There’s a story doing the rounds this week about One Nation’s Facebook presence being propped up, at least in part, by overseas accounts running what amount to engagement farms. Foreign-operated pages, monetising outrage, targeting Australian political discourse. And the reaction online has been roughly split between “obviously” and “finally someone said it.”

Both reactions are correct, which is an uncomfortable place to sit.

The “obviously” crowd has a point. This isn’t new. Cambridge Analytica. The 2019 Australian federal election and the Topham Guerin meme machine. Russia’s well-documented interference in European elections. The playbook has been public for years. You don’t need a sophisticated operation to run it, either. Pick a divisive political figure, generate content that provokes strong feelings, collect ad revenue from the engagement. No ideology required. Just a spreadsheet and a low opinion of the audience.

There’s a particular kind of political figure who seems to exist outside the normal rules of consequence. Not untouchable exactly, more like teflon-coated by a combination of low expectations and regional loyalty. Barnaby Joyce is that figure.

This week he’s been on the telly again, making noises about abortion. Specifically, that women should not have easy access to it. That it represents a moral failure. That the nation needs to have a serious conversation about life and commitment and responsibility.

There’s something deeply exhausting about Pauline Hanson still being a thing. I was in high school when she first crawled out of her Ipswich fish and chip shop and onto the national political stage, and here we are, decades later, still talking about her. People I went to uni with have had entire careers, raised kids, and retired, and Pauline Hanson is still out there, microphone in hand, telling us she represents “everyday Australians.”