What if Gus Were a Tiger

I do not recall having information from that Agency

2008-07-30T14:07:00.002+10:00

Kevin Andrews simultaneously shows he is stupid and dobs in the AFP.

He claims that despite whole government briefings by ASIO he had no idea what the agency thought about Dr Haneef's nefariousness and that he relied on the AFP for information.

That translates to: I didn't really do my job and Mick, the ball's in your court!

What ASIO knew (and everyone else ignored)

2008-07-30T09:38:00.006+10:00

Apparently, ASIO informed the Government and the Australian Federal Police (and by that I mean you Kevin Andrews and you Mick Keelty) that Dr Mohammed Hanneef was not a threat to security. That was three days after the bombing (and 5 days before Kevvy revoked Dr Haneef's visa). The AFP openly acknowledge that they know ASIOs position. Being cops and not spies of course they just knew better I guess....

Clearly what ASIO really meant was (reading between the lines of course): arrest the Muslim bastard, revoke his visa and get him the hell out of here!

So they did.

Of course with this kind of balanced media reporting how could Kev, Keelty, et al. not act to protect at least Australia's reputation.

And why pray tell are ASIO only telling us now? It is just so hard to get a good whistleblower these days. Perhaps it would have been a breach of national security to show just how racist and inept our immigration minster really was?

As if he couldn't do that on his own... anyone remember his statements about African immigrants? They just don't fit in right, god knows that black skin sticks out a mile, and then, then they go and get bashed to death, which is so un-Australian.

Kevvy was always looking out for us... in response to what he saw as biased, pro-Muslim local case officers he ordered DIAC (DIC??) to bring out more Christians. Of course that fact that his department had investigated these claims and found them to be bogus counted for as much as ASIO's advice. God knows we all know what civil servants are worth.

So Haneef was a bungle but then we also discover this week that 15 people have had their visas revoked improperly and have since been released from detention. And yes it is Kevvy again who personally revoked 8 of them.

Well played Mr Andrews... well played.

You almost make Amanda Vanstone (the not conservative conservative) look merciful and competent by comparison and that is a tough ask!

Finally Ruddock informs us that we have the Coalition to thanks for saving us form the hordes of illegals and that is why Labor is able to make changes to Australia's detention policy.

Don't you just love how that argument works with immigration but not with say the economy?

chequebooks down!

2008-07-15T14:33:00.002+10:00

The law to protect those most marginalised and hyper sensitive of world citizens that is young, catholic pilgrims (invaders) has been struck down because "'it affects freedom of speech in a way that, in our opinion, is not supported by the statutory powers".

There was "no intelligible boundary" on what "causes annoyance"'.

Sweet...

Now that is what I call one for the good guys!

Catholic Cardinal says we are not having enough sex*

2008-07-14T19:20:00.006+10:00

Sydney has the best Archbishop...

No really

Not only does he cover up sex abuse, think that faith can fix suicide (because dear readers the drugs don't work) now he's telling us that divorce and serial monogamy are bad for families....

Serial monogamy?

Yeah right... how does that work? I think the Bishop is saying don't stay with just one person, sleep around, we'll look the other way.

I feel like that's a wee bit contradictory.

But at the heart of Pell's enlightened, modern and deeply relevant message is this...

"There is a crisis in the Western world. No Western country is producing enough babies to keep the population stable, no Western country," he said.

Did you notice the three mentions of Western in 2 sentences... well that's subtle Pell, did you get your whole team to work on that?

What he's saying is this: we are aborting our culture. So lie back and think of white people, preferably white catholic people.

The only thing is that Pell and his mob are really not keeping up their end here are they? The whole celibate priest, nun, monk thing doesn't contribute now does it and I remain unconvinced that serial monogamy with God as your partner is the best way to deal with the decline and fall of the west.

Or that a man who has perhaps never had sex and will never had children is the best person to be lecturing us about it.

*okay so I exaggerated a little bit.

ST-RIKE!!

2008-07-08T17:25:00.003+10:00

I love a little industrial terror in the morning.

So despite the NSW Government's best efforts at quelling any and all dissent in the face of the massive tax-payer funded Pope fest that is World Youth Day (and wouldn't we all be happy if it were in fact a day and not a week?) it seems the Rail Tram and Bus Union may be able to do what us mere mortals are unable to: bring Sydney to a grinding halt.

Sweet!

Don't get me wrong I know a lot of people are going to be really inconvenienced by this and it is easy for me to gloat given my predilection and ability for using my own two feet to get around. But it should also be noted that if it weren't for all of the upheaval of WYD, the street closures, the extra traffic and people the extra pressure on public transport including the chartering of just about every available bus, we just wouldn't be in this predicament.

But you know given the whole climate change situation, given that the NSW Government has known about WYD for a while and given that this industrial dispute has been going on for 11 months or so you think they might have sorted it out just a little earlier.

Certainly I would prefer that the money I invest in this state were spent on essential infrastructure which includes a fair enterprise agreement for train drivers.

Apparently some moves have been made including taking job losses off the table in order to progress enterprise bargaining.

Yes kids you read that right. In a city where we don't have enough public transport to adequately provide for the people who live here the State Transit Authority was threatening to cut jobs...

Gotta love long term vision, it's what makes NSW great.

In solidarity I say stop the trains and make the pilgrims walk like their ancestors had to.

And never let it be said that collective action doesn't get you anywhere. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it union-busters!

Sayonara Sandy!

2008-07-04T17:58:00.006+10:00

your favourite former foreign minister and mine has finally quit the job he was so hopeless at (that is being a politician) and is going into business (with Natasha Stott Despoja's hubby no less) and taking up a UN role in the high powered world of Cypriot diplomacy.

Praise Jesus!

As Ben Pobjie points out in New Matilda this week, we have Sandy to thanks for JW Howard since his absolute incompetence (who can forget the 'things that batter') made even little Johnny look good (I know I know that was as weird to write as it is to read). Not even his mother thinks he did a good job of leading the liberal party (for all of eight months!), but like true aristocracy she is grinning and bearing it... just.

Sandy himself has a somewhat different take on his achievements or lack thereof "But, overall, so what? The net result has been that I have been able to see the sorts of major things I believe in happen."

That's right, let's recount jsut some of those: the Pacific solution, the War in Iraq, JW Howard, intervention in East Timor, JW Howard, AWB Scandal and most likely K-Rudd as, according to Peter Hartcher at least, Sandy's incompetence yet again provided a perfect foil for that Tintinesque Queenslander to win the hearts and minds of Australian voters.

But those of you who are lovers of Moulin Rouge have something to be grateful for. While being interviewed about the role of the Duke Richard Roxburgh revealed that he found the inspiration for the petulant, mummy's boy with an extraordinary sense of entitlement in our longest serving foreign minister.

Don't believe me? Listen to his voice, all high pitched lisp.

But ultimately kids, Sandy really, really sucked.

As Ben says of Downer's new private enterprise:

"The company Downer will be joining is called "Bespoke Approach", a name that evokes the man himself by being at once pretentious, uninformative and ill-chosen."

And that about says it all.

Sayonara Sandy... can't say I'm gonna miss ya!

Annoyed?

2008-07-01T14:59:00.006+10:00

I woke up this morning to find out that people can be arrested and fined $5500 for annoying other people.

Bugger.

Actually I should be clear... you can't be arrested for annoying any old people, it is specifically to protect catholic people. Which is to say I can't have slow walking people or pro-lifers or people who pass legislation saying we can't annoy catholic pilgrims arrrested for bugging the crap out of me.

Oh the humanity.

Seeing as I make it my life's work to annoy people in general and Catholics in particular I am, all of a sudden, deeply concerned about my liquidity.

These new police powers are greater than the cops had for the APEC brouhaha (which suprises me, I would have thought they would have wanted any chance to use that brand spanking new water cannon!). And this is a clear indication that Catholic pilgrims are totally less hard core than fascist world leaders.

So not only has mega bucks of our tax-payer cash gone on this enterprise (and who needs hospitals, roads or functioning public transport I ask when we can have the Pope for a week), not only have school children been used as slave labour to pack tuna and vegemite into pilgrim packs for papal loving freeloaders, but now we can end up in jail for being openly annoyed about it!

This is blatant anti-misapnthropist legislation!

While I understand that discussing the virtues of the rhythm method and the best ways to ensure women have no rights over their own bodies, how best to practise homophobia, prevent important medical research and generally drag us all back the dark ages while assiduously ignoring sexual abuse scandals is an imporant thing for any religious group to do, I remain unsure as to why I need to foot the bill. I also remain unconvinced that having my right to freedom of expression removed is either necessary or desirable... for anyone... catholics included.

Let's just say I am getting my chequebook out.

I suggest you all do the same.

Honesty is the best policy?

2008-06-24T15:30:00.004+10:00

Honesty is rarely the best policy in politics as John McCain's aide found out much to his chagrin and perhaps to the detriment of his future employment opportunities.

In a refreshingly candid interview with Fortune Magazine good old Chuck revealed that while the assassination of Benazir Bhutto was an 'unfortunate event' it helped McCain's primary campaign and musing that another attack on American soil would 'be an advantage' to McCain.

Hmmm....

Things not to say in the national media? Perhaps Chuck missed the memo.

Interestingly it seems he has not been kicked to the curb in record time, apparently casting national disaster as positive political strategy in public is just not cricket, but not as bad as calling HRC a monster or being an outspoken (black?) man of god...

What I love though is this article in the Washington Post, where both Chuck and a campaign spokeswoman, Jill Hazelbaker repeat exactly the same phrase:

'Charlie deeply regrets his comments. They were inappropriate and he recognizes that the candidate we work for has devoted his entire adult life to putting protecting his country and placing its security before every other consideration," said Campaign Spokeswoman Jill
Hazelbaker. Black told reporters in California exactly the same thing, according to the Associated Press: "I deeply regret the comments. They were inappropriate. I recognize that John McCain has devoted his entire adult life to protecting his country and placing its security before every other consideration."'

I love the smell of sincerity in the morning.

No... really?!

2008-06-23T14:36:00.004+10:00

I read in the SMH today that the ANU has completed a study on voting trends over the ten years between 1997 and 2007...

I particularly enjoyed this little gem:

"The coalition would still have lost the election, even if Mr Costello had
replaced John Howard as Liberal leader, the study's co-author Professor
Ian McAllister said."

Ya think?

And...Didn't we all know that last November?

It does seem however that Costello may be able to save the Liberals now... With Tony Abbott
revealing that Dr No Mates is skating on thin ice (surprised? I know I am!) since even two out of three Coalition Voters prefer K-Rudd as PM!

I must say I do find that surprising, who knew that some Coalition voters could be so discriminating?

Apparently now though the super smug wet Lib from Victoria may be able to ride to the rescue... Costello seems to be the preferred choice for libs outstripping even the great white hope Malcolm Turnbull.

Personally I think Bish is tilting for it... not to lead the country but perhaps, just perhaps, she has her eyes on the WA prize and you have to admit, Premier Bishop does have a nice ring to it (and by nice I mean terrifying). On the plus side, she'd be isolated by the entire continent and there's nothing more than a chair-sniffer in her way out there.

A Victory for Decency?

2008-06-02T17:41:00.004+10:00

Hah!

The thought police have got their comeuppance as Henson's 'controversial' images are cleared for general release by the classification board. And this despite that great art critic K-Rudd declaring them "absolutely revolting".

Good then... a strike for the good guys.

The problem is now that every man and his dog feels compelled to comment on it... and yes kids I am aware of the irony as I too spill virtual ink over this issue.

Paul Sheehan recently wrote in the SMH what amounted to a somewhat backhanded defense of Henson, given the title, Artists Crying Out for Martyrdom. It was a more condemnation of the police action than support of the artist.

At its heart Sheehan is running the line if you play with fire you expect to get burnt.

Fair enough. Except that in Australia we don't burn people at the stake. Good art should create debate and should make us ask questions... that is part of the function of art and part of our responsibility as audiences.

But we proved yet again are seemingly endless capacity for moral panic and in our timidity tattled and ran to the cops.

Shame!

But in a victory for decency those of us who a re not degenerates and who can distinguish between art and porn will be able to see Henson's pictures on display. All of them.

Finally in Sheehan's article he wrote this:

Why? Because pederasts and child sexploiters have had a dream run in our
society. A subculture of pedophilia among gays, an epidemic of child sexual
abuse in the Aboriginal community, and a multimillion-dollar porn industry
on the internet have all been protected variously by privacy laws, artistic
licence, freedom of expression, and Aboriginal rights. What these rights have
done is mask, exacerbate or even rationalise a significant and growing problem.

For real...

Apparently even when you are defending art you can still get a dig in at gays and blackfellas... and God knows we have to take every opportunity!

Funny Because They're True?

2008-05-31T15:35:00.006+10:00

Avoiding work today I cruised the cartoon section of TruthDig...

These are some of my favourites...

Wake Up and Smell the Police State

2008-05-23T17:02:00.008+10:00

Well Well Well....

Bet you thought that this stuff only happened in South America or Iran or the Eastern Bloc.

While we sit around smugly self-satisfied and ruminate on our avowed mission of bringing the Holy Grail (aka Western Democracy) to the miserable oppressed buggers of the world, we pay precious little attention to what is happening here...

It is time to wake up and smell the police state.

Bill Henson, certainly a confrontational artist has had his exhibition in Sydney suspended, 20 of his 41 photos seized and it looks like either he or someone else will be charged with publishing an indecent article. To contextualise, Henson takes photos of young pre or early pubescent children and they are nudes.

Which apparently means porn... kiddy porn.

Not that he hasn't been open about the subject matter; not that it isn't consensual and by that I mean he talks with and gets consent of his models' parents; not that his pictures don't sexualise children... nudity and sex are not the same thing.

Unless you are a conservative philistine or Kevin Rudd (which may be the same thing we have yet to see). In which case naked children are always sexual, always pornographic, always "revolting".

Here's me thinking that that attitude says more about their depravity than Henson's.

Just to note on the day this story broke your favourite newspaper and mine, the Daily Telegraph was running an online poll about this. Over 75% of Tele readers said that Henson's work was porn and if you thought differently you were warped (their phrasing not mine), which is all the proof I need dear reader to declare that Henson's pics MUST be art!

I now pronounce you....

2008-05-01T13:04:00.003+10:00

Well aren't they full of surprises? The labor government has pulled another rabbit out of it's hat with a raft of reforms to redress the appalling, institutionalised discrimination faced by same sex couples (you know.... homosexuals) in Australia.

Huzzah! And about time too.

Frankly I am constantly amazed at the importance placed on ones sexual predilictions and wonder why who we all sleep with has such an impact on our lives...

Fortunately this will finally be redressed.... or will it?

In the SMH yesterday, I read this:
"Same-sex couples will continue to be denied marriage, adoption rights and IVF despite the government's decision to remove discrimination against gays in a range of commonwealth laws."

Right... So really what is being said here is, you can have all of the legal rights and responsibilities but we don't really think you all should be raising kids, having kids or getting married... those things are for straight people.

I am sorry but I don't get it. Am I stupid, why are two women or two men worse parents than on of each? Why should a woman be denied the chance to reproduce because she would rather come home to a woman than a man, and why for God's sake does the state feel it has any say in who can and cannot get married. Seriously if the Catholicc Church says that they will not conduct marriage services for same sex couples then whatever, but I cannot see any reason at all why a same sex couple can't be married in a civil ceremony...

How freaked out are we? Will the institution of marriage crumble crumble if two men can proudly and legitimately say they are married? Is that even a bad thing.

I totally support the changes to legislation that allow all people to be treated the same regardless of who they sleep with. But the real foundation of this discrimination will not be addressed until people are treated equally no matter who they go home to at night.

McCarthies Under the Bed....

2008-03-09T16:59:00.005+11:00

I am outraged. No joking this time...

The latest Liberal Party stunt is to get students at Uni and at high school to narc on their propagandising "lefty" teachers in an effort to blow the lid on the vast left wing conspiracy that is the education system. The source for this news is that purveyor of propaganda par excellence, the Daily Telegraph.

Apparently the libs will use this information to hold a Senate enquiry to the biased teaching going on in Australian schools and unis. I wonder if we could have an enquiry about the rabid rightwing propaganda of media outlets like the Daily Telegraph too?

The first thing that we should note is that clearly there are not enough grown up Liberals to undertake this very important work so the last remnants of 'talent' the party has will be undertaking this campaign of repression.

Nice work Young Libs... it is so pleasing to see you are taking your responsibility of keeping campuses everywhere safe for the white and advantaged seriously.

So really we are looking to create some McCarthyist campaign in the very places where the last vestiges of free thought and enquiry may still exist.

Awesome.

What the Libs are actually saying is that we are all too stupid to think about and question what we learn. Loving that vote of confidence.

If there are so many proselytising lefties perhaps the Libs should have stopped defunding education in Australia so it was more attractive to the selfish and venal who make up their support base?

And if this is true, how come there are still so many bloody young libs left?

Seriously the vast left wing is not doing very well now is it?

Dr No (Mates)

2008-03-04T20:00:00.005+11:00

So I said they'd keep on giving but even I could not anticipate this deliciousness....

Recently a poll result was released showing just how unpopular the Good Doctor actually is. Dr Nelson's approval ratings have plumbed new depths.

Now you could have been forgiven for assuming that after hitting the 9% mark in the preferred PM stakes there was nowhere esle to go. I mean there must be a critical mass of of die hard Liberal voters who would always prefer a Liberal Government led by anyone to Labor.

Apparently it's not 9%.

In fact the Good Dr's approval rating is at a meagre (and utterly embarrassing) 7%. This despite of the fact that around 37% of voters would prefer a Liberal Party Government (wackos!).

Ouch!

Not even the Lib grassroots can muster up any affection for Australia's (least) favourite turncoat.

So where does this leave us? Well sitting pretty, at least until Labor actually does something. Not that I want to detract from ratifying Kyoto or attempting to heritage list the Kokoda trail. Nor do want to cast any negative aspersions on the Apology to the Stolen generations which was in my opinion one of the best moments in Australian parliamentary history.

But it has to be said the Labor party hasn't spent any money and they didn;t make many promises in order to win the election.

Roll on the budget and we'll see what they are really made of (more of the same I'll bet). We'll also see what the most unpopular man in politics can make of himself... if anything at all.

Don't know about you, but I am not holding out high hopes.

They Just Keep on Giving

2008-03-02T12:53:00.005+11:00

This blogger was truly concerned that a change in government might mean no more fun.... No more Liberal party antics to post about.

Well never fear, they just keep on giving!

ABC's 4 Corners had an episode that exposed the goings on in the Liberal party in the lead up to the 2007 election.... what fun!

Unfortunately I missed the show but I did catch this article in which Mr Joe Hockey announced that Cabinet did not fully grasp the implications of the changes to IR laws that WorkChoices heralded. Specifically that they didn't understand that "workers could be worse off under Work Choices".

Que?

You mean that the people who supposedly debated the policies, were responsible for tinkering with (read utterly destroying) Industrial Relations policies that seemed to be well, working just fine, that forced them on an unwilling and unsupportive public, didn't actually KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING?!!

Well that makes me for one feel so much better.... I mean what JH is saying is that they didn't really mean to screw us over. On the contrary they just weren't bright enough or didn't care enough to fully understand their own policies.

Whew, that's a relief.

But now, all of a sudden I am regretting the election result. You mean we chucked out a whole lot of well meaning ignoramuses, all because we want our rights at work protected... Goddammit, how short sighted of us!

The New Matilda also published an article about the problems within the Libs (yes indeedy there is a lot of good reading at the moment). Andrew Elder contends that their biggest problem is an inablity to create a post-Howard 'narrative' since the party was in effect Howard. Apparently JW destroyed dissent and opposition in his pursuit of absolute loyalty and now no one knows how to distance themselves from him or create a new set of guiding principals... or something.

Methinks they will have to find a better leader than the Good Doctor to do that.

As much as there is a part of me that rubs my hands and licks my lips in anticipation of a longterm Liberal meltdown, there is another that is more than a little worried by it.

We all know what happens when there is no strong opposition in a democratic system. If you don't, move to New South Wales.

In a recent poll the NSW Premier has only a 30% approval rating. Pollsters asked voters who they would prefer out of Iemma, Turnbull, Barry O'Farrell, Michael Costa and John Watkins to lead the state. Iemma still comes out on top (just) but interestingly his closest rival is Turnbull who is in the Federal parliament. Of the two who seem most likely to replace Iemma, O'Farrell, current state Liberal Party leader got a measly 17%. It comes as no surprise to me that NSW State Labor government thinks they can do what they like, you know like privatise our power despite the fact that over 60% of people in NSW don't want them to. There isn't anyone in politics to tell them they can't.

So while the sadist in me will continue to enjoy the thrashings of the Liberal Party, the political junkie will remain concerned. Then again.... perhaps accountability is overrated.

Primary School

2008-01-07T19:15:00.000+11:00

The US Presidential Primaries are on...

Currently the race to secure the presidential nomination for either of the main American parties is wide open, despite what you might be reading. New Hampshire will vote this week and Iowa is done and dusted. Barack and Hillary duked it out in Iowa while John Edwards saw his somewhat limited aspiration to come second and stay in the race for 2008 (not that coming second in 2004 did him much good) come to fruition.

Perhaps the biggest casualty of Iowa is Hillary Rodham Clinton. She didn't come third by a lot, according to one set of results I saw she was wazs only about 0.5% behind John Edwards. That is hardly a trouncing by anyone's standards, but it seems to have put her on the back foot a little. At least in terms of support in the media. Barack however, is riding high on a wave of love and Oprah...

But as newsweek points out the really interesting battle is for the Republican nomination.

The Grand Old Party as the Republicans are known stateside (I had to look that reference up once because I had no idea what the hell GOP actually referred to) seem to be in disarray. Before Iowa no-one would've given Huckabee a snowball's chance in hell of winning anything and now he is the frontrunner *shiver*. It seems the choice is between an evangelical Baptist preacher with dubious views about issues like homsexuality, abortion, immigration and little knowledge of foreign policy and Romney the Mormon, with no really fixed views on anything at all.

I am not sure what is in the water in Iowa but it is certainly working in the Huckster's favour. For the record Guiliani managed to garner a massive 3% of the vote, Ron Paul did better than polling would have predicted and the top three were rounded out by Romney and Thompson. McCain came a close fourth. As yet all Republican contenders are continuing the fight, two of the Dems have fallen by the wayside although Kucinich the vegan is still in the running.

It seems that New Hampshire might shake things up for the GOP, certainly there seems to be an expectation that McCain will gain some momentum and that Romney et al. should be able to slow down the Huckster, nevertheless the power of Chuck Norris should never be underestimated.

It is not entirely clear what the implications are of the Iowa primaries, or indeed any of the early votes, in terms of predicting the actual outcome of the primary race. Certainly there is a new cast to the contentious issue of whether a black man could be elected president. It seems Iowan Dems think he is electable, more electable than a white woman (not unsurprising) and a rich, white, male lawyer (which is admittedly a little surprising). It is a message that is bound to resonate at least through to New Hampshire who will vote later this week and perhaps further into the primary race.

So sit back relax and enjoy the ride. But a word to the wise, one of these people will be running the country in 2008... Chuck Norris for President?!

Baby with the Bathwater?

2007-12-18T23:01:00.000+11:00

The next round of soul-searching and recriminations has begun for those on the right side of Australian politics.

Gerard Henderson had an entire column in the SMH last week devoted to eulogising the Libs entitled "No strangers to crisis, the Libs will pull through". For me all Gerard's desire to trumpet the fact that the Libs weren't utterly destroyed really did was serve to reinforce how truly screwed up they actually are. He points to their lack of "political depth" for example, reminding us just how reliant on the cult of personality that surrounded Howard and his closest cronies, Downer, Costello, Abbott, the party actually was. Is anyone else thinking that Turnbull is kicking himself for signing up with the wrong team?

Mr Henderson also points out that the good Dr certainly has some room for improvement in the leadership department. He highlights his rather odd vacillations around those "I have never voted Liberal in my life" comments (yes true believers I think Mr H is reading this blog too). In fact Mr H goes so far as to come up with a plausible but equally suspect story about all of that. Never fear, the good Dr is still a liar no matter which way you spin it. Mr H also takes issue with his inability to answer satisfactorily a question regarding his commitment to social justice as a member of the Howard government.

Right.... social justice and the Howard Government... isn't that like a google search that would turn up no responses? It is a total oxymoron.

But wait!

Apparently all Mr H needed from the good Dr was a mention of the lowering of unemployment and the government's commitment to families with dependent children. Yes folks in the world of the rabid right THAT is social justice. Notwithstanding that lowering of unemployment in and of itself means very little (even if you can believe the stats and in this case we can't seeing as word on the street has it that the stats included people on the dole involved in the welfare to work scheme for example). Simply saying that more people are working (not a bad thing mind) without taking into consideration wages and cost of living, housing stress and other important bits and pieces, tell us precisely nothing about the social conditions, or someone's commitment to social justice.

Secondly, the Howard government's commitment to families with dependent children amounted to well what exactly... family tax benefits? A welfare to work scheme for parenting payments (15 hours a week work volunteer or paid that can include studying, even at postgrad level, but that also includes a direction from the minister to lie to applicants and tell them their masters or PhD doesn't count?!), and Costello's immortal comment to have one for the country. Awesome.

No mention of refugees, Indigenous people, the poor, housing prices, war, same sex marriage rights, discrimination, sexism. But hey, all that falls outside of the Henderson view of social justice I suppose.

Mr H also has academics in his sights... not unsurprisingly, they are a fairly safe target for the rabid right. He writes:

When the Liberals go into opposition, some academics step forward to proclaim the end of the party. In July 1993 Judith Brett declared that "the Liberal Party in the 1990s seems doomed". But it was back in office within three years. Last January Norman Abjorensen wrote that a "Coalition defeat in 2007 will almost certainly herald a major realignment of the non-Labor side of politics, but it is problematic whether the Liberal Party, as now constituted, will survive".

Stuff and nonsense according to Gerard. The Libs will survive as they have always done.

Perhaps someone should tell them that.

Currently the night of the long knives (weeks of the long knives?) have now come down to this.... should the conservative parties merge and be done with it? No academics here, this is Chris Pyne and others in the party calling for a branding change so the party can, in the words of Queensland Liberal Peter Slipper, "like a Phoenix [rise] from the ashes" (no really.... that's a quote, someone get that man some media training stat!).

It's okay to laugh... I am.

Yes the post-election hysteria has reached fever pitch and now everyone is surveying the options on the table and deciding whether a new marketing approach will save conservative politics. I note that the good Dr is very quiet on this subject. Mr Abbott was the cautious Liberal voice of the day (things are certainly getting increasingly weird over there). There seems to be serious talk about creating an entirely new party.

I do not deny the Libs need an image change. But think about the way that government was identified, usually as the Howard Government, rarely as the Coalition. The parties weren't the brand at all, either unified or individually, Howard was. And god knows a little distance from him and some of the policies associated with him (you know, all the ones responsible for destroying social justice...okay so their entire policy platform), will not any conservative any harm.

I think they are all taking this Menzies thing a little too literally. I know the man lost an election (well Gerard says he was trounced actually), formed a new party and went on the lead the country for forever, but honestly the good Dr is not Menzies and this is not the 1950s and if they don't stop running around like headless chickens what little faith people have in them really will be gone!

What will save the Liberals is less of this endless navel gazing, soul searching and finger pointing and a little more of being in opposition (although Dr Nelson has already signalled his antipathy to that course of action). In fact I suspect that Howard's final act of hubris and stupidity was calling the election a little to early or a little too late. There is not much business to be done at the moment so all the political hacks have to do is endlessly disect the election... The Libs really need to leave them to it.

At any rate I can only say the less likelyhood there is of a conservative government the happier I am, but a word to the wise. Don't throw the baby out with bathwater... sure no one likes a loser but people might warm to a battler, to the underdog. Goodness knows no one will ever warm to a snivelling, cowering, whinger.

So.... Suck it up Liberals and get ready for the next round or you may in fact find you are out for the count.

Spare a Thought for Janette

2007-12-11T08:48:00.000+11:00

Imagine the conversation at Kirribili house on the morning after the night before. In my mind it runs like a Your Rights at Work advertisement... it goes a little something like this:

John: They've taken away my job, my seat, my houses, my cars... they've taken everything!

Janette: Can they do that?

John: They have...and what worse, the Commonwealth says its okay. Apparently elections pass the fairness test.

I mean really, talk about a tough day at the office, a popularity test where retrenchment is the prize for the runner up.

But I ask who is the real loser in all of this? It has to be Janette. The long suffering wife who for years has stood by her man. She has no job, the kids are all grown up and now she has to move back to Woolstonecraft at Christmas! All the while watching that Queensland upstart and his working wife and Asian son in law prepare to move into the Lodge, while banning fundraising at Kirribilli House.... oh the humanity!

And, unlike the rest of us, she can't even mitigate her personal trauma by gloating about the change in government. Can you see her in a Kevin07 tshirt?

Perhaps that is why she is encouraging JW to get out of the house. The SMH dutifully informed us that our former intrepid leader was getting back to normal life by playing a few rounds of golf (and anyone who has ever seen footage of JW attempt to play anything involving a ball and basic handeye coordination is right to find the concept of him playing golf innately amusing). The article also mentioned that he was playing his round of golf alone bar two security personnel.

Hmmm am I right in thinking that 30 odd years in politics with at least 11.5 of them spent as an utter dickhead leaves you friendless and alone, playing 18 holes of golf with rentacops? Either that or being on the wrong side of a landslide makes you want to shorten the odds and play a game you know you can win.

How apt....How delicious!

Of course JW's golfing excursion further serves to reinforce how out of touch he is with the common person, or rich wanky golf lover for that matter (and aren't they after all the Lib's core constituents?).

This week the SMH also felt compelled to share with us the revolution in golf hitting a Sydney club near you. Nine hole, kinda the one day cricket of the fairway. Apparently we are all too time poor in Sydney to play the game properly and if the mountain won't come to Mohammed the golf clubs will halve the length of the game and come to you! I wonder if the golfing world has ever considered that maybe people just don't like golf.

So JW is starting his ordinary life playing a sport that most ordinary people can't play (this gives me faith in people's sanity broadly speaking) because they are working too hard to pay off the dreams JW cynically sold them for the last decade or so while he stripped away all their rights, devauled their infrastructure and disinvested in everything from welfare to education (except the armed forces of course), privatised telstra and generally made a big f***ing deal of spending any of our own money on us.

Despite this I say spare a thought for Janette.

After all she has him for life!

Ignorance is bliss (at least for the ignorant)

2007-12-02T16:35:00.000+11:00

Perhaps unsurprisingly we were Tony-less when the Libs went to the party room to thrash out their differences.

I suspect someone had a work with him, gently reminding him of some of the differences between reality and his view of the world. I do love that he seems to be holding out hopes of a revival. He is absolutely unaware that he is about to be rendered completely obsolete. I wish I had said this first, but at least he knows he can always get another job.

Today on ABC's Insiders, I saw Nelson for the first time as leader of the opposition. Not that that is what he thinks he is, no the Good Doctor seems to think he the leader of the "alternative government".

Huh?

Wait did I miss something? Have we moved to a parallel multi-government universe? Was there a coup? Are the libs in exile rather than the wasteland?

Sorry Dr you have caught Abottitis (the blissful but damaging tendency to live entirely in a political world of ones own making) and I suspect it may be incurable. The prognosis for your political career is not looking good...

In about 3 days or so he has already made himself a flipflopper or at the very least the ff's poor cousin, the backpeddlar. I think he should just be quiet until the Libs actually have some policy positions instead of spouting off at every opportunity. Although come to think of it, perhaps he is still getting used to the fact that people actually listen to him now.

Dr Nelson has done well in the Libs seeing as he was, for a large portion of his life, a Labor man like his Dad and (shock horror) also the leader of a Union. He has switched sides and I must confess I reckon it is because he thought he'd be more likely to lead the party in the blue camp than the red (plus I'm pretty sure he hates Paul Keating).

But he fits well, at least in the old mould.
Dr N's cred:
A liar: see footage of the good doctor in 1993, swearing loudly, into a bullhorn, while being recorded on camera (smart huh?), that he has never and would never vote Liberal. Then remember that he has also said that he voted Lib prior to making that speech;

A hypocrite: he supports gay equality but still maintains that marriage is a union between a man and a woman and forms the foundation of our society;

Racist: yes he actually and with a straight face called the Stolen Generation the "Separated Generation" on TV today... what, do you think they got weekend visitation Dr?

An appalling, self-centred and arrogant minister: yes I am talking VSU and those planes that only exist on paper, that are more expensive and predicted to perform worse than the forty year old planes we already have and the planes of Indonesia (our most significant neighbour) uses, and that no-one, including the armed forces (you know, the air force) actually wanted Australia to buy... He took money away from infrastructure like education for that.

All in all a good, solid, Howard style conservative.

So he has his way, he is the leader of the OPPOSITION (suck it up Dr) but he will never lead the nation.

Abbotitis will make sure of that.

Glaring Omission

2007-11-27T22:25:00.000+11:00

It was pointed out to me that I could not possibly engage with the Liberal Leadership Battle without mentioning Tony Abbott in a little more depth.

I must first confess that last night I had not seen seen much coverage of Abbott's annoucement, this, however has changed.

Today I read Annabel Crabb's excellent and always amusing column and found this:

"If you'd told me three days ago that by Monday Tony Abbott would be making a run at the Liberal leadership based on his "people skills", I would politely have assumed you were smoking something. And if anyone can nominate a more hilarious fib than Kevin Rudd's claim on Sunday that he had found this election "a humbling experience", I am all ears."

As am I!

Abbott's decision to run on his purported people skills is an even crazier strategy than his assertion that he will stay true to Howards ultra-right legacy.

Honestly... we all know that Abbott has no people skills, none! In fact, he doesn't have a personable bone in his emaciated, wannabe priest, head-kicker body. Remember this is the man that attacked Bernie Banton, a man dying of complications due to asbestos exposure, in the middle of an ELECTION CAMPAIGN!

I'd vote for him.... no really, I would.

Hell kids the only thing I can say is if Tony can run maybe I can too, based solely on my right wing credentials of course!

I still maintain that if they pick Turnbull now it'll be too soon and as much as I love Keating, Bish is also a liability, at least at this stage. That unholy duo may claw back some of the deficit in 2010 but only if they get a short run. If I were a Lib strategist Nelson would be my man. Not because he has much to offer, actually primarily because he doesn't.

Pick ME!!

2007-11-26T23:24:00.000+11:00

So the knives are out and the race is on. Turnbull, the wet, was the first. Tony the ultra right head kicker was second and now Dr Nelson has announced his honourable intentions.

Meanwhile heads are rolling. Most self induced of course, but the attrition rate is astonishing. Brough on the night, Costello on Sunday, Downer has removed himself from the race (no doubt he will not contest the next election either) and now Mark Vaile, the leader of the coaltion partner the National Party, has also jumped ship...all for his family of course!

I am disconcerted about the idea of Julie Bishop as a likely contender for the deputy leadership. Well I suppose we would feel bereft without someone to accuse of me tooism. I have to say she is a poor (actually rich) man's Gillard with none of the spunk or intelligence but with blue-chip twinset and pearl credentials. While I want to see a woman run this country taking on a SA lawyer on because she is a woman, and tows the line is not ideal.

It is a tough strategic decision... largely because it is likely that this will be a two term Labor government. The new leader needs to weather the next 3 years and then no doubt another 3 before having a chance to win. Turnbull has plenty time to have his sheen rubbed off in that time. it would make sense to install one of the others (I'd pick Nelson of the contenders announced) to weather the storm. But that would require a certain amount of sacrifice or pragmatism. Perhaps if the good Doctor realises that he will never win an election but could satisfy some of his ambition with a little time at the top, he may be the man for the job.

Rudd has gone to work and we shall see what that brings but.... for now leadership battles and party implosion on the right is all the news that is fit to print!

Goodness gracious ladies and gentlement brace yourselves! It is going to be bloody, but there is nothing like public backstabbing for a bit of entertainment.

Bring it.

As an afterthought, there are seven seats still undecided, however it seems that Labor is leading in five. A 20 seat majority. That must surely mean at least a 2 term Labor Government? If they pick Tunrbull I hope, for the Libs sake, he doesn't peak too soon.

you got to know when to fold....

2007-11-25T11:53:00.000+11:00

Can't say I am unhappy about last night.

Actually I am ecstatic. Certainly the result more unequivocal than I could have possibly have dreamed. There was a clear statement made about what Australians think about the direction of this country. I just hope it wasn't all about interest rates.

Certainly Federal Labor has benefitted from a strong anti-Howard feeling. The Coalition is very much linked to Howard's leadership and people have clearly lost faith in that leadership. I think it would be foolish, however, to assume that Rudd's proclaimed new leadership will be much more than simply a changing of the guard. Well that is unless we make sure it is. Labor has made few strong policy statements, and fewer promises. Not unexpected considered the pre-election polling, why make promises when people are going to vote for you anyway.

This may represent an opportunity though. It means that there is an agenda to be set. And it means that we should think about how we are going to set it.

One of the other interesting results in this election is the swing to the Greens. And that despite the mood for change and the fear of "narrowing polls" (and I feel tempted to say 'yeah right' to that considering the results) which might lead strategists to assume that people will vote more conservatively in order to assure a Labor victory. The Greens look also to have picked up some seats in the senate, 3 new seats according to the ABC online today. This is great news for the party and goes some way to deal with what is potentially the greatest threat to Australian Democracy; having one party controlling both houses of parliament. Without that we wouldn't have had WorkChoices, VSU or many other pieces of legislation that the Coalition felt (clearly to their detriment) that Australia needed.

I am extraordinarly happy that Mal Brough has gone. I am also happy that Lindsay spoke at the polls against bigotry, lies and cheating. I wish Turnbull was similary nursing a hangover and disappointment, and while it was always unlikey, if Joe and Tony had fallen my happiness would have know no bounds.

It is too early yet to know if Howard has lost his seat... God knows I am hoping against all hope. Nevertheless, that Maxine McKew managed to have such a large swing in a safe seat, held by the same member for 30 or so years and one that was held by the current Prime Minister, is an astonishing achievement. And a huge statement by the electorate. Even Howard is conceding in the press today that it highly likely that he will lose, meaning that he will join the ranks of sitting PMs who have lost their seat (yes there is only one and it hasn't happened since 1929).

Howard's Menzies complex, his own ambition, and his arrongance have cost him government and perhaps his seat. Well they do say pride comes before a fall and boy has Howard fallen.

Perhaps Howard should have listened to a little more Kenny Rogers. He overplayed his hand and worse than that he didn't know when to cash in his chips.

So, the King is dead...long live the King.

P.S. Well well, always the bridesmaid never the bride!

I have just found out on SMH online that Costello will not seek nor accept the nomination for the leadership of the Liberal Party. That is despite Howard's endorsement (kiss of death?) pre-election. Who will be the next leader? $50 says Turnbull.

At least Costello knows when it is time to go.

T'was the night before polling.....

2007-11-23T13:29:00.000+11:00

The irony of seeing Anthony Albanese speak about the Fake Pamphlet scandal in the marginal seat of Lindsay on Lateline last night was palpable. Perhaps he is considered an authority on matrimonial influence since he is the the federal half of Labor's very own power couple, the King and Queen of Marrickville. Nevertheless, the question must be asked, can we really believe that neither Jackie Kelly, nor the current candidate (who's husband is also implicated), nor the Liberal campaign manager, really could not have known what was going on? Labor sure seemed to....

Now I will admit here that I didn't watch the interview. I am suffering from serious election fatigue and I don't find Albanese or Ruddock who was also on, particularly appealing, even after a schooner or two. So I am not going to comment on it. What I am interested in the the Liberals apparent ineptitude when it has come to campaigning in this election. I have only lived in Australia under a Coalition government. That puts me in a similar position to many people voting for the first time in this election. In every federal election to date it has seemed that Howard and the Coalition could literally not put a foot wrong. Partly this has had to do, I think with federal Labor's inability to offer strong opposition. They have been for eleven years or so Liberal Lite. I think they still are really. But for some reason this time it doesn't seem to matter.

Why?

Well perhaps because eleven years is just too long. People want a change. If the Liberal party had changed leadership earlier they may have been in a better position, and I am not talking Costello because who in their right mind would vote for him?!

The next problem is WorkChoices (it really makes my skin crawl to call it that because the only people it really offers genuine choice to is to business). This is one of the most broadly unpopular pieces of legislation the government has introduced and using their senate majority to ram it through backfired I think. It has solidified "battlers'" resistance to both the legislation and the government because it seemed to take no consideration for the opposition. But again, why did this not happen when Howard and co. introduced the GST after promising hand on heart that they would never do it?

I suspect it has something to do with the media. Not a new or insightful comment admittedly. What it seems is that for the first time in eleven years the mainstream media outlets have moved away from subtle (in a few cases) or quite overt support of the government. One could say that they seem to read the mood of the country better than the pollies. But I think we have the cart before the horse. I think the media contributes enormously to that sentiment. I am convinced that what happened in Lindsay is not a new tactic. I am convinced that the government's lies and arrogance are not new traits. This time, however, they are being reported and we are seeing the Liberals for what they are; liars and cheats at worst, frightened at best.

We still see headlines that warn us that business is bracing for the return of the Unions, as was on the front page of the Fin Review yesterday. We are still being told that the polls are narrowing, that the coalition could still win, but this reporting serves Labor as much, if not more than the Coalition. Simply because it makes people afraid. Afraid that the mood for change is not strong enough, afraid that we might have 3 more years of the coalition (if we think they are bad now imagine what the next term will be like when they have won the "unwinnable" election), afraid that we may end up with a PM we didn't even vote for.

We all know that winning this election is a big ask. As has happened before a party can win the most votes and not the most seats... and Labor needs to win 16 new seats (didn't Latham get a kicking?). That is a huge swing in real terms. But not imossible. A poll released last week showed Labor leading in 18 marginals, if they deliver that is a landslide in anyone's books.

Personally I want to see a change, I would love it coupled with a change in Bennelong, but I am not fooled. We will all need to push to keep the ALP honest. The scene has been set for mendacity and wilfulness, remember when Howard said with a straight face that involving us in Iraq was an example of his not being a poll driven politician since he simply ignored the massive displays of public sentiment (you know the great unwashed he is supposed to represent) that were so vehemently opposed to it.

This is a government that has shown itself to be more concerned with keeping their jobs than doing their jobs. Lets make them redundant, take away their penalties, because if there is one thing I know, elections certainly pass the fairness test.