MAGA-inspired outrage machine has a new target in this election
I've been part of many elections where the polls have got it spectacularly wrong – most shockingly in Labor's 2019 loss and most painfully in Donald Trump's 2016 win.
Both were a result of the fact that while we obsess about the number of people who report a certain opinion at a given moment in time, we pay much less attention to the strength of that opinion. Large and unpredicted swings between polls and actual results are usually a reflection of the 'softness' of the opinions held by those being polled – the likeliness they will change their mind. Too often we report public opinion as if it is chiselled in stone.
We experienced this collectively as a nation in 2023. The prime minister, encouraged by polls that showed up to 75 per cent support for an Indigenous Voice to parliament, ploughed ahead with a referendum to enshrine it even after Peter Dutton's denial of bipartisanship.
As we found out, in the face of a barrage of unprecedented disinformation and a sophisticated MAGA-inspired outrage machine, that support turned out to be very soft. Over the course of the campaign it evaporated – on polling day the Yes vote garnered less than 40 per cent.
Similarly, we have in recent years taken the same levels of support for renewable energy as if they are chiselled in stone. More than 70 per cent of Australians support the transition to renewables, and more ambitious climate targets. Most pundits take broad social licence for a transition to clean energy – a fancy way of saying the community is on board – as a fait accompli.
Loading
But renewable energy is right now facing a barrage of unprecedented disinformation and a sophisticated MAGA-inspired outrage machine, akin to what we saw during the Voice. Its very purpose is to undermine the social licence under which renewable energy projects operate. Having lost the argument on the existence of climate change, as the world proceeded to burn before our eyes, opponents quickly pivoted instead to undermining support for renewables.
While the Voice had to withstand a torrent of misinformation-based attacks on social media, from 'say NO to save Australia Day' to 'farmers will need a permit to put up a fence', renewables face the same.
Social media is ripe with anti-renewables outrage. Hysteria over offshore wind farms killing whales (they don't). Hysteria over solar fields ruining pristine farmland (they don't). Hysteria over vehicle fuel-emissions standards banning utes (they don't) or ruining the weekend (they don't).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
30 minutes ago
- West Australian
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce warns AI could replace work-from-home jobs, urges caution for remote workers
Australia's workplace ombudsman will be asked to support the right to work from home, to stop it from being used by employers to bargain away other rights, amid warnings AI could replace jobs that can be done remotely. The Australian Services Union says it will lodge a submission with the Fair Work Commission to support working from home, where it's possible to do so. 'Working from home is now a permanent feature of the modern Australian workplace, and our submission will make it clear that the location of work does not diminish its value,' union secretary Emeline Gaske said on Monday. Workers have embraced the benefits but are concerned about employers using it as an excuse to cut pay and conditions. 'Our submission will demonstrate the productivity benefits of a remote workforce and will argue that we have to provide the protections that those workers are entitled to,' Ms Gaske said. 'Taking away the right to work from home would be a race to the bottom that will hurt hundreds of thousands of workers, the majority of whom are women across our country, and we will fight it every step of the way,' she said. The union's submission is backed by a survey of 600 workers, more than two-thirds of them women - 98 per cent of whom consider being able to work from home as 'extremely' or 'very important'. But federal Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce said workers needed to be careful because jobs that can be done from home could be automated by artificial intelligence tools. 'If your job is a keyboard, yourself and a computer, it's not a myth, AI is coming,' he told Seven's Sunrise program. 'I'd be doing everything in your power to try and keep your jobs because if people can prove they don't need to come to the office then the office can prove that they can be replaced by AI.' Mr Joyce pointed to trades work, such and electricians and plumbers. 'AI won't be able to turn itself into a plumber or itself into an electrician or a chippy, so trades are a place where you can sustain a good level of employment,' he added. 'It ... replaces people but it doesn't have hands and it doesn't have feet - think about it.' Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said repetitive jobs were most under threat from AI. 'What we need to do is make sure that there are good jobs available for Australians in new and emerging industries as well,' she said. 'We've got real capacity to develop some of those AI tools right here. The rise of working from home emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic and has remained part of the workforce. The use and application of AI is likely to be a hot topic at the federal government's productivity roundtable beginning in Canberra on Tuesday.
Perth Now
30 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Joyce warns remote work jobs at risk from AI automation
Australia's workplace ombudsman will be asked to support the right to work from home, to stop it from being used by employers to bargain away other rights, amid warnings AI could replace jobs that can be done remotely. The Australian Services Union says it will lodge a submission with the Fair Work Commission to support working from home, where it's possible to do so. 'Working from home is now a permanent feature of the modern Australian workplace, and our submission will make it clear that the location of work does not diminish its value,' union secretary Emeline Gaske said on Monday. Workers have embraced the benefits but are concerned about employers using it as an excuse to cut pay and conditions. 'Our submission will demonstrate the productivity benefits of a remote workforce and will argue that we have to provide the protections that those workers are entitled to,' Ms Gaske said. 'Taking away the right to work from home would be a race to the bottom that will hurt hundreds of thousands of workers, the majority of whom are women across our country, and we will fight it every step of the way,' she said. The union's submission is backed by a survey of 600 workers, more than two-thirds of them women - 98 per cent of whom consider being able to work from home as 'extremely' or 'very important'. But federal Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce said workers needed to be careful because jobs that can be done from home could be automated by artificial intelligence tools. 'If your job is a keyboard, yourself and a computer, it's not a myth, AI is coming,' he told Seven's Sunrise program. 'I'd be doing everything in your power to try and keep your jobs because if people can prove they don't need to come to the office then the office can prove that they can be replaced by AI.' Mr Joyce pointed to trades work, such and electricians and plumbers. 'AI won't be able to turn itself into a plumber or itself into an electrician or a chippy, so trades are a place where you can sustain a good level of employment,' he added. 'It ... replaces people but it doesn't have hands and it doesn't have feet - think about it.' Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said repetitive jobs were most under threat from AI. 'What we need to do is make sure that there are good jobs available for Australians in new and emerging industries as well,' she said. 'We've got real capacity to develop some of those AI tools right here. The rise of working from home emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic and has remained part of the workforce. The use and application of AI is likely to be a hot topic at the federal government's productivity roundtable beginning in Canberra on Tuesday.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Bombshell poll reveals what Aussies fear
Australians fear Donald Trump's tariffs more than China's military build-up, according to a major poll. The US president has mulled whether to slap further levies on sectors that would hit Australian producers hard, such as 250 per cent rates on pharmaceuticals. While Australia managed to dodge a higher baseline rate earlier this month, exports to the US are still subject to a blanket 10 per cent impost. Some exports, including steel, aluminium and copper, are hit with separate 50 per cent duties. The latest Newspoll, published on Monday, found 42 per cent of the 1283 voters surveyed were more concerned by 'Donald Trump's tariffs' than 'China's military threat'. But a looming conflict in the region was still a major worry – with 37 per cent putting it at as a greater concern. Twenty-one per cent said they were neutral. There was a clear political divide in the results, with 55 per cent of Labor and 60 per cent of Greens voters nominating tariffs. 50 per cent of Coalition voters put China as their primary fear. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has the strongest satisfaction rating since September 2023. Martin Ollman / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia Meanwhile, the poll showed more voters were satisfied with Anthony Albanese's performance than not for the first time since September 2023. It showed the Prime Minister 49 per cent of voters satisfied with his performance and 46 per cent dissatisfied. The poll was taken from Monday to Thursday last week, coinciding with Mr Albanese's announcement that he would recognise Palestinian statehood.
