.

The Strategic Asymmetry

Here’s the uncomfortable truth for Tehran: The US can wait. Iran cannot.

Washington can afford patience—letting pressure do its work, holding firm on core demands, engaging only when the other side shows genuine intent.

Tehran, on the other hand, faces a narrowing window. Economic decline, internal instability, and a diminished regional footprint all point in one direction.

Time is a luxury they no longer have.

Bark… Then Beg

And so the cycle continues.

Public threats. Grandstanding announcements. Declarations of victory.

Followed by quiet outreach. Back-channel feelers.Attempts to soften positions.

Bark loud enough for the crowd. Beg quietly enough to save face.

It’s not diplomacy as strength. It’s negotiation as survival.

The Bottom Line

Strip away the rhetoric, and the picture is clear.

A regime weakened externally, pressured internally, and running out of options—yet still clinging to the performance of power.

The question isn’t whether Iran wants a deal. It’s whether it can bring itself to admit it.

Until then, expect more noise. More threats. More “victories.”

And behind the curtain—more quiet, urgent appeals for a way out.