New archive threads: freedom, the hard right, religion and One Nation
This update records new leads and source checks added to the project. It separates documented relationships from interpretation, and treats secondary research as a map back to primary records rather than proof of every connection it discusses.
Primary archive trail
Freedom and liberty: the language is much older than the modern slogan
Ellie’s saved IPA Review archive now gives a clear longitudinal trail. The July–September 1958 issue opens with an article simply titled “Freedom”, contrasting Western political and personal liberties with communist government and later discussing free enterprise, individual choice and the limits required by social life.
The October–December 1976 issue, written around Friedrich Hayek’s Australian visit, frames the political choice in terms of “libertarian values” and the survival of individual freedom. A 1979 issue explicitly links individual liberty, private property, freedom of enterprise, free markets and limited government.
Evidence limit: these examples establish recurring IPA language across decades. They do not by themselves prove that the meaning, emphasis or organisational strategy remained unchanged from 1943 to the present. A decade-by-decade count is still required.
Hugh Morgan, Ray Evans and John Stone: an earlier organisational model
Dominic Kelly’s Political Troglodytes and Economic Lunatics identifies Western Mining Corporation figures Hugh Morgan and Ray Evans as central to four small advocacy organisations formed from the mid-1980s: the H.R. Nicholls Society, Samuel Griffith Society, Bennelong Society and Lavoisier Group. Kelly’s book also treats John Stone as part of the central trio.
ABC’s 2022 historical account independently describes Morgan and Evans, with others, as recurring figures behind those four organisations. This provides a useful earlier Australian case study of specialised organisations addressing industrial relations, constitutional issues, Indigenous policy and climate.
A 1992 Samuel Griffith Society biographical record adds unusually precise institutional detail: Morgan had been an IPA councillor from 1981 and treasurer from 1981–84, while serving as chairman of trustees of the Centre for Independent Studies from 1983–86. The Federal Court record on the Cormack Foundation also identifies Morgan as one of its three original 1988 subscribers/directors and records the Liberal Party trust arrangements applying to Morgan and John Calvert-Jones.
Evidence limit: shared founders and personnel establish organisational continuity; they do not mean every organisation had identical membership, funding, policies or direction. Hugh Morgan’s own Mont Pèlerin Society membership remains unverified in this project; do not infer it from the documented MPS memberships of Ray Evans or John Stone.
Jeremy Walker: mining capital and Australian neoliberal networks
Jeremy Walker’s 2022 chapter Freedom to Burn: Mining Propaganda, Fossil Capital, and the Australian Neoliberals places Australian free-market institutions within a longer history of business and extractive-industry political activity. It is useful for testing the project’s existing Morgan, WMC, IPA, CIS, Mont Pèlerin and Atlas records against an academic chronology.
Method: Walker’s analysis is recorded as a secondary source. Specific claims about funding, membership or institutional relationships should be matched to corporate records, contemporary publications, membership lists or other primary evidence before being promoted to confirmed connections.
Religion in the Australian free-market/conservative archive
The archive contains explicit religious and civilisational rhetoric, although it is not uniform across organisations or authors. A March 2010 IPA Review article, Rendering unto God, argues that Australia’s political and cultural heritage is founded on Judeo-Christian values and criticises attempts to exclude religious values from public debate. The author, Alan Anderson, was identified by the magazine as not religious.
This creates a new vocabulary strand to test alongside freedom and liberty: Christian, Christianity, Judeo-Christian, God, religion, faith, moral, spiritual, Western civilisation and secularism.
Evidence limit: the presence of this rhetoric does not justify describing the IPA, CIS, Atlas Network or the Australian free-market movement as uniformly religious or Christian.
Lucy Hamilton: front groups, Islamophobia and international network mapping
Lucy Hamilton’s May 2025 article and accompanying network graphic are preserved as research leads. Her article discusses Australian political organisations alongside international anti-immigration and Islamophobia networks and references Atlas-linked organisations in the United States.
The graphic is treated as Hamilton’s analytical map, not as independent proof of every line it draws. Where this project reproduces a relationship, the underlying source should be checked separately.
Terminology: this file does not treat Jewish identity, Judaism, Zionism, the Israeli state or particular Israeli governments as interchangeable. Antisemitism concerns hostility or discrimination toward Jews as Jews; criticism of a political ideology, organisation or state policy is a different category, although political rhetoric can become antisemitic when it attributes collective guilt or hostile stereotypes to Jewish people.
One Nation and the organised right: convergence without a proven formal alliance
The historical record does not support treating One Nation and the IPA as one organisation. The more defensible chronology is gradual convergence: One Nation personnel interacted with the LibertyWorks/free-market milieu after the party’s 2016 return; CPAC later provided shared conference space; and in 2026 IPA commentary became markedly favourable toward One Nation on several issues.
ABC analysis in June 2026 documented the shift and contrasted the IPA’s recent immigration position with its earlier support for high immigration. This project records policy convergence and overlapping people separately from formal affiliation, funding or control.
James Ashby: operational power inside One Nation and IPA-network overlap
Guardian Australia’s September 2026 The Populist investigation describes One Nation national director James Ashby as exercising power comparable with Hanson’s and reports that he makes operational decisions including media access. The description is the Guardian’s assessment; this project will test it against formal roles, party records and independently documented decisions.
There is no verified evidence in this file that Ashby has been an IPA employee, fellow, board member or Atlas trainee. There is, however, repeated documented media contact: IPA deputy executive director Daniel Wild and Ashby were paired on Credlin multiple times in 2025–26, with the IPA publishing transcripts as part of the dissemination of its research.
Reporting published on 25 September also records One Nation’s acknowledgement that party funds had been loaned to Small Batch Brewing Pty Ltd for a shed and distilling equipment. ASIC records cited by the Guardian show the company is privately owned in equal shares by Ashby, Pauline Hanson and former party treasurer Alex Jones. This is relevant to party governance and should not be converted into an allegation of criminality.
Ashby is also a pilot. The earlier One Nation-linked Jabiru aircraft was treated in the AEC’s 2017–18 disclosure investigation: amended returns recorded in-kind use of the aircraft and a Vicland donation approximating its purchase price, after which the AEC closed the disclosure matter. The historical aircraft record is relevant to Ashby’s party role, but the AEC did not find that the plane itself proved criminal wrongdoing.
Archive action: keep the original 1958, 1976 and 1979 IPA Review PDFs, Lucy Hamilton’s network screenshot, the Hugh Morgan/Walker source links and the Ashby material together as a dated 25 September research batch. The next quantitative pass should compare freedom/liberty/religion vocabulary by decade.
MANIFESTO PARCEL 50 · PUBLIC BROADCASTING · UPDATED 24 SEPTEMBER 2026
Our ABC. Our public voice.
The IPA proposed breaking up the ABC in 2012. Chris Berg and Sinclair Davidson later co-authored a book advocating its privatisation. This record brings the proposal, the authors and Ellie’s commentary together.
The IPA’s own words
“Break up the ABC and put out to tender each individual function”
Status: breakup not implemented. The ABC continues as a public broadcaster constituted under the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983. ABC governance.
The authors and their affiliations
Chris Berg (left) is listed by RMIT as Professor of Economics and co-founder of its Blockchain Innovation Hub. Sinclair Davidson (right) is listed as Professor of Institutional Economics and an Adjunct Fellow at the IPA.
Both have worked with RMIT’s Blockchain Innovation Hub. Their formal school is Economics, Finance and Marketing. Their advocacy should not be represented as RMIT’s institutional position.
They co-authored Against Public Broadcasting, advocating ABC privatisation. This is a separate publication from the IPA’s 2012 manifesto.
These two wrote the book on privatising it. Now read IPA manifesto No. 50: an agenda for dismantling public broadcasting.
Who would guarantee regional reporting, emergency information, children’s programming and Australian stories? What would protect editorial independence across separate contracts?
Scrutinise the ABC’s journalism, fairness and spending. Insist on high standards. But I reject breaking it apart and selling it off.
OUR ABC. OUR PUBLIC VOICE. NOT YOURS TO SELL.
PEOPLE FIRST. PRIVILEGE LAST. A FAIRER SOCIETY. A KINDER POLITICS.
Record checked 24 September 2026 · No. 50 · 50 to go
Ellie’s commentary graphic, 24 September 2026. Select the image to download. Source links are provided alongside.
THE PEOPLE · A–Z BY SURNAME
#OZLibertarianMovement
Ellie’s research collection follows people across think tanks, conferences, media, business and politics. Open a portrait for their dated records and sources. #OZLibertarianMovement is the project’s umbrella description; each profile identifies its particular connections, including international conference participants.
100 portrait spaces. On a phone, swipe across the grid or enlarge it.
No matching profiles. Try another name or clear the filter.
Cory Bernardi — read profile
Cory Bernardi
IPA · H.R. Nicholls Society · Historical membership
Ellie’s archived meme reproduces a Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee exchange dated 25 May 2015 in which Cory Bernardi acknowledges membership of the Institute of Public Affairs and the H.R. Nicholls Society.
IPA: after Senator Dean Smith says he is an IPA member, Bernardi responds: “As am I, now that you mention it.”
H.R. Nicholls Society: after John Lloyd confirms his membership, Bernardi responds: “As am I, Mr Lloyd.”
These are historical membership acknowledgements dated 2015. The source reproduced here is Ellie’s archived graphic; the original committee transcript has not yet been independently cross-checked for this entry. Current membership is not established by this record.
Source: Ellie’s original archived meme (A007), quoting the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee, 25 May 2015.
Original graphic from Ellie’s archive
Created by Ellie. Reproduces Bernardi’s statements about IPA and H.R. Nicholls Society membership in a committee exchange dated 25 May 2015.
Archive image inspected and profile added on 16 September 2026.
Tony Abbott — read profile
Tony Abbott
Politics · Advance · CPAC · IPA event · ARC lead
Former prime minister. ABC reporting in January 2023 identified Abbott as a member of Advance’s advisory council.
The project’s Coalition-government audit records his public acknowledgement of the IPA’s 2012 proposals. Policy alignment and public endorsement should be distinguished from evidence that the IPA caused a particular government decision.
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
Advertised on the supplied CPAC Australia promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. This records advertised inclusion, rather than independently confirming attendance. Titles on that poster are historical.
From the saved archive
The saved Murdoch dossier records Abbott’s 4 April 2013 IPA anniversary address and his explicit endorsement of several IPA proposals. Its source is a contemporary republication of his speech.
The Atlas Network Victoria compilation names Tony Abbott in an ARC advisory-board list. This is retained as an attributed archive lead: the relevant appointment date and original ARC record still need checking.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Images from the archive
Saved promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. Records advertised speakers and historical role descriptions; it does not establish attendance.
Tanveer Ahmed — read profile
Tanveer Ahmed
CPAC · MPS
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
From the saved archive
The saved CPAC list describes Tanveer Ahmed as psychiatrist and author. This is the role recorded in the undated list, not a current office-holder claim.
Archive source: CPAC.pdf, page 1; supplied research list.
Listed in the saved 2013 Mont Pelerin Society directory, with 2011 recorded as the membership year. This is a historical directory record; it does not establish present membership.
Archive source: MPS-2013-membership-listing_Redacted.pdf, page 2. The directory legend identifies the year as the membership year.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Janet Albrechtsen — read profile
Janet Albrechtsen
IPA · Media · CPAC · MPS · IPA event
The saved project record documents Albrechtsen’s IPA chair and newspaper-columnist roles. These are specific institutional and media connections.
The Coalition-government audit records her ABC Board service from 2005 to 2010. Later IPA roles must not be projected backwards onto the date of her ABC appointment.
Further work: assemble the full dated sequence of board appointments and selected original articles.
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
Advertised on the supplied CPAC Australia promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. This records advertised inclusion, rather than independently confirming attendance. Titles on that poster are historical.
From the saved archive
Listed in the saved 2013 Mont Pelerin Society directory, with 2011 recorded as the membership year. This is a historical directory record; it does not establish present membership.
Archive source: MPS-2013-membership-listing_Redacted.pdf, page 2. The directory legend identifies the year as the membership year.
The IPA’s 2016 annual report captions a Brisbane launch of Andrew Bolt’s Worth Fighting For with Rowan Dean, Janet Albrechtsen, Andrew Bolt and John Roskam. This confirms the event connection previously held as an image-register lead.
Archive source: 2016_IPA_Annual_Report.pdf, printed page 10 / PDF page 14.
The 2019 appointment announcement cited in the Murdoch dossier records IPA directorship from 2015 and selection as chairman in 2019. These dates take precedence over inconsistent dates in the older Atlas Network Victoria compilation.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Images from the archive
Saved promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. Records advertised speakers and historical role descriptions; it does not establish attendance.Saved excerpt of Michael Brull’s commentary about Janet Albrechtsen. The headline and opinions belong to the author; this is an incomplete article screenshot.
John Anderson — read profile
John Anderson
CPAC · ARC lead
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
From the saved archive
The Atlas Network Victoria compilation names John Anderson in an ARC advisory-board list. This is retained as an attributed archive lead: the relevant appointment date and original ARC record still need checking.
Former National Party leader and Deputy Prime Minister in John Howard’s government. His own biography records parliamentary service beginning in 1989 and six years as party leader and Deputy Prime Minister. It records his AO in 2011 and AC in 2022.
John Anderson Media describes its purpose as educational conversations with Australian and international figures, with an emphasis on Western cultural heritage, Christianity and debate about contested ideas.
The screenshot displays 26.9K followers, 3.3K posts, 709 following and a March 2018 joining date. These are rounded, historical screenshot figures; the precise capture date is unconfirmed.
Ellie requested this be retained for her follower/post comparison research. These counts alone do not establish purchased followers, bots or manipulation. An established public profile can attract followers independently of posting volume.
The visible post is titled “Jews Should Not Pay The Price For This”, tags @DavidHarrisNY and includes #jewish, #antisemitism and #history. The full video has not been reviewed.
#OZLibertarianMovement is Ellie’s research umbrella. Inclusion in the IPA | Libertarian | Conservative | power grid is not a claim of membership in every organisation or ideological category.
Ellie’s supplied screenshot. Open image to enlarge.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Steve Baxter — read profile
Steve Baxter
CPAC · CPAC leadership
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
From the saved archive
The saved CPAC list describes Steve Baxter as entrepreneur. This is the role recorded in the undated list, not a current office-holder claim.
Archive source: CPAC.pdf, page 1; supplied research list.
The saved CPAC colour-comparison research note records Steve Baxter as advisory board member on CPAC Australia’s organisational page, checked on 11 September 2026. It identifies the legal entity as Conservative Political Action Network Ltd.
Archive source: CPAC-colour-comparison-notes.md, Australian organisation and personnel table, 11 September 2026.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Andrew Cooper — read profile
Andrew Cooper
CPAC · CPAC leadership
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
From the saved archive
The saved CPAC list describes Andrew Cooper as co-host and LibertyWorks president. This is the role recorded in the undated list, not a current office-holder claim.
Archive source: CPAC.pdf, page 1; supplied research list.
The saved CPAC colour-comparison research note records Andrew Cooper as founder and national director on CPAC Australia’s organisational page, checked on 11 September 2026. It identifies the legal entity as Conservative Political Action Network Ltd.
Archive source: CPAC-colour-comparison-notes.md, Australian organisation and personnel table, 11 September 2026.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Daisy Cousens — read profile
Daisy Cousens
CPAC
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
From the saved archive
The Friedman 2018 list includes “Daisy Cousins”, while the CPAC list spells the name “Daisy Cousens”. This is a possible cross-reference awaiting spelling and identity confirmation. Screenshots by @DaisyIsStarDust are not treated as records about Cousens.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Peta Credlin — read profile
Peta Credlin
CPAC
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
Advertised on the supplied CPAC Australia promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. This records advertised inclusion, rather than independently confirming attendance. Titles on that poster are historical.
From the saved archive
The 2019 Sydney promotional poster labels this participant “TV host and commentator”. This places the profile in the conference’s advertised mix of political and media figures. The label is historical.
Archive source: Supplied CPAC Australia poster, Sydney, 9–11 August 2019.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Images from the archive
Saved promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. Records advertised speakers and historical role descriptions; it does not establish attendance.
Sinclair Davidson — read profile
Sinclair Davidson
CPAC · Friedman 2018 · MPS · IPA · RMIT
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
From the saved archive
The saved CPAC list describes Sinclair Davidson as professor associated with the IPA. This is the role recorded in the undated list, not a current office-holder claim.
Archive source: CPAC.pdf, page 1; supplied research list.
Also named in the saved 2018 Friedman conference list. This gives a second conference strand to follow alongside the other records in this profile. The list records inclusion; a programme or recording would establish the precise participation.
Listed in the saved 2013 Mont Pelerin Society directory, with 2011 recorded as the membership year. This is a historical directory record; it does not establish present membership.
Archive source: MPS-2013-membership-listing_Redacted.pdf, page 4. The directory legend identifies the year as the membership year.
The 2016 annual report lists Davidson as a Senior Fellow. His February 2016 negative-gearing report identifies him as an RMIT professor of institutional economics and IPA Senior Research Fellow, and names Catallaxy Files as his blog.
Archive source: 2016_IPA_Annual_Report.pdf, printed page 13; What politicians need to know about negative gearing, February 2016, author biography on printed page 1.
His negative-gearing paper argues against restricting negative gearing, including Labor’s proposal. The 2017 annual report also records Davidson and Chris Berg before a Senate inquiry into the bank tax. These records connect authorship, public advocacy and parliamentary engagement.
Archive source: What politicians need to know about negative gearing, February 2016, executive summary; 2017_IPA_Annual_Report.pdf, PDF page 10.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Rowan Dean — read profile
Rowan Dean
CPAC · IPA event · Media
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
From the saved archive
The IPA’s 2016 annual report captions a Brisbane launch of Andrew Bolt’s Worth Fighting For with Rowan Dean, Janet Albrechtsen, Andrew Bolt and John Roskam. This confirms the event connection previously held as an image-register lead.
Archive source: 2016_IPA_Annual_Report.pdf, printed page 10 / PDF page 14.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Nigel Farage — read profile
Nigel Farage
CPAC
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
Advertised on the supplied CPAC Australia promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. This records advertised inclusion, rather than independently confirming attendance. Titles on that poster are historical.
From the saved archive
The 2019 Sydney promotional poster labels this participant “UK Brexit Party leader”. This places the profile in the conference’s advertised mix of political and media figures. The label is historical.
Archive source: Supplied CPAC Australia poster, Sydney, 9–11 August 2019.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Images from the archive
Saved promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. Records advertised speakers and historical role descriptions; it does not establish attendance.
Matt Gaetz — read profile
Matt Gaetz
CPAC
Advertised on the supplied CPAC Australia promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. This records advertised inclusion, rather than independently confirming attendance. Titles on that poster are historical.
From the saved archive
The 2019 Sydney promotional poster labels this participant “US congressman”. This places the profile in the conference’s advertised mix of political and media figures. The label is historical.
Archive source: Supplied CPAC Australia poster, Sydney, 9–11 August 2019.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Images from the archive
Saved promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. Records advertised speakers and historical role descriptions; it does not establish attendance.
Renee Gormann — read profile
Renee Gormann
CPAC
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
Name retained as supplied. Identity and spelling require confirmation before a fuller biography is added.
From the saved archive
The Friedman 2018 list has “Renee Gorman” at entry 20, while the CPAC list has “Renee Gormann”. These are possible references to the same person, but the spelling and identity have not been resolved.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Raheem Kassam — read profile
Raheem Kassam
CPAC
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
Advertised on the supplied CPAC Australia promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. This records advertised inclusion, rather than independently confirming attendance. Titles on that poster are historical.
From the saved archive
The 2019 Sydney promotional poster labels this participant “British political activist”. This places the profile in the conference’s advertised mix of political and media figures. The label is historical.
Archive source: Supplied CPAC Australia poster, Sydney, 9–11 August 2019.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Mark Latham — read profile
Mark Latham
CPAC · Friedman 2018
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
Advertised on the supplied CPAC Australia promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. This records advertised inclusion, rather than independently confirming attendance. Titles on that poster are historical.
From the saved archive
The saved CPAC list describes Mark Latham as NSW Legislative Council member. This is the role recorded in the undated list, not a current office-holder claim.
Archive source: CPAC.pdf, page 1; supplied research list.
Also named in the saved 2018 Friedman conference list. This gives a second conference strand to follow alongside the other records in this profile. The list records inclusion; a programme or recording would establish the precise participation.
A saved screenshot contains Bettina Arndt’s public endorsement of Latham and appeal for donations in relation to his campaigning. This records Arndt’s advocacy; it does not establish that a donation occurred or validate her underlying allegations.
Archive source: 2019-11-to-12_Bettina-Arndt-tweets-Mark-Latham-Weinstein-HansonYoung.png; screenshot text inspected.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Images from the archive
Saved promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. Records advertised speakers and historical role descriptions; it does not establish attendance.
David Limbrick — read profile
David Limbrick
CPAC
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
From the saved archive
The saved CPAC list describes David Limbrick as Victorian Legislative Council member. This is the role recorded in the undated list, not a current office-holder claim.
Archive source: CPAC.pdf, page 1; supplied research list.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Parnell Palme McGuinness — read profile
Parnell Palme McGuinness
CIS · Media · Friedman 2018
The CIS-associated Consilium biography identifies McGuinness as a senior fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies and a policy-campaign strategist.
It also lists a non-executive directorship at Acknowledge Education and an advisory-board role at Australians for Prosperity. These are the affiliations stated by that biography, checked for this edition.
The saved CIS announcement supplies a portrait and records her appointment. Inclusion here reflects a documented CIS connection; this profile does not establish IPA membership.
From the saved archive
Also named in the saved 2018 Friedman conference list. This gives a second conference strand to follow alongside the other records in this profile. The list records inclusion; a programme or recording would establish the precise participation.
The 2018 Friedman conference list supplies an earlier archive connection under her full name, Parnell Palme McGuinness. This is separate from the later CIS appointment announcement already included here.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Jim Molan — read profile
Jim Molan
CPAC
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
From the saved archive
The name search recovered the CPAC list already cited here, but no additional attributable biographical material was established in this review. This entry remains open for further records.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Warren Mundine — read profile
Warren Mundine
CPAC · CPAC leadership
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
From the saved archive
The saved CPAC colour-comparison research note records Warren Mundine as chairman on CPAC Australia’s organisational page, checked on 11 September 2026. It identifies the legal entity as Conservative Political Action Network Ltd.
Archive source: CPAC-colour-comparison-notes.md, Australian organisation and personnel table, 11 September 2026.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Rupert Murdoch — read profile
Rupert Murdoch
IPA · Media · History
The IPA’s own record identifies Rupert Murdoch’s Council service as 1986–2000. This is a formal historical role.
In 2012, the IPA proposed eliminating media ownership restrictions. That proposal and Murdoch’s earlier Council service are separate facts; they do not establish that he authored the proposal.
Research questions: who owns the news, whose voices receive a platform, and how ownership policy affects public debate?
From the saved archive
The saved Murdoch dossier distinguishes three generations: Keith Murdoch’s founding involvement in 1943; Rupert’s Council service in 1986–2000 and 2013 anniversary address; and Lachlan’s 2022 address launching the Centre for the Australian Way of Life. These are different roles across different periods.
Archive source: Rupert-Murdoch-and-the-IPA.md, sections 1–3 and 7.
The dossier also identifies the IPA’s December 2020 Media Diversity and Press Freedom report by Gideon Rozner, Evan Mulholland and Morgan Begg as an intervention against calls for a Murdoch royal commission. It does not identify Murdoch as the report’s commissioner or funder.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Maurice Newman — read profile
Maurice Newman
CIS · Advance · MPS
The saved Coalition-government claim audit records Newman as a member of CIS’s inaugural board. Greg Lindsay is identified as CIS’s founder; these are different roles.
ABC’s November 2018 reporting identifies Newman among Advance Australia’s prominent business backers. The existing project also records his early advisory connection.
A June 2025 Guardian report names Newman as an Advance Generations director. Exact appointment dates remain to be checked against company records.
No formal IPA office or membership is established by the material assembled in this profile. Credits: Ellie Mai Large’s archive; Paula’s research contributions; Peter Ball’s supplied infographic.
From the saved archive
The saved 2010 Mont Pelerin Society directory lists Maurice L. Newman, gives 1976 as his membership year and describes him as ABC chairman at the time. This adds a dated MPS record to the earlier CIS material.
Archive source: Mont Pelerin Society Directory 2010.pdf, page 2; DeSmogBlog recreation removing personal contact details.
In John Hyde’s Dry, Greg Lindsay recalls meeting Newman at an Antony Fisher meeting in Mosman in December 1976. Lindsay says Newman had brought Milton Friedman to Australia in 1975 and had been invited by Friedman to an MPS meeting. Lindsay describes meeting Newman as important to the development of CIS.
Archive source: IPA 2002 hyde_dry(4).pdf, pages 115–117, especially page 116. Historical recollection attributed to Greg Lindsay.
The separate Maurice Newman dossier preserves the Alan Jones programme-listing lead and Peter Ball’s Mike/Maurice Newman graphic. Property valuations and wealth estimates in the graphic remain unverified and are not adopted here.
Archive source: Maurice-Newman-research-file.md, 13 September 2026; contributors credited in that file.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Campbell Newman — read profile
Campbell Newman
CPAC · Friedman 2018
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
From the saved archive
Also named in the saved 2018 Friedman conference list. This gives a second conference strand to follow alongside the other records in this profile. The list records inclusion; a programme or recording would establish the precise participation.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Rita Panahi — read profile
Rita Panahi
CPAC · IPA appearance · Media
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
From the saved archive
The IPA’s 2017 annual report identifies Rita Panahi as a journalist appearing on The Young IPA Podcast. This is a documented IPA media appearance, distinct from a staff or board role.
Archive source: 2017_IPA_Annual_Report.pdf, PDF page 8.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Jeanine Pirro — read profile
Jeanine Pirro
CPAC
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
Advertised on the supplied CPAC Australia promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. This records advertised inclusion, rather than independently confirming attendance. Titles on that poster are historical.
From the saved archive
The 2019 Sydney promotional poster labels this participant “Judge Jeanine Pirro”. This places the profile in the conference’s advertised mix of political and media figures. The label is historical.
Archive source: Supplied CPAC Australia poster, Sydney, 9–11 August 2019.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Images from the archive
Saved promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. Records advertised speakers and historical role descriptions; it does not establish attendance.
Jacinta Price — read profile
Jacinta Price
CPAC · Friedman 2018
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
Advertised on the supplied CPAC Australia promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. This records advertised inclusion, rather than independently confirming attendance. Titles on that poster are historical.
From the saved archive
The saved CPAC list describes Jacinta Price as Alice Springs councillor. This is the role recorded in the undated list, not a current office-holder claim.
Archive source: CPAC.pdf, page 1; supplied research list.
Also named in the saved 2018 Friedman conference list. This gives a second conference strand to follow alongside the other records in this profile. The list records inclusion; a programme or recording would establish the precise participation.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Images from the archive
Saved promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. Records advertised speakers and historical role descriptions; it does not establish attendance.
Gina Rinehart — read profile
Gina Rinehart
IPA · Business
The IPA’s 26 January 2022 statement identifies Gina Rinehart as an Honorary Life Member. This establishes a formal membership relationship.
The organisation praises her advocacy on taxation, regulation and investment. The statement records the IPA’s position, not an independent assessment of the benefits it claims.
The wider project includes Hancock Prospecting and political-funding research. Detailed payment amounts and recipients should be read with their original disclosure records; honorary membership alone does not establish a particular donation.
From the saved archive
The 2017 IPA annual report dates Rinehart’s honorary life membership to November 2016. This is more precise than the later 2022 statement already linked in this profile.
Archive source: 2017_IPA_Annual_Report.pdf, printed page 9 / PDF page 13.
The saved Rinehart–Hanson dossier records Hancock Prospecting payments to the IPA of $2.3 million for FY2016 and $2.2 million for FY2017, citing paragraph 25 of Rinehart v Rinehart [2018] NSWSC 1102. The $4.5 million is a historical corporate total for those two years, not a personal or lifetime donation total.
Archive source: Gina-Rinehart-Pauline-Hanson-Connections.md, section 5, assessment dated 9 September 2026.
The same dossier records a Rinehart-company aircraft donation to One Nation, travel and hospitality, and Hanson’s acknowledgement that Rinehart contributed advice to her pension proposal. It keeps the aircraft separate from cash donations by named associates and notes conflicting aircraft valuations.
Archive source: Gina-Rinehart-Pauline-Hanson-Connections.md, sections 1–3; ABC reports dated 29 April, 11 June and 28 July 2026.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Malcolm Roberts — read profile
Malcolm Roberts
CPAC · Event lead
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
From the saved archive
The compilation reports Roberts alongside Amanda Stoker and Matt Canavan at a 2022 Cherish Life Queensland rally. This remains an attributed event lead pending a dated primary report or programme.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Matt Schlapp — read profile
Matt Schlapp
CPAC
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
From the saved archive
The saved CPAC list describes Matt Schlapp as CPAC host and American Conservative Union chairman. This is the role recorded in the undated list, not a current office-holder claim.
Archive source: CPAC.pdf, page 1; supplied research list.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Dan Schneider — read profile
Dan Schneider
CPAC
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
From the saved archive
The saved CPAC list describes Dan Schneider as CPAC host and American Conservative Union executive director. This is the role recorded in the undated list, not a current office-holder claim.
Archive source: CPAC.pdf, page 1; supplied research list.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Amanda Stoker — read profile
Amanda Stoker
CPAC · Friedman 2018 · ARC lead
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
Advertised on the supplied CPAC Australia promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. This records advertised inclusion, rather than independently confirming attendance. Titles on that poster are historical.
From the saved archive
The saved CPAC list describes Amanda Stoker as Liberal senator. This is the role recorded in the undated list, not a current office-holder claim.
Archive source: CPAC.pdf, page 1; supplied research list.
Also named in the saved 2018 Friedman conference list. This gives a second conference strand to follow alongside the other records in this profile. The list records inclusion; a programme or recording would establish the precise participation.
The Atlas Network Victoria compilation names Amanda Stoker in an ARC advisory-board list. This is retained as an attributed archive lead: the relevant appointment date and original ARC record still need checking.
The compilation brings together leads concerning the Australian Institute for Progress, Menzies Research Centre, Samuel Griffith Society, Sky News and Cherish Life. These specific roles and dates need original records; the compilation’s broad labels are not treated as proof of membership in every organisation.
Archive source: Atlas Network Victoria.docx, Amanda Stoker section, including contributor material credited to Shiannon Corcoran.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
Images from the archive
Saved promotional poster for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019. Records advertised speakers and historical role descriptions; it does not establish attendance.
Daniel Wild — read profile
Daniel Wild
CPAC · Friedman 2018 · IPA · Public service
Named in Ellie’s saved CPAC.pdf list. The typed list does not itself establish an event year, attendance or IPA membership.
From the saved archive
Also named in the saved 2018 Friedman conference list. This gives a second conference strand to follow alongside the other records in this profile. The list records inclusion; a programme or recording would establish the precise participation.
The IPA’s 2016 annual report lists Wild as a Research Fellow. His May 2017 Review of Climate Change Policies says he worked at Finance during 2010–2013 and Prime Minister and Cabinet during 2013–2016. This supplies a dated public-service-to-think-tank career sequence.
Archive source: 2016_IPA_Annual_Report.pdf, printed page 13; IPA_ JUNE 2017 Report_Review_Of_Climate_Change_Policies29062017.pdf, cover and author biography, PDF pages 1 and 3.
The 2017 climate-policy review recommends withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and abolition of the Renewable Energy Target. These are the report’s recommendations, not findings that those policies were adopted or that its economic assertions are established.
Archive source: Review of Climate Change Policies, May 2017, PDF page 5.
Archive searched by name on 13 September 2026. Historical roles are dated to their sources.
CPAC source archive
The supplied CPAC.pdf contains 29 unique names. Its typed list has no event date. The separate poster below advertises ten people for Sydney, 9–11 August 2019, including Matt Gaetz, who is not in the typed list.
THE MANIFESTO · 100 IDEAS
One hundred proposals. Explore the record.
Every square has a place. Open a number to explore its graphic, available research and sources. The collection grows as we publish two entries a day.
Picture = graphic available · Red underline = text available · Number only = entry to add
IN FOCUS Orange border = currently in the public debate. Selected topics: superannuation and climate change. This marker does not indicate implementation.
Search the files
Search for an organisation, person, year, policy term or type of connection currently recorded on this page.
01 · START HERE
Follow the record, not the rhetoric.
IPA Atlas Files brings scattered primary sources into one readable chronology. It is designed to show what is documented, what is a reasonable inference, and what remains unverified.
The project does not treat political agreement, attendance at an event or use of a publication as proof of control or coordination. Each substantive entry should lead back to evidence readers can examine for themselves.
Ellie reformatted the full 100-policy manifesto onto one page and graded the active verb used in each policy goal—words such as “abolish,” “repeal,” “end,” “privatise,” “introduce” and “allow.” Each verb has its own colour, while the accompanying key records how often it appears. Open the large version to examine the wording, or download it for reference.
Colour-coded and reformatted 100-policy manifesto
One-page research presentation. Tap the image to open it at full size.
Evidence note: The IPA links above are the primary sources for the original policy lists. The reformatting, colour coding and word counts are Ellie Large’s research presentation, provided to help readers inspect the language. They do not by themselves establish that any proposal was adopted or caused a later government decision.
LONGITUDINAL MANIFESTO SERIES · BATCH 01 OF 20
Putting the parties to the IPA test
The first five proposals are now mapped across the political landscape. This is a longitudinal graphic designed to accompany the daily manifesto entries; the complete 100-item record will be published in shareable groups of five.
Items 1–5 · published 8 September 2026
How to read the test tubes
Each coloured tube shows the documented level of support, policy similarity or implementation associated with a party. The scale runs from 0 to 100; a grey question mark means the party has not yet been rated.
Party colours are locators, not evidence. One Nation is bright orange. Every rating should be read with the linked research and its limits.
The five-item format is intentionally digestible and shareable. Later batches will extend the same visual record until all 100 proposals can be followed over time.
Method note: Similarity, public support and implementation are different kinds of evidence. A matching position does not by itself prove influence, coordination or control. Follow the underlying manifesto and research files for the evidence behind each comparison.
RESEARCH FILE · SUPERANNUATION · 11 SEPTEMBER 2026
Superannuation and the IPA
Compulsory saving, tax concessions, industry funds and housing: a record of the Institute of Public Affairs’ published positions.
The clearest direct proposal is item 68 of the IPA’s 2012 manifesto. Later publications address the taxation of retirement savings, access for housing and the role of industry funds. These sources establish published positions; they do not by themselves prove that the IPA caused a government decision.
2012 · Manifesto item 68: opting out
“Allow people to opt out of superannuation in exchange for promising to forgo any government income support in retirement”
The condition is central: opting out would also mean promising to forgo the government retirement-income safety net. The brief proposal does not explain what would happen if someone subsequently experienced hardship.
Archive notes awaiting original-document rechecking. The following entries were recovered from this project’s earlier research notes. Figures are attributed to the IPA, and the original PDFs have not been re-examined for this edition.
1988 — IPA Review, volume 42, no. 2: criticised unfunded Commonwealth superannuation liabilities, estimated at approximately $25–30 billion; contrasted these with the Commonwealth Bank’s funded scheme and discussed parliamentary and public-service pensions. This concerns public-sector pension funding, before the 1992 system.
2002 — John Hyde, Dry: criticised the 1992 Superannuation Guarantee as increasing employment costs, potentially substituting for other saving and shifting future burdens to taxpayers. The notes record a framing of compulsory super as a government–ACTU arrangement.
2015 — Driving a Soft Bargain: compared APS employer contributions of 15.4% with the then 9.5% Superannuation Guarantee. For an $80,000 salary, the report calculated at least $62,680 extra over ten years under its assumptions. These are historical rates and a report-specific calculation.
2016 — IPA annual report: highlighted opposition to proposed super tax changes and the report Strangling the Goose with the Golden Egg: Why We Need to Cut Superannuation Taxes on Middle Australia.
August 2026 — project manifesto comparison: recorded item 68 separately from One Nation’s proposal concerning investment in a principal home. The underlying party policy needs checking before making a current comparison.
2016 · Super taxes: criticism of both major parties
Brett Hogan’s 11 November 2016 article Throttling Superannuation criticised Labor and Coalition proposals. It opposed the $1.6 million transfer balance cap, reduced contribution caps, higher contributions tax for higher earners and the proposed lifetime post-tax contribution cap, subsequently replaced.
Hogan advocated low, flat super taxes and personal responsibility for retirement. He disputed the language of “tax concessions”, treating it as an assumption that government was entitled to additional revenue.
Research interpretation: defending favourable taxation of retirement savings can coexist with advocating an escape from compulsory saving. These are distinct policy positions.
The IPA’s 30 March 2020 economic update recorded the Morrison government’s provision for tax-free early withdrawals of up to $20,000. Recording the policy does not establish that the IPA designed it.
In a 30 July 2020 statement, the ACTU connected the early-release campaign with IPA alumni on government backbenches. This is evidence of the ACTU’s accusation, not independent proof of the policy’s origin.
2024 · A parliamentary submission on super for housing
On 24 September 2024, IPA research fellow Saxon Davidson published the institute’s submission to the Senate inquiry into the financial regulatory framework and home ownership.
It recommended allowing Australians to access super to purchase their first home, alongside reducing migration and strengthening restrictions on foreign property investors. This is a formal policy submission.
Michael Barrett’s 16 December 2024 article Super Views! criticised compulsory contributions and industry funds’ connections to former Labor politicians and union officials. It discussed payments from funds to unions and alleged an onward political benefit to Labor.
The article supported individuals accessing super for a first-home deposit while criticising government encouragement of investment in housing, clean energy and other national projects.
Evidence limit: the payment allegations require separate verification. Affiliation fees, payments for services and political donations are different categories; this article does not establish that every payment is a donation.
Language analysis: this is an example of compulsory saving being presented as a loss of individual control, relevant to the project’s examination of “freedom” and “liberty”.
An IPA-hosted transcript dated 24 June 2026 records Adam Creighton criticising changes affecting self-managed superannuation funds. His description of those changes requires checking against the actual measures before it is used as a factual policy explanation.
Further reading to retrieve: a search listing identified Creighton’s 28 July 2026 article, Sorry to say, for the young, super won’t be a golden ticket. The complete article was not retrieved for this edition, so no substantive finding is drawn from it here.
Connections and questions still to investigate
The project’s earlier Andrew Bragg research had not established formal IPA employment, board membership or fellowship. Similar positions support a finding of policy alignment; they do not alone establish organisational affiliation. One Nation’s housing proposal must likewise be compared with item 68 using its actual wording.
Compulsory super and opt-out proposals.
The Superannuation Guarantee and opposition to increases.
Industry funds and union representation on boards.
Tax concessions and their beneficiaries.
Early access for housing and other purposes.
Who gains financially or institutionally from particular changes.
Documented connections with industrial-relations advocacy, the H.R. Nicholls Society, Coalition policy and One Nation.
Overall interpretation: these publications repeatedly address who controls retirement savings—the individual, compulsory institutions, fund trustees or government policy. The manifesto, tax arguments, housing submission and industry-fund criticism establish a pattern of published positions. Claims of coordination or financial benefit require additional evidence.
Select a filter or choose any organisation or person to trace the documented relationships presently recorded in these files.
19 entities · 24 links
Organisation PersonLine = documented relationship
Organisations
People
How to read the Explorer
It distinguishes formal or directory links, professional development and awards, people’s documented roles, and adjacent campaign or conference relationships. A line records a relationship supported by the cited source; it does not prove control or coordination.
Australia and New Zealand: publicly documented Atlas organisations
The ABC reported in January 2026 that Atlas had ten partners across Australia and New Zealand, but also found that Atlas had stopped publishing their names. The entries below record the organisations for which a public directory, official Atlas material or credible current reporting can be inspected. “Historical” does not mean the relationship continues today.
Prominent partner · documentedIPA
Institute of Public Affairs
Atlas described the IPA as a partner when it made the organisation a 2015 Templeton Freedom Award finalist for its carbon-tax campaign. IPA staff also attended Atlas training in Sydney in 2018.
CIS appeared in the former Atlas directory, took part in Atlas training in 2018 and has publicly described its Atlas connection as one of shared classical-liberal ideas. Founder Greg Lindsay served as Mont Pèlerin Society president from 2006 to 2008.
Recorded in a previous public Atlas partner directory. The presently available evidence establishes historical listing; it does not establish current partner status.
Recorded in the former Atlas directory. President Andrew Cooper took part in Atlas’s 2018 training workshop and is also a co-founder of CPAC Australia.
Recorded in the former Atlas directory and currently describes itself as a proud Atlas Network member. Mannkal representatives attended Atlas training in 2018; founder Ron Manners received Atlas’s Sir Antony Fisher Achievement Award in 2020.
Publicly acknowledges membership of Atlas Network and says Atlas has provided professional development, scholarships, grants and international opportunities.
Executive director Oliver Hartwich has publicly discussed the organisation’s Atlas relationship. ABC reporting documents its policy work on New Zealand’s regulatory standards legislation.
ABC reporting and the organisation’s archived material identify it as an Atlas partner in 2018. Its work focuses on industrial relations and trade-union regulation.
Atlas’s official report records Society president John Humphreys participating in its 2018 Think Tank Essentials workshop. The available source does not by itself establish Atlas partner status.
Advance, CPAC Australia and FixVictoria are included because of documented personnel, funding, training or event overlaps with people in the IPA- and Atlas-linked ecosystem. Inclusion does not establish that any of them is an Atlas partner or directed by the IPA.
Adjacent network · not Atlas partnerADV
Advance
Advance Aus Ltd, formerly Advance Australia, is an AEC-registered significant third party rather than a think tank. Its early advisory council included Maurice Newman, Sam Kennard and David Adler. The Liberal-linked Cormack Foundation gave Advance $500,000 in 2023–24, its largest disclosed contribution for that year.
An Australian conservative conference and networking organisation modelled on American CPAC. It was co-founded by Andrew Cooper, president of Atlas-linked LibertyWorks. That personnel overlap is documented; it does not make CPAC an Atlas partner.
Confirmed · employment, training, committee and advocacy rolesPERSONNEL
Gideon “Giddy” Rozner
Documented roles: The IPA identifies Rozner as its former Director of Policy. Atlas Network records that Rozner and IPA colleague Daniel Wild attended its May 2018 Los Angeles film and storytelling workshop. The Australian Jewish Association currently lists Rozner as a committee member; the AJA describes itself as a membership-based community organisation guided by “authentic Torah values” and “centre-right Australian values”. In August 2026 Rozner announced that he had joined FixVictoria; current reporting identifies him as its head of advocacy and membership.
Pro-Israel advocacy connection: The AJA says that contributions support its advocacy “on behalf of the Jewish community and Israel”, while its speaker program explores issues affecting “the Jewish community, Israel, & Australia”. Those first-party statements support describing the AJA as a pro-Israel advocacy organisation for the purpose of this network map.
Political connection: On 17 November 2025, Rozner publicly said he had applied to rejoin the Liberal Party in support of Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson.
Evidence limit: These records confirm the stated roles and personnel overlap. They do not establish that the IPA, Atlas Network, Australian Jewish Association or Liberal Party directs or funds FixVictoria, or that the organisations coordinate their activities. The AJA role is an organisational connection; it is not evidence of Rozner’s personal identity, motive or position on every issue. FixVictoria describes itself as independent and non-partisan; Guardian Australia reported in August 2026 that it declined to identify major donors, citing privacy.
Political party · no Atlas partnership establishedON
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation
Included for documented comparison of current national and Victorian policies with the IPA’s published policy lists. Similar policy language is evidence of a policy parallel, not by itself evidence of funding, direction, copying or coordination.
Confirmed · public promotion; organising and funding not establishedCAMPAIGN
IPA promotion of March for Australia
In August 2026 the IPA used its public Facebook platform to promote the nationwide 30 August March for Australia. One post described the moment as “all hands on deck” in defence of Australians’ rights, while IPA videos linked the march to its polling and campaigns about free speech, national identity and Australia Day. An April 2026 IPA article had already praised the earlier March for Australia demonstrations while arguing for lower migration.
What this establishes: the IPA publicly encouraged attention and participation and incorporated the march into its immigration, identity and free-speech messaging. What it does not establish: the available evidence does not show that the IPA organised, funded or formally partnered with March for Australia, nor that the IPA endorses every participant or extremist ideology.
Movement context: ABC News Verify reported in January 2026 that some people working behind the scenes of earlier marches had encouraged recruitment to the former White Australia Party, then the political arm of the National Socialist Network. ABC reporting also documented former NSN members at January rallies. Those findings concern organisers or participants in the wider movement; they are not evidence of an IPA–NSN relationship.
Advance Aus Ltd—formerly branded Advance Australia—is a political campaign organisation registered with the Australian Electoral Commission as a significant third party. It is not a political party or think tank.
Record checked 27 August 2026
Advance says it is independent and has no formal affiliation with any party. That claim should be recorded alongside—not substituted for—the documented donors, personnel, advisers, campaign contractors and political relationships below.
600,000+Supporters claimed by Advance in 2026; not independently audited
Confirmed · legal and electoral status
What it is
Advance Aus Ltd is recorded in the AEC Transparency Register as a significant third party. Its published material is authorised by executive director Matthew Sheahan at a Canberra address. Advance describes itself as an independent campaign organisation, not a party, and says it has no formal party affiliation.
Matthew Sheahan is executive director. Former prime minister Tony Abbott was confirmed as an advisory-council member in 2023 and was described in 2025 reporting as an Advance board member. Early advisers included Maurice Newman, Sam Kennard and David Adler. Former ACT Liberal politician Vicki Dunne, Simon Fenwick and Newman became directors of the related Advance Generations vehicle.
ABC’s 2023 investigation reported that major Advance donor Simon Fenwick was an IPA director and that the IPA was advising Advance on its campaign against the Indigenous Voice. Jacinta Nampijinpa Price had worked as an Advance spokesperson before entering the Senate. These are direct personnel and campaign links; they do not prove that the IPA controls Advance.
The available public evidence does not establish Advance as an Atlas Network partner. Its relevance here is adjacency: documented links to people and organisations in the IPA-related ecosystem. Similar ideology, shared speakers or common donors are not sufficient proof of an Atlas relationship or coordinated control.
Advance’s first-year receipts, used by ABC as the baseline for its later growth.
2022–23
$5.2 million donations
AEC data reported by Guardian Australia. Almost $2.4 million—47%—could not be attributed to named sources through the disclosure data. Reported large contributions included $1 million from Hadley Holdings and $400,000 from Silver River Investment Holdings.
2023–24
$15.6 million donations
Advance’s reported pre-election funding pool. The Liberal-linked Cormack Foundation contributed $500,000.
2024–25
$13.5 million receipts
AEC annual disclosures reported by ABC. Hancock Prospecting disclosed two contributions totalling $895,000; Consolidated Press Holdings, associated with James Packer, gave $150,000.
Disclosure warning: “unknown” does not automatically mean unlawful or secret. Under the rules applying to these returns, donations below the disclosure threshold and some amounts outside a reporting window did not identify a donor publicly. The register shows what was disclosed—not necessarily every source of money.
Campaign record
2019–22 · candidates and elections
Targeting independents
Advance gained national attention campaigning against Zali Steggall in Warringah in 2019. In 2022 it depicted Steggall and ACT Senate candidate David Pocock as Greens candidates. The AEC ruled the Pocock signs misleading and in breach of electoral law and referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police; Advance disputed the handling but removed the material.
Advance launched “Fair Australia, powered by Advance” with Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price as a campaign spokeswoman. Referendum disclosures recorded $10.4 million of expenditure by Advance and $11.1 million by Australians for Unity/Fair Australia. Fair Australia’s filing said many expenses were double-counted because funds were passed to Advance, so the figures must not simply be added.
Advance targeted Labor, the Greens and teal independents through television, billboards, field organising and geographically targeted digital advertising. Its own post-election report claimed 52,529 donations worth about $13.8 million, allocating $10.6 million to its anti-Greens campaign and $3.2 million to messaging against Anthony Albanese. Advance claimed success; some Liberal figures and campaign analysts disputed how much effect it had.
After the 2025 election Advance campaigned on immigration, net-zero policy, Welcome to Country ceremonies and Australia Day. It also launched Advance Generations to solicit bequests. In 2026 it held its A26 “Evolve” conference and claimed a movement of more than 600,000 supporters. That number is Advance’s own claim and is not an independently audited membership count.
Guardian Australia reported that Whitestone Strategic provided marketing and design work for Advance’s Voice campaign and that the Advance Generations website was registered under Whitestone. Separate documents showed Coalition parliamentarians’ offices paid Whitestone for communications work. This establishes a shared service provider, not that every client coordinated with every other client.
The legal status, named roles, disclosed payments and identified campaigns above are confirmed. Statements about Advance’s electoral effectiveness are claims by Advance or interpretations by commentators. The evidence establishes political and institutional links, but it does not by itself prove direction by the Liberal Party, the IPA, Atlas Network or any individual donor.
Who owns the channels through which politics reaches us?
This chapter separates four different things: legal ownership or control, distribution, disclosed political money, and documented personnel or platform links. None of those facts, standing alone, proves that an owner ordered a particular story or bought a political result.
How to read this chapter: “Confirmed” means the ownership, transaction or role is stated in a regulator, company filing or named source. “Documented overlap” records a public role or recurring platform relationship. “Inference” is used only for a conclusion drawn from those facts. ACMA’s snapshot is a guide to major regulated interests; it omits holdings below 5% and is not a complete map of every Australian news outlet.
Confirmed · controlling voting interest
News Corp Australia and Sky News Australia
Ultimate control: News Corporation. Following the 2025 Murdoch trust settlement, filings describe Lachlan Murdoch-associated trusts and entities as holding 33.3% of News Corp’s Class B voting shares, subject with specified Murdoch interests to a 44% voting cap. Lachlan Murdoch is News Corp chair; Rupert Murdoch is chairman emeritus.
Australian outlets:The Australian, metropolitan and regional mastheads including the Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph and Courier-Mail, news.com.au and Australian News Channel/Sky News Australia.
IPA link: the IPA’s own archive documents frequent appearances by its staff on Sky/News24 and publication in News Corp titles. Janet Albrechtsen’s confirmed earlier roles—IPA chair and The Australian columnist—are a personnel overlap. This establishes access and institutional adjacency, not control over coverage.
Control chain: Seven West Media is ASX-listed. ACMA records Seven Group Holdings as a major shareholder and the Stokes interests through that chain; its November 2023 update put SGH’s holding at 39.83%. Company governance records have treated Kerry and Ryan Stokes as non-independent because of their SGH positions.
Outlets: Seven Network, 7plus, 7NEWS.com.au, The West Australian, The Sunday Times, PerthNow and The Nightly. Seven’s current corporate page also lists LiSTNR and the Hit and Triple M networks, reflecting its expanded audio interests.
Money link: Australian Capital Equity—associated with the Stokes family—was recorded in the Millionaires chapter as giving $500,000 to both Labor and the Liberal Party in 2024–25. The payments and ownership are documented; an editorial quid pro quo is not.
Confirmed · listed company; no proprietor identified here
Nine Entertainment
Ownership: Nine Entertainment Co is ASX-listed rather than presented here as the private vehicle of one proprietor. Its news assets include the Nine television network, 9Now, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review.
Material 2026 change: on 30 April 2026 Nine completed the sale of 2GB, 3AW, 4BC, 6PR, 2UE, Magic1278 and 4BH to the Laundy Family Office for an enterprise value of $56 million. Those stations therefore belong under the Laundy profile, not Nine, from that date.
Evidence limit: the company and asset transaction are confirmed. Shareholding can change, so the linked ACMA and company records should be checked before naming any investor as a controller.
Owner: Laundy Family Office. The April 2026 completion announcement records its purchase of Nine’s seven broadcast radio assets.
Political link: Craig Laundy was Liberal MP for Reid from 2013 to 2019 and served as a federal minister. This is a documented family and political connection. It does not establish that Craig Laundy controls station editorial decisions.
Correction preserved: the Laundys did not own WIN when News Corp’s Australian News Channel arranged Sky News on WIN in 2018. WIN was the Bruce Gordon-controlled distributor. The radio purchase and the older WIN agreement are separate transactions.
Ultimate owner: Paramount Skydance Corporation. Paramount Global and Skydance became subsidiaries of the new holding company on 7 August 2025.
Outlets: Network 10, 10 Comedy, 10 Drama, 10 News and the 10 streaming service. This is corporate ownership, not evidence that the US parent dictates individual Australian news decisions.
Controller: Bruce Gordon. WIN is a regional television owner and affiliate/distribution business.
Documented distribution link: in 2018 News Corp-owned Australian News Channel and WIN agreed to distribute Sky News on WIN in regional markets. In 2021 that arrangement was replaced by Sky News Regional, with WIN distribution continuing in selected markets. Distribution enlarges reach; it is not the same as ownership of the supplied channel.
Owners: Antony Catalano and Alex Waislitz through 20 Cashews Pty Ltd. ACMA lists the ownership chain. ACM publishes regional mastheads including the Canberra Times, Newcastle Herald, Illawarra Mercury and Bendigo Advertiser.
2026 governance note: credible reporting records Catalano stepping away from operational and board roles during criminal proceedings; the allegations are not treated here as findings of guilt. Ownership remained attributed to Catalano and Waislitz in reporting cited below.
Owner: Guardian News & Media is owned by Guardian Media Group, whose sole shareholder is the Scott Trust. The Trust says profits are reinvested and its purpose is to protect the Guardian’s financial and editorial independence.
Evidence limit: this structure differs from a listed or family-controlled proprietor model. Its stated purpose is confirmed from the publisher’s own governance account; readers can judge its journalism separately.
Ownership and governance: neither is privately owned. The ABC and SBS are Commonwealth statutory corporations governed by their respective Acts, boards and public-accountability frameworks.
Political-influence route: Parliament sets legislation and governments appoint boards and determine funding subject to law and parliamentary processes. That creates an institutional route for political pressure, but it does not make either broadcaster the private property of the government of the day.
IPA connection: the IPA’s 2012 list proposed breaking up the ABC and privatising SBS, while IPA staff also appear on ABC services. Policy criticism and guest access are recorded separately.
Legal or economic power in the company—not authorship of every story.
Distribution
News Corp channel carried through WIN; affiliate arrangements
Audience reach—not ownership of the originating newsroom.
Political money
Australian Capital Equity’s cross-party payments
A disclosed payment—not a purchased decision.
Personnel overlap
Janet Albrechtsen’s IPA and media roles; former MP Craig Laundy’s family connection
A documented role or relationship—not proof of coordination.
Recurring platform access
IPA staff appearances across Sky/News24, Seven, ABC and talk radio
Access to audiences—not endorsement of every IPA claim by the outlet.
Reviewed 30 August 2026. Ownership changes quickly. The ACMA snapshot, company filings and transaction announcements linked above are the continuing sources of record. Cross-links open the separate Millionaires & Billionaires profiles where the same person also appears as a donor, campaign funder or think-tank supporter.
06 · MILLIONAIRES, BILLIONAIRES & POLITICAL INFLUENCE
Follow the person, the vehicle and the money
This is not a rich list. It records wealthy individuals and family networks whose political donations, media ownership, campaign organisations, candidacies, think-tank support or policy advocacy are documented in public sources.
Expanded edition checked 29 August 2026
Inclusion does not imply wrongdoing, and a donation does not prove that a policy outcome was bought. Media ownership does not prove personal direction of every story. The point is to make concentrated resources and the mechanisms used to influence public debate visible across the political spectrum.
26separate people and family profiles
$54.3mPalmer-linked 2024–25 political funding reported by Grattan
$10.85mClimate 200 distributions to candidates in the 2025 cycle
Confirmed · media ownership and institutional control
Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch
Vehicle: News Corp and Fox Corporation. The Murdoch family’s control of major Australian news brands gives this profile a different mechanism from a conventional political donor: sustained ownership of agenda-setting media. Succession arrangements reported in 2025 consolidated Lachlan Murdoch’s control of the family trust. Ownership establishes structural power; it does not establish that either man personally directs every editorial decision.
Confirmed · IPA role, donations, media and campaign support
Gina Rinehart and the Hancock network
Vehicle: Hancock Prospecting. The IPA appointed Rinehart an Honorary Life Member in 2016. Hancock disclosed $895,000 to Advance and $105,000 to the Victorian Liberals in 2024–25. Reuters reported in May 2026 that Rinehart provided a Cirrus aircraft to One Nation and that Hancock executives Adam Giles and Ian Plimer each committed $500,000 to the party. Her expanding media interests create an additional ownership dimension. The donations and relationships are confirmed; the resulting degree of policy influence cannot be measured from those facts alone.
Vehicle: Pratt Holdings and Visy. Pratt Holdings gave $2 million to Labor and $1 million to the Coalition in 2024–25, according to analysis of AEC disclosures. The pattern is important because it illustrates access-oriented cross-party giving rather than exclusive support for one ideological project. The public return records payments; it does not prove what access, if any, was obtained in exchange.
Confirmed · media ownership and cross-party giving
Kerry Stokes and the Stokes family
Vehicle: Australian Capital Equity and Seven West Media. The family combines a major Australian media stake with political giving. Australian Capital Equity gave $500,000 each to Labor and the Liberal Party in 2024–25, according to disclosure analysis. This is a media-and-money overlap: ownership and donations are documented, while any claim about coordinated editorial or policy outcomes would require separate evidence.
Confirmed · transport fortune and cross-party giving
Lindsay Fox and the Fox family
Vehicle: Linfox and Fox Group Holdings. Fox Group gave $500,000 each to Labor and the Liberal Party in 2024–25, according to disclosure analysis. This is the Australian transport and property family—not Fox Corporation, which is associated with the Murdochs. The profile shows another example of substantial equal giving to both major parties.
Vehicle: Mineralogy and Trumpet of Patriots. Mineralogy’s 2024–25 AEC donor return records $52,889,378 to political parties and $302,901 to significant third parties. Palmer’s model differs from donating to an established major party: he has repeatedly funded parties and national advertising campaigns connected to his own political projects. Expenditure demonstrates scale, not electoral effectiveness.
Vehicle: Climate 200. Holmes à Court founded and convenes a fundraising organisation that pools donor money and supports community-backed independent candidates. Climate 200 reported distributing $10.85 million to candidates in the 2025 election cycle; its annual donor return also recorded $2,709,200 to significant third parties in 2024–25. Those are organisational figures, not Holmes à Court’s personal donation total.
Vehicle: Boundless Earth and private donations. AEC disclosure analysis identified $1.3 million from Cannon-Brookes to Climate 200 in 2024–25. He also uses investment and philanthropic vehicles to advocate for decarbonisation. The recorded payment establishes financial support for independent campaigns, not control of the candidates who received Climate 200 funding.
Confirmed · independent and Greens-aligned funding
Scott Farquhar
Vehicle: personal political donations. The Atlassian co-founder gave $1.5 million to Climate 200 in 2024–25. Separate disclosure analysis also identified support for the Queensland Greens. This profile demonstrates that technology wealth, as well as mining, media and property wealth, finances political participation.
Vehicle: Minderoo Foundation and Tattarang. Forrest’s influence model includes philanthropy, public advocacy and investment in energy transition. In 2025 Minderoo confirmed an undisclosed donation to the Australia Institute. Because the amount was not public, this record should not be presented as directly comparable with disclosed party donations.
Vehicle: Consolidated Press Holdings. The company gave $150,000 to Advance in 2024–25. This provides a documented link between the Packer family’s private investment vehicle and a major conservative campaign organisation, but does not establish involvement in Advance’s daily strategy.
Confirmed · donor, director and institutional overlap
Simon Fenwick
Vehicles: personal donations and organisational roles. ABC identified Fenwick as both a major Advance donor and an IPA director. The IPA’s 2026 Endowment Fund prospectus names him as a foundational partner, while he also became a director of Advance Generations. This is unusually dense personnel-and-funding overlap; it still does not prove that the organisations are under common control.
Vehicle: personal political funding. Reuters reported that Aitken, who had previously given about $230,000 to the Liberal Party, committed $1.1 million to One Nation in 2026. The change matters as evidence of a wealthy donor moving support from the Coalition to a populist competitor. The 2026 commitment should be distinguished from an AEC return already filed and published.
Vehicle: personal donation. Wall gave more than $5.2 million to the South Australian Liberal Party in 2024–25, making her one of that year’s largest disclosed individual political donors. Her inclusion prevents a focus only on nationally famous business figures: some of the largest political payments come from people who receive relatively little media attention.
Confirmed · Greens and independent-campaign funding
Robert Keldoulis
Vehicle: Keldoulis Investments and personal donations. Disclosure reporting identified more than $1.5 million from Keldoulis Investments to Climate 200, more than $400,000 to Legalise Cannabis parties and a personal $100,000 donation to the Greens in 2024–25. The profile shows one donor supporting several non-major-party vehicles rather than a single party.
Vehicle: personal donations. AEC disclosure analysis identified about $1.05 million from Turpie to the Australian Greens in 2024–25. His profile is included so the chapter records concentrated private funding of progressive parties as well as conservative and independent campaigns.
Confirmed · Liberal funding through a family investment vehicle
Frank Lowy and the Lowy family
Vehicle: Oryxium Investments. Analysis of the 2024–25 AEC disclosures identified $1.8 million from Oryxium, an investment company linked to the Lowy family, to the federal and New South Wales Liberal organisations. The vehicle name matters: searching only for “Lowy” would not reveal the disclosed company payment.
Vehicle: Meriton Properties and Meriton Property Services. AEC-derived records for 2024–25 show $500,000 to the Liberal Party, $100,000 to Labor and a further $20,000 to Liberal divisions. The same group gave $590,000 to Liberal organisations in 2023–24. This is a current example of a property fortune supporting both major parties, although the larger share went to the Coalition side.
Confirmed · Liberal funding and private fundraising
Justin Hemmes
Vehicle: Hemmes Trading and Merivale-linked fundraising. Hemmes Trading disclosed $312,469 to Liberal organisations in 2024–25. Hemmes also hosted a high-value Liberal fundraiser at his Sydney home before the 2025 election. The disclosed payments and event are confirmed; they do not establish that any government decision was made in return.
Vehicle: personal donations. The Stake co-founder’s 2024–25 AEC donor return records $315,000 to political parties; disclosure analysis identifies the recipient as Victorian Labor. This adds a current Labor-aligned billionaire profile and a gambling-and-cryptocurrency industry dimension to the chapter.
Vehicle: personal donations to Climate 200. Guardian analysis of the 2023–24 AEC disclosures identified just under $1 million from Catsaras to Climate 200; the AEC-derived cumulative record now places him among that organisation’s largest donors. This profile provides another example of concentrated private funding for climate-focused independent campaigns.
Vehicle: Siesta Holdings Australia. The Kennards Self Storage chief’s company donated $125,000 to Advance in 2024–25, following earlier disclosed support. Naming the private company alongside the individual makes the trail searchable and distinguishes a business vehicle from a personal payment.
Vehicles: personal donations and Hadley Holdings. Anderson gave $100,000 to Advance and $150,000 to the Liberal Party in 2024–25. Hadley Holdings had previously provided $1 million to Advance during the Voice campaign period. The profile records recurring support across a political party and a campaigning third party.
Vehicles: personal and family funding. Referendum-disclosure reporting identified $800,000 from Macfie and a family entity to No campaign organisations. The IPA’s 2026 Endowment Fund prospectus separately names Dr Bryant Macfie as a foundational partner. This establishes funding across an electoral campaign and the IPA’s permanent institutional capital; it does not prove the IPA directed the referendum campaign.
Vehicles: personal donations and institutional roles. The Bakers Delight co-founders each gave $50,000 to Advance in 2023–24; Roger Gillespie gave a further $50,000 in 2024–25. The IPA prospectus names both as foundational partners, and Lesley chairs the IPA Fundraising Committee. This is a documented overlap between campaign funding and long-term think-tank fundraising—not proof of common operational control.
Vehicle: personal donations. AEC-derived analysis records $40,000 from Blackmore to Advance in 2024–25, following a disclosed contribution during the Voice referendum period. The profile is included as recurring financial support for a campaigning third party; the donations alone do not establish involvement in campaign management.
Pratt Holdings, Pamela Wall, Craven, Hemmes and Meriton
A disclosed payment, recipient and reporting period—not a purchased outcome.
Campaign intermediary
Climate 200, Advance
Money pooled or deployed for campaigns; candidate or organisational independence must be assessed separately.
Direct political vehicle
Mineralogy and Trumpet of Patriots
Funding of a political project connected to the funder.
Media ownership
Murdoch, Stokes and Rinehart interests
Structural ownership and potential agenda-setting power—not personal authorship of every item.
Think-tank or philanthropic support
Fenwick, Hancock, Minderoo, Macfie and the Gillespies
Institutional support; influence over a particular publication or policy requires further evidence.
Disclosure limits: Australian electoral returns record disclosed receipts and payments under the rules applying in each reporting period. A disclosed amount may be a donation or another kind of receipt, and amounts below the threshold may not identify a source. Wealth estimates are deliberately omitted because they fluctuate and are not necessary to establish the political link. Wherever a 2026 commitment has been reported but not yet captured in an annual AEC return, the profile says so.
Still being checked: John Gandel, Solomon Lew, Alex Waislitz, Dick Smith, the Liberman family, the Smorgon family and the Besen family. These names are not being treated as current political-influence profiles until a recent qualifying donation, campaign, media, think-tank or policy connection is verified. Historical wealth or an old payment alone is not enough for this edition.
This section brings together current electoral activity, disclosed or reported funding and a comparison of official One Nation policies with the IPA’s 2012 list of 100 proposals. Similarity is not proof of influence, funding, copying or coordination.
Secret Harbour: One Nation gains a WA lower-house seat
On 30 August 2026 the ABC called the Secret Harbour by-election for One Nation’s Luke Herdegen, the party’s first lower-house victory in Western Australia. The ABC tally showed Herdegen leading Labor’s Georgia Tree 57.1% to 42.9% on the two-candidate-preferred count when checked. The result is included because analysts identified the outer-suburban contest as a possible warning for both major parties ahead of Victoria’s election; it is not evidence of an IPA role in the campaign.
One Nation Victoria’s official candidate directory listed Warren Pickering, Fiona Lopez, Mark Nicholson, Aaron Sanford, Colleen Harkin, Chris Burson, Natalie Adams, Greg Hansford, Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell, Ben Lucas, Darren Hercus, Elita Dabrowski, Garner Smith, Jeremy Johnson, Jessie Weatherley, John Barnes, Matthew Katselis, Michael Piastrino, Trevor Hammond, Donna Buxton, Stuart Robinson, Vaughan Williams and Paul Ballinger when checked on 30 August 2026. These are party announcements, not the final VEC ballot: formal nominations do not close until November.
The party’s events calendar also advertised a Pakenham community event with Pauline Hanson and a Sale fundraiser with Hanson, Pickering and Hansford. Guardian Australia reported a separate $2,000-a-head Melbourne lunch and that some invitations were amended to add authorisation statements after media inquiries. Event advertising does not identify private attendees or prove the amount ultimately raised.
One Nation proposes abolishing the federal Department of Climate Change, withdrawing from the Paris Agreement and ending renewable subsidies. Its Victorian branch calls for scrapping net-zero targets and supporting coal, gas and nuclear power.
IPA 2012
Items 1–3, 6 and 10 proposed repealing the carbon tax, abolishing climate bodies, repealing the renewable-energy target and leaving the Kyoto Protocol. Item 90 proposed removing restrictions on nuclear power.
The party’s savings plan calls for abolishing specified agencies and reviewing federal Education and Housing functions to remove duplication with the states.
IPA 2012
Item 2 also called for abolishing the Department of Climate Change. Items 52 and 80 proposed a smaller Commonwealth public service and returning education policy to the states. One Nation says “review,” not abolish, in relation to Education and Housing.
One Nation proposes allowing a person’s superannuation fund to invest in their principal home, with the relevant proceeds returned to the fund if the property is sold.
IPA 2012
Item 68 proposed allowing people to opt out of superannuation if they promised to forgo government retirement-income support. Both loosen compulsory retirement saving, but these are not the same policy.
The Victorian branch promises to pursue a Royal Commission into CFMEU Big Build contracts and examine the Victorian Labor Party’s involvement.
IPA 2012
Items 83–85 proposed regulating unions like public companies, ending public funding for unions and employer associations, and repealing closed-shop rules. The shared theme is union accountability; the proposed legal mechanisms differ.
The party says it would repeal Victorian legislation allowing compulsory acquisition for the VNI West transmission project and scrap fines for farmers who resist land access.
IPA 2012
Item 89 called for adherence to the Commonwealth Constitution’s just-terms protection against taking or diminishing property. The common thread is property rights; one is a Victorian project-specific policy and the other a federal constitutional principle.
One Nation says it wants constitutional protection for free speech and opposes government censorship and speech regulation.
IPA 2012
Items 4, 14 and 66 proposed repealing section 18C, abolishing ACMA and ruling out government-supported or mandated internet censorship. The policies share a free-speech theme but are not identical.
One Nation advocates banning foreign ownership of residential property and restricting foreign ownership of water.
IPA 2012
Item 28 proposed abolishing the Foreign Investment Review Board, while item 97 opposed restrictions on foreign investment in agriculture. These positions move in substantially different directions.
One Nation says it would strengthen Medicare, lift rebates and combat fraud.
IPA 2012
Item 20 proposed means-testing Medicare and item 92 proposed abolishing the Medicare levy surcharge. Those are materially different priorities from One Nation’s current policy.
Evidence status: the policy texts and dates are confirmed by the organisations’ own publications. The classifications “close,” “partial,” “thematic” and “different” are editorial comparisons. No direct Atlas partnership, funding relationship or coordinated policy process involving One Nation has been established by the sources cited here.
08 · “OH, THEY’RE ALL THE SAME”
Recorded votes tell a more complicated story
This comparison uses They Vote For You’s summaries of formal parliamentary divisions. It does not compare promises, speeches or every decision made in Parliament.
Profiles checked 27 August 2026
Before you begin
Your answer stays on this device. It is not collected or sent anywhere.
How federal Parliament works—in 60 seconds
House of Representatives
Members represent local electorates. The party or coalition with enough support in the House forms government. The Prime Minister and Treasurer sit here.
Senate
Senators represent each state or territory. The Senate reviews, amends and votes on legislation and can require the government to negotiate with crossbench senators.
Passing a law
Most bills must pass both houses in the same form before receiving Royal Assent. A government majority in the House does not guarantee passage through the Senate.
Why two comparisons?
The chambers have different membership, roles and division patterns. House and Senate attendance percentages are shown separately and should not be ranked as though conditions were identical.
Important: They Vote For You records formal divisions only. Most parliamentary decisions occur “on the voices” and do not appear in this dataset. Its attendance figure means participation in recorded divisions—not attendance at every sitting, speech or committee. Pairing, ministerial duties, the Speaker’s role and deliberate abstention can all appear as absence because the underlying data does not record the reason.
House of Representatives
Labor · Grayndler · Prime Minister
Anthony Albanese
82% recorded-division attendance
Consistently for public housing, political transparency and restricting party donations.
Almost always for renewable-energy investment, housing affordability and net zero by 2050.
Consistently against cutting penalty rates and privatising certain government services.
Never recorded as rebelling against the Labor majority since February 2006.
Pauline Hanson and the Coalition: the recorded-vote audit
From Hanson’s return to the Senate on 31 August 2016 through the latest division included on 20 August 2026, the audit enumerates every formal division, records Hanson’s aye or no where present, and compares it with the majority direction of Liberal, Liberal National, National and Country Liberal senators voting in that division.
51.60%Recorded vote in 2,398 of 4,647 formal divisions
79.17%Matched the Coalition in 1,897 of 2,396 comparable votes cast
87.68%Matched the Coalition in 1,359 of 1,550 votes when Labor and the Coalition disagreed
96.22%Matched the Coalition in 586 of 609 such disagreements since Labor took office
What happened to the old 94–95% claim?
It came from a much narrower 2018 comparison: 18 of 19 votes cast on 20 selected legislative votes where Labor and the Coalition differed. Across that FactCheck’s complete 187-division window, this audit reconstructs Hanson personally matching the Coalition in 120 of her 141 recorded votes—85.11%, not 94–95%.
Read the denominators carefully. The 79.17% figure answers how often Hanson matched the Coalition when she cast a comparable recorded vote. The 87.68% figure is limited to votes where Labor and the Coalition opposed one another. The 96.22% figure applies only to those contested votes since 23 May 2022.
These figures describe voting alignment. They do not establish direction, funding, coordination or common authorship. Voice votes are outside the dataset, and a missing recorded vote does not establish why Hanson did not vote.
“Not displayed” is deliberate: the current They Vote For You profile does not publish an overall attendance number for Steggall or Pocock. This page will not calculate or guess one from selected votes.
Historical Coalition comparison
These former MPs are separated from the current Parliament. Their figures cover the periods shown on their archived profiles and should not be inserted into a current ranking.
Former Liberal MP · Cook · 2007–24
Scott Morrison
85% historical recorded-division attendance
Consistently for decreasing welfare availability, cutting penalty rates, privatising services and lowering corporate tax.
Almost always against renewable-energy investment; consistently against public housing, housing affordability, political transparency, union powers and net zero by 2050.
Never recorded as rebelling against the Liberal majority.
Consistently for decreasing welfare availability, cutting penalty rates, privatising services and assets, and lowering corporate tax.
Almost always against renewable-energy investment; consistently against public housing, housing affordability, political transparency and union powers.
Generally against net zero by 2050 and never recorded as rebelling against the Liberal majority.
The House of Representatives. A party or coalition needs the confidence of the House.
Who do senators represent?
States and territories. Members of the House represent local electorates.
Does a bill normally need to pass both houses?
Yes. Most bills must pass the House and Senate in the same form before becoming law.
After the comparison
This private self-assessment is calculated in your browser and is not stored.
Method: each phrase such as “consistently,” “almost always,” “generally” or “a mixture” reproduces They Vote For You’s category—not this website’s judgement. Those categories are weighted summaries of relevant divisions and may change when new votes or editorial classifications are added. Follow each profile to inspect the underlying divisions. Read the methodology and limitations ↗
09 · PEOPLE
Research files in preparation
People will be added when roles, dates and source links are ready. The file type will show the strength of the documented connection.
Start with official publications, disclosures, policy documents and archives.
Use credible reporting to test and contextualise claims.
Separate confirmed fact from inference.
Link substantive entries to evidence readers can inspect.
11 · CORRECTIONS
Found an error?
This is a living public-record project. Errors can happen, and responsible corrections strengthen the work.
Please identify the entry, quote the wording you believe is wrong, and provide a public source supporting the correction. Contact @elliemail on X ↗
POLITICAL SATIRE · ELLIE’S SERIES
Dave Hughes dials 000
OUTRAGE. OVERDRIVE. OVERLOAD.
A satirical take on political outrage. The title is fictional; it does not describe an actual emergency call.
“ABOLISH the Department of Climate Change.”
Active verb
ABOLISH is red in Ellie’s edition. It appears 17 times—the most frequent command in the list.
In plain English
Eliminate the dedicated federal climate department. Abolishing a department does not necessarily end its work: responsibilities and staff can be transferred elsewhere.
What happened?
The Abbott government abolished the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency on 18 September 2013 and divided its responsibilities between other departments. Labor established the larger Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on 1 July 2022.
Current policy record
One Nation currently proposes abolishing the Department of Climate Change and related agencies, programs and regulations. That is a direct policy overlap. Its claimed $30 billion annual saving is a party estimate and is not independently verified here.
Evidence status
The 2012 proposal, 2013 machinery-of-government change, current department and One Nation wording are confirmed. Similarity alone does not establish coordination, common authorship or influence.
ABOLISH is red in Ellie’s edition. It appears 17 times—the most frequent command in the list.
In plain English
Dismantle the federal government’s new clean-energy investment vehicle. The original list used the shorthand “Clean Energy Fund”; the institution established in 2012 was the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).
What happened?
The Abbott government introduced legislation to abolish the CEFC. The Senate rejected abolition bills in December 2013 and again in June 2014. The CEFC survived.
Current policy record
On 26 August 2026 the Coalition proposed preventing CEFC finance from supporting purchases of productive farmland for carbon-credit projects, after controversy over the CEFC-backed Rushy Lagoon project in Tasmania. This concerns what the CEFC should finance, not renewed abolition.
Evidence status
The abolition attempts, CEFC’s continued existence and the August 2026 positions are confirmed. Calling the farmland-finance dispute a thematic continuation is an interpretation, not evidence of IPA direction.
“REPEAL section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.”
Active verb
REPEAL is purple in Ellie’s edition. It appears 11 times in the list.
In plain English
Remove section 18C entirely. It is a civil provision concerning certain public conduct because of race, colour or national or ethnic origin; section 18D protects specified artistic, academic, scientific, journalistic and fair-comment conduct when done reasonably and in good faith.
What happened?
The Abbott government proposed repealing and replacing section 18C in 2014 but abandoned the plan on 5 August. In 2017 the Turnbull government proposed replacing “offend, insult and humiliate” with “harass”; the Senate rejected the change 31–28. Section 18C remains in force.
Current policy record
On 27 July 2026 the Full Federal Court dismissed Pauline Hanson’s appeal in Hanson v Faruqi. On 21 August she reportedly sought special leave to appeal to the High Court. This is a legal challenge, not a parliamentary repeal bill.
Evidence status
The statute, earlier repeal efforts and Federal Court proceeding are confirmed. The reported High Court application is attributed to current reporting. The overlap does not establish IPA direction, coordination or authorship of Hanson’s case.
“ABANDON Australia’s bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council.”
Active verb
ABANDON is orange in Ellie’s edition. It appears 3 times in the list.
In plain English
Withdraw Australia’s campaign for an elected 2013–14 seat on the UN Security Council.
What happened?
Australia did not abandon the bid. It was elected and served during 2013–14. The Coalition government continued the term after September 2013. Julie Bishop later cited sanctions work, Syrian humanitarian access and the international response to MH17.
Current policy record
Australia is campaigning for a 2029–30 Security Council seat, with the election scheduled for June 2028. This revives the same underlying policy choice; the current government’s position is the opposite of the IPA proposal.
Evidence status
The proposal, Australia’s 2013–14 membership and current 2029–30 candidacy are confirmed by primary sources.
“ABOLISH the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.”
Active verb
ABOLISH is red in Ellie’s edition. It appears 17 times—the most frequent command in the list.
In plain English
Dismantle Australia’s national competition, consumer, fair-trading and product-safety regulator. The 2012 list did not explain which body, if any, would inherit its functions.
What happened?
The ACCC was not abolished. It was established in 1995 from the Trade Practices Commission and Prices Surveillance Authority and continues to enforce the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.
Current policy record
A mandatory merger-notification regime took effect on 1 January 2026. Businesses meeting the thresholds must notify the ACCC and wait for a decision; the ACCC is the first-instance decision-maker and can prevent acquisitions likely to substantially lessen competition. Current policy has strengthened its role rather than abolished it.
Evidence status
The IPA proposal, ACCC history, current functions and 2026 merger regime are confirmed by official sources. This is a documented policy contrast, not evidence about who influenced the reform.
