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Labor's "brave" review fails to upstage Morrison's incompetence.
Were politics reset in keeping with the times, the parties would concede that it is not a contest between social democracy and a capitalist free-for-all, or "the light on the hill" and "the forgotten people", or even conservatives and progressives, but one in which the ghosts of organisations that once had some claim to represent these passions compete to prove themselves the superior financial managers. Don Watson
Attack of the Labor Zombies:"Review of Labor's 2019 Election Campaign", the ritual killing of Bill Shorten by hungry ghosts, premiers nationally, this week, six months after Bill's political death, a fate which the commentariat is still finalising for him despite his promising to "hang around" for another twenty years.
Karen Middleton scoffs at Shorten's pledge. "He'll be in his seventies", she sighs, on ABC Insiders Sunday. Bill will be 72. Four years younger than Joe Biden. Elizabeth Warren's 70. Billy Hughes served for 51 years; died at 90 before he could get around to thinking about retiring. But it's not about age.
It's … the chutzpah. "He's got to win all those elections." Shorten won almost a five per cent (4.99%) swing to Labor in his Victorian seat of Maribyrnong, last election. Next, he's at fault for making his twenty-year pledge before the review comes out to help others decide his future for him.
How very dare he get in first?
MSM is consumed by the review; the review of the review and any excuse at all to kick Bill Shorten.
Kill Bill has become a national sport since Tony Abbott contrived to make "Bill Shorten" a pejorative term, a project taken up shamelessly by Malcolm Turnbull and with glee by bully Morrison.
Interviews with Morrison normalise his bullying, as Dr Jennifer Wilson argues, in analysis of the PM's manic scattergun barrage of bullshit to cover his running away from the question guerrilla tactics.
Julia Banks quit parliament after only a term because of the level of bullying during the leadership spill.
What's even more alarming is the subtext that Morrison, miraculously, got everything right. Scapegoats help with that. It's a by-product of reducing party politics to the popularity of the leader, part of our brave new age of populist personality politics where policy and reasoned argument count less than spin and image. And Morrison's fevered hyper-partisanship makes Tony Abbott look like a peace-maker.
Albo offers to accompany Morrison to NSW bushfire areas, he tells Fran Kelly, Sunday. His offer is brushed aside. Something about not getting in the way of "the rescue effort". Later media images show Morrison, alone, comforting victims, as he did with his drought series of visits, grandstanding on grief.
But Labor doesn't seem to have got the memo that there's a war on. Blending psychic surgery with forensic post-mortem, Labor eviscerates itself for a ritual cleansing. Bares its soul. And then some. The Review … is an unparalleled, almost naive act of faith. No wonder it gets everyone's attention.
But why? Is this orgy of over-sharing prompted by some rush of utopian socialism which only true believers can call into being? Or is it folly? It's unique, says ABC's Laura Tingle, her take on "brave".
"That's very brave of you, minister. An extremely courageous decision," as Mr Appleby would say.
Yet Labor's purpose, beside officially defining what went wrong, is to draw a line under its defeat.
Fat chance. Just because closure is a tabloid TV victim's top buzz-word doesn't make it achievable. Somehow, there's something for everybody because, you know, Labor lost. By Sunday's ABC Insiders, a narrow loss morphs into a rout. Labor can't even pass its own post-mortem exam, Fran Kelly implies.
It's not easy. Former Keating speech-writer, Don Watson, notes that Labor's changing constituency increasingly includes service-sector employees, lower-level managers and healthcare workers, as the middle class itself is changing. Labor's review even detects an influx of woke, affluent, graduates in Southern states, whom, it contends can afford the luxury of idealism. It's a dangerous hypothesis.
"Since university graduates, on average, earn higher incomes and have more secure jobs than those without tertiary qualifications, they are more readily able to think about issues such as climate change, refugees, marriage equality and the rights of the LGBTQI+ community."
But a few rich grads didn't win Labor any seats, Emerson and Wetherill are quick to note. And if your idealism or concern for justice and the survival of the planet is in proportion to your wealth, heaven help the rest of us. Paul Keating reckons Labor lost because it failed to understand the "new middle-class".
New? Watson sees a class with no ideology nor even consciousness of itself as a class. Being new it has "no roots beyond its self-interest". He hopes Morrison hasn't already press-ganged it into Quiet Australians, another bogus, Silent Majority.
But who needs analysis? Nuance is banished from our national conversation. Labor's review simply has to make Bill the villain. You can't trust Bill Shorten. It's the old Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison melodrama.
News Corp prefers a shifty, shorthand, "dud leader, dud policies, dud strategy", summation which bears no resemblance to the subtler findings published by Dr Craig Emerson and Jay Weatherill who chair Labor's inquiry. But given Murdoch's stranglehold over our media, it will soon become gospel truth.
Paul Kelly, The Australian's editor at large, wilfully misrepresents the report. Eagerly, he invents a turf war. Two Labor constituencies are at war with each other. Father Kelly fears for Labor – a fear which Fran Kelly and others put to Albo. How can Labor possibly bridge the gap between blue-collar and gown?
"The Labor Party now resembles two rival constituencies fighting each other — their origins embedded in the party's past and its future — a conflict that extinguished Labor's hopes at the May election and a chasm that nobody knows how to bridge," Kelly fantasises. But it's never had any trouble in the past.
Rupert's troupers can't labour Labor's factionalism enough. It diverts from Coalition disunity. All is not well, for example, in Cockies' Corner. Nationals Deputy Leader and Minister for Agriculture, Bridget McKenzie, "couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery" one MP tells ABC's, Lucy Barbour.
McKenzie is under pressure to perform; step up to the plate or step aside. Pauline Hanson's taken all the credit for saving the dairy farmers and the PM seems to own drought the relief compassion show.
Barnaby Joyce is still agitating for promotion despite spending $675,000 for only three weeks in the field and not providing any reports as special drought envoy. But as media keep the focus on Shorten's failure and the myth of Labor's imminent descent into civil war, the Morrison miracle spin gets a further tweak.
(By the magic of implication, the current struggle between Nats and Libs – witness the spat over who owns the theatre of drought relief, or the Liberals capture by climate change denialists – means the Coalition with its three Prime Ministers in six years, rivals The Mormon Tabernacle Choir for harmony.)
Not the Puritan Choir, that's another, evangelical, faction led by Mr Probity, Stuart Robert, architect of the Turnbull assassination plot. But all is forgiven. He's repaid $37,975, only $8000 shy of what he had previously claimed as 'residential internet expenses'. Streaming Christian TV from home is not cheap.
Be fair. Stu's wife, Peoples' Pastor Chantelle, can't run her Pentecostal online evangelism without a decent broadband connection. Robert also says he's returned a brace of gold Rolex watches, he and his wife – and other Coalition MPs received in 2013 from Chinese instant noodle billionaire Li Ruipeng.
Robert, Abbott and Macfarlane thought the $250,000 worth of watches were fakes, they say. As you do, whenever any oligarch tenders a token of his esteem in expectation of a return favour. Or perhaps not.
Or perhaps you do – if you're an Australian MP seeking favour. Robert resigned from Turnbull's ministry when he breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct on a business trip to China for Nimrod resources in which he somehow gave his Chinese hosts the false impression he was in China in an official capacity.
In 2017, Robert's eighty-year-old father, Alan, discovers that he is a director of one of his son's companies and that his son has used his Dad's address on one of his businesses. Without telling him. The private company in question is doing rather well in winning government contracts, until then.
You won't catch Robert or Morrison holding any public review. It's against their religion. Look at the trouble Morrison's mentor Brian Houston is having just complying with NSW police investigation. He's refusing to answer questions about his father's child abuse. The tactic seems to be working perfectly.
Frugal with the truth, lest Satan strike you whilst your guard is down, God's hot-eyed warriors know when to keep stumm. Just as they know that God put coal underground for our blessing and just as they are happy to burn for mining while awaiting the rapture, believing they will be saved by their faith.
Thou shalt not fear fossil fuels preaches Pentecostal Pastor PD King in The Christian Post.
Yet Robert's god-botherers and coal warriors are not symptoms of deep division in the Coalition. Nor are Tim Wilson, Dave Sharma, Jason Falinski, Katie Allen, Angie Bell and Trent Zimmerman who sign on to parliamentary friends of climate action, "a safe place away from partisan politics", which has Greens, Labor and cross-bench supporters, only to snub their very first meeting 14 October.
But not all MSM scribes are bluffed. Do what Father Morrison does: walk both sides of the chasm at the same time. Granted, "Shut up and eat your peas, dad is talking" is Morrison's leadership style, as The Guardian Australia's Katharine Murphy astutely discerns, but don't let a paternal despot pull the wool.
"… look at Morrison, who manages to walk every side of every street simultaneously and talk out of both sides of his mouth and suffer no apparent penalty."
Murphy's amused by Morrison's hypocrisy in his illiberal lecture to the mining mafia last Friday week in which he threatens yet another new clampdown, (number 84 and counting) on the civil liberties of illiberal protesters who are exercising their right to boycott businesses who collude with coal-miners to extinguish the planet. She believes he just says this sort of stuff for effect and hopes nobody notices.
Also hypocritical is Morrison's message that he'll do everything for coal. Only a few days earlier, he makes a billion-dollar grant to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). Abbott tried to close down the CEFC along with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), a move Turnbull reversed.
Morrison's CEFC grant will help fund new transmission infrastructure to help clean energy access more of the national grid. Next, he agrees to help underwrite the main NSW-Queensland interconnector.
Murphy rightly asks why Morrison is able to shape-shift every day of the week but Labor is excoriated for selling out when it tries to straddle two constituencies. Worse, it must get a real leader, like ScoMo, the actor playing the daggy suburban Pentecostal dad with the Stepford wife, a man we can all identify with.
Shorten's unpopularity has more to do with his crucifixion by News Corp and its lackeys including, sadly our ABC, than any political reality. Labor's review concedes, however, that damage has been done.
Labor's review sums up Labor's loss as a combination "of a weak strategy that could not adapt to the change in Liberal leadership, a cluttered policy agenda that looked risky and an unpopular leader" – a verdict, writes ANU's Frank Bongiorno "which belies the sophistication of the report as whole".
But everyone in the gallery – from Michelle Grattan to Mark Latham – gets to twist the knife. It's a massive pile-on; way more popular, than Melbourne's Spring Carnival. Bagging Labor's failings easily upstages the Melbourne Cup, the race that barely slows the nation, our increasingly anaemic, ritual national blood-sport. Besides schadenfreude is surely part of our tall poppy syndrome.
But like the curious incident of the dog in the night time, nowhere is there mention of News Corp.
"The Murdoch media didn't merely favour the government over the opposition. It campaigned vigorously for the return of the Coalition. And it is a vast empire, with a monopoly through much of regional Queensland, for instance. It is hard not to see in the review's silence on this matter a clearing of the way for a future kissing of the ring of the familiar kind." Frank Bongiorno writes.
Everyone wants to wag the finger; tell Labor where it went wrong and by implication how Morrison's miracle campaign was so inspired – when in reality it was almost totally negative; long on disinformation and attacking Shorten's character – including the Daily Telegraph's attack on his mother's integrity.
A review of the Coalition campaign? Nasty, brutish and short on policy beyond the promise of tax cuts. The $1080 tax cut may have bought a few votes but it is proving a total failure as a fiscal stimulus.
The retail sector is in its third year of per capita recession. While Frydenberg and Morrison seek to explain it away by online sales, as Alan Austin notes, the ABS figures include online sales.
"Retail sales for the September quarter came to $82.6 billion, up just 2.48% on the same quarter a year ago. With inflation at 1.7% and population rising 1.6%, that is a decline in real terms relative to population. So the sector is now in its third year of per capita recession."
Luckily Labor Zombies … is a sell-out performance, upstaging the government's own show, "Geronticide! Hell ain't a patch on the ways you will suffer in God's Waiting Room; dying of abuse and neglect in our private aged care homes", brilliantly scripted by commissioners Lynelle Briggs, AM, and Richard Tracey, AO, in their three-volume Interim Report into Aged Care …, "…a shocking tale of neglect".
Everything's apples with aged care with just a few rotten fruit spoiling everything. Besides, Morrison says there'll be more funds by Christmas. He can't say how little. No-one would expect his government to have been briefed so soon, given that it's only Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison's sixth year in government. Expect Santa Hunt and Morrison to stuff the announcement in a stocking late on Christmas Eve.
In the meantime, despite the commissioners' finding that commodifying aged care is the core of the problem, the Coalition is proceeding with its plan to privatise the staff who do the assessments.
Amazing new efficiencies will follow; such as we've seen in the NDIS, where $1.6 billion is being saved by shunting disabled Australians on New Start instead. Private enterprise is a miracle of profit-driven efficiency. And care. No funds will be wasted on gratuitous compassion or humanity. Or spent in haste.
"We are six years into the rollout and we have heard of people waiting two years for a wheelchair, so it needs concerted attention," says Kirsten Dean from disability advocate group Every Australian Counts.
Expect the reforms to raise the bar; reducing the number of our elderly folk who qualify for homecare "packages", which are already very limited in scope and difficult to access even at their most basic level.
Above all, Labor Zombies … is a great diversion from the long list of latest revelations of wrong-doing by Morrison's mob, especially the Australian National Audit Office's (ANAO) censure of the pork-barrel party coalition for its shonky award of funding under its $200 million regional jobs and investment packages.
Conceding it might have a bit to hide, a furtive, federal government chooses to release its ANAO report on Tuesday afternoon when it hopes all eyes and ears will be turned to the track at Flemington.
The ANAO is scathing about the Morrison government's disregard for advice provided by bureaucrats. It is also unhappy with ways the Coalition chooses to ignore guidelines regarding merit and eligibility.
Untrained ministers took over the process, making decisions on their own, unaided by expert advice. No. Of course, they did not bother to take minutes. 64 of 232 applications were scrapped. A total of $75.9m in funding is declined. Yet $77.4m in requested grant funding is approved to 68 applicants, not on the departmental list. Over half the funding is pork forked out of the barrel.
While program guidelines require applicants to declare any perceived or existing conflicts of interest, or declare that they had no conflicts – "no action was taken to give effect to this element of the program guidelines".
Doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results, is one definition of insanity. Yet, when the Coalition rolls out the pork barrel, this week, in yet another round of drought relief; a billion-dollar "suite of measures" to its backblock pals, as it grandiose handout, once again, to entice farmers to do more of the same, is there method in its madness? Or is it merely Groundhog Day again?
The groundhog factor cannot be ignored. Mugged by an Anthropocene reality; Morrison's mob have no idea what to do. No policies; no plans. No future. They can only fall back on past practice. And buying votes. Along with nostalgia, the pork barrel is part of every Coalition MP's mental furniture; it's in its DNA.
And craving more of the same old, same old means it's only natural to look backwards; unerringly repeat the same mistakes of the past. Five years ago, then PM Tony Abbott, and his Minister for Agriculture and Water rorts, Barnaby Boondoggle Joyce, announced – a suite of measures offering financial, social and mental health support. Bingo!
But there is method or shrewd craftiness. Evading accountability for starters. Is there any area of public funding less scrutinised than drought relief? wonders Bernard Keane.
Australia would still have a car industry and 50,000 secure jobs for only a third of the amount that the Coalition is prepared to pony up for loans to farmers and small-businesses in drought-affected towns.
But imagine the outcry from News Corp and its claque if workers, or manufacturers, could borrow up to two million interest-free for two years; with no need to pay back the principal until the sixth year.
"Rural communities can't function without these small businesses – that's why we're stepping in to provide this extra support," Morrison says. But in its Abbott incarnation, the coalition government was perfectly happy to deny SPC Ardmona $25 million just five years ago?
Many workers and their families in other sectors would be glad of the support. Manufacturing, for example, lost 100,000 jobs, or a third of the entire agriculture workforce, in the year to August.
But extra support has limits. State schools won't be eligible for $10m in new education funding announced in Thursday's drought package, an "elitist and unfair" if not downright cruel decision.
Australian Education Union president, Correna Haythorpe, argues it's "another slush fund for private schools" on top of the $1.2bn Choice and Affordability fund for Catholic and Independent schools, which Lenore Taylor reports also included money for drought-affected areas.
In its encore, Drought Relief 2.0 "Suite of measures" this week, Morrison's travelling roadshow hopes, above all, that the hullabaloo will distract punters from its own Drought Response, Preparedness and Resilience a report which it commissioned from top brass Stephen Day, DSC, AM, the very model of a modern Major General and former Drought Co-ordinator-general.
Somehow it must keep us from the Light of Day.
Drought is not a natural disaster, it's an enduring feature of the Australian landscape, reports Day. Yet instead of launching into the droughts and flooding plains of Dorothea McKellar's My Country – and a staple of The Nationals' MP interview press-kit, Day breaks with climate-denialist tradition.
"While droughts are normal for Australia, drought conditions are likely to become more frequent, severe and longer in some regions due to climate change."
It's plain as day that we're responsible for the drought, with our love of coal-fired power stations, coal mines and our mania for land clearing. It's a far less romantic notion than playing the hapless victim – Abbott's "Shit Happens" philosophy, a helpless victim of natural disaster.
But accountability is apostasy, heresy even in the broad church of the Coalition Party Room and especially to the reality denial cabal in the driver's seat, to say nothing of the God-made-coal-so-we-should-profit-from-his-divine-providence, Pentecostal push that has a hot-line to the current tenant in Kirribilli House.
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Day to Day Politics: A party full of liars.
Written by: John Lord
Sunday 24 April 2016 – 71
1 On NEWS 24 on Saturday morning I listened intently to yet another interview with Greg Hunt. I have previously called him the Coalition's second biggest liar after Tony Abbott. He was typically using his best flamboyant language to say that Australia is the envy of the rest of the world for its direct action on climate change. As usual he was lying by omission. When asked about a recent declaration by the independent Climate Change Authority that Australia would have to decrease its emissions by 40/60% if it was to achieve its future targets he simply ignored the question and continued on with the absurd suggestion that we were, more or less, the world's best performers .
In spite of all the science that has placed the problem beyond any reasonable doubt people need to recognise that half of the Coalition still don't accept the evidence of climate change. This week we had the Attorney General (the same Senator who cannot use a computer) saying that the science is still unsettled.
Most of us accept evidence based, peer tested, evidence. There are three cohorts of people who don't. Luddites like Brandis, religious nutters, and capitalists who worship profit before people.
The vast majority – in excess of 97 per cent – of scientific papers on climate change agree its causes are primarily man-made.
CSIRO Chief Larry Marshall said:
"The question has been answered, and the new question is what do we do about it, and how can we find solutions for the climate we will be living with."
Senator Nash, who happens to be responsible for regional development, told Sky News there were "varying views" on climate science and she was of the opinion it was still up for debate.
An observation.
Asked where the Paris deal left Australia's climate change policy, the expert adviser to the former government Professor Ross Garnaut said: "Exactly where it was before the US-China announcement – up shit creek."
So how does a leader with firm well known supportive views on the subject cope with so many deniers in his party? Well the answer is he doesn't. He allows them to lead him.
2 And the leader himself lies about the affect Negative Gearing will have on the value of peoples homes. His deputy lies about Labor's debt. The Treasurer and his assistant use goobly gook words to confuse people about the state of the economy,ignoring the fact that there was a Global Financial Crisis and that they have themselves increased our debt substantially.
3 Not to be outdone in the lying stakes Sophie Mirabella, the bride of bitchyness, in a debate with other candidates for the seat of Indi says that her party withdrew $10million dollars allocated to the local hospital because she didn't win.
Of course logic tells you that had that money been available it would have been a policy in her campaign. Her contemptuously outrageous statement will probably cost her any chance of winning the seat. What it has done however is to reinforce the perception that unless you live in a marginal seat then your vote doesn't count for much.
I live in the seat of Gippsland. The city of Traralgon is currently experiencing rapid growth. It requires a new swimming complex and arts district. On many occasions I have said that until the seat becomes marginal that it's wishful thinking. The current Member is Darren Chester who holds the seat by around 14 per cent. In the last reshuffle he was made Infrastructure Minister. Guess what?
4 On other matters Bill Shorten has said that Labor will accept the umpire's decision on Penalty Rates which will be handed down at some point during the campaign. It will probably go against the grain and upset the Union Movement but as he says:
"I've said I'll accept the independent tribunal," "just like that", it was ultimately up to the commission" he said.
"I've got my opinion. At the end of the day though, the way minimum wages get set in this country is through evidence, it's through the submissions of workers, their representatives and employers."
5 A small but important point from the last IPOS Poll suggests that Labor needs to do more to attract the young vote.
At 32 per cent, the Greens' primary vote among 18 to 24-year-olds is seven points ahead of the Coalition and just one point behind Labor's 33, highlighting the century-old social democratic party's problem with losing voters from the left.
Labor's vote is 20 points down from its peak of 53 per cent in mid-2015, the height of the Abbott government's political woes.
It was only a very small sample but never the less is a concern. It does also of course reflect just how unpopular the Coalition is with the young.
6 This week's final Crickey Bludger Tracker combined poll analysis has the Coalition on 50.1 and Labor 49.9
"It's close but no cigar for Labor in the latest reading of the BludgerTrack poll aggregate, which projects the Turnbull government grimly hanging on to a parliamentary majority.''
My thought for the day.
'It seems to me that the wisest people I know are the ones that apply reason, and logic and leave room for doubt. The most unwise are the fools and fanatics who don't'.
Day to Day Politics: I have never seen them so angry. The nutters I mean.
Saturday April 9 2016
1 The Crickey BludgerTrack analysis of combined polling this week has it 50.8-49.2 to the Coalition.
After a few weeks where it appeared the trend to Labor had tapered off, the BludgerTrack poll aggregate records a solid nudge to Labor this week on the back a Newspoll result crediting it with a 51-49 lead. BludgerTrack doesn't go quite so far, but it does have the Coalition losing a full point off the primary vote since last week.
There is much happening on all social networks. The fact that things are not going well for the government is reflected in the angriness of the right-wing commentary. Even The Australian has been giving the Government a bit of stick.
I myself have taken a bit of a battering this week on some Facebook pages that purport to be discussion pages.
Every day I write my opinions on a variety of subjects. They are my own thoughts based on my political philosophy, many individual and collective influences, and my world view based on 75 years of living experience.
On some Facebook pages it's astonishing just how many on the right of politics swear blind they never read, would never contemplate reading my work, so abhorrent it is to them. Then they go on to opine about it.
Whatever intelligence I might have affords me no understanding of this.
Here is an example after I questioned an individuals civility.
'Far from it John, I am being very tame given it is social media. You should see the real me when it comes to people like you. You represent everything that caused over 100 million deaths last century. I think it is funny the very thing that allows me to tolerate you is the very thing you are trying to destroy. You seem so proud of what you are. Don't be :-)'
And for the things they say about this blog. Well I'll leave it there.
2 It has now become apparent that the future of the Government sits with the budget. A budget that has two competing requirements. Firstly one that addresses spending.
This is a budget that is critical to the future of Australia. The Abbott/Turnbull government have blamed Labor for all manner of things and promised to fix everything. The have said that revenue is not the problem, spending is. They have committed to cutting spending without raising revenue.
Everything that was once on the table and presented as a grand plan has been swept from it. The budget has become the plan.
A leading player on the right, Cory Bernardi said the Government's priority was 'getting the budget back in the black and making government sustainable'.
No we cannot continue to spend more than what we earn.
Bernardi went on:
'This is a critical budget for the future of the country. It's a critical choice for the future of the country because we cannot continue on spending 50 or 60 billion a year more than we have in income and taking further income in is not the answer.'
The Government has placed itself between a rock and a hard place. Its ideology demands that it doesn't hurt its own constituency. That is why it won't address the revenue issue. It's called votes.
Barry Cassidy in an article for The Drum makes my second point with this comment.
'But can the Treasurer fashion a budget that does all that and also serves as the political document that saves the day? Can it be both economically tough and politically pragmatic?
I don't think so. And I might put this question.
How can the Government, given the unscrupulous behaviour of the corporate world possibly argue for tax breaks for business in the budget and at the same time ignore the ordinary punter.
3 The Governments main thrust of attack has been centered on Union corruption. Parliament is being recalled at an enormous cost to debate the ABCC legislation.
The waters of this debate have been muddied this week with the release of the Panama papers, serious allegations of corporate cheating globally, and the atrocious behaviour of some of our banks.
And of course the appalling management of Arrium reminds us that the corporate world has taken an almighty hit this week. The government on the one hand cannot be seen to be Union bashing whilst on the other be seen to be condoning the behaviour of their corporate mates.
A strong banking system is vital for the Australian economy but it shouldn't be a licence for corporate economic immorality.
4 The Labor Party has taken the lead with an announcement on Friday that there will be a Royal Commission into the financial sector if it wins office.
The Government throws a tantrum saying there is no need. That ASIC and other regulatory bodies have adequate powers to deal with the issues.
Which of course raises the question that if they are doing their job of regulating why are we seeing scandal after scandal relating to financial services.
A friend, Russell Green, on Facebook posed this question.
'At the risk of harping on a well-worn record. Given the events of the past few months with regard to companies and individuals not paying any tax, regardless of its legality, and the subsequent release of the "Panama Papers", the time has come for governments to give up on income taxes and pursue transaction taxes instead. Income Tax has become optional in the eyes of many. Whereas transaction taxes are in fact very collectible. As it is the institutions themselves that collect and pass on the tax. This form of taxation would be extremely difficult to avoid. In simple terms get rid of all income and company tax. And replace with a percentage, whatever is able to replace that lost revenue, of each transaction. Keep the GST at 10% but make it on everything. This would have the effect of destroying the tax avoidance industry; stop the need for negative gearing; the cost of doing business would be that; and Australia would become a tax-free haven. There would be so much to gain. The only people who would be fearful of this are those that stand to lose what they currently avoid by devious means.'
Make any sense or just food for thought.
5 Finally. Even after yet another report and subsequent findings into parliamentarian's expenses we still find politicians feeding themselves from the public purse.
Barnaby goes one better than Bronny chartering two $4000 helicopter rides to visit a village near his electorate office.
Then today we find it's actually four.
On top of that we find that other are paying off their Canberra homes on the public purse using their travel allowances..
These are some of the culprits.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, Social Services Minister Christian Porter, Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion and Assistant Defence Minister Michael McCormack.
They stay in houses or apartments they own and claim the travel allowance when in Canberra, which can work out at a minimum of $1000 a week or $18,000 a year. That's it I have had enough.
'Never confuse what you want with what you need'
Day to Day Politics: Turnbull's Election Campaign. Making something of nothing.
Given that the independent Cross Bench Senators fail to pass the ABCC legalisation its odds on that we will be going to the polls on July 2. An extremely important one for Australia's future I might add.
So I'm thinking what will Malcolm Turnbull and the Coalition campaign on. What will he fight the election on?
We need to keep in mind that this is going a very lengthy campaign so whatever the overall theme is, it needs to run the distance. We can rule out 'Stopping the boats' as this is to closely associated with Abbott. We can rule out Labor disunity as there doesn't appear to be any. And given Abbott's broken promises after the last election it can't be a 'who do you trust one.'
Media reform, Senate reform and fixing bankruptcy laws are nor heart and soul issues. Perhaps negative gearing and capital gains.
Union corruption and Shortens involvement might be a goer but Labour could counter that with accusations of corruption in big business and donations to the Liberal Party.
He certainly can't campaign on the Governments record. Everyone knows it has been abysmal.
Scaremongering about a new carbon tax might get a run but it can easily be countered with a better story. The economy is usually the Coalitions strongest point but since coming to power promising to reform the taxation system and making utter fools of themselves, the public will be wary.
The Prime Minister is trying to pass off responsibility for Health to the states so he can hardly make health stand out like a beacon.
In the end it comes down to his favourite. That being 'Innovation'
There is nothing wrong with the narrative of being an innovative country with an innovative economy. In fact it should be a worthwhile pursuit.
There are three problems though. Firstly, all innovation is generated by education and Turnbull's proposal for the states to raise their own tax is regressive. The response thus far to this pie in the sky thought bubble has been dreadful. It was so lacking in any detail that the electorate thinks it sus. A two tier system. One run by the Commonwealth, the other by the States.
He will be accused of prioritising Christian schools and Private ones. Inevitably Labor will accuse him of religious preferentialism and class nepotism. Innovation born of educational privilege is a hard sell.
Turnbull said:
"I suspect no federal government would retreat from funding and continuing to support the non-government school sector because there would be a concern that they would not get a fair go from state governments who obviously would have a competing interest with their schools".
Really? That statement smacks of privilege.
Strangely conservatives have never realised that kids from low socioeconomic backgrounds are our greatest untapped source of potential growth. They are our most undervalued resource..
Secondly, it's also hard to sell a theme of innovation based of nice words alone. Their actions thus far with the dismissal of hundreds of scientists from the CSIRO doesn't fit. And when he announced his $billion policy he failed to mention the $4billionAbbott had already taken out.
Thirdly, innovation requires the best technology to advance itself. Turnbull himself has made a complete mess of the construction of the NBN. Young people have not forgiven him for it.
'The problem with designing a network to meet the needs of today is that it denies you the ability to meet the needs of tomorrow'.
So there we have it. I may have missed something but there isn't much left.
Maybe you have some thoughts.
'The ideas of today need to be honed with critical reason, factual evidence and scientific methods of enquiry so that they clearly articulate the currency of tomorrow'.
Day to Day Politics: My after Easter catch up. Bolt looks to Sky.
Tuesday 29 March.
1 After a short break it's a bit difficult to know where to start, Oh well, let's start with Bolt. After 5 years of poor ratings with 'The Bolt Report' on 10 it seems he is looking to the sky with a nightly program. Ten apparently refused to continue funding his ratings disaster.
Monday to Friday he will cover his set topics of Racism, Free Speech, Muslims, National Defence, Tony Abbott, George Pell and Climate Change.
He will interview a stream of compliant guests who will undoubtedly agree with him. He will critique the media and politicians which of course means those who disagree with him and while doing so opine about the news of the day. He will preach to a smaller Sky audience but a more agreeable one.
Bolt said:
"The worst thing of any of the jobs I've got, whether it's the newspaper, radio or TV, is trying to get guests on … You go from being fearless to supplicant! The big question is, will Malcolm Turnbull come on?"
He has trouble getting guests. No, he can't be serious.
We have so much to learn from people we disagree with that it's a wonder we don't do it more often.
2 Bolt's fellow right-winger Cory Bernardi in the meantime has raised the prospect of a split in the Liberal Party by laying the background for a new Conservative party. It's clear to anyone who takes an interest in politics that internally the party is split into two groups. The Neo Conservative, Tea Party types, and old style Small L libs. Tim Costello got it right when he said the party was two parties in one. It's a battle royal for the ascendency.
As it stands, despite have a leftish leader, too weak to lead, conservative policies are having their way. There are many examples of this. Only last week they shelved a promise to announce the plebiscite question on Marriage Equality until after the election. The extremists are having their way. They want to frame the question to their own liking.
Tony Abbott is forging ahead with his own right-wing agenda openly critical of anything outside of his own legacy, highlighting meetings with world leaders as he travels and he intends campaigning in his own right. What he misses of course is the extent of his own unpopularity.
John Hewson suggested:
"He won't go away, so I think you give him a role. Define the role very carefully and encourage him to be judged by his performance."
As if he would take a role that in any way diminished his ego.
Former Howard Minister Peter Reith suggested he keep his head down lest he lose his legacy.
3 Former Labor minister Craig Emerson hit the mark when he said it was strange the prime minister had left the timing of the next election in the hands of four senators "who hate his guts".
"That's a master stroke, apparently" Emerson said.
However, late on Monday it was reported that Turnbull was in discussion with Senator Day about extending the Legislation to include other forms of corruption. Something Glenn Lazarus has been suggesting for months. If this compromise is reached and the bill passed if would make a mockery of wanting to be rid of the cross bench senators because our democracy wasn't being served.
4 On top of all their other worries they still have the problem of Arthur Sinodinos to deal with. By any measure, including the pub test, Arthur doesn't pass. It simply beggars belief that when he was finance director of the Liberal Party that he didn't know about the intricate scheme to channel loads of illegal donations to his party.
His evidence at the ICAC enquiry was astonishing. It seemed that the poor Senator had had an early onset of dementia, so bad was his memory. In fact one has to wonder how a person with such a poor memory could possibly serve in any capacity.
Surely now it's time for a national ICAC.
Once these accusations surface they usually have a way of growing legs of their own, with an inevitable guilt ridden conclusion.
It's all very well for Mike Baird and the PM to say just fess up and reveal who the donors were, but the implications in doing so may be very bad indeed if favours are seen to be involved.
5 I have often wondered why it is that politicians address each other as honourable when it is obvious to most that they are not.
They are certainly not honourable when it comes to their expenses and the recent findings suggest that the proposed changes supported by the Government won't make the less so. The proposed changes are an improvement but superficial at best.
Lenore Taylor put it this way:
"Question: When are expenses legitimate? Answer: When the politician says so."
The report has yet to reach any conclusion about Bronwyn Bishops rorting of the system. In the meantime she hasn't yet chosen an artist to paint her portrait to hang in Parliament House. Hope you're sitting down. The cost is $30,000.
"Those who cannot forgive are foolish but equally so are those who seek to forget."
Day to Day Politics: I have been Trumped.
Friday March 18 2016
When I wrote my piece titled 'Only in America: Looking at Trump from Down Under'I must confess that secretly in the labyrinth of my being I thought the American people were too intelligent to succumb to Donald Trump's populist outbursts.
Stupidly I, like many others, assumed that over time his utterings of nefarious intent would be seen for what they were. The ravings of a pathological ratbag intent on obtaining power by any means. In my piece I covered the man's personality disorders, his inappropriateness to even be considered as the Republican nominee and then I tied together current Australian conservatism with that of the American right.
As the Republican debates got underway it became apparent that Trump was not just a flash in the pan contender. People actually loved him for his bigotry, for his racism, for his anti-immigrant rhetoric, for his uncouth mouth, for his incitement of violence at his rallies. The more he did so the more they cheered him. The more hatred he spat out the more his supporters encouraged him. Even reciting an oath of allegiance on his command.
They loved him for his prejudice, his lies, his sexism. His racist tweets, and his offer to pay the legal fees of those who commit violence. His supporters worshiped when he advocated the use of torture and the murder of terrorist's families.
They almost wet themselves when he gleefully told stories of executing Muslims with bullets dipped in pig blood. And they fell over themselves with excitement when he compared refugees to 'snakes' and claimed that 'Islam hates us'.
They applauded him when he tweeted racist images and racist lies. When it took him 48 hours to disavow white supremacy there was not a murmur.
Cheers and raucous joy arose at his rallies at his every hate filled denouncement of minorities and everything he sees as un-American. As if America has some sort of ownership on all morality and righteousness.
Having observed this man, his vile behaviour and listened to his rhetoric, the anger he elicits, and the reaction of the American people to it I have to admit I was wrong. Rather than Americans seeing him, as I thought they would, for the fool he is, they are embracing him as their champion.
If I was wrong about Trump I also regrettably have to concede I was wrong about the American people or more particularly Republican Americans. Wanting a person like Trump as President speaks as much about their mindlessness as it does about his inappropriateness.
At some stage I reconciled that he might win the Republican nomination but could never win the Presidency. Am I also wrong about that?
Commentators are saying that if he gets the nomination we will see a more reasoned Trump. A more lucid personality.
The logic of this suggestion escapes me. I know who he is, what he stands for, and it frightens me. It should petrify the world.
'The pedlars of verbal violence and dishonesty are the most vigorous defenders of free speech because it gives their vitriolic nonsense legitimacy. With the use of free speech, the bigots and hate-mongers seek to influence those in the community who are susceptible or like-minded'.
Day to Day Politics: The TRUTH about Negative Gearing.
Saturday 5 March
If ever an Australian politician scored an own goal it had to be Scott Morrison this week. Of course he was ably aided and abetted by The Australian Newspaper. The official newsletter of the conservative parties.
From the time Labor introduced its policy on Negative Gearing, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison have sought to conduct a scare campaign on the issue. Morrison could have had a calm, sensible debate as he indicated he wanted to do when such matters arose but political expediency trumped good governance and hypocrisy won the day.
Frankly, Morrison, a co-founder of Christian Church Hillsong, is telling so many lies about Negative Gearing that as a Treasurer he makes Joe Hockey almost sound saintly. Turnbull, a Catholic, is doing the same.
It doesn't seem to matter that a central tenet of the Gospel is 'truth'.
So The Australian on Thursday publishes a report by BIS Shrapnel that Morrison says paints Labor's policy in bad light.
The report has nothing to do with Labor's proposition but Morrison arrives like a lone star cowboy in Question Time with two Colt 45 pistols rapidly exhausting both barrels before reloading. He does have a quick tongue.
The Australian withdraws the article from its online site. It often has to. It has no credibility and the BIS won't disclose who commissioned the report.
Morrison rejects all the wrongs, inconsistencies and outright lies and both he and Turnbull in Question Time robustly, in spite of the reports lack of credibility, continue to say that if adopted, Labor's policy would cause significant damage to the housing market and to our economy. Yet another Clayton's crisis.
Grattan Institute chief executive John Daley says the report and its underlying assumptions:
'did not pass the giggle test' and were 'manifestly ridiculous'.
'Voters should be asking themselves whether a responsible government would rely on this sort of nonsense in a public policy debate. ' Late on Thursday the Prime Minister was still defending the report describing it as 'thorough analyses'.
Other comments came from Board of Taxation chairman Michael Andrews who told a tax conference in Melbourne that the debate about tax was highly politicised, and regrettable:
'The Australian Financial Review said that the Government has abandoned plans to make changes to negative gearing. The issue has proved to be divisive and it would be politically risky to proceed with the changes. The Government is now likely to focus on the changes to negative gearing proposed by the Australian Labor Party.'
In other words a scare campaign.
Besides the ridiculous assertion that house prices are going to go through the roof under Labor's plan. Morrison also contends that:
'Two thirds of those who use negative gearing have a taxable income of $80,000 or less. Seventy per cent own just one property, and 70 per cent have a net rental loss of less than $10,000.'
ABC Fact Check investigated this claim and found that those with taxable incomes above $80,000 have a proportionately larger share of the net rental losses.
Now the point of all this follows on from my Day to Day Politics yesterday when I posed this question: What resources does the average punter have to access the truth? If we have the time we can do some research? Look up the facts presented by fact checkers. Pay for FOI documents. Who has time for all that?
This scare campaign being waged by Turnbull and Morrison in light of what the PM said about fair, reasoned, transparent and open debate illustrates my point.
The truth is that in the absence of readily identifiable evidence we all use what is generally called 'the pub test or common sense test.' In other words we digest all the available information and ask ourselves the question 'is it plausible?' Does what I am being told have the ring of truth about it. We make judgements based on our life's experience. Unless your personal bias clouds the 'Pub test' your inner conscience dictates your judgement.
Now I'm not wanting to confuse the issue here because I thought I had my general principle of the 'Pub Test' sort of philosophically in order. Then a Facebook friend by the name of Phil Rudkin sent me this to ponder:
'Unfortunately we are all subject to what is known as 'confirmation bias'. That is, we believe what will confirm our beliefs and disregard that which runs contrary to our beliefs. This is a human failing found in us all. So, a lie that matches what we believe will be used to reinforce that belief. I am very aware of the potential for confirmation bias in myself and always try to seek evidence to support things that I hear from sources as unreliable as politicians but know that I will often fail. Confirmation bias is often confused with common sense and so will cause the pub test to fail.'
Now you don't have to take my word for it but I found a piece headed.
'Morrison painting a false picture of negative gearing.'
It's by Rob Burgess. It passed my pub test (revisited) because it cut through the bullshit and presented a clear view of just where and why Turnbull and Gunna Morrison don't have a leg to stand on. They are telling confirmation bias lies.
One house is enough.
PS. With degrees from the finest learning institutions in the world dripping from the walls of their Ministerial offices, after two and a half years the Abbott/Turnbull government still needs more time to formulate a tax plan.
That's a fact. You can check it.
Day to Day Politics: For Christ's sake tell the truth.
It is said that in war 'truth' is the first causality. Lying is probably one of the most common wrong acts that we perform. In fact lying as we understand it is an unavoidable part of human nature. Therefore it's worth spending time thinking about it.
Whilst it might be true that truth is the first causality of war, I would contend that over the past ten or twenty years it has become a major causality of our public discourse. If I were asked to pinpoint it I would date it at around, or post, Ronald Reagan's appointment as president of the US.
It was a period that saw the beginning of the Religious Right's involvement in Politics and of Neo Conservatism.
In the last US election Republicans Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan took lying to an unparalleled level. Fact finders alerted the public to 2019 lies by Romney alone. I watched the first Presidential debate and became fascinated with how Romney could present fiction as fact. It is my contention that President Obama lost the first debate not because he was of his game, or that he was unprepared, but rather he was taken by surprise by the wilful lies that Romney was telling.
Political lying in Australia since Tony Abbott's appointment as opposition leader reached unprecedented levels and insinuated itself into our public dialogue, including the media. So much so that it is now almost impossible for the average punter to know just who is telling the truth.
Which brings me to my point. What resources does the average punter have to accessing the truth? If we have the time we can do some research? Look up the facts presented by fact checkers. Pay for FOI documents. Who has time for all that?
The truth is that in the absence of readily identifiable evidence we all use what is generally called 'the pub test or common sense test.' In other words we digest all the available information and ask ourselves the question 'is it plausible?' Does what I am being told have the ring of truth about it. We make judgements based on our life's experience. Unless your personal bias clouds the 'Pub test' your inner conscience dictates your judgement.
Two observations.
'I don't judge people but I do form my own opinion of course'.
'Life is about perception, not what is but what we perceive it to be'.
Let's take two current items currently making headlines.
Firstly, there is a National Security leak. There is nothing more serious politically. The story appears in The Australian Newspaper which is a known supporter of former Prime Minister Abbott. The journalist in question, Greg Sheridan is also a personal friend of Abbott. Abbott is also quoted in the piece thus giving the leak credibility. To adhere one's own words to a leaked document is dangerous.
Everyone knows that our former Prime Minister is a liar. He might even be the worst in our political history. He is certainly the worst this nation has ever seen. Many of our most respected journalists and media commentators have said so. He has even admitted he is a liar himself.
The evidence is so abundant, so overwhelmingly copious that it is beyond contradiction. It is fair to say that in general the populace accepted his lying as a fact. I and many others have listed them, quoted them, itemised, analysed them and exposed them in crystal clarity. Even members of his own party have accepted that he is a liar of nefarious intent.
And his sheer indifference to the fact that he lies together with his lack of conscience about it I found sickening. The list is as long as a toilet roll.
Secondly, Cardinal George Pell gives evidence at the Royal Commission into Child Abuse. Despite at all times being but a breath away from all the vile conduct of the church, the suicides, molesting, families destroyed, he denies everything and blames everyone else pleading that he was told nothing.
In the first instance, the leak, an investigation is being carried out. Leaks of course are not uncommon in politics. John Howard famously leaked to Andrew Bolt at the time of the Iraq war to discredit the outspoken Andrew Wilke. It wasn't successful because Wilke had too much integrity.
History shows that enquiries reveal nothing. I therefore in the absence of hard evidence I conclude that my common sense tells me that Abbott is still upset with losing the Prime Ministership and is intent on undermining Turnbull's position. The same as Rudd did to Gillard.
In the case of Pell I conclude, again in the absence of proof, that he could not possibly have been that close to the action, and not be aware of the unmitigated evil being carried out. Time and time again he pleads ignorance. I didn't know I wasn't told. Even when he pleads the greyness of the context of the time I deduce that time doesn't diminish the crime.
'The standards we walk past are the standards we accept'.
Despite a tendency inherited biologically by all to lie. Truth in politics and society in general matters enormously. It is not a trivial matter in any democracy. Our whole system is based on the assumption that truth prevails over all else and that it is the people who judge its veracity.
Without truth the people cannot give informed accent to office and democracy fails. There are ethical obligations of integrity and coherence upon which society depends. Our leaders when they lie fail the highest standards of social morality.
At this time in our history we are experiencing a toxic tide of leadership mistrust. No other politician has contributed to it more than Tony Abbott. Is he the most dishonest, the most cynical and pathologically perverted liar to ever lead our nation?
Pell may indeed be found to be the worst religious liar this country has seen. A blight on the very essence of the teaching of Christ.
I will leave you to ponder the question. Use your common sense and ask yourself is what they are saying plausible. It's the pub test.
Two thoughts for the day.
'Humility is the basis of all intellectual advancement. However, it is truth that enables human progress'.
'Question everything. What you see, what you feel, what you hear and what you are told until you understand the truth of it. Faith is the residue of things not understood and can never be a substitute for fact'.
Day to Day Politics: I have never done this before (quote Andrew Bolt)
1 Last Month, long-time admirer and defender of Cardinal George Pell said that Pell was a victim of 'one of the most vicious witch hunts to disgrace this country. It is shameful. Disgusting. Frightening.'
'People pretending to be moral have competed with each other to slime Pell as the defender of paedophiles, if not a paedophile himself.'
'One would hope that this inquiry can go forward in the spirit of actually finding the truth, not being a witch hunt and perhaps giving George Pell more benefit of the doubt than a lot of media has given him.'
After listening to Pell's evidence.
'Those words about the Ridsdale case – where George Pell said that it was a sad story but it was not of interest to me – I just think those will be hung around his neck for the rest of his career.'
'Whether or not he directly knew – and the case against him is circumstantial – did he actually do what was necessary for any moral person and pursue the interests of the children being abused? And on that ground I think the case against him is very damning.'
'I think it's a disaster I really do. I thought it was awful and in once sense it was so awful because it fit into the narrative but it also seems to confirm a pattern … that he hadn't picked up hints.'
'Either he is lying when he said he never knew … was never told or that he wasn't diligent in following up the kind of clues that were picked up by a number of other people.'
'Here is the question now for the royal commission into sex abuse of children: is the Vatican's third-most powerful leader a liar when he says he never knew what Ridsdale, his colleague, was doing in Ballarat?'
'Or was he just dangerously indifferent to his responsibilities and to the warning signs that children were being raped?'
Bolt wrote in his column that his evidence would:
'Stain his reputation forever.'
'But the devastating admission drawn from Pell by Gail Furness SC, counsel assisting the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, was that he never bothered to ask.'
'Now a royal commission seems poised to consider whether this prince of the Catholic Church is a liar.'
Not surprisingly, Bolt has secured 'an exclusive, one-on-one interview with Cardinal Pell' which will air on Friday morning on 2GB and Sky News.
Leigh Sales tweeted: 'If Cardinal Pell decides he no longer wants to honour his interview with Andrew Bolt, I'd be delighted to welcome him on 7.30 for a chat.'
I make this point: What Bolt said in essence is correct. In Tuesday's evidence Pell again blamed everybody else. He was the most uninformed man on the planet. Everyone was so afraid of him they wouldn't tell him a thing. Everyone knew but it was all hidden from him.
The evidence has not surprised anyone who has followed his evidence and his character over a long period. Was Bolt that naive, that ignorant, that this all comes as a surprise to him? His obliviousness matches that of the Cardinal.
Did he go to Rome with the intent of defending his friend of the right only to be informed of his culpability?
Bolt's posture of blind ignorance is as hard to believe as is the Cardinal's. It's the greatest backflip since I, as 8-year-old, accidentally fell from the high tower at the Brunswick baths in 1950.
2 So much happens on a day-to-day basis that it's difficult at times to keep abreast of it all. For example, you will recall that Tony Abbott wanted to be rid of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. The good news is that it is now not the Government's agenda even though the Government could still call a double-dissolution election on the matter.
3 Speaking of Double Dissolutions the Senate Reform Bill now looks like being passed. Yes, a Bill that three days ago couldn't possibly be changed, now with the support of the Greens has been amended in two significant ways. Yep we can move fast when it suits us. A 4 hour inquiry and a report 12 hours later did the trick.
Nothing like a quickie when you're frustrated.
4 Now, more about that 50/50 Essential Poll. This Poll is important. A Facebook friend explains:
'The thing about the Essential Poll is that it is a rolling poll it averages out over several polls. So the 50 – 50 result in this survey compares to the 52 – 48 to the LNP in the last one. Then that necessitates that the raw figures are a whole lot worse for the LNP than even these numbers suggest. I would love to see what those number are!!!! So the Essential Research rolling aggregate records an unusually sharp move away from the Coalition, and finds strong support for Senate reform legislation.
The normally placid Essential Research fortnightly rolling average records a rare two-point shift on two-party preferred this week, which eliminates a settled 52-48 lead for the Coalition over previous weeks. Particularly remarkable is a three-point increase in the Labor primary vote, from 35% to 38%, although the Coalition is down only one to 43%, and the Greens are steady on 10%.'
5 Essential also features is a very detailed question on Senate reform, in which the legislation was explained to respondents in meticulous detail, producing a result of 53% approval and 16% disapproval.
6 A question on election timing finds 56% wanting the election held later this year versus 23% who want it called early, although the distinction is an increasingly fine one.
7 Also featured: most important election issues (health topping the list, followed by economic and cost-of-living concerns), best party to handle them (Labor for industrial relations and environment, Coalition for national security and the economy, although Labor has a slight lead on housing affordability) and perceptions of the parties as right or left-wing (indicating Labor is seen as more centrist than the Coalition, although there is little sense that this has changed in recent years).
Essential conducts it's polling weekly and is accompanied by a survey. For me the stand out figure in its surveys is always the very high 'Don't know' answers.
8 This month in 2013 the then Prime Minister said: 'There is a budget emergency.'
Since then:
The deficit has doubled.
Net debt is up 59.8 billion.
Spending is at GFC levels.
Unemployment is up 74,500
Wages growth is at an all-time low.
9 There will be many in the Labor Party happy to see the back of the much hated Union backed Catholic Senator Joe Bullock. His replacement, 'the father of reconciliation' Pat Dobson is an excellent replacement. One MP summed up his feelings saying:
'Good riddance to the big fat rat.'
Bullock got the Senator's position with a factional stitch up mired in controversy at the time. He is well-known as being anti things not Catholic.
'Leadership is a combination of traits that etch the outlines of life and grow over time. They govern moral choices and demonstrate empathy toward others. It is far better for those with these qualities to lead rather than follow. In fact it is incumbent on them.'
Day to Day Politics: Where did Murdoch's readers go and what about the election?
Saturday 13 February.
Author's Note.
This week's announcement that News Corp's revenue has declined for the fourth successive quarter has sent a shiver down the spine of the newspaper industry. It is now in its inevitable death throes. Further cuts will now have to be made in his Australian publications and when the traditional hard core readers have passed on what will be left.
This is a repost of an earlier.
Recently I found myself without access to the internet. It only lasted a day and a bit, thankfully, but it did bring home to me just how reliant I am on it. The pause however, did give me reason to think about how very differently I consume information now as opposed to say 10 or so years ago. It also gave me reason to think about what influence old media, and in particular Murdoch newspapers, might have on the next election.
I have been a prolific reader all my life and not to fill my brain with a daily dose of anything newsworthy might lead to withdrawal symptoms. Habitually at 6am I would be awake waiting for the familiar thud of the Melbourne Age dropping onto the driveway. Together with a hot cup of green tea my day was put in perspective.
With the advent of the internet it all changed. Both the reader and the media proprietor now find themselves in a vastly different arena.
Where as in my case I relied on The Age to provide the entirety of information about my many and varied interests I now find I have unlimited access to anything and everything I want to know. It is simply astonishing just how much the webb has changed the world.
Now I wake at six (a lifelong habit) turn on the ipad, check the weather, my email, post some thoughts on Facebook and then peruse the newspapers, but not before seeing whose writing what on THE AIMN. In fact my newspaper reading is now limited and specific. I hone in on what I want to read and move on. I don't subscribe to pay sites because there is ample quality information available on free sites and blogs. For example I look with contemptible curiosity at the headlines on The Australian site just to see the outrageous unmasked bias. I can peruse any newspaper in the world.
The interesting thing about the decline in sales and influence of Australian newspapers has been how they have responded. On the one hand Fairfax decided to cut costs, lower its journalistic standards, change its size and be a little more tabloidish. On the other hand Murdoch, who had made his fortune on smut decided to prostitute his publications by becoming even more offensive and provocative. It hasn't worked. They both now opine rather than report.
So in terms of political influence Labor has little to fear from the nefarious front pages and slanted editorials of his tabloids. The recent Labor victories in both Queensland and Victoria have highlighted News Limited's growing irrelevance to the electoral process.
Last year, the total daily circulation of all Australian daily newspapers was a little over 2.1 million, fully one million lower than it was at the turn of the century. When you take into account the growth in population post Second World War the decline is even more specular. In 1947 two copies of daily newspapers were sold for every five people. In 2014 the figure was 1-14. So now, Murdoch with a 60% share of the Australian circulation can only attract 4% of the population to buy his rags.
And the point of course is that the readership is rapidly ageing and disproportionately Coalition. They are voters who are locked into their political preferences. If you analyse any poll you will find that 60% of the Coalitions support comes from those over 65 and 60% of Labor's from the under 40s. Hence it's unlikely that Murdoch is influencing the younger voters. The group that gives Labor the best chance of winning the next election. And with so much support coming from a rapidly ageing cohort the right must be concerned as to where their future voters will come from.
Recent surveys by Essential Research also suggest that even those who read the Murdoch tabloids have little trust in them. Of the major newspapers The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald constantly score 70% trust with The Australian on 60%. But the three Murdoch metropolitan tabloids are only trusted by a little over half of their readers. The Herald Sun 53%. The Courier Mail 54% The Daily Telegraph at times fell to 41%. This of course means that those who buy this tabloid filth must do so for entertainment or sports. Certainly not for reliable reporting on politics. Habit may be another factor of course.
So, if all the research is correct, Murdoch only reaches less than 10% of the voting population which is about half the reach they had when they so blatantly supported Howard in 2001.
There are a couple of things to remember when discussing Murdoch's political influence. The first is the flow on effect. The Australian is the shock jocks first point of call every morning and whatever bias is on for the day is quickly absorbed by the presenters of untruth.
Whilst the shock jocks have substantial audiences the fact is that the average listener can be likened to the average Murdoch reader. Elderly and set in their ways.
The Australian loses around $30 million every year and it is difficult to imagine it continuing production after the mogul dies. It is also difficult to expect that it doesn't exert some influence on television which still attracts a sizable audience of uncommitted voters. Again it must be said that television audiences are now older. The young have deserted it for the internet, games or streaming media.
The second factor in all this is that whilst there has been a dramatic decline in the sales of newspapers and readership there has been a corresponding rise in the readership of their websites. Tabloid newspapers however have not been able to successfully merge their image into the digital market. It may be a graphics thing where internet news demands some form of visual and quantifiable sophistication.
Research also shows that Australian newspaper web sites have high traffic rates but whereas we might assume the average readership of the print edition The Daily Telegraph might have a 15 minute duration. Visits to its website are a lot shorter. As little as thirty seconds or so. So, it's fair to assume these visits wouldn't have much political impact at all.
There is no doubt that Labor can expect the full treatment from Murdoch at the next election. Anything from filth to fantasy. Everything will be magnified out of proportion, images crudely photoshoped to show leaders in the worst possible way together with lie after lie after lie. There is no doubt they will be as crass as is possible. But the big question is. Given all the evidence, what sway will they have?
There was a time when you would do nothing to offend the mogul but instead ingratiate oneself. Perhaps it's time to call a spade a spade and tell the Australian people just how un Australian this American citizen is. Tell them he should not be imposing his Republican Tea Party ideology on us and that it's about time he started to pay some tax in Australia. In other words call the mongrel for what he is. A pathetic self-serving power hungry bastard who believes you can control people with words calculated to gain favour with conservative governments.
The decay of traditional news media and the rise of digital media has meant that the young have not been touched by the Murdoch cancer. Instead they are forging opinion based on information sourced of themselves. And in doing so have dramatically reduced Murdoch's sphere of influence.
He may preach from the high alter of propaganda but only reach the already converted but he is certainly not winning over any new adherents.
Some findings from the Essential survey.
How much trust do you have in the following media commentators and journalists?
Lauri Oakes 71%Sarah Ferguson 51% Tony Jones 51% Mark Riley 51% Michelle Gratton 49% Neil Mitchell 49% Chris Uhlmann 46% Andrew Bolt 38% Alan Jones 29%
The most trusted newspapers were.
SMH (70% a lot/some trust) and The Age (66%). The least trusted were The Telegraph (46% a lot/some trust), the HeraldSun (48%) and the Courier Mail (48%).
Overall, trust in media has fallen a little since this question was asked last year – however rankings remain much the same.
The most trusted media were ABC TV news and current affairs (63% a lot/some trust), SBS TV news and current affairs (61%) and ABC radio news and current affairs (58%).
The least trusted were internet blogs (20%) and commercial radio talkback programs (34%).
How much trust do you have in the following institutions and organisations?
AFP were top with 68% the ABC had 58% at the bottom on 16% and religious organisations 25%
Don't ask me how the AFP got there.
My thought for the Day
'Lying in the media is wrong at any time however when they do it by deliberate omission it is even more so. Murdoch's papers seem to do it with impunity'.
Day to Day Politics: Hunting with hypocrisy.
1 The news that Greg Hunt has received an award as 'Best Minister in the World' will be received with much scepticism by many Australians. Even hilarity.
Mr Hunt told Fairfax Media he was "genuinely humbled" by the prize, but noted "this is really an award for Australia".
The criteria for winning the award, according to the organisers, is that the minister should lead quality successful initiatives that serve the needs of citizens.
Any economist, environmentalist or climate scientist or journalist specialising in the subject would be aghast that a person who has done so much harm to environmental policy could be honoured with an award.
Politics in this country is rapidly turning to farce. First we make Philip Ruddock our Human Rights Envoy, and now this!
Internationally, in environmental gatherings Hunt is referred to as the man for all seasons. He has long been admired for his ability to put the case for Direct Action without ever explaining exactly how it might work. Or how it might be paid for.
He gained a masters with honours in 1990 with a brilliantly argued thesis for a carbon tax to reduce carbon emissions. Then he did an about turn when Abbott gained power supporting Direct Action. It was then that he lost all credibility and has been ridiculed ever since.
There is an award at every climate summit called 'The Fossil of the Day'. The award is given by the international Climate Action Network to the country which has done the most to block progress at the climate change negotiations.
We are a regular recipient of this award.
2 The Polls are beginning to reveal the electorate's disapproval of the government's pathetic handling of the GST proposal and general Tax Reform.
It has become so silly that the State Ministers and Chief Ministers had to recently cancel a meeting on tax reform because they had no idea what on earth they should be talking about.
Essential this week has the Coalition 51/49 and Morgan 52.5/47.5.
"Morgan finds serious slippage in support for the Coalition for the first time since Malcolm Turnbull became leader, bringing it more closely into line with Essential Research, which continues to find the Coalition with a narrow lead. Morgan also finds serious slippage in support for the Coalition for the first time since Malcolm Turnbull became leader, bringing it more closely into line with Essential Research, which continues to find the Coalition with a narrow lead.''
An observation:
Is it morally sustainable that in order to protect our borders that we should allow the indefinite incarceration of people? The sexual abuse of children. The rape of women and the murder of men. If it is so then by any fair judgement we must be a decadent society.
3 Health Minister Susan Ley said her department may outsource Government healthcare payments using innovative high-tech methods. I'm ok with that provided substantial safeguards are built-in and the work is conducted within Australia.
But the continuous floating of thought bubbles on top of an as yet unexplained narrative of why all these changes are warranted, is disconcerting.
4 The Stuart Robert scandal is taking a highly familiar road to nowhere. We have to wait on yet another report. The AFP are still to report on Mal Brough. We are still waiting on the report on parliamentary expenses and ICACs ruling on Arthur Sinodinos. Mounting a paper bill that might yet keep the paper mill in Morwell open. It is struggling because the government won't buy its Reflex copy paper.
That aside, with the imminent retirement of Nationals leader Truss and Trade Minister Andrew Robb, Turnbull faces a nightmare of a cabinet reshuffle.
5 The ABC made a mistake in falsely reporting that a 5-year-old had been raped on Nauru. When it confirmed an error had been made it apologised. And correctly so.
I made the following remark on a Facebook debating site:
It's a pity other news sources didn't apologise when they make mistakes.
The following transpired:
Jack: Perhaps you could lead by example, John.
Me: Healthy thing to do, Jack.
Jack: You would be busy for quite some time bringing things up to date.
Me: How long do you think it would take Bolt, Jack?
Jack: I don't believe Bolt lies – in fact the press would rip into him if he did. And that is irrelevant. We are talking about you.
Me: Two court cases and the Press Council think he does, Jack.
Me again: It would be a good idea if all media outlets corrected their errors.
Jack: Well that means nothing until proven guilty and I know you're spreading lies and bullshit every time you post.
Jack again: We are talking about you, John Lord. Like all lefties you love to deflect and not take responsibility for your own actions.
Me: Two courts found him guilty of lying and the press council asked him to retract.
Jack: We are talking about you, John Lord. Like all lefties you love to deflect and not take responsibility for your actions.
Me: Jack, you are talking about me. I am not.
Jack: Like I said you deflect and won't take responsibility for your actions.
Me: What am I deflecting from, Jack? All I suggested that it was a good idea for media outlets to own up when they make a mistake.
Geoff: Send them a terse letter, John. Let us know the response.
Jack: You are deflecting from my comment you should lead by example.
Rohan: That's the AIMN guy's modus operandi. Call all the media liars and de-flectors, then double down on lying and deflecting. Shouldn't be surprised, Jack. It's the only way they can cobble together their contrarian views.
Social media has opened the world to a new method of communication. Unfortunately it has also given a voice to the nutters.
I recalled some lines from an old West Indian folk song:
'It was as clear as mud and it covered the ground. And the confusion made me brain go round.'
6 Former PM Tony Abbott has warned disenchanted voters may be tempted to "flirt" with extreme right-wing parties.
What was it he was leading?
7 Gillian Triggs is reported as saying that the PM reversed a decision to include her on the selection panel for the sex discrimination commissioner and was not consulted about Ruddock being appointed Human Rights envoy:
My Thought for the day:
'Never be burdened by the negativity of others. Wear positively as if your life depended on it'.
Day to Day Politics: Making a meal of it.
Tuesday 9 February
1 The ongoing talkfest on taxation reform continues unabated. The GST (depending on what news source you read) seems to have slipped from the table. The other stuff it would seem is on the slow cooker waiting on the Lord of the Manor to decide what might be on the recipe for the annual carve up in May.
It is fast becoming a joke and it has been suggested that the head chef Gunna Morrison is wanting to give the May banquet a miss and instead settle for a Fosters over an early election barbeque. Sorry I'm just mincing my words.
But really there should be lot to serve up to an electorate starved of good policy from a Government that has made a meal of governance for over two and a half years.
An electorate who in just a few months will go to the polls. On the economic front the electorate knows that, given the current internal and external conditions, adjustments need to be made to our economy. They understand that cuts will need to be made and they are not silly enough to know that revenue needs to raised.
For both parties not to be making a case for both and detailing their attitude is appalling.
We are being treated with contempt by both parties. Now is the time to put away the smooth talk and translate words into actions. At least outline a blueprint of why cuts are needed and how revenue will be raised, then outline the detail.
Turnbull has the gift of the gab but there appears to be little meat in the sausage. As the incumbent government he needs to take the bull by the horns and charge into it.
In order to cast an informed vote the voter should be given all the available economic information. It beggars belief that a government could run almost a full term before deciding to do something about a problem they knew existed when they gained government.
Its a bit like having a plebiscite to confirm something you already know.
As I see it both parties are limited to reforming the same policies. Capital gains, a form of land tax, superannuation, negative gearing. They will split down ideological lines on the savings. Labor will fill the hole in health and education. The coalition will leave the states to solve the upcoming funding crisis in both. The Coalition will give tax breaks to their constituency.
Turnbull's approach so far has been to try to put everything on the table. The problem with that is that you can leave a lot to clean up afterwards. That's when the rubber gloves hit the hot water and there's a fight about who wants to dry. I'm suggesting Malcolm wash if Gunna agrees to dry up.
Seriously though all this indecision does suggest the possibility of an early election. Do they really want to produce a budget?
At this stage I'm tipping that all will be revealed election eve.
2 Here are some comments I had to my Monday post on Facebook debating sites.
A: 'If the boats aren't disgorging illegal immigrants on our shores, they've been stopped.'
B: 'More distorted bullshit from John Lord.'
C: 'Barnaby Joyce has more brains than most of the Labor front bench. Certainly he's more educated and experienced than the world's greatest treasurer, Wayne Swan. Joyce is nothing like the US republican nutters.'
D: 'Turnbull is not a "president", he's the Prime Minister. Yep, he's an arsehole, but he does NOT entirely set the agenda you fool.'
E: 'I didn't know you were racist against muslims.'
F: 'I'd almost feel sorry for the AIMN guys if they weren't out and out deceptive in every post.' G 'What gives you guys the right to openly lie?'
H: 'Dishonest from start to finish.' I 'they have stopped coming to Aus. Journeys have slowed dramatically – very few attempts are even being begun.'
Thank goodness I had a quiet day.
3 I'm a little depressed today so I am being a bit frivolous looking for things to cheer me up. Then I came across these snippets from Mr. Fixit. Christopher Pyne. Note I said Christopher. I got into trouble for calling him Chrissy last time.
On Asylum seekers:
'Cool heads and big hearts'.
No one wants to see "the people smuggling trade being re energised".
On dumping an increase to the GST:
'We are responding to events as they occur'.
4 A note of thanks to all who take the time to read my daily post and especially those who make a comment. The discussion is great.
5'Mr Ruddock will be Australia's first special envoy for human rights, reflecting the government's commitment to further strengthening Australia's contribution to advancing human rights.' (Julie Bishop).
'We should not do or say anything that cheapens another because in the end we only cheapen ourselves'.
Day to Day Politics: Forces that drove Tony Abbott to stay in parliament
I don't normally read The Australian newspaper because it's behind a firewall and it's owned by Murdoch. But mainly because of its bias and poor journalism. Here is an example. My comments are in italics.
Greg Sheridan THE AUSTRALIAN JANUARY 26, 2016
Tony Abbott agonised over whether to stay in parliament or to leave. He got a lot of conflicting advice. The case for leaving was substantial.
No politician in modern Australia, at least since Malcolm Fraser in 1975, has been subjected to such sustained, vitriolic and personalised abuse as Abbott.
When you look at the abuse handed out by Tony Abbott. Alan Jones, Andrew Bolt and others to Prime Minister Julia Gillard during her tenure you have to wonder at the objectivity of such a statement. There was hardly a day in the Parliament in which Abbott didn't label her a liar. Even members of his own party, at times shook their heads in shame at the sexism. Anyone with any sense of perspective would find this statement just so totality biased as to be deliberately misleading.
If he left politics, this would subside. The former prime minister is a strong and resilient person, but this kind of abuse takes its toll not only on the person directly affected but also on their family. It is also the case that the sooner he left, the sooner it was likely his record of substantial, perhaps historic, achievement would be reassessed.
Could you please repeat that? I'm really struggling.
No other prime minister could have stopped the boats.
The catalyst in stopping the boats was Kevin Rudd's deal with Papua New Guinea. And we know the boats didn't completely stop. He was paying people smugglers to turn them back.
The Abbott prime ministership prevented Australia from being engulfed in a tidal wave of uncontrolled, illegal immigration, as Europe has seen.
He was a Prime Minister who demonised those legally seeking asylum. A Prime Minister who tossed the subject around like a political football extracting from it every ounce of political mileage, never once seeking a regional solution .And look at his legacy of allowing innocent people to be incarcerated for the rest of their lives without recourse to the law.
Then there were the free-trade agreements, the abolition of the carbon and mining taxes, the attempt to address the growing budget contradiction.
The abolition of the Carbon Tax is looked on by the rest of the world as a dreadful decision. One that left our nation in the embarrassing position of taking a laughable policy to the Paris talks. A policy that will have to be seriously reconsidered in the near future if we are to seriously address the climate issue.
Addressing the budget contradiction. So his answer was to almost double the debt. A strange way of addressing a problem he described as a debt crisis of monumental proportion.
All of this will be reassessed and revalued more quickly if Abbott is outside parliament. Moreover, while he stays in politics almost everything he says will be misinterpreted by a lazy media through a leadership prism.
Yes they might, in the same way The Australian hounded Julia Gillard. You can speculate as much as you want as to the motives of him staying. May I suggest though, that a good place to start might be his historical political behaviour? It makes for good profiling.
In some measure, the same problem afflicts Malcolm Turnbull. Everything he says is freighted by foolish commentators as somehow containing some secret anti-Abbott significance.
Lenore Taylor got it right when she said:
'The public liked Turnbull because he seemed different to Abbott, but his colleagues voted for him because they were eventually persuaded he would be – in essence – pretty much the same'.
Then there were the purely personal considerations. First, the miserable prospect of sitting mute as a backbencher in Canberra. Also, political life affects family life. It is extraordinarily difficult to be an attentive husband and father with weeks away in Canberra, and more weeks away interstate and overseas in the constant travel of political leadership.
It is something they have lived with all their married life. He is after all a career politician who has had little experience outside it. His wife seemed to accept her position. Except for one daughter they have all moved on. If sitting on the backbench was indeed a miserable prospect then why do it. What other motive could he possibly have?
Abbott had been prime minister for two years, party leader for six and before that a minister for a decade. It's a long record of service. No one could reasonably ask him for more.
Who is? The fact is that he lost his job because his party felt he wasn't up to it.
And, if he had the slightest interest in making money he would make much more outside of parliament than in. His parliamentary pension as a former prime minister would be substantially more than his salary as a backbencher.
On top of that he would be free to earn money in the private sector. He has enough close supporters in business to guarantee a board appointment or two. He could give lucrative speeches on the US conservative speakers' circuit. He could write newspaper columns, the odd book, perhaps do some TV. There is always a consultancy or two on offer.
I seem to recall that he took time off from his job as an MP (with pay) to write a book. And isn't he now making a few quid on the speaker's circuit now. This gets worse the more I read.
But Abbott has never been motivated by money. He always wanted to give his family a decent life, but had no interest in trying to pile up money.
This is downright dishonest.
We know that this feeling is universal, because it's exactly how Tony Abbott felt, after losing 40 per cent of his income in 2007 when the Howard government lost power and he went back to a basic backbench salary.
"What's it called? Mortgage stress? The advent of the Rudd Government has caused serious mortgage stress for a section of the Australian community, i.e. former Howard government ministers!" he said at the time.
"You don't just lose power … you certainly lose income as well, and if you are reliant on your parliamentary salary for your daily living, obviously it makes a big difference."
Mr Abbott was notoriously knocked-around by his change of circumstance, which obliged him to take out a $700,000 mortgage on his northern beaches home, and fostered a period of gloom and introspection in which he remained mired for more than a year.
When Kevin Rudd announced a salary freeze for all politicians in early 2008 – a decision greeted with bipartisan loathing around the corridors – Mr Abbott remarked that it was "all very well for politicians who have other sources of income or who have very high income from their spouses".
Mr Abbott's spouse, of course, works in the child care sector, which is notoriously under … oh, stop me if I'm repeating myself.
He was not the only one to complain; quite a few former Howard ministers felt the sting of their reduced circumstances, and discreet approaches were even made to the new Labor Government to fiddle things so that shadow ministers might be paid more.
It never happened, of course. Governments are bastards like that, don't you find?
The arguments for staying essentially boiled down to duty. His supporters had invested so much hope in him.
If he left, it was as if conservatives would be admitting that none of their number could ever serve in the highest office. It would be a great victory for the Left if their lynch mobs had chased him out of town. As a nation we are not blessed with a super abundance of politicians of the first rank. We can't afford to lightly throw them away.
If Abbott stayed in politics, he would signal an intent to advocate the broad political values that have motivated him all his life. And, in the long run, he helps the government a great deal by staying.
By staying, indeed he would advocate the political values he aspires to. The problem is that they are not the same as the leaders. Therein lays the problem. The Coalition now has what the public wanted. A less feral leader but he is controlled by Abbott's men.
You might also countenance the thought that he has little experience at doing anything else.
Turnbull went through a dark night of the soul when he lost the leadership of the Liberal Party in 2009. He initially decided to leave politics and resign at the next federal election, but then changed his mind. As the next few years rolled by, his presence was actually a very big plus for the then Abbott opposition.
Correct. He often had to step in and demonstrate that there were some in the party that could be reasonable when Abbot continuously showed his ugly side.
It showed voters of a 'small l' liberal persuasion that they had a place in the Liberal Party. It helped stop the party from leaking votes to the centre.
How gratuitously silly is that statement. Robert Menzies would turn in his grave at the thought that any of today's Liberal members even understood the term.
The Liberal Party has no serious competitor on the right of politics at the moment and therefore no imminent prospect of leaking votes to the Right.
But the centre right is always in danger of fracturing, just as it has in most Western nations, just as we see so many effluxions of right-wing populism in Queensland.
A coalition that can accommodate a Tony Abbott as well as a Malcolm Turnbull is inherently much stronger, and seems much broader than either factional Labor or sectarian Green politics, no matter that each man might find such coexistence disagreeable at times.
He is and will be in the run up to the election a thorn in Turnbull's side. And an intentional thorn at that. It is naïve in the extreme to think otherwise.
Turnbull and Abbott are both grown-ups, both volunteers. We pay them to give us good government. We expect them to manage things between them well.
We pay for good Government and expect it from day one. Tony Abbott said that we would get it 12 months after the ball had been bounced. Eventhen it didn't happen. We are still waiting for Turnbull to stop talking about it and start delivering. By the time the election comes around the electorate will be entitled to ask whether the Coalition can ever deliver on it.
Abbott is no Kevin Rudd. He is not motivated by revenge or any delusion of return to the prime ministership. His decision to stay in parliament is the latest episode in a lifetime of doing what he thinks is right.
After reading this last paragraph I am thinking I will give Tony the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it isn't him who is deluded. It's Bill Sheridan.
Day to Day Politics. A final thought.
There are many words that I could add to those I have already written in 2015. But it is time for a rest. Australia takes its annual lengthy leave at this time, creating its own form of hiatus, and all manner of things become forgotten, put away for the heat of summer whilst play takes precedence over important matters.
Undoubtedly the highlight of the year was when the country gave a collective sigh of relief at the dismissal of Tony Abbott.
Words being precious things can easily be wasted on past unpleasantness so I won't waste anymore on his time as Prime Minister. I feel exhausted by his incompetence, his ignorance and sense of entitlement.
I had planned to continue writing for a little longer but It is now time to put Day to Day Politics to rest. At this stage I am unsure if I will continue next year. This month I have been posting my thoughts on Facebook and THE AIMN (well over 250 pieces) for three years. I am still not used to the feral nature of some and the grammatical criticism of others.
A thought.
'Good grammar is vitality important but is secondary to the expression of a valid well constructed point of view'.
Thanks everyone for your likes, your shares, your encouragement and your opinions, be they agreeable or contrary. We have so much to learn from people we disagree with that its a wonder we don't do it more often.
Whatever your faith or lack there of have a joyful holiday season and above all seek a positive 2016. Take from it the best it has to offer. They are not repeated.
'One of the downsides of technology and social media is that it has enabled the nutters'.
Day to Day Politics. Climate Change: A lay person's dilemma
Wednesday 9 December.
1 The Paris Climate talks are now in their third week. The coverage of this most important and crucial event in the Australian media has been simply sickening. Only the ABC, The Guardian and Fairfax have given it the treatment it so earnestly deserves. Murdoch has given it little coverage.
In a piece for THE AIMN I said this:
"How does the layperson like me reach a view on such subjects without any formal training? It's simple. There are many areas (medicine for example) that I don't have a deep analytical grasp. Like many others I listen to experts, apply common sense, observation and what my life experience tells me. It is not difficult to understand a theory. Generally people assume that a theory (for example the theory of evolution) is something unproven".
In the scientific world, a theory is something that has evolved to fit known facts.
Conversely, those who deny Climate Change and the overwhelming scientific consensus seek to justify their belief by attaching themselves to a minority of science deniers with obscure qualifications or worse, to right-wing shock jocks and journalists with no scientific training what so ever. These people have no way of evaluating the volume of data produced by the various scientific institutions. One of the most outspoken deniers (Andrew Bolt) has, in recent times, been found guilty of deceptive lying in that he defamed some white skinned aboriginals. The Press Council also made him correct misleading figures in one of his articles. One has to wonder how many he has told when writing about his favourite topic climate change.
So for the layperson the choice is to listen to the science or default to the opinions of the Bolts of this world.
And in Paris the latest news is that the world's biggest climate polluters rallied around a stronger target for limiting warming on Monday, saying they were open to the 1.5C goal endorsed by the most vulnerable countries.
In the final push to a climate agreement, the US, Canada, China and the European Union declared they were now on board with demands from African countries to adopt an even more ambitious goal to limit warming.
Now they are taking it seriously. Julie Bishop must be wetting herself.
2 Guardian Australia has two years to prove itself commercially viable according to a headline in Tuesday's Australian. Now that a bit of a shocker coming from a newspaper that loses 25 million annually. If fact the only reason it is still in business is because of the power it yields. It has very little public readership but is the go to source for every conservative commentator in the country. It will die with Murdoch.
'It is a pity that fact in journalism cannot be made compulsory and decency legislated'.
3 Joe Hockey has said if he did not retire from the Parliament he would have been focused on "getting even with people" who contributed to his downfall as treasurer. What a shocking indictment of politics in general and his party in particular.
4 Donald Trump wants to close the United States borders to Muslims.
"Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people who believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life," the billionaire real estate developer said.
I wonder if that should also apply to adults entering schools. Maybe tattoos next.
5 The Vladimir Putin Shirtfront won the Insiders Matt Price award in 2014. This year it was given to Christopher Pyne for his 'I'm a fixer' comment. There were some excellent entries. Abbott got the most nominations with his onion eating (without tears) act. Knighthoods, Good government starts today and in my opinion he should have been on a winner when he outrageously said that his ministers were performing fantastically well and it was all due to his magnificent leadership. Oh I forgot one. 'Good government starts today' Others nominated were Hockey's 'Just get a job. 'Scott Morrison for 'There's a boom up there' Bronwyn Bishop 'It was within the guidelines' Then there were mentions of ministers with large packages, even snakes. There were many others but for the breadth of its audacity I'll stick with my choice.
6 Now here is a conspiracy theory to end them all. Tony Abbott was toppled by Malcolm Turnbull, not because of gross incompetence. According to climate sceptic Christopher Monckton it was the UN who brought down Tony Abbott because of his anti-global warming views.
Wrong of course but he tells the truth about Abbott's denialism.
"At some time in the human narrative…..in our history, man declared himself superior to women. It must have been an accident, or at least an act of gross stupidity. But that's men for you".
PS. Early warning. Day to Day in Politics will be taking a break over the Christmas and New Year Periods. I will however be posting some of my short stories, poetry and other things of interest.
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