Two further additions to the already voluminous Labor retirements list since my last preselection review:
• Greg Combet is calling it a day after two eventful terms as member for the Hunter region seat of Charlton. Mentioned as possible successors are Pat Conroy, whose background as a staffer to Combet, George Campbell and Anthony Albanese, and as an official with the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and CFMEU, is detailed in The Australian; Daniel Wallace, a local organiser with the AMWU; and Sonia Hornery, who represents the local area in the state parliament as member for Wallsend.
• Simon Crean is calling it a day after 23 years as member for the south-eastern Melbourne seat of Hotham. Michelle Grattan in The Conversation reports the seat is effectively reserved for the Right, with Bracks government adviser Rosemary Barker spruiking backing from factional figurehead Stephen Conroy as well as a base of support from the Australian Workers Union. Also mentioned is Geoff Lake, a Minter Ellison lawyer and former Australian Local Government Association who shares Crean’s association with the National Union Workers.
Another two vacancies have been resolved:
• David Feeney has emerged victorious in the contest to succeed Martin Ferguson in Batman, after defeating Left candidate Mary-Anne Thomas by 383 votes to 247 in the local party ballot on Sunday. The matter was to be settled the following evening when the state party’s public office selection committee to determine its 50% share of the overall vote, but Thomas rendered this a formality by withdrawing.
• Alannah MacTiernan, senior Gallop/Carpenter state government minister and more recently the mayor of Vincent, is now confirmed as Labor’s candidate to succeed Stephen Smith in Perth after two other mooted contenders – Tim Hammond, a barrister who ran unsuccessfully in Swan at the 2010 election, and Matthew Keogh, a lawyer with Freehills – chose not to nominate.
And some developments in two further preselection races:
• Tony Bowen, mayor of Randwick and son of Hawke era deputy prime minister Lionel Bowen, has emerged as a second candidate for the preselection to succeed Peter Garrett in Kingsford Smith. Bowen says he has nominated despite being told “in no uncertain terms” not to run by the state party’s head office, which is evidently very keen on the candidacy of Senator Matt Thistlethwaite.
• The preselection for Craig Emerson’s southern Brisbane seat of Rankin looms as a contest between Brett Raguse, who won the outer Brisbane seat of Forde in 2007 before joining Labor’s Queensland casualty list in 2010 (and who claims the support of Kevin Rudd), and Jim Chalmers, a former chief of staff to Wayne Swan.
[I am disgusted that R**d seems to have offered an apology when none was warranted. As most have acknowledged here, its rationale was enitirely about playing to the galleries and neutralising a longstanding talking point on the right.]
I’ve noticed as well that he’s back to pandering to the 24hr news cycle, which is what led to these unwarranted gestures in the first place.
“@BernardKeane: so the moment any member of Abbott’s Green Army is injured while picking up rubbish or pulling up weeds, Abbott will resign, yes?”
The coalition wants to cut red tape, but increase govt regulation at the same time.
Zoomster 136
Yes the behaviour is the problem. Even banning property developers would not prevent Obeid’s worst acts, which related to the granting of mining leases.
If coroners make recommendations that involve government expenditure, and many do, then those same coroners should (a) identify government spending that has to be offset in order for the expenditures to go forward or (b) identify additional taxes to pay for the additional expenditures.
They don’t. What we have is all care an no responsibility.
Coroners operate in cowards’ castles.
I thought NSW Labor lost the plot when they started apologising for all and everything initially under Iemma then more so under Rees and Keneally. I was struck when the government apologised after 500,000 people came INTO the city during peak hour to watch the QM and QE meet under the bridge. The resultant chaos was not the government’s fault but a full apology was given anyway. Carr was different; he concluded a drug summit not with weasel words but reminding everyone that we were dealing with a section of the population who were stupid enough to inject crap into their veins. Of course the press and chattering classes responded but I am sure Carr’s message resonated with 90% of the population.
Rudd needs to go to the polls NOW -if he waits longer and continues with his current style the electorate will rapidly realise that he is the same old dithering hollowman.
ABC article on the advertisement criticising the misogynist treatment pf PM Gillard.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-05/women27s-rights-group-accuses-kevin-rudd-of-treachery/4800964
boerwar
its fun exploring rhetorical forms online that one would not practice in life (unless one is bob ellis) – bit of fiction writing.
Your following is too true and well said.
“Are we not as one now that Labor has given the Steering Wheel of State to Humility Kevvie, and the Ruddstermobile has hit the Road to Eternal Power?”
Catching up this morning in BKK.
My Say at 35 – you are spot on! Protect all the good work PMJG did – keep Abbott out – the only objective for a genuine ALP supporter!
Team Abbott despicable in exploiting deaths for political gain.
Their call of release documents does nothing to shed light on how deaths occurred. All it would do is embarrass the government.
Inquiries have addressed the issues of the deaths and how the occurred and given solutions so they will not occur again.
Abbott and Company are showing how grubby they really are again
confessions
boerwar speaks in repeated sound bites – not much more erudite than tony, this is because both have little depth or perspective in writing. comparing me and joyce – now that is a word too far.
“confessions
Posted Friday, July 5, 2013 at 9:50 am | PERMALINK
you are like an english public school prat whom everyone like to tease and whip. noone takes your feigned moralising and fairplay seriously. you are an emissary of abbot and sound like him more and more.
This is simply absurd. Boerwar is far more erudite and articulate than Abbott. However, for what it’s worth, you write like Barnaby Joyce speaks.”
Tony Sloganman has released a Green Army Safety @ Work Video to show the 15,000 conscripts how to go down an embankment with dress shoes on.
We will be expecting quite a few of this new WPHS vids over time
So is he going to resign should someone in the Green Army get injured.
http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/7/5/science-environment/chat-abbott%E2%80%99s-climate-sceptic-business-adviser
[It was Maurice Newman, a luminary of the Australian business community. He was the former chair of the Australian Stock Exchange, former executive chairman of Deutsche Bank in Australia, former chair of the ABC, and nominated to be the chair of a future Abbott Government’s Business Advisory Council.
He’s also an outspoken doubter of global warming.
The most recent example of his views being an article published in The Australian a few days ago. It suggests that a large number of climate scientists are deliberately misleading people in pursuit of a political agenda.]
Maurice Newman believes this because
[Where Newman is from – the financial world – mass delusions and deceptions driven by greed have occurred repeatedly. The dot com tech wreck bubble, the recent sub-prime mortgage meltdown, and further back, the 1929 Great Crash provide precedents where large numbers of people, all driven by a common financial interest, act in concert to perpetuate a mistaken belief. And a powerful few also deliberately cover up information that would reveal the belief to be mistaken, because it would bring them undone.]
Ah — so we’ll see Rudd apologising to women soon, I take it?
KRPM on 24
Kev is going to lose the bloody election! I can see that now! The ALP prostituted itself to a wanky loser!
I’m not watching Abbott’s “green presser” but do I gather that he is going to rid the world of weeds?
Would he recognise a “weed” if he saw one? Does he even understand the definition of “weed”?
[Jonathan Swan @jonathanvswan 22m
GREEN ARMY! Abbott sending a clear message to “invasive weeds and feral animals”. You’re goners.]
Or JulieB could use her death stare to zap them!
political animal
nah. everybody wants some good news and change
BW – Gillard didn’t demise. She was demised by Rudd.
Sorry BW you’ve got that wrong – the only way it could happen was a majority of Caucus wanting to protect her achievements. That’s how it happened. I was surprised KR won but it’s certainly stopped our supposed common enemy Abbott in his tracks! Give him a serve, please.
Its over for Abbott
Rudd pushing the broadband line
Barry Cassidy on-line ABC has it about right at the moment.
Abbott needs more than to keep demanding “an election date” as a response to Rudd.
The mood I sense at the moment is a bit like that in the run-up to the 2007 election.
Right to the end, many Liberals thought that Howard would just pull one of his many old rabbits out the hat. It, of course, did not happen.
The Libs, this time, are kind of expecting more of the same old, same old. Tony hides, the OO and the rest of the Murdoch rags do the heavy life and it is all a-okay.
For weeks the conservative apologists had us believe that a “return to Rudd has all been war-gamed” and we kind of “have it covered”.
Instead, we have seen an opposition caught flat-footed and floundering.
In a sense we do have two opposition leaders fighting it out and one is so much better than the other.
On the day of the change of Labor leadership – the most recent – good old ABC gave us two showings of an anti-Rudd ad on UTube telling us, that there was much more where this came from.
In the meantime, Rudd called Abbott on this and, worse for the Libs, all the people doing the bad-mouthing against Rudd in the ad have either left the scene or are about to do so.
Even the dynamics have changed in Smith’s electorate in Perth, and unless things turn very, very sour between now and the election – and I can’t see why it should – Perth will stay in the Labor fold as will Brand and Freo.
Anything beyond this means that Labor is on the way to victory anyway.
Yep. Give the Green Army the proper weapons they need to do the job and set them lose on the countryside.
To paraphrase a famous saying — they may not scare the feral animals, but they sure as hell scare me.
As for weeds — you could spend the GNP on weed control one year and you’d probably have to fork out the same amount the next.
(Says she, bitterly, picking Bathurst burrs out of her horses’ manes for the ffing fifth year in a row, despite days spent — more recently, in vigorous supervising — uprooting and burning the damn things….)
@janecat60: Bernardi took down blogpost attacking Ed Husic from his site because “I don’t need any hassles” by @lenoretaylor http://t.co/MbsjOXWO7m
I see that Rudd’s second honeymoon is over. This is not suprising when everyone knows we have a second-hand Rudd.
There is no honour amongst democracy thieves and News Ltd has moved right along. Rudd, they reckon, is little better than a thinly-disguised Batts Murderer.
More from the AFR on the NSW intervention. Needs to be much more invasive of the culture, and encompass the other state branches. Robbo being ‘incredibly enthusiastic’ about the current intervention tells the story of its weakness.
[“Former NSW Premier Nathan Rees, who dumped Mr Macdonald from the cabinet in 2009 before he was reinstated by Kristina Keneally, said the changes were a necessary “first step in changing the culture of the party”.
He made a submission to the party’s head office six weeks ago that included the changes promised by Mr Rudd.
“NSW Labor has had enough chances to fix itself in the face of extraordinary allegations and pointers to a culture that is inimical to public office,” Mr Rees said.
He said the changes by themselves would not prevent people such as Mr Obeid and Mr Macdonald holding public office.
The party’s culture needed to be changed by opening up decision-making to individual members, including in selecting the parliamentary leader and party officials.
NSW Labor Opposition Leader John Robertson said he was “incredibly enthusiastic” about the plan.
Mr Cavalier said the changes wouldn’t do “anything much”. The support of unions was critical in installing Mr Obeid and Mr Macdonald in the NSW upper house, he said.
Banning property developers from standing as Labor candidates would achieve little because they “usually make agents of MPs,” particularly members of the state upper house, he said.
“They don’t need to be in parliament to achieve their will,” he said.”]
[I think Puff the Tragic Dragon, Borewar, Rossless, and all the others should start their own I Hate Kevin R**d blog, and leave the adults in peace.]
Dont sweat it Adrian. They and their equivalents only make Rudd more popular with the public. Gives him the essential anti-politics element (which in reality, he doesnt have) in puntertown. I expect many LNP attack ads to have the same desireable effect.
iKruddPM v2 is going to heaps embarrassing.
what is this noire fiction of yours? the honeymoon has hardly begun. australians want a happy story of their nation. the blietz will overwhelm the griping of yourself and your mentor tony. cheer up old man (or woman)
Boerwar
Posted Friday, July 5, 2013 at 11:09 am | PERMALINK
I see that Rudd’s second honeymoon is over. This is not suprising when everyone knows we have a second-hand Rudd.
There is no honour amongst democracy thieves and News Ltd has moved right along. Rudd, they reckon, is little better than a thinly-disguised Batts Murderer.
“@michael47818552: “@SteveGibbonsMP: OL @TonyAbbottMHR needs to understand that wonderful old Trade Union principle. “No ticker no start”.” #ausunions”
We put up with three years of Boremused’s unrequited man–love for Rudd, you pussies can’t stand a few truths being pointed out about the Milky Bar Kid—after one lousy week!
The Ruddster’s here better not be represented among those planning the election campaign or it will be a total but total rout!
You guys are seriously turning people like myself off this blog really quickly with your “factionist” bs.
Who opened up this can of pink-batts worms for the second time?
Who is the shadow trade minister?
And for that matter, who is the actual trade minister?
Puff
The Qld Coroner
Socrates@154
The whole governance structure of the party needs to be re-examined and a ‘code of ethics and professional conduct’ applicable to any MPs or party office holders, needs to be introduced with severe sanctions for any breach.
Lets get serious folks.
Richard Marles is the Trade Minisiter.
I am assuming that some of Kev’s announcements will have been planned for Julia’s visit as well?
[@KRuddMP: “We’ll provide financial support to more than 400 Australians to study in Indonesia.”]
Richard Marles is Trade Minister.
JBishop is the shadow.
[a ‘code of ethics and professional conduct’ applicable to any MPs or party office holders]
Sounds good. I’m thinking of some leakers in the ALP.
[NSW Labor Opposition Leader John Robertson said he was “incredibly enthusiastic” about the plan.
Mr Cavalier said the changes wouldn’t do “anything much”.]
I’m not in NSW, but even to me it was apparent the so-called intervention is just window dressing.
BTW
A later election date locks in more contracts for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Thus entrenching renewables further.
A very practical reason to go later rather than earlier besides the pleasure of seeing the wailing of the LNP.
The NBN rolls out further too. 🙂
Goodness this blog is getting boring. Dominated by about 8 posters, with half continually whining about their beloved ex leader JG, the other praising the new PM ad nauseum.
I’m happy with the regime change but can’t we move past leadersh*t and focus on tearing apart Abbott and his ‘policies’ (sorry, pamphlet of slogans)?
The biggest problem with the left is that we have a tendency to eat our own. Let’s stop doing Abbott’s job for him.
Bemused 188
Agreed. A code and accountability for breaches are required. I was simply pointing out that good examples of such codes already exist. The credibility of the intervention would be increased by adopting one of these models, rather than cobbling together something from scratch. Labor has no shortage of lawyers, so it is a very doable task if the will is there.
IIRC Rudd was DG of the Qld Office of Cabinet when the revised Local Government and Planning Act was introduced post Fitzgerald in 1991. That Act was one of the first I saw with these rules defined, so Rudd should be familiar with them. Another Act covered Official Corruption for State MPs.
Haven’t seen anyone whining for a return of Julia.
BW somersaults here at 176.
Rudd and Murdoch planned it all 2 weeks ago according to BW. Now it’s all over! What’s that naughty Rudd done to upset Uncle Rupe?
Of course, BW, it’s just your fiction doesn’t fit the facts. Murdoch never wanted KR back because he knew Abbott would be exposed for what he is – a gutless wimp. KR has his measure and will defeat Abbott despite the Murdoch press (and some anti-Rudds on PB).
Pebbles
You make a good point, so I should be off to do some painting 🙂
Rudd made a slip with the apology but his other moves have been good. It will be very interesting to see how the Indonesia trip goes. Whatever response Indonesia makes, Abbott should be asked a lot of questions straight afterwards. If he won’t answer Questions then perhaps Peta Credlin ought to be the opposition candidate for PM? She seems to answer all his hard questions.
no doubt I will be told off, but
my first thoughts when I heard about, have not read, the advertisement by the womans group.
re add. why now wait till after the election, if they feel the need
but secondly, would Ms Gillard like this in the newspaper.
I don’t know, cannot answer for her of course,
but I know I would not,
====================================================
let s win the election , then see, do people think things through are not we about winning over the minds and hearts of people,also making sure our policies are heard
this add takes policy talk out of the airwaves.