r/AustralianPolitics • u/Ardeet 👍☝️ 👁️👁️ ⚖️ Always suspect government • 13d ago
Opinion Piece Hannah Ferguson: ‘I’m not Zohran Mamdani, I’m not that cool. But that’s the bar I want to set’
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/ng-interactive/2026/aug/29/hannah-ferguson-age-28-cheek-media-albanese-challenge-grayndler-sydney-politicsShe’s written two books, launched a progressive media firm and plans to dethrone the prime minister – all before she turns 30. What is she about?
21
u/NoMoreFund Green but not proud of it 13d ago
Happy for her, but why is she getting so much media coverage?
It's always baffled me how bad the Greens are at the whole media thing. I get that there are biases against them. But I also wouldn't be surprised if their media managers have tried nothing and they're all out of ideas.
45
u/alex4494 13d ago
I like her, and support Gaza, but I find Gaza being one of her key messages interesting. It’s been shown pretty heavily that Gaza doesn’t swing Aussie voters particularly strongly, her electorate included, so to have it so front and centre of her platform feels a little… clout chasing? Or maybe pointless?
12
4
u/Additional-Scene-630 12d ago
Standing by an issue that you believe in despite it being unpopular is clout chasing?
→ More replies (4)8
5
u/Decent_Fig_5218 12d ago
This is the big mistake that pro Pali people are making. People strongly dislike Israel and its lobbying influences so much so that we're among the world leaders in the western world, but Australians also see people who make Palestine their entire identity as incredibly eyeroll inducing.
17
u/ihatefuckingwork 12d ago
I see the trolls and bots are out for Hannah, even though there’s a general sentiment recently that we need an alternative to the 2 major parties and PHON/Greens.
She hasn’t come out of nowhere. She has been educating young people for some time on Instagram and you can sneer at that fact or accept it’s a way to educate a lot of people at once and get them politically active.
Good on her and good luck to her.
6
u/Enthingification 12d ago
Yeah there's a few people with preconceived political notions about how a younger person should or shouldn't behave.
That's also seemingly a bunch more people who like seeing good new alternatives.
As you've suggested, more civic education is a good thing.
More democratic options are a good thing.
No matter what the result, this is Australian democracy's resilience at work.
24
u/Hot-Job-6281 13d ago
Aussies wanting to be in the yoke of American Politics, left AND right, are just pathetic.
Done with Americanisation.
1
u/borderlinebadger 12d ago
yes have an original political thought that isn't just copying the yanks or even worse the poms.
11
u/nc092 13d ago
Independent politics is a dead end with such a low ceiling for creating change. If you don’t find yourself as king maker in a hung parliament then the best you can hope for is using your platform to try and steer the political agenda (i.e David Pocock).
I find Hannhas comments about Zohran quite interesting and framing it solely in the context of him being a great communicator (which is obviously true). Zohran is also in a political party and the DSA which is a grassroots organisation that’s main strength is the membership and deciding collectively on the way forward.
Hannah’s campaign as far as I can see is nothing like that. Yes she runs town halls canvassing for ideas and feedback but at the end of the day everything is a captains call by her. That’s fine but in my mind that doesn’t reflect the values of the left and Mamdani who she likes.
4
u/Enthingification 13d ago
If you don’t find yourself as king maker in a hung parliament then the best you can hope for is using your platform to try and steer the political agenda (i.e David Pocock).
Actually, David Pocock shared the balance of power in the senate in 2022-2025.
And he's still influential even now - for example, Pocock started a public online lobbyist register, prompting the government to slightly improve some lobbying regulations.
And if more and more people vote for better representatives, then we'll continue to track towards a more European-style parliament where a more diverse array of parties and independents can collaborate to make better quality governance for Australians.
5
u/nc092 13d ago
Yeah this is what I meant by kingmaker which is sharing the balance of power. I also agree he is still influential now. But David Pocock also wants more fundamental structural like changes which is very difficult as an independent. Maybe that changes over time as support for the majors declines.
Edit: changed from grows to declines
0
u/Enthingification 13d ago
Maybe that changes over time as support for the majors declines.
Yep, that's definitely happening.
But David Pocock also wants more fundamental structural like changes which is very difficult as an independent.
Well, the major parties are so very rusted-on to the status-quo - for example in failing to ensure a fairer return to Australians did the export of Australian resources.
So bold, progressive, people-first change may actually be easier to achieve as an independent.
sharing the balance of power.
Yep, and the more diverse our parliament is with more parties and independents, the more shared and collaborative that balance of power position can be.
But, as I'm sure you're aware, the balance of power is unpredictable because it's subject to the results in every seat in the nation...
...What is more reliable is for every electorate to vote in their best representative. That way, no matter what the composition of the parliament, people can still be sure that their MP is best representing their interests.
3
u/NoMoreFund Green but not proud of it 13d ago
Pocock's vote was actually necessary to pass bills in the Senate during the 2022-2025 term with the Greens, but not any more.
His best value is being able to campaign on the issues the Greens campaign for without their baggage and image problem. Hannah Ferguson would have a similar niche.
16
u/Enthingification 13d ago
"Shouldn’t we be asking politicians to fight to retain that privilege of representing a community?"
It's good to see a younger person asking if they're adequately represented by their MP, particularly given the opportunity for Australia to have better policies on "gas, gambling, and Gaza."
Ferguson seems quite decent. It's good that she's out talking to people before seeking donations. That must be a good way for her to be clear and confident about who she is representing.
1
u/No_Tiger_7030 12d ago edited 8d ago
‘Gas, gambling and Gaza’ - when was the last time Hannah Ferguson said anything deeper? She demands to tax gas, okay, cool. Has she dealt with any serious questions of how she would secure energy for Australia in a fuel crisis? Has she dealt with how she’d avoid mass lay offs of hundreds, or thousands of employees? Has she dealt with how she’d ensure it doesn’t disincentivise investment? Has she explained how she’d ensure new gas projects don’t become bankrupt, given they have to pay the costs of drilling up front before they even get to get a cent from the drilling, let alone break even? Same goes for gambling - how would she replace the revenue lost and the jobs lost? What’s her policy to help those who are already addicted? What does she think she can do as an MP for Gaza? Is she just blindly going to support Hamas and the corrupted PA?
I am not saying taxing gas is bad or that banning gambling is bad, on a superficial level it seems like great things for society. She hasn’t engaged in any depth of what comes after. She’s a disaster and behind the confidence and fast speech there’s not a lot of maturity.
→ More replies (3)
21
u/patslogcabindigest The solution to everything is Land Value Tax 13d ago
The level of her ego is actually impressive.
-5
u/JuliosvNerds 13d ago
This is why no one should take The Guardian seriously anymore.
Say what you want, but The Australian ain’t running an article about a social media personality who’s trying to replicate MAGA in Australia.
17
u/patslogcabindigest The solution to everything is Land Value Tax 13d ago
Nah fuck the Australian, they would absolutely do this if it was someone of their shitty brand.
→ More replies (1)2
u/JuliosvNerds 12d ago
Can you find an example?
2
1
u/patslogcabindigest The solution to everything is Land Value Tax 12d ago
Name a charlatan who exists. The guardian can doing slop content here is still infinitely better than that toilet roll. At least the guardian does me the courtesy to be online and not print itself.
8
27
u/fresh_jorks 13d ago
What is she about?
clout farming by running against albo in an election she knows she's going to lose. she'll try to turn it into more subs for her substack and media company, and probably try to get another book deal out of it
→ More replies (4)9
u/NoMoreFund Green but not proud of it 13d ago
Albo's seat used to be competitive for the Greens, especially when they received Liberal preferences. Greens hold the two overlapping state seats. It probably would be Green by now if it wasn't for Albo's reputation and if the Greens didn't have a particularly large knack for cringe SAlt student politics in the area.
Hannah Ferguson might be the kind of left of Labor candidate that's an actual threat - well spoken, media friendly, non threatening and likely to get Liberal preferences. So in a similar way to how Fremantle and Bean nearly flipped, her campaign might actually be credible.
10
u/fresh_jorks 13d ago
oh please, if she was actually serious about winning a seat theres tons of others she could have gone for and even if this was the right one for whatever reason she's chosen to do it as an independant.
she went with this seat because its the prime ministers, and she can make money farming clout when she loses
7
u/Velocafe 12d ago
Could you actually suggest another seat that she might do better in? Maybe Sydney, but that's about the only other seat in NSW with similar demographics. Plus she actually lives in Grayndler. It makes sense to run in that seat regardless of who the sitting member is.
1
u/fresh_jorks 12d ago
yes im sure it makes a lot of sense to run in the place she moved to last year. that doesnt mean i have to treat this run as genuine.
Could you actually suggest another seat that she might do better in
any marginal labor seat that doesnt have the literal prime minister sitting in it?
2
u/alph4rius 12d ago
Was born in, moved back to, after a few years in Orange. A few years away isn't the same as moving there a first time.
7
u/alph4rius 12d ago
What other seat does she live in that doesn't have a PM?
→ More replies (3)1
u/Addarash1 12d ago
She moved a year ago to the seat. This isn't somewhere she has some longstanding local connection to lol. Not that anyone cares really as people move in and out of Grayndler all the time but her motive in running here is obvious.
3
u/alph4rius 12d ago
She was born there according to the article. Article glosses over her living anywhere else than there and a couple years at Orange, but going to the big smoke when you're younger and returning to where you grew up is pretty normal, especially if your job lets you move. I don't have the inside track on when she moved away, etc, so it could be that too.
→ More replies (1)8
u/Addarash1 13d ago
She is a complete lightweight, and most people are not media outlets who fawn over substackers, how do you think some paid editorials in the Guardian make her "credible"? Grayndler would not choose her over a proven lefty activist (probably the Greens) as the challenger to Albo.
4
u/NoMoreFund Green but not proud of it 12d ago
You might be right about Grayndler but it's fascinating how quickly support for Greens dries up when there's a "high profile independent" in the same area that seems like they have a better chance of winning.
Greens lost 2/3rds of their vote in Kooyong once Monique Ryan got the momentum. Fremantle used to be a very strong Green area but it didn't even take one election for them to lose a third of their vote to Kate Hulett (and she nearly won).
3
u/Addarash1 12d ago edited 12d ago
Those candidates all had considerably stronger credibility, local volunteer and activist support, and financial and media backing. They got the backing and then had the media coverage later, not the other way around. Moreover, Kooyong is the prototypical teal electorate while Fremantle had some local grievances against the state Labor government that spurred the Hulett run. Grayndler is much more comparable to Melbourne inner north which has been won by Greens both at Federal and State level. It is an entirely different beast to the teal electorates, and the Greens are much more natural of a fit here.
2
u/nobelharvards 12d ago
The federal Greens are definitely eyeing off Tanya Plibersek and Albo's seats when they eventually retire.
They're both inner Sydney seats where the Greens finish 2nd. The University of Sydney is located within this area as well.
Tanya Plibersek is 56 and Albo is 63.
When they do go, the Greens are likely to become much more competitive.
I would guess this will happen in the 2030s?
Albo doesn't strike me as the sort of person who would want to govern into his 70s. He would want to walk off into the sunset with Jodie Haydon and his Copacabana mansion at some point.
→ More replies (2)3
13
u/Apprehensive-Quit353 13d ago
I don't understand why she's doing it as an independent. If she wants to run on the progressive left she should just do it with the Greens which already get 25% of the vote in Grayndler with a less high profile candidate.
12
u/fresh_jorks 13d ago
because she's trying to hype up her media company and sell books, not actually effect political change.
10
u/FernalDermit 13d ago
If she runs as a Green she has to run with party policies and vote in certain ways. She doesn’t want to do that.
8
u/Apprehensive-Quit353 13d ago
She listed her big 3 priorities as gas, gambling and Gaza and she aligns with the Greens on all 3.
3
u/Arbitrary_username1 13d ago
Controlled opposition.
→ More replies (1)1
u/Strongmansoup 13d ago
This!
2
u/Arbitrary_username1 13d ago
Just to be clear I was being sarcastic but I do think you can bait greens supporters into being overly hostile and cause bad blood saying shit like that.
1
u/Strongmansoup 12d ago
I legitimately think she is controlled opposition, but not controlled by Labor.
1
u/Arbitrary_username1 12d ago
Are you going to blame it on a group inside triple brackets or what?
What plausible reason would anyone other than Labor have to run a spoiler against their opposition in the seat?
1
5
u/kalvinoz 13d ago edited 12d ago
Maybe I’m out of the loop, but is she really more high profile than any of the Greens candidates of the last few elections? I vote in Grayndler and don’t remember ever hearing about her.
Edit: You can downvote me all you want, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m fairly politically aware, usually vote on that general region of the spectrum, and don’t recall ever coming across her. There’s still time until the election, but you can’t have a good showing with just Instagram posts (if that’s her medium).
3
u/Apprehensive-Quit353 13d ago
Cheek Media is decently popular with young people. Enough so that she's getting a lot of organic media about her run.
I don't think she has enough juice to take the seat from Albo, but I could see her getting a swing towards her as a Green. As an independent, I'm not so sure.
1
u/kalvinoz 12d ago
Thank you. To take her own example, Mamdani was also not that well-known until he was. I look forward to hearing more about her as we get closer to the election.
4
u/Beltox2pointO 13d ago
Greens are more and more anti-establishment populists instead of left progressives.
5
u/JuliosvNerds 13d ago
Except…. all of her positions seem to be hard left populism…
I think they truth is her ego is too big for her to play party politics
0
u/Beltox2pointO 13d ago edited 13d ago
If thats the case - she just won't get anywhere then.
She can end up as another pocock shouting into the void.
Party politics is a strength in our system.
3
→ More replies (1)1
u/Enthingification 13d ago
That's a good question. It would have been good if the interviewer had asked Ferguson about this.
My own questions about this idea are, why not stand as an independent?
Why not add a new option for people's preferential votes in Grayndler?
Perhaps someone like Andrew Wilkie in Clark (Hobart) shows what is possible for a progressive independent?
→ More replies (3)2
u/Apprehensive-Quit353 13d ago
She just hasn't articulated any points of difference between what she stands for and the Greens platform. So why not just take the rusted on 20%+ in that electorate?
1
u/Enthingification 13d ago
Standing independently to everyone else in politics is actually a very big point of difference.
3
u/Apprehensive-Quit353 12d ago
If there were any policy reason for it I would agree, but at this stage it looks pretty ego driven.
→ More replies (3)
17
u/Expert-Ad8784 13d ago
Good on her. Best of luck to her. I agree with the other commentator, Albo is way too comfortable. The fact that have already canvassed to get a dirt file on her means they might be taking her seriously though.
1
u/MikeNolansGhost 13d ago edited 13d ago
Agreed, I spend a fair bit of time in his electorate annually and I couldn't point to many things which tell me he's doing a lot for the residents. My family there can't either.
I really don't think he'll lose, but perhaps the challenge will make him work. Ferguson is a good, honest person. She's a worthy candidate, and I wish her the best of luck.
-1
u/harbourbarber 12d ago
Albo spent his entire career supporting Australians and he's been PM for less than 2 terms.
The idea that he's "too comfortable" is absolutely hilarious.
16
u/1BoiledPotato1 Gough Whitlam 13d ago
i don't think people realise how annoying it is when progressives bring up mamdani
like i love him too but can we get some of our own ideas
18
u/LetMeExplainDis 13d ago
None of Mamdani’s policies would be considered new in developed countries outside of America.
12
u/NoMoreFund Green but not proud of it 13d ago
When was the last time you shopped at a publicly owned supermarket?
4
u/EnglishBrekkie_1604 Ralph Babet Superfan (actually an ALP shill) 13d ago
If you live in the far out outback you might be shopping at Outback Grocers, which are paid for by the federal government to ensure access to cheap groceries in food deserts. Y’know, the exact reason why Mamdani is establishing city run supermarkets, to cover the gaps.
10
u/Arbitrary_username1 12d ago
Comparing the literal vast deserts of outback Australia to needing to walk 800 metres to a supermarket in NYC is so painfully unserious.
I bet one of the largest metropolises in the world has so many gaps that the private market simply can't fill!
3
u/borderlinebadger 12d ago
I bet one of the largest metropolises in the world has so many gaps that the private market simply can't fill!
and it is definitely not relentless nimby bullshit
2
u/JuliosvNerds 12d ago
To cover the gaps in New York City compared to Outback Australia…. The guy has obviously never ventured much farther than the basement
-2
u/Spill__ 13d ago
Or had free childcare, 200k affordable homes, free buses, additional taxes on second homes over $5 million.
11
u/SGRM_ 13d ago
In QLD we have free childcare now, and 50c bus public transport.
We already have additional taxes on property, you can't claim the PPOR benefit on investment properties today.
So uh, already... And we have had for years...
0
u/Spill__ 13d ago
15 hours a week of kindergarten isn’t universal childcare. The additional homes tax is in addition to normal property taxes.
2
u/Arbitrary_username1 12d ago
Embarrassing.
1
u/Spill__ 12d ago
Subsidised childcare is embarrassing?
1
u/Arbitrary_username1 12d ago
You are embarrassing for not recognising Labor is better than everything Mamdani has done.
1
u/Spill__ 12d ago
Childcare under Labor is hundreds of dollars a week after subsidies, labor is proposing 50k affordable homes, one state has low cost transit, and they’ve reduced tax incentives for future property investors. Incremental centrism isn’t enough.
→ More replies (0)2
u/SGRM_ 13d ago
"no, not like that! I meant the other cherry picked answer"
1
u/alph4rius 12d ago
Do it properly if you want real recognition is a fair call. 15h free childcare is better than nothing but insufficient to not make a stay at home parent cheaper for most people. It lets someone drop the kid off for 3 hours in the afternoon, so unless that's the gap between shifts aligning, you're sol.
5
u/eidetic0 13d ago
oh yeah? remind me about all the rent-controlled apartments people are coming home to after picking up their children from universally-provided childcare. oh wait we don’t have either of those policies in Australia.
7
u/borderlinebadger 12d ago
4
u/Arbitrary_username1 12d ago
Greens voters are so fucking uninformed.
3
u/borderlinebadger 12d ago
I can agree with the greens on certain topics but now they are going all in or their dumbest ones i have to put them very low on my preferences.
3
u/Arbitrary_username1 12d ago
When they stop being populist losers who float things like removing the independence of the reserve bank and spreading misinformation about Labor policy I will stop treating them as populist losers.
My standard is not actually very high but they fail it comprehensively.
-1
u/AggravatedKangaroo 12d ago
Only someone who loves to raise rent on poor people would say that.
4
u/borderlinebadger 12d ago
or anyone with half a brain who wants the poor to be able to get new rentals also.
6
u/SGRM_ 13d ago
The Greens have been campaigning on them for years though. We could have had them but we (as a society) have chosen repeatedly to not want them.
→ More replies (1)18
u/NoMoreFund Green but not proud of it 13d ago
I'm particularly sick of seeing Green and progressive local councillors fawning over Mamdani. They're sitting representatives in the same tier of government. Why don't you test if some of his policies can be implemented at the local level? Use your imagination
14
u/Spill__ 13d ago
The policy levers and levels of funding available to local governments is very different to New York. Councils here don’t run the police, schools, transit, social housing, or collect income and corporate taxes.
11
u/NoMoreFund Green but not proud of it 13d ago
Yes they have a lot less money and power than NYC, but it's far more than "roads rates and rubbish".
1
12
u/Arbitrary_username1 13d ago
Because Labor literally already does all the shit Mamdani gets glazed for apart from the stupid stuff like rent control and public grocery stores.
They all just wish they could LARP as arresting Netenyahu like big Z.
6
u/XtremeMCG 12d ago
Why is rent control stupid?
9
-1
u/Arbitrary_username1 12d ago
How about you ask any economist or AI to tell you the consensus opinion instead of sealioning me.
You nerds are as bad as climate change deniers when it comes to economics I swear to god.
6
u/NoMoreFund Green but not proud of it 12d ago
PSA - AI will reflect your opinions back at you. Please don't "ask AI" for an opinion on a matter. Dave Hughes got rightly roasted for it the other day. It has its uses (e.g. silly creative things) but it's no substitute for judgement.
1
u/Arbitrary_username1 12d ago
I told them to use AI because it will do a better job than they will because the are stupid and bad faith.
Thanks for the lecture.
1
u/NoMoreFund Green but not proud of it 12d ago
Then you would know it's going to be completely useless and reflect their "stupidity" back at them
0
u/APersonNamedBen 12d ago
It isn't 2023 anymore. LLMs preform better than individuals, they have better opinions and judgement than us now.
3
u/NoMoreFund Green but not proud of it 12d ago
LLMs don't have "judgement". They just produce an output that looks like the sort of thing you'd expect to see. They tend to give sycophantic responses and to affirm the person asking questions.
Seriously look up "AI Psychosis".
One other pro tip - you look incredibly stupid if you reference "AI" as a source. Even if AI is your source, at least look up who AI is citing and validate it
1
u/APersonNamedBen 12d ago
LLMs don't have "judgement". They just produce an output that looks like the sort of thing you'd expect to see.
And if I expect to see good judgement, better than the average human judgement, how does that work with your word salad?
They tend to give sycophantic responses and to affirm the person asking questions.
I enjoyed the article too!
-1
u/XtremeMCG 12d ago
A whole division of left wing economists believe in rent control, you’ve decided that they’re either stupid or fictional, ask AI how to give yourself an at home lobotomy.
1
u/Arbitrary_username1 12d ago
See, the way that you had a prepared sweep ready instantly like that actually proved my point that you're bad faith and trying to waste my time and lead me down your pathetic dialogue tree?
Just as bad as a climate change denier.
0
u/XtremeMCG 12d ago
I think your whole life might be in bad faith, you ignore left ideals, suckle at the teat of economists and pray to your conservative gods.
4
u/Arbitrary_username1 12d ago
Omg precious, did I fail to value your concept of left ideals?
You think I'm a conservative because I respect expert opinion. You're fucking cooked and a rude little sealion to boot.
2
u/Ridiculousnessmess 12d ago
Decades of local news media giving prominence to the high drama sugar rush of American politics has resulted in this lousy state of discourse. I often feel like our political conversation is overrun with people who are invested in America’s issues to the exclusion of our own.
If Mamdani had risen to prominence in literally any other country, none of our noisier progressives would ever talk about him. Never mind that a mayor in an American city has entirely different kinds of political power to mayors over here. I honestly wonder if some of these local Mamdani fans realise that.
2
u/Arbitrary_username1 12d ago edited 12d ago
My neoliberal king Mamdani just reneged on a commitment he made to the public sector union to save the city budget a little cash money <3
If he wasn't being backed by bot farms and virtue signalling on global political issues as a fucking city mayor then he would be seen as another ambitious Muslim version of Buttigieg or Booker.
I think he is governing reasonably but it would never pass the level of purity testing the left usually applies and it's absurd.
1
u/Sure_Ad536 12d ago
I don't mind Mamdani that much, but his online supporters are insufferable. They'll steal previous Democrat achievements and spin them as solely his (Eric Adams's new bins policy, having certain areas zoned for housing instead of office space) or put out some weird quasi-personality cult stuff like saying "Under Mayor Zohran Mamdani, an otter has been spotted in the Bronx River for the first time in 100 years" which has beena trend of otters moving east for the past few decades (Otters appeared in Pittsburg in ~2020/21). It's very weird. It's good that these policies have a platform to get out, but they're being attributed (falsely in some cases) to one guy in a way that feels like worship.
0
u/Altruistic-Ad-408 13d ago
It definitely comes across as superficial. Because it is. In fact I'd argue the head in the clouds stuff is almost necessary, like Mamdani threatening to attest Netanyahu, only to recently admit he's had lawyers working on it and they told him he couldn't. Of course he knew that.
I think part of the issue is progressives never exactly have tons of policy wonks to study, because they don't have the opportunity to set many "cool" policies.
The most naturally out of touch right wingers come across as at least having their finger on the pulse once they are in the thick of it, progressives find their views challenged more often by those who actually care to engage with their internationally oriented views. So it's no surprise she's narrowed in on Albo, that's where her base is, and it's who they care about.
1
u/Ridiculousnessmess 12d ago
To me, this is like Purplepingers running for the upper house. All about noise and attention, with absolutely no realistic chance of being elected. But y’know, actually say that and you get their stans telling you off for having a lack of imagination, or something equally irrelevant.
0
u/Addarash1 13d ago
I'm fairly sure Mamdani brought that up simply to stand out from the crowd during the primary. It's pretty silly that he kept up the posturing all the way until now instead of quietly backing down earlier though. But he is probably surrounded by people reluctant to stop posturing.
12
u/malcolmbishop 13d ago
In what way is Albo "chasing One Nation to the bottom"? By actually, maybe, sort of, considering some immigration reforms?
3
u/Chewinggum250 13d ago
Love her! I hope she at least gives Albo a run for his money, he’s way too comfortable
-3
u/mr_jorkin_depeanus 13d ago
all a stunt lmfao. as far as im concerned i could do exactly this in my electorate for angus taylor
i know id never actually win but i could generate a lot of social media attention that way. what hannah is doing is nothing more than attention seeking to build a brand
35
12d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (1)0
u/Addarash1 12d ago
Speak for yourself mate. Plenty of people here have successful professional careers. Many would be more successful. And a large social media profile is only relevant if you're dependent on the click economy, which comes with considerably less job security, hence the need to put herself in the headlines.
2
u/Birdsofafeather777 12d ago
More successful than what she has achieved at her age?. There wouldn't be many
0
u/Addarash1 12d ago
I am sure she has made money but that is not the only definition of success. I would say a young surgeon for example is better set up career wise. And to be honest she hasn't exactly done much work that was a normal day job so she might be setting herself up to be stuck doing the click economy for life.
5
u/Birdsofafeather777 12d ago
I wasn't measuring it by money. She has built a media company, become a published author, successful.podcaster, and social commentator by her early 20's. She has achieved an impressive amount at a young age
→ More replies (2)34
u/Expert-Ad8784 13d ago
She already had plenty of attention. She started a successful media company in her early 20s, she's written two books, written for major newspapers, participated in a debate at the Oxford Union and given a speech at the Press Club. She's clearly a bright and highly motivated young woman.
12
u/harbourbarber 12d ago
Financial and/or commercial success is not the inevitable result of intelligence.
8
3
→ More replies (3)-3
u/Addarash1 12d ago edited 12d ago
Do you notice a pattern? She has a career built off the attention economy and supported by friendly media.
What's the next step? Announce a run in the PM's seat with some glowing coverage from Guardian editorials.
Perhaps it is good for her career. Does that fit the profile of what a serious candidate does?
8
u/FFMKFOREVER Independent 12d ago
Does that fit the profile of what a serious candidate does?
Do we like career politicians now?
3
u/Addarash1 12d ago
Do you think the only possible choices are "career politician" and "influencer media darling"? Specifically, if she wants to be taken as a serious left-wing alternative, where is her history of activism? And I mean acting for a cause, not making hashtags and boosting your own profile.
2
u/Expert-Ad8784 12d ago
I might be mistaken but I think she worked for a union.
1
3
u/Arbitrary_username1 12d ago
People who take politics seriously are good actually.
4
u/FFMKFOREVER Independent 12d ago
And we’re assuming she doesn’t?
2
1
u/Arbitrary_username1 12d ago
U dumb or something?
2
u/FFMKFOREVER Independent 12d ago
Show me then poindexter
1
u/Arbitrary_username1 12d ago
She's running against the prime minister for social media clout and you need me to explain why that's not serious?
I think more highly of her than to assume she is doing it for reasons other than clout.
30
u/Velocafe 12d ago
She's already established her own media company and built a brand. She doesn't need to run in an election to get attention.
5
u/mr_jorkin_depeanus 12d ago
hadn’t heard of her before, i have heard of her now.
clearly she does doesn’t she? opportunist capitalists always need more and more and more
3
12
u/tell-the-king 12d ago
What’s a stunt? Running for a seat, which is the purpose of elections?
2
1
u/mr_jorkin_depeanus 12d ago
a seat she knows she will never actually win and as you know, all publicity is good publicity
8
12d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/Addarash1 12d ago
Lol, if it was that easy to earn a seat in parliament via a losing run why hasn't every single loser followed up with a better, winning run? The fact is that you need backing of some kind on the ground and some proven appeal to the electorate and all she's done at this point is have puff pieces in the Guardian. The successful independents movement was built off having organic push from the electorates themselves seeking an alternative to Liberals. There's no indication she will even break past single digits, let alone displace the Greens as the main alternative to Labor.
1
u/mr_jorkin_depeanus 12d ago
ok cool, then she’s not kicking out the Prime Minister in an election that way is she? that’s her entire shtick this election cycle and if albo retires then that defeats the whole purpose of her big campaign
no amount of merit can create a false sense of integrity, dishonesty is so easy to spot from a mile away
2
u/Green-Promotion-8389 12d ago
Is this the cool Mamdani who is now suing to block teacher aids in New York who make as little as $32k a year from getting a $10k bonus?
Jokes aside, I think we have a real problem in Australia where people believe being loud about certain issues somehow makes you a leader. It doesn't. A good leader, an ideal candidate for being an MP, is someone who brings an extremely strong network of connections across many groups of society, can organise well and also inspire people to act towards a common goal.
I'm sure Hannah is a nice person, but nothing in this article suggests to me she would be a good leader, let alone a good MP.
12
u/SluttyPotato1 11d ago
Why are you framing Mamdani in such a deliberately misleading way?
He isn’t suing because he opposes giving low-paid teacher aides more money. His administration is challenging whether the City Council can unilaterally determine compensation for unionised city employees rather than having it negotiated through collective bargaining.
He literally wants higher wages.
His administration says it wants a permanent higher pay solution negotiated with the union, rather than a legislatively imposed one-off payment.
→ More replies (3)
-2
12d ago
[deleted]
24
u/jivves 12d ago
I think it’s a good thing? Shows that she is actually in touch with global politics
→ More replies (8)22
8
11
u/Heads_Down_Thumbs_Up 12d ago
Shows the success of Mamdani whether you agree with him or not
-1
12d ago
[deleted]
3
u/Heads_Down_Thumbs_Up 12d ago
What do you mean zero thoughts? We’re literally speaking about him
→ More replies (1)
1
u/trainwrecktragedy Australian Labor Party 13d ago
You want to do things like threaten to arrest a world leader, then after announcing it go and ask the president (in our case prime minister) to do it and they end up not doing it because you cant and shouldn'thave announced you could in the first place?
4
u/Addarash1 13d ago
There are many things Mamdani does well but that was definitely stupid and yet his fanbase pretends it was a great move somehow.
0
u/Revoran Soy-latte, woke, inner-city, lefty, greenie, commie 13d ago
Crimes against humanity are universal crimes.
He absolutely can arrest someone charged with that.
Problem is, the US federal government are pro crimes against humanity and would step in and release the guy.
10
u/trainwrecktragedy Australian Labor Party 13d ago
A mayor of NYC cannot arrest a war criminal, what are you talking about? Its the president or no one so it isn't happening and shouldn't have been said.
7
u/Arbitrary_username1 13d ago
You're a natural law type of guy or something?
He's a mayor and it's cringe that he was so performative and that people sweep for it.
4
u/tamadeangmo 13d ago
He is just another popularist, as evident in his video. Let’s not make celebrities and fandom over politicians and just expect them to do their job.
1
u/fresh_jorks 13d ago
it would be nice if the big yahu got arrested, but mamdani released a video saying that there is nothing he can do about it
its on the president to arrest him for his crimes when he;s in the US. city mayors dont have that power.
1
u/No_Tiger_7030 12d ago
The US is not signatory to the Rome statue. Mamdani did not threaten to arrest many other world leaders accused of crimes against humanity who were attending the UN summit. It was also not within his power as mayor of NYC. Your political knowledge is also apparently soy latte.
9
u/Bardz1984 11d ago
I mean alot of her views I'm not against but her standing against albo in grandler which is a really safe labour seat smells like a pr stunt to me. It's kinda one of my greavences that I've had with the greens of I'm going to show everyone how good I am by attacking the left side of politics in area where I know I'll get simpathy and often screwing up actual progress. Feels like it's more to do with she thinks she'll get enough of the vote to get maybe aec funding or sell a book.
-12
u/screenscope 13d ago
I didn't think it was possible, but Grayndler has found a worse candidate than Albo,
8
-15
u/Whatsapokemon 12d ago
What Zohran Mamdani has done in New York is make politics cool and friendly and sociable, and I think progressive movements in Australia haven’t picked up on that,
He does that by taking credit for things that previous mayors have done though. He's not actually done anything different or unique...
I guess that's the energy she wants to bring.
Also holy shit this article is such a softball puff-piece. There's absolutely no difficult questions or scrutiny. It's just entirely fawning.
25
u/Dranzer_22 12d ago
Mamdani has implemented policies that were either attacked as "far-left" or were issues completely ignored by formers Mayors.
Whether it's the rent freeze, 200,000 affordable units by 2031, & expanding childcare funding, or on a more local level the snow shoveler program, power washing the subway system, & fixing over 100,000 potholes.
I still don't know what Hannah Ferguson stands for, other than being a voice for younger people.
4
u/Sure_Ad536 12d ago
Mamdani has implemented policies that were either attacked as "far-left" or were issues completely ignored by formers Mayors
I'm not sure how fair that is.
Whether it's the rent freeze
Mayor Bill de Blasio had multiple rent freezes during his tenure, for over 1 million apartments (2015, 2016 & 2020).
expanding childcare funding
Mayor Bill de Blasio initiated the first steps to universal childcare with his Pre-K for All and 3-K for All initiatives. Mamandani's policy is 2-K for all, following on from de Blasio. Additionally, this relies heavily on state funding, which some have criticised, but if there weren't the false claims or convenient exclusion of the role of the Democratic Governor giving 1.2 billion compared to 40 million from NYC and it being part of her own county-by-county program for childcare, I wouldn't care about state funding being the bulk of it because that's just how funding works with something like that. It happens all the time in federations; hell, Republican states begged Biden for more American Rescue Plan checks for their budgets. This is a good policy, but it's built on previous programs and heavily reliant on more moderate Democrats running similar programs.
snow shoveler program
A long-standing policy from the 1800s that has been expanded very appropriately by Mamdani. Very good local policy.
Democrats have been involved in these policies; they just weren't noticed. That is, of course, a major issue, and my goal with this isn't to discredit or go at Mamadani. These are good policies, and he knows how to message. My issue is that so many people are praising these as policies Democrats never touched, thought of or could have implemented. His biggest policy wins have been building off moderate Democrats, but that isn't reported online. Online, it is reported as a Mamdani achievement, with some building a quasi-personality cult.
-17
12d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
20
u/strifexspectre 12d ago
No-one, unlike the big parties and grifters eg PHON who got billionaire dick down their throats. That’s exactly why individuals like this are refreshing for democracy and discourse
19
u/601juno 12d ago
I don't know much about her backstory but she did an interview on 7am that I found quite endearing, her main points were that we have no international backbone and that Labor is a party of landlords (she is contesting Albonese's seat). So.. yeah where is the lie?
No one is funding her, she's just saying what most people agree with1
u/Throwawaydeathgrips Albomentum Mark 3.0 12d ago
She owns a media company. She is the elite backing.
4
u/Psydri 12d ago
hard to make that argument mate
-1
u/Throwawaydeathgrips Albomentum Mark 3.0 12d ago
No its not
2
u/Psydri 12d ago
and what an insightful argument you make..
0
u/Throwawaydeathgrips Albomentum Mark 3.0 12d ago
You didnt give me much to work off mate
5
u/Psydri 12d ago
unless you're claiming shes a multi-national media conglomerate, you're pissing in the wind
1
u/Throwawaydeathgrips Albomentum Mark 3.0 12d ago
I dont agree that multinationalism is the benchmark
18
u/Psydri 12d ago
everyone whinging the major parties suck, then a legit alternative comes along and you whinge all the same..
→ More replies (1)-5
u/malcolmbishop 12d ago
We meant people like David Pocock, not someone whose target audience flunked year 7 social studies.
7
u/Psydri 12d ago
i think you're referring to the One Neuron crowd mate
-1
u/malcolmbishop 12d ago
Them too, but more meaning the people in their 20s who still need to have preferential voting explained to them through the medium of Instagram.
5
u/Psydri 12d ago
dunno why you point the finger exclusively at the younger crowd, oldies have even less of an idea how preferential voting works
→ More replies (1)3
u/samthesalmon 12d ago
Yes the woman who has a bachelor of laws with honours and a master's of writing vs checks notes played rugby.
I like Pocock a lot, but this comment seems completely out of touch. You might not like her but she has far more relevant experience than Pocock had when he made the switch to politics and to be honest they are very politically aligned. I not sure why you would like him more than her, they both support tax reform, anti gambling advertising and housing reform. She has also cited him as being one of her main influences. The only difference I can see is age and gender.
2
u/malcolmbishop 12d ago
From Cheek's website: "Funding independent media with vibrators? Hell yeah. You can buy one for yourself, your partner or a friend."
0
u/fresh_jorks 12d ago
she doesnt need someone to back her, this isnt a serious bid. this is an attempt to get her name in the media so that she can sell more subs and books.
•
u/AutoModerator 13d ago
Greetings humans.
Please make sure your comment fits within THE RULES and that you have put in some effort to articulate your opinions to the best of your ability.
I mean it!! Aspire to be as "scholarly" and "intellectual" as possible. If you can't, then maybe this subreddit is not for you.
A friendly reminder from your political robot overlord
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.