No Morgan poll this week, but the past week’s tide of political shenanigans and skulduggery can be held back no longer:
• The by-election for the Tasmanian upper house district for Pembroke will
be held tomorrow, which in partisan terms is the most interesting such contest for many a long year. Labor will not attempt to retain the seat being vacated by outgoing member Allison Ritchie – possibly a first in Australian electoral history – but two independents, James Crotty (who was expected to win the aborted Labor preselection) and Honey Bacon (the widow of former Premier Jim Bacon), are identifiable with the Labor cause in one way or another. Most interestingly, the field also includes a high-profile Liberal in Vanessa Goodwin, who performed impressively in both the state seat and federal seat of Franklin in 2006 and 2007 without quite bringing home the prize. This is the first time the Liberals have fielded an upper house candidate since 2000, when their poor performance reminded them why they are better off leaving the chamber to independents in most circumstances. This site will provide live coverage of the results tomorrow evening. Anybody wishing to discuss the election is invited to do so on the dedicated thread.
• The Northern Territory government is in turmoil, with Macdonnell MP and Indigenous Affairs Minister Alison Anderson threatening to quit the ALP and reports Chief Minister Paul Henderson faces a challenge from Karama MP Delia Lawrie. The government has been in a minority position since Arafura MP Marion Scrymgour quit the party early last month. Nick Calacouras of the Northern Territory News says Lawrie “avoided the media after Tuesday’s caucus meeting and snuck out the back with Transport Minister Gerry McCarthy (Barkly) and the three indigenous Labor ministers – Karl Hampton (Stuart), Malarndirri McCarthy (Arnhem) and Alison Anderson”. Darwin academic, former Labor MP and Club Troppo blogger Ken Parish is quoted saying Henderson “would be replaced by Christmas”. Anderson has been threatening to walk out over the government’s alleged failure to deliver on indigenous housing promised in a federal-territory program announced early last year. She is not ruling out joining the CLP, which would leave the fate of the government in the hands of independent Nelson MP Gerry Wood. Wood has generally been presumed to be of conservative sympathies, but he has expressed doubt as to whether “some of these new (CLP) members are ready to govern”. In any case, there seems reason to suspect Anderson’s defection threats are born of a desire to strengthen her hand as she seeks a better deal on indigenous housing (UPDATE 1/8/09): Paul Toohey of The Australian doesn’t quite see it that way, saying Anderson was in discussions late last year with the CLP about crossing the floor, and that she “will, sooner rather than later, destroy (Henderson’s) government. She has also raised the prospect of an quitting from politics altogether, which she says she will do in any case at the next election. However, Labor would probably be favoured to win an ensuing by-election, with Anderson’s electorate officer John Rawnsley having won her backing to succeed her for preselection.
• The Right faction of the New South Wales Liberal Party is being rent by a split between forces associated with state upper house MP David Clarke and his former protégé, youthful federal Mitchell MP Alex Hawke. The philosophical basis of the friction involves the Christian social conservatism of the former sub-faction (the “hard Right”) and the laissez-faire economic orientation of the latter (the “soft Right”), although there has also been talk of hard Right elements seeking a purge of Jesuit-educated Catholics. Principals of the Clarke group include state upper house MP Marie Ficarra and Epping MP Greg Smith, while the Hawke camp can claim state party president Nick Campbell. The dispute boiled over on Monday at the AGM of the Sydney University Liberal Club, which Clarke and Ficarra reportedly attempted without success to take control of (subject of a vibrant discussion at VexNews), and again at a Lane Cove Young Liberals meeting the following night. Phillip Coorey of the Sydney Morning Herald reports the split could deliver soft Right support to factional moderate Philip Ruddock in Berowra, who faces a challenge from Noel McCoy of the hard Right, and Scott Morrison in Cook. Coorey relates that Greg Smith is believed to be carrying the flag for the hard Right’s campaign against Ruddock, which most recently manifested itself in a confrontation during a branch meeting in Cheltenham:
On Sunday night in Berowra, Mr Ruddock and Mr Smith attended a meeting of the Cheltenham Branch in Mr Ruddock’s electorate. By six votes to one, the moderates blocked a bid by Mr Smith to admit three new members. The same majority admitted seven new members sympathetic to Mr Ruddock.
The dissension could result in the state party initiating its federal preselection process as soon as the draft boundaries are announced next Friday, rather than waiting as currently planned until they are finalised early next year. UPDATE (1/8/09): Imre Salusinszky of The Australian reports Noel McCoy saying: “Now that I have clearance from the state director to speak to the media, I can tell you that I am not contesting the seat of Berowra.” Meaning either that there was a lot of smoke without fire, or that recent events have caused him to revise his estimate of his chances.
• Michelle Grattan of The Age reports that “wealthy Toorak businessman” Andrew Abercrombie has emerged as a contender for the Liberal Higgins preselection, in challenge to heir presumptive Kelly O’Dwyer. Nominations for both Higgins and Aston closed yesterday.
• James Massola of The Canberra Times reports on movement at the station in Canberra ALP branches, with Bob McMullan having announced the next election will be his last and expectations Annette Ellis might follow. This would make available both Fraser and Canberra to those aspiring for a safe seat. Massola says that “depending on who you talk to, constitutional scholar George Williams, former Julia Gillard adviser Jamie Snashall, former Mark Latham adviser Michael Cooney and Rudd’s masterful chief of staff Alister Jordan are all in the box seat for one or other of these prize seats”.
• Moonee Valley Community News reports Moonee Valley councillor Rose Iser has confirmed she will run for Greens preselection in the state seat of Melbourne, which the party narrowly failed to win in 2002 and 2006. Also in the field are “former Liberty Victoria president Brian Walters SC, former candidate Jen Alden, and first-timer Bruce Poon”.
• Les Twentyman, youth worker and independent candidate at last year’s Kororoit by-election, has announced he has decided against taking the field at next year’s state election.
• On behalf of The Poll Bludger and all who sail in her, heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of valued comments contributor Judy Barnes, who has died at the age of 71.
Judith struck me as a staunch advocate for justice, both in her own life, and, I know through her writings here, politically. My condolences to her family.
[Mia Handshin ran at the last federal election and slashed Mr Pyne’s margin to less than 1 per cent but she has now chosen not to re-contest due to personal reasons.]
There is no God. 🙁
Some people might come rushing over a few times to see what all the fuss is about. But as the Liberal boy cries “wolf” in ever shriller tones of (false) alarm, they will increasingly be disregarded or noted down as angry attention-seekers with nothing substantial to say.
Kev should be running the country properly not writing 6000 word essays the ego of this clown rivals Keating IMHO…
[Kev should be running the country properly not writing 6000 word essays the ego of this clown rivals Keating IMHO…]
You’re just jealous that Howard wouldn’t be able to manage a 600 word essay.
[Mia Handshin ran at the last federal election and slashed Mr Pyne’s margin to less than 1 per cent but she has now chosen not to re-contest due to personal reasons.]
Since the last election i’ve moved from Sturt/Morialta to Adelaide/Adelaide. I figure it’s also a good move electorally, as it won’t be a seat like Sturt that will keep Labor in government. I suspect Adelaide will go when Labor goes.
Glen
[Kev should be running the country properly not writing 6000 word essays the ego of this clown rivals Keating IMHO…]
What a load of rubbish. Everyone has their own hobby. Howie watched the cricket, Bush read books, Keating collected French clocks, Rudd writes essays to annoy the reactionary conservatives.
Howard was too busy running the country (his job) to worry about his ego by writing essays like KR…
Essay-writing is an intellectual discipline which requires one to marshall their facts and ideas and argue their case logically and persuasively. As an added bonus, an essay by the PM gives the reader an insight into the way the leader thinks.
To complain that doing this causes him to neglect his duties is to sidestep the fact that he is one of the hardest-working PMs we’ve ever had. You guys whinge about the gruelling workload he imposes on his office. You can’t have it both ways. Either he’s working too hard (including his staffers), or he’s sitting around wasting time on frivolous essays. It sounds like another case of Liberals crying “wolf!”. Find something real to whinge about. Writing an essay is no basis for complaint.
[Howard was too busy running the country (his job) to worry about his ego by writing essays like KR…]
If you think Howard spent all his time “running the country” you have rocks in your head.
If Rudd was any busier running the country, he’d spontaneously combust. I thought the Liberal position was (a) Rudd is a control freak who tries to run everything, and (b) his staff writes his essays anyway. You need to learn the party line, Glen.
[You guys whinge about the gruelling workload he imposes on his office. You can’t have it both ways. Either he’s working too hard (including his staffers), or he’s sitting around wasting time on frivolous essays. It sounds like another case of Liberals crying “wolf!”. Find something real to whinge about.]
Hear hear!!
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/01/2643063.htm
Labor compromise turns down gay marriage
Yes, Curtin is the only one who springs to mind as a harder worker as PM.
He had a little crisis to deal with, too.
Rest in peace Judith Barnes. You’ve earned it and will be missed here.
I dont know what the party line is anymore Adam to be frank and i hardly care to toe it at the moment…
Fair enough Glen. And I’m pleased you “toe the line” rather than “tow” it. There’s hope for the world yet.
Anyway, I can assure you that Rudd has enough energy to run the country, write essays, save the world AND play full-forward for Collingwood (a little-known fact, this last).
[i hardly care to toe it at the moment…]
“Liberals in disarray” 😀
When you can’t run yourselves, how can anyone be expected to vote you in to run Australia’s 1 trillion dollar economy?
I find it bizarre that some should criticise Rudd for daring to write essays.
Would you criticise him for writing speeches? Policies? Heaven forbid, LEGISLATION?
So, we have a PM capable of putting forward a reasoned case, directly related to his remit – clearly and articulately, and we criticise him for that?
Are you saying that it would be better if he just made policy on the run, had no idea from one day to the next, no strategy, no vision? How can he be criticised for outlining his ideas?
For the love of Satan, Abbott just wrote a complete BOOK – are we criticising him for that? And now that Turnbull has put in his reply, does he not deserve the same criticism?
I am gobsmacked at the stupidity of this.
[Abbott just wrote a complete BOOK – are we criticising him for that?]
Yes but only because he deserves it 😀
I dont expect us to have a shot until 2013 or 2016…but hey that’s the way the cycle works…
By that stage perhaps the State Libs in Victoria may have won office, but I doubt that will happen before 2018 which would be almost 20 years in power for the ALP down here…I can safely argue that the State VIC Libs are in more disarray than the Federal Libs and that’s saying something…
One thing that should be noticed that not many people have picked up is if the last Newspoll (57-43), is applied to the pendulum (4.3% swing), Labor would pick up 22 seats (counting Wright and not counting the two seats that could become notionally Labor in the Qld redistribution, Herbert and Dickson). This will mean if the Qld redistribution sticks (no assumptions made though), Labor could win 107 seats out of 151 at the next election. Are these calculations correct?
And didn’t I hear in the comments around about November 2007 that voters tend to drift back to the government as the election draws closer? So it could get worse!
Surely the Libs would not stupid enough to trigger a DD (ETS?). They will get killed!
In memory of Corazon Aquino (1933-2009), a great and courageous fighter for democracy in the Philippines.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corazon_Aquino
Glen,
I’m sure Victoria would like the title for most dysfunctional Opposition…but NSW tops it yet again. Surely they must slay the pissant State Govt, THIS time!
But then again, you never know…
No i think the SA opposition takes the cake…
Surely but they have a loser of a leader Big Barry…
[No i think the SA opposition takes the cake…
Surely but they have a loser of a leader Big Barry…]
No, as hopeless as SA’s is, they still fight less than NSW and Vic. Funny how the SA Liberals are such a rabble but they don’t come first or even second.
74 The cake actually belongs to the LNP in Queensland as we will find out when the next Federal election is called, Glen. The Courier Mail has become so disgusted with the LNP that the paper, on the LNP’s behalf, has taken up dragging out another shady deal each day to bash Labor about its past on a daily basis. I think the paper is hoping the LNP will benefit from their contrived fox hunt but so far the LNP has struggled to keep up.
The Queensland Parliament sits next week after a bit of a break so it will be interesting to see if any of the mud thrown by the local paper on behalf of the LNP has stuck. My guess is that it will be as successful as other anti-labor campaigns run by the Courier Mail and fizzle out, then we can all go back to waiting for the LNP implosion.
[The Courier Mail has become so disgusted with the LNP that the paper, on the LNP’s behalf, has taken up dragging out another shady deal each day to bash Labor about its past on a daily basis.]
Yeah, I had to laugh at yesterday’s effort. On each of their pieces implying wrong-doing by the Beattie/Bligh Governments they had a link to an online poll.
The poll question was, “Do you believe that a Royal Commission should be established in Queensland to identify current corruption”.
I just tried to find the link to make sure my wording reflected the question but it appears to have been deleted.
I suspect the reason was that by a factor of 5 to 1 the responses were against establishing a new Royal Commission.
This seemed strange when you consider that usually polls in the CM are stacked by Coalition responders around 80/20 when the poll question could be perceived as negative to Labor.
Sorry, I have found it. Responses are now running at 2 to 1. Probably because the green indicator dot is placed in the yes box when you bring up the poll. Very tricky CM, but doesn’t appear to be working as well as intended so far!
[Should there be a Royal Commission into improper influence in Queensland politics?]
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/poll/1,,5003440-5040904-0,00.html
Scorpio, they want a Royal Commission in an attempt to find something new. So far all we have seen is rehashes of past issues. I’m sure transparency and openness could always be handled better but the screaming headline CHECK MATE was a bit over the top given this:
[Mr Hinchliffe told Parliament of his involvement in the project and, when elevated to the ministry this year, handed responsibility for decisions on the development to Ms Boyle. But neither minister revealed they had previously met to discuss the venture, fuelling Opposition calls for a royal commission into the deepening crisis over government links to business.
Ms Boyle last night said she had met with both opponents and supporters of Rainbow Shores but the final decision on the development would be made by Cabinet, without Mr Hinchliffe.]
If this is the best the Courier Mail can do, then no wonder they want a Royal Commission. The latest claims have all the gravitas of a certain declared ute on the Federal register.
Penny is socking them. A bit of passion and beefo from Miss. Wong.
Glen @ 54 Posted
By the same ?logic?, you should now castigate Bob Menzies for writing “Central Power in the Australian Commonwealth” (published 1967)? In fact, Menzies, like Evatt, was a noted international scholar who published frequently. His publications (complete, I believe) are held in Curtin Uni:
The same uni hold (& sells) John Curtin’s publications http://john.curtin.edu.au/pubs/publications.html Other unis hold publications & facsimiles of other significant Oz politicians’ works.
So, Glen, let’s hear you either condemn distinguished Liberals for extensive writing whilst in office; or admit that Howard & Malcolm let the side down badly in that facet of leadership & legacy. I look forward to your trying to wriggle / insult your way out of that.
BTW: PBers, Menzies published a supplementary note to CPAC on the Bill of Rights issue: R.G. Menzies 1967: “Supplementary Note on the Absence of a Bill of Rights” Central Power in the Australian Commonwealth a downloadable pdf of which is available; but the URL is very long & not completely published. I located it Googling: Menzies “Central Power in the Australian Commonwealth” & it was the 3rd reference. It’s only c4 pp. Well worth the very few minutes it takes to read it if only for that points of argument you can use.
Vale Judith Barnes. A voice of integrity and sincerity on PB.
Sorry to spoil your argument, OzPol, but my recollection is that ”Central Power in the Australian Commonwealth” was a collection of lectures delivered by Menzies in the US as a guest lecturer after his retirement.
We were talking about the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin, a few days ago and whether he had a role in the Holocaust. The stuff I’m reading says he led pogroms against the Jews in Palestine and advocated a “final solution to the Jewish problem” in 1920. He met Hitler 8 weeks before Wannsee. He also tried to persuade Hitler to bomb Tel Aviv.
I’m beginning to have some sympathy for Lieberman.
Sireggo @ 71 posted
Labor would pick up 22 seats (counting Wright…
If it does, there’ll be no Coalition left. The Nats will want to contest it & they’ll win it (tho Libs may have more trouble). In much of the new seat, Liberals are lefties, Nationals ‘centralists’, and the real RWers are Hansonites & a grab-bag of LoR, what remains of the DLP, La Rouchists, Adventist, Evangelical, Pentacostal, RC & splinter “Free Protestant/Presbyterian”, fundies and some even further out to the right.
The Mufti also actively recruited Bosnian and Albanian Muslims to join the Waffen SS. There are numerous photos showing him meeting and blessing Waffen SS recruits.
Typo at 57;
running = ruining
Psephos
Do the current Israelis/Jews blame, in part, the Palestinians/Mufti for the Holocaust and to what extent is that blame deserved?
[Do the current Israelis/Jews blame, in part, the Palestinians/Mufti for the Holocaust and to what extent is that blame deserved?]
No, they blame European anti-Semitism, and they also blame Britain and France for failing to stand up to Hitler, which is why they hold current European lecturing of Israel in such contempt. The lesson Jews draw from the Holocaust is never again to allow their security to be in the hands of others.
The Mufti played a very minor role in Europe during the Holocaust – although he certainly knew about it and approved of it, and hoped that Germany would do the same thing in Palestine, which Himmler assured him was part of the plan. His main significance is that the memory of his actions has made Israelis less inclined to make concessions to the Palestinians.
[I just learnt that Judy Barnes also was a frequent poster on other sites too. I saw her on AdelaideNow and OO sites where she blogged under the name “swamprat of the lagoon”.]
Diogenes, as a relative newcomer to Pollbludger, I am unfamiliar with Judy’s posts here. However, I have very fond memories of Swamprat’s posts on Matt Price’s blog especially. May she rest in peace.
[they also blame Britain and France for failing to stand up to Hitler]
What about the US? They did less than Britain and France. They had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the War. Why don’t they blame the US even more than Britain and France?
The Grand Mufti and other people like him are used as fig leaves for extremist Israeli bastardry. Ironically, people like Lieberman perform exactly the same purpose for extremist Palestinian bastardry.
Or it would be ironic, if both sets of bastards were not well happy with the current state of affairs. The Palestinian extremists would like a few more toys to play with, but that’s about it for the differences.
The great mass of both Israelis & Palestinians just want a quiet life, and would be happy to make deep concessions for it.
But there’s no profit/honour/fun in a quiet life for the wreckers.
[The great mass of both Israelis & Palestinians just want a quiet life, and would be happy to make deep concessions for it.]
Sadly I don’t think this is true. I think the majority of Palestinians still want to destroy Israel. The majority of Israelis are willing to make “deep concessions” in principle, but in practice they won’t do so until the Palestinians recognise Israel as a Jewish state, renounce the “right of return” and renounce violence. This they are not yet ready to do.
Psephos @ 83
Menzies retired in Jan 66, and the seven lectures were delivered in 1966 – in Virginia USA – by which time they were at the publishers – I seem to recall a comment that he ‘read from the galleys’ (proofs). My memories were that it was that it was finished before he retired & needed only a final revision for the Virginia lectures..
The book was supposed to come out in 66 (I was sweating on it for work I was doing). Much of his work on the war referenda would have been done years earlier – there’s a reference to that in one of the biographes (possibly Casey or Hasluck – I haven’t read many since c1987, when deciding which to recycle to libraries). Like Evatt (& Rudd, by the look of it) he was a compulsive writer (&, I believe, even more compulsive ‘polisher’)
Before CPAC, there was scattered info on the 1942 Uniform Taxation referendum (with some humorous comments on how much QLDers would have left after they paid their state & fed taxes), and there had been major controversy (bit of an understatement) over the Opposition’s inconsistent reactions to much the same issues in both 1942 & 44 – an abstract of the 1944 film archive (ANFSA) is on http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=104388&local_base=GEN01 Until CPAC was published, the most reliable (ie closest to objective) accounts were Paul Hasluck’s 2 vols the Aust War memorial series.
Almost all of our PMs were accomplished writers, especially before the advent of speech writers. Even those, like Chifley, who had minimal ed were gifted communicators.
BTW when trying to get a date for the Virginia lectures, I came across this review of his policies & reforms in higher ed & research – probably his finest legacy – and tried to imagine what he’d have thought of Howard’s attitudes to both – or Howard, full stop. Probably a cross between nauseous & furious … and that would have been before he took in the “I’m the new Menzies” pretensions.
Didn’t vote for him. Thought he was a fossil. Protested like crazy throughout the 60s. But credit where it’s due, he built the foundations for Whitlam’s reforms (as Gough admits).
PS: Frederick White’s biographical memoir of Menzies is on the Australian Academy of Science website http://www.science.org.au/academy/memoirs/menzies.htm
93
Why should a nation be recognised as having a religion linked to it? That smacks of antidisestablishmentarianism. This is especially a problem in a place with a large minority who are not Jewish.
Why should people living in refugee camps give up the idea of going back to the place where they and/or their recent ancestors fled from?
OzPol, I defer to your erudition.
Psephos,
The Palestinians regard themselves as a nascent State- and no State would “renounce violence”. Certainly not if the IDF & Mossad etc. were your violence-dealing arms (as I said, toys to play with). If “this State” won’t, why should “that State”?
As for the “right of return”, that is both a protest against the even-more specious Israeli version, and an insurance against a second-best “one-state” solution.
But perhaps you are right about there not really being a consensus for peace…I hope not…
[What about the US? They did less than Britain and France. They had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the War. Why don’t they blame the US even more than Britain and France?]
This is untrue. FDR was giving the allies logistical support well before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was doing as much as he could given that back then the congress had far greater war powers than the President.
re comment #57,
No, Howard was too busy persecuting hapless refugees…