Before proceeding with the latest preselection news, I have a still-active post with daily updates on the progress of Tasmanian state election count; a live results feature that I can’t promote often enough, since it remains by some distance the most detailed source of results data available; and a lengthy plea for cash from Friday from which I’m still vaguely hopeful of squeezing another donation or two.
On with the show:
• The long-awaited Liberal National Party Senate preselection has allocated top position on the Queensland ticket to James McGrath while relegating Amanda Stoker to third, maintaining an impressive bipartisan run of preselectors never getting anything right. Michael McKenna of The Australian relates that McGrath secured a sweeping 212-101 win from the “biggest ever turnout for a State Council Senate vote”. The second position is designated to the Nationals, and is duly a lock for Matt Canavan.
• Paul Starick of The Advertiser reports that Leah Blyth, who has the backing of the South Australian Liberal Party’s conservative faction to replace the retiring Nicolle Flint in the Adelaide seat of Boothby, may be poleaxed by the Section 44 of the Constitution. Blyth’s efforts to renounce a dual British citizenship even this far out from the election could fall foul of extended processing times arising from COVID-19, although others quoted in the report express doubt that it will really be a problem. Rival contenders include Rachel Swift, moderate-aligned proprietor of a health consultancy firm, and Shaun Osborn, a police officer who ran in the seat of Adelaide in 2019. However, Osborn is hampered by the optics of putting a man forward to replace Flint, whose experiences have been a key element in Liberal efforts to parry suggestions that disrespect for women is particularly a problem on their own side of politics.
• John Ferguson of The Australian reports dissension within Victorian Labor over the likelihood that former state secretary Sam Rae will secure preselection for the new seat of Hawke on Melbourne’s north-western fringe. The report says a draft preselection agreement reserves the seat for the Right faction Transport Workers Union, which remains associated with party powerbroker and former Senator Stephen Conroy. While Conroy evidently backs Rae, “other parts” of the Right are said to favour the position going to a woman, specifically Natalie Hutchins, the Andrews government Corrections Minister and member for the seat of Sydenham.
• Matthew Denholm of The Australian reported last week that “wholesale ALP federal intervention” loomed for the party’s Tasmanian branch, “barring a shock win for the party” at Saturday’s state election – which, for those of you who have just joined us, didn’t happen. The concern is that Left unions use their excessive weight within the branch’s affairs to do foolish things like deny preselection to Dean Winter, who was able to achieve his thumping win in Franklin on Saturday only because the national executive intervened to give him a place on the ticket. This would appear to be relevant to Labor’s preselections for the federal seat of Bass and Braddon, which it lost at the 2019 election, and also to the fate of twice-defeated state leader Rebecca White. The aforesaid Left unions are apparently keen on replacing her with David O’Byrne, who was outpolled in Franklin on Saturday by the aforesaid Dean Winter.
• The Liberal Party has done tellingly extensive research for its submission opposing the registration of a party under the name New Liberals, which included CT Group polling indicating that 69% of respondents believed a party thus named sounded like it had a connection with the other Liberal Party.
Trivia time:
Which Australian politician died in the gym at the Hydro-Majestic
Oakeshott Country @ #751 Tuesday, May 4th, 2021 – 7:18 pm
Brilliant! No friggen idea, but brilliant trivia question. Must be late 20c if there’s a gym …
If I said he died in a personal sauna despite being 23 stone would that make you think of a different time period
(The Hydro was set up by the Foys as a health resort so had exercise activities at an early stage. They renamed the area Medlow Bath to emphasise the point. Btw there is no gym there now)
C@t
The poster looks great on the surface, but..
Are we going to be researching and designing world class trains? Not just the next update on the Waratah, but actual world leading, battery powered, high speed trains that we can sell to a world market?
Do we go back to making cars (a low margin activity) or do we go about selling the world high grade, specialist materials for cars? Magnesium composites, battery components, electronics (cars have a lot of electronics these days) – heck even steel?
I’m not sure why the poster includes a ship. But one thing I did notice is the shipping containers. We could be building automated factories to build shipping containers (like the Chinese do).
Again, its detail, detail, detail.. this is what Labor needs.
OK, I did fly first class from Hong Kong to London, BA. (Round the World ticket on points. Points!). Me and t’other. Only one other person there – an Australian magician heading to London for the Olympics (don’t ask, cos I didn’t either). He looked like a derelict, which is very first class of him. It was lots of fun, mainly because the cabin crew were right out of Ab Fab.
OC
I believe the gym at the Hydro was replaced by a pokie room…
OC,
Scott Morrison.
Oakeshott Country @ #754 Tuesday, May 4th, 2021 – 7:25 pm
Of course it was; I knew that. The Waters. The gym word threw me, you clever thing. We popped in to have a look at it’s latest iteration – black and chrome and general international hideousness. Never go back.
The yanks had it during the War didn’t they. Cigarettes and sex, as they say, or as Stephie said, when I asked her about the Americans entering Nuremberg. Did you meet Stephie?
So …..
https://amp.abc.net.au/article/100112656
Jetstar, Virgin and Rex airfares cheaper than catching a bus — if you’re lucky
Isn’t it because Morrison government is giving them a lot of money to lower the prices?
https://www.sciencealert.com/some-bacteriophages-have-a-completely-different-genome-to-the-rest-of-life-on-earth
Quite interesting…
phage therapy is also very interesting Cud.
citizen @ #732 Tuesday, May 4th, 2021 – 6:37 pm
Looked like it was staged with the connivance of Michele Landry. The woman was quite composed when interviewed by TV. Perhaps they think it will go over well with some voters.
Indeed! I spent a recent birthday there in a miniscule room and they had forgotten to turn on the steam radiator but its a nice area.
2 interesting things:
1. I asked the front office woman if they had some memorial to the death. She looked a little upset and said they knew of the “passing” but were instructed not to talk about it.
2. There was a convention of elderly transvestites in Katoomba. Everywhere we looked there were people who were not very convincing and some had, if the truth be told, given up.
No plastic. It is the real deal. The attention to detail is insane. From the furnishings to how the F he singled the roof. OTT, yes. But still elegant.
And the colours in the autumn leaves right now are pretty speccie.
However, Mount Lofty House has the botanic gardens at the door and some rather tall sequoia in the grounds.
And I too have flown long haul first class. Bumped from business because they thought I was special. NY to Sydney via Seoul. OMG. Travelling cattle has been a chore ever since.
Also the image of the woman from Africa (Cameroon?) dropping at Morrison’s feet is rather disconcerting.
Did she wash his feet?
Cud Chewer
“The Z base has been unambiguously identified in a carbonaceous meteorite and proposed as a nucleobase that could have been available for the origin of life,” the team lead by Zhou wrote in their paper.
“Considering that the Z base was discovered in a meteorite, our work may spark interest in interdisciplinary research on the origins of life and astrobiology.”
How does this sit with the biblical view of creation?
Sceptic
I dunno.. but it might suggest we need to eat more pasta..
Indeed I met Stephie! and had a wonderful tour of Nuremberg with her.
Speaking of Yanks we went to the palace of justice interpretation centre. One thing we both laughed at was a film loop of Goring pleading “Nicht schuldig”
Behind him there is a very young GI, in this formal setting who is chewing gum so hard it looks like he is about to dislocate his jaw.
From my regular email from Translink, the Qld Government public transport co-ordinating body:
https://www.vision6.com.au/ch/31401/2shmv4/2954501/9r1T1U.4Re5hW4aUpMvAvz0DqjwpU4Cg3rafEW8e.html
“ We popped in to have a look at it’s latest iteration – black and chrome and general international hideousness. Never go back.”
I like it. A lot.
The hydro started off with late Edwardian architecture, before transitioning through Art Nuevo, Art Deco, Mid Century and then that hideous 1970s Swiss chalet extension that made up the main dining room, come bus stop coffee shop before the joint went bust.
There have been two attempts to unify the styles – one in the mid 1990s which did up the Belgravia wing to the high deco 1930s. The rest of the place was a rambling ruin, and it was fun staying there as it reminded me of a Scooby doo haunted hotel.
Now the current owners have successfully fused all the architectural influences, IMO. The original lead lined Nuevo ceiling in the Casino lounge /dance room is worth going to the hydro by itself.
The current layout is the first time in its long and twisted history that the Hydro has actually functioned at near capacity.
One thing that has always struct me: the view over the mega long valley from the crazy paving outdoor section is a striking resemblance of the view from Hitler’s patio over the Berchtesgaden. Freaky.
Amazon had sales income of €44bn in Europe in 2020 but paid no corporation tax
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/may/04/amazon-sales-income-europe-corporation-tax-luxembourg
Oakeshott Country @ #769 Tuesday, May 4th, 2021 – 7:49 pm
And held the rail the Führer held high above the rally fields.
So who was it?
Steve,
It’s a comment that is there and you can reflect on.
The woman is obviously distraught about her family situation.
Morrison could do no more than offer comfort despite her distress.
The First Prime Minister
Sir Edmund Barton
Since asking I have looked at the Newspaper clippings and I was misleading- it was the sauna rather than the gym – sorry
OC
“Roy
Unless you do not have superannuation (or maybe have SMSF)I suspect you are a CSL shareholder”
Don’t be a moron. You know exactly what I meant. I may or may not have CSL in my super. I don’t know. I do know that I have no direct shareholdings. Sharma knows exactly when he bought them and why. We aren’t priveleged with that information any more than we are priveleged to know why Joyce’s daughter is suddenly qualified at the ripe old age of 22 to be a “senior advisor”. And to take home a pay packet commensurate with that role. Same with his wife/girlfriend. It’s magic how she got all those unadvertised “adviser” jobs. And all in the same political party. Who knew?
This is why cynical smart-arsed, conservative, know-all pricks like you make this place so unpleasant at times. You know exactly what people are trying to say but you have to get in with that comment that only a deadshit like you would make. Save up your reply for someone who is otherwise prepared to engage with your crap.
Andrew_Earlwood @ #771 Tuesday, May 4th, 2021 – 7:51 pm
mega long
(lovely)
I trust you. I’ll risk it again. Last time we did the Carrington, some charm still there. I’ve been to Eagle’s Nest – and can say, nothing prepared me for it. Not even the Hydro.
Itza
You mentioning that rail caused the same feeling I had when I held it – a deep shiver up my spine
Eagle’s Nest – i think we did the same tour!
Nuremberg and Bavaria in general is a fascinating place
Did Stephie tell you of her early life as a Südeten refugee – a tough life
The AZ link is the ex-Liberal staffer, now AZ Government liaison officer, or some such. Very. Bad. Smell.
I suspect many people bought CSL at the start of the epidemic and long before AZ was anywhere near developed for 2 reasons.
1. It is the only large Australian company with the infrastructure to make vaccines
2. It is in the international plasma market and in the early stages of the epidemic convalescent plasma was being considered as a treatment
But I take your point. PB is a place where people should be able to make unsubstantiated accusations against Liberal politicians. They have a perfect right to become deeply offended if someone makes any observation that is not in perfect agreement
Megalong – grrr. It just took me three attempts to stop autocorrect breaking it into two words!
And I was referring to the photos taken on the terrace of the Berghof (bombed in 1945, and blown up and demolished in 1952) and not the Eagle’s Nest, which sits – from memory – about another 1000M higher (and hence has a completely different perspective of Berchtesgaden’s valley than the lower elevation of the Berghof)
To be honest I think Morrison has made such a mess of it he had no choice but close the border. Threatening to fine people 60,000 if they came home was crazy, just stopping flights from India to Australia would have slowed things down, and that is all they needed.
Perhaps he though all I have to do is behave like the WA premier to get a land slide.
If you just abandon the idea that Morrison has the slightest idea what he is doing, you will understand the situation much better.
He’s not some master political player, he’s just an idiot
ajm
Precisely. And its not just him. He’s surrounded by privileged, entitled, incompetents.
David Littleproud…..
https://twitter.com/tegangeorge/status/1389408874474606594?s=21
citizen says:
Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 7:01 pm
It’s all about Money and Pride for Scomo and the Libs, same as Tories and Republicans.
Morrison does politics, not effective action. In “politics”, in this context meaning getting a plurality of (50 + x)% in his corner, he has been mostly proving a past master. In actually getting stuff done, he has been mostly dithering and incompetent.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/american-politics-now-has-two-big-racial-divides/
Always thoughtful.
Steve777 @ #787 Tuesday, May 4th, 2021 – 8:51 pm
He doesn’t even do that well, as is starting to play out. It looks as though a large part of civil society, on both sides of politics, has decided he has to go.
Free will reminds me of Schrodingers Cat. The cat/your mind didn’t exist in a state of uncertainty at all. It was either dead or alive all the time.
There is some comfort in thinking that in a parallel multiverse the other decision happened.
The crux of the HC case litigated by Palmer re. WA border restrictions turned on the justification of the law burdening interstate intercourse (s.92). The Court found that it did indeed place a fetter on this Constitutional right but further ruled that it was justified in the circumstance of a pandemic.
There’s now talk in some quarters about taking Hawke to court over the decision to gaol and/or fine Australian citizens wanting to return to Oz from India.
Perusing the decision in Palmer’s case, and earlier cases concerning s.92, it would seem on the face of it that they might succeed on the basis of whether the Immigration Minister was justified or acted reasonably in all the circumstances. Were other countries, for instance, subject to similar penal provisions? But I think the real question is whether the government could’ve made provision for those denied repatriation to Oz, with quarantine facilities under the head of power found at s.51(ix)?
Morrison’s taking a political gambit. Granted, his decision little doubt sits comfortably with many. Gunner’s, McGowan’s, Palaszczuk’s re-election attesting to the fact that those who are strong on borders are looked on favourably. But by singling out those who are predominantly Indian by birth or heritage may not work out how Morrison intended.
Albanese’s presser today was very impressive, saying that the primary duty of a government is to protect its nationals. He didn’t need to go much further than this as many who’ve come to this country, whose heritage is different from the predominant Anglo/Saxon culture, would – should – be appalled, as it was a cheap, nasty, dog-whistling exercise but which will hopefully define his miserable time in office.
There’s precious little in the Constitution that defines the rights of a citizen. Many other liberal democracies do…incorporated in a human rights’ charter. It’s way time we had one!
Edit, Grace Tame (on RN at the moment) is a really most impressive young woman, Morrison way underestimating her resolve. His next nomination will be vetted with a fine-tooth comb.
There is some comfort in thinking that in a parallel multiverse the other decision happened.
I don’t find that comforting.
https://news.yahoo.com/republicans-fear-voting-restrictions-could-052310717.html
Amy Gardner, national political reporter for the Washington Post, talks with Rachel Maddow about how Florida Republicans, in their zeal to appease irrational Trumpian concerns about election fraud, passed new voting restrictions that include making it harder to vote by mail, which many Republican constituencies do.
Proud Boys saw wave of contributions from Chinese diaspora before Capitol attack:
https://news.yahoo.com/proud-boys-saw-wave-contributions-100023927.html
The donations started coming in about 10 p.m. on Dec. 17.
A donor named Li Zhang gave $100. A few minutes later, someone named Jun Li donated $100. Then Hao Xu gave $20, followed shortly by $25 from a Ying Pei. In all, almost 1,000 people with Chinese surnames gave about $86,000 to a fundraiser on the crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo for members of the extremist street gang the Proud Boys.
Their gifts made up more than 80% of the $106,107 raised for medical costs for members of the Proud Boys who were stabbed during violent clashes in Washington, D.C., in mid-December.
The donations, which are included in a trove of hacked GiveSendGo data provided to USA TODAY and posted on the whistleblower site Distributed Denial of Secrets, raise several questions. Chiefly: Why would people from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and members of the Chinese American community, donate to an organization with deep ties to white supremacists, whose members flash white power signals and post racist memes on social media?
——————————-
Hypercritical BS from the west 😀
Steve777 @ #792 Tuesday, May 4th, 2021 – 9:02 pm
In a parallel universe, Labor wins elections.
In ours? Not so much 🙁
frednk says:
Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 8:30 pm
Perhaps he though all I have to do is behave like the WA premier to get a land slide.
MacGowan has had the advantage of opponents have sought to politicise COVID. The State Liberals and Morrison both ventured into that game. The WA Liberals have paid the price.
Morrison does not have the same advantage as MacGowan. Albo has played the proverbial dead bat to perfection and is still not out. Morrison actually has to perform. He’s made the error of over-promising and under-delivering.
He’s now made the mistake of putting Australians into trouble. His first duty is to keep citizens safe. He’s failed more than once and this latest failure is really stupefying. If only he had done his job wrt quarantine the embargo on India would never have been contemplated. This is a complete failure of management and judgment.
ajm says:
Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 8:43 pm
…who defeated the ALP.
Bucephalus says:
Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 9:08 pm
Murdoch defeated ALP.
A good example of Murdoch defeating ALP:
Greensborough Growler says:
Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 7:57 pm
“Morrison could do no more than offer comfort despite her distress.”
Deploy the RAAF? SAS extraction? What do you want?
https://twitter.com/nsw_upperhouse/status/1389536839271260166
Legislative Council @nsw_upperhouse
Following the Clerk’s call for nominations for the office of President and subsequent ballot in the House, votes have been cast as follows:
The Hon Natasha Maclaren-Jones (LIB): 18 votes
The Hon Matthew Mason-Cox (LIB): 23 votes
#NSWpol #NSWparliament #election #president
9:06 PM · May 4, 2021
Matthew goes against his party, win Presidency of the NSW Upper House
Background here, from yesterday’s paper
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/nsw-government-says-upper-house-president-was-fairly-elected-20210502-p57o5h.html