So much trouble in the world

Upheaval in conservative politics in New South Wales over abortion law; a pickle for Labor in Tasmania over a vacancy in state parliament; and suggestions of a looming state by-election in Victoria.

In New South Wales:

A row over a bill to decriminalise abortion is prompting murmurings about Gladys Berejiklian’s leadership just five months after she led the Coalition to an impressive election victory, with tremors that are being felt federally. The bill was introduced by independent MP Alex Greenwich, but its sponsors included the Berejiklian government’s Health Minister, Brad Hazzard. It was headed last week for passage through both houses of parliament, before Berejiklian bowed to conservative outrage by pushing back the final vote in the upper house by nearly a month. Claiming credit for this concession is Barnaby Joyce, whose high-profile interventions have angered his state Nationals colleagues, most of whom support the bill (prompting Mark Latham, who now holds a crucial upper house vote as a member of One Nation, to tar the party with the cultural Marxist brush). Following suggestions the party room had discussed expelling him from the party, Joyce said he would go of his own accord if four of them publicly called for him to do so. It doesn’t appear that is going to happen, but if it did, the government would be reduced from 77 seats in the House of Representatives out of 151, costing it its absolute majority on the floor.

In Tasmania:

Labor MP Scott Bacon’s decision to end his state parliamentary career, citing family reasons, represents an unwelcome turn of events for an already understaffed state opposition, owing to the manner in which parliamentary vacancies are filled under Hare-Clark. This will involve a “recount” (as officially known, though “countback” is the generally preferred term for such procedures) of the votes that got Bacon elected to his seat in Denison (which is now called Clark), either as first or subsequent preferences. The procedure is open to any unsuccessful candidates from the previous election who care to nominate, among whom is Madeleine Ogilvie, a former incumbent who was defeated in 2018 – possibly because progressive sentiment had been alienated by her social conservatism.

The problem for Labor is that Ogilvie has since parted company with the party, to the extent of running as an independent for an upper house seat in May. If she wins the recount, and no reconciliation with the party is forthcoming, there will be nothing to stop her sitting as an independent, reducing Labor from ten seats to nine in a chamber of 25. As explained by Kevin Bonham, we can see from the 2018 results that this will produce a “first preference” count in which 33.1% of the vote goes to Madeleine Ogilvie and 28.4% to Tim Cox, a former ABC Radio presenter who ran unsuccessfully, and has confirmed he will nominate for the recount. More than half the remainder went to candidates who are not in contention because they’re already in parliament, so it will assuredly be one or the other.

In Victoria:

John Ferguson of The Australian reports the Liberals have been conducting internal polling for former party leader Matthew Guy’s seat of Bulleen, prompting speculation he will shortly quit parliament. The Liberals retained the seat with a 5.8% margin even amid the debacle of last November’s election, and the polling is “believed to show the Liberal brand holding up”.

Author: William Bowe

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.

2,112 comments on “So much trouble in the world”

Comments Page 1 of 43
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  1. How nice it was to read a more sensible discussion after William joined the conversation last night. And wouldn’t “moving more to the centre” for Labor be following the example of Hawke/Keating, who are lauded for their longevity in office? Since the Libs have slid to the right and the Nats are away with the fairies, it sounds feasible.

  2. Morning all. I agree with shellbell. Joel Wilson should not be a test umpire (and captaincy should go back to Smith; Paine lost the plot.)

    Sport exists to distract us from bad politics. It is perfectly suited to these roles, given these clangers :

    Shame on every AG (including Labor) who did not stop this trial:
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-26/xanana-gusmao-offers-to-give-evidence-in-witness-k-trial/11436286

    And can Labor please sort out its bickering in private.
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-25/anthony-albanese-speaks-at-wa-alp-state-conference/11446134

  3. Gladys Berejiklian has just given time for Dominic Perrottet to organise his numbers in order to roll her. Bad move on her part. She should have just pushed the Abortion Legalisation vote through the Upper House and dealt with the fallout afterwards.

    The majority of the people of NSW are with her. I thought that’s who majority governments represented?

  4. Socrates,
    Did you have to start the day kicking Labor when they are down, again? Some of us are trying to be constructive about the way ahead for the party.

    Sure, there are going to be fights between different groups as the way ahead is fought over, but that’s a natural consequence of a party that is trying to determine the way ahead.

  5. lizzie @ #5 Monday, August 26th, 2019 – 6:55 am

    Paul Barratt @phbarratt
    ·
    26m
    Morrison lands at G7 with new plan and the smirk he takes with him everywhere he goes.

    Morrison is not going too well so far:

    Digital strategy is a new battleground between the US and France. The latter imposed a 3 per cent digital sales tax, on the grounds that internet giants are using international tax loopholes to shift profits out of the countries where they are made.

    But Trump retaliated by threatening to raise tariffs on French wine, and is reportedly keen to raise the issue again in Biarritz.

    If Trump decides the fight against internet extremism can be used as a lever to extract concessions from the French on the digital tax initiative, it could be a blow to Morrison’s hopes for the summit.

    The Australian prime minister has adopted New Zealand’s “Christchurch Call” to eliminate terrorist and violent content online. The government anticipated the G7 would be a chance for Morrison to build on his success at June’s G20 summit in Osaka, where he convinced leaders to send a joint message to social media platforms to do more to root out extremist content that can inspire terror and violence.

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/trump-accused-of-secretly-blocking-move-to-quell-internet-extremism-20190825-p52kgk.html

    Donald Trump is quite happy to have the violence that abets his cause streamed.

  6. The religious organisation behind some of Sydney’s most prestigious private schools has endorsed its 10,000 students and their teachers skipping class for next month’s climate change rally, as part of a broader push to respond to the “crisis confronting the planet”.

    The NSW and ACT Synods of the Uniting Church, which runs Knox Grammar, Newington College, and Pymble Ladies’ College among other high-profile schools, passed a resolution last month to support young people in the global climate strike movement.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/church-backs-climate-strike-for-its-10-000-students-20190823-p52k52.html

  7. C@t

    Morrison is still on the “terror and violence” shelf that he finds the most comfortable, so that he can pretend climate change and refugee problems are nothing to do with him.

  8. lizzie,
    I’m sure Trump will praise Morrison’s role in inspiring him as to how to deal with refugees. It might be a turning point actually as the link to Trump’s policies in the US will be explicit and maybe, just maybe, it might lead to a more humane response from the Morrison government to those who remain on Nauru and in Port Moresby. I think they have suffered enough.

    I get that they can’t come here, Morrison and Dutton won’t allow it, but I would hope that they could go to New Zealand.

  9. This is a more realistic overview of the WA State Labor Conference:

    WA Labor frontbencher Mick Murray reiterated his party’s apology to those who had been performing the Welcome to Country(as far as the unionists walking out on it), but played down suggestions the incident represented serious disunity.

    “State conferences are a bit like a boxing ring, you get in there and have a bit of a stoush, you come out and win or lose you wipe the blood off and get on with the job,” he said.

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-25/anthony-albanese-speaks-at-wa-alp-state-conference/11446134

  10. See? No sooner does he take a position on something, a minute later he flips again.

    A summit of world leaders devolved into a confusing spectacle on Sunday when President Trump signaled regret for his trade war with China only to have the White House reverse his position hours later.

    It was one of numerous surprises on a day when some officials had hoped for clarity or consensus. Leaders continued squabbling about whether Russian President Vladi­mir Putin would attend a future meeting, and French officials surprised others by inviting Iran’s foreign minister to this seaside town, an unusual move of diplomatic jujitsu in the tightly-scripted world of international summits.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-for-first-time-signals-regret-china-trade-war-has-escalated/2019/08/25/c942ea78-c67a-11e9-b5e4-54aa56d5b7ce_story.html

  11. Regardless of whether he is Captain, or even just a player, Paine should not be making the final call on Reviews. Both his reviews were speculators. While the bowler should consult with the keeper and slips cordon, the final decision being made by someone else. Can’t be Warner or Smith for obvious reasons (although their opinions would be persuasive). I reckon that perhaps Wade should make the call.

  12. Trump has another primary challenger. I listened to a podcast with Joe Walsh the other day and had a feeling he’d run.

    Former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh announced Sunday that he will challenge President Trump in the 2020 primary, becoming the second Republican to wage a bid against the president.

    Walsh, a talk-radio host, was elected to Congress in 2010 as part of the tea party wave and served one term. He has described himself as an immigration hard-liner and said he would not challenge Trump from the center but from the right and on moral grounds.

    “I’m going to run for president,” Walsh said Sunday in an interview on ABC News’s “This Week,” charging that the president is “incompetent,” “a bigot” and “a narcissist.”

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/former-congressman-joe-walsh-announces-primary-challenge-against-trump/2019/08/25/595cce96-c73c-11e9-be05-f76ac4ec618c_story.html

  13. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    In an intervention that risks irritating corporate heavyweights and investors, Josh Frydenberg will suggest boardrooms that prioritise short-term shareholder returns above long-term investments are hurting national productivity rates and warn changes are needed if Australians are to “continue to make our own luck”. Some chance!
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/frydenberg-challenges-corporate-australia-to-rein-in-share-buybacks-and-dividends-20190825-p52kki.html
    Nick Miller says that the Queen is reported to have confided in Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison that Donald Trump ruined her lawn with his big helicopter.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/trump-s-big-chopper-ruined-my-lawn-queen-told-scott-morrison-20190825-p52kna.html
    Jennifer Duke tells us how thin the ice has really become under Alan Jones.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/just-how-thin-has-the-ice-really-become-under-alan-jones-20190825-p52kgn.html
    No decision has yet been made on whether Cardinal George Pell will appeal his child sexual abuse convictions to the High Court, a spokeswoman for the cleric says, despite reports to the contrary.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6347649/pell-appeal-still-pending-spokeswoman/?cs=14231&utm_source=website&utm_medium=home&utm_campaign=latestnews
    Meanwhile Kristina Keneally has blasted Melbourne’s Catholic archbishop for his response to Cardinal George Pell losing his appeal against child sexual abuse convictions.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6346893/labor-senator-blasts-catholic-archbishop/?cs=14350
    Noely Neate writes that the Victorian Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold George Pell’s historical child abuse convictions should have been the end of a long saga to hold this man to account.
    https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/pells-appeal-rejected-dont-forget-victims-of-church-sex-abuse,13040
    With Trump there is no bottom and it looks like Australia will follow him all the way down says Greg Jericho. Scary stuff.
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2019/aug/25/with-trump-there-is-no-bottom-and-it-looks-like-australia-will-follow-him-all-the-way-down
    Tony Walker opines that dipping our toe into the Gulf is fraught with risk.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/dipping-our-toe-into-the-gulf-is-fraught-with-risk-20190823-p52jz8.html
    The SMH editorial lets fly at the government over what it is saying in support of its attempt to reverse the medevac legislation.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/medevac-repeal-piles-on-the-cruelty-20190825-p52kl1.html
    Ross Gittins begins this article with, “As if Scott Morrison didn’t have enough problems on his plate, we learnt last week that government-administered prices are rising much faster than prices charged by the private sector.”
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/big-rise-in-government-controlled-prices-shows-pollies-have-much-to-do-20190825-p52khu.html
    Now NSW Water Minister Melinda Pavey has accused the Natural Resources Commission of having a potential “conflict of interest” as reforms to the drought-stricken Barwon-Darling river system threaten to cause another split between Liberals and Nationals in the Berejiklian government.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/water-fight-minister-attacks-river-scientists-20190825-p52kir.html
    Fergus Hunter outlines the Grattan Institute’s blueprint for improving outreaching stock.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/80-000-payrises-in-plan-to-tackle-low-status-of-teaching-in-australia-20190823-p52k6j.html
    The Gonski 2.0 proposals are flawed, heavy in bureaucracy and will stifle creativity in children, writes classroom teacher, Paul Johnson .
    https://www.michaelwest.com.au/gonski-2-0-a-sausage-factory/
    Climate scientists now find themselves in a quandary similar to medical doctors who need to break the news of a grave diagnosis. How do they tell people that the current spate of cyclones, devastating islands from the Caribbean to the Philippines, or the flooding of coastal regions and river valleys from Mozambique to Kerala, Pakistan and Townsville, can only intensify in a rapidly warming world?
    https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/the-amazon-fires-and-the-dilemma-for-climate-scientists-20190825-p52kiq.html
    The Nine Network’s A Current Affair has dodged questions over who paid for One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s controversial trip to Uluru.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/entertainment/2019/08/25/nine-uluru-pauline-hanson/
    Australian workers could be caught in the crosshairs of the country’s biggest industrial relations shakeup in over two decades, according to the Labor Party and union insiders.
    https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/industrial-relations-overhaul-could-hurt-unions-and-workers,13035
    Incarceration rates have risen 130% since 1985, according to new research by Labor MP and economist Andrew Leigh
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/aug/26/australia-entering-second-convict-age-as-imprisonment-rates-soar
    It took decades to build an effective Indigenous legal network but now it’s under threat writes the Law Council’s Charles Moses.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/it-took-decades-to-build-an-effective-indigenous-legal-network-now-it-s-under-threat-20190815-p52hfo.html
    The Australian Taxation Office has hit the British-Dutch oil giant Shell with a bill estimated at $755m as it continues to pursue multinational resources giants over claims they have avoided paying tax on offshore gas projects. Good!
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/aug/25/ato-slugs-shell-with-755m-bill-in-fight-against-multinational-tax-avoidance
    The Guardian continues to uncover the horror stories. This time a severely ill woman in her 60s who cannot leave the house without a mobility scooter was wrongly judged as fit for work by Centrelink and denied the disability support pension.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/aug/26/centrelink-wrongly-denies-disability-support-pension-to-severely-ill-woman
    And The New Daily reveals that Centrelink is using evidence of domestic violence as proof that women are in legitimate relationships, linking their access to vital support to their abusers’ wealth.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/finance-news/2019/08/25/centrelink-domestic-violence/
    Will Trump block the move to quell internet extremism?
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/trump-accused-of-secretly-blocking-move-to-quell-internet-extremism-20190825-p52kgk.html
    And Trump has rowed with his fellow G7 leaders over his demand that Russia be readmitted to the group, rejecting arguments that it should remain an association of liberal democracies, according to diplomats at the summit in Biarritz.
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/25/g7-trumps-demands-for-russias-readmission-causes-row-in-biarritz
    The IMF thinks the trade war might be at its tipping point.
    https://outline.com/Xd7kLG
    Boris Johnson has declared that the UK can easily cope with a no deal Brexit. Will these words come back to haunt him?
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/25/britain-can-easily-cope-with-no-deal-brexit-claims-boris-johnson
    The UK Guardian says that a bumpy no-deal Brexit could turn panicking MPs against Johnson.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/25/brexit-no-deal-mps-panic
    Chris Uhlmann expresses concern over Chinese influence in Australia.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/instead-of-floating-the-white-australia-bogey-let-s-be-honest-about-chinese-influence-20190825-p52kkb.html
    Deloitte is facing a rebellion from its young auditors who are frustrated that as their wages stagnate, the latest crop of graduates is coming in on more money.
    https://outline.com/krRYEv
    There have been fears that the Hong Kong protest movement would be violently suppressed since the first demonstrations in late March because of the 1989 massacre at Tiananmen Square. Lee Duffield, who covered the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in Europe at the same time as Tiananmen Square, says there are many links with this year’s events.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/the-hong-kong-protests-haunted-by-violent-precedents,13041

    Cartoon Corner.

    David Rowe at the G7.

    Pat Campbell and the apartment building fiasco.

    Jim Pavlidis with Morrison’s adventurism.

    Mark David and Morrison’s hat infatuation.

    Zanetti takes us to the G7.

    From the US

  14. Andrew E

    Politics cannot stay the way it is. We can’t bury our head in the sand, the hairless monkeys have to stop burning fossil fuels. If we don’t out ports are stuffed, that is easy to predict, 2 meters, that is all it going to take. God knows what is going to happen to agriculture.

    We need a solution that provides people with a vision for the future, that makes sense. Running around telling people you are going to destroy their life is not going to make it happen, and this is what the Greens have on offer.

    Pretending the Greenland ice is not melting is head in the sand stuff. The Liberals want to pretend the 50’s will last for ever, they are not part of the solution. Actually I think it has got worse than that, there now seems to be an attitude, lets plunder the place before it fails.

    Labor are in the best position to move the economy as it needs to move. They are have done that once in my lifetime and our only hope is they can do it again. The problem is you have the Green and the Liberals trying to stop it.

  15. So, Frydenburg has told companies to rein in their dividends? Won’t that hurt the Franking Credits class of government welfare dependants? 🙂

  16. The LNP have formed government and hold the voting power in both houses. (don’t point out the obvious)
    Morrison is the accidental PM.(don’t point out the obvious)
    What the LNP intend to do with this power is unknown.
    We do know it is a corrupt government.
    We do know the Morrison government supports unfairness, poverty and homelessness.
    We do know the Morrison government encourages tax avoidance and members of the government practice this activity.
    We know that this government refuses to accept climate change as a fact.
    We do know that the LNP government is disengenerous and plays on mistruths and obfuscation.
    If the LNP have managed to gain enough seats to hold the power of government than they should be held to account for their decision making.
    All the other assorted elected representatives, including Labor and the Greens should not be the focus of political commentary and examination.
    PB for whatever reason has been sidetracked and is a lesser place for its misplaced focus.

  17. Good Morning

    FredNK

    You are part of the problem. Denial of reality doesn’t help. Understanding and accepting the science means you stop expanding the mining of coal. Until you do that you are not understanding and accepting the science.

    It’s physics. In this case we had the industrial revolution fire the first shot of the war. Then fossil fuel companies found out. Then they decided to use the same tactics as Tobacco companies.

    Labor needs to treat coal like it did tobacco. Accept you need to tax it to death. Use the same tactics. Highlight the damage. Promote the benefits.

    Labor has done this and won. Labor can do it again. First thing is not calling the Greens out for truth telling.

  18. FredNK

    It would also help if Labor started acting like that lost the election by one seat.

    We know the right is splitting. We know that going to minor parties is the first step on the road for people changing their votes long term.
    Labor can win those voters but it has to make the case to the voters.

    Expanding coal mining by giving a green light to Adani is not how you win voters over on climate change

  19. Extinction Rebellion and civil activism:

    https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/rising-force-how-extinction-rebellion-hopes-to-make-a-difference-20190820-p52iz5.html

    The arrest of 56 protesters in Brisbane earlier this month marked the beginning of a wave of environmental strikes across the planet planned to ratchet up this Spring.

    September 20 will see thousands of Australian school children walk out of their schools in solidarity with the Global Climate Strike. Earth Strike, a general strike for workers, is being planned for a week later, and non-violent civil disobedience group Extinction Rebellion have marked October 7 as the opening of their week-long Spring Uprising, when crowds of ordinary citizens across the globe are preparing to disrupt their towns and cities.

    In a world where a million species are set to go extinct as a result of human activity, the Arctic is on fire, and our government responds by doubling down on a huge new coal mine, law-abiding Australians are being radicalised to an extent not seen since the Vietnam War and a sizeable minority are, increasingly, turning to symbolic acts of breaking the law. It seems that after years of “clicktivism”, street politics are back.

    Caught off guard by this sudden rise in climate and animal rights activism, state and federal governments have introduced bills to heighten penalties for farm trespass, while the Queensland government is also criminalising the possession of “lock-on” devices such as handcuffs shielded within PVC pipes. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has claimed that such devices have been booby-trapped with butane and glass shards – a trap that would presumably also harm the protester within and would be illegal under existing law.

    By Jack Nicholls, a Melbourne author and a volunteer with Extinction Rebellion.

  20. https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/security-breach-fears-raised-over-china-backed-company-mining-sa-military-range-20190825-p52kk1.html

    A China-backed company mining in South Australia’s Woomera Prohibited Area appears to be in breach of the legal undertakings it made to win access to Australia’s most sensitive military testing range.

    Defence officials have been warned that the company’s own internal review of security of the Cairn Hill mine found a series of potential threats in a new joint-venture, including “the real possibility of electronic eavesdropping”.

  21. Goll @ #25 Monday, August 26th, 2019 – 8:13 am

    The LNP have formed government and hold the voting power in both houses. (don’t point out the obvious)
    Morrison is the accidental PM.(don’t point out the obvious)
    What the LNP intend to do with this power is unknown.
    We do know it is a corrupt government.
    We do know the Morrison government supports unfairness, poverty and homelessness.
    We do know the Morrison government encourages tax avoidance and members of the government practice this activity.
    We know that this government refuses to accept climate change as a fact.
    We do know that the LNP government is disengenerous and plays on mistruths and obfuscation.
    If the LNP have managed to gain enough seats to hold the power of government than they should be held to account for their decision making.
    All the other assorted elected representatives, including Labor and the Greens should not be the focus of political commentary and examination.
    PB for whatever reason has been sidetracked and is a lesser place for its misplaced focus.

    We know also that the ALP seems oblivious to all of this.

  22. I’m not into cricket generally.
    OH is. But last night we were both enthralled watching the 2nd innings. Incredible and bewildering

  23. Steve Cannane’s investigation, Secrets, Spies and Trials, tonight on Four Corners at 8:30pm on ABC TV and iview.

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-26/xanana-gusmao-offers-to-give-evidence-in-witness-k-trial/11436286

    The former prime minister of Timor Leste, Xanana Gusmao, says he wants to travel to Canberra to give evidence in court on behalf of former spy Witness K and lawyer Bernard Collaery if their prosecution continues.

    Mr Gusmao has told Four Corners his evidence is likely to embarrass previous Australian governments in relation to the 2004 intelligence operation in which the Dili offices of the prime minister Mari Alkatiri were bugged by Australian foreign agents during treaty negotiations over oil and gas in the Timor Sea.
    :::
    Senior lawyers and crossbench politicians have expressed concerns about the prosecution and the secrecy surrounding the trials against the two men which are being run under the National Security Information (NSI) Act.

  24. Did you actually read it @Peg?

    “On the face of it, the donations were perfectly legal. They were declared.”

    Just another allegation (innocent until proven GUILTY).

  25. Zoidlord @ #36 Monday, August 26th, 2019 – 8:29 am

    Mundo is same same with rex

    ‘We do know it is a corrupt government.’
    So you’ve heard Albo making a case for an investigation into the corrupt government?
    We do know the Morrison government supports unfairness, poverty and homelessness.
    Jim Chalmers is on to it? Never shuts up about? Dog with a bone?

  26. Wage theft

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/ripped-off-by-7-eleven-worker-s-back-pay-treated-unfairly-by-tax-man-20190825-p52kk0.html

    A 7-Eleven wage theft case has exposed an unfair tax slug for some workers who win back pay, leading an appeals tribunal to call for changes to the law.

    The administrative appeals tribunal has acknowledged a worker ripped off by 7-Eleven who fought and won a $62,000 lump sum in back pay ended up paying more in tax than he would have had he not been ripped off.

    But the tax office had applied the law correctly, the tribunal found, leaving the taxpayer out of pocket and the tribunal expressing sympathy over the “unfairness” and “unintended” consequences of the law.

    It urged politicians to consider changing the law because “this unfairness is likely to be repeated” in an environment of “continuing ‘wage theft’”.

  27. Mundo as you know the Greenies on here like Peg are reporting the Government are too busy looking into Labor Fund raising.

    Not that Greens actually give a shit to do a joint investigation into Liberals and more specifically the nationals.

  28. Fess

    The most weird thing of all, was that with another 70 odd runs required, it seemed very doable with Stokes at the helm. He absolutely played a blinder.

  29. Reforms to Abortion laws via passing legislation in parliament is something a state Liberal Party government cannot do, the same goes for marriage equality. Because there are going to be people inside the party, that are anti-abortion and can do significant damage to the government.

    Personally I believe that Gladys should have put the proposed abortion laws to a plebiscite, while very divisive it would satisfy the anti-abortion people, because they will think they could get the No case to win a plebiscite, although it would explode in their faces.

    Such an approach I admit is very divisive and will inflict a lot of emotional damage, it is the only way I see of putting some sense into the Social Conservatives which dominate especially the Liberal Party at both a state and federal level. Because it tells the Social Conservatives that their views are very much a minority one in Australia.

  30. Tristo

    They are doing it. By having a conscience vote. Same tactics are being used as with Marriage Equality. Same result. We are just going to have three weeks of an ugly campaign because of the delay.

    We know this because of votes already cast. The decriminalise abortion MP’s have already been winning the votes. They say they have the numbers. They said that before the lower house votes.

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