Australia - you're standing in it

Whether any of us like it or not Porter is innocent until proven guilty.

But that's not the point most people are making, that being Porter - Australia's chief lawmaker - has forced other people to prove their innocence - or in the case of Witness K simply removed rule of law altogether.

If they're making 'rule of law' jibes they're simply judging Porter against his own words and deeds.

Which is at it should be.

I don't think it is unreasonable to hold MP's, especially ministers and extra-especially the Attorney General of the country to a higher standard than that which we would expect from a normal citizen.

Yes, he is innocent until proven guilty, but out of respect for the citizens of Australia he should support an inquiry. Realistically neither he nor Scomo can wish this one away.

Hey - Our French submarines may not work but at least we’ve got some F-35s

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/pentagon-and-lockheed-martin-...

Yep Indo I get your meaning. I’ve got a hunch that the drift to the left won’t last though

Why is our own government so scared of investing in our own country?

Cos they ain't here for the common good.

Trial by media, toxic internet, unnecessary inquiries? That’s Gillard, not Porter

- Bernard Keane at Crikey

Lurking online is a neat demonstration of the profound misogyny of Australian politics, and the rank double standards of both the Coalition and much of the press gallery in Canberra.

A Sydney Morning Herald article from 2014 is accompanied by a screen grab from the proceedings of the trade union royal commission. There’s commissioner Dyson Heydon and former prime minister Julia Gillard, the latter being interrogated by counsel assisting.

Heydon was later found by a High Court investigation to have sexually harassed six associates, prompting Chief Justice Susan Kiefel to remark “we’re ashamed that this could have happened at the High Court of Australia”.

The trade union royal commission, which cost $46 million, led to a small number of convictions and civil penalties, most recently that of Kathy Jackson, originally lauded by News Corp and the Coalition as a “brave decent woman” (Tony Abbott) and a “lion of the labour movement” (Christopher Pyne). A number of prosecutions of union officials that followed the royal commission later collapsed.

The trade union royal commission was intended to destroy Bill Shorten and wreck Julia Gillard’s reputation, as well as being a vehicle for the Coalition’s drive to weaken unions as much as possible. Now it’s fallen down a memory hole, along with the campaign of vilification against Julia Gillard when she was PM.

However, watching Julie Bishop last night win plaudits for agreeing there was a toxic culture in Parliament House, sexism in the Liberal Party, and that a coronial inquest into the death of the complainant against Christian Porter was needed, was to be reminded of her centre stage role in the smear campaign against Gillard… at least until Bishop stuffed it up so badly she was dropped from the political prosecution.

Perhaps Bishop, having had her own public experience of misogyny within the Liberal Party, has had a change of heart about attacks on Gillard, but in December 2012, Bishop thought a judicial inquiry was necessary to determine what role a younger Gillard had played in the AWU affair, centring on the embezzlement of hundreds of thousands of dollars of union and corporate funds.

That was despite the saga having already been investigated by police in two states, with no action taken, and an internal Slater and Gordon inquiry that cleared Gillard. Victorian police fired up another investigation after bagman Ralph Blewitt re-emerged in 2012 promising new information, but that never led anywhere either.

Bishop wasn’t alone with the judicial inquiry line. Her leader Tony Abbott demanded one as well. There was no protestations about the “rule of law” despite police investigations having been closed. The then-shadow attorney-general George Brandis didn’t even need an inquiry, and used parliamentary privilege to call Gillard a “crook”.

All despite the failure of both the opposition and the media to identify a specific allegation of wrongdoing. Notoriously, Abbott claimed Gillard had “questions to answer” about the matter but when asked by Leigh Sales to specify what the questions were, couldn’t say.

Still, a judicial inquiry was apparently warranted even though police investigations were concluded and there was no specific allegation. All over a few hundred thousand in union graft.

If the double standard of the Coalition, which now insists the uninvestigated, and very specific, allegations against Christian Porter do not need an inquiry, is impressive, that of much of the media is equally staggering.

Journalists have apparently purged themselves of the memory of how hysterical the campaign against Gillard was — the incessant headlines, the acres of newsprint, the stories The Australian got wrong and had to retract, Gillard standing for hour-long press conferences dealing with questions until journalists gave up, exhausted. It wasn’t just News Corp — Fairfax and the ABC joined in, though like the Murdoch press none could actually put together a specific allegation of wrongdoing.

Now, of course, many in the media — many of the same journalists and commentators who hounded Gillard — lament the “trial by media” of Porter.

And if the press gallery was feral, online media was toxic. Failed journalists used blogs to push elaborate conspiracy theories and insist Gillard would be jailed. The vile fraudster and bigot Larry Pickering published disgusting cartoons of Gillard, including ones depicting her as a rapist. All to precisely zero outrage from the right. No complaints about the “sewer”.

They all got their inquiry, of course, after Tony Abbott became PM. But despite its best efforts, Dyson was subsequently also to clear Gillard. Gillard has never received an apology from anyone about it. It’s all gone down the memory hole.

Few journalists apparently remember any of this (Raf Epstein is one) — an extended campaign of smear, trial by media and unsubstantiated allegations run for weeks on end by the opposition and the media.

What happened to Gillard is now inconvenient when complaining about the treatment of Christian Porter and how it breaches the rule of law.

But one look at that photo of Gillard and Heydon tells you all you need to know about the double standards here.

Holy smokes - Aussies designing and manufacturing !

Hmmmmm. The timing of this development rings a few alarm bells. Australia all of a sudden decides to try and get self sufficient in defence engineering.....gulp.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-02/loyal-wingman-first-flight-austra...

The thing is Porter as AG, in law, is above every judge and law officer in the land and as such his character should be beyond question. That is the test by which he and his Prime Minister should be judged.

The issue with Porter isn’t civil or criminal law because the woman is dead it’s a question of his character. The question Morrison refuses to ask himself, and thereby breaking parliamentary convention, is Porter a fit and proper person to be our AG?

Sheepdog, let me just say it's not the first time a screenshot about big swinging dick with my name attached went viral on the internet, I'll leave it at that.

Not my type of music...

From Macrobusiness ( though I don’t really accept their assessment of the Biden administration):

Readers will know that MB refers to the contemporary left as “fake”. The reason why is that it has lost touch with its class warfare underpinnings and focuses instead upon identity politics. The change is so dramatic, and the social policy fixation so strong, that often this “fake” left has pursued the latter to the detriment of the former, making class warfare outcomes worse for workers. One such case is in the obsession with supporting mass immigration on the basis of race even though it can damage the living standards of workers if not handled correctly.

For years we have fought to get this message through to policymakers. Often, we were stupidly branded racists for that effort.

But, COVID-19 has changed that as very serious authorities have been forced to recognise that mass immigration is not always in the existing population’s interests. In particular, if you have a regime of weak wages growth and lowflation, the permanent supply shock of mass immigration can tilt the playing field unfairly against workers and towards capital. This is exactly what happened in Australia over the last decade.

And so, the “fake” left is slowly but surely being forced back towards becoming the real left. The Labor Party began this slow turning of the oil tanker a few years ago when it mooted big cuts to temporary worker visas. It is still too committed to permanent migration but that was a good start.

This was accompanied by a central bank that slowly realised that if it could not lift wages growth then it had no chance of lifting inflation to meet its targets, though it did everything in its power to avoid the mention of immigration, and sometimes promoted it.

Next, we saw the election of the Biden Administration in the US, a much more traditional left outfit with an explicit goal of doubling minimum wages, as well using tax and spend (or print and spend) to push for full employment.

In recent weeks we have seen the change accelerate in Australia as well. Professor Ross Garnaut’s new book Reset explicitly lays out how the last cycle was unique in the history of the Australian labour market:

“The overall effect was to integrate much of the Australian labour market into a global labour market for the first time”…

“Integration into a global labour market held down wages and inflation during the resources boom, [but] it contributed to persistent unemployment, rising underemployment and stagnant real wages”…

“It contributed to the historic shift in the distribution of income from wages to profits. Increased immigration contributed to total GDP growth, but detracted from the living standards of many Australian working families”…

“Breaches of labour laws on wages and other conditions became common”…

“Immigration now lowers the incomes and employment prospects of low-income Australians.

“Settling early on an immigration program that is moderate in size and strongly focused on valuable education and skills will help us to avoid contentious and divisive political debate at a time when our society and polity are under great stress”.

And, yesterday, the RBA Governor, Phil Lowe finally acknowledged that poorly managed mass immigration is a serious headwind for wages growth as well:

“-increased competition in goods markets, which makes firms very conscious of cost increases
-the trend towards more services being provided internationally
-advances in technology, which have reduced the demand for some types of skills and increased the demand for others
-changes to the global supply of labour and regulation of labour markets.”

Slowly but surely MB is winning this debate and turning the “fake” left back towards being a real left that defends workers. So much so that centrist policymakers are now on board.

Weirdly, though, we are not getting the support for this push from the economic commentary in the left press. I am yet to see Ross Gittins, Greg Jericho, Jess Irvine, New Daily etc cover it. The ABC has begun to but more work is needed there as well.

In short, the “fake” lefties are still in control of the media narrative even though the intellectual heft has swung back towards the real. This is going to matter very shortly because the Morrison Government is about to demolish an incipiently stronger wage growth cycle by rebooting mass immigration via temporary worker visas.

Time to get on board, guys

Australians responds to it's leaders as they lead, their conduct is important. Trial by media aside. I want to know the integrity of my leaders in order to have faith in being lead in the right direction.

Spot on Sheepdog - the old adage " If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck" has never been more relevant in this instance.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-11/lawyers-christian-porter-subjecte...
Porter is an innocent man under our law says ScoMo !

More from Macrobusiness :

Things have calmed down for the Morrison Government in the past few days as the media cycle turned to the terrible trials of filthy rich and famous Princess Meghan Markle. But, the sexual assault issue is not going away. The sympathetic Minter Ellison CEO has marched, completely unrelated to the reported $93m in Morrison Government contracts held by the firm. A lot of commentators are still pounding away. The protests are still coming next week.

Today, the pick of the coverage comes from Liberal stalwart Nikki Savva at The Australian:

Morrison must sack Reynolds and Porter to save himself.
Their careers are wrecked anyway.
The Government will get no clear for any other policy air until it does.
To think otherwise is “delusional”.
The Government only has a tiny majority and the issue will kill it in the leafy electorates.
All sounds pretty sound to me. In the end, it is this political calculus that will win out as polling gives it the nudge. Which makes you wonder why Morrison has gone so hard on “rule of law” defence etc. Because now he will have to break it to save himself, only underlining his total lack of values.

To my mind, the Morrison goose is cooked, sacked ministers or not. You can’t violently alienate half the electorate and expect to win.

My advice is, therefore, to get set for a Labor Government which, under Albo, won’t change much but will lead to:

-somewhat higher wage growth as temporary worker visas are cut;
-the possibility of weaker house price growth (could Labor do what Ardern has done with RBNZ?);
-further Chinese corruption.

Any idea how to get parliament to be more immediate in transparency in relation to lobbyist influence. And political donations?

Scomo also says Cellulitis (which put Hunt in hospital) Isn't caused by AstraZeneca vaccine. When in the UK, they clearly list Cellulitis as a known side effect.. Cooked indeed Blowin.

Isn't the focus on the royals lately such an obvious and blatant attempt at distraction... Ppl are waking up.

#Newsflash

Maaaaate.......

haha!! Epic headline.

Interesting that a nearly 50 year old guy, eminent lawyer, father, community leader, voted to parliament both State and Federal, many years involved in many things, who sees himself as a future PM, is accused of a heinous crime he vehemently denies...and not a single woman in his life, past or present, is prepared to come forward to say "That is not the man I know."

Costello's French Sub's profits soared from $50b to $220b...
Almost enough to censure a Lib Govt Media Mogul Future Fund.

Half Cast racist Toe Sucking divorced Nazi Pedos. > [ Royal Polls Skyrocket ]
Sunshine Stateless, died on Queenslandurrz but new breed want Megz as Monarch.

Defector smuggles out World domination plans from behind the Megzland Wall

[ Made in Megzland ]

*Housos Pizza Drone deliveries a front for US War Drones Massacres ...well durr!

* Megzland ~ $75m Super Hornet attacks pilots & blows up secret US Drone Base.

* 24 Super Hornets +11 Growlerz were grounded to social distance Santa's Sleigh

* China said easy pickings were too far from the vine so swills Aussie wine instead!

* Megzland Robots pop out Squadrons of US Stealth Killer Drones.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/35806/australias-loyal-wingman-dro...

* Megzland pays $65m for Top End US Pacific **StarShots* Drone Defence Target.

*Meg'z Gilmour Girls are ready for Launch
https://www.facebook.com/gilmourspacetech/photos/a.1066512436772171/3801...
3-2-1 ......................*
* Scomo : "Yer Sloppy Market was cleansed by my Skyrocketing StarShots* Poll boost."
* Scomo : "Please expedite any retaliation c/o Labor Postcodes [ 4306 ] [ 4824 ]"
* Scomo : "High Aboriginal quota qualifies Town for Underground Shelter loans."

* Megzlandurrz Tourism lures Silver Surfer with Hypersonic Shock Wave Tube Ride.
https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2019/11/new-shock-tunnel-making-waves...

* Megzlandurrz - Deen Bros disintegrate Last Mars Rocks for Greenshoe Brigade.
https://inqld.com.au/insights/2021/02/17/brisbane-scientist-one-of-two-a...

Where else but Meg'z Police State!

Speaking of people in hospital...our beloved leader Dan surely should have been admitted a long, long, long time ago. His latest WTF moment is launching an inquiry into the effects of colonisation on Victorian aborigines. Why do we have to put up with this BS and, worse still, have to pay for it? If anyone wants evidence of how Labor wastes taxpayers' money, this would be exhibit A, B and C.

#IsThatReallyYouArseBolt?

#D-Olt

#Don'tMentionTheWarts

You're right sheepie, he's a total tool. I reckon he and Meghan would make a good couple (or threesome with Princess Harry if that is an option).

Best. Episode. Of. Gogglebox. EVER #TheWeekly https://t.co/rKsKOF0FuI

— Charlie Pickering (@charliepick) March 10, 2021

#GodSaveTheQueen

Sign the petition- God botherers dont pay tax in Australia and their profits can take a back seat to the survival of cool cockies

https://www.change.org/p/uniting-church-help-spencer-to-stop-the-church-...

All the Costello Submarine money should be sent to D-Rex because he is so aggrieved at the amount of money Labor is spending in Victoria. Has anyone out there got a little piggy bank money box to collect loose change for D-Rex.
The Liberal/Conservative Party would never spend money on agendas like Aboriginal Welfare past and present .As I’ve stated many times on these forums, as Australians we should all hang our heads in shame with the way we have treated the oldest known lineage of human beings on earth. I’m guessing D-Rex is not that old or mature.

#D-Olt

#KeepOnFightingTheGoodFight

#Don'tMentionTheWarts

Up Up and away with PBA (Pork Barrel Airlines)

Surely now, there has to be an enquiry into Porter! FFS.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-longtime-friend-of-christian-porter-s-ra...

@bluediamond unlikely but fascinating to see how long Scotty from marketing can hold off actually taking action / leadership as the scandals keep piling up.

Just cannot see Porter carrying on...but then who knows.

Labor certainly have plenty of material for election attack adds.

https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/linda-reynolds-settles-brittan...

A friend of the woman who alleged Attorney-General Christian Porter raped her in the 1980s has released a statement revealing he spoke to the woman and Mr Porter about the incident decades before the allegations were made public.

James Hooke, the senior managing director of the Macquarie Group, said he had “relevant discussions” with both Mr Porter and the woman pertaining to the recent allegations and that he would be willing to speak under oath at an inquiry into the incident.

@Brad Ferrier

"The Liberal/Conservative Party would never spend money on agendas like Aboriginal Welfare past and present"

Surely no body in Australia is so naive to think this, so why throw out complete bullshit on a forum knowing full well you can easily be called out on it????

And it's not something you can have an opinion on, it's just downright bullshit, billions is spent on "Aboriginal Welfare" and these are specific targeted areas, however indigenous people and community's also benfit from all kinds of other spending for the broader Australian community.

"Across the Commonwealth’s portfolios, Indigenous Australians will benefit from:
The continued commitment to the $5.4 billion Indigenous Advancement Strategy to support programmes that reduce the rates of Indigenous incarceration, youth suicide, family and domestic violence; and improve health, safety, wellbeing, education, employment and economic opportunities.
The continued commitment of $4 billion in Indigenous health funding over the coming four years through the Department of Health, including $975.5 million in 2020-21.
$16.7 million will be provided to states and territories for targeted and specific programs to improve the health of Indigenous Australians.
$4 million to continue the Remote Point of Care testing program, reducing the risk COVID-19 presents to remote Indigenous communities.
$150 million over three years to expand Indigenous Business Australia’s (IBA) Indigenous Home Ownership Program (IHOP), providing 360 new construction home loans and supporting jobs in regional Australia. This helps Indigenous families move into their own home and start to build intergenerational wealth, while addressing overcrowding and stimulating the economies of regional and remote Australia.
$100 million to finalise the agreement with the Queensland Government to deliver more housing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote Queensland.
$46.5 million over four years to support the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and build the capacity of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communitycontrolled organisation sector to improve local service delivery. This funding will be complemented by co-contributions from state and territory governments.
$10.1 million over four years for the Productivity Commission to provide independent oversight and accountability of progress under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. As well as supporting the comprehensive review of progress every three years, this measure includes developing and maintaining an information dashboard and an annual data report that all parties can use in reporting their performance against the Agreement.
$39.8 million over four years for the Clontarf Foundation to support young Indigenous students improve their self-esteem, confidence, leadership skills and engagement, delivering a further 2,000 places on top of the 10,500 already on offer.
$10.1 million over four years for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) to continue its highly successful Return of Cultural Heritage initiative, bringing back to Australia objects of great significance to traditional owners.
The bringing forward of $5.4 million over four years to support the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations to upgrade its systems and implement a Director Identification Number. As part of the Government’s Digital Business Plan, this will provide traceability of a director’s relationships across companies, enable better tracking of failed companies and prevent the use of fictitious identities.
$3.9 million to extend the Time to Work Employment Services program to 2022, helping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people prepare for employment following their release from prison.
$4.1 million over two years to create four new Indigenous River Ranger groups in the Murray-Darling Basin, improving access to water and ensuring Aboriginal people are part of the delivery of the Basin plan.
The extension of children and parenting support services by $40.1 million over three years from 2021-22, providing specialised early intervention and prevention support to at-risk children and families with complex needs.
$27 million for a regional arts package that will include support for Indigenous Arts Centres that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
$3.5 million over two years for land management and hazard reduction works and engagement activities at the Rum Jungle mine site near Batchelor, Northern Territory.
$2.2 million over four years to expedite assessment of applications and improve the administration of new applications under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984.
$2 million as part of the Perth City Deal to progress designs for the Noongar Indigenous Cultural Centre."

https://www.indigenous.gov.au/news-and-media/announcements/2020-21-budge...

BTW: The LNP also hold a few first in regard to indigenous people in politics.

Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt (LNP) is the first Indigenous Australian to hold that position the first indigenous person elected to the House of Representatives, the first to serve as a government minister, and the first appointed to cabinet.

And Neville Bonner of the LNP was the first Indigenous member of parliament in 1971

Most likely more

Sources:
https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parlia...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Wyatt

well lordy you gobbled up the bait hook line and sinker like the flathead you are .... good work brad for getting the weekend off to a good start. ah info you've done it again

Yeah Indo, they even made Tony Abbott....an ex prime minister....the leader of Aboriginal affairs!! And look at his track record with indigenous Australia!! How much more do you want the liberal party to do for these c#$ts???
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-29/indigenous-leaders-voice-anger-at...

Obviously not a bait, so if Brad's going to try to back peddle I'm sure he can do it himself Guy.

But he did get an award for it, and his handling of refugees so he must have done a really really good job of it. You couldn't make this shit up.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/mixed-reactions-as-tony-abbott-is-honoured-f...

These kind of issues will always have very strong divided opinions on them, if you are a leftist with little real perspective and understanding on the issue, yeah im sure you would think he doesnt deserve an award.

But reality is despite crazy ideas like buying back Indo fishing boats in reality Abbott did a good job with the border control refugee issue clearing up the complete mess caused by Krudd, but the real work was done by Scomo who was the immigration minister.

And yes after Krudd made a complete mess of things, he also started the ball rolling on cleaning up the mess, so yeah deserves some credit, but lets not forget he was the one that allowed things to get out of control, almost every person in offshore detention arrived under his watch.

In regard to indigenous issues, i cant see any PM deserving an award.

Bit rich to talk about lack of perspective then post this Indo:

'But reality is despite crazy ideas like buying back Indo fishing boats in reality Abbott did a good job with the border control refugee issue clearing up the complete mess caused by Krudd, but the real work was done by Scomo who was the immigration minister.'