Australia enters 2026 facing deep strategic uncertainty: AUKUS costs have blown out to $1.3 billion with little clarity about what Australia is actually buying, while fear-driven national-security politics – from Richard Marles’ exaggerated warnings about a Chinese “flotilla” to unconstitutional anti-protest laws in NSW and creeping police-state powers in Victoria – continue to erode democratic accountability. As governments amplify threats, expand surveillance and silence dissent, the mainstream media has drifted further into PR and censorship, from the National Press Club cancelling Chris Hedges to the Sydney Morning Herald publishing misleading reporting used to attack Anthony Albanese.   And despite its historic 2025 landslide, Labor still governs cautiously, clinging to bipartisanship, avoiding bold reforms on climate, housing and integrity, and remaining wary of collaboration with the Greens even where their agendas align. With Australia bound tightly to US security interests, distracted by culture wars and hollow media coverage, and hesitant to use its political dominance for meaningful change, the question heading into 2026 is whether the country can shift from fear and dependency towards genuine strategic independence and confident, democratic governance. #AUSPOL<b>Support New Politics, just $5 per month:</b><ul><li>Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/newpolitics" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.patreon.com/newpolitics</a></li><li>Substack: <a href="https://newpolitics.substack.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://newpolitics.substack.com</a></li></ul><b>Song listing:</b><ol><li>‘Let Me Entertain You’, Robbie Williams.</li><li>‘Swing For The Crime’, Ed Kuepper.</li><li>‘Satellite Anthem Icarus’, Boards of Canada.</li><li>‘Off The Grid’, Beastie Boys.</li><li>‘Yesterday’s Gone’, Beth Orton & William Orbit.</li></ol>

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The Review of 2025 Part 4: AUKUS, cancel culture and how Labor governs

New Politics: Australian Politics

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