The people now demanding we “lower the temperature” of political debate are the same ones who spent years calling anyone who questioned Net Zero a “climate denier” — and equating them with Holocaust deniers. They branded anyone who challenged Fauci’s COVID policies as a spreader of “dangerous disinformation” putting lives at risk. They labelled anyone right of centre a “far-right extremist.” They called anyone who opposed importing a net million people into Australia in just two years a “racist.” And they smeared One Nation supporters as “Nazis.” These are the same people now pushing for governments to create fake online “sock puppet” accounts to spread official propaganda. They don’t want a cooler debate. They want a one-sided one.

A despicable new low in Australian politics. I sat with Helen Haines on the cross-bench. Although we disagreed on many issues, she was always professional and a thoroughly decent person to work with. The kind and respectful words being said about her by many are 100% correct. Her criticism of Albanese’s corrupt rorting over the Marrickville Golf Club affair was absolutely correct. She was doing her job, holding the government of the day to account, and standing up for her electorate, who missed out on the largesse of that corruption. And remember, this wasn’t any ordinary rort — Albanese personally benefited from it, owning a property in the same street — and then he attempted to mislead parliament over it. Many politicians have been forced to resign over much less. And for that, it’s reported that our despicable Prime Minister decided upon revenge — that Helen Haines needed to be punished — to set an example to other cross-benchers: criticise Albanese, and they’ll come after you with a dirt file. And think about the timing: Albanese had his minions compile a dirt sheet on Helen Haines and released it in the media at the very same time they were finalising legislation to give the government the power to create false and fictitious “sock puppet” identities to disseminate government propaganda. The revenge attack — the releasing of a dirt sheet on Helen Haines — demonstrates that the Albanese regime is unfit to have such powers. And then there’s the sickening rank hypocrisy — Albanese calling for a “lowering of the temperature” and to “turn down the temperature” — this from a government that has vilified anyone who questions their economic policies as a “climate denier,” using the term “denier” to equate them to a Holocaust denier. And anyone who says importing a million people in two years is too many is vilified as a “racist". And anyone who opposes Albanese’s socialism is vilified as a “far-right extremist". What an absolutely disgraceful and disgusting government we are living under.