Australia - you're standing in it
gsco wrote:Either authoritarian communism creeping up on Australia or Australia is moving towards information control mode in preparation for military warfare with China.
Interesting how in virtually every TV drama featuring an authoritarian plot to take over government and impose draconian control over the population, the villains are from the far right. BBC has done so many of these you lose count. But in reality, it seems the far left is far more likely and able to head down this path through laws such as the misinformation bill and through very clever Orwellian use of language, media control, narrative dominance and cancel culture methods.
truebluebasher wrote:Govt are drafting Misinformation Bill
20th Aug 2023 Cut off to Have yer Say / submissions
https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/have-your-say/new-acma-powers-combat-m...
tbb did read thru a fair chunk of it...Kinda waffles on about nuthin' much but grants them flexi power.
In our case...Ben already said as much!
Mostly directed toward swellnet to Flag us ruffians rather than ACMA deleting our comments.Bill innocently seems to offer Govt flexi power to cover all IT changes for all manner of Events...
Meaning they can change directive to suit their needs.
Like during an election...Ruling Govt lays down their weakest link as a no go zone & removal fasttrack.
[Factchecker] : 'Pork Barrel' or 'Rort' are not relevant to our honest Serving PM...$50,000 fine...each!
Throw as much shit at the PM's electoral bubble but it won't stick...simply slides off.But! Govt / News / Pro Satire are exempt & can spread & print as many lies as they like...sounds fair!
Kinda like the Govt's Prime Time Court Jester can undermine opposition by saying any shit he likes!
No rules for them & heaps more rules upon us...just the we like it & the way it should be...All say Aye!
More of the same...Like who'd wanna change that!Another broad brush...(Serious Harm) Sounds scary!
As in harming the economy...you brute! Ok ...which one of you swellnet louts just harmed our economy!
+
"Him...that swellnet Bully there...He undermined the Integrity of an Australian Democratic Process!"
Think the dobber means the crew can't say anything about The Govt...Oops! Does that count?
You bet that sounds serious! You'd better have yer say!Anyhow...if any think they can "Strike an Appropriate Balance"
Crew can always direct yer Fan Mail to The Big House...thanx for making a stand...Legend!
Ah well, it's been nice being on Swellnet. Joined after an article on the improbability of a 100ft wave, and well, here we are with lots of them now.
What's a mischievous fella who loves chaos and farce to do without this kind of outlet to post in? What's to be done?
Ah fear not lads. I believe over on Planet X y’all be welcomed with open arms.
'“Did you really think we want those laws observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them to be broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against... We're after power and we mean it... There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Reardon, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with.”'
Dr Ferris goes gangsta in Atlas Shrugged.
information control and censorship is the new liberalism
The need for information control and censorship expands in proportion to the mismatch between those in power's preferred narrative and the reality of events or the normal human reactions to said events. In short, it is warning sign that something is not right. The louder and more constant the narrative message or the more squashed any alternative view is, the more you should be concerned and skeptical.
I was listening to Jim Rickards today and he said he reads the New York Times and the Washington Post to better understand what those in power do not want the US public to know or believe on major events as clues as to when to dig deeper. This is especially true on geopolitics and big finance / market news where major power plays are occurring or huge $$$s are at stake.
What is odd is that this used to be province of the right aligned with big business. The shift of narrative control in conjunction with some media and some big business involved firmly to the left is quite a momentous change. Maybe those in power realised the language and messaging tools of the left are stronger and can be dressed up as a wolf in sheep's more easily. Who can say social justice, inclusiveness or being safe is wrong?
Why doesn't the Coalition want more information on this???
The whole thing stinks....
https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/brittany-higg...
Better economic managers? That's a joke right.
Alan Kohler: The extraordinary delusion and madness of crowds of consultants.
The Australian public service cohabits with copious consultants because of three hiring freezes imposed by Coalition governments over the past 10 years.
The Abbott government froze all hirings in 2013 for 18 months, resulting in the loss of about 11,000 jobs; the Turnbull government did it again in 2016, but more targeted – it only applied to a few departments, and 5000 jobs went; the Morrison government imposed another freeze in 2020 in response to COVID-19 that went for six months and resulted in the loss of about 3000 positions.
The number of Australian Public Service (APS) employees has fallen from 168,206 in June 2012 to 159,469 in June last year, while the amount of work they have to do has increased – a lot.
It must have been a deliberate decision by the Coalition to outsource government employment because departmental budgets for consultants seem to have been raised at the same time as hiring was frozen.
In May, the Australian National Audit Office found that the Morrison government had engaged 53,900 full-time equivalents as consultants at a cost of $20.8 billion, or $385,185 each, while capping actual employment.
It meant the public service was actually a third bigger than anyone thought.
The average charge-out rates for the big four accounting firms – PwC, KPMG, EY and Deloitte – range from $250 to $500 per hour.
The highest APS wage – the maximum total salary for SES 3 in the public service pay scales – is $540,600, which works out to be $260 per hour.
In other words, the lowest-cost consultants are invoiced at the same rate as the highest-paid public servants.
No savings
Here’s another way to look at it: Those 53,900 individual consultants engaged by the Morrison government could all have been employed in the APS Senior Executive Service on higher salaries than they were getting from their firms and it would have cost the government less.
It’s delusion and madness for that reason alone, but there is more to it than money.
The Coalition doesn’t trust public servants and private consultants can’t be trusted, as we are now learning.
There is a fundamental difference between the governance of these two ways of working for the government: Members of the APS and their budgets are subject to rigorous scrutiny and full transparency through the Parliament’s budget estimates process; private consulting contracts are usually “commercial in confidence” and the opposite of transparent.
The misuse by PwC of confidential tax information has been fully aired and is getting a going over in a parliamentary inquiry. On Monday, the ABC’s Four Corners dug out some more dirt in the relationships between government departments and the big four accounting firms, in particular KPMG.
Differing expectations
As the think tank Per Capita wrote in its submission to the parliamentary inquiry sparked by the PwC scandal: “Where the public service requires transparency and accountability in both its core values and in expectations of public servants (APS Code of Conduct), no such statutory requirement exists for private consulting firms.”
The government’s own Public Service Commission wrote in its submission: “Individuals providing consulting services to the APS are not employed under the PS Act, and are therefore not required to uphold the APS Values and Employment Principles, nor comply with the APS Code of Conduct.”
The submission from Dr Alistair Ping of Ethics Advisory Services (yes, a consultant) is interesting.
He says that most people in the consulting industry are good people with good intentions, and that unethical outcomes occur gradually and then suddenly – “a person makes a small bad decision which then starts them sliding down the slippery slope to disaster”. He adds that simply weeding out the bad apples is not going to deal with what is a complex systemic problem.
Public discussion about the problem is coalescing around the lack of transparency and oversight highlighted by Per Capita and others in their submissions, due largely to the application of “commercial in confidence” clauses, but while that’s undoubtedly true, it’s only part of the story.
Profit free
More broadly, government is fundamentally different to the private sector because of the absence of profit.
All businesses exist to make a profit and reward the owners who provided the capital. While the individual consultants who are assigned to a project with a government department are simply paid salaries, they are also profit centres within the business – the charge-out rate covers salary plus overheads plus profit for the partners.
What’s more, while Dr Ping is undoubtedly right that they are mostly good people with good intentions, their intentions mainly involve generating a profit. The annual performance appraisals are done by the boss at the consulting firm, not the government, and their careers depend on the profits they generate and how they get on at the firm.
A few things need to happen.
The inquiry has highlighted the fragmented regulation of consultants and the way their partnership models limit reporting and accountability, since the partners are owners, not employees.
Obviously regulation needs to be harmonised, especially as it concerns government work, and some thought should be given to whether partnerships are the right model for large businesses supplying the government.
In its submission, EY actually called for a “comprehensive, federal, regulatory framework for all professional services providers to the government, that is evidence-based and strengthens the requirement to act in the public interest”. KPMG supported EY, so that’s coming.
Need for a royal commission
The government has announced that Treasury will now do a review of the regulation of the major accounting firms that will look, among other things, at whether the partnership model is appropriate, given their size and the importance of the audit work for companies.
A royal commission would be better, in my view. Yes, there have been a few of these lately, but they have a habit of getting to the truth and coming up with the right answers.
On government consulting, a royal commission could look behind the “commercial in confidence” veil and put everything on the table – good and bad – as well as provide a complete picture of how consultants have been replacing public servants, and at what cost.
Royal commissions are wonderful things when done properly and this industry is no less deserving of judicial scrutiny than banking and financial services was in 2017, aged care in 2018 and Robodebt in 2022.
And the clown show continues…
- this from a US publication called ‘bluewaterhealthyliving.com’ ;);)
As part of our wonderful aukus alliance, apparently the pentagon feels Australia has lots of wide open spaces that are ‘unpopulated’ so it’s only reasonable and fair to assume we would like the US military industrial complex to test new weaponry including hypersonic missiles here.
https://bluewaterhealthyliving.com/pentagon-eyes-missile-testing-role-fo...
This is fucking ridiculous… Who exactly has been consulted for this ? How many Australians actually think this is a good idea - let alone want this ? How will this benefit Australians and how will it contribute to or enhance the environmental conservation of this country ?
- we gotta be dumber than dogshit to accomodate or even entertain such uncle tomfoolery…
Australia - you’re standing in it.
The Australian media (apart from: Stu) may be about to lose it's job:
https://www.crikey.com.au/2023/08/09/news-corp-ai-articles-journalism/
Given the helping hand parts of them gave Mitsubishi, Ford, the Navy, some might be cheering as this happens.
Jelly Flater wrote:And the clown show continues…
- this from a US publication called ‘bluewaterhealthyliving.com’ ;);)
As part of our wonderful aukus alliance, apparently the pentagon feels Australia has lots of wide open spaces that are ‘unpopulated’ so it’s only reasonable and fair to assume we would like the US military industrial complex to test new weaponry including hypersonic missiles here.
https://bluewaterhealthyliving.com/pentagon-eyes-missile-testing-role-fo...
This is fucking ridiculous… Who exactly has been consulted for this ? How many Australians actually think this is a good idea - let alone want this ? How will this benefit Australians and how will it contribute to or enhance the environmental conservation of this country ?
- we gotta be dumber than dogshit to accomodate or even entertain such uncle tomfoolery…
Australia - you’re standing in it.
Dunno if you are based in the West Jelly - ever surfed the Navy Bombing Range? Epic shape on it's day. Beautiful area locked away from development - won't be suburbs in a hurry and when open to the public, preserves a lot of the feel of exploring the coast in days gone by - if you choose a day not chockers with other 4x4s these days, that is.
And here's another one - just for your reading pleasure:
“When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing - When you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors - When you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you - When you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice - You may know that your society is doomed.”
Wilhelm Scream wrote:#Did Someone Unironically Quote Ayn Rand??
Hahahahahahaha
#Beam Me Up
Jelly Flater wrote:And the clown show continues…
- this from a US publication called ‘bluewaterhealthyliving.com’ ;);)
As part of our wonderful aukus alliance, apparently the pentagon feels Australia has lots of wide open spaces that are ‘unpopulated’ so it’s only reasonable and fair to assume we would like the US military industrial complex to test new weaponry including hypersonic missiles here.
https://bluewaterhealthyliving.com/pentagon-eyes-missile-testing-role-fo...
This is fucking ridiculous… Who exactly has been consulted for this ? How many Australians actually think this is a good idea - let alone want this ? How will this benefit Australians and how will it contribute to or enhance the environmental conservation of this country ?
- we gotta be dumber than dogshit to accomodate or even entertain such uncle tomfoolery…
Australia - you’re standing in it.
Don't mention Maralinga...
Wilhelm Scream wrote:#FFS What Have We Been Saddled With Here??
https://johnmenadue.com/marcus-strom-aukus-is-a-mad-bad-and-dangerous-wa...
Outrageous really... No words
AUKUS or no AUKUS,
Can’t imagine why countries are increasingly nervous about China though.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/6/philippines-says-china-used-a-wa...
Well, if you’re questioning the premise of AUKUS, not really.
(At least on the surface* anyway)
I do get why people are questioning nuke subs. Totally. Fair question as to why them that I don’t think has been subject to any form of public debate.
I think there’s a degree of wilful naïveté about the trajectory of the PRC. And its intentions. And some interesting interpretations of its actions in places like the West Philippine Sea.
*#nopunintended
Quotes from that book are kryptonite IB, they cannot resist them
“All warfare is based on deception…” ;)
- sunny zoo bro
Kyle Bass lays out a credible outline of the evidence trail for China's Tawain plans - from a financial analyst perspective not the usual chest full of medals angle.
He also makes a case for sooner action for the purpose of surprise than later (2024!)
https://www.youtube.com/live/98kMSEkPiLo?feature=share
Aukus subs may be a decade or two too late.
Scotty....
https://m.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/2023/08/14/aukus-debate-labor-c... At this week’s ALP national conference, delegates will vote on a proposal to remove an expression of support for the AUKUS security pact in Labor’s platform.
Supafreak wrote:https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/2023/08/14/aukus-debate-labor-c... At this week’s ALP national conference, delegates will vote on a proposal to remove an expression of support for the AUKUS security pact in Labor’s platform.
Not a huge fan these days of RB but has some good points here.
AUKUS, what a shit show for Australia.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/us-grip-over-...
That’s a great article by independentaustralia.net
- doesn’t sound so great for Australia tho.
Kind of voids the whole sovereign nation idea we try cling to…
Jelly Flater wrote:That’s a great article by independentaustralia.net
- doesn’t sound so great for Australia tho.Kind of voids the whole sovereign nation idea we try cling to…
Yep... And sweet FA consultation with the Australian people. Dare say it will have further reaching consequences than The Voice...
how can this even be a thing in 2023?!!
‘This is Australia in 2023” 💔#StopLandClearing @BobBrownFndn pic.twitter.com/gFMatsAaPx
— Sophie McNeill (@Sophiemcneill) August 15, 2023
labor, your climate change 'credentials' are a hoax
amongst other things
(its not even about climate change!!)
sypkan wrote:how can this even be a thing in 2023?!!
https://twitter.com/Sophiemcneill/status/1691431231316217857
labor, your climate change 'credentials' are a hoax
amongst other things
(its not even about climate change!!)
FFS just stop it Albo...
yep, just heartbreaking
(but tanya plays a big talk game...)
https://michaelwest.com.au/the-big-four-and-the-steep-cost-of-a-shadow-w...
Decades of rot. Public service might not be ‘efficient’, but it actually costs less than outsourcing to the big 4. And you get experienced organisations. Can be a double edged sword - bureaucracies can become lazy, bloated and incredibly resistant to change - but having seen the cancerous influence of consultants up close, I reckon MW is spot on here.
andy-mac wrote:Scotty....
He’s still here because he’s Scott no home !!!! AW
Still true to form today ;)
- and an accurate representation of the policy making capabilities of the australian political brains trust…
https://m.
etarip wrote:https://michaelwest.com.au/the-big-four-and-the-steep-cost-of-a-shadow-w...
Decades of rot. Public service might not be ‘efficient’, but it actually costs less than outsourcing to the big 4. And you get experienced organisations. Can be a double edged sword - bureaucracies can become lazy, bloated and incredibly resistant to change - but having seen the cancerous influence of consultants up close, I reckon MW is spot on here.
I agree, and have experiences there.
My first full time job out of school was as a trainee landscape draftsman for the SA Highways Dept, Public Service. We always had the best of everything, in every aspect, no cutting corners in the slightest. And deluxe quality of life. People are people, but bottom line, the lifestyle and job quality was high, and money flowed throughout the community. There was way less whinging about corruption than now, less debt than now, and way more security and light at the end of the tunnel.
When I moved to Elliston it had 3 regional Public Service depots, ETSA, SA Water, Telstra, and a beautiful hospital, SA Health. Again, best of everything. Including lifestyle, heaps of money in the community, jobs. Way, way less whinging, way better service. Security and light at the end of the tunnel.
I had left Adelaide before the privatization and slashers came in. One of my best mates was the gun in bridge design, on the ground, organized building them. Mega experienced and mega qualified. The most experienced person in the state, decades of the best of everything. He used to fill me in on the whole privatization slasher thing. Cost cutting, battling slashers, hollywood stars, who’s the best robot, substandard everything. The ‘Titanic’ on replay. He was in a great position. ‘Fuck you’, took a package. Let the debacles, the sinking begin. ‘Titanic’ still playing. In no time he owned them, and called the shots, set his own price, or, ‘fuck off, and have a nice sinking.’ Many years later they still beg him to come in and mop up the messes, fix up the leaks. They can’t cost cut him. Pay peanuts, you get monkeys. But the peanut vendors get richer. And they only eat macadamias.
More debt than ever before, no security, crap service. Worst working conditions ever. Don’t believe me? Just look at the forums, happy campers all round! Still not sure? Here’s a good one for you then. Sign up.
https://www.glassdoor.com.au/Salaries/adult-apprentice-glazier-salary-SR....
Deluxe working conditions, make sure your will’s up to date though, you’ll want to spread the debt around so it doesn’t hit the family too hard. And make sure your ‘Titanic Private Health Cover Inc.’ is up to date… no loopholes… good luck with that! Claim should be a nice simple exercise.
‘Nah, fuck that just give me the windows, and the lenses for the 3 poles and dribs cameras. Let some other poor schmuck make ‘em.’ Dog eat dog, born in the USA, family!
Elliston got smashed, the whole peninsula did. Slash and burn, ‘Aye, you, bring us more macadamias, pronto! Here’s a peanut for ya troubles, but eat it on ya own time!
‘But I don’t knock off till midnight!’
‘I gotta crash love, I’m fucked, how’s the kids, you had a big one too aye.’
‘Yeh I got punched out in a covid ward’.
‘Hey luv, I can’t eat it, the fuckin’ thing’s stale… fuck the alarms going off, I got another shift… faaark!!!’
sypkan wrote:how can this even be a thing in 2023?!!
https://twitter.com/Sophiemcneill/status/1691431231316217857
labor, your climate change 'credentials' are a hoax
amongst other things
(its not even about climate change!!)
That's really sad Sypkan. In 2003 (20 years ago!) I was out on a survey run in the Florentine valley, and coming to my site I stopped to marvel at the valley below me and just how thick with big trees and impervious the canopy was. I checked the far peaks and knew the direction I was looking on the map, and marvelled at it. Then I heard the chain saws. Couldn't see them or the road in, but heard the fucking things.
When you come from one of the drier parts of Australia, a really big tree is a most magnificent and precious thing. I must've spent a year in wonder down there on my site runs out into the bush. And when conditions got wetter than the big swamp gums dominated in, maybe down toward Geeveston way for example, or out into the SW, then you got a real treat and began to see the Celery Top pines, the Huon pines, the temperate rainforest undergrowth with the sassafras and the native pepper etc etc. Hike up higher and you see the moraines and the incredible King Billys. Leave the Florentine be.
velocityjohnno wrote:sypkan wrote:how can this even be a thing in 2023?!!
https://twitter.com/Sophiemcneill/status/1691431231316217857
labor, your climate change 'credentials' are a hoax
amongst other things
(its not even about climate change!!)
That's really sad Sypkan. In 2003 (20 years ago!) I was out on a survey run in the Florentine valley, and coming to my site I stopped to marvel at the valley below me and just how thick with big trees and impervious the canopy was. I checked the far peaks and knew the direction I was looking on the map, and marvelled at it. Then I heard the chain saws. Couldn't see them or the road in, but heard the fucking things.
When you come from one of the drier parts of Australia, a really big tree is a most magnificent and precious thing. I must've spent a year in wonder down there on my site runs out into the bush. And when conditions got wetter than the big swamp gums dominated in, maybe down toward Geeveston way for example, or out into the SW, then you got a real treat and began to see the Celery Top pines, the Huon pines, the temperate rainforest undergrowth with the sassafras and the native pepper etc etc. Hike up higher and you see the moraines and the incredible King Billys. Leave the Florentine be.
Pulled up behind a log truck in Devonport once and it had one log on it. Front to back, side to side was all log.
CPAC 2023: the Christian Nationalists taking over the Coalition
( Lucy Hamilton and the AIM Network )
It is hard to gauge the importance of the Trumpist Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event that took place in Sydney this weekend. There were more high-profile figures speaking than previously, and several currently serving politicians alongside white supremacists and antisemites.
CPAC’s budget did not allow the recreation of the Nazi “odal” rune stage shape that emerged in the 2021 American version. The organisers did maintain the spirit of trolling the left into futile outrage against deniable provocations: the weekend’s press passes were slapped with the words “fake news” in large print.
Despite claims that it was a sold-out event, there seemed to be many empty seats. It was streamed live on Alan Jones’s low-rating “network” ADH TV and the production values seemed intent on making the show look a glitzy echo of the American parent on a TV screen. The man behind the “network,” conspiracy-peddling Maurice Newman, was on the speaker list with several ADH TV presenters. This suggests the weekend was as much about raising the profile of Australia’s further-right-than-Sky viewing option for the base. It is not alleged that key ADH TV funder Jamie Packer was present over the weekend.
So, while CPAC remains a fringe event in the Australian scene, there were several key political figures there. Orbanist Tony Abbott gave the keynote speech. Warren Mundine is Board Chairman of the Australian CPAC organisation, so the Coalition’s No campaign to the Voice to Parliament was at the core of the weekend’s speeches.
The Liberal Party insurgency was represented by Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Alex Antic, Bev McArthur and Ted O’Brien. Of course, the insurgency’s poster girl Moira Deeming appeared twice. Former Liberal politicians Amanda Stoker, Bronwyn Bishop and Gary Hardgrave also spoke. Matt Camenzuli, formerly of the NSW state Liberal executive, both spoke and performed as one of the most exhilarated cheerleaders for the day on social media. He celebrated meeting the deeply unpleasant Barclay McGain at the event, extolling him as a youthful “fellow dissident.”
The Nationals were represented by current and former leadership: John Anderson, Barnaby Joyce, Bridget McKenzie and Keith Pitt presented. It seems there was no need for the white supremacists to infiltrate the National Party back in 2018; they are now appearing on platforms alongside people posting antisemitic and white supremacist barely-coded material without that coup succeeding.
The threat remains: if these radical Christian Nationalist, truth-distorting and conspiracy-peddling politicians take the reins of the Coalition fully, a “conservative” vote in Australia becomes a vote for the extreme fringe. Watching what percentage of their base is ready to be further radicalised is key to evaluating our risk.
Moira Deeming’s solo speech on Saturday was redolent with self-pity. She describes herself as an “Independent Liberal” MP and is full of her own martyrdom. She spoke of having been “publicly stoned” for her bad judgement in appearing at a rally where Neo Nazis provided security, over and above the CPAC funding the event had received. Deeming made the typical far right assertion that Nazis are actually socialists to frame distance between herself and fascism. She also appeared mistaken when she asserted that there was no interaction between the Nazis and the anti-trans speakers at the March event. Obviously Ms Deeming is poorly educated and grossly ignorant.
The weekend’s nadir was a “comedy” routine by the corporate hoax speaker, Rodney Marks. His performance as “Chaim Tsibos” was a diatribe of ghastly anti-First Nations racism in a Jewish caricature. He began with an acknowledgment of “the traditional rent-seekers past, present and emerging” before rejigging his tribute to the “Traditional owners: violent black men” with particular notice for “woman-basher Bennelong.”
Apparently not performing as a failing comedian was former Labor MP Gary Johns, who took recent scandals about blood testing people to determine their degree of Aboriginality and escalated his provocation. He distanced himself from the prejudice displayed in his words by crediting them to Price’s father, Dave Price. “If you want a voice, learn English. That’s your voice.” The only answer, he asserted, is for Aboriginal people to stop sitting “there outside the economy, playing out the role of an Aboriginal person” because “being Aboriginal is not enough.”
American speaker Elijah Schaffer was perhaps the ugliest figure on the list – to the point that CPAC scrubbed his name from the menu of speakers but not his actual speech which went ahead. He focused on fighting “white guilt” and opposing immigration’s harm to a (white) Australia. Amongst other (repeat) speakers was Trump’s scandalous former acting Attorney-General Matt Whitaker, who continued spreading Trump’s lies about the 2020 election in Sydney.
Any serving politician who shared a podium with these men ought to be made to answer for their appalling judgement in choosing to appear at CPAC, home to Trumpist troll politics.
The IPA and Menzies Research Centre “think” tanks were enthusiastic participants. Christian Nationalist figures were well represented in the event’s presenters. Rachel Wong of the Christian right Women’s Forum Australia and Lyle Shelton were both speakers. The Australian Christian Lobby CEO Michelle Pearse railed against the banning of human rights-abusing gay “conversion therapy.” Christian nationalist “thought leader” Evelyn Rae was dropped from the speaker list at the last minute.
The weekend continued the usual apocalyptic tone from the Right. The war of values is existential. On the dark side is the Voice to Parliament and climate action. The existence of trans people was constantly demonised, with them depicted wrongly as a threat to women and children. Alan Jones redeployed the ridiculous kitty litter hoax from the American anti LGBTQIA+ propaganda networks. Barnaby Joyce warned against the dangers of politicians with the “wrong conviction,” alluded to supporting abortion as one of the loathed progressive values that we must escape. He bemoaned that being a politician of conviction, by his standards, can look like derision, ridicule, hate, jail and death. The founders of the fundraising platform of white supremacists, Give Send Go, depicted abortion and trans health care as crimes they would not support.
The motto of CPAC Australia 2023 was “We are one,” an echo of the QAnon mantra “Where we go one, we go all.” That apocalyptic conspiracy has pervaded the Christian Nationalist movement, and many disparate factions united at CPAC to fight for their paranoid reactionary politics tied to that banner.
Lyle Shelton quoted Maurice Newman approvingly when he stated, “Laugh it off if you like, but there are parallels between Germany 1933 and Australia 2023.” As one of the few observers who could stand to watch the entire weekend’s events observed: “I actually couldn’t agree more with this, those parallels were on stage at CPAC Australia this weekend.”
albo, man of the people...
Aussies with cost-of-living pressures who think politicians are paid too much won’t be happy with this move to bump up their salaries > https://t.co/H3kwFyJDYc pic.twitter.com/KMM0GwSpwT
— Herald Sun (@theheraldsun) August 29, 2023
and an absolutely detached tosser
Not sure whose photo this is but it’s doing the rounds. It’s not doing @AlboMP any favours. pic.twitter.com/1cGRMOZAHY
— Hugh Riminton (@hughriminton) August 29, 2023
Yep, not a great look.
Why the previous govt did not insist on a stake (shares) in Qantas for all the money given or at least a pay back when profitable again is very curious. Why the present govt is not opening up competition is also very suspicious. They are either a private company or the national carrier, they cannot be both.
In my opinion they should have never been privatised, even if the govt did have to support them.
Joyce is loving life, ran a company that was never really profitable, got huge tax payer assistance, bent over workers, horrendous customer service and walks away with a $25 million parting gift.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/29/qantas-flight-cre...
Open transparent government!
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/30/office-of-nationa...
andy-mac wrote:Yep, not a great look.
Why the previous govt did not insist on a stake (shares) in Qantas for all the money given or at least a pay back when profitable again is very curious. Why the present govt is not opening up competition is also very suspicious. They are either a private company or the national carrier, they cannot be both.
In my opinion they should have never been privatised, even if the govt did have to support them.
Joyce is loving life, ran a company that was never really profitable, got huge tax payer assistance, bent over workers, horrendous customer service and walks away with a $25 million parting gift.https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/29/qantas-flight-cre...
Joyce really earned his salary!!
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/aug/31/accc-qantas-legal-actio...
Caaarn strayaaa !
https://m.
Go u good thing ;)
https://m.
"When thousands of dollars worth of tree seedlings went missing in a NSW nursery, everyone was very confused.
Eastern Forest Nursery owner Humphrey Herington first thought possums were the culprits, the Saturday Telegraph reported.
The mystery continued for two months as new leaves intended for koala habitat restoration projects would disappear overnight.
But one morning, Mr Herington caught the real thief in the act. It was a male koala in the midst of a food coma, too full to get away."
https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/claude-the-koala-goes...
velocityjohnno wrote:"When thousands of dollars worth of tree seedlings went missing in a NSW nursery, everyone was very confused.
Eastern Forest Nursery owner Humphrey Herington first thought possums were the culprits, the Saturday Telegraph reported.
The mystery continued for two months as new leaves intended for koala habitat restoration projects would disappear overnight.
But one morning, Mr Herington caught the real thief in the act. It was a male koala in the midst of a food coma, too full to get away."
https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/claude-the-koala-goes...
VJ. Good stuff, never a dull moment in the biological world. AW
Love the 'eat yourself into a stupor' stories
The latest installment of 'East Coast Energy Morons':
"What an amazing mess:
The energy transition was designed to have gas supplant coal while power storage caught down in cost. This would enable cheap and low-carbon output to firm intermittent renewables.
Instead, the gas export cartel sent all 0f the gas to China from 2014, including founding member, Origin Energy. Which also sponsored the Grattan Institute that advised the Gillard government against gas reservation in 2013.
As the local gas price skyrocketed into 2017, the Turnbull government panicked and commissioned the Snowy 2.0 project, which has now crowded out far cheaper power storage projects.
With power storage insufficient to firm rising intermittent renewable power, the gas all siphoned off by Origin and the cartel, NSW and VIC are resorting to publically sponsored coal-fired power to support the transition to no coal-fired power.
Origin Energy also owns Eraring, which will be publically subsidised!
It was all still salvageable when the gas cartel overreached into Ukraine War profiteering last year, but a gutless Albo gave in to it instead."
https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2023/09/coal-to-save-nsw-from-coal/
velocityjohnno said:The latest installment of 'East Coast Energy Morons':
"What an amazing mess:
The energy transition was designed to have gas supplant coal while power storage caught down in cost. This would enable cheap and low-carbon output to firm intermittent renewables.
Instead, the gas export cartel sent all 0f the gas to China from 2014, including founding member, Origin Energy. Which also sponsored the Grattan Institute that advised the Gillard government against gas reservation in 2013.
As the local gas price skyrocketed into 2017, the Turnbull government panicked and commissioned the Snowy 2.0 project, which has now crowded out far cheaper power storage projects.
With power storage insufficient to firm rising intermittent renewable power, the gas all siphoned off by Origin and the cartel, NSW and VIC are resorting to publically sponsored coal-fired power to support the transition to no coal-fired power.
Origin Energy also owns Eraring, which will be publically subsidised!
It was all still salvageable when the gas cartel overreached into Ukraine War profiteering last year, but a gutless Albo gave in to it instead."
https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2023/09/coal-to-save-nsw-from-coal/
What a grand thing to have a voice to parliament!
velocityjohnno wrote:The latest installment of 'East Coast Energy Morons':
"What an amazing mess:
The energy transition was designed to have gas supplant coal while power storage caught down in cost. This would enable cheap and low-carbon output to firm intermittent renewables.
Reading the AFR and SMH, there a plenty talking book about how Bowen, et al. need to 'double down', 'accelerate' renewables roll out - including fast tracking and removing environmental and social impact red tape. Imagine if any other proposal expected this treatment? The diffuse nature, and low energy density of renewables and the associated large firming necessary (transmission and storage) mean that impacts (enviro and social) are spread far and wide. Planning issues, along with technical ones are exascerbated for a renewable grid, compared to a centralised one.
The sales pitch of 'renewables are the cheapest form of energy' is missing many caveats.
Keeping Earing open is a no brainer for a Government that realises the political risk of energy reliability. The reality of what is possible with renewables and the political necessity of plentiful and reliable energy is catching up with polititians.
The recent departures from Fortescue are another indication of how those with an understanding of physics and politics can see that the talk of a renewables superpower (hydrogen, etc) might be a bit of hot air.
I dunno how it plays out mcbain. I want it to work and personally stuff like top of gulf SA looks magnificent, but EROEI suggests we might not be able to sustain a complex society on it.
well, there's an... err... development...
Amazingly I’m giving three cheers to Joyce. No - not to the lethal leprechaun but to Barnaby, my local member. He’s flying to Washington to campaign for Julian.
— Phillip Adams (@PhillipAdams_1) September 5, 2023
Did Biden and the CIA greenlight this decision? Sending our best & brightest...for a quick and easy $ straight into the Beetrooter's sky-rocket.
The "I can't believe it's not politics" thread.