ALL 13 IS FINISHED BEFORE THEY STARTED.

All 13 asked us to question everyone in politics. We should start with them.

There is something uncomfortable about following a page because it seems to speak for you, only to discover that the people behind it want you to vote for them.

All 13 built its audience around political criticism. Here was an anonymous page presenting itself as a voice for ordinary residents, with enough conviction to make people feel represented. 

However, what appeared to be independent citizen journalism has revealed itself to be campaign promotion before the audience even knew there was a campaign. The political equivalent of reaching the end of a product review and finally spotting the “sponsored” tag. 

The campaign certainly looks prepared. The videos are polished. Every line sounds rehearsed for the moment someone screenshots it.

“Growth shouldn’t happen around our people it should happen with our people,” says Janette Brin.

Lovely. How?

Brin asks how farmers can supply more hotels and restaurants, and how artists can reach visitors. These are worthwhile questions. Yet, asking them in a beautifully produced video does not bring us closer to an answer. What would she actually change to help a farmer secure a hotel contract?

There is an oddly AI-like quality to the messaging. Everything sounds agreeable, but the human judgement is missing. We hear the outcome everyone wants without hearing the difficult decisions a candidate would make to achieve it.

Knowing the problem is the entry requirement

Chad George comes closest to giving us something concrete.

“In my profession, it isn’t enough to identify the problem. It has to be addressed.”

As someone who has built a career in compliance, he has a useful starting point when discussing Government follow through. However, his own standard applies to him, too.

George tells his followers that he is unsure of who is responsible for guaranteeing that the Government executes projects in a timely manner as planned. 

“Right now, I’m not sure who’s checking,” he says. 

Then finding out would be a good place to start.

George points to unfulfilled promises for modern fishing facilities in West End. What he does not explain is how he would navigate the bureaucracy surrounding district funding after the Commission of Inquiry (COI).

The reforms moved assistance grants away from elected representatives and required formal assessment of district projects. Under the Civil Mitigation Policy, representatives must apply for infrastructure funding, with technical assessment and execution subject to available funds. These are administrative requirements George would also face if elected.

With the West End ferry terminal redevelopment already a major project in his district through the RDA, how would he help ensure its progress while also delivering modern fishing facilities during his tenure? 

The procedures do not disappear because the representative changes. Voters need to hear how he would work through the same obstacles in the way of those he has criticised.

Trevor Wheatley faces a similar problem. As a former customs officer, he says he knows exactly where the system breaks.

That experience should give us something beyond the frustration any traveller could post on Facebook after clearing customs. If he knows where it breaks, he can explain what he would fix. Otherwise, his professional background does nothing to advance the conversation.

Brenda Lettsome-Tye arguably has the strongest experience to draw on, yet we have heard comparatively little from her. Is she the proposed leader? What would she offer the Seventh District beyond criticism of the incumbent Premier Natalio Wheatley?

All 13 must do what, exactly?

Even the movement’s name is a complaint. “All 13 must go” tells us who should leave. It offers no explanation of how their replacements would govern.

Meanwhile, Arlene Smith-Thompson has already parted ways with the group and moved towards an independent candidacy. Further departures have been reported, although the full position remains unconfirmed. 

All 13 understood how to attract an audience through political criticism. So far, its messaging gives that audience little reason to believe the movement could run a government.

Criticising the people in office is easy. Establishing why you deserve their jobs takes more than a well-produced reel and clever hashtag.