- Look, if you're not going
to tell me who you are...
I'm watching you
and your bastard son.
♪♪
There's a guy online
that's getting more
and more violent.
He calls himself Bait15.
- Eddie, watch out!
- Someone made an
anonymous complaint about Eddie.
Now, Child Protection
are down on me.
- It was called in by a
member of Jack Ramsay's staff.
- Ramsay made the complaint?
- And you're wondering
if I've got anything
to do with that?
- What dirt do we
have on Ramsay?
- Why are we looking for dirt?
- We made a promise
to this electorate
not to do this.
We all signed it.
- Damien's sandbagging.
He can't lose a single seat,
and he can feel
mine slipping away.
- They're stacking the
branch. They are trying
to pressure me out.
- Oh, the bastards.
- Crucial to this electorate...
- Did you get your
staffer pregnant
and then sack her?
- This stunt is an insult
to the good people
of this electorate!
- Why don't you sit down?
- I saw what happened in there.
I've never been
more ashamed of you.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Eddie.
♪♪
Eddie!
♪♪
Eddie!
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
- It's 6:00 am as the nation
prepares to go to the polls.
With the real possibility
of a hung parliament,
attention has turned to the rise
of independent candidates
across the country,
who could end up holding
the balance of power.
Alex Irving, the controversial
former senator from Queensland,
is one of those independents.
Irving has run a
surprising campaign,
leading voter enrollment
drives in the electorate's prisons
and amongst other
marginalized communities.
And her job has been made easier
as a string of sexual
harassment allegations
has forced the sitting
member, Jack Ramsay,
into damage control.
While this may not be
enough to swing that seat,
there's no question
that both the government
and the opposition
have been left behind
in what could be a seismic
shift in Australian politics.
- Hello, Alex.
- Hey.
- You don't win today,
it's got to be rigged.
- Blame the Russian mob, eh?
- Yeah.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
- Hey, Mum.
♪♪
- Dad! Dad!
♪♪
- I miss you, Mum.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
- Eh, thought you'd
done a runner.
- Just clearing my head.
- Meeting in the lounge in 15?
- Charlie talking to you?
Nah. You?
I'm just going to
check on Eddie.
Alex Irving's office.
Joely McKinnon speaking.
♪♪
♪♪
Eddie, you up?
♪♪
Eddie?
♪♪
- Can you make sure this
place is scheduled for 8:00 am?
- I can't take a
photo from her phone
because I can't do Photoshop.
We need to put
them up in socials.
The social. I
literally told you...
We're going to have to
work it out between us.
Well, who needs to get that?
That's...
We...
Call his brother. I don't know.
Just...
Right, I'm going. Bye.
- Look, this campaign's
been tough on all of us.
We've been living in
each other's pockets.
I've been a bitch.
♪♪
And I'm sorry.
But this is too important
to throw away now.
We've all worked
too hard for that.
We've always said, if we
make the seat marginal,
we've performed
a miracle, right?
♪♪
So, call your aunties.
Call your mates.
Call your exes.
That'll take me all day.
- And, whoever you talk to,
make sure they see
the passion that I see
every day that we've
worked together.
This is about us.
And I'll be damned if we
don't give that bastard Ramsay
a run for his money.
♪♪
Let's get out there.
- Alright, let's do this.
♪♪
Uh, remind me... sandwiches.
- Uh, yeah.
Did you get me a vegan option?
- Yes, obviously.
- Thank you, finally.
♪♪
- We good?
♪♪
- Let's just get
through today, yeah?
- Charlie.
♪♪
Eddie.
Eddie!
Get dressed.
- I am.
- You're not wearing that.
- What's wrong with it?
- You know about the family photo
this morning?
- Yeah, you told me
a thousand times.
- So, put on a decent shirt.
And make sure you feed Rocky.
We'll be on the road all day.
- Anything else?
- I need you with
me today, Eddie.
It's important.
- Always is.
- Bus leaves in 10.
- Can I ride my bike?
Rocky needs a run.
- Don't be late.
♪♪
♪♪
Where's Eddie?
- He's meeting us at school.
♪♪
Rachel Anderson wished us luck.
- What, are you two
best friends now?
- Yeah, we're besties.
♪♪
- Polls are now open
across the Eastern Seaboard
for volunteers and voters
descending on polling booths,
and candidates
traversing electorates
in a last-minute
search for votes.
- Hey, can you pull over?
- Bit early, isn't it?
♪♪
- Uh...
where's she... going?
- Who knows?
♪♪
- Ivan.
- Oh, Christ.
Didn't I tell you to piss off?
- Thought you
might appreciate a lift
down to the school to vote.
- I'm not voting
for you, anyway.
- You don't have to.
I'll still give you a lift.
That goes for all of you.
Why do you vote for Ramsay?
What's that about?
- Well, he
did say hello to me
at the airport, once.
- You coming?
Are they doing a sausage
sizzle at the school?
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
- With support for both
major parties at a historic low
and the election result
unlikely to be known for days,
the country is facing
political uncertainty
not seen since 2010.
Amongst the raft of
independents running
is Rachel Anderson,
Australia's second
female prime minister.
- Thanks.
- The former PM is tipped
to take a seat
from her old party.
- How are you today, Ms. Irving?
- Um, good, thanks.
- Yeah?
What do you think
of your chances?
- Uh, I've got a feeling
it's going to be a great day.
- Yeah, that's good.
- Vote for Alex Irving.
- While Prime
Minister Damien Bauer
has ramped up the
heat in an increasingly
negative campaign...
- Thanks, everyone.
- Anderson has refused
to criticize the
government's candidate,
Mima Scott, stating,
"It's important for women
to support each other.
I admire Ms. Scott's
passion and energy."
- Mr. Prime Minister.
- Mr. Prime Minister!
How do you think it went today?
Do you think you've
got the numbers?
- Can you tell us...
- Well,
I definitely got my own vote,
so, that's something, isn't it?
- Bullshit, Damien. Get a
load of this guy, will you?
- Hm?
- Going according to plan.
- Very happy.
- Oh, God. I don't know
what his wife sees in him.
- It's his
man-of-the-people act.
He has run a surprisingly
good campaign, though.
- How are we tracking?
- Yep, George and
Shaun are both locks,
and the bookies are
offering better odds
on Philippa and Justin.
- Oh, good. Helena?
- Bellwether seat. You need
a crystal ball for that one.
- What about Alex?
- Closing in the gap.
She spent the 20
grand that we gave her
on final-week radio
blitz, which is helping,
but, right now, she
needs a miracle.
- Pity.
Maybe you should've
funneled her some more cash.
- This is a think
t*nk I'm running.
I'm not a charity.
But our polls are
consistent, no clear majority.
Three or four independents
is more than enough.
We won't need her.
- Mm.
♪♪
Shall we?
♪♪
- There she is.
- Hey.
- Hi.
- How are ya? How are you doing?
♪♪
Hiya. Better vote for me, yeah?
I will.
♪♪
- Eddie's not here.
- Well, maybe he's inside.
♪♪
- Through here, please.
- Hey.
- Alex!
- Cheryl.
- Last name.
- Irving.
- ID.
- 63 Jundah Road, Winton.
There you are.
Have you already voted today?
- First time.
- Here you go. Now,
if you make a mistake,
you have to...
- I won't.
- Good luck.
- Thanks, Cheryl.
- She will need it.
Charlie!
- Morning, Cheryl.
- How are you going?
- I'm good. Thank you.
- Last name?
- Hi. You know what to do.
Leave a message.
- It's Mum.
Where the bloody hell are ya?
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
- Eddie's a no-show.
Let's just do this.
- I'm going to k*ll him.
- Righto.
- Here we go.
Big smile.
That's it.
- Yep, put it in.
♪♪
- Clancy, have you seen, Eddie?
- No, Auntie.
- Well, if you see him,
tell him he's grounded.
♪♪
- Alex!
If we're going to make
this 11:00 at Longreach,
we got to hit the road!
♪♪
- Hi. You know what to do.
Leave a message.
♪♪
- Okay, folks, buckle up.
We have a jam-packed day ahead.
So, whip your blinds up
and stow your tray tables.
First up, we have Longreach,
for a cup of tea with the CWA,
before doing a round trip
to thank the
volunteers, and, finally,
we'll head back
out onto the highway
and we should be back
in Winton by beer o'clock.
Any questions?
- Can we swing by home first?
- Sure, yeah.
♪♪
♪♪
- Eddie!
♪♪
Charlie!
♪♪
Eddie!
♪♪
Eddie.
♪♪
- Any sign of him?
- No.
- What about the dog?
- No.
- Right, I'm calling the police.
♪♪
- There's no signs of
v*olence or forced entry.
- That's not a sign of v*olence?
- Hey, I'm going to ask
you to calm down, okay?
- Alex, the best thing
you can do right now
is answer some questions, okay?
- What was Eddie wearing
the last time you saw him?
- A yellow-and-gray singlet.
Maroon footy shorts.
I told him to put
on a good shirt.
- Did he?
- Probably not.
Does Eddie have
any mental health issues?
- No.
- History of drug use?
- Bet you don't ask that when
little white girls go missing.
- Thank you very much.
- These are all
standard questions, Alex.
- No, he doesn't.
- Also, I understand you
got a notice from DoCS.
- Triggered by some
anonymous complaint.
- But he was still
skipping school, though.
- Oh.
- Yes, but not lately.
- Has he run away before?
- Eddie wouldn't do that.
- Did you have an
argument with Eddie?
We've been at
loggerheads, lately,
but that's...
- What did you argue about?
- He's been through
a lot this year.
We're working through it.
- Is there a chance
that Eddie put that
noose up there himself?
♪♪
- We're not suggesting
anything, at this stage.
We just need to
consider all possibilities.
♪♪
♪♪
- Here, here,
here are your possibilities.
That, that came in yesterday.
I've been telling you
what's happening.
- Amazed that the
AFP was investigating.
- We had election posters
burning in the front yard
a few days ago!
You were here!
- We're looking into it, Alex.
♪♪
Why won't anybody
tell me what's going on?
♪♪
I know Eddie did not
put that thing up, alright?
♪♪
- How would you feel if there
was a noose in your yard?
♪♪
♪♪
- Look, in the context
of these ongoing threats,
there are grounds
to issue a nationwide
AMBER Alert appealing
for information about Eddie.
We'll need an hour
or so to get permission
from the State Commissioner.
Do I have your consent
to make the request?
- Do it.
- Alex Irving is trending.
- Oh, god. What's she done now?
- Her son has gone missing.
- What?
- It can't be a
media stunt, can it?
- I wouldn't have thought so.
- You should definitely
make a comment.
- Mm.
- You want to appear
compassionate,
not opportunistic.
- Thoughts and prayers.
- Naturally.
I did say she needed a miracle.
- This isn't it.
- Alright.
- Beautiful day for democracy.
- Rachel, what are your
thoughts on the Bauer campaign?
- Have you heard
about Alex Irving's son?
- Yes. This is a very
worrying situation,
and we're all praying
for the safe return
of Alex Irving's son.
- Yeah, prayers, that's
what we need right now.
- Without getting
into the specifics
of young Eddie's disappearance,
I would like to say this.
That Alex Irving has copped
an almost unsurvivable amount
of public vitriol, online abuse,
and very real threats
to herself and her family.
Now, we should all
call out this hatred,
but it is leadership's role
to set the standards of
decency and tolerance,
and I have to say that
Damien Bauer has singly failed.
I hope that...
- Oh, she is a piece of work.
- She's right.
- No, she's spinning this
for political advantage.
- Australian women
have had enough.
So I hope we join together
today to say, "I stand with Alex."
- Oh, Christ. She's
turned you into a hashtag.
- I don't care, Charlie.
- Rachel Anderson has
spoken out in support
of fellow candidate Alex
Irving, whose Election Day
has been marred by
the disappearance of...
♪♪
- Tell auntie what you told me.
- This guy has got it in for us.
- How come?
- I don't know.
- You sure about that?
- We sprayed some
water on his car once.
We were just mucking around.
Then he went psycho.
- When was this?
- A couple weeks ago.
- You're only telling us now?
What car was he driving?
- A ute.
- Did you get the rego?
Color?
- Maybe... white?
- Was it white or wasn't it?
- Alex.
- White, but dirty.
It was covered in dust.
- What did he look like?
- I don't know.
- Oh, come on,
Clancy! Use your brain!
- Sis, go easy on him,
eh? He's upset, too.
- Listen to me, Clancy.
If this ute guy has
done anything to Eddie,
if he's hurt him, we
need to find him fast.
So is there anything
you remember about him,
anything at all?
- He's got a tat.
- Where?
- Here. A skeleton.
- This is not good.
God knows what it's
going to do to the polling.
- Really?
Her kid is missing, you prick.
The margin is the last thing
she should be giving
a sh*t about right now.
- Yeah, I know that.
- Do you?
- Three weeks ago,
we had no chance,
and then things
started to turn around.
The donations came in.
We got the radio stations.
I guess I got my hopes up.
But now she's...
- Alex.
- whose Election Day has been
marred by the disappearance...
- Do you know any rednecks
with a skeleton tattoo?
- Hot, not my usual type. Why?
- Some guy tried to run Eddie
off the road a few weeks back.
- Local, yeah?
Alright.
I actually reckon I might
know how to find him.
Just give me a sec.
- You got something
to say to me, Leo?
- public vitriol,
online abuse...
- You brought me in to keep
track of the numbers, right?
- Yeah.
- This seat was
always going to be tight,
and people don't like
these sorts of things.
It makes them nervous.
- And are they?
- Well, your name and #BadMom
are trending on
Twitter right now.
But so is #IStandWithAlex.
So I really have no idea.
- Ms. Anderson called
out the threats and abuse...
- What do you got?
- Winton Whinge and Whine.
It's a social-media site
for vigilantes with a grudge.
I reckon ute guy would be
exactly the kind of dropkick
to jump on here
and have a whinge.
I just have to wade through
all the effluent to find it.
- Do it.
- Done.
- Come on, Eddie.
- Hi. You know what to
do. Leave a message.
Hi. You know what to do.
♪♪
Eddie?
Hey, boy. Hey. Hey. Hey,
Rocky. Rocky, hey. Hey.
Hey. Rocky, where's Eddie?
- Alex.
Come and have a look at this.
- Come on, Rocky. In. Okay.
- A local called Joshua
Harvey has been whinging about
a missing dirt bike.
He claims it was stolen by
a couple of Indigenous kids.
Couple of weeks ago, he
reckons he saw the same kids
mucking up at the servo.
Check it out.
- Oh, god. That's Eddie.
- This creep's been
launching an online campaign
against all the
Black kids in town.
But this moron hasn't
turned on his security settings
on his home page.
All of his posts,
all of his photos,
they're all public,
which just check...
check this one out.
- Clancy!
Come here.
Is this him?
- Yeah.
- Can you get an address?
- Yeah, this guy
uses geolocation.
I can get the coordinates
on every photo on this album.
- Go back.
I know that place.
- I'll let the cops know.
- Charlie!
Where are the cops?
- Alright, just stay here.
♪♪
Joshua Harvey.
Joshua Harvey.
♪♪
Just come out and talk to us.
Joshua Harvey.
- Harvey!
Where's my boy?!
- Alex, Alex, stay in the car.
Alex.
Alex, just let me handle this.
Alex, stop. Alex.
- Harvey, get the f*ck out here!
- Alex, put... Alex,
put that down.
Alex.
- Harvey, get out here!
- Alex, this is not helping.
- Joshua Harvey!
- Alex. Alex, stop!
Alex!
- Oi! Oi, that's my
car, you crazy bitch!
- Where's my kid?!
- Alright, everyone
just calm down.
- I don't know what
you're talking about.
- My son!
- Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!
Look, I don't even
know your son.
- My son, Eddie, what the
f*ck have you done with him?
- Hey!
- Where is he?!
- Hey, someone call the cops!
- We already have. Put
it down, for Christ's sake.
- If you've hurt my son,
I will f*cking k*ll you!
Where is he?!
- I don't know
anything about your kid.
- Matilda, get back inside.
- Come on. Come on.
- Harvey admits to
putting up that noose,
but he swears he
hasn't seen Eddie.
- Oh, what? And you believe him?
- His story checks out, Alex...
Eyewitnesses, call
records, everything.
- He threatened to
k*ll Eddie. It's online.
- You have to
let us do our jobs.
- Oh, I don't believe this.
He strung up a f*cking noose!
- Alright, you need to
go home now, okay?
- No.
- I'm not going to ask you again.
- I don't care.
You go. We're staying.
- Leave now, or we can...
- Yep, alright.
We don't have to
do this, not now.
We're leaving. Fine.
- We're staying, Charlie.
- We're leaving.
- Take her home. You
make sure she stays there.
- Yeah, fine.
♪♪
- They're not going
to do a f*cking thing.
- Yeah.
- I wish Mum was here.
She'd know what to do.
- She is.
She's looking out for him.
- Thought you were an atheist.
- Yeah, when it suits me.
We'll find him, Alex.
We'll find him.
♪♪
- What's going on?
- We've heard about Eddie, Alex.
We're all here to help you.
- Don't worry, sis.
We'll find him for you.
♪♪
- Thank you.
Welcome home.
♪♪
Thank you, all of you.
♪♪
Thank you. Thank you.
♪♪
♪♪
- With the polls due to close
across Queensland in an hour,
the drama surrounding
Alex Irving's missing son
continues to cast a
shadow over Election Day.
- Eddie!
- Earlier, police
issued an AMBER Alert
for Eddie Irving when
the teenager failed
to show up at a campaign
event for his mother.
- Eddie!
- While many public
figures have voiced
their concern and support,
others have accused
Irving of neglect, claiming
that Child Services
had assessed Eddie for
a so-called safety plan.
Irving's campaign declined
to comment on the allegations.
- "Where is... my... son?"
Alright, c**t.
"Please.
♪♪
- Wait. What happened? Alex!
Alex!
Oi!
Alex, what's going on?
Alex, open the door.
Alex!
Charlie. We need
to move this ute.
Grab the keys.
- Yeah, where are the keys?
Where are the...
- Here.
- Here. Give me the... Give.
♪♪
- Alex, the police
are on their way.
Can you slow
down, for god's sake?
- f*ck!
♪♪
♪♪
Eddie!
Eddie!
Eddie.
- He's okay. He's not here.
He's not here. He's okay.
Hey, hey, they found him.
They found him.
Oh. They found him. He's okay.
He's okay. He's not in there.
- He's not in there.
♪♪
- Don't you ever, ever
do that to me again.
You blame me for what
I've put you through,
and you want to pay it back?
Well, congratulations,
boy! You succeeded!
- You're so full of sh*t.
- Don't you dare!
- You listen to
everyone else. Everyone.
But you never listen to me.
You say you're doing this for
other people, but you're not.
It's always about you.
- Hey.
You have no idea what your
mother has been through today.
The entire country
thinks you're missing.
- I thought you were dead.
- Maybe then you'd care.
♪♪
I'm sorry.
- I used to come here
when I didn't go to school,
help Stephen out.
- I didn't know that.
- I get angry.
- About what?
- All of it.
I don't know.
About Stephen,
about Jess, about Nan.
- Me?
You can say it.
- Sometimes.
It's just that bad sh*t keeps
happening when you're here.
- I don't really help, do I?
- Not really.
- What are you going
to do with all that anger?
You're not a kid anymore.
How are you going to use it?
- Burn sh*t down.
That's what you do, right?
- Doesn't really help.
- Can we go home now?
♪♪
- Whoo-hoo!
Oh, boy.
Ladies and gentlemen, the
silent majority has spoken,
and they are tired of
the dishonesty of politics
as usual and the tyranny
of the two-party system.
This victory is for them.
- He sent me out
to m*ssacre Creek,
where a mob got slaughtered,
and that's where he
said he buried Eddie.
Do you think he's a local?
- Anyone with a search
engine could find that out.
- But he knew that place
means something to us.
I'm want to find
that bastard, Charlie.
♪♪
- Sis.
He's a good kid.
Got to remember that.
- I am so honored
that North Sydney
has elected me as
their representative
once again, and I
will work tirelessly...
The hardworking, decent
people of Australia have spoken.
- Thanks, Uncle.
- 3.50. Thanks, Alex.
- Now, as you can see behind me,
we are over the
moon here tonight,
and I have to do a big
shout-out to our volunteers.
They've been incredible.
And I think, tonight, we sent
a very strong
message to Canberra.
- At this stage, it's
still too close to call.
The opposition is marginally
ahead of the government
in terms of seats declared,
but if there's a trend here,
it's a big swing to
the independents
right across the country.
Perhaps the most surprising
of these is Freeman.
We've only got five
booths reporting so far,
but early results point
to a significant drop
in the primary vote for the
incumbent, Jack Ramsay.
If these numbers hold,
it will be a major upset
for both the government
and the opposition.
Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa!
So good.
- Cheers!
Cheers.
Oh.
- Oh, he doesn't waste any time.
And cue the messenger.
- Peter.
- Rachel. I hope I'm not
crushing your celebrations.
I wanted to be one of the
first to congratulate you.
- Well, that's very
magnanimous of you.
- Well, if anybody could
pull this off, it was you.
- I can't take all the credit.
- Nick.
- Peter.
Shouldn't you be bunkered
down in the w*r room?
- Oh, we're still, uh,
pretty relaxed over there.
- Well, you need to
change the channel.
Damien is in trouble.
- Tell him we're
open to negotiating,
but it also comes
with a warning.
It's going to hurt.
No doubt.
Enjoy your evening.
♪♪
- I think, Theresa,
the independents...
They will hold the
balance of power,
but it's potentially a fatal
blow for the leaderships
of both Damien Bauer
and Laurie Martin.
Back to New South Wales now,
where sitting
member Helena Rossi
has held the Sydney
seat of Lennox.
While this is apparently
a win for the government,
Ms. Rossi had a blunt message
regarding factional
divisions within the party.
- I am so grateful
to my volunteers,
to my supporters, to my
family, and to my friends.
Without them, I
wouldn't be here.
To my own party, I would
say the people of this electorate
have shown that they're sick
of bully boys from the back room
treating them with contempt.
We need to do better.
Am I right?
We need to do better.
- Rossi faced a
concerted campaign
by elements of her own
party to strip her of the seat.
A spokesperson said
the party had a rigorous
and confidential
process in place for...
- Look at that place.
Mum still wasn't allowed
in there when I was born.
She had to stay out front.
- And now we're having
our campaign party there.
The irony.
- Didn't she strip off
and protest one time?
- She what?
- Full starkers. That's
what Faye reckons.
Wish I'd seen that.
- I don't.
- I'm sorry.
- What for?
- Asking you to come home.
Joining the campaign,
putting up with me.
- Well, had nothing else to do.
- I couldn't have
done it without you.
What a waste of time.
- No, you made an
impact. You always do.
- I should just give
Bait15 what he wants.
Shut up, give up, stop fighting.
- No, f*ck that.
Then he wins.
I know I told you to report
and block, not engage,
but after today, I just
want to find the prick
and I want to hurt him.
- I don't know if
it's worth it, Charlie.
- We won!
We won!
We won!
♪♪
Yes!
What a day.
When we started,
Freeman was a safe seat.
They'll never take
us for granted again.
- Whoo!
- Not anymore.
- We can get through
anything if we work together,
because out here,
when someone
falls, we pick them up.
- Yes.
- Yep, yep.
- That's what you did for me,
and I'll never forget that.
This is for Mum.
This is for Stephen... JC...
Marcie...
Eddie.
This is for us.
- Hey!
- We love you, Alex!
♪♪
Alex, Alex, Alex, Alex, Alex!
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
02x04 - Episode 4
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Alex Irving, a charismatic and contradictory Indigenous woman, is thrust into the national limelight after a horrific event, Australia's embattled Prime Minister Rachel Anderson, sees a publicity goldmine for her party.
Alex Irving, a charismatic and contradictory Indigenous woman, is thrust into the national limelight after a horrific event, Australia's embattled Prime Minister Rachel Anderson, sees a publicity goldmine for her party.