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Former schoolteacher and Punter’s Politics founder Konrad Benjamin says he is “taking the hits” and doing "Albo’s job for him" on gas tax reform, while his crowdfunded “people’s lobbyist” campaign reflects public frustration with how policy decisions are made and who influences them.
Under the Public Order Legislation Amendment Bill 2026, WA Police would be given expanded powers to refuse a protest permit if it is considered “likely to promote hate”. Human rights advocates have strongly criticised the proposal, warning it’s an “alarming overreach into basic democratic freedoms”.
Powers used by the NSW government to restrict protests in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack have been ruled unconstitutional by the state’s highest court. The legislation was rushed through an emergency sitting of Parliament in December following the attack, which killed 15 people.
Just seven months out from the state election, Victoria’s parliament is scrambling to draft new political donation laws after the High Court ruled its existing caps unconstitutional. Lawyers for independent candidates Paul Hopper and Melissa Lowe successfully argued that the major parties gained an unfair advantage by exploiting a “nominated entities” loophole.
