We've always said if we make this seat marginal,
we've performed a miracle,
and I'll be damned
if we don't give that bastard Ramsay a run for his money.
I need you with me today, Eddie. It's important.
Always is.
Have you seen Eddie? No, Aunty.
Well, if you see him, tell him he's grounded.
Here. Here. That.
That came in yesterday.
This is a very worrying situation,
and we're all praying for the safe return of Alex Irving's son.
(PHONE CHIMES) (WAILS)
He's OK. He's not here. He's not here. He's OK.
Ladies and gentlemen, the silent majority has spoken.
This victory is for them.
INDIRA NAIDOO: It's now clear neither of the major parties
will hold a majority
in the new parliament,
potentially a fatal blow
for the leaderships of both Damien Bauer and Laurie Martin.
(CAMPAIGNERS CHEER) ALEX: What a day.
This is for us.
What are you going to do with all that anger?
Burn shit down. That's what you do, right?
(BREEZY, SOOTHING MUSIC)
If you drop that phone, Eddie, I swear to God...
(PHONE RINGS AND BUZZES)
That's really annoying.
I can put it on silent.
Why don't you just answer it? Because...
I'm here with you.
Now why don't you put the phone away before you drop it?
I'm not gonna drop it. (PHONE RINGS AND BUZZES)
When can we go home?
When we're relaxed and refreshed.
You're never relaxed.
Well, what about now?
(PHONE RINGS AND BUZZES)
MAN ON P.A.: Attention, all guests,
would the owner of the white Toyota Hilux, registration 652,
please return to your vehicle?
You've left your lights on.
Jack. JACK: Alex.
How are we?
Yeah, good. You?
Fine. I suppose congratulations are in order.
Thank you.
Just so you know,
I secured millions of dollars worth
of election promises from my party.
So none of that'll be honoured now.
Good luck explaining that to the voters.
I think they're smart enough to know they've been taken for a ride.
Don't get self-righteous with me.
You pulled that stunt at the town hall.
And one of your staffers made an anonymous complaint
to Child Services.
No idea what you're talking about.
Well, I won't keep ya.
You and those other idiots,
you got a nation to hold to ransom now.
Thanks for the call.
See you in three years, darlin'.
We'll head home tomorrow, OK?
We'll sort things out there.
And then me and Uncle, we'll fly to Canberra.
Eddie?
What do you want me to say, Mum?
Ever since you've become a politician,
nothing but bad shit has happened.
How's this any different?
We have a duty to our community.
So we can't have a normal life because we're Aboriginal?
That's not fair.
You're right, it's not.
But they're the cards we're dealt. What does that even mean?
It's what Mum used to say when I complained.
I don't want to leave Winton. OK.
No more bad holidays, I promise.
I don't want to live anywhere else.
I don't want to move again when you start work.
Eddie. Winton's my home.
Winton will always be your home.
But you're a minor. You can't live alone.
DOCS put you on a safety plan, remember?
I can stay in Winton if I have a parent or legal guardian with me.
What if someone else takes care of me? Like Aunty Faye?
Eddie... Just think about it for once, Mum.
Please.
(WIND RUSTLES LEAVES) (BIRD HOOTS)
(RAP MUSIC PLAYS THROUGH HEADPHONES)
(SOMBRE MUSIC)
(OUTGOING CALL RINGS)
RACHEL: Alex. This is a surprise. Is it?
Well, the last time we spoke, you told me to go fuck myself.
I wasn't sure exactly how hard you wanted me to do that.
And you deserved it. (CHUCKLES)
You were right about the balance of power, though.
I'm a political animal.
I can feel which way the winds are blowing.
Which is why...we donated to your campaign.
Tell me you just didn't say that.
The think tank, Future for Democracy, Nick set it up.
Don't panic, it's all above board.
Aspirational stuff, backing female-centrist candidates.
(SIGHS) You are unbelievable. You still think I owe you.
Not at all, but I do think it's time we called it even.
I assume this is just a call to say congrats?
I'll meet you in Canberra with my team.
No-one hears about that, or we don't speak again. Understood?
Understood.
(BIRDS CHIRP AND CAW)
(UPBEAT MUSIC)
You like seeing holes in my head?
(BOTH LAUGH)
(FIREARM CLICKS, SHOTS FIRE)
(BULLET CASINGS FALL TO THE GROUND)
(ROCK MUSIC PLAYS) ALEX: OK, you mob, drinks on me!
FAYE: Whoo! Whoo-hoo! Yay!
(JOELY HOOTS) That is deadly!
Leo, was that your first 'deadly'?
Yes, it was. Oh, well done.
He's a proper blackfella now. Thank you.
I'm so proud of you.
LEO: I appreciate it.
I'm feeling very unwell now. I'm gonna go and sit down.
JOELY: Hey, Leo, ya deadly thing!
You found him, Leo?
We don't know if it's a him.
He's a troll. He threatened to rape her.
Of course it's a him. Plus, you know, statistically, murder.
He's being careful.
But you said he'd slip up.
Yeah, and I've got nothing to go on until he does.
I need something concrete. You know, something real.
I need you to keep engaging him until we get it.
('TOTAL CONTROL' PLAYS)
# Lookin' counterclockwise
# Knowing what could happen... #
What are we going to do if we find him, anyway?
# Maybe even you... #
I don't know.
# Steadfast collapse
# Always certain any moment
# Maybe you, maybe you
# Maybe even you
# Recline complete
# Dream too sweet
# I can't do it, not with you
# Not even with you
# Maybe never with you
# And I'd sell my soul
# For total control
# Mmm
# Yeah, I'd sell my soul
# For total control
# Ohh
# Yeah, I'd sell my soul
# For total control
# Ohh, whoa! #
CASSIE: These are the guardianship papers.
Once you sign them,
we'll have to do an assessment of Eddie's new place of residence.
My home.
In this case, your home. Can you do that today?
I can.
Well, go on, then. Do your job.
Faye, let her finish.
If I sign the papers today, what happens to the care plan?
You can sign over guardianship to Faye,
provided we don't have any conditions...
Like what? Don't be black and we won't take your kids away?
Faye.
The assessment I did on Alex
had nothing to do with her, you, both of you,
being black, Aboriginal.
Look, unless we have any stipulations, which I don't, yeah,
then the new guardianship arrangement
will make the care plan redundant.
Redundant? Unnecessary.
No longer in place. I know what 'redundant' means.
So the plan just goes away, just like that?
Well, the care plan only applies to you and Eddie.
If I sign him over... you'll leave him be?
Of course.
But Faye will be his legal guardian.
It's not forever.
You can change it back whenever you want, remember?
But we'll have to resume the safety plan.
(MUTED HEARTFELT MUSIC)
(SOFTLY) OK.
Assess away.
Thank you.
I'm sorry. It's OK, Mum.
OK, I need you to be good, OK? Go to school.
Do your homework. Don't Google me.
Brush your teeth.
Floss, OK? It's really important. It's not a big deal, Mum.
I'll see you soon. I know, OK? Give me a hug.
Please look after him. You know I will.
Alright, come on! This colony ain't gonna destroy itself.
I love you.
It's OK, you don't have to say it back.
(MUSIC BUILDS)
# Hey!
# I'm on my way now
# Everything's changed, yeah
# The gauntlet has been laid
# And this will be a bloody game
# But, babe... #
(PHONES RING) # I'm ready to play... #
CHARLIE: Alex Irving's office. This is Charlie.
Alex Irving's office. This is Joely.
She's not available this morning. I'll have to have a chat with her.
# You built the ring but I make the rules
# I ain't no fool... #
JOURNALIST: Alex! Shit, here we go.
Have you got any comment yet...
Excuse me! Powerful black women coming through.
No comment, thank you. # This will be a bloody game... #
"Black women coming through"? Seriously?
That's right,
you wouldn't know anything about black women coming, hey?
Wow.
WOMAN: Hello, can I help you?
We're in the private dining room. Right this way, please.
Mm-hm.
Hello, Rachel. Alex, it's lovely to see you.
Hey, congratulations.
Now, you must be Charlie.
I've been looking forward to meeting you.
Well done running such a great campaign.
Charlie, this is my adviser, Nick Pearce.
You identified voter cynicism as a problem and leveraged it.
Very clever. Thank you.
(JOELY CLEARS THROAT) This is...
I'm Joely.
That win that you just congratulated Charlie on, I was a part of that.
I've been enjoying your socials, Joely.
Very fresh. Surprisingly funny.
NICK: So, are we gonna stand around with our dicks in our hands all day,
or should we start with a drink?
A drink would be great,
but I'd like a quiet word with you if I may, Alex?
Yeah, sure.
Please, get yourselves settled.
You must be tired.
Listen...we're gonna need to trust each other.
I don't see how we're gonna stay in control of this if we don't.
Do you trust me?
I trust we want some of the same things.
And what are those things? Bauer gone.
The question is how and when.
We might have to play the long game there.
You can't back Laurie.
I can't be seen to back Laurie and keep my seat,
but neither can you
unless you want the scarlet-red "Laurie's whore" on your back
to shine even brighter.
I won't be forced into a decision about Laurie
because I'm afraid of what people might think.
People fought hard for me to be here.
And if I support Laurie,
that means a fast track for Ramsay to take his seat back.
See? Same side.
Now we might not be able to back Laurie,
but if we secure the bloc, we can use him to get what we need.
If we do this together,
you need to keep me updated on every conversation you have.
Agreed.
Same goes for you.
Alright, let's look at the other independents.
Shaun Keogh, the Green. Shaun the zombie.
Makes you think he's all white and woke,
but, really, he's just dead inside.
Shaun Keogh, re-elected to the seat of Tucker in inner city Melbourne.
Technically he's not an independent,
but he's the only Greens member to have a seat in the Lower House.
Could be a powerful ally.
Much as I hate to admit it, because the soy-boy drove me mad, I agree.
But he is a self-righteous little prick
who'll piss on good because it's not perfect.
Next up, Justin Yang, the new guy. What do you know?
NICK: Justin Yang's the first independent to hold Foster in WA.
He's positioned himself as the poster boy for family values.
Religious conservative but not a total nut job.
Strong advocate for migrant communities.
Now we should assume that he'll align with Damien and his party,
but their preference deals with the lunatic fringe...
Yeah, could potentially be a turn-off.
He's a committed multiculturalist.
Which is why he's got good reasons to wanna work with us.
Alright, next up. George Jeffries.
Yuck. George!
I see he needs no introductions.
Right, George Jeffries, veteran maverick from northern WA.
Longest serving independent of the bunch.
Big focus on local issues and regional-rural Australia.
Traditionally aligns himself to the right but...
But he absolutely hates Bauer.
NICK: Well, he wasn't too fond of Rachel, either.
Then it wouldn't be the first frigid marriage of convenience.
We kept the beds apart but the union was solid.
For someone as unhinged as George, he is surprisingly reliable.
Now, he'll come with a shopping list.
JOELY: Finally, there's Philippa Bailey,
also her first term.
She's an experienced solicitor, swung a seat in South Australia.
Fiscal centrist but leans socially liberal.
Her passion project is cyber abuse legislation.
Philippa talks across the political spectrum.
Both sides have been trying to recruit her for years.
I liked her when I met her. She's fair but she's tough.
Well, we're gonna need tough. Damien will play hardball.
If Bauer won't play nice, he might do our work for us.
Well, George won't like being pushed around.
Sometimes you need a big prick to take on a little dick.
You right there? You talk a lot about dicks.
Well, let's assume both parties will already be making approaches.
We'd better get to work.
RACHEL: How about I reach out to Philippa and Justin,
and you touch base with George and Shaun?
Yeah, I can do that.
George.
(CLEARS THROAT) Thanks for the invitation, Alex.
Am I gonna need my shotgun?
Welcome.
Sorry I'm late. No, you're not late, Justin.
I'm still finding my way around this city.
Justin. George.
I bet this isn't your first rodeo. What?
Rodeo. Bull riding.
Yeah, I know what a rodeo is, son. What's your question?
Any advice? Shoot straight.
All you've got is your word. Isn't that right, Rachel?
That's right, George, and I've got the scars to prove it.
Hello, Justin. Great win.
So this is the room where it happens?
Knew you'd show up, George.
And they've invited you. God help us all.
Shaun.
Well done. Oh, Philippa, welcome.
Um, do you know everyone? Ah, you remember George, of course.
Shaun Keogh, Justin Yang, Rachel Anderson.
Hi, Philippa. Great to see you again.
You too, Rachel.
Right, well, thanks for coming, everyone. Shall we start?
We'll never have more power than we do right now,
but we'll be under pressure to form this government quickly.
Actually, the constitution gives us 21 days,
so I don't think we should be rushing the process.
I agree, but it won't be comfortable.
The majors will take any opportunity to put the screws on us.
And you'd be the expert at that, wouldn't you, Rachel?
Are we gonna bicker all day, George?
I've fielded dozens of calls from both parties. I'm sure you all have.
So can we agree right now,
no-one meets with the majors without informing the group?
We have to negotiate as a bloc or we lose our leverage, agreed?
Agreed.
Mm-hm.
So where do we start?
We could start with issues we have common ground on,
move out from there.
What on earth are we gonna agree on?
RACHEL: You might be surprised, George.
It's true Shaun doesn't have crocodile control
at the top of his list,
but he does love wind farms and medical marijuana.
It's great for the arthritis.
Oh. Feeling your age, George?
OK, can we just pull it back for a moment, OK?
Right now we just need an idea of our general positions.
We can talk details later.
I'll start if you like.
OK, political corruption is a major issue in Freeman
and for all Australians.
I want a full investigation
into the deaths of Marcie Maclean and Jess Clarke.
SHAUN: Tragic. Black lives matter. Strongly for.
Is this going on the record?
No-one's taking minutes, George.
Well, I've already said my bit on integrity.
You hold the crooks accountable. I've got nothing to hide.
You don't have to put your hand up, Philippa.
Well, I'm sorry, but I'm confident
negotiating on behalf of my electorate.
I don't think I need a group to dictate who I endorse.
No-one's questioning your negotiating skills, Philippa.
ALEX: You don't want to be alone on that crossbench.
We'll get more done if we trust each other.
Do you two trust each other?
I trust this -
that if I was still PM
and a coherent group was holding the balance of power,
you'd have my attention.
(PHONE CHIMES)
ALEX: Shaun, do you wanna talk about environmental policy?
SHAUN: Happy to.
How about a national strategy to manage fires and droughts?
I agree.
Oh, you agree now, and yet the federal government you led
did sweet fuck-all in forest-floor maintenance.
Gotta challenge that, George. That isn't what caused the fires.
Isn't it? OK, mate, what's that? What's what?
Is that an arsehole or an elbow?
'Cause I don't think you know the difference but I'll tell you.
It's one, you're the other. Fuck off, George.
I'm done.
See, you lot walk into Parliament together
and it's gonna be like one bad joke.
An Aborigine, an Asian and... (WHISPERS) One, two, three.
..three women...all walk into a bar.
Hooroo.
(DOOR SLIDES OPEN) Give me a moment.
(CHUCKLES)
George? Wait.
Sorry, love, but if I back down now,
that greenie in there'll never let me forget it.
That's what matters to you? Here.
What's this? It's my shopping list.
There are some people you just can't negotiate with.
Can we at least keep talking?
I can't ditch Laurie to form an alliance with Rachel Anderson.
She's further away than just across the aisle, if you know what I mean.
What about me?
Would your party have a problem
if you align with an independent Indigenous woman?
I like you, Alex, and I can't lie, the optics are good.
I'll put it to the group. But no promises.
What was that all about?
I think in the animal kingdom they call it scent marking.
Yeah.
You know where I stand.
We'll let you debrief.
Well, that went well.
How are we going to form a bloc when we can't agree on a single thing?
I think it's me.
I think me being in the room is triggering people.
I mean, Shaun, he's never going to see the high moral ground
and George has enjoyed torturing me for far too long to stop now.
I mean, I don't disagree. They don't seem to trust you.
No.
But they do trust you.
I think I should step back, let you lead.
Nick can be my proxy.
Mmm?
What's that?
George's shopping list.
Told you.
FRAN KELLY: Well, counting continues for the Senate this week
and while numbers are not yet finalised,
it appears the Greens and the micro-parties
have made significant gains.
But all eyes are focused on the Lower House,
with pressure mounting now on the bloc of independents
to resolve the political deadlock.
This uncertainty
over who will govern the country for the next three years
has unsettled the stock market,
and with the Australian dollar and the All Ords heading downwards,
some analysts are warning that further political instability
will dent economic growth and employment.
Alex, look, I'm not interested.
I'm not here to...
And I'm not gonna repeat myself.
I haven't repeated myself
since I told a yuppie to fuck off twice in 1988.
I'm not here to change your mind, George.
Everybody understands your position.
You've already spoken to the others?
Oh, it's like you said. It's a bad joke.
An Aborigine, an Asian and three women walk into a bar.
Add an old codger in and it's a really bad joke.
This was a courtesy call.
Because I know those things are important to you.
But we're continuing the negotiations without you.
Have a nice day.
(DOOR OPENS)
(RACHEL MUMBLES)
I'll hang back.
Damien. Peter. DAMIEN: Rachel.
Oh, you both know Nick, of course.
Drink?
Thank you.
Peter? No, thanks.
You look tired, Damien.
Think we can dispense with the pleasantries, don't you?
Oh, please.
The way I see it, you can't endorse Laurie without fucking yourself.
So let's not pretend. You've got limited options.
You came all the way across town to tell her that?
What Damien's saying is that backing Laurie
probably won't win you a second term.
Maybe one term is all I want.
I don't buy that any more than I buy the new haircut
or the focus on the feminist bullshit.
It's just not you, Rachel.
And neither's this clown.
I'm rather enjoying my new reality, Damien.
Even you'd have to admit that Nick ran an incredible campaign.
For a clown.
The party want to give you the chance to come back.
You give certain guarantees about leadership and loyalty,
and in return Damien would invite you back onto the front bench.
What are you offering?
Minister for Women.
(LAUGHS)
Of course.
You need four seats.
What if I was to bring someone with me?
Alex Irving?
No.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
We'd consider Foreign Affairs. I think that would suit everyone.
Last time you offered me London for breakfast, he shafted me at lunch.
I think you can see from our offer that we're serious.
Well?
We'll think about it.
(TENSE MUSIC)
(PHONE CHIMES)
George is confirmed for the meeting.
How'd you do that? I just told him not to come.
(SCOFFS) Better let Rachel know.
Man, that Rachel.
She's... A lot.
Her shoes are killer.
I mean, it's easier to understand now why she was the prime minister.
You smitten, Charlie?
No. Just impressed.
I wasn't expecting...that.
It must be lovely to have such low expectations of another gender,
so then you can always be surprised.
Don't play the gender card.
Don't play the patriarchy. (PHONE CHIMES)
(PHONE DINGS)
It's him, isn't it?
No. Don't lie to me, Alex.
Give me that.
What the fu...
It's evidence.
Evidence of what?
That there's terrible people out there? You knew that.
Tell me you don't read them all. I don't.
(PHONE BUZZES)
It's Paul.
Paul, hi.
Yep. OK.
(LOUNGE MUSIC PLAYS)
Oh, shit!
Real classy place you picked here, mate.
Figured if anyone said
they saw the only two Aboriginal people in Parliament in a bar,
we could call them racist.
Strategic.
Ah, what are we drinking? Diet Coke.
Diet Coke? With rum.
Better. Um, I'll have what he's having, thanks.
BARTENDER: Of course.
So why'd you drag me here?
I think we should talk about what you're going to do next.
I told you on the phone, Paul, I'm not ready to talk about that yet.
I know. Relax.
Laurie doesn't even know I'm here.
Why not? Better if he doesn't.
Things are...
Well, the party didn't expect to be in this position after the election.
A mutiny?
Less mutiny and more people losing sight of the big picture.
Which is why I need to ask.
You're not seriously considering Bauer, are you?
BARTENDER: Here you are.
I have to, Paul.
Your party hasn't held the seat of Freeman
since we stopped using wagons.
Ah, this is bigger than Freeman.
I thought you wanted real change.
Like justice for those two young girls.
I do.
Do you think anyone will take you seriously if you consider Bauer?
I'm asking you, blackfella to blackfella.
Blackfella to blackfella? Mm.
I really don't give a shit whether anyone takes me seriously.
Alex, I'm looking to you for solidarity.
Don't give me that solidarity shit. You just wanna win.
We both win if we work together.
I'm not ready to make a deal with anyone yet.
Laurie.
LAURIE: How'd you be? Oh.
Hey. Hey, Alex.
Burning the midnight oil. They look nice.
Can I have one of those, please? Quick as you can.
BARTENDER: Yeah. Now, mate.
We were told by your assistant
that you were having a meeting with the member of Seabrook.
Yeah, yeah, cancelled last minute.
I'll meet him at the gym tomorrow morning.
Ah, there you go. That's why he's my right-hand man.
He always gets it done. So has he, er, has he got us your vote?
Oh, we weren't talking about that.
What were you talking about?
Who we'd vote off the island first. Oh, don't say that.
(LAUGHS AND SNORTS)
I know we've had a few... false starts,
but it is incredibly important that we trust each other.
I mean, look at the Greens.
I mean, they don't like us, we hate them,
but...we back each other.
We have trust.
So, um...
Here's to trust.
Ooh!
Come on now, Alex. Come on.
Tell us, what... What can we do for you?
RACHEL ON PHONE: They've got someone.
Are you sure?
They wouldn't have offered me Foreign Affairs if they didn't.
Is it George?
Well, he's the obvious choice, but it's George, so...
So he'll approach Philippa and Justin if he already hasn't?
Yep.
Did Paul give anything away?
No, it was just a fishing expedition. Mm.
I get the impression Laurie's under pressure.
Oh, they're both under pressure. I can't lie, Alex.
It's giving me pleasure. (CHUCKLES)
(CHUCKLES)
Well, I think I might turn in.
Me too. Goodnight.
Goodnight, Alex.
(EERIE, UNCERTAIN MUSIC)
(SENDS TEXT)
(SIGHS)
Answer.
Come on, answer.
(PHONE CHIMES)
(SIGHS)
(PHONE CHIMES)
(SENDS TEXT)
So...who are you?
(PHONE CHIMES)
(SENDS TEXT) Yeah, right.
(PHONE CHIMES)
Is that all you got?
(STIRRING MUSIC)
(BIRDSONG)
Didn't think I was that late.
I thought we agreed not to meet with the majors.
In fact, you made us promise.
And you do look pretty cosy.
I can explain.
Paul Murphy approached me last night. Oh, that makes it alright then.
When Paul called me, I saw it as an opportunity to backchannel.
To let him know that we're all working as a bloc.
Laurie's there. In the photo.
I didn't know he was gonna show up. Neither did Paul.
I should have let you know.
Paul's a straight shooter. Alex made the right call.
Nick, I didn't know you'd be joining us.
Rachel asked Nick to attend as her proxy.
Her father's taken a turn.
I'm not buying it but you keep going, mate. You'll get there.
Last meeting, I made a mistake by canvassing ideas.
It was too soon.
So, let's do a straw poll.
Where do we all stand on the preferred PM right now?
I might be new to politics
but I don't wanna be the first to lay my cards out.
Fair point.
Some of us have already got a plan.
Why do we castrate bulls?
Bulls love to fight each other.
For dominance.
Even when the pecking order has been established,
they will keep fighting to reassert control.
Right now, we have both parties' hairy testicles in our hands.
Now if we can work together,
all of us, we can bring those parties under our control.
JUSTIN: What about in here? Who are the steers and who are the bulls?
Oh, mate, if you've gotta ask...
Back to the original question.
I'll go first. Laurie's a bully and a misogynist.
Bauer, he's a dog-whistling demagogue who'd turn us all against each other.
But at least we know his moves.
And what's Rachel's position, hmm?
Rachel thinks Bauer's a backstabbing son of a bitch
and she wouldn't be caught dead in the same room as him.
But her electorate leans centre-right, so...
So...
I've put my cards on the table. So has Rachel.
I want two things from you.
A list of what you'd fight for, and which way you'd lean to get it.
What do we tell people until then?
The press are on my phone, demanding an answer.
Well, you tell them we will take the full 21 days,
just like the lady told us.
We'll never have this leverage again.
But we need to present a united front.
So, who's willing to keep quiet until our next meeting?
Settled.
Hope you're not looking at his search history.
Alex? What?
Leo found him.
LEO: Hey.
You know how I told you that Bait15 would mess up eventually?
Yeah. Yeah, so he did. Big time.
He usually is really good with covering his tracks.
Encrypting his IP.
But last night you contacted him
and, well, I think you must have put him off his game,
because, well, I did a reverse image search of his profile picture
and this time I got something.
The same image, it turned up in a right-wing chatroom
on an account that was bragging
about trolling you.
Dipshits.
So this guy, most of his followers are fake.
But there were three real profiles.
I created a bunch of fake accounts
and added them on any platform I could.
Turns out they all have one friend in common,
whose real name and email happen to be public.
This guy's linked his email to the Bait15 account
and a whole bunch of other sock puppet accounts.
Get to the point, Leo.
(SIGHS) Yeah. So sending you a zip file.
But his real name is Henry Whittaker.
He's 24, he lives with his parents in Downer.
(PHONE RINGS) His favourite food is nuggets.
Hello, Prime Minister's office.
And he works in the Prime Minister's press office.
So...still think I'm the Tin Man?
He works for Bauer. Do you think Bauer knows?
Of course he knows. Well, not officially, though.
(MIMICS BAUER) "I was very upset to hear about these allegations.
"I assure you I had no prior knowledge." Blah, blah, blah.
Alex, when did it start?
When Mum died.
Rachel was PM then.
Fuck me.
He sent over the zip file.
I want an address.
Oh, no, you don't. Yeah, I do.
He's a psychopath.
We have no idea what he'll do. We tell the police.
No, the police haven't been able to...
Charlie! It's true.
Tell her she can't go to him.
Or we dox him.
Put his personal details online, along with all his messages.
You can't go there. You said you wanted to hurt him.
Find him and hurt him. That's right.
Then give me the address.
I just want to talk to him.
(KNOCKS)
(PHONE BUZZES)
(INTERIOR DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES)
(ANOTHER DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES)
(SIGHS)
(DOOR OPENS)
You vile piece of shit.
Excuse me, who are you?
You know who I am, arsehole. OK.
You need to leave. You're on private property. I'm gonna call...
The cops? Yeah, the police.
Senator arrested for break and enter.
I mean, the papers would love that.
So you do know who I am.
(TENSE MUSIC)
You shit!
You fuck.
You fucking piece of shit.
When my son went missing... you taunted me.
You told me he was dead.
Dead.
You laughed at the thought of his body. My son.
I know nothing about your son. Cut the bullshit.
What bullshit? I have no idea what you're talking about.
I know you're Bait15.
What?
I've got the proof. Threats.
Harassment. Stalking.
You're looking at real jail time. Are you ready for that?
What do you expect me to say?
That I'm sorry?
That what I did was wrong?
I mean, that's what you people want is just endless apologies.
We're well beyond that.
You're a politician and you can't take a little flak.
I'm allowed to have an opinion and I have a right to free speech.
Free speech? You abused me.
Abuse? That's a joke.
You are trespassing in my house. Do you wanna hurt me?
Is that it? You've got some fucking nerve.
Then why are you here?
I want you to read the messages you sent to me out loud.
I'm not gonna read anything.
I want you to look me in the eye and say those things to my face.
(SHOUTS) Read them or so fuckin' help me God,
I will post your photo online with everything that you've said to me.
You are a dirty whore and a terrible mother. Ahem.
Your son is...nothing but the dead dog...
..of a lazy slut.
He's lucky to be out of his misery and...
..you should kill yourself too.
Look, you've made your point. Keep going.
I'm going to rape you in front of your son.
(DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES)
Oh, God, that's my parents.
(KEYS JANGLE)
We weren't expecting company. Mum, Dad, this is...
Alex Irving. Hi, it's nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you. Hello.
I was, ah, just giving some career advice for Henry.
He's very passionate about racial equality.
Right, Henry?
Right.
(SOMBRE MUSIC)
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
(BREATHES SHAKILY)
(LAPTOP LID ECHOES AS IT CLOSES)
I got your numbers from the parliamentary lists.
Where you were. What you were doing.
That's how you knew about me.
I could take this to your boss.
(CHUCKLES) You don't get it, do you?
This sort of thing is standard in politics.
Senior staff all knew what I was doing.
I'm not saying that I didn't do it, I just...
It didn't seem like it was personal.
How could a black woman be a person, right?
It was work.
How can you do a job where you're treating people like they're nothing?
You're a politician, Alex. Surely you can answer that.
I would never do what you did.
Are you gonna turn me in?
No.
(OUTGOING CALL RINGS)
VOICEMAIL: Hi, you've reached Charlie at Alex Irving's office.
Sorry to miss you.
Please leave me a message or shoot me a text. I'll get back to you.
Charlie?
You were right.
I shouldn't have gone.
He's just a bloody kid.
He's a bloody kid, Charlie.
We haven't made any decisions.
Then who's going behind your back? Because someone is.
NICK: You can't agree to that. Alex will be furious.
String her along as much as you can.
You should sack me.
This is not your decision.
(EXHALES SHAKILY)
What kind of country would we be
if we could be the best versions of ourselves?
What did you do about it?
Fuck off.
Joely, I need a phone number. Who?
Don't you dare, Bauer.
You have no shame, Bauer.
(PEOPLE SPEAK AT ONCE)
Open the bloody doors!
Captions by Red Bee Media
Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation