Get to know the influencers who received an exclusive preview of the Budget

Share and Follow

When Milly Rose Bannister was personally invited by Finance Minister Katy Gallagher to get an exclusive preview of the , the influencer felt both excitement and a sense of responsibility.

“Nervous, obviously,” she told SBS News about the experience.

“But very conscious and cognisant of the fact that we are the first to do it.”

The founder of a youth mental health charity, Bannister was among a group of social media content creators who were, for the first time, invited to the federal budget lock-up at the Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday.

Traditionally, the lock-up is attended by established media outlets, with journalists filing news reports about the budget under a 7.30pm embargo.

‘I ran at the opportunity’

Others at the inaugural ‘influencer lock-up’ included Glen James from Money Podcast, Molly Benjamin from the Ladies Finance Club, and Hannah Ferguson from Cheek Media.

Although their access period was shorter — starting later than the 1.30pm lock-up for the press gallery — they still received a briefing from Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Gallagher and were taken to the press conference with both.

A young woman wearing a blue and white striped shirt and grey trousers with a black belt is smiling.

Daphne Berry is the host of the music podcast and YouTube series Airing Your Dirty Laundry. Source: SBS News

On Wednesday, Nine Newspapers reported that some among the group with less financial resources had their travel costs to Canberra covered by the Labor Party.

Ferguson, who runs the news commentary platform Cheek Media with 158,000 Instagram followers, said Gallagher’s office extended the invitation to the lock-up, but she paid for her travel costs.

“The opportunity was given to me, and I absolutely ran at it,” she told SBS News.

“I was like: ‘of course I’ll be there. I’ll drive myself down, I’ll book my accommodation, I’ll get it sorted’ because I think the expectation is it’s a place for traditional legacy media, and not for newcomers, who are entering the space and trying to change what the Australian media landscape looks like.”

Benjamin told SBS: “ALP (Australian Labor Party) paid for flights and accommodation — they haven’t paid us to create any content — that’s on our own accord.”

When asked about influencers having some of their costs covered, independent senator Jacqui Lambie said engaging the next generation with politics was a “good thing” for the country.

“Using someone to sell your policy, that’s what that’s all about, marketing,” she told reporters in Parliament House.

“I certainly can’t stand here and criticise those influencers, as long as they’re reporting properly. If the influencers do the right thing and … make sure what they’re reporting is true and correct … and it’s not about them and it’s about what’s best for the country.”

SBS News has sought comment from some of the other content creators if their travel costs were covered.

A young woman wearing an all-black outfit and sunglasses on her head is smiling.

Milly Rose Bannister is the founder and CEO of youth mental health charity ALLKND. Source: SBS News

The Labor Party confirmed on Wednesday it covered the costs of some content creators it invited to the budget.

“The ALP has an ongoing engagement program with content creators,” a statement from the party read.

“The party has provided logistical support to some content creators in order to make travel to Canberra for budget week accessible. The same logistical support was provided during engagement in 2024.

“There has been no payment for content or opinions.”

‘New media in traditional places’

Bannister, who discusses mental health and issues affecting women on her platform, said their attendance was a reflection of “new media in traditional spaces”.

“And we’re doing things differently,” she said.

“We’re not advising people on who to vote for. We’re advising people to vote informed.”

She considers her job as translating politics for her audience, rather than “dumbing things down”.

“We’re just delivering content and information, which is effectively power to people in real-world communities that they’re able to actually absorb and use it,” she said.

Ferguson, who says she is more politically aligned with the teal independents and Greens, plans to use the opportunity to create Instagram content breaking down the budget content and issues affecting women, who make up the majority of her audience.

She also used the trip to interview Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

A woman wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans is smiling as she sits on a chair in front of a pink background.

Hannah Ferguson is co-founder and CEO of Cheek Media. Source: Supplied / Kate Williams

“I actually also had an offer from [Treasurer] Jim Chalmers, but I don’t have time for both, which is a crazy thing to say after budget day,” Ferguson said.

What content creators offer cannot be matched by traditional media, she said.

“New media has really powerful engagement with their audience who may not know that much about politics, and our ability to communicate directly with our audiences about the issues that matter to them is far more engaged and far more relevant than large parts of legacy media,” Ferguson said.

The Australian Financial Review reported on Wednesday that influencers will be invited to cover Labor’s election campaign trail in May.

But Natasha Etschmann, a finance educator from TashInvests, who was also in the lock-up, said she won’t be among them.

A young woman wearing glasses and a brown sleeveless jacket with buttons is smiling outside

Natasha Etschmann is a finance educator and content creator. Source: SBS News

Etschmann believes that while social media will play a role in the election, it won’t be as influential as it was in the US presidential election.

“It will definitely play a bit of a role, especially with all the Facebook ads you see everywhere,” she said.

Daphne Berry, who is due to host Arts Minister Tony Burke on her music-focused podcast Airing Your Dirty Laundry next week, said she represents the majority of young Australians.

“We don’t fully understand what’s going on in the country and it’s really important that people get excited and engaged in politics, especially leading up to the election that’s coming up, because it’s the first time again in history that, there are more gen Z and millennial voters than there are like the boomer generation,” Berry said.

“So technically, we have the power.”