We seem to be going into an ill-timed poll drought, so to keep things ticking over, here’s a post focusing on Senate preselection news. Please note there’s a post below this one on this Saturday’s Wagga Wagga by-election, which is developing into a fairly interesting contest.
• Queensland Labor’s state conference determined its Senate preselection on the weekend, having been hurried along by a national executive concerned the Liberal leadership crisis might bring on an early election. In doing so it bypassed a vote that was granted to the party membership under rule changes in 2013. The top position has gone to Nita Green, a former staffer to Senator Murray Watt and the favoured candidate of the CFMMEU and United Voice. The position is reserved to the Left, and is being vacated with the retirement of Claire Moore.
Green’s ascendancy has been contentious because party rules reserve the position for a regional representative and she lives in Brisbane, though she says she will move if elected. Supporters of rival Left candidate Tania Major, a Cairns-based indigenous youth advocate and protege of Cape York leader Noel Pearson, have further complained of being ambushed by a process for the factional ballot in which a three-day nominations period was followed immediately by the start of voting.
The second place on the ticket, which is reserved to the dominant Labor Forum sub-faction of the Right, has been retained by incumbent Chris Ketter. The cancellation of the party membership vote saw off any threat from rival nominee Pat O’Neill, former army major and candidate for Brisbane in 2016, although he was reportedly unlikely to win in any case. Number three goes to Frank Gilbert, a former Mackay councillor and candidate for Dawson in 2016, and a member of the Old Guard sub-faction of the Right.
• Matthew Denholm of The Australian reports Tasmanian Labor’s union establishment has again lined up against Lisa Singh for Senate preselection, undeterred by the success of a below-the-line voting campaign in overturning her demotion at the 2016 election. Singh will presumably dominate the party member component of the vote, but is reportedly unlikely to do any better than the loseable third position. This is because the dominant Left wants places for an incumbent, Carol Brown, and John Short, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union official for whom Singh was relegated in 2016, while the Right is defending incumbent Catryna Bilyk.
• Tasmania’s Liberals are also conducting their Senate preselection vote on Saturday, and there are suggestions they too may repeat unhappy history from 2016. Richard Colbeck is again under pressure from conservative forces associated with Senator Eric Abetz, despite having almost matched Lisa Singh’s feat after being dumped to number five in 2016. He found his way back in the recount that followed Stephen Parry’s disqualification in November, and was promoted last week to the outer ministry, making him the only Tasmanian at that level of seniority. Brett Worthington at the ABC reports conservatives want the top position to go to Brett Whiteley, veteran of three winning and three losing campaigns at both federal and state level in Braddon, or alternatively to a woman. Further demotion beyond that would be particularly remarkable for Colbeck, as he is the only one of the four Tasmanian Liberal Senators facing re-election, the others having scored six-year terms. The other nominees for the preselection were detailed in an earlier instalment.
Player One @ #3940 Sunday, September 9th, 2018 – 7:06 pm
So then let’s fix that problem with birth control. No need to touch immigration rates or bandy “sustainability” about as a reason to be an anti-immigrant jerk-ass.
Besides, sustainability is a global problem. If the planet has more people than it can support, telling a bunch of them “well sorry, Australia’s full” doesn’t actually create any more room. 🙂
Player One, you are exactly who I refer to
Uneducated and unsupported generalisations
Boerwar says:
Sunday, September 9, 2018 at 8:21 pm
Australia imports around $10 billion worth of food a year.
http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2012/07/16/food-imports-surge-into-australia-with-imported-fruit-and-vegetables-near-top.html
______________
Thanks BW. Exactly what I was looking for, with zero results. Ta.
Though it is a shame there are not more up to date results available, the amount imported could only have increased in the meantime.
Rocket Rocket
What you say is true plus the fact that the UK will lose its “passporting” rights with the EU regarding financial services thus negating the bulk of that activity. The Financial Times has estimated that banks and insurers do not now have time to rewrite all of the £26tn of derivatives and 36m insurance policies that may be disrupted by Brexit.
This may be scaremongering – it may not. Given the lack of action to date, I suspect not.
‘poroti says:
Sunday, September 9, 2018 at 8:18 pm
A LOL headline from the UK’s Torygraph.
New acid testing kit developed by government’s secret military research lab to determine whether suspects are carrying corrosive substances
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/08/new-acid-testing-kit-developed-governments-secret-military-research/‘
The testing routine has been well-honed.
They make suspects drop a tab and then wait to see what happens.
Bill Hayden amends his cosmology.
He deserves compassion – the compassion kept in reserve for the ailing, the fading, the dying, the reluctant and the submitting.
In the pic, he is a solitary figure…alone with his consciousness and his judgment….on the journey of the mortal, as are we all. Life is too short.
I don’t know Hayden privately, but his public person must be a reflection of his private self. He is also one of few politicians that I can believe truly gave service to Australia. He has now (largely) withdrawn from public life. I wish him well.
“Aunt Mavis says:
Sunday, September 9, 2018 at 8:00 pm
citizen:
No one woud dare to visit Sky News After Dark(?).”
I like to feel that I am as brave as those people in Melbourne who defy the African gangs to dine out at night!
‘briefly says:
Sunday, September 9, 2018 at 8:26 pm
Bill Hayden amends his cosmology.
He deserves compassion – the compassion kept in reserve for the ailing, the fading, the dying, the reluctant and the submitting.
In the pic, he is a solitary figure…alone with his consciousness and his judgment….on the journey of the mortal, as are we all. Life is too short.’
Well put, IMO.
don
Litmus paper . You must have been to that “secret military research lab ” 🙂
Allan Moyes @ #4008 Sunday, September 9th, 2018 – 8:26 pm
Allan
If the banks are so stupid that they have not already done drafts of all the policies then they deserve to be shut down. They have had years to gett redy. Suely they have developed a set of standard clauses/amemndments etc.
Honestly I do hate it when people exaggerate etc
We are a pluralist society. But some of us believe we are the chosen people who will go to heaven while others burn in hell for eternity. So lets not pretend that religion is just some ‘personal belief’ and that these aren’t huge and important differences between us.
ItzaDream
A beautiful song – ein schönes Lied.
Allan Moyes
I am amazed if Boris Johnson really wants to be the one in the driver’s seat on March 29th, 2019. But it seems that way looking at recent events. I thought all along he wanted to take over after then so that he can blame everything on Theresa May and David Cameron, (and Jeremy Corbyn for good measure)
Chris Kenny has paid up RupertRooter Nick Cater on to discuss bullying in the Liberal Party – and here is the Rupert-endorsed party line..
“Nick Cater on alleged bullying inside @LiberalAus: There’s only one reasonable response to this and that’s to toughen up, and to hope that if one ever is in a position of power in which one can bully, one refrains from doing so. “
briefly:
Concur.
Bill’s a very sick man – so sad.
Priceless! No wonder the Libs only attract the likes of Nick Cater and other privileged white males.
spr
Interesting that he would go public with this line. Basically he is saying that bullying is a given.
poroti says:
Sunday, September 9, 2018 at 8:29 pm
don
Litmus paper . You must have been to that “secret military research lab ” 🙂
_______________
I was in year 9 (first year of high school) and “Woody”, an inspirational chemistry teacher, showed us the use of litmus paper.
Impressing on us the toxicity of caustic soda (NaOH) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) he showed us the result of putting litmus paper in each – one piece turned pink in acid, and the other blue in alkali, in the two tubes of each he had poured from clearly labelled bottles.
Then he added hydrochloric acid, carefully, to the caustic soda solution, until the litmus turned a ‘neutral’ colour.
Then he drank off the test tube of liquid.
I was impressed. What a showman.
Being a net importer of food is not a problem if the rest of the world are willing to swap their currencies for yours because they consider your currency valuable. The UK pound is one of most sought after currencies in the world and that is not likely to change much in the years ahead. There is a lot of alarmist nonsense being touted about Brexit creating negative effects for the UK’s capacity to trade with other nations. The reality is that as long as UK pound assets are seen as desirable by the rest of the world, the UK will be able to get the foreign currency reserves it will need to buy the imports that it needs. It’s not as though leaving the EU will reduce the UK’s productive capacity and reduce the appeal of accumulating UK pound assets.
Leaving the EU will give the UK Government more policy freedom to make productivity-enhancing investments in public services and infrastructure. Nationalizing utility infrastructure and expanding public housing provision are two important priorities that are impeded by EU regulations that prioritize private rent-seeking over public purpose. The UK will be much better off outside the EU provided that it uses the increased policy discretion that it will gain. A Corbyn-led Labour Government would be highly likely to use that increased policy freedom in ways that enhance productive capacity and public purpose. Under the Tories or a Blairite Labour government, the benefits of leaving the EU would be non-existent.
Cheers Boer 🙂
Interesting responses to Greg Hunt tweeting his resignation letter:
https://twitter.com/greghuntmp/status/1032431745902104576?s=21
Itzadream @ 8.16pm
Thank you for posting the clip of Christa Ludwig singing the Urlicht from Mahler’s 2nd. Possibly my favourite symphony, certainly where soloists and a choir are involved. Ludwig was a superb alto.
The first time I heard this work (I hadn’t even heard it on record) was at the Edinburgh Festival in 1973. Leonard Bernstein conducted the London Symphony Orchestra with the Edinburgh Festival Chorus and soloists Dame Janet Baker and Sheila Armstrong.
I can’t recall, to this day, how I managed to get back to my hotel, I was so transfixed by the music. At the end of the performance there was silence which seemed to stretch forever and then thunderous applause. It was to be many years before I attended a live performance, this time in Brisbane with the Hamburg Symphony, also thoroughly enjoyable.
BW/Fess
The Liberal Party being branded as bullies, and tolerating it, or using clever constructions to turn a blind eye ‘Be not like those other men’ is a difficulty. If one of the many women who felt bullied, and for whatever reason are in the parliamentary exit lounge decide to make a point of it and name names under privilege – this issue will run.
sprocket:
[‘Chris Kenny has paid up RupertRooter Nick Cater…’]
Please stop these stupid names for our/your oppenents.
I mean, really!
Differences of belief and opinions are what make a pluralistic society and that’s as it should be providing we respect others rights to hold those beliefs and opinions.
Don- I teach high school science. Your description of your chemistry teacher’s party trick gave me a lovely chuckle, as I considered the look on my head of department’s face were I to stick that in a risk assessment. Thanks 🙂
Hayden gave up the leadership without a vote – he knew he would lose a vote, but he wanted to make it a clean transition to increase his party’s chances of winning.
After the Coalition had dismantled his original Medibank scheme he thus ensured that Labor would restore it as Medicare.
sprocket:
It’s obvious from Insiders this morning that Frydenberg was tasked with talking Julia Banks down from resigning and causing another by-election. He seemed confident he achieved this, but I don’t buy it for a second.
Confessions says:
Sunday, September 9, 2018 at 8:35 pm
“Nick Cater on alleged bullying inside @LiberalAus: There’s only one reasonable response to this and that’s to toughen up, and to hope that if one ever is in a position of power in which one can bully, one refrains from doing so.
Priceless! No wonder the Libs only attract the likes of Nick Cater and other privileged white males.
____________________
That’s odd. Could have sworn that Julie Bishop and the other women in the Liberal party were female. Privileged white females, no doubt, but females nevertheless.
Gladys Berejiklian must be confused to find that she is a privileged white male, and also Premier of NSW, as well as Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party.
Well I just watched Joanna Lumley in North Western India, from Mumbai to Rajasthan, and it was a glorious feast for the eyes.
They believe that all 30 million ‘gods’ reside in the cow. Lakshmi even resides in the cow dung! And loves it, apparently! So there. To the Indians, heaven is in cow dung.
It takes all sorts to make the world go ’round. 🙂
spr
This week, I imagine. There has obviously been an enormous amount of chatting up of Banks so I do not expect much from her.
OTOH Ms Gichuhi might just let rip with enough details and names to blow the whole thing up in public.
Thank you for your input Aunt Mavis, which I shall ignore.
According to Murdoch:
Boris sex file sparks Tory war
8:20PMTIM SHIPMAN
British PM Theresa May’s aides drew up a dossier on Boris Johnson’s sex life to prevent him from becoming Prime Minister. (Oz headline)
Boerwar:
And there has been speculation Banks will use parliamentary privilege to name and shame Liberal bullies as well.
The week promises to be quite something. 😀
C
Banks may do so, but I have my doubts. Not long to go, now.
BW:
I can’t imagine Gichuhi has anything left to lose now that she’s in an unwinnable spot on the SA senate ticket. She’s also a very recent convert to Liberals, and probably doesn’t have the sort of “for the good of the party” loyalty that might make someone like Banks more hesitant to prolong the government’s turmoil.
It’ll be very interesting to see if she follows through with her threat.
AL
I have a thought that Banks has probably insisted on some systemic quid pro quos for staying quiet and for staying on. I am guessing, of course. It seems from Frydenberg’s comments that quotas are on the table.
The Vic Libs dumped a bucket on Banks to trash her reputation this week. She will be spitting chips. Be wonderful if she resigned and forced a by election. Of course, it won’t happened. But I said the same about Malcolm getting the boot.
One thing that might happen this week is Labor claiming that around 7 Liberals misled the Parliament by claiming that they had full confidence in and/or supported Mr Turnbull.
Pure mischief making, of course, but it will keep some of the Liberal wounds open for another week.
Ab11
It was a dirty piece of work. I do hope she outs her tormentors.
Looks like its 54-46, just from reading between the lines on SKY. results soon.
And the new seating arrangements in the HoR have the freshly minted backbencher Julie Bishop seated next to Julia Banks – expect the zoom lense to be trained on them, whilst they chat
Nicholas spewing pseudo-economics again
Cat
I admire the work Joanna Lumley has done for the Nepalese Gurkhas who served in the British Army, inspired by her own father’s service in the Gurkha Rifles in Nepal.
apparently “no bounce” in Newspoll but ppm “better”
nath
Looks like its 54-46, just from reading between the lines on SKY. results soon.
predicted headlines –
“Morrison reels in Shorten in first head-to-head contest” (The Australian)
“Coalition Back on Track” (Daily Telegraph cover with picture of smiling PM)
Roger – same headlines apply even just for PPM change!
DT headline
ScoMo Prayers Answered
sprocket:
[‘Thank you for your input Aunt Mavis, which I shall ignore.’]
I wonder if your persona would do likewise?
He’s as arrogant as you – always stating a case, but not qualifying same.
Allan Moyes @ #4022 Sunday, September 9th, 2018 – 8:40 pm
Thanks for the memories Allan. I can imagine. That LSO Bernstein Barker performance (Urlicht) I believe it or not just watched on youtube, and then off down the rabbit hole, not to be linked to here in deference to the blog, but easy to find, and it’s an interesting comparison, notably Bernstein’s way with it. (my current fav is Fischer and the Hungarians with Birgit Remmert who captures the breathless wonderment of the final ascent to perfection.)
I played it at my mother’s funeral, and its sentiments are very close to mine, very.
C@tmomma @ #4030 Sunday, September 9th, 2018 – 8:46 pm
Great travel TV, awesome. You either get her or you don’t, and I do.