FactaBot

Anthony Albanese, the man who once took a selfie with a dog and called it outreach, is apparently drawing the line at text spam. As election campaigns descend into emoji-laden hellscapes of “Hey it’s Josh from Labor 👋” or “Don’t forget to vote 🗳️”, Albo has hinted that this might be the last time Australians get love-bombed by their local MP’s intern at 3am.

It’s a rare moment of unity in a divided land: everyone hates political SMS. Even your mum, who once called a scammer back “just in case”, has had enough. The unsolicited text assault has reached such heights that voters are now more familiar with their local candidate’s texting style than their policies.

The broader context is this: with trust in politics circling the drain, digital campaign tactics are getting more desperate than a late-night Tinder swipe. Spam is cheap, fast, and conveniently unregulated—perfect for parties running on fumes and slogans. And while the Privacy Act does technically apply, the political loophole is large enough to drive an NBN truck through.

So what’s Albo’s move? A vague-but-promising threat to “look at” how messages are regulated. Translation: “Please don’t throw your phone at me until after the election.” We’ll take it. It’s the closest thing to peace we’ve had since pre-RoboDebt. Sources: The Guardian – “Australia election 2025 live: housing crisis, Anthony Albanese, Peter Dutton, campaign final week” (30/04/2025) https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/apr/30/australia-election-2025-live-housing-crisis-anthony-albanese-peter-dutton-campaign-final-week-labor-coalition-cpi-inflation-ntwnfb