With the excitement of the British election over and done with, now begins the extended nothingness of the silly season. A few points worth noting to keep things ticking over:
• A by-election looms in the Northern Territory for the Darwin seat of Johnston, not far out from a territory election scheduled for August 22. This follows the retirement of Ken Vowles, who has held the seat since 2012. Vowles served as a minister after Labor came to power in 2016, but was one of three members expelled from the party caucus in December 2018 over a feud with Chief Minister Michael Gunner. Labor held the seat with a 14.7% margin in 2016, an election at which it won the two-party vote 58.5-41.5. A heavy swing at the by-election seems inevitable, but the Country Liberal Party to this point appears to be dragging its heels on naming a candidate. Labor has chosen Unions NT general secretary Joel Bowden, a former Richmond AFL player who says he’ll be putting in a 100% team effort. Former Chief Minister Terry Mills’ CLP breakaway party, Territory Alliance, is running Steven Klose, who according to the Northern Territory News held the curious position of “political adviser at the Northern Territory Electoral Commission”. Also in the field will be Braedon Earley of the Ban Fracking Fix Crime Protect Water Party.
• In other by-election news, there isn’t any. Confident speculation a month or so ago that Eden-Monaro MP Mike Kelly would be gone by Christmas has less than a fortnight to bear fruit, and there also are no visible signs of progress on suggestions that Mark Dreyfus and Brendan O’Connor would be pulling the plug in Isaacs and Gorton.
• Michael Koziol of the Sydney Morning Herald reports on jockeying for the Liberal preselection in Warringah, where the party faces the difficulty of its branches being dominated by conservatives in a seat whose voters gave Tony Abbott the flick in favour of independent Zali Steggall. Included on the watch list are “NSW upper house member Natalie Ward, Menzies Research Centre manager Tim James, Downer EDI executive and former Scott Morrison staffer Sasha Grebe, as well as management consultant and NSW Liberal Party state executive member Alex Dore”, along with Manly barrister Jane Buncle. Mike Baird, former Premier and now senior executive at NAB, set the hares running when he declined on opportunity to seek the position of chief executive at the bank, but “several Liberal sources doubted Mr Baird would want to take the pay cut to go to Canberra”.
• A number of victims of the Liberals’ 2018 Victorian election disaster are identified in The Age as potential successors for Mary Wooldridge’s Eastern Metropolitan seat in the Victorian Legislative Council, following her retirement announcement last week: John Pesutto, Heidi Victoria and Michael Gidley, respectively the former members for Hawthorn, Bayswater and Mount Waverley.
Heatwave update: the extraordinary nationwide burst that gave Australia its hottest three days on record between Tuesday and Thursday continued into Friday before dipping slightly on the weekend, the Bureau of Meteorology says.
The average maximum temperature across the country on Friday was 40.3C. Before last week, that would have made it the equal hottest day recorded alongside 7 January 2013.
But that mark had been broken on Tuesday (initially reported as 40.9C after a preliminary assessment by the bureau, now confirmed as 41.0C), then smashed on Wednesday (41.9C). Thursday fell back to 41C.
It means the country endured four of its five hottest days in a row.
The average maximum fell to 39.1C on Saturday before climbing back to 39.6C on Sunday
lizzie @ #4604 Monday, December 23rd, 2019 – 9:12 am
So is “plumbing contract” slang for a sexual rendezvous, or is Morrison really suggesting that a significant number of parents are freelance plumbers who will relate to that reference?
A belated comment on the UK election..
One thing that strikes me – and its strange how it doesn’t get much comment – is how utterly idiotic it was for Corbyn to allow an election to happen. When he could have stalled and ultimately gotten a second referendum. What on earth was Corbyn thinking? Discuss.
Cud Chewer @ #4799 Monday, December 23rd, 2019 – 2:59 pm
And equally if not more importantly, the cost of not doing anything. How much are these fires for eg costing the state and national economies?
“This is true. So you write off those who refuse to engage and work on engaging those who are genuinely looking for good governance.”
No, you have to accept people don’t want to be engaged, and get those unengaged voters to vote for you.
TPOF
Its not blaming. Its being honest about the fact that a lot of voters hold a lot of basic ideas that are simply wrong. And its these basic ideas (like the idea that emissions cuts is bad for them) that the Conservatives wilfully prey upon.
We need to be brutally honest about the fact that a lot of voters are ill-educated, shallow and selfish and then ask the question “ok, given that fact, how does Labor get the right ideas inside their heads”.
A simply point in fact. We’re building a temporary NBN. What this means is we are going to have to tear it down and rebuild. Most “low information voters” don’t know this fact.
Itza
This is the thing though. A lot of people automatically will connect the damage caused by fires to climate action – but STILL believe that taking action will cost the economy, jobs and so on. In the end its a balance of fear. Rather than facts winning the argument.
‘lizzie says:
Monday, December 23, 2019 at 1:52 pm
Just one small part of the whole disaster.
As an uncontrollable wildfire took hold in Tallaganda National Park last month, it was soon apparent to ecologists that this was an unprecedented natural disaster.
Burning more than 37,000 hectares and threatening surrounding communities, the bushfire is the worst the park has ever seen.
The still-burning fire has sent so much smoke over Canberra it has smothered the city, but the smaller-scale impacts in the forest are of grave concern to ecologists.
The park is home to 13 threatened species, including the scarlet robin, the olive whistler, the spotted tail quoll and the Tallaganda velvet worm.
Wildlife carers have also reported early signs many wombats and other larger animals have perished in the fires.
Coming as it did after a long period of drought, which has no end in sight, the fear is that threatened species may not survive the fire’s aftermath.’
The lower image is of a burned Monterey Pine forest… not Talleganda National Park.
A.R
More like he is really trying to relate his experiences to the tradies whom he sees as his core supporters.
TPOF
It is a challenge for political parties since they do draw their support from a wide part of the population with competing wants and needs and then there is the problem of how to connect with those that don’t pay attention.
Cud Chewer @ #3277 Monday, December 23rd, 2019 – 3:07 pm
He should have backed Mrs Mays Brexit as a result of the referendum.
But no, he instead capitulated to the Blairite remainers who refused to accept the referendum result …and the voters naturally rejected Labour.
Cud
That is the rub of the problem. People are those things and with how many think and behave does make me wonder if we really are the smartest animal.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/23/australian-teens-turn-to-tiktok-to-mock-pm-over-hawaii-holiday-during-fire-crisis?utm_content=buffer25600&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Teens and young adults mocking Smoko and it looks quite devastating to my eyes.
This is the next generation of voters who are already lost to the LNP
Cud Chewer
Yep it is waiting waiting waiting until they realise doing nothing means the answer to their eternal “what’s in it for me?” will be economic if not actual
Mex B
Labor were going to take their utes away remember.
Boerwar
Good old ABC!
About the fires, if you look at the maps, take note of contiguous bush, access roads and the terrain..
The Currowan fire is going to burn all the way to Wollongong and the Southern Highlands.
The Green Wattle Creek fires has jumped the Burrogorang Gorge. The northern section is growing and there is nothing stopping this growing until it meets Penrith and Springwood.
The Grose Valley fire has nothing to stop it reaching all the other Blue Mountains towns along the GW highway.
The Gospers mountain fire is eventually going to spread along the south of the Colo River and burn down to the northern fringe of Sydney.
Indeed the Gospers Mountain fire will probably be over in the next couple of weeks due to running out of anything to burn.
I won’t even mention the possibilities between Wollongong and Sydney.
Short version.. the issue aint going away.
Rex
Corbyn had the ability to force a second referendum and end Brexit. He didn’t. That’s a shame.
Boerwar
That aspect is a real worry. Rather than late in the season and rains in the not too distant future there is nothing but continued drought in prospect.
Mexicanbeemer @ #4810 Monday, December 23rd, 2019 – 2:13 pm
It’s not slang, then? Don’t see how it’s meant to work. Most tradies aren’t plumbers.
Even if they were, the case where both parents in a relationship are plumbers must be exceptionally rare; if one parent decided to take an extra contract on Friday then the other would still be able to pick up the kids.
And even if they couldn’t, comparing “having fun in Hawaii” with “working a plumbing job” is a woefully bad analogy to start with.
steve davis @ #4792 Monday, December 23rd, 2019 – 2:35 pm
True story: in Sweden, The Muppet Show has a Norwegian chef.
Autocrat
As we have Matthias Cormann.
Cud Chewer @ #3292 Monday, December 23rd, 2019 – 3:23 pm
The majority of voters wanted Brexit.
Political suicide to deny them.
Cud Chewer
There was to be a second referendum under Labour after a deal was made. The pollies have been basically telling the people “You got it wrong so we’ll try and ignore your vote” . It fueled a lot of anger and confirmed for many the criticism of the EU. Corbyn going gangbusters for Remain would have smashed the parties “Red Wall” into dust .
Rex you can defend Brexit however you like. It was and is an insanity perpetuated by lies and manipulation by the likes of Cambridge Analytica. Btw have you read the book?
A.R
Hopefully it isn’t some form of slang but wouldn’t put it passed him.
‘Submarine fleet tipped to cost $225b to build and maintain.’
And the firies cant get more resources to save lives and the volunteers get sweet fuck all for putting their lives on the line.
poroti barely half the voters voted for Brexit. yes, a lot of them were being lied to. Sorry but a bare majority does not lend credibility in this context.
More grist to the tin ear meme
https://the-riotact.com/aloha-scotty-and-jen-pms-tin-ear-spells-danger-for-government/346500
Perhaps now is the right time for Labor to start pointing out that not doing something about global warming is going to be far, far more expensive than doing something. Yes, this is an old message … but perhaps people might start to “get it” now. And we are not talking long term here. Just imagine if these bushfires – or worse – were to happen every year … something which is not at all unlikely 🙁
Plus abandoning the idea of supporting coal, of course. Nobody who wants to be taken seriously on global warming can continue to support coal.
steve davis @ #3301 Monday, December 23rd, 2019 – 3:29 pm
Bipartisan policy re the submarines.
Voters need to accept responsibility for the extremists currently occupying OUR parliament.
Can you imagine if Gillard had left the country instead of Morrison at this time? She would have been burnt at the stake when she returned.
a r
Plumbers leapt to Scrott’s mind as he was stressing he could be swirling around just before heading for the S-bend.
Even if Brexit had a clear majority of support from voters (it did not) it would still be a tragedy. A step backwards for civilisation itself.
But that’s not the question I raised.
The question I raised was, what possessed Corbyn to be so stupid when he had the power to disallow an election? What made him think he could gain from it? He must have known as well as the fuckwit Boris that in a first past the post system it was Labor that was going to suffer from vote splitting.
Cud Chewer @ #3299 Monday, December 23rd, 2019 – 3:29 pm
I’m just stating the political reality.
Brexit had majority voter support …and it was wrong to deny them.
‘poroti says:
Monday, December 23, 2019 at 3:23 pm
Boerwar
Coming as it did after a long period of drought, which has no end in sight, the fear is that threatened species may not survive the fire’s aftermath.’
That aspect is a real worry. Rather than late in the season and rains in the not too distant future there is nothing but continued drought in prospect.’
I have spent a lot of time in the Tallaganda.
One notion is that we won’t know the impact of this fire for a generation and then we might know roughly what the impacts will be. I don’t buy that because it assumes that the conditions that gave rise to the bushfire are the new normal. I reckon it is far more complicated. There is no new normal.
Within another generation the biophysical rules will have changed again, several times. It is unlikely, IMO, that we will ever know the true extent of the impact of the current fires because those impacts are dynamic and will be interrupted time and again. The ripple of impacts will not be settling down any time soon.
There are other aspects that go with very big fires. Tallaganda is essentially a fragment surrounded by cleared areas. Re-occupation by recruitment from nearby areas becomes more and more a major ecological challenge.
Plumbers are simply emblematic of all Tradies. Most worksites have plumbers on them, so most Tradies identify with plumbers. Also, the plumber is the one tradie who is called out the most to fix common household problems with the sewers and drains. And it’s usually an emergency situation that necessitates them being called out unexpectedly.
Don’t doubt ScaMo’s team did their research diligently before they put those words into his mouth today.
‘Player One says:
Monday, December 23, 2019 at 3:32 pm
Perhaps now is the right time for Labor to start pointing out…’
Wow. A political solution!
Cud Chewer @ #3309 Monday, December 23rd, 2019 – 3:36 pm
Things would’ve turned out differently if Labour had’ve campaigned on a ‘Brexit for the many, not the few’.
Draw a cheque, Russell
‘Rex Douglas says:
Monday, December 23, 2019 at 3:36 pm
I’m just stating the political reality.’
Wow!
Boerwar @ #4840 Monday, December 23rd, 2019 – 3:38 pm
As I said last night, I am willing to try all avenues. Even those that currently look unlikely.
@Rex Douglas
If Labour had campaigned on that sort of platform, they would have held up and even gained ground in Leave voting seats. However they would have gone backwards (along with the Tories to a greater extent) in Remain voting seats. The beneficiaries would be the Liberal Democrats, would have could have won as many as 50 seats and more than 20% of the vote. Therefore; the very likely outcome would have been a hung parliament with either the Scottish National Party, Liberal Democrats or both holding the balance of power.
‘Player One says:
Monday, December 23, 2019 at 3:45 pm
Boerwar @ #4840 Monday, December 23rd, 2019 – 3:38 pm
‘Player One says:
Monday, December 23, 2019 at 3:32 pm
Perhaps now is the right time for Labor to start pointing out…’
Wow. A political solution!’
As I said last night…’
Wow! And it turns out that the perfect political solution for the 100% perfect set of policies is for Labor to adopt politically kamikazi policies!
Same old same old: Rex, nath and P1.
Boerwar @ #4846 Monday, December 23rd, 2019 – 3:50 pm
You should stop smoking coal. It is affecting your brain.
Scott Morrison’s new $250MILLION plane is revealed after a commercial Jetstar Airbus A330 is transformed into a 100-seater tanker for the prime minister.
Why didnt this plane get sent to get him out of Hawaii?
Cud Chewer @ #4836 Monday, December 23rd, 2019 – 2:36 pm
Corbyn never really opposed Brexit, and only very reluctantly came around to supporting a second referendum. Fair enough to conclude that he wanted Brexit to happen.
You are forgetting about the Lib Dems, the SNP and others who voted for the Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019 on 29th October. Johnson had the numbers for an early election even if Labour had voted against it.