Aside from developments in the Indigenous Voice referendum, covered in the post above, there are two developments to relate on the federal preselection front:
• Samantha Maiden at news.com.au reports Liberal deputy leader Sussan Ley will be spared a preselection challenge in her seat of Farrer after her challenger, Jean Haynes, was rejected by the party’s nomination review committee and suspended from the party for 90 days. The reasons behind this are unclear, but it comes after “a tit for tat round of expulsion motions in the Deniliquin branch of the party” that “included attempts to expel a group of party veterans who are loyal supporters of Sussan Ley, some of whom are women in the 70s and 80s who have given up to 50 years of service to the party”. Christian Ellis, who sought to challenge Ley’s preselection before the last election, has been expelled for bringing the party into disrepute shortly after pleading guilty to a firearm charge, with no conviction recorded. Contrary to other reports, Maiden relates that Ley “was expected to trounce challenger Haynes with over 70 per cent of the vote”.
• Rachel Baxendale of The Australian reports that Victorian Liberal Senator Jane Hume has abandoned a short-lived bid to elevate herself from second to first place on the Coalition ticket at the next election, amid conservative threats of retaliation by backing Greg Mirabella to take second position, potentially reducing Hume to third. Mirabella has recently relinquished his position as the party’s state president to pursue the third position, from which he unsuccessfully sought re-election last year. As Paul Sakkal of The Age described it, Hume’s move “pits her moderate wing against the Victorian Right faction led by figures including Paterson and lower house MP Michael Sukkar”. Hume owed her second position at the 2019 election to intervention by Scott Morrison that saw off conservative-backed challenger Karina Okotel.
sprocket_says:
Monday, August 28, 2023 at 8:51 pm
Frydenburg’s calculation will be:
– this is at least a 2 term Albanese government
– I may get returned in Kooyong, if enough paint gets stripped off Labor
– the QLD copper will never build a winning consensus, though he may need to be dynamited out
– maybe build to a challenge mid term – say December 2027 after a string of disastrous polls for Spud
– offer tax breaks, middle class giveaways and localised pork as Opposition Leader in the 2028 election
What could possibly go wrong?
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What could possibly go wrong you ask !
I would think that Dutton will be reminding himself what happened to that other QLD copper Federal opposition leader and will do anything he can to thwart the resurrection of Joshie.
I presume that any “echidna” approach to defence of Australia takes into account the 1000+ km range of modern missile systems? I’m sure the defence experts are wiser than I, but I’d thought you’d want to engage a hostile power as far away from your own shores (and civilians) as possible.
But I presume most people formally writing in this debate would be on the safe side of the Brisbane Line.
It’s completely hilarious to me that anyone can look at Frydenberg and imagine him as some type of leader. There are few politicians who are revolting enough to make Dutton look like an actual human being, but Frydenberg is one of them.
C@tmomma says:
Monday, August 28, 2023 at 8:55 pm
I guess you won’t be able to tell the difference anyway. Replacing one totally bald LOTO with another.
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Someone suggested that there are more bowling ball heads in the Liberal party than the Labor party.
Could it be true ?
For all the arrogance and self righteousness, I will never forget the time Pi informed us all that the GST was a great idea and anything but a regressive tax. What an absolute doozy. And didnt he also reveal he was all for cake man Hewson? But now is no more than a born again. Spare us. Please.
And I think Pi also lectured us all at length about the Cth could not influence or direct housing policy cause the constitution despite various posters pointing out that funding is a remarkable way to secure Cth goals and aspirations. But alas the Pi ster was having none of that logic.
wranslide, just fkoff. If you don’t have anything intelligent to add to this discussion, don’t. I’m sad that I’ve clearly hurt your feefees, but that’s on you pal. Don’t blame me because you can’t argue yourself out of a wet paper bag with a pair of scissors. If my words are too hard for you to handle, scroll on by.
Thanks Pi. I genuinely did not get your point about the GST being anything but a regressive tax. You have some interesting views and logic. I accept I do not get it. I appreciate your confidence. Be careful with it though. It can lead to righteousness. Dangerous.
Also dont be sad and then blame me for you being sad. Thats not cool.
Cry harder. People can’t hear you up the back.
Pi, please. Please remind us again about the GST, your support of it, why it is anything other than a regressive tax and how you are a big progressive embracing the GST and John Hewson.
Shut up, Wranslide.
Fair enough WB. Your site. Your rules. Cya.
New thread.
Dandy Murray @ 10.56am
Dandy, I don’t know where you live but, here at Nth Avoca (north of Sydney) our three Queensland Tree Waratahs (Alloxolyn flammeum) are already budding, with some flower heads deepening in colour.
Usually, they commence to form their flower heads in October.
A fabulous slender tree for most gardens.
https://chaser.com.au/national/albanese-apologises-for-mining-shirt-i-woke-up-on-the-wrong-side-of-political-spectrum/
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
The cost of the National Disability Insurance Scheme is growing at an unsustainable rate and unless it has an overhaul, political support for the scheme is at risk, a global expert on disability support systems has warned. Jewel Topsfield writes that Dr Simon Duffy said it was concerning that the NDIS seemed to keep growing as a share of GDP, with the scheme’s latest annual financial sustainability report projecting expenses to increase from 1.48 per cent of GDP in 2022-23 to 2.55 per cent in 2031-32.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/growing-sense-of-crisis-overhaul-needed-for-ndis-or-support-will-wane-review-says-20230828-p5dzwa.html
We moan about them, complain they don’t work hard enough. But Australia has a shortage of federal MPs. For democracy’s sake, we need more, argues Shane Wright.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/if-there-s-one-thing-australia-needs-it-s-more-federal-mps-no-really-20230818-p5dxhx.html
Data from 1991 until today shows how apartment buildings of between one and three storeys have fallen from 15-20 per cent of all dwellings approved in NSW to less than 3 per cent in recent years, sinking below 1 per cent in some months.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-charts-that-show-sydney-s-so-called-missing-middle-is-real-20230821-p5dy72.html
Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has confronted a whispering campaign about her health by revealing she had a so-called “mini-stroke”, followed by surgery for a hole in her heart. Jacqui Maley reports that the medical issues left her with an alteration in her voice, she said, although she was unclear about the medical reason for the vocal change, and misremembered key details of the event, including the date.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/linda-burney-reveals-medical-diagnosis-ahead-of-voice-launch-20230828-p5e00f.html
A successful No vote against the Indigenous voice to parliament would be a victory for democracy, says Greg Sheridan.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/successful-no-vote-against-the-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-would-be-a-victory-for-democracy/news-story/905e21e1e0594a5fad0e674f7d61d59f?amp
Though the campaign for a referendum recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the First Nations people of this continent formally begins only tomorrow, the debate has already revealed much about the state of politics in the nation, writes Paul Bongiorno.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2023/08/29/voice-challenges-albanese-government/
Today Andrew Leigh will use a National Press Club speech to help launch the Australian Centre for Evaluation, a body funded in the May 2023 budget with an initial $10m over four years to design better policies.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/29/labor-australian-centre-for-evaluation
In response to increasing student visa fraud, the Government is rolling out measures to stamp it out, writes Dr Abul Rizvi.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/government-seeking-to-address-student-visa-rorting,17847
According to the SMH, The Labor-appointed NSW Transport Secretary Josh Murray and his wife both made personal donations to the woman who would become transport minister, Jo Haylen, less than a year before she hand-picked him for the role despite warnings his lack of experience meant his appointment represented a “significant risk”.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/nsw-transport-secretary-donated-to-haylen-before-she-hand-picked-him-for-role-20230828-p5dzzp.html
And its editorial says the appointment has shades of an earlier scandal.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/minns-government-appointment-has-shades-of-an-earlier-scandal-20230828-p5dzy6.html
Defence has defied warnings it is paying too much for its vast contractor workforce under a system that has handed $4.6bn in contracts to an exclusive club of companies to support the acquisition and sustainment of ADF equipment. Ben Packham writes that the department’s major service provider panel – creates in 2018 and branded by smaller players as a “cartel” – awards lucrative work to four contracting “teams” without requiring them to compete for contracts.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/defences-cosy-khaki-club-armed-with-46bn-in-deals/news-story/1abf4b9acd23cdd9970f959151b0f99c?amp
Mike Foley tells us that pollution from transport and agriculture is on the rise, putting those sectors in the sights for reduction targets and potentially controversial policies.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-s-emissions-reduction-burden-shifting-to-political-hot-potatoes-20230828-p5dzw1.html
Clean transport campaigner Ben Lever gives us 10,000 reasons why electric vehicles won’t ‘end the weekend’. He took an electric ute on a long trip through the regions.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/electric-vehicles-won-t-end-the-weekend-my-10-000km-road-trip-shows-why-20230823-p5dyvn.html
The NSW Liberal Party is being harangued by the state’s corruption watchdog to produce documents for an ongoing investigation. It’s the case that revolves around The Hills Shire Council and claims (ventilated in parliament) that party officials were funnelling cash to install friendly representatives. The purpose of this alleged grift was to help out Sydney developer and outrageous galoot Jean Nassif, who’s wanted by police and is hiding out somewhere in rural Lebanon (and still harping on like a putz). What’s even more amusing is how the NSW Liberal Party appears to have tried to smear out its dealings with the Independent Commission Against Corruption and perhaps been less than helpful with its provision of records. Hence the ICAC’s need to serve multiple notices on the party compelling it to produce documents.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/margin-call/nsw-liberal-party-plays-down-icac-probe-energy-one-takeover-trauma/news-story/3360a5b111886e208a7c9b2d07441c6f?amp
Qantas boss Alan Joyce has again defended the government’s choice to reject an application by Qatar Airways for more flights to Australia, hours after assistant treasurer Stephen Jones said it was in the national interest to protect Qantas from foreign carriers. Amelia Maguire describes how Joyce received a fierce two-hour grilling from the Senate select committee in Melbourne on the cost of living crisis, just days after the airline group – which controls 60 per cent of the domestic market through carriers Qantas and Jetstar – revealed a record $2.47 billion profit.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/qantas-boss-grilled-on-airfares-cost-of-living-by-senate-inquiry-20230828-p5e026.html
The AFR’s Chanticleer says that the pummelling Alan Joyce received at the hands of a Senate committee shows how political heat over cost-of-living pressures is rising, and Joyce’s grilling is a warning for other CEOs.
https://www.afr.com/chanticleer/joyce-grilling-is-a-warning-for-ceos-20230828-p5e01l
The Australian Government’s public analysis of climate risk, our greatest threat, is dangerously misleading. The Intergenerational Report 2023 is a prime example. By dumbing down the implications of climate change with simplified economic models, the IGR and similar reports are institutionalising the global failure to face climate reality, argue David Spratt and Ian Dunlop.
https://johnmenadue.com/fatal-mistake-intergenerational-report-misleads-on-climate-risks/
The ACT’s acting top prosecutor has responded to criticism of his office’s approach to sexual assault cases, saying it is “wrong as a matter of logic and common sense” to suggest everyone who is acquitted should never have stood trial. Anthony Williamson SC has sought to explain the office’s decision-making processes, which have been described as “opaque”, in the wake of what he called “considerable media commentary”.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8325888/wrong-as-a-matter-of-logic-acting-dpp-addresses-criticism-of-sex-offence-cases/?cs=14329
Network Ten is seeking to rely on expert evidence in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case about sexual assault victims’ typical behaviour and Brittany Higgins’ level of intoxication on the night she alleges she was raped by Lehrmann in Parliament House. Michaela Whitbourn reports that the Federal Court trial against the broadcaster is slated to start in Sydney on November 22. Barrister Tim Senior, acting for Ten, told the court at a preliminary hearing on Monday that the network would call 28 witnesses, including Higgins and journalist Lisa Wilkinson.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/ten-wants-to-use-expert-evidence-on-brittany-higgins-level-of-intoxication-20230828-p5dzwo.html
Federal police received 28 allegations of misconduct by parliamentarians, their staff or “official establishments” in the year after Brittany Higgins’ allegations first became public knowledge. But the Australian federal police has declined to outline any further details, including which state or territory police force it passed the reports to for further investigation. In response to a Senate question on notice, published on Monday, the AFP said it had received 28 allegations that involved parliamentarians, their staff or “official establishments” between February 2021 and February 2022.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/29/afp-received-28-misconduct-allegations-involving-mps-staff-or-official-establishments-in-12-months
A West Australian MP has been found guilty of sexually abusing a young girl and has automatically been disqualified from parliament. A jury of six women and six men found James Hayward, 53, guilty of two counts of indecent dealing charges. He was acquitted of two other charges including the allegation he showed the child how to search for pornography online. Hayward did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody until his sentencing hearing in October.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/former-wa-nationals-mp-james-hayward-guilty-of-child-sex-abuse/news-story/b4bce053efed827a24863833ea0dee42?amp
As a woman in a man’s field, Roz Kelly suffered sleazebags like Rubiales. They are all on notice, she declares.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/as-a-woman-in-a-man-s-field-i-ve-suffered-sleazebags-like-rubiales-they-are-all-on-notice-20230827-p5dzso.html
The Australian Public Service Commission released the second capability review of the Department of Health and Aged Care on 18 August. While the review is not as scathing as the first review in 2014, it still sets out a challenging internal reform agenda for new Secretary Blair Comley, explains Charles Maskell-Knight.
https://johnmenadue.com/dhac-review-recommends-improved-strategic-policy-capability-data-driven-metrics/
How did the National Archives of Australia, whose core function is to ‘collect, preserve, manage and make public Australia’s most significant historical records, become instead an obstacle to public access and a barrier to knowledge of our own history? Minister for the Arts Tony Burke must act to reverse the Morrison government’s attack on the spirit of the Archives Act, urges Jenny Hocking.
https://johnmenadue.com/archives-access-and-history-can-the-national-archives-democratic-function-survive/
Brad Emery proposes a set of rules for elevator etiquette. He might be on the money here.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/you-ve-forgotten-how-to-use-an-elevator-lift-your-game-20230823-p5dytj.html
Ukrainian forces pierced the first line of Russian fortifications in the nation’s southeast and are fighting to widen the breach, the nation’s defence chief said, in a bid for a potential breakthrough. Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that Ukrainian soldiers, on foot and mostly at night, had made slow progress in clearing heavily mined areas to create approach corridors for a larger force that has now fought through the first main line of Russian trenches, bunkers and tanks traps.
https://www.theage.com.au/world/europe/expanding-our-foothold-ukraine-says-it-has-pierced-russian-line-of-defence-20230829-p5e058.html
A concerted and co-ordinated effort to undermine and sabotage an election is one of the gravest crimes anybody can commit in a democracy. If Trump had succeeded, the US would have slid towards an autocracy. There can be no gainsaying this. It is absurd to blame Democrats for Trump’s indictments given that those most damning of Trump are his former Republican staff and officials, writes Troy Bramston who concludes by saying, “if Trump wins, he will, as flagged, move to terminate democracy. The US, and the world, will pay a heavy price if Trump regains the presidency.”
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/us-world-should-fear-new-donald-trump-presidency/news-story/7fff226ac4faec40223166f291977bca?amp
Whether or not he is convicted, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president, writes Lloyd Green.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/28/trump-republican-presidential-nominee-conviction
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