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After the hysteria of Cyclone Alfred, the constant spotlight on Peter Dutton, and a change in state government – Queenslanders are once again feeling like they are at the centre of Australian politics.
This is ususally the case in the lead up to any Federal Election, but over the last decade, Queenslanders have become more and more predictable.
Once the bellwether state that would swing between LNP and Labor landslides every three years for reasons that political experts cannot explain, Queensland is now far less important to either side of the federal campaign.
With a North Brisbane conservative as the leader of the Opposition, and a South Sydney Rabbitohs fan as Prime Minister – most media pundits predict very little movement in Queensland this federal election.
However, the fringes of political radicalism remain. As the only State to have elected a member of The Australian Communist Party to Parliament, Queenslanders do not give a fuck about looking consistent.
It’s the same state that is responsible for the installation of three Greens MPs to Federal Parliament last election.
They also shocked the rest of Australia during their bizarre 2024 State Election, which saw the Katters back-channelling votes to Labor by forcing the LNP to comment on whether or not they supported the most grotesque abortion policy that anyone could think of.
Politics is very different in Queensland. And deep down, even the most reactionary, right-wing, Sky News watching rednecks are willing to entertain radical left-wing politics, as long as it feels like something they thought up. Likewise, the most dyed-in-the-wool lefties are more than willing to admit when their whingeing comrades are carrying on like fucking clowns.
Local Mackay-based car detailer Shaylor Blankey (42) has all but confirmed this in today’s half-pissed political rant.
After finding himself in a safe space, with people that will neither call him a racist for airing his concerns about immigrations, nor call him gay for showing solidarity with the downtrodden, Shaylor ends up exploring a rich vein of agrarian socialist talking points.
At times, he verges on full blown far-left economics. Shaylor has been left to cook – without being cancelled, or emasculated for his wide range of political views.
After cutting through the culture wars, his deranged but broadly correct summation of the current state of the nation is fascinating and enlightening. But nobody is gonna tell him that. He pivots out of his rant with a topic that everyone feels confident about.
“How bout them Broncs?” he says.
“Reckon this is the year?”
