Sins of commission

Kooyong and Chisholm legal challenge latest; by-election rumblings in Isaacs; Jim Molan strikes back; and the Victorian Liberals gearing up already for federal preselections.

Possible (or possibly not) federal by-election news:

• The Australian Electoral Commission has petitioned the Federal Court to reject challenges against the federal election results in Chisholm and Kooyong. The challenges relate to Chinese-language Liberal Party signage that appeared to mimic the AEC’s branding, and advised voters that giving a first preference to the Liberal candidates was “the correct voting method”. As reported by The Guardian, the AEC argues that “the petition fails to set out at all, let alone with sufficient particularity, any facts or matters on the basis of which it might be concluded that it was likely that on polling day, electors able to read Chinese characters, upon seeing and reading the corflute, cast their vote in a manner different from what they had previously intended”. This seems rather puzzling to my mind, unless it should be taken to mean that no individuals have been identified who are ready to confirm that they were indeed so deceived. Academic electoral law expert Graeme Orr argued on Twitter that the AEC had “no need to intervene on the substance of a case where partisan litigants are well represented”.

• Talk of a by-election elsewhere in Melbourne was stimulated by Monday’s column ($) from acerbic Financial Review columnist Joe Aston, which related “positively feverish speculation” that Labor’s Shadow Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus, would shortly quit his Melbourne bayside seat of Isaacs with an eye to a position on Victoria’s Court of Appeal. Aston further reported that Dreyfus hoped to be succeeded by Fiona McLeod, the prominent barrister who gained a 6.1% swing as Labor’s candidate for Higgins in May. Dreyfus emphatically rejected such “ridiculous suggestions” in late August, saying he was “absolutely committed to serving out this term of parliament”, and again took to Twitter on Monday to say he would be “staying and fighting the next election”. Aston remains unconvinced, writing in Tuesday’s column ($) that the suggestions derived from “high-level discussions Dreyfus has held on Spring Street with everyone from Premier Daniel Andrews, former Attorney-General Martin Pakula, his successor Jill Hennessy and his caucus colleagues”, along with his “indiscreet utterances around the traps”.

Federal preselection news:

• Jim Molan has won the endorsement of both Scott Morrison and the conservative faction of the New South Wales Liberal Party to fill the Senate vacancy created by Arthur Sinodinos’s departure to become ambassador to the United States. However, the Sydney Morning Herald reports this is not dissuading rival nominee Richard Shields, former deputy state party director and Insurance Council of Australia manager, and the runner-up to Dave Sharma in last year’s keenly fought Wentworth preselection. Shields’ backers are said to include Helen Coonan, former Senator and Howard government minister, and Mark Neeham, a former state party director. Earlier reports suggested the moderate faction had been reconciled to Molan’s ascendancy by a pledge that he would only serve out the remainder of Sinodinos’s two-year term, and would not seek re-election in 2022.

• Rob Harris of The Age reports the Victorian Liberals are considering a plan to complete their preselections for the 2022 election much earlier than usual – and especially soon for Liberal-held seats. The idea in the latter case is for challengers to incumbents to declare their hands by January 15, with the matter to be wrapped up by late February or early March. This comes after the party’s administrative committee warded off threats to members ahead of the last election, most notably factional conservative Kevin Andrews in Menzies, by rubber-stamping the preselections of all incumbents, much to the displeasure of party members. Other preselections are to be held from April through to October. Also proposed is a toughening of candidate vetting procedures, after no fewer than seven candidates in Labor-held seats were disendorsed during the period of the campaign.

Self-promotion corner:

• I had a paywalled piece in Crikey yesterday which noted the stances adopted of late by James McGrath, ideological warror extraordinaire and scourge of the cockatoo, in his capacity as chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, which is presently conducting its broad-ranging inquiry into the May federal election. These include the end of proportional representation in the Senate, the notion that parliamentarians who quit their parties should be required to forfeit their seats, and — more plausibly — the need to curtail pre-poll voting.

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.

2,219 comments on “Sins of commission”

Comments Page 11 of 45
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  1. Puffy, a big should out to you. Hope you are doing well!

    Have been thinking of you a lot while in my caring role. It is intense.

  2. I’m a late-comer to the Labor Party direction discussion running earlier this evening.
    I largely agree with much of what has been posted by D&M and DP, but I also want to make a personal comment.

    Apparently members of the NSW Labor Right wing want to try and steal some of the Liberal’s clothes.
    Fitzgibbon wants a lower emission target, Labor members of the Joint standing Committee on Trade want the trade agreement with Indonesia passed, despite it being completely contrary to the Party Platform on employing foreign workers instead of locals, and Marles wants Labor to pass legislation even if it disappoints ‘purists’.

    Even just floating such ideas is dangerous.

    These people forget that it is the Labor ‘purists’, the avid supporters, who are the ones who get out and campaign at election time, who knock on doors, who hand out leaflets in the streets, who talk to people about issues, who hit the phones, who fly the flag and hand out HTVs at pre-polls and on the Big Day.

    Without the foot soldiers the party has no hope of ever winning an election. The Libs have the money and the media on side. Labor has its volunteer army.
    Or not.

    If you treat them with contempt, then they will not campaign.

    You need a leader with a clear, unequivocal message, and a bit of charisma to sell it. As D&M said, Sell Hope! Sell Equality!
    The muddled messages that Labor has been promulgating over the past year has confused and dispirited supporters like me.

    As for this latest batch of BS from the NSW Labor Right ……
    I have acquaintances who know I campaign for Labor. They waste no time telling me that the federal party members support the Lib. Gov’t.
    And laugh, or (worse) take pity.

    I noticed in May the numbers of Labor campaigners was down in our seat. Many told me last election they had had ‘enough’.
    Next election the local Labor candidate (who ever it is ) may be campaigning alone.

  3. providing a space for a peaceful protest, unless you are Augusto Pinochet, is the best thing you can do.

    How truly unsettling that we’ve gotten to the point where this even needs to be said.

  7. I am sick and tired of reading on this blog of the woes of the ALP. The ALP lost the 2019 Election mainly because of the Clive Palmer 8 month-long $60m advertising blitz which was on my TV at every and I mean every ad on TV. Also on all social media. This has now become a problem for our democracy.

  8. Palmer said that he paid his ex-workers but we will never know if he paid them in full or not because those who accepted his payment wher paid on a confidential agreement.

  9. D&M:

    1) Work towards either a jobs guarantee or a UBI. In my opinion, rather than a UBI, a jobs guarantee combined with a Universal safety new would be best – Hawke and Keating implemented the latter brilliantly.

    Full employment vs (ab)use of the unemployed as a buffer stock to drive down wages (a “design feature” according to Sen Corrmann) goes in cycles. FE will make a comeback; calling it something new (JG) probably won’t help, calling it “guarantee” (anything) sounds shonky.

    2) The ALP needs a detailed and genuine jobs transition to new Green well-paid manufacturing jobs. There are plenty of possibilities, and Australian offers an abundance of opportunities. But, policy work will need to be done, and discussions will need to be held with the private sector.

    Instead of calling it Green, just call it (truthfully) hi-tech. Who would oppose that? If you’re against hi-tech what are you in favour of, “low tecb”? Who would admit to being thus opposed?

    3) Government needs to work with private companies to create these new industries. The Scandinavian countries since WWII have actually worked with the private sector to produce their industries and prosperity. The private sector is not evil – but it does need to be well regulated for its own benefit and that of others.

    Nordics and Northern Europe correctly regard land price inflation as a cost on (productive) business and have all sorts of policies to drive down land prices. Anglo on the other hand regard inflation in residential land as the principal way to wealth (on paper at least…). H&K govt fought against this (maybe Whitlam too?) but all other govts from Menzies (second coming) onward have quite deliberately inflated the housing market since it’s a goldmine politically…

    4) Investment in education at all levels, including VET (trades). Go to the German Rhineland Landers for tips.

    Labor?/Left antagonism towards trades makes no sense and is perhaps driven by second class honours politics graduates. Essentially all successful research leaders in hard sciences (and medicine) have very high respect for highly skilled trades. German system is absolutely the right approach (with Planck/Fraunhofer/Liebniz/Helmholtz like entities to replace CSIRO etc)

    5) Sell Hope! There is so much we can do in getting the global P(CO2) down even just in Australia, which will lead to an infrastructure boom.

    Absolutely right- AU has permanent (at least until tectonic plates move…) natural advantages in solar which are several orders of magnitude larger than the temporary natural advantage in coal (and gas).

    Every tech shift (towards higher tech) in energy has produced spin-offs that outweigh costs and there is no reason to believe shift to direct generation of electricity will be different. Direct generation is inherently more efficient than thermal with electricity as side effect (though of course there are scale effect to overcome). Likewise distributed generation. And as for Hydrogen, it has water as a by-product, which is a bonus, particularity if one’s thirsty!

    6) Sell equality! When all people in society have the opportunity to make positive contributions, the majority will. But, they need to have their basic needs taken care of – water, food, safety and shelter. A big government funded “Habitat for Humanity program”?

  11. I recently started reading Peter Franklin, who contributes to UnHerd.com. Two recent articles are relevant to Australia.

    https://unherd.com/2019/10/whats-causing-the-chinese-brain-drain/
    The article is written for a post-Brexit Britain, but it makes some interesting points, which Australia could adopt, on how to use China’s investment in education to local advantage.

    in a blog post on the same site, Hao highlights a major impediment to the Chinese quest for global AI supremacy: a brain drain.

    Franklin describes the life-style incentives China is using to lure their “brains” back home, making the point that life in “the West” is fundamentally nicer than in China.

    we should make the most of our natural, historical and cultural riches and establish this country as one of the very best places to live on Earth – the cleanest, greenest and safest of all the major economies.

    https://unherd.com/2019/10/what-if-germanys-economy-toppled/
    The article describes the disruption that electric vehicle will cause to Germany’s economy and the opportunity that provides others. (Looking at you Australia.)

    …battery electric vehicle technology is progressing rapidly, with governments setting deadlines for a complete transition to low carbon transport. Indeed pressure is building to bring the deadlines forward.

    The fact is that the new technology is a fundamentally different beast — not only in terms of its energy source, but also its simplicity. As Bryant reminds us, “electric vehicle drivetrains have far fewer parts and the process is less labor intensive.”

  12. Psyclawsays:
    Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 9:00 pm

    Diogenes @8.10pm

    With NF as your local MP you have my sincere sympathy.

    It helps being out of the Country.


  14. Player One says:
    Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 9:50 pm

    Just in case anyone doesn’t yet get it … it is apparently the Labor Left that is the true enemy, not the Liberal party

    EDIT: Oops! Labor Left, not Right.

    In Australia no (we have the Greens to screw things up) in England yes, Corbyn may have taken over the Labor party but he is not going to win the election.

  15. Obviously Cam didn’t make much of a splash last time.

    @BelindaJones68
    12h

    It’s a rehash of a Turnbull Govt idea, Cam was used to promote apprenticeships by Karen Andrews in 2016

    I don’t recall him being that successful last time so why is he being employed by Morrison now? What are his KPIs? How long is this gig for?

  18. lizzie @ #515 Friday, October 11th, 2019 – 6:41 am

    Obviously Cam didn’t make much of a splash last time.

    @BelindaJones68
    12h

    It’s a rehash of a Turnbull Govt idea, Cam was used to promote apprenticeships by Karen Andrews in 2016

    I don’t recall him being that successful last time so why is he being employed by Morrison now? What are his KPIs? How long is this gig for?

    Morrison’s marketing ideas are never original, he always nicks them off someone else. However, he does promote and sell them better, so we’ll see.

  19. Who to believe? The IMF or the Liar from the Shire?

    “Australia would fail to meet its Paris Agreement commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions even with a $US75 carbon tax that would drive up Australia’s electricity prices by 75 per cent over the next decade.

    Research by the International Monetary Fund, released on Friday, shows Australia is still so dependent on coal and other greenhouse gas-intensive energy sources that even direct intervention to address climate change won’t be enough for the country to reach its international commitments.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-will-miss-paris-goals-even-with-a-us75-a-tonne-carbon-tax-imf-20191010-p52zct.html

  20. Two Soviet-Born Rudy Giuliani Ukraine Conspirators Arrested

    Two Soviet-born members of Trump’s fundraising committee who were helping Rudy Giuliani with his Ukraine conspiracy theory have been arrested for campaign finance violations.

    The Wall Street Journal reported:

    Two Soviet-born donors to a pro- Trump fundraising committee who helped Rudy Giuliani’s efforts to investigate Democrat Joe Biden were arrested late Wednesday on criminal charges of violating campaign finance rules and are expected to appear in court on Thursday, according to people familiar with the matter.

    https://www.politicususa.com/2019/10/10/giuliani-ukraine-conspirators-arrested.html

  21. Oh dear. Rudy’s friends not quick enough to skip the country. Note: these are the 2 who Rick Perry wanted to put on the board of the Ukrainian state gas company.. Fruman also donated $325,000 to a Trump election fund.

    WASHINGTON—Two Soviet-born donors to a pro- Trump fundraising committee who helped Rudy Giuliani’s efforts to investigate Democrat Joe Biden were arrested late Wednesday on criminal charges stemming from their alleged efforts to funnel foreign money into U.S. elections and influence U.S. politics on behalf of at least one Ukrainian politician.

    Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two Florida businessmen, made a brief appearance in federal court in Virginia Thursday, dressed in T-shirts. Both men are U.S. citizens born in former Soviet republics. They were arrested at Dulles Airport on Wednesday while awaiting an international flight with one-way tickets, according to people familiar with the matter, a day before one of them was scheduled to testify before House committees.

    Mr. Giuliani said Thursday that Messrs. Parnas and Fruman were headed to Vienna, Austria, on Wednesday evening for reasons related to their business. He declined to elaborate on those reasons. He said the two men had also left the country about two weeks ago and had traveled to Vienna between three and six times in the last two months. He said he had been scheduled to meet with the two when they returned to Washington within days.

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/two-foreign-born-men-who-helped-giuliani-on-ukraine-arrested-on-campaign-finance-charges-11570714188?mod=hp_lead_pos1

  22. Indictment Is The Smoking Gun Of Illegal Foreign Money Being Funneled To Trump

    The indictment of two Giuliani associates on campaign finance violations is the smoking gun of how illegal foreign money is being funneled into the country to support Trump.

    Tom Winter of NBC News described the illegal operation:

    The men that are involved, the two individuals you stated, face multiple counts of conspiracy as well as falsifying records and falsifying records to the FEC. A pro-trump super PAC is essentially directly identified in the court documents. We don’t have to do much homework to figure that out. Both of these men organized a scheme to be
    able to move donations from a foreigner into that PAC

    https://www.politicususa.com/2019/10/10/indictment-trump-illegal-foreign-money.html

  24. Oh, but Rudy says they’ve been to Vienna and back to the US before, many times!

    Yeah, but that was before they became cause celebres in the Impeachment scandal. 🙂

  25. C@t

    I refuse to give Morrison any credit over TAFE. Thousands of dollars injected into the system would invigorate the teachers and make them feel supported by the govt in a way that an Ambassador cannot.

  26. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    David Crowe says that Labor is feeling the heat in the climate change grudge match that is breaking out.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/labor-feels-the-heat-in-climate-change-grudge-match-20191010-p52zjo.html
    Michelle Grattan on the same subject.
    https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-a-little-more-confusion-added-to-the-climate-policy-debate-125060
    Eryk Bagshaw reports that Facebook and Google have backed a multilateral solution to digital taxes proposed by 134 nations in a policy move labelled the “most dramatic change” to international taxation in decades.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/most-dramatic-change-in-decades-facebook-google-back-oecd-s-digital-tax-plan-20191010-p52zfc.html
    By giving Turkey the green light to attack Syrian Kurds, the US President has once again demonstrated his unreliability as an ally. Scott Morrison should pay heed says Phil Coorey.
    https://outline.com/bFVXFv
    The Turkish president has threatened to “open the gates” for 3.6 million Syrian refugees in his country to migrate to Europe if the continent’s leaders label Turkey’s military campaign in north-eastern Syria an “occupation”.
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/10/turkish-president-threatens-send-refugees-europe-recep-tayyip-erdogan-syria
    Michael Pascoe wonders if our PM Scott Morrison is Trump-lite or a Trump true believer. This is quite a spit!
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2019/10/10/scott-morrison-donald-trump-2/
    Shane wright tells us that IMF research is showing that even direct intervention to address climate change won’t be enough for Australia to reach its international commitments. Even a $75/tome carbon tax won’t be enough to meet our Paris commitments.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-will-miss-paris-goals-even-with-a-us75-a-tonne-carbon-tax-imf-20191010-p52zct.html
    Suggestions from Rod Sims that electricity suppliers are delaying investments to keep power prices high have been rejected by companies and investors.
    https://outline.com/WEH9ed
    The AFR tells us that leading energy analysts have warned lobbying by ‘rent-seeking’ gas buyers raised the risk of government intervention which would threaten investment in new supply.
    https://outline.com/FS3jWa
    Michaela Whitbourn reports on the tough day former NSW Labor boss Jamie Clements had at ICAC yesterday.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/former-nsw-labor-boss-met-huang-xiangmo-days-before-100-000-banked-20191010-p52zg6.html
    Shane Wright previews today’s meeting between states’ treasurers and the federal government.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/treasurers-to-talk-infrastructure-projects-and-consider-economy-building-reforms-20191010-p52zh6.html
    The tendrils of corruption now extend to two business associates of Rudy Giuliani being arrested on campaign-finance charges. Apparently they schemed to funnel foreign money to US politicians in a bid to affect US-Ukraine relations and launch a marijuana business.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/two-business-associates-of-rudy-giuliani-arrested-on-campaign-finance-charges-20191011-p52znl.html
    Environmental and social concerns are core issues for business, the International Monetary Fund has declared, saying firms that ignore them will face growing financial pressures that could sweep them away. Not quite the position Morrison has taken with big business recently.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/firms-that-ignore-social-issues-risk-going-out-of-business-imf-20191010-p52zcz.html
    The Guardian reveals how a top UK thinktank spent decades undermining climate science.
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/10/thinktank-climate-science-institute-economic-affairs
    And here in Australia Kevin Rudd tells us how the mining firms worked to kill off climate action.
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/10/mining-firms-worked-kill-off-climate-action-australia-ex-pm-kevin-rudd
    Paul Karp reports that Labor has blasted Michaelia Cash for refusing to say how much taxpayers are paying The Block star Scott Cam to promote vocational education in his new role as “national careers ambassador”.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/oct/11/coalition-refuses-to-say-how-much-scott-cam-is-being-paid-as-national-careers-ambassador
    Unions and the opposition have poured scorn on the Prime Minister’s plan to enlist TV host Scott Cam to encourage more people to take up trades, labelling it a stunt and an insult to young people.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/work/2019/10/10/scott-cams-careers-ambassador/
    In this essay Jenna Price explains how hiring nonconformists can save lives.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/how-troublemakers-can-save-lives-20191010-p52zic.html
    Economics professor Robert Slonim puts the case for paying blood donors for their volunteered efforts. He says it is time to stop discriminating against our life-saving Australians and treat them the same way we treat overseas donors.
    https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/life-saving-australian-heroes-should-be-paid-for-their-donations-20191010-p52zdd.html
    Michaelia Cash is in a class of her own!
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/oct/10/job-snobs-claim-that-companies-struggle-to-hire-based-on-29-firms-not-14000-as-reported
    Domino’s Australia has defended its strategy of opening new stores in already successful high-sales areas despite concerns it could cannibalise the sales of existing franchises. What a cutthroat arena is franchising!
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/domino-s-defends-its-store-fortressing-amid-cannibalisation-fears-20191010-p52zi7.html
    The Morrison Government, for all its pretensions and rhetoric, has shown that its commitment to basic human rights – such as of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of association – is paper-thin at best writes Michelle Pini.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/the-coalition-where-protesting-free-speech-is-only-a-right-for-the-right,13191
    Greg Hunt says he respects the right of states to make their own laws on voluntary euthanasia. But territories will not be able to follow suit, even if more states push ahead with assisted dying schemes, his office has confirmed. Kevin Andrews WILL be pleased!
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6431716/health-minister-greg-hunt-wont-budge-on-territories-legislating-euthanasia/?cs=14350
    Too many Australian secondary mathematics teachers are unqualified to teach those subjects, a leading technology think tank has warned.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/experts-say-a-lack-of-qualified-teachers-is-turning-students-off-maths-20191010-p52zl0.html
    Right-wing extremism a growing threat to Australia’s national security says Samantha Dick in The New Daily.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/2019/10/10/right-wing-extremism/
    War has broken out within Fox News over the impeachment.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/this-is-war-trump-impeachment-opens-fresh-divisions-at-fox-news-20191010-p52zfi.html
    The first witness in the Congressional inquiry into President Trump’s links with Ukraine, Kurt Volker, has delivered many official emails described in the New York Times as incriminating. Lee Duffield sees a dangerous stand-off between implacable law and rough politics.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/impeachment-moves-against-trump-republicans-scramble-to-fight-back,13185
    60000 civilians are on the move as the Turkish actions in Syria get under way.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/turkish-forces-push-deeper-into-north-eastern-syria-20191010-p52zmm.html
    According to The New Daily Kerri-Anne Kennerley needs to bow out stage left while we still remember the good times.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/2019/10/10/kerri-anne-kennerley/
    Scott Ludlam and another Extinction Rebellion activist have had bail conditions banning them from participating in more climate protests promptly thrown out by a magistrate. Greg James said during a short application at the Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday that the conditions were designed to lock-down political expression of those in the movement.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/nsw/scott-ludlam-s-extinction-rebellion-bail-conditions-thrown-out-20191010-p52zdu.html
    According to David Crowe the Morrison government has dispatched the Australian ambassador in Turkey to urge a halt to the Turkish invasion of northern Syria amid growing fears of a humanitarian catastrophe after the withdrawal of US forces.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/government-despatches-ambassador-in-turkey-to-urge-a-halt-to-syria-invasion-20191010-p52zkx.html
    The SMH editorial joins the growing push for tougher laws on quad bike safety.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/tougher-laws-on-quad-bike-safety-are-long-overdue-20191010-p52zjj.html
    Johnson’s desperate for a general election, but he faces an unpleasant surprise writes Polly Toynbee.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/10/boris-johnson-election-unpleasant-surprise-opposition
    Darren Weir is angling for an “Arsehole of the Week” nomination.
    https://www.theage.com.au/sport/racing/jigger-video-links-darren-weir-scandal-to-melbourne-cup-20191010-p52zm5.html

    Cartoon Corner

    Two beauties from David Rowe.


    From Matt Golding.




    Andrew Dyson with what’s ahead for our kids.

    A couple from Mark David.


    What a beauty from Alan Moir!

    I think Simon Letch gets the point.

    From an unhappy Jim Pavlidis.

    Zanetti gets back to his core values here.

    Jon Kudelka on Trump’s Turkey withdrawal.
    https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/9179f8c7283d895b209ac1f69a0eb557?width=1024

    From the US









  27. The Wall Street Journal article is a must read, note the WSJ is owned by Rupert, ties a lot of the conspiracy together – key elements are Russian money donated to Trump/Republicans through front men, scams to fleece Ukraine’s national wealth, dirt digging on the Bidens, and Rudy…

    ‘ While Mr. Giuliani used the two men for finding dirt on Mr. Biden and his son Hunter, they, in turn, solicited money from Ukrainians while touting their connections to Washington, according to people familiar with their activities in Ukraine.

    Mr. Giuliani, President Trump’s private lawyer, identified the two men in May as his clients. On Thursday, he said he wasn’t representing them in this case. He told Fox News on Thursday that he found their arrest “extremely suspicious.” Mr. Giuliani hasn’t been contacted by Manhattan federal prosecutors, he said Thursday morning.

    John Dowd, a former lawyer for Mr. Trump who now represents Messrs. Parnas and Fruman, didn’t respond to a request for comment. Mr. Dowd has previously told Congress that the men were assisting Mr. Giuliani “in connection with his representation of President Trump.”

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/two-foreign-born-men-who-helped-giuliani-on-ukraine-arrested-on-campaign-finance-charges-11570714188?mod=hp_lead_pos1

  28. Morning all. It looks like there were three separate errors by Home Affairs plus a deeply flawed system that saw Hakeem Alaraibi falsely arrested in Thailand. French police worked out the problem before the AFP did. Was the Senate misled? Heads should roll. Dutton is incompetent as well as a sociopath.
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-11/bungles-that-led-to-hakeem-al-araibi-being-locked-up-in-thailand/11583270

    These errors could just as easily have let a terrorist in, as caused an innocent man to be arrested on the way out.

  29. Sprocket
    Does the average voter care about climate change enough to challenge the validity of anything the Liar says.
    The Liar will continue with the script, jobs and tax, jobs and tax, and as the last election clearly showed, thd voters will go with his script.
    The Labor party squabbling about policy, regardless of the facts will not beat the Liars script.
    It’s all very disheartening but true.
    Albanese is now in charge of a squabbling opposition and the signs are that no progress is evident since the election.
    The Greens are even more distant from the voters, many of these voters with unshakeable belief in jobs and tax.

  30. sprocket_ …and other lawyers…and just generally interested peeps out there, should read this article (if they can), from The Washington Post, about the lawyer that Trump is using to fight his legal battles against releasing his tax returns and the Emoluments Clause in the US Constitution. It’s fascinating:

    Most lawyers are intent on winning every argument.

    But in his defense of President Trump, friends and former colleagues say, William S. Consovoy is prepared to lose the first round — and even the second.

    For the unconventional lawyer with an unconventional client, the focus is all about the endgame.

    The conservative warrior from New Jersey and former law clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas is at the forefront this summer of some of the most attention-
    getting battles over whether Trump can be compelled to reveal his personal finances as part of congressional investigations of possible conflicts of interest and foreign influence.

    In his courtroom role, Consovoy is trying to shape the law on novel constitutional issues in the power struggle between the Republican president and House Democrats.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/coming-to-trumps-defense-an-unconventional-lawyer-for-an-unconventional-president/2019/08/21/f877214a-9382-11e9-aadb-74e6b2b46f6a_story.html

    Anyone who can’t read it and wants to, let me know. 😉

  31. It looks like Trump is going to fight EVERY battle the Democrats have taken up to him, through the courts, all the way to the Supreme Court, which he has stacked in his favour.

  32. I believe that only one set of protests over the past fifty years that I attended made the slightest bit of difference to the timing or the substance of the eventual outcome were the Vietnam protests. The pro-Life protest I attended in the ACT might just have helped a tiny bit. But I doubt that. The Apartheid protests I attended made no difference. What made the real difference was when the Afrikaaners realized that the gig was up inside SA and that they had a choice between a civil war and an orderly transition. My protests against every war since Vietnam all failed miserably.

    IMO the key to successful protests are several. I have made some brief comments for the Extinction Rebellion against each criterion.

    1. That a substantial majority of the general population supports the outcome. The protestors need to be regarded to at least some extenct as ‘one of us’ and not ‘one of them’. The Extinction Rebellion’s emphasis on girls tends to exclude men. The overwhelming whiteness of the Extinction Rebellion tends to exclude people of colour. The extreme youth of the Extinction Rebellion tends to exclude that three quarters of the population that is no longer teenager-ish.
    2. That at least a simple majority of the middle class supports the outcome. These are the folk who have much to lose from any change. They generally hold the BOP between the workers and the toffs in voterland.
    3. That the protests are legal, don’t destroy property, and are well-behaved in the sense that they do not frighten the horses. Pissing off potential supporters is generally not a good idea. Property damage enables the enemies of change to focus on the damage, not the policy issues.
    4. Represent the venting of decades of frustration that has not been addressed by normal political processes. Tick for Extinction Rebellion.
    5. That the protests are not regarded as having been astro turfed or co-opted by extremists seeking THE Revolution. In a reprise of the internal struggle within the Greens, the environmentalists in the Extinction Rebellion are already fighting with the Rad Socialists who are seeking to use it as yet another Front Organisation.
    6. That the protests are not generally regarded as a Trojan Horse for a foreign power. Probably not much of an issue for the Extinction Rebellion but is being used to lethal (sic) effect by the Mainland Dictatorship in Hong Kong.
    7. That the protests have a clear objective which does not change much over the course of the protests. What exact practicable implementable changes does the Extinction Rebellion want? Who knows?
    8. That the protests are sustained. We will have to see.
    9. That the protests involve large numbers of people. Tick for Extinction Rebellion.
    10. That the ONLY changes being sought are the target changes. The Revolutionary Socialists will have their say about that.
    11. That the messenging is not susceptible to culture war manipulation. Greta Thunberg FAIL? What we need really need is men and women in business attire to lead this one.
    12. That the protest organisation is robust to attempts at co-opting. Extinction Rebellion already struggling here. Gilet Jaunes, for example, FAIL.

    It is clear to me that the Extinction Rebellion fails some, and possibly many, of the tests fairly comprehensively.

  33. Yep Giuliani is definitely a victim of #ETTD.

    Rick WilsonVerified account@TheRickWilson
    22m22 minutes ago
    From filing indictments against mobbed up scumbags to being mentioned in them. #ETTD is a hard mistress.

  34. ‘I smell a wiretap’: Ex-FBI official suspects the Feds have tapes of Rudy Giuliani

    The details included in the indictments of Rudy Giuliani associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman have led one former top FBI official to conclude there was a wiretap.

    Former FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Frank Figliuzi was interviewed Thursday by MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace.

    “When the indictment itself says that this conspiracy involved others known and unknown, there are others that are being investigated and likely may be charged,” he continued.

    “And I would warn all of these people — including Rudy Giuliani — that when I read this indictment and the level of detail and specificity, I smell not only human informants, but I also smell a wiretap or some form of electronic surveillance,” Figliuzzi explained.

    https://www.rawstory.com/2019/10/i-smell-a-wiretap-ex-fbi-official-suspects-the-feds-have-tapes-of-rudy-giuliani/

  36. Rick Wilson thinks Lindsey Graham wanted to be essential to Trump — instead ‘he sacrificed his integrity and dignity’

    Former Republican commentator Rick Wilson thinks that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is trying to buy favor from President Donald Trump. The only problem is that it hasn’t worked out that well for others when Trump feels slighted.

    “Well, all of the adults are gone. Dead, thrown off the cliff,” Wilson continued. “There’s no one in the White House, helping Donald Trump or shaping Donald Trump’s behavior. He’s a giant ball of ego and giant ball of need. And it was apparent to a lot of us early in the process.”

    Wilson said that it was clear Graham “sacrificed his integrity” a long time ago.

    “Look, Lindsey is the tragic figure of this whole thing. He sacrificed his integrity, his reputation, his dignity, and his political future to Donald Trump because he was trying to buy influence with Trump by being obsequious,” said Wilson. “Of course, it doesn’t work. Trump always does this to everyone. He’s a serial betrayer in his life, in his business, his politics

    https://www.rawstory.com/2019/10/rick-wilson-thinks-lindsey-graham-wanted-to-be-essential-to-trump-instead-he-sacrificed-his-integrity-and-dignity/

  37. What was the point, indeed?

    Fitzgibbon’s timing was perfect, if you are one of Morrison’s press secretaries. One day after Turnbull warned that Liberal Party division on climate change would push up energy prices, Fitzgibbon found a way to turn the spotlight stage left.

    The government faded into the background and all eyes were on Labor. It was no use carping about the media. Labor had made itself the story.

    This was revealing on two levels – the superficial and the substantive. Both hint at how toxic the Labor policy war could become.

    Fitzgibbon’s move raised questions about his tactics. He chose to provide an early copy of his speech to The Australian, making front page news. Why now? Apart from the lure of the spotlight, what was the point?
    …
    Lost in all the fury was a simple fact. Labor has time to work on its emissions target. It is years away from mattering. To endorse a 28 per cent target at this point would be to restrict all future movement.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/labor-feels-the-heat-in-climate-change-grudge-match-20191010-p52zjo.html

  38. Lindsey Graham caught admitting Trump has a conflict of interest in Turkey during Russian prank call

    Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was fooled into a fake phone call with the Russian government, according to a Politico report.

    Graham has become a point-man when it comes to Trump’s work with Turkey, the report explains. So, it wasn’t shocking that he would get a phone call from someone he thought was Turkey’s minister of defense.

    “Thank you so much for calling me, Mr. Minister,” Graham said on the recorded call. “I want to make this a win-win, if we can.”

    Instead, it was Russian pranksters Alexey Stolyarov and Vladimir Kuznetsov, who go by “Lexus and Vovan.” The Guardian even wrote that they suspected that the two men have been known to help the Kremlin at times.

    https://www.rawstory.com/2019/10/lindsey-graham-caught-admitting-trump-has-a-conflict-of-interest-in-turkey-during-russian-prank-call/

  39. Republicans have ‘no one to blame but themselves’ for Trump’s Syria disaster: conservative Jennifer Rubin

    According to Rubin, “Trump betrays American democracy at the drop of a hat” with his continuous praise of dictators and alienation of US allies. So, Rubin asks, what did they expect he would do when it came to the Kurds?

    Thanks to “partisan tribalism,” Republicans are now married to Trump’s failures, Rubin argues. The GOP is now on the side of a “know-nothing president whose foreign policy is worse, by leaps and bounds, than President Barack Obama’s, whom these same Republicans decried as weak and lacking belief in American exceptionalism.”

    https://www.rawstory.com/2019/10/republicans-have-no-one-to-blame-but-themselves-for-trumps-syria-disaster-conservative-jennifer-rubin/

  40. ML

    ‘Even just floating such ideas is dangerous.’

    Well, sorry, but we’re a party which believes in broad discussion.

    Until the final policy positions are arrived at, anyone can basically float any idea they like. After that, MPs are expected to fall into line.

    And it’s important – for democracy, for transparency, for a host of good reasons – that these dissenting views are aired. You can’t argue with positions which haven’t been put, just for starters.

    The party is not a dictatorship.

    For the vast majority of voters, anything anyone says at this stage of the process is irrelevant anyway, and will be forgotten by the next election – and it’s hard to believe that any ‘true believer’ would walk away because of a few comments by minor players.

  41. “In Australia no (we have the Greens to screw things up) in England yes, Corbyn may have taken over the Labor party but he is not going to win the election.”

    ***

    In Australia, the Labor Left’s main function – while they are often good people and well meaning – is to make up the numbers to support the Labor Right’s policies. The Adani Labor Party no longer represents the real progressive left in Australia, which is why millions of people now vote for the Greens.

  43. @colonelhogans
    ·
    Oct 10
    Towns burnt down. Families homeless. What do they get from @ScottMorrisonMP ?
    A fucking video on twitter and $1,000! $150M to crawl up Trumps arse, and only $1,000 for families who’ve lost everything! One bloke asked “Hows $1,000 going help us with 4 kids, no house or clothes?

  44. Thanks to “partisan tribalism,” Republicans are now married to Trump’s failures, Rubin argues. The GOP is now on the side of a “know-nothing president whose foreign policy is worse, by leaps and bounds, than President Barack Obama’s, whom these same Republicans decried as weak and lacking belief in American exceptionalism.”

    It’s beyond belief just how supine, docile, invertebrate, even vegetative congressional Republicans are. Just look at the total 180 turnaround by those who carried on about Hillary’s private emails yet are silent on Trump’s ongoing use of a private phone.

  45. Goll

    Every Labor leader ever has been in the position of presiding over a squabbling party at this stage in the process.

    I am worried about Albo’s ability to unite the party ultimately, because of the nature of his acquisition of the leadership (putting horses’ heads on people’s beds might get you what you want, but it doesn’t win hearts and minds) but the real test of this will be next year, when policy starts to be bedded down.

    atm, squabbling is ‘situation normal’ at this stage of the process.

    I’m not exactly sure how else a party can arrive at new policies – and I would argue that, as times are always changing, new policies (even if they’re revamped old ones) are always necessary.

  46. “They suck” – Donald Trump goes berserk after Fox News reports bad news for him

    Donald Trump was busy whining on Twitter yesterday that 25% of Americans now want him impeached, raising questions about where he was getting that fake number from, as the major polls all say that the number is far higher. Even as Trump was throwing his tantrum, Fox News was busy releasing a poll which showed that 51% of Americans now want Trump impeached and removed.

    At the time, Palmer Report asked how long it would take Donald Trump to hear about the new poll from his favorite TV network, and begin attacking Fox News accordingly.

    Trump tweeted this: “From the day I announced I was running for President, I have NEVER had a good Fox News Poll. Whoever their Pollster is, they suck. But Fox News is also much different than it used to be in the good old days.” He then went on to smear several different Fox News personalities, while adding that the network “doesn’t deliver for US anymore.” It’s not clear if “US” was a reference to the United States, or if he was capitalizing the word “us.”

    https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/they-suck-fox-news-donald-trump/21750/

  49. Manu RajuVerified account@mkraju
    8m8 minutes ago
    Trump on arrested Giuliani associates: “I don’t know those gentlemen. Now it’s possible I have a picture with them because I have a picture with everybody, I have a picture with everybody here.”

  50. I am worried about Albo’s ability to unite the party

    zoomster, I am told, by someone from the Right, that Mr Albanese, from the Left, has a plan to put a broom through the party. It may take some time but should have lasting benefits. The Right are on board with the plan.

    That’s all I can say. Except to, watch this space.

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