Tagged: Australian politics
Is the Voice doomed?
More surveys and polls indicate that a ‘Yes’ vote in the upcoming referendum is looking less and less likely.
The conservatives support a ‘No’ vote, of course, and their stand is not about politics, point scoring, or wanting to stick it up the Labor Government rather than progressing First Australians lives, of course! And the sky is green and the moon is made of cheese!
The naysayers’ arguments can be refuted easily, but the bottom line of their stand is not about logic or thoughtful consideration. It’s this: once again, non Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people, will decide what’s best for them!
Argue about the legalities, the Constitutional niceties, or why it’s all too complicated however much you like, but the reality is that it’s about racism.
You can’t eat submarines
Hundreds of billions of dollars will be spent on a few nuclear powered subs by Australia’s governments over the next several decades. Absolutely inevitably, this obscene figure will blow out, as will the finish date of all of the boats!
As the not so serious but regularly accurate online newspaper ‘The Betoota Advocate’ said, having these subs will delay a Chinese invasion by about 14 hours!
China will have about 70 nuclear powered subs by the time we have 5! The whole scenario around these grossly expensive tin cans is bazaar. Paul Keating is correct, the Australian Labor Party has made a serious mistake with this decision, and the fact that the far right federal Opposition fully supports the ALP government proves this point.
Bonkers!
Dutton’s cringy backflip
Peter Dutton, Leader of The Oppose Everything, has said in Parliament, that he was wrong to walk out of former PM Kevin Rudd’s apology to The Stolen Generation in 2008.
Genuine anguish or political expediency? The forthcoming Aston by-election may have something to do with it, but then again, the man who looks more like Lord Voldemort than Ralph Fiennes did, regularly reinforces his hard Right credentials, so I have to conclude that he was not genuine. I cannot be certain of course, but the idea of a warm and cuddly Dutton is quite freaky!
Don’t believe you Pete!
Leave Peter Dutton alone!
“We have to replace ideology and idiocy with engineering and economics.”
So spoke former PM Malcolm Turnbull recently at an event at the Australia Institute. He was referring to statements by Peter Dutton, Leader of the Opposition.
I agree with Turnbull, but his comments are those of a gutless former PM who (as PM) was captive to very conservative forces in the Liberal and National Parties and who achieved nothing that was meaningful for the survival of the planet.
Turnbull also said that the Liberal Party has become unelectable, has “… lost its way on climate …”, and that Dutton’s stance on renewable energy is based on “… complete and utter nonsense.” All true and good on you Turnbull, clap, clap, clap! Lecturing your own party about its policies, when you were too scared to do anything yourself!
The Australian Labor Party and Australia generally, need Dutton to stay as the Leader of the Opposition as long as he possibly can, because while he is in the job it is unlikely that The Coalition will return to Government! Leave him alone and let him sprout his ideological drivel! Although, when I think about it, Angus Taylor might be even better as a long-term Opposition Leader!
Yes, I’m still alive!
My last post was June 2018! Jeez, time flies when you are having fun and there has been so much ‘fun’ since then!
Donald Trump has gone (but is it temporary), Boris Johnson has come and gone (like a fart in a lift), Malcolm Turnbull* has gone (promised so much, delivered so little), and Scott Morrison has gone (thank you God, you got that one right). And talking of infectious diseases that negatively impact on peoples’ lives, or possibly kill you, COVID came – but didn’t go away.
Then there’s Russia’s brutal and disgusting invasion of Ukraine! I said “Russia’s”, but I should have said “Putin’s”. It is possible of course, that a majority of the Russian people will eventually get sick of his dictatorship, but as of now, it is a shame that I cannot add Putin’s name to the list of the vanquished in the previous paragraph.
I have been on the anti-Putin side of things since the invasion commenced, but have I considered the other side of the ruble? Well, of course I have, because I would not have posed that question if I hadn’t! I have looked at videos, read documents and listened to a friend who thinks the USA (et al) is Satan’s child. There are some valid arguments on the Russian side of things, eg broken promises about the non-expansion of NATO eastwards, but in the end what I saw or read was peoples’ opinions and whether or not the reader/viewer had the same values. My values do not include condoning the destruction of an independent country, its infrastructure and its people!
*I read his book (“A Bigger Picture”) and found it to be boring, forgettable and implausible. In addition, his constant references to his wife made we wonder who was PM, Malcolm or Lucy?
Asylum seeker conundrum steadily being resolved
Today’s media has reports of another positive development in the glacial, but heading-in-the-right-direction, resolution of the issue of Australia’s asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru, with an Iranian asylum seeker on Nauru allegedly committing suicide.
The Minister of Home Affairs plus other stuff, Peter Dutton, said today, “We will get there you know, with the USA taking some and God taking others, we can chuck the leftovers to New Zealand, and Bob’s ya uncle!”.
Media Release
Wednesday 9 May 2018
The Hon A Liberal MP and Senator Con Servative
The importance of our message today to the average Australian can not be underestimated. We are outlining for very ordinary Australians our complete policy structure.
Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill Shorten Bill
Thank you.
If you would like more information about our policies ring Justin Iddiot on 0813 456 799
I am flummoxed and flabbergasted!
I am also disappointed, dismayed and disgusted. Why? Adani’s potential Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, and the support for it by the Queensland ALP. Yes, the LNP supports it too, but that’s to be expected, and yes, the Labor Queensland Premier has withdrawn support for the proposed government loan, but the discussion still seems to be mainly about jobs and regional economics. What about the environment guys? You know, that thing that allows us to live. Should people vote for the Greens then? The Greens cannot form government in Queensland and are very unlikely to be a significant force in the State. They are a wasted vote in the unicameral Parliament of Queensland, in my opinion.
The argument from climate change deniers, that anything we do in Australia is a mere drop in the ocean and is therefore not worthwhile, is so selfish, so head up your arse’ish, that I just about hyperventilate every time I hear it. To that, add the mantra, “our economy must keep growing!”. How the hell can that happen when we already need the equivalent of two Earths to feed the one Earth we have?
Then there’s this headline (and its variants) from a heap of media outlets today: 15,000 scientists in 184 countries warn about negative global environmental trends. A summary of the findings of the report in the international journal BioScience is this: Human well-being will be severely jeopardized by negative trends in some types of environmental harm, such as a changing climate, deforestation, loss of access to fresh water, species extinction and human population growth, scientists warn. Note the word “will” in this summary.
Time to act Queensland Labor! Do something positive for the health of the State, the nation and the planet, and stop supporting one of the companies that is helping to kill the fragile little ball we live on!
Who is more irritating than ants in your undies? Who is more grating than fingernails down the blackboard?
Pauline Hanson.
Oh, I see, you want a bit more than a two word answer!
Hanson is a moron, ie “a very stupid or foolish person” [Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary]. However, she has rat cunning, street fighter instincts and an ability to sway peoples’ opinions, which together mean she must not be ignored or treated as a joke. Trump was vastly underestimated and sniggered at, and looked what happened!
Hanson has had 20 years to research, study, question, seek and educate herself. Instead, she comes across as a racist, poorly educated and myopic dill, albeit potentially attractive to 10% of voting Australians!
P J O’Rourke is hilarious, Janet Albrechtsen argues well and Senator Mathias Cormann is unflappable. Conservatives all. Compared to them (and just about anyone else) Hanson wouldn’t make the intellectual D team, let alone the Bs or Cs!
The fact that she has the Liberal/National parties flummoxed, worried and sucking up to her, and the aforementioned 10% potential vote across the country, is a worrying situation. Hanson and her rabid, horrific and just plain stupid views must be countered, and the only peaceful way to do that is to challenge her in the media, on social media and at the ballot box.
“Australia is in danger of being swamped by morons!”. Please explain!”.
Turnbull is ridiculous
In Federal Parliament on 8 February this year, Malcolm Turnbull raved, ranted, blustered and tried to sound tough! Turnbull was attacking Bill Shorten and used words to describe Shorten such as, “simpering sycophant”, “social climbing sycophant”, “parasite”, and “hypocrite”. The political posturing and pathetic pandering to those on the far right, whether in Parliament or not, was palpably apparent.
For many years, the Coalition, when in Opposition and Government, has praised Bob Hawke and Paul Keating as positive and visionary leaders when running this country from 1983 to 1996.
A recent authorised biography of Paul Keating, Paul Keating – the big picture leader, by Troy Bramston, includes a detailed history of Keating before he became Treasurer and subsequently, PM. Keating was “eager to learn”, “sought out those who could teach him new things”, and it enabled him to “grow as a politician”. Some of those whom he sought out, were Sir Laurence Hartnett, Managing Director of GMH, various managers at Hawker de Havilland, Ian McLennan, CEO of BHP, Sir John Bunting, Secretary of the PM’s Department and George H W Bush, then US Ambassador to the UN. (See Chapter 5.)
In Chapter 8, it states that as Shadow Minister for Minerals and Energy, Keating was “knocking on boardroom doors … to listen and to learn”, and that among other people, Keating met David Rockefeller of the Chase Manhattan Bank and Sir Mark Turner, Chairman of Rio Tinto Zinc.
Keating’s approach to his job seems eminently sensible, as does Shorten’s, and this approach would be wide spread throughout Parliament, ie for those Members and Senators serious about doing their jobs effectively. It’s called ‘networking’, Malcolm!
Turnbull was clearly trying to save his job, albeit in a puffed up, fabricated sort of way. He wouldn’t be the slightest bit interested in my opinions, but praising one Labor man and attacking another for doing the same thing makes Turnbull the hypocrite, not Shorten. As for “sycophant” and “parasite”, simply look at Turnbull vis-à-vis his own Government!
nonconservative 