#things to do in Canberra

[sleepy-stitches]

hi. ive taken this trip now. ive come out with new and controversial opinions on bus systems

[andthebubbles]

tfw you only realise TODAY that you have a rehearsal because messenger didn't give you a notification for the message that was sent last night... and yeah I AM free today but sjdhdjdjd PLANS RUINED, PLANS OF DOING NOTHING RUINED

[coolasakuhncumber]

Far out i love canberra on summer. Being out late and not freezing

[travelersadventure]

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[sleepymccoy]

what was done to make the legalization of gay marriage damaging there?

They ran a plebiscite, which is like a non mandatory opinion poll for the country

The thing was, the public demand from queer groups for gay marriage to be legal was so so high in 2017. 2017! Not ten years ago, of course it was common to be okay w gay marriage.

The Labor party were in opposition and had fairly calmly promised to legalise next time they were in power. The Coalition, who were in power, reaaallly didn't want to tho. Cos they're homophobes. But demand was so high that had to do something, so they did a plebiscite

Firstly, gay rights is not such a complex matter that the government can't figure it out themselves. We vote for them to represent us, this was the coalition going mmmm I don't wanna represent that, gross. Can the population do it for me?

Secondly, queer people are a minority. We're meant to be protected by the government. The government, the coalition, did not protect their citizens

What it meant was a public debate, with tv required to air equal weight to each side. And the coalition, the Australian government, ran vote no ads

So we had a big old public debate. With the coalition getting to hate on gay kids and tag it with 'sponsored by the Australian government, Canberra' tag at the end. It's very hard to find examples of this now, but different ads ran all night long. The love the community tried to pour out was not worth the hate that was supported to speak

This is an ad that ran before the plebiscite was announced, explaining the danger it could have

Here's the foreign minister being shown an ad that tells people to vote no, and her saying it's fine for that to play on prime time tv. It's wild, watch it

No gay organisation wanted the plebiscite. Once it happened they pulled their socks up and campaigned, of course, but it was devastating and devisive. I started wearing a rainbow flag as a wee 22ish year old and people threw slurs. The cruelty was on the street like it never had been before, and didn't need to be

The plebiscite passed with a yes vote

I can remember a lot of reporting around how 61.6% (yes votes) of 79.5% (total votes) is less than half. Less than half of the country gave enough of a shit to vote yes put the letter back in the mail box. Cunts.

The government then didn't pass it into law! No, they had a conscience vote, which means the ministers are not required to vote down party lines but can vote freely with no repercussions. Labor, in opposition, voted mostly yes. The coalition split the vote, but it did get over and gay marriage was dragged into law

Obviously it's good that we have gay marriage

Idve prefered we didn't subject our community to government sponsored vitriol for it. And I won't forgive the coalition ever. They are cowards. I would have absolutely preferred to wait three years and make an election of it

And I hate that they get to say they moved the country forward with this liberal equal rights agenda. Cos they didn't. They looked at their job, which is to make law, and found a novel way to step on the queers a little before doing that

[thatsonemorbidcorvid]

“Many dozens of respondents on the receiving end of flaking ascribed the phenomenon to growing levels of social fragmentation because of social media and smartphones, a general sense of apathy in the population and an increasing normalisation of inconsiderate behaviour in the interest of personal needs and desires…

Although some conceded that widespread precarity and poor health were factors, many accused friends of treating their friendships as if they are transactions they felt entitled to withdraw from or invest in as it suited them, and of using stress or their mental health as an excuse to escape personal accountability…

One volunteer organiser for a non-profit from Canada said the number of no-shows to his events had increased several-fold. “At one point,” he said, “I scheduled a lecture with 45 registrants, only to have three arrive.”

“[What drives flaking?] I think a culture that encourages people to be increasingly inward looking, always thinking about themselves, how they feel, what they want,” said Fiona, 40, from Dublin. “People don’t seem to think about how flaking might disappoint or hurt the feelings of their friends. Their thinking seems to only go as far as ‘ugh, I’m not in the mood’.”

“I have noticed a rise in people cancelling plans,” said Tim, 44, a solicitor from Canberra, Australia. “It can be annoying, but I also understand the feeling of something seeming like a good idea when it is in the future, then not feeling like going [on the day]. I have adjusted my mindset so I almost expect 50% of [everyday] social plans not to happen.”

Tim was among people from the UK, the US, Australia and elsewhere who shared with the Guardian how they experienced “flaking” – the cancelling of plans at often short notice owing to not being in the mood, feeling demotivated or tired, or wanting to do something else instead – a phenomenon that many felt had become more prevalent.

“I think the main driver of flaking is that everyone is burnt out,” Tim said. “I feel like I am under constant communication bombardment. Most social events are planned for the evening or weekend, which is the precise time you just want a break from people. I definitely have stronger feelings of not wanting to do things when the time comes.”

Like countless threads about flaking on platforms such as Reddit, people shared how friends and family members had, often at the last minute, dropped out of smaller everyday occasions such as lunch dates and long-planned gatherings – trips and concerts, but also birthdays, weddings and funerals.

Many dozens of respondents on the receiving end of flaking ascribed the phenomenon to growing levels of social fragmentation because of social media and smartphones, a general sense of apathy in the population and an increasing normalisation of inconsiderate behaviour in the interest of personal needs and desires.

Being able to just send a quick text to cancel, various people said, meant people did not have to face those they stood up and incentivised late cancellations.

Although some conceded that widespread precarity and poor health were factors, many accused friends of treating their friendships as if they are transactions they felt entitled to withdraw from or invest in as it suited them, and of using stress or their mental health as an excuse to escape personal accountability.

Various professional event organisers and business owners who responded to the callout also reported a rise in no-shows post-Covid – for commitments such as dentist and hairdresser’s appointments, ticketed events, job interviews or business meetings.

One volunteer organiser for a non-profit from Canada said the number of no-shows to his events had increased several-fold. “At one point,” he said, “I scheduled a lecture with 45 registrants, only to have three arrive.”

“[What drives flaking?] I think a culture that encourages people to be increasingly inward looking, always thinking about themselves, how they feel, what they want,” said Fiona, 40, from Dublin. “People don’t seem to think about how flaking might disappoint or hurt the feelings of their friends. Their thinking seems to only go as far as ‘ugh, I’m not in the mood’.”

Like others, Fiona harboured concerns that “the acceptance of flakiness might contribute to the growth of loneliness in society”.

“Increasingly with gen Z and millennials there is a fetishisation of introversion,” said Andrew, 23, from Brisbane who works in telecoms sales. “Web comics and memes make a moral comparison to extroverts, who are supposedly loud, obnoxious people. Introverts are [depicted as] moral people who own cats and crochet. But our generation is also experiencing record high loneliness, so I think we shouldn’t praise choosing loneliness or celebrate [extreme levels of] introversion.”

On the other end of the spectrum were dozens of respondents who reported that they were increasingly cancelling plans themselves, with many of them saying this was the result of permanent exhaustion, work stress, poor mental health or a lack of funds.

Many from this camp said they felt no need any longer to apologise for prioritising their personal needs over those of others. “I would argue that these are all reasons why flakiness is not actually people cancelling for no reason, but a legitimate response to how society is now structured and the lifestyles we lead,” said Bethan, from Yorkshire.

A woman from Canada called Tabitha described the concept of flakiness as “ableist”. “People aren’t ‘flaky’ for prioritising their mental and physical health instead of ‘roughing it out’ to attend inconsequential things,” she said.

“I have noticed a rise in ‘flaking’ but it’s been welcome, and I’ve certainly been a perpetrator,” said a 43-year-old artist from Melbourne. “There’s been a sense of absolute understanding and relief.”

Few people, she said, wanted to go out these days. “Fewer people drink, the cost of living is high and everyone has a mountain of responsibilities, not to mention burnout and anxiety. Unless it’s a significant birthday or wedding, I’m not quite sure why one would agree to gather in the first place. These days I’ll take any excuse to cancel last-minute and it feels like self-care.”

A 35-year-old architect and small business owner from Perth said: “When I get flaked on, I feel relieved that I have an excuse to not have to leave the house. I have always wanted to be a flaky person, but society didn’t let me. Now that [many others] have given up, I feel like I let myself go, too.

“I love my friends and I do want to catch up with them – but I wish I could do so from the comfort of my own bed.” She did “feel bad”, she said, “for all the social butterflies that are getting their going out dreams crushed.”

A number of people referenced the feeling that attending social gatherings no longer yielded the “rewards” it used to in the past, with costs having increased and other participants being tired or disinterested.

Libby, 70, a retired healthcare professional from Western Australia, worried about flaky behaviour threatening people’s reputations, friendships and social cohesion, and raised concerns about “very short-term thinking” becoming the norm.

A family member, she said, had been a no-show for a close family wedding. “They gave zero notice. When I confronted her, she was totally unapologetic. Her mother pretty much told me she’d been invited to a weekend away with friends, a more attractive offer, apparently. I have lost all respect for them.”

Many of those who complained about flaky friends and family said it had substantially affected their self-esteem and trust in people, with various people saying they had stopped organising gatherings entirely because of the “logistical nightmare” of increasing numbers of people dropping out or wanting to amend plans multiple times to suit their needs better.

“I’m not sure if flakers see that their flaking eats away at the basic fabric of the friendship. At the end of the day, all relationships are built on trust, and to flake, constantly at least, is to break that trust,” said Tristan, 38, from Surrey who works in film production.

“People just feel like they don’t owe anybody anything any more, but they also just don’t want the scrutiny of others,” said a graduate in her late 20s from Devon.

“Everyone can upload things to their [social media] profiles that’ll make them look like they’re on top of the world, but these curated images aren’t real and wouldn’t hold up in conversation at a party. It’s all really unhealthy.”

Many mourned the loss of longstanding friends who, various people felt, had harmed themselves and others by retreating from their social obligations.

“I think many people who feel generally good about having become more flaky don’t realise that they are slowly manoeuvring themselves off the pitch,” said Lara, 37, a business consultant from London.

Her old university friendship group, she said, had originally been very diverse, a mix of high achievers and dreamers, extroverts and introverts. Over the past few years however, the group had gradually shrunk as some people had “excluded themselves” by routinely withdrawing from social events.

“Those of us who still meet up regularly – we started off as drinking buddies in halls, but today we flag professional or even romantic opportunities to each other, recommend investment strategies, doctors, childminders, schools, contractors, affordable holiday rentals ... It’s mostly a support group that helps us all navigate life better, and many of us have been thriving to a significant degree because we stayed in it.”

Several respondents described their increasing inability to keep an appointment as “self-sabotage”, among them Kevin, a 39-year-old researcher from Vancouver, Canada, who felt defensive but also ambivalent about his behaviour.

Flaking allowed him, he said, to avoid situations that required him to address personal issues and conflict. “It has taken me ages to begin to accept this about myself, but I hate making plans and regret it almost every time,” he said.

Kevin blamed people’s growing tendency to cancel on ever-increasing amounts of “labour” – both “actual hours worked” as well as historically high levels of “shadow work” for consumers, such as assembling furniture, pumping gas or self-checkouts.

“Then factor in all the garbage we have to do on our phones now – how many hours a month do we spend creating online accounts and downloading apps and managing bugs and making complaints, just to park the car or order groceries?”

Worsening public services, he felt, also forced people to do more childcare, eldercare and self-care. “So that person is supposed to show up for a park walk with an acquaintance on a rainy Tuesday evening because they said they would? Nah.”

“It’s really terrible,” said Ellie, an interpreter from London in her 30s. “I loved my old friends, but they used to stand me up all the time. After years of progressively worsening levels of flakiness since the pandemic, to the point where nobody invited me ever and nobody turned up when I organised something, I realised I needed different, more resilient friends – people with the capacity to give. It’s scary to think about where all this will end.”

[rafecamerons-national-anthem]

GAME NIGHT RIVALRY-DREW STARKEY

𝕤𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕪 Drew gets too competitive during a board game with Y/N.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

It was a rare night off for Drew and Y/N, and instead of going out or watching TV, Y/N had a brilliant idea: game night.

“C’mon, it’ll be fun!” Y/N said, setting a stack of board games on the coffee table.

Drew raised an eyebrow, slouching on the couch. “Fun for who? You know how competitive I get.”

“Exactly,” she teased. “You’ve been bragging all week about how you never lose. Let’s see if you can back it up.”

Drew smirked, sitting up straighter. “Oh, it’s on. Don’t get mad when I destroy you.”

Y/N rolled her eyes but couldn’t help smiling. She loved how animated Drew got when they played games, it was one of his more endearing quirks, even if it sometimes spiraled out of control.

They started with a simple trivia game, which quickly turned chaotic. Drew’s competitive streak surfaced almost immediately.

“What’s the capital of Australia?” Y/N asked, reading from a card.

Drew rubbed his chin, confident. “Sydney. Final answer.”

Y/N’s eyes lit up mischievously. “Wrong! It’s Canberra.”

Drew’s jaw dropped. “Canberra? Are you kidding me? That’s a trick question!”

Y/N laughed, marking her point on the scoreboard. “It’s not a trick question. It’s basic geography.”

“Whatever,” Drew grumbled, leaning forward to grab a handful of popcorn. “Next question. I’m warming up.”

But as the game wore on, Y/N continued to rack up points, her grin widening with each victory.

“You’re cheating,” Drew accused, narrowing his eyes.

“I’m not cheating! I’m just smarter than you,” Y/N shot back, sticking out her tongue.

Frustrated with his trivia loss, Drew suggested switching to a strategy-based game, one that required careful planning and quick thinking.

“You’re going down,” he declared, setting up the board for a game of Catan.

Y/N laughed, not intimidated in the slightest. “Bring it, Starkey.”

The game started off friendly enough, with both of them trading resources and building settlements. But as the turns went on, Drew’s focus intensified. He eyed the board like a general planning his next move, his lips pressed into a determined line.

“You’re not going to win,” he said, placing a road strategically across the board.

“Drew, it’s just a game,” Y/N replied, though she was secretly enjoying his intensity.

“It’s not just a game. It’s about honor,” he said dramatically, pointing at her with his game piece.

The turning point came when Y/N blocked Drew from building the longest road, a critical move that sent him into a mock frenzy.

“Why would you do that?” Drew asked, his tone a mix of disbelief and betrayal.

“Because it’s the smart thing to do,” Y/N said smugly, placing her piece with a flourish.

“You’re targeting me!” he accused, leaning back with his arms crossed.

“You’re the one who said it’s about honor,” Y/N shot back, laughing at his exaggerated reaction.

As the game neared its end, Drew’s competitive spirit reached new heights. He muttered calculations under his breath, plotted elaborate strategies, and even tried to bribe Y/N with snacks to trade him resources.

“Do you want this chocolate bar? I’ll give you all my sheep,” he said, holding up a candy bar.

“Nice try,” Y/N replied, not falling for it.

When Y/N ultimately won the game by a single point, Drew threw his hands in the air dramatically.

“I’ve been robbed!” he declared.

“You lost fair and square,” Y/N said, barely able to contain her laughter.

Refusing to end the night on a loss, Drew insisted on one more game: Uno. “This is my redemption arc,” he declared, shuffling the cards with the precision of a Vegas dealer.

Y/N raised an eyebrow. “You know Uno ends friendships, right?”

“Good thing we’re not friends,” Drew teased, giving her a playful wink. “We’re competitors.”

The game quickly turned savage. Drew played a string of Draw Four cards, grinning like a villain as Y/N’s hand ballooned with cards.

“Are you serious right now?” Y/N asked, glaring at him.

“Sorry, babe. It’s just strategy,” Drew said, though his smirk suggested otherwise.

But Y/N got her revenge, unleashing a barrage of skips and reverses that left Drew speechless.

“You’re a monster,” he said, dramatically slumping in his chair.

“Monster or winner?” Y/N quipped, slapping down her final card. “Uno!”

By the end of the night, the coffee table was littered with game pieces, empty popcorn bowls, and discarded cards. Drew and Y/N lay sprawled on the couch, exhausted from their marathon game night.

“Okay,” Drew admitted, throwing an arm over his face. “You’re better at games than I thought.”

“Thanks,” Y/N said, snuggling into his side. “You’re not so bad yourself, even if you do turn into a sore loser.”

“I’m not a sore loser,” Drew said indignantly.

“You yelled ‘betrayal’ when I played a Draw Four.”

“Because it was betrayal!”

They both burst out laughing, their earlier competitiveness forgotten.

“You know,” Drew said after a moment, his voice softer, “even though you completely destroyed me tonight, I had fun.”

Y/N smiled, kissing his cheek. “Me too. But next time, let’s just play something cooperative. For the sake of our relationship.”

“Deal,” Drew said, pulling her closer.

And with that, they called a truce until the next game night.

𝕥𝕒𝕘𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥 @nicholaschavezslut69

[celticcrossanon]

BRF Reading - 17th of October, 2024

This is speculation only

Cards drawn on the 17th of October, 2024

Question: How will the tour of Australia go for Queen Camilla?

Note: I'm using my new Rider-Waite deck for this reading, as part of the process of breaking the cards in, so the energies are not going to be as clear as they usually are.

Interpretation: She is very worried and stressed about the whole thing

Card One: Strength in reverse

Strength can mean physical strength or inner strength. In the reverse, it indicates a lack of strength, physical or internal.

The Strength card is the card of Leo, ruled by the Sun, so I was wondering if Queen Camilla would be affected by the weather in Australia, but I looked up the forecast and it is mild - the minimums and maximums for Sydney from the 18th to the 23rd are 17-25, 19-27, 16-23, 15-21, 15-23 and 14-26, and for Canberra they are 12-22, 11-23, 7-25, 7-24, 6-26 and 9-27, all in degrees Celsius, so even the warmer days won't be that warm because the nights are so cool. It might affect the Queen, she is old, so I'm putting that down as a maybe.

The other energy I get from this card, and this is the stronger energy of the two, is that of a lack of internal strength. So feeling not very confident, fearing that something will happen, doubting herself or feeling inadequate in some way. I think she is going to spend most of this visit worrying about The King, to be honest. She could also be comparing herself to Princess Diana, who drew huge crowds when she visited Australia, and I don't think the King and Queen will draw the same crowds as the interest is just not there as far as I can see - not as strong and not as promoted by the media. They will still draw crowds, but not the massive crowds that Princess Diana drew.

I drew a clarifier for this card and it was the Queen of Cups in reverse. Both Queen Camilla and Princess Diana are represented by the Queen of Cups card, which is my card for Cancer people, so there could be some sort of competition going on in the Queen's mind. If not, then the clarifier says that the Queen will not be at her best on this trip - she will be diminished or overshadowed in some way, or she will be acting out of the negative side of her inner nature.

Card Two: The Nine of Swords

This card is all about worrying about something - being physically comfortable but mentally in anguish. It indicates things such as fear, anxiety, negativity, and reaching your breaking point.

The energy of this card is of fear and worry. Somehow, the idea of doing this tour has the Queen in a state of extreme worry, and I'm picking up some fear also, mainly in the form of 'what if' thinking. I don't think the Queen wants to go on this tour and this card tells me that she is not mentally prepared for the tour at all. It could be that she is just worried about The King, but if so it is a very intense worry.

I drew a clarifier for this card and it was the Magician in the reverse. The Magician is the card of manifesting something, and in the reverse it is about not being able to manifest something, so the Queen may be worried that she can't make something happen that she wants to happen, which could be anything from good press to making sure her husband takes care of himself on this trip.

Card Three: Death

Death is the card of Scorpio, the sun sign of King Charles, so it looks like the Queen's worry is focused on her husband and trying to make sure he takes care of himself on this tour. I think that she also wants the tour to go the way The King wants it to go (which it may not) and she is worried about the effect on him if he is disappointed in the tour after putting in so much effort to make the trip.

The Death card is about endings, changes, letting go of things, and transformations. The energy of the card is that this is a farewell tour, a final goodbye, and the Queen wants it to go as well as possible because as far as she knows it is the last visit to Australia.

Underlying Energy: The Six of Swords

This is the card of travel overseas, so that is the going on tour itself that is underlying all of the above concerns. The Six of Swords can mean moving on, leaving things behind you, either leaving a problem behind or being forced to move on from a situation that you don't want to leave and you don't want to change.

The energy of this card is of regret and farewell. Like the Death card, an energy of 'this is the last time' lingers about it, of not wanting this to be the last visit but having to accept that the odds of returning are not in their favour. The woman in the card is huddled up in a cloak, as though she is in mourning for what she has left behind, and it is that sorrowful energy and regretful energy that is coming through this card.

Conclusion:

The Australian Tour is going to be hard on Queen Camilla. She may not show it externally, but inside, she is carrying a lot of worry and she may be having a crisis of confidence. She thinks that this tour will be the last time her husband travels to Australia and she wants the tour to go well for his sake - for him to get a triumphal farewell, if that makes sense. She is worried that this won't happen and that the King's last memories of Australia will be marred by any disappointment he feels from the tour. She may also be worried about her husband's health and how it will hold up to the tour.

There is a lot of worry and fear in this reading, coupled with a strong feeling of regret and a feeling that this is the last time so it has to be a good tour. There is self doubt as well, that the Queen can't make things happen they way she wants them to happen and also a self doubt in general - a sense of 'I'm not good enough', which may be from comparing herself to Princess Diana on tour (or maybe not, the Princess Diana is a faint energy and I'm only mentioning it because it is there as a small thread). She may also find the weather quite trying (again, she may not, this is a minor energy).

It's not going to be easy for her but most of that is coming from her own mind - she has bound herself up in her worries and her concern for her husband and she is most likely making things into a bigger deal than what they are - not mountains out of molehills, but exaggerating things a bit because she is worried and upset and she doesn't have the emotional resources to just take things as they come and adapt to any situations that occur.

[pvffinsdaisies]

Australia bio sheet

Whilst these bio sheets were initially just going to be for my OCs, recently I've been thinking so much about australia and trying to develop him the best I can, and these bio sheets are much easier than entire google docs 😅😅

NOTES

It was tricky to decide to put Melbourne or Sydney as his residency. Sydney matches Nate's beachy aesthetic and love of nature, and is the capital of business and finance within Australia. However, Melbourne being better for sport, the cultural capital of australia, a historic capital and the people being known as more chill-going and friendly won the debate for me. However, I think be would absolutely have a property in Sydney too.. despite Canberra being the capital, I cant see much reason for Australia to live there.

None of the indigenous languages of australia are listed, thats because there's apparently over 120 of them. Too high a number to make 1 person speak. And i felt it inappropriate to pick and choose which languages took priority. However, I do think Nate would know at least a few phrases in a few different languages. Mandarin was listed due to a long history of trade and immigration between China and Australia, however, I recognise that the average Australian wouldn't know Mandarin.

Nate wears a prosthetic leg because,, well,, australia is known for its dangerous animals, and is often subject to things like droughts and bushfires. If any nation is going to be physically disabled, its Australia imo. 😅 it was most likely amputated due to bushfires taking a toll on it throughout his lifetime. For the sake of not portraying recent tragedy, we will the the amputation happened prior to the 21st century.

If anyone better educated than me has any notes, please do share them.

[axvoter]

Blatantly Partisan Party Review XII (federal 2025): Health Environment Accountability Rights Transparency (HEART)

Running where: for the Senate in the ACT (lead candidate of Group F with running mate from the Libertarian Party), NSW (second and fifth candidates in Group I on joint ticket with People First and Libertarians), QLD (second candidate in Group K with the Great Australian Party), VIC (second candidate in Group O with People First), and in the House for the divisions of Bennelong, Eden-Monaro, and Lindsay (NSW), and Canberra (ACT)

Prior reviews: federal 2019, federal 2022. NSW 2023

Plus Health Australia, for reasons which will become clear: federal 2016, VIC 2018, federal 2019, VIC 2022

What I said before: “the pandemic only heated up their rhetoric, which seeks to undermine vaccines and other public health measures that are proven to be safe and effective … If you want your teeth to fall out and to die of preventable diseases, this is the party for you.” (NSW 2023)

What I think this year: This party began life in the mid-2010s as the Involuntary Medication Objectors (Vaccination/Fluoride) Party, which tells you everything you need to know in six stupid words. We are so close in time to when the world lacked vaccines for many once-widespread debilitating ailments that there is literally at least one childhood polio survivor still living in an iron lung, Martha Lillard in the US. Here’s a good long read from 2017 about Martha and two other American polio survivors (Mona Randolph, who died in 2019, and Paul Alexander, who attained popularity on Tik Tok before dying in March last year). They underscore their disappointment, even heartbreak, with the rise of the antivax movement and people who sow distrust about vaccines.

Many diseases that once stalked our society no longer threaten us thanks to the achievement of mass vaccination and herd immunity. This is not a miracle, as some would describe it, but the outcome of decades of hard work, investment, good policy, and genius alike. We witnessed one of the great achievements in medical history at the start of this decade: within two years of covid being identified, ordinary people could receive a safe and effective vaccine. Anybody who wishes to undermine the outstanding medical achievements of the past century or so and risk the spread of diseases—especially by misleading parents into gambling with their children’s lives by not receiving a full course of childhood vaccinations—is a horrific ghoul.

In December 2019, IMOP tried to soften their image as dangerous science denialists by renaming themselves the Informed Medical Options Party, a name about as inaccurate as it is possible to be. This change received approval in March 2020, days before the emerging threat of covid was declared a pandemic. At the time, IMOP got steaming mad about being called anti-vaxxers by senior medical professionals and politicians, with the party’s secretary suggesting that their members “only want their voice and concerns heard”. Now, it’s one thing to ask your GP questions to better understand a vaccination or any other medication. It's another thing to keep rejecting medical and scientific expertise, ignore the consensus of researchers, promote woo, and undermine public confidence in the transformative, lifesaving effect of vaccines. Do not say you are “just asking questions”. Do not pretend you are promoting “informed choices”. And definitely don’t say you have “done my own research” unless you happen to possess your own fucking world-class research laboratory staffed by a team of qualified researchers.

The most paranoid people amplified their fearmongering during the covid pandemic, but they were such malcontents that they struggled to work together. Cooker parties (some registered, some not) fielded rival candidates at state and federal elections. But in 2023 it emerged that IMOP were negotiating a merger with Health Australia, another “don’t call us antivaxxers” antivax party whose existence also predated the pandemic. In August, the two groups announced amalgamation under the name Health Environment Accountability Rights Transparency (HEART). Using IMOP’s registration with the AEC, they submitted an application to change the name, which received approval on 3 October. Astonishingly, later that month, IMOP-cum-HEART had to retract their own merger announcement. Health Australia chose to withdraw from the merger process, and collapsed a few months later.

So, HEART is just IMOP, rebadged, although I don’t doubt some ex-Health Australia people support this entity. Some of HEART’s rhetoric about affordable living, political transparency, and individual rights tries to appeal to politically disengaged voters in a cost-of-living crisis. But they cannot disguise how extreme their views are for more than sentence or two. Their website has predictable “big pharma” diatribes alongside promotion of completely unfounded alternative medicines and other woo popular in the backblocks of Byron Bay. And their fearmongering goes beyond healthcare: they are, for instance, concerned about the apparently imminent introduction of China’s “social credit system” to Australian cities. Their “transparency” policy is really a stubborn insistence that virtually all leading authorities on vaccines and healthcare are hiding conflicts of interest and that none of their studies or policies can be trusted. It’s striking how ready these people are to buy into unsubstantiated claims about “holistic” and “natural” medicines while insisting the most rigorous medical studies and expert bodies are compromised and sinister.

It also tells you a lot about HEART that they have entered into the “Australian First Alliance” with three far-right parties, Rennick First, Great Australian Party, and the Libertarians. This explains the convoluted Senate tickets listed at the start of the entry: multiple parties can register a joint ticket of candidates to share a single column on the ballot, which is something the Liberals and Nationals have done in some states for years. People who vote 1 above the line for this ticket will have their first preference go to the candidate listed first in the column below the line; for example, an above-the-line vote in the ACT goes first to HEART but in Victoria goes first to Rennick First. In addition, HEART’s how-to-vote cards recommend that their supporters distribute preferences to religious fundamentalists (Family First, Australian Christians), racists (One Nation), and LaRouchean fantasists (Citizens Party). Anyone who actually follows HEART's how-to-vote recs—which won't be many, as minor parties struggle to get their HTVs in the hands of potential voters—will have their ballot exhaust before reaching any party likely to be in contention for a Senate seat, with the exception of One Nation, who are going to be competitive in some states (especially Queensland).

Despite some HEART members being leftover hippies who were once in the Greens, exiting that party once their penchant for woo became too unwelcome, HEART does not associate with the left at all. The company the party keeps is firmly right-wing and exclusionary.

Recommendation: give Health Environment Accountability Rights Transparency (HEART) a weak or no preference in the Senate, and a very low preference in the House.

Website: https://heartparty.com.au/

[andthebubbles]

just watched (finally...! lmao) the prince of egypt with the directors commentary on the subs with the actual audio of the film and sfjngkfj how did i not realise till now that stephen schwartz did the songs (well ofc i didn't know his name till wicked, and the first time i watched the prince of egypt was.......... 2003 i think? and i think even though i saw wicked in 2009 i hadn't connected the dots, mainly because i didn't know who did the songs in the prince of egypt. i think i was more aware of hans zimmer's name)

anyway. it's very validating to learn that THESE guys, these pros, also had such trouble with character reactions, particularly after big moments. like WHEW. i have such trouble with that in fic. and here they are in the commentary being like 'would rameses and moses be happy to see each other again? or angry? or flippant?' and just, yeah, eventually figuring out the right reaction. also, the compression of scenes, like, which can be cut/jumped into in the middle, which characters can be made less important to streamline the ideas better. all things that take time to figure out, i guess... ofc there are also things you can't do in fic, like after moses sees the burning bush and then he goes WOWOW to tzipporah; you can't turn that into dialogue, but it's so effective to just show it without words

anyhoo. the commentary did also talk a lot about which scenes were 2D animation, which was 3D, and which was both, and how it was difficult to animate this, how it was fun to animate that, and how they couldn't be bothered putting a shadow under moses while he was walking so they put reeds in front of him to hide that there wasn't a shadow 😂 and that they forgot to put sandals on his feet before he goes down to the burning bush so they put sheep in front of him to cover that up 😂 but yeah overall the animation talk was less interesting to me than the story decisions they made, but that's just me~

[hmasfatty]

Getting to know your mutuals meme, tagged by @boogerwookiesugarcookie

favorite color: HOT PINK

currently reading: My wife and I listened to 44% of the audiobook of Elan Mastai's All Our Wrong Todays this week during a truly terrible road trip to Canberra. The book was a definite highlight of the trip. I'm also 38% of the way into Soula Emmanuel's Wild Geese, which I am very much enjoying, but I keep getting distracted by a desire to read Kirk/Spock kidfic. The heart wants what it wants.

last song: "If You Should Try To Kiss Her" by Dressy Bessy (from our most excellent road trip playlist, another highlight of the trip if I do say so myself)

most recent film: Star Trek Beyond, which is excellent. And we watched Star Trek (2009) before that, which I saw 11 times in cinemas and may be my favourite film of all time? So sad that they only made two ST:AOS films.

most recent series: Unless you count The Cook Up with Adam Liaw, I think the last series we watched was Leverage: Redemption which is still a work in progress for us. The last series we finished watching though was the sublime North of North which you should all go and watch immediately.

sweet/salty/savory: Yes. Love them all. My relationship with salty is the old "it's complicated" but there's still a lot of love there.

tea or coffee: This morning I had a drink which the cafe called a "Dirty Earl". It was a strong Earl Grey tea with steamed milk and a shot of espresso. It was delicious.

working on: So many things. Too many things. And I start uni again in 22 days! I just graduated from a Leadership Program, so that was cool. I'm also about to submit some creative work to a queer community suicide prevention website. Stuff like that.

tagging @baglieg @v-as-in-victor @niamhermind @a-softer-butch @sqbr and anyone else who wants to do it!

[soup-mother]

I used to be a member of SAlt, but I left due to personal life reasons, as well as feeling kind of icky about selling newspapers. Over time, I have come to understand some of the issues of Trotskyism, but I never really got a full grasp on that org and what it does. Do you have any criticisms of SAlt? I dislike the org now, but my understanding of it is limited.

they're not active in my state (of Australia) so my interactions with them have been limited to when I'm in canberra.

if you want personal anecdotes they absolutely cover everywhere they can with posters (i suspect there's a quota to do so idk) even if there's like 10 right next to them and their newspaper sellers singled out my friends and i as being the most visibly trans ppl around and basically went "trans right? buy newspaper?" because there was something in it about trans ppl. i was just trying to go to the park to have my halal snack pack. also i wasn't there but they like super hijacked the protest against posie parker in canberra and led everyone away instead of confronting her (loser shit, i hear this is a common trend).

from their online presence i know they seem to LOVE getting members to debate ppl in Instagram comments all the time (waste of time) and they literally CANNOT let you go 1 day without reminding everyone in their online news accounts that they REALLY DON'T LIKE STALIN. like you have to know that they're still mad about the stalin thing.

I've heard a lot of talk that there's real bad like sexual harassment culture in the org and that it's covered up incredibly shittily, which would not be surprising.

they sorta just seem like your average Trotskyist party really, like from my understanding of global Trotskyist movements it seems to be a lot of common trends. idk that's all i got capn, if you want more you've gotta buy my newspaper :p

[wandapinkay]

Do you like all of the koala girls from animal crossing?

I do like most of them! In fact, I took this opportunity at heart to give my honest opinion on each one of them.. hope you don't mind I love talking about the koalas- Also so sorry about taking almost a full week to reply but I've been pretty busy lately and I took advantage of my day off to focus on replying :'Dc Full list under the cut:

Starting in alphabetical order:

1. Alice: Honestly the koala girl I like the least.. don't get me wrong, her design is really cute as I like her freckles, eyes and hair + clips but I always find myself unable to like characters who have rounded lips like she does.. always have been a design pet peeve of mine. I also haven't connected with her as much as the other koalas but I don't hate her, just not my type!

2. Canberra: I gotta admit.. at first I didn't think of her much but then my brain, for absolutely no reason at all, did an absolute 180° and I immediately loved her ever since. Incredibly underrated and overly-hated, she's one of the best koala girls for me hands down. Absolutely love how gender nonconforming she is as well: that's why I headcanon her as a butch lesbian and I've discovered most people who like her do as well! She also shares my fav song in New Leaf (K.K. House) and her New Horizons house is simply beautiful.. love the tropical theme she has going on. One of my favorite sisterly villagers of all time as well.. idk she's just perfect to me. I seriously hope people will give her a second chance, she doesn't deserve the scrutiny she often gets. Also tomorrow's her birthday (May 14th) YIPPEE

3. Faith: I really like her design wise! Love the hawaiian theme going on too but other than that not much else.

4. Huggy: Even though she only appeared in the first Animal Crossing game, I wish we had a peppy koala in the new installments. She looks very sweet!

5. Melba: I always joke with friends that Melba is basically me but koala, so making a koalasona would be useless FDGGFD Jokes aside, I don't blame her for being a fan favorite.. everything about her is immaculate, especially the pastel pink accents, and I love having her on my island. Cutie patootie certified.

6. Sydney: Adorable baby. She reminds me of my girlfriend because she loves wearing overalls and her fav color is purple, so by these things alone she's precious to me.

7. Yuka: Revaluated her overtime and she gradually became one of my favorite snooty villagers. I like to think she dated Eugene at some point and that she has something to do with fashion in some way work-wise. She's also not bad looking either: I'm not usually a fan of dark/oversaturated colors but I think her deep blue fur works well and I like the contrasting eyeshadow and her light eyelashes, which is ironic since I'm not a snooty enjoyer specifically because of how the makeup looks on most of them.

Overall I prefer most of the koala girls from a design standpoint, but only a few of them hold a special place in my heart. COUGH COUGH CANBERRA I still really appreciate you reaching out though; thank you so much and have a great day, anon! 💕🐨

[backstagecurtain]

you and all the friends of yrs that i’ve met played a major role in my last dream, it was ultra weirdly vivid we were bumming around in a hospital in sydney cause we were gonna get a bus to canberra and didn’t want to (10+ hrs of transport in 1 day) ! and i talked to charlie a lot cause i just realised his voice is very similar to one of my best friends. the end ! nice dream i miss u guys

ps how are things travelling with yr carpentry ? buuldingtablesnshit

idk i just woke up and wanted to say hi

yyesss we haunted your dreams thats the effect of melbournians you start dreaming about hospitals and fail transport.......... and this is so fortuitous i was thinking about you yesterday i was like Oh it would be so good if jasper could come to melbourne what if what if and then i realised that you CAN'T because of this year and all it entails. but who knows ...... i could always be going to more art shows in your area ..........

my carpentry is good i made this table it doesn't stand up very well but i like it. and now im making drawers that need angles which is awful because i thought i would never have to do maths again. but im having fun !

how are youuu going ive been seeing snippets on here of Jasper World but how is all

[galaxacious]

More bush adventures. Took a trip down to Wombeyan Caves to look at - you guessed it - some caves.

These caves are cool for multiple reasons but one of them is that they were all originally limestone but then a volcano erupted and there was ash and then all the limestone changed into marble with these cool veins running through it and then water eroded it and now there are caves 3.5 hours outta Sydney.

The start was great, two of us had rope-tying experience but not with... vehicles. We actually had to consult a knot tying book to get our load squared away. But we made it! Look here, this is outside the Victoria Arch:

Very nice, considering a tornado (yes an actual tornado) blew through the area a few months ago. The camp grounds and associated areas only opened the week before after recovering from the damage.

Here's Wombeyan Cave:

This is all calcite with the drippings, and the cave itself is all Wombeyan marble (expensive shit. You'll see it in some old fancy buildings like at Canberra). That last spire is called Cleopatra's Needle and we don't know how old it is. Something I loved about all the cave tours was the recognition of how little we knew about all of this. So many unanswered questions.

Here's Fig Tree Cave:

Fuck-off massive structures. These series of caves were the first to gain heritage recognition/protection in Australia, in the late 19th century, but I can't recall more heritage detail than that. But they were the first.

This cave had graffiti on it that was dated by the graffiti-er to be from 1950, which reminded me of ancient Egyptian graffiti on the ancient-er tombs.

Last cave was Wollondilly:

Beautiful thing. Sopping wet. Very much wanted to slowly turn us into part of the cave itself, but we didn't have a hundred thousand years of patience in us.

Outside, the gorge:

And there were caves by the gorge too!

Very good trip. Thank you to J1 and J2 for doing this with me.

Also bonus kangaroo hopping event: