We’re not likely to see anything on the polling front this week, but there is other electoral news to relate following recent parliamentary vacancies and party defections:
• The Sydney Morning Herald reports preselection nominees to fill the late Jim Molan’s New South Wales Liberal Senate vacancy are likely to include Andrew Constance, former state minister and unsuccessful candidate for Gilmore, and Fiona Scott, who held the lower house seat of Lindsay from 2013 to 2016, together with reported front-runner Dallas McInerney, chief executive of Catholic Schools NSW. Constance and Scott are associated with the moderation faction, while McInerney is a conservative. Mary-Lou Jarvis, lawyer and Woollahra councillor, has also written to senior party figures staking her claim as a qualified woman and the third candidate on the ticket at last year’s election, while also criticising the party’s apparent intention to leave the position vacant until after the state election on March 25.
• The Australian reports the Liberal hierarchy’s hopes of fielding a female candidate for the Aston by-election stand to be complicated by the entry into the field of Emanuele Cicchiello, who is rated a strong chance by sources close to eastern suburbs conservative powerbroker and Deakin MP Michael Sukkar. However, other unidentified sources, “including some with strong Right faction allegiances”, rubbished the notion. Cicchiello is deputy prinicipal of Lighthouse Christian College, a former mayor of Knox and contestant for the seat of Bruce in 2013 and numerous preselections since. All other noted contenders have been women with the exception of Andrew Asten, a former staffer to Alan Tudge, who has since ruled himself out. Anthony Galloway of the Age/Herald reports the matter could be determined by a plebisicite of local members, which have lately proved resistant to female candidates, if the by-election is set for a date that allows sufficient time.
• Victorian Senator Lidia Thorpe’s resignation from the Greens last week marked the first change to party representation in parliament since the election, with the Senate numbers now at Coalition 32, Labor 26, Greens 11, One Nation two, Jacqui Lambie Network two, United Australia Party one and two independents, namely Thorpe and David Pocock. This leaves the government needing two extra votes when the Greens are on board and the Coalition are not, where formerly it needed only one. Thorpe was elected to a six-year term at the election last May, which will extend to the middle of 2028.
Arky
Reluctantly quoting Dyson Heydon on High Court 1980s and 1990s:
“Of course there has, with respect, been much admirable work done by the court in the 1980s and 1990s. But, as the French diplomatic phrase has it, I must find another occasion on which to express my esteem. When the court adopted an activist function, the majority judges tended, like other contemporary intellectuals, to claim the two-fold privilege of changing their opinions at will, and of being infallible in every change. The expression ‘judicial consistency’ came to have an oxymoronic quality, like military intelligence or police culture. The condition of the Australian judiciary came to illustrate another of Robert Conquest’s laws: ‘Every organization appears to be headed by secret agents of its opponents’.”
Morning all and thanks for the morning roundup BK. Some substantial news to digest.
On the Greens offer to agree to the Safeguard mechanism in return for a ban on new coal and gas, I am pleased 🙂
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/15/greens-will-back-safeguard-mechanism-revamp-only-if-labor-bans-new-coal-and-gas-projects
If Labor is serious about climate change this is a ncessary step. Numerous analysts have said we will never get to net zero by 2050 if we keep approving new coal and gas projects. So that has to stop.
This proposal gives Labor a convenient way of doing what needs to be done while blaming the Greens. That should help in Qld. At the same time the Safeguard mechanism allows existing carbon intensive industries to survive while transitioning to zero emission power supplies. All good 😀
God there’s a puff piece in the smh about Leigh Sales and the thoughts she had on leaving journalism. Now she’s coming back to keep getting a 400K salary whilst hosting Australian Story.
Shellbell – well, the trouble with Heydon and the right wing establishment in the 90s and 00s is that while they had a point in theory about “judicial activism” in practice a lot of their complaints of “judicial activism” were more about rigorously reasoned decisions with results they didn’t like, like Mabo, rather than actual cases of judges creating law out of thin air.
It was quite a surprise to see the HCA a few years ago come up with the Love & Thoms decision even by a bare majority as that’s by far the most unsustainable case of judicial activism I’ve seen in Australia. Left wing activists may love the decision but as a lawyer it is appalling – Stephen Gageler’s blistering dissenting judgment was on the money.
Coming from a group of judges who’d otherwise been moving away from implied rights it was particularly surprising.
The Albanese government pre-empted the challenge to the Love & Thoms decision which was in train under Morrison so it might be a while until it has a chance to be overturned, though.
Jeremy C Browne
“ Over to you Peter. Ignore the polls. Declare total war on this virtue signaling, disgraceful proposal that pits Australians against each other because of their race.”
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Given that the ALP went to the election proposing full support for The Voice and subsequently being elected, it may have escaped your attention that the voters have already indicated a strong choice supporting it. But do keep proffering the failed and dismissed Coalition policies, they only facilitate the Coalition’s and Dutton’s demise. Your team is on the wrong side of history yet again, unsurprisingly.
“On the Greens offer to agree to the Safeguard mechanism in return for a ban on new coal and gas, I am pleased”
The ban on new coal is fine.
However – and I wish it wasn’t the case – we will need more gas to get rid of the coal even as we move above 60% or 70% renewables.
This kind of thing is fighting CC with one hand tied behind our back (like the ban on nuclear power) to satisfy some arbitrary purity test.
DM
“However – and I wish it wasn’t the case – we will need more gas to get rid of the coal even as we move above 60% or 70% renewables. ”
Those details could be thrashed out. There could still be a total ban on new coal and a cap on new gas. IMO this should be seen as the start of negotiations, not the start of a war.
Socrates – Labor won’t agree AND if it did it would offer no political cover in Qld or anywhere else to blame the Greens. You pass it you own it.
The Greens blocking a good start chasing immediate perfection is a path we should not walk again.
“There could still be a total ban on new coal and a cap on new gas. ”
Now we are talking.
Perhaps a sector wide cap on carbon emissions, then let the interested parties trade the rights to pollute? Where have we heard that before…
TPOF says:
Now that I think about it,I’d be happy to dine at the Voice restaurant, where the parliamentary chefs design a menu that suits the season and the times to ensure that the highest quality and best prepared dishes come to me.
______
Very profound. Reminds me of some other statements:
In the garden, growth has it seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And then we get spring and summer again…As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. And all will be well in the garden.
Thanks BK
“ For how much longer will the Australian Senate be allowed to abuse our democracy, mock integrity in representation and become the vehicle for self-interested exploitation by senators who change their party alignment without any penalty or accountability?”, asks Paul Kelly who sats that the bizarre feature of Lidia Thorpe’s defection is the near universal recognition across the political system that this is wrong and should not be allowed.”
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Seems there’s broad agreement on this issue so perhaps a rare opportunity for bipartisanship to change it perhaps?
Shellbell at 10.27 am and Arky at 10.47 am
Those enthralled by fairytales about “judicial activism” should read, or re-read, this critique of that ideology by Michael Kirby:
http://www.nzlii.org/nz/journals/OtaLawRw/2005/1.html
‘Some people miss the pseudo ideology of the “good old days”. In older people, especially, nostalgia for lost childhood beliefs is understandable. Yet often those beliefs conceal unsophisticated falsehoods. They bury the truth in soothing fairytales. In the law we have our ideologies. They adapt to changing times and to the surrounding society and culture.
After decades, perhaps centuries, of acceptance of the “noble lie” of the declaratory theory of the judicial function and of so- called “strict and complete legalism” most of us, by the end of the twentieth century, came to recognise the reality of the judicial role in a common law system. Judges face choices. Judges make law. They do so in construing the Constitution, interpreting legislation and reformulating the common law. In giving effect to their choices, judges are influenced not only by legal authority but also by legal principles and legal policy. They are affected by their values, sometimes unexpressed. Of course, they work within constraints. But to deny the creative function and duty of the judiciary in such cases is absurd. In recent decades the true debate in the law has shifted from the infantile insistence that judges should merely apply, and never make, the law to a consideration of when and why a new legal rule should be expressed by a judge. When restraint is called for in the judicial decision. And when a new rule is justified.’
Sad to see Tony Abbot still managing to write labor’s climate policy
My sentiments exactly.
——
“Benign balloon” is usually lingo for “It’s okay, for now. And…there’s stuff we aren’t going to tell you…because the risk/reward ratio dictates that we don’t.”
Will the Sky News ‘war with china is imminent’ special deal with balloon warfare and how clowns wielding balloons may now been stepping out of childrens nightmares to the battlefield? What weaponry from the US will ASPI encourage Australia to purchase from one of their defence partner sponsors? How could it take down balloon wielding clowns flying through the sky?
Boerwar
Hearty congratulations to you all. Wonderful news!
Boerwar @ Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 8:43 am:
“Thank you, BK.
Vic, our latest grandchild has arrived. Mum to be went off to the birthing centre at 4am. Natural birth done and dusted by 7.30. Will probably be back at home this afternoon.
All well. Everyone happy.”
================
BW, congratulations! And best wishes to mum & baby.
There’s no such thing as a “benign” balloon if it’s floating around in commercial airspace without the appropriate approvals, transponders etc. to identify it. (Ditto drones, rockets and other airborne objects.) I assume the FAA were consulted prior to shooting down the unidentified objects.
(Watch out Clive – the US are shooting down UAPs.)
Holdenhillbilly says:
Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 8:49 am
Population decline in Japan is leading to a huge number of abandoned houses. 13% now and expected to grow to 1/3 by 2038.
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Wow, Airbnb perhaps?
Socrates
The notion that Labor can ‘explain’ breaking major election promises on blaming the Greens feeds the Greens + Coalition wedge politics that has paralyzed climate action for the best part of two decades.
Both Dutton and Bandt would be absolutely delighted if Labor caved. As for Australia, we would be looking for a very early return of a Coalition government. This is also excellent for the Greens who can continue their seat by seat road to having enough power to fuck everything up but not enough power to fix anything.
Labor has four real world political choices with respect to ALL of its major election promises:
1. Feed the Greens some face saving crap so that they can boast of their petty victory.
2. Give in to the Greens BOPmail and say goodbye to a second term.
3. Drop the Bill and declare that Labor would have got Australia to 43/30 but was blocked by the Bandt and Dutton.
4. Force a DD.
My view? Rudd’s one truly massive climate action failing was to fail to force the DD. Albanese was there. If there is one thing we do know from Albanese: he learns and he learns and he learns.
The UN has, quite predictably, worked itself into a position that it is illegal to send refugees back to countries where their lives are endangered by CC.
I would like to see the list of countries where lives will NOT be endangered by CC. I assume that countries which have lives lost due to CC could reasonably refuse climate refugees on the basis of frying pan, fire.
Cronus @ #392 Wednesday, February 15th, 2023 – 9:38 am
Although personally I reckon Sky has 1/4 of SFA influence don’t judge the influence it may or may not have on the size of its audience.
Many moons ago back in the late ‘noughties’, possibly during the Kevin07 campaign,there was a feature on RN about the influence of various media. Rupe’s The Australian got a special mention . Despite it’s relatively tiny circulation numbers it ‘set the agenda’ of the day for a very large percentage of the MSM. Both Rupert and non Rupert radio/tv/print. Not sure now though.
It would be deeply unfair and offensive to the Ukrainian athletes denied the opportunity to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics if Russian athletes are allowed to. An example:
“Volodymyr Androshchuk grew up in Letychiv, a modest village of 11,000, with a brickworks, a dairy, and a construction materials factory. He spent his childhood competing in track and field and earned a place on Ukraine’s national team. He was training for the 2024 Olympics in Paris in the decathlon, the ultimate test of all-around athleticism and ability. But after last year’s invasion by Russia, he enlisted. On January 1 he turned 22 and on January 25 he died of schrapnel wounds in Bakhmut, 900 miles east of his village. The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine issued a brief statement: “A promising athlete and a true hero. He could have been able to participate in the Olympic Games in Paris, if Russia hadn’t invaded Ukraine. Why do Russians still have this privilege?”
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/12140
The article I quoted from above concludes as follows:
“Putin’s war against Ukraine has thus far killed an estimated 137,000 Russians and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. In recent weeks, Bakhmut has become an abbatoir for propaganda purposes. Its population of 77,000 has already fled and the city has been reduced to ashes, but tens of thousands of soldiers die there because Putin hopes to celebrate the first year of his invasion on February 24 with Bakhmut’s capture.
Russia shows no sign of remorse, retreat, or willingness to negotiate and the West, by allowing its athletes and artists to perform around the world, sends a message that genocide, invasion, and war crimes are somewhat tolerable. Worse, for the Olympics to exempt one nation from the rules, and let its athletes compete under fake flags, is a disservice to all others. It undermines the Olympic values of “excellence, friendship, and respect”, not to mention the fact that Russia’s serial drugging of athletes, young or old, endangers them and encourages others to do the same. Last year, a young Russian figure skater, Kamila Valieva, dazzled the world but tested positive in Beijing for a banned substance.
But in 2024, as Zelensky said, the fake flag that will be hoisted for Russian athletes who win will be “stained with blood”.
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/12140
C@tmomma says:
Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 10:20 am
Cronus @ #392 Wednesday, February 15th, 2023 – 9:38 am
C@tmomma says:
Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 6:47 am
According to Sky News, Labor thinks it’s ‘untouchable’ and can ‘break any promise’.
I think Skewed Views came out with exactly the same lines after 2007.
#getsomenewmaterial
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I suppose that claim by Sky News might somehow be effective if more than 1% of the population watched them.
That may be so but they rely on the amplification principle (which I suppose I have contributed to myself).
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In space, nobody can hear them scream. 😉
Taylormadesays:
Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 8:21 am
Why wouldn’t Labor agree to stop all new coal and gas projects.
It’s what Labor has been banging on about for the last 10 years hasn’t it ??
There are no willing entities prepared to invest money in new coal projects.
That’s the answer for coal.
Gas has a longer mainstream life than coal.
Everyone with half a brain realises than the renewable energy revolution is booming and as it does gas will be less important , less necessary and less used.
The market will sort out the future of gas.
And while Barnaby remains the most effective performer on the coalition side and the next PM from the coalition is not even in parliament yet, enough voters are confident that Labor will make the best balance of policy settings available to reduce climate change damage and maintain the most operative balance of energy resources.
As each day since the last federal election passes, and we realise that the coalition was unwilling to govern with integrity and honesty, and despite the bullshit megaphonic ramblings of Sky and News, the nation is heading into the future.
There is still work to be done, no better exemplified by the Commonwealth Bank’s announce of record profits.
You would think the the banks are just taunting the government to re-introduce publicly owned, financed and resourced banking as existed before the defective pre neo-liberalism that resulting in the privatisation of the federal and state owned banks.
Even the Reserve Bank of Australia is showing signs of pro neo liberalism.
Does Phil Lowe’s renumeration depend on the inflation rate going up down?
Or is he assured of running one of the Big Four when he finishes up with the Reserve Bank.
Taylormade, thank goodness you and your wontoks are no longer in charge!
Cronus and others
It is not often I agree with Paul Kelly these days, but whether it is Meg Lees with the Democrats, Cory Bernardi with the Liberals, Mal Colston with Labor, Rod Culleton with One Leader, or Lydia Thorpe with the Greens, being elected on a party ticket should require the sitting Senator to remain sitting with that party, otherwise they should resign. Their behaviour is clearly undemocratic. The replacement should come from the electing party list.
“ For how much longer will the Australian Senate be allowed to abuse our democracy, mock integrity in representation and become the vehicle for self-interested exploitation by senators who change their party alignment without any penalty or accountability?”, asks Paul Kelly who sats that the bizarre feature of Lidia Thorpe’s defection is the near universal recognition across the political system that this is wrong and should not be allowed.”
There should be bipartisan support to get this prohibited. Every party has lost from it.
I wonder what the reaction to this will be.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-gave-1-9-billion-of-tesla-shares-to-charity-last-year-ac2b3438?mod=hp_featst_pos4
Olympics: drug cheats, circus freaks and corruption. WGAF?
Enough Already
Thinking about the Paris Olympics, and recognising that the IOC is an ethics free zone, I suggest that one tactics Ukrainian social media activists could do is to propose a viewer boycott of events that feature Russian athletes in 2024.
This would not punish competitors who may be contractually obliged to compete against them, and would not stop the Olympics going ahead.
But viewer numbers are sponsorship gold. This might act as a powerful financial incentive for organisers to boot Russian competitors out.
Without using these specific words. the Reserve Bank Governor just admitted that the parasite classes will continue to get richer and this will be paid for by the workers.
To quote him; “If we end up in the world I was describing before where people link wage increases one for one with inflation, then inflation will persist and it will be more difficult but at the moment, that’s not happening.”
In other words, prices and profits will continue to grow faster than wages.
Did not see this happening so soon.
I wonder what VW, BMW an Mercedes Benz think of this.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/eu-lawmakers-vote-to-ban-sale-of-new-gasoline-powered-cars-from-2035-d02e2f4e?mod=lead_feature_below_a_pos1
Socrates @ Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 12:21 pm:
“Enough Already
Thinking about the Paris Olympics, and recognising that the IOC is an ethics free zone, I suggest that one tactics Ukrainian social media activists could do is to propose a viewer boycott of events that feature Russian athletes in 2024.
This would not punish competitors who may be contractually obliged to compete against them, and would not stop the Olympics going ahead.
But viewer numbers are sponsorship gold. This might act as a powerful financial incentive for organisers to boot Russian competitors out.”
================
Socrates, that is an excellent suggestion, in the likely event that the IOC stubbornly ignores Ukraine’s pleas to exclude Russian athletes – athletes who will definitely be held up by Russia’s government and media as exemplars of Russian prowess and so bolster the Kremlin’s efforts to solidify support at home and to normalise global interactions with their pariah country abroad.
poroti says:
Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 12:08 pm
Cronus @ #392 Wednesday, February 15th, 2023 – 9:38 am
I suppose that claim by Sky News might somehow be effective if more than 1% of the population watched them.
Although personally I reckon Sky has 1/4 of SFA influence don’t judge the influence it may or may not have on the size of its audience.
Many moons ago back in the late ‘noughties’, possibly during the Kevin07 campaign,there was a feature on RN about the influence of various media. Rupe’s The Australian got a special mention . Despite its relatively tiny circulation numbers it ‘set the agenda’ of the day for a very large percentage of the MSM. Both Rupert and non Rupert radio/tv/print. Not sure now though.
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The basis for my improving optimism is that the last three years have seen almost universal failure by the Murdochracy despite monthly and yearly (permanent in the case of QLD) barrages of putrid anti-Labor bile to have any impact across Australia. Even the current economic scenario that is difficult for some has seen little impact on polling. Historically, eight interest rate rises would’ve seen Labor annihilated in polling.
Things will no doubt become more challenging over the coming year but there is a well of support to buffer this government, especially with a voter-friendly budget to come in May showing yet further support for households.
My confidence in the younger generations is growing exponentially. I hope the old voting nexus has been broken as Boomers depart the scene.
I can sympathise with the views of Paul Kelly and many others that we have a problem in the Senate where a member can be elected representing one party and then once elected become independent or join or form a different party.
The real problem is that Senators are supposed to represent their state, not a party. In modern times this will never happen so I would support a change so that a party or philosophy chosen by voters continues to be represented when a Senator does a dummy spit.
“Russian occupation authorities are continuing to import personnel from Russia to compensate for shortages of willing collaborators with whom to staff occupation administrations. Ukrainian Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov stated on February 13 that Russian occupation authorities imported deputies from Chelyabinsk and Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, to occupied Zaporizhia Oblast as Ukrainian civilians are continuing to refuse to cooperate with the Russian occupation administration. Fedorov also stated on February 12 that Russian occupation authorities imported 800 police officers to occupied Zaporizhia Oblast from Russia to fortify occupation law enforcement and further suppress anti-Ukraine sentiment in occupied territories.”
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-february-13-2023
It is obvious Russia just wants to de-populate its conquests of Ukrainians and populate it with their own people. Lebensraum, anyone?
Pueo
Spot on
Don’t know what a “wontok” is but I am assuming that it’s not a compliment.
I am wondering what reception the Russian athletes will get from the crowd in Paris- a very ugly one I suspect.
I would like the commentators to not mention Russians in an event….just pretend they are not there.
Victoria @ Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 12:31 pm:
“Pueo
Spot on”
=========
Victoria, so does this mean you stand with Ukrainians in their vehement opposition to Russian athletes competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics?
phoenixRED says:
Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 9:17 am
Trump Wants To Bring Back Firing Squads And Televise Footage Of Executions
Trump Plans to Bring Back Firing Squads, Group Executions if He Retakes White House
I could vote for that if Trump is first in line
Stop selling houses by Auction, 20 or 30 people bidding pushes UP HOUSE prices !.
Revert to having houses VALUED by a valuer if you wish to sell !.
Stops house inflation, period !.
Stops greed and profiteering !.
Sack all real estate agents !. Who are a money hungry lot !.
Anyway that’s my solution !.
Torchbearer @ Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 12:33 pm:
“I am wondering what reception the Russian athletes will get from the crowd in Paris- a very ugly one I suspect.
I would like the commentators to not mention Russians in an event….just pretend they are not there.”
=======================
Torchbearer, me too (surprise, surprise!). Even better, I hope fellow competitors from other countries get “in their face” as much as possible to confront them each individually with a choice: publicly denounce Putin’s war upon the Ukrainian people, or cop shameful abuse every moment they are there. I would also like to see reporters confront those Russian athletes with the same dilemma every press conference or interview. Of course, I want to see the crowd heckle and boo Russian competitors every chance they get, especially mid-performance to put them off. Unless they are publicly anti-war, they deserve to be treated as absolute pariahs. If the IOC thinks this will (further) harm the Olympic movement’s reputation, they know what they have to do.
Very reasonable position.
This is a test for Labor and Albo.
A good Govt would take the deal. A bad Govt would allow new gas and coal.
As simple as that.
– SMH
Perhaps Lowe should’ve sat down for a “cosy lunch” with a cross-section of mortgagors and lessees rather than with bond traders. Nothing untoward about that but it wasn’t good optics for a man who’s under immense pressure & is indicative of his lack of judgment.
I don’t think there’s any way to force a legitimately elected MP or Senator out of office.
Anne Twomey writes (in 2016, about Fraser Anning):
https://theconversation.com/can-a-senator-be-expelled-from-the-federal-parliament-for-offensive-statements-113711
“Section 8 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987 says:
A House does not have power to expel a member from membership of a House.
This means that currently neither house of the Commonwealth parliament has the power to expel one of its members.”
A very recent unscheduled four day stay in a Brisbane hospital gave me an interesting personal insight into our hospital system. I understand the stay was not long and was purely the experience of one individual. I patrolled the ward regularly in gaining my perceptions.
I was hugely impressed by the numbers of staff and the professionalism, effectiveness and genuine caring nature of these mostly young people. Mostly I noticed their unerring positivity. All the patients in this large ward (I estimated over eighty patients) were aged over 60 and many were suffering a range of multiple co morbidities requiring intensive analysis and caring.
I observed numerous very challenging personalities for staff to deal with. Unpleasant as my condition was it was temporary. For most of the patients however their situation was significantly worse and considerably more complex. Perhaps I was lucky but my stay left me with a far more positive impression of our hospital system, particularly the staffing levels and quality than I had expected.
Cronus: “Holdenhillbilly says:
Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 8:49 am
Population decline in Japan is leading to a huge number of abandoned houses. 13% now and expected to grow to 1/3 by 2038.
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Wow, Airbnb perhaps?”
I thought that, or even a rush of westerners buying property in Japan (like Aussies in Bali or Brits along the northern Mediterranean coast). But Japan has debilitatingly hot summers and seriously-cold winters which don’t appeal all that much to those who weren’t born to them, so I suspect that prolonged and regular stays won’t appeal to most outsiders.
Question (apologies if this has been asked and answered before): if a Senator elected as a party member leaves the party and sits as an independent – or worse, actually joins another party with seats in the Senate and so adds to their number – how is that Senator replaced if they cease to remain a Senator, say by retiring? I assume the party they were originally elected under would choose their replacement?
Back from a walk and catching up with Lowe at estimates as reported by The Guardian.
I don’t care how bad he might or might be at his job but nobody should have to answer to a cooker clown like Rennick.
And a few of the other senators seem more interested in gotcha questions that might get them 15 seconds on the news .