Who said ‘a centrist is a lefty’? And other gossip from the digital campaign trail

Is this going to be the “podcast election”? The second or third so-called “social media election”? Or is it simply that digital campaigning has long been an essential part of politics? Campaigning on the internet, a place where a lot of voters spend too much of their time, is about as normal and unsexy as it gets. So I’m shouldering the normal, unsexy task of traversing the internet you might not already be lurking in, and reporting back.

Today, a recap of the podcasts you’re probably not listening to and the Reddit AMAs you might have missed.

Podcast bro Albo

Last Friday, two youth-focused podcasts published interviews with Anthony Albanese. For the gals (I’m generalising here), he spoke to Abbie Chatfield on the It’s A Lot podcast; for the guys (again, generalising), Betoota Talks with Archer Hamilton, aka Clancy Overell, and Zenon Kosmider, aka Wendell Hussey. In a TikTok comment, Chatfield shared that her interview with Albanese had racked up 80,000 listens in just four days, double what her average episode would accrue in that time frame.

For the most part, Crikey readers are unlikely to learn anything new from either interview — but my ears pricked up at two answers in particular. 

In Chatfield’s interview, at around 33.30, she asks Albanese about Labor’s relationship with the Greens, telling him that many young people will give the Greens their first preference and some may even “put Labor last” as “punishment” for a disappointing first term. Albanese’s response?

“Labor is a party of government and we engage constructively across the Parliament. I engage with all of the crossbenchers, and we’ve got most of our legislation through because of that … And I respect people if they decide to vote for a minor party, but I say think about where your preferences go because chances are that they will count.”

Is it just me, or could that be interpreted as a pitch for a Labor-led minority government?

Even if I’m overegging it, the comparison to what Albanese put forth on Betoota Talks is interesting indeed.

At around 30.00, Hamilton asks: “You’ve said this multiple times in the last few months, you’re confident in a Labor majority. Where do you see yourself making gains?”

Albanese lists off the seats he reckons Labor can gain: Leichhardt, where the strategy was to recruit huge unit Matt Smith, and “a range of other seats” in Queensland; Sturt in South Australia; Bass and Braddon in Tasmania; and Menzies in Victoria. 

The PM gave no insight into whether he thought those gains would come from a lift in primary vote or through the filtering of preferences from an increasingly disillusioned voting population, though. 

Reddit asked, Wilkie answered

Elsewhere on the internet last week, Andrew Wilkie and Adam Bandt took part in virtual town halls, also known as Reddit “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) posts.

Wilkie took questions from the r/AustralianPolitics subreddit, telling posters that he identifies as a centrist even though “in a country where both major parties are right of centre, I suppose a centrist is a lefty!”

Naturally, the prospect of minority government was a hot topic. Inquiring posters want to know: who would Wilkie do a deal with? Turns out, like many of you, he’s team neither. 

“I will not enter into a formal agreement with either major party after the election to help them form government. Instead, I will approach every issue on its merits, including any vote on confidence and supply, and vote accordingly. Front of mind will of course be the wishes of my community and my conscience, as well as the need to help ensure stable and effective government.”

He’s still feeling burned by his 2010 experience, recalling that Julia Gillard did not honour their agreement on pre-commitment gaming cards for poker machines. “I found that I was more effective in the second half of the parliamentary term when I had no agreement and complete freedom politically.”

On lighter topics, is there a secret bunker under Parliament House? “Depends what you’d define as a bunker — but there is an enormous three-storey cavern beneath the building, yes! Highly recommend checking out The House by Annabel Crabb for a visual.” Would he fancy being speaker of the house? “I’d rather a root canal procedure.”

Big Bandt blitz

Adam Bandt, is an old hand at Reddit AMAs, having done many throughout his political career. Last Monday he took questions from r/Australia, a bigger subreddit than r/AustralianPolitics that covers more general topics.

On minority government, he was clear: the Greens will not help Dutton or the Liberals form government. That’s probably obvious to you and I, but for younger voters with less electoral experience, it’s always worth pointing out.

“If you don’t want Dutton but you want Labor to do more, that’s what a Greens MP will fight for. Fortunately, it will be very difficult for Dutton to win — he’d need a massive swing and also win back a whole pile of the independent seats the Liberals lost — but the Greens will fight tooth and nail to make absolutely sure he never gets near the Lodge.”

Bandt told one poster he hopes the Greens will be involved in an official election debate this year, and that the party “is pushing for the ABC to host the official [debate] this time around”. 

He also teased a yet-to-be-announced Greens proposal to keep more gas industry profits in Australia. Crikey has made some enquiries about what this might be — no answers for you yet.

The thing about having direct conversations with voters, even virtually, is that you get some solid campaigning tips. I’m sure Bandt and the digitally-savvy Greens team know this. So don’t be surprised if you see a lot more about their anti-price gouging proposal once the campaign proper begins; Bandt’s pitch to making price-gouging illegal was met with a chorus of Redditors imploring the party’s marketing team to make it a bigger focus.

It’s not always easy though. On Monday night Bandt did a TikTok live that was plagued with tech issues — his audio cut out multiple times, apparently connecting to the Bluetooth headphones of the staffer helping him run the video who could be heard frantically whispering “woah this is crazy” and “they can’t hear you” while trying to reconnect him. One of these technical interludes unfortunately cut Bandt off at a crucial moment: “I feel like I just gave one of the best answers I ever gave, but no-one even heard it!”

Then they lost internet connection for a minute or two, with users in the chat wondering “who’s booting the Greens off 3” and calling for NBN upgrades. Then he went to move his phone and sent it tumbling! Oh no! As someone who has never dropped her phone without swearing, the fact that he recovered it from the ground and carried right on with what he was saying without so much as an “oops!” does paint a picture of Bandt as a steel-nerved and unflappable professional.

The live peaked at around 380 viewers and covered topics as wide-ranging as the Chinese warships, generational economic inequity, crime, the climate crisis and protecting women’s reproductive rights. If you’re sorry to have missed out on all that fun, fret not — Bandt says they’re going to try to do a live every week until the election is called.

What’s next?

If you want to see how these go down in real time, Zali Steggall has a Reddit AMA scheduled tonight (Tuesday, February 25) at 5pm AEDT. See you there!

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