Rage against the machine: Why Gen X wants to burn it all down
by Myriam Robin · Australian Financial ReviewMyriam RobinSenior writer
May 9, 2026 – 5.00am
Bo lives in Sydney with three kids and an office job. She rents. She used to have a house and an investment property. But a divorce and a rising interest rate got rid of those. She went to uni, worked hard, and thought she’d done everything right. But now she’s 50 and nowhere near comfortable.
“Hell yea I’m considering voting One Nation,” she confesses with a touch of bravado. “I want to throw a bomb in the middle of all this.” Her brother tells her she shouldn’t, and she, like many spoken to for this piece, was not willing to put her full name to her convictions. “But why do I have to vote for the best thing for the country? I’ve been a good person all my life, trying to vote responsibly for the welfare of the nation. Why can’t I just vote for what my family needs?”
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Myriam RobinSenior writerMyriam Robin is a senior writer based in the Melbourne newsroom. She has previously been a Rear Window columnist and editor, and before that reported on financial markets and media. Connect with Myriam on Twitter. Email Myriam at myriam.robin@afr.com
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