What's what?

On Hanson and Turnbull's criticism of her policies today - as taken from the comments section of The Age

" MichaelCanberra (the place polititians don't come from),Mar 6 2017 at 8:26am

It would seem the height of ignorance and hypocrisy for Turnbull to be challenging the views of Hanson when he refuses to rebuke or question the homophobic, xenophobic, anti-science views of his many on his own coalition back bench".

I couldn't agree more Michael from Canberra.

@Gaz1799, I too also think the conservatives need to split from the Liberals because I think politics here is about the middle ground and not the extremes at either end. It is possible that it might occur after the next Federal election if the LNP get savaged by the electorate. If it were to occur its likely to be as messy as when the ALP fractured into the ALP and DLP. That bitter take no prisoners fight saw the ALP in the political wilderness for the best part of 2 decades - it was fighting itself, the church and opposition (see the parallel?).

While many will disagree I also see a connection with what is happening in the LNP right now and the realisation that neo-liberal policies are failing. We all know what the LNP is against but what do they stand for? what positives unite them? If they can't find the positives why should we vote for them?

Joining Bernardi's conservative party? You don't think that a little pale looking man in a white dust coat and working in the cyber security section of ASIO has now referred your details to the AFP for further investigation? haha. I certainly had that creepy feeling looking at One Nation's webpage the other night, just like that time when I was buying books directly from Siin Féin's bookshop in Dublin! Anyone else read Stumpet City by James Plunkett?

It'll be messy that's for sure Smiley. Couldn't happen fast enough either! I reckon it's really only compulsory voting that keeps the big 2 in power, and stops a trump style backlash here. Both ALP & LNP are owned by extremists (Churches & Unions) and neither do a good job at representing the % of people that vote for them.

I have the same opinion on the failure of neo-liberal in Australia. I've always maintained that Australia is too small for the US style privatization the LNP loves to spruik. We just end up with huge monopolies, expensive everything and bugger all jobs to show for it.

I've also viewed the one nation website so ASIO probably has me on a no-fly list by now, that's two strikes! The australian conservatives website is quite scant on info whereas one nation lays aaalll the gory details bare. Pauline isn't one for beating around the bush.

Can't say I've read that book but if I try and find a copy am I likely to flag the attention of the feds? I only have 1 strike left before they throw me in the gulag!

Gaz1799 writes "I reckon it's really only compulsory voting that keeps the big 2 in power, and stops a trump style backlash here."

That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
In the USA where voting is NOT compulsory, the "big 2" (dems and repubs') are STILL the big 2..... And Trump is the elected leader of the Repubs..... The repubs are now in power.
So your comment makes no sense.

Think about it sheepdog. Trump didn't win the election by being popular, the democrats lost it because voters hated Clinton. Apparently 90 mil didn't even rock up. Aus is a diff system, but the point stands. We HAVE to pick a side, or at least we have to rock up to sign our name off anyway. You think Abbott, the least popular PM in 30 years would have been elected without compulsory voting?

Gaz......... I'll say it again...... the repubs won, and the dems lost..... They are the "big 2"... Minor parties didn't even come close...
In regards to Abbott, that's a red herring.. It doesn't matter who the "leaders" of the "big 2" are, they are still the "big 2"........
Labor and the coalition have the largest membership, so therefore in a non compulsory voting format , they would've come 1st and/or 2nd.

So, right wingers, hows privatisation working for you? We've seen the electricity decable thanks to corporate greed, we've seen water prices sky rocket, and now this.....

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-06/accc-says-consumers-gouged-through...

sheepie, the right wingers are very happy with how privatisation is working out -- public money is transferred to private entities -- i.e. party donours and friends of politicians. outcomes for the public? not part of the equation.

and for a case study, let's all track the progress of the privatisation of the lands registry. we all know this one is going to work out so well.

That one cuts deep Chook. My old man ran the Land Titles Office for a few years in the mid- to late-80s. The department made between $30 to $50 million a year for the government. It makes absolutely zero sense to sell it off.

Zero sense from the public's perspective, that is. The private sector will love it, and not just the tender winner but also insurance companies that will now have to underwrite title deeds and so on.

It's a rort and Mike Baird is a greasy little prick, playing Mr Reasonable to the gallery when he's as hidebound to ideology as Milton Friedman.

Trump "style" sheepdog.

And it's two party preferred...... there will always be two parties...... who are also preferred.....and also big.....

The whole demographic that rocked up on the day in the US was different to previous years, due to non-compulsory voting. Lets not turn this into yet another trump thread though, as that wasn't the point I was making.

Would you get out of bed to vote for someone you hated? In Australia we have to. The yanks don't. And they didn't. Following yet?

The membership of the ALP/LNP is actually bugger all in the scheme of things. Hardly reflective of a nations voting preferences. 55,000 red coats & 80,000 blue coats. That's only 0.58% in total who are affiliated.

Have you ever thought about how to change the status quo? The only way at the moment is to vote for anyone other than the "big two" or hope they disintegrate.

wow. your dad did a good job. maybe too good a job -- now some liberal donour wants that $50m a year.

the Land Titles Office sale is such a blatant and obvious scam. i don't see how this one is going to prove patable -- evey home owner paying title insurance of around $1000 annually.

Gaz, if anybody owns the big 2 political parties its big business and their lobby groups. Want to help change that? have real-time public disclosure of political donations.

Compulsory voting: the only politicians I've heard of not in favour of it are conservatives. Its another way they can maintain the status quo and their capital base because the most motivated voters are those with something to lose. Non-Compulsory voting is a con as the disenfranchised don't vote as much because their life experience shows them there is nothing in it for them.

Speaking about not voting, I think I heard 400,000 young Australians eligible to vote at the last Federal election did not register in time. Now if true that's a massive protest non-vote.

I think One Nation's website is short on detail or is it facts or both? It would make an interesting case study for Year 10 English class or perhaps an entry level business writing course. To think Hanson and her fellow Senators are on massive salaries plus electoral allowances and they present public documents of such a poor standard. It amazes me she gets away with it.

That book would be freely available these days, a true classic and worth a read.

You know what amazes me Guysmiley ?

It's how impressed otherwise intelligent people are with a modicum of spit , polish and professional spin.

Take the LNP - sure they've got an amazing website and policies ( maybe , I've never looked ) but then they'll throw every pre election policy straight out the window as soon as elected anyway .

So is it the fact that people like their lies well presented that makes the difference do you think ?

Same goes for people deriding Trump or Hanson because they are not " expert " politicians....do they actually believe Scott Morrison is an economics expert worthy of running the national economy for example ?

I'm not deriding Hanson for not being an expert politician Blowin, in fact, I would argue we need more diversity in parliament away from the career political operatives we have now, mostly law graduates and former employees of "stink tanks" like the IPA. Real people with real backgrounds.

My point about Hanson's website is her ideas and policies should be presented in a more professional and coherent manner if she expects people to take her seriously. What would One Nation's annual budget be considering public money and donations? $4-5 million or more? In the absence of any obvious intelligence amongst her senators (I'm thinking Malcolm Roberts here) surely she can hire someone with sufficient english language and administrative skills to write and arrange her policies; what's there now is a dog's breakfast of detail and writing styles, e.g. some policy statements seem to be shoddy cut and paste jobs from poorly written speeches.

Having said all that I also take your point about spit, polish and spin elsewhere, bloody everywhere.

blowin, some her website stuff is kinda embarrassing. here's one that should cut close to your heart....house prices. have a read and notice not a single mention of CGT and NG. its all "chinese this" and "chinese that". dont get me wrong, i believe chinese investments (along with other foreign nationals) is contributing to the hurt, but blaming foreigners solely is not a comprehensive policy agenda. this is what i mean when i said her policies are not clearly thought through.

I think it's completely natural to have two main political parties, if you only had one you would have a problem with democracy, and if there was many of a similar size it would be natural for some to band together to gain advantage over the others, which would work for a while but eventually you would end up with two main ones again.

And they are always going to be seen as right and left, and people are always going to think each one is too left or too right.

Then off course you are going to have all these other smaller parties with silly niche policies to try to pick up voters that feel strongly about one issue, or policies that are not realistic at all but parties know it will get them votes (Greens are the masters at this)

“The vaccination is my personal opinion,” she said. “It has nothing to do with this election. It is not an issue ... on the floor of parliament.”

weak as piss.

indo, loved your muslim country comparison post. but australia did vote in [a] female prime minister....remember.

"Make islam admit it's not a religion"

It doesn't even make sense is islam an entity? Who is she addressing? As far as i know islam has no world wide governance and is interpreted differently far and wide.

Indo, the following countries have multi-party political systems -
Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, Moldova, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia and Ukraine.

In other words, there are some of the world's most stable, fair, equitable social democracies in that list.

There is also a lot (I mean heaps) of evidence showing that a two party system is a pretty crap political system.

@ Andy Well there goes that theory then.

@ HappyasS oh yes she did actually get voted in, in 2010 yeah...whoops two screw ups.

Apparently the WA Barnett government is about to get an absolute flogging.
Hanson factor? we will have to wait and see.

http://www.theage.com.au/wa-news/wa-election-2017/leaked-liberal-polling...

Re the "power crisis"..... Why in hell aren't we doing this????? Neverending supply - baseload, free, green, etc etc etc.... Why isn't it even in the conversation? Some regions of Australia have MASSIVE tides.... And lots of rivers with breakwalls enhance water flow....
It's a no brainer.

http://www.marineturbines.com/Tidal-Energy

I had never even heard of it but that's definitely an eye opener

Testify!

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/mar/29/neoliberalism-has...

Oh yeah, anyone else catch The (un) Australian being caught out (yet again) in the 'fake news' dept regarding McManus? Yeah, nah??

As The Australian continues to preach to the converted and drive away any fence sitters...

To me, they're digging themselves a deeper hole.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/mar/30/attack-on-union-leader-sal...

As a cynical naive optimist, I think the tide's well on the turn amongst the general public.

I'm a believer in an issue needing to reach a critical mass and then change becomes natural e.g. female voting, indigenous citizenship, the environment as a real concern, climate change...

So can "neoliberalism has had its day" filter through the commercial press to John and Jane Average? Obviously The Australian won't change their tune but will channels 7, 9 and 10, for example, yield under changing opinion?

Hope so.

the tide is surely turning. the right are on the wrong side of history. a bunch of old men desperately trying to prop up coal and squabbling with themselves about marrriage equality while the world moves on.

the australian is just waiting for rupert to die, then it's over.

Well now that 18C is over they can save on print costs - only have half as many stories to run.

Je Suis Bill Leak!

Bill said the right thing and he gets whacked - go figure.

You fuck one goat .........

Hah!

Was he fearless or just doing his master's bidding? Would've loved to see him "say the right thing" about the monopolisation of media, the Leveson inquiry, or tabloid gutter tactics.

But, but... Leaky was "the bravest man I've ever known!" (according to Greg Sheridan of The - you guessed it - Australian)

Google it. It's quite a love-letter.

Actually, kinda cringey and tragic in all its over-blown glory.

Then again, Greg Sheridan (Abbott's bestie) is a lick-spittle par excellence. Maybe Australia's greatest ever, ever, ever. FIGJAMMER!

Stu, you need to see what Bill said even before his worked was published by the Aus. So ask, why was the Human Rights Commissioner encouraging complaints on his comment. He did say the right thing.

The right thing about what?

The right stuff! Send in the clowns...

https://www.buzzfeed.com/markdistefano/18-c-town?utm_term=.xaj6DdbPp#.oi...

Mark Latham has lashed out at Sky news boss for sacking him ...... The Guardian's Facebook page wins the internet this week, with the heading "Old man yells at Sky" :P

In this case, it was leak's comment re aboriginal policeman, child and father. This is what the complaint was based on. At least we have new procedures to be followed by the HRC. You would have to feel for the indigenous lady who brought on the complaint re the QUT lab. Have a think of the cost, her career, fellow council members and the others.

Why was that "the right thing"? The majority of Aboriginals don't live in the outback, they live in cities - think it's about 72/25. Sure, there are issues to be fixed, I'm not ignoring them, but Leak's attempts at satire were akin to clear felling a forest to fix the weeds. Leak's defining trope isn't specific it encompasses the whole race: desert, urban, suburban, professional, athelete, every one of them.

We live two doors down from an Aboriginal family who already have enough to deal with leave alone have their kids negotiate last-century racism sustained by clumsy oafs like Bill Leak and The Australian.

The Stolen Generation was also viewed as "the right thing to do" once upon a time.

This afternoon The Australian has FIVE articles on 18C. I can't recall any issue with as much disparity between public discourse and what's being pushed by vested interests.

Greg Sheridan is also mates with (and defender) of George Pell. Great mates he has!!

I don't get this 18c debate at all. Every ethnic group and representative council in the country is opposed to any change to the wording, i.e. the very people that are likely to be racially vilified just like Stu's neighbours yet we have this select group of old white men of privilege and power wanting the change. I just see it as part of the neo-cons attack on multiculturalism and it also feeds into their agenda to demonise certain ethnic and religious groups.

Stu, I can understand why many may have viewed that cartoon as 'racist'. But when many indigenous leaders come out in support, like Marcia Langton (who is not afraid to speak out), Mundine, Dodson then it makes you review what the cartoon was really trying to say. The ABC published an article on this -
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-09/bill-leak-backs-indigenous-dads-mo...
Regardless , the cartoon was found not be racist and the complaint withdrawn.

I understand what the cartoon was trying to say. That point isn't lost on me. However, I think it's a crude method of delivery when a considered reaction is called for, and it simply extends the torment to other quarters of the population.

Also, to be fair, Langton's support was tangential, equivocating, and contingent upon 'a wider discussion', which never took place anyway - maybe because The Oz has devoted so much energy to an issue no-one cares about?

And don't say Aboriginal health depends upon 18C, because it patently does not, there's just one point of crossover which The Oz utterly exhausts as it roundly ignores the rest of the issue. Think about it, they've run two to three articles on 18C a day, EVERY SINGLE DAY, and how many on deaths in custody or Indigenous DV, which are the matters it purports to fight for?

Lastly, I could particularly care less about an ad hoc argument for consenus compiled by The Oz to defend themselves and their issue du jour, which, let's face it, is a red rag for a small corps of conservatives and an utter waste of time for everyone else.

And in breaking news on this fine day...

http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2017/03/31/mark-latham-free-spee...

The inconvenient truth. If you are shooting OZ paper then you are shooting the messenger. The HRC made it a 18C issue. Well, yes the OZ did push the 18C. Have to say, it did generate a lot of debate and yes, it was aimed to debate the health issue of the 18C. I'm sure you note that the Fairfax did not, at all, publish anything about the QUT case. Why ? And more importantly, no talk about the impact that had on Ms Prior and the Council that supported her. Just think what she must be going thru. The court costs, her career and then of the other members of the indigenous Council that supported her.
Yeah, we can hate the Murdoch and by no means am I suggesting it's an unbiased source. But it would be nice to get some facts and less opinion.

"It is apparently far more important not to offend, than it is to speak honestly about Australian citizens being killed in this country" Jacinta Price, National Press Club.

It's not just about one cartoon. It's about a culture that has developed over decades that is not serving the people it once intended to.

Three very very brave aboriginal women break ranks to the national press club no less, only to be largely ignored by much of the media.

I hate to bring trumpo into this, but this is the 'fake news' people are pissed with. When significant events and developments are overlooked or under reported because it does not suit a (mainly liberal) press agenda.

Langton presents some startling statistics, that are no doubt under representative, due to a culture within the people and the media

make some time to watch it all!

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-17/national-press-club:-ending-the-vi...

Latham hey? I don't mind Latham, but that may well be a step too far

April fools?

Stay tuned...

https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/-rejoining-th...

Phillip Lowe's pointed criticisms last night about tax breaks fuelling unsustainable house prices are leading every single news outlet this morning. It's a topic that's been simmering away for months and the feeling is it'll only heat up from here.

Just to pan out for a moment...compare this to The Libs and The Australian's confected concern about 18C that's gone on for years. Large slices of parliamentary time, policy making, and news reporting have gone into an issue that the PM himself said "About 100 people care about." 

House prices directly concern a great many more people, and if the bubble bursts then no-one will escape the fallout, and yet the Libs have batted it away while fixating on an indulgence that almost no-one could give a fuck about.

Who are they serving?