The thread for discussing “the spill motion”. Will we get a new PM next week?
The attempted spill of the Australian PM is on.
Some skeptical MPs and commentators have been aggressively and publicly attacking Australian PM Tony Abbott, yet he’s has been one of the most skeptical PMs in the Western World. The climate debate is heating up again with Paris on this year. Seriously — is any alternative better?
Potential candidates include Julie Bishop, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison. According to Dennis Shanahan both Turnbull and Morrison have said they will not challenge. The WA MP rebels (both skeptics) are apparently angling for Julie Bishop, a fellow West Australian.
Malcolm Turnbull is Australia’s version of David Cameron. Will Turnbull, ex Goldman Sachs, former opposition leader who died on the sword of an emissions trading scheme, be our PM next week? If Turnbull did run and win, the only bright point is it will be the best thing for those hoping to set up the equivalent of the UKIP in Australia. It could be the trigger for the conservatives to split from the Labor-lite Liberals. The passion against Turnbull runs deep.
The Nationals have vowed that Turnbull would have to give a written guarantee that he will not pursue a trading scheme, change asylum seeker polices or back gay marriage.
LIVE COVERAGE: Abbott leadership crisis
Abbott’s biggest mistake was to feed his opponents and starve his friends
Just this week the government gave $25m to a pointless “carbon capture and storage” project, ensuring yet another group with a vested interest and a PR department to saturate the media with climate fear. They feed the crocodile. They could have given just $10m to set up a new Centre of Natural Climate Research — a group to study the natural forces which drive our climate and which could have provided a small counterweight to the billion dollar industry with an interest in blaming CO2 for everything. They could have provided a mere $1m to a group to replicate the Bureau of Meteorology’s datasets and provide an independent commentary on the scientific value of the biased, major adjustments that the BOM deems necessary.
If the Greens don’t welcome extra funding to understand the climate, what does that say about them? If they worry about climate change, the Australian weather records are too important not to check.
No matter what Abbott did, he was going to score huge flak for any cuts. He has made almost none, yet copped the headlines anyway — so in for a penny, in for a pound. The left loving media were never going to praise him.
The ABC is beyond redemption
In the internet age who needs a public broadcaster? It should be privatized entirely, or, at a minimum, split into two, call one left and one right, and give them equal funding. That’s the only way the conservative half of the population would get a voice on a public broadcaster. It would mean total funding to the ABC could remain the same — “no cuts”. As it is, only 10% of the population watch it, but they are often the journalists working for other media outlets. The ABC sets the tone, determines what is omitted or downplayed in the news, and coordinates the progressive talking points.
Freedom does not come for free
In the end Abbott has done more for climate skepticism than almost any other leader. He axed the carbon tax, axed Flannery’s Climate Commission, and folded the Dept of Climate Change back into the Dept of the Environment. Which political leader has done more? All the leaders have fed the crocodile; none yet dare to starve it, or even feed its competitors. All quake at the namecalling and run for fear of being called a denier. Who will rise above the school-yard bullies?
“In the end Abbott has done more for climate skepticism than almost any other leader. ”
Still an [SNIP], though. (Not that other politicians aren’t.)
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RoHa,
You see that attitude is precisely why Abbott is a deer in the headlights, paralysed by an unreasonable general public who expect everything from government but don’t wish to contribute to it, by leftists masquerading as conservatives within his own party watering down any slightly right of centre inclination he might have, by a mainstream media who are wholly owned by and do the bidding of the bankster classes who pounce on any slight misstep and blow it out of all proportion, and by a hostile senate bent on wrecking the place (knowing that they will never be held to account for the sabotage they are engaged in).
Abbott is probably the most decent individual we have had as P.M., yet is portrayed as to the right of Genghis Khan when if anything he is a slightly left of centre social democrat. The relentless smearing of his character is appalling and has led him to make a series of relatively minor missteps that overwhelm some fairly impressive accomplishments in a short period of time.
Where Abbott has gone wrong is in having Joe Hockey as Treasurer, squibbing on cutting government spending, and in not carving the ABC up because he stupidly promised not to cut their bloated budget. Essentially, Australia is in danger of becoming ungovernable, and banana republic status beckons. Goldman Sachs et al want their boy Turncoat in the seat for Paris 2015, and only the absolute contempt that most Liberal voters have for him is preventing this from being a fait accompli. Most of the Liberal Party heavy hitters know that Turnbull ascending to power will mean they will be routed at the next election, because most conservatives would rather vote informal or Labor (heaven forbid!) than for him.
That being said, I think history is threatening to repeat itself after a fashion, with Abbott potentially precipitating a split in the Libs in the vein, though obviously not as deliberately, as B.A.Santamaria did to Labor back in the day.
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Suum quique: to each,his own.Unfortunately, too many people think that the state will give them endless handouts- and contribute nothing to the state.Democracy- it’s meaningless.
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I think it was Lord Monckton who said we should expect a push to get rid of Tony Abbott before Paris in December.This apparently at the behest of the UN.
I would think it would be a good idea to tell our elected reps what we want of them.
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Winston, I share your opinion of Turnbull.
However, some others might not, seeing only the outward manifestation of wit and undoubted personal charm, and uncritically admiring his self-made success in business.
But all that seems to me to be superficial. We can, I think, judge what kind of a man he really is by his habitually claiming full government allowance for staying overnight at the Canberra house owned by his wife. He is, of course, one of the wealthiest people in parliament.
This doesn’t suggest to me that the Member for Goldman Sachs is the kind of man who would make any sort of personal sacrifice for his country.
http://www.news.com.au/national/turnbull-defends-rent-payment-to-wife/story-e6frfkp9-1111113054014
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-02-25/turnbull-defends-using-travel-allowance-to-pay/2202446
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To my single (so far) Red Thumb:
I’m not sure what you’re taking exception to. I purposely gave two links; one from the (Right) Murdoch press, the other from the (Left) GayBC. Just so I couldn’t be accused of bias. Both quote Turnbull verbatim.
I don’t know how you judge people, but I tend to pay more attention to what they actually do than what they say.
All his time in parliament Turnbull (a man worth at least $100 million) on just this one issue has consistently hoovered money out of our pockets to funnel into his family bank accounts.
I believe the true measure of a man is to be found in his character. Turnbull falls far short of my idea of a worthy man.
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RoHa,
Abbot has always been a street fighter, and he still is.
If you exercise a couple of the handful of brain cells you seem to possess, perhaps you might realise that the other “senior” players on both sides of the barbed wire fence are all fair weather sailors.
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“Abbot has always been a street fighter, and he still is.”
Sadly he didn’t street fight against the warming faction, as Jo has often pointed out, feeding them billions in cash instead.
Sadly he didn’t street fight against 18C leaving us with legacy of having to self censor our words in case we offend someone.
Sadly he didn’t street fight against the media, dying a death by a thousand cuts everyday from the left wing media of the ABC (that we all pay for) and the others who attacked him daily.
The death by a thousand cuts has debilitated him so much that I don’t think he can survive in the long term though he may stretch it out another 8 months or so till even his colleagues all see that the death is my a million cuts an unsaveable.
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The news polls are only reflecting the Labor voter preference for Turnbull as PM, but they would never vote LNP anyway.
If the Lib’s are silly enough to get sucked in by news polls and ditch Abbott they deserve to lose the next election.
I’ll vote with Scaper.
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James is right.
Instead of just reading a news item, as it stands, try looking at the choice of words used, and the emotive content they convey. News is supposed to be about facts, but what we see from the left-leaning Australian media, has more to do with the feelings of the journalist, and the attitudes of the editorial staff, and less about reality.
With polls, look at the way the questions are framed, and the order in which they are presented. Any pre-conceived bias is usually obvious to a critical mind.
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This comment is typical of WHY Autralia is so screwed politically.
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They say never talk about “Religion” and “Politics” in public. Well I will go halfway and make a “Religious” comment – “I can’t see why a Bishop can’t replace an Abbott”.
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It would be unconscionable.
Jensen for PM
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I will now go past halfway and make a “Political” comment. The Bishop has pledged full support for the Abbott so clearly the “status quo” will prevail on Tuesday 10 February. I have consulted many of my learned Liberal Party friends and get the impression that the Abbott will continue to do the preaching in the near term but that a younger leader shall come forth in due course and he will go by the name of Morrison. Sorry El Gordo but Jensen, although scientifically outstanding e.g. in the area of AGW (a disbeliever), he currently lacks the all-round skill set to be skipper at this stage but he would be excellent as the Minister for Environment.
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Abbott has been subject to absurd media attacks, primarily saying “he’s not implementing Labor Party politics, what a fool!” I’ve not ridiculed them as publically as I should. The liberal Party’s response has likewise been muted, or even as absurd as Labor’s critiques.
Is there anybody at all in Australian Politics who would do as good a job as Abbott in defending us from the environmentalist’s anti-human agenda?
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It is ignored that during the 2013 election campaign the Coalition made it clear that their policies were based on the figures provided by the Labor Government, opposition does not have much access to the Treasury or Finance bureaucrats and the accounts that the published figures are based on. Accordingly the Coalition repeated that what they could achieve in government depended on the figures being accurate. Auditors appointed revealed that the Labor budget was a mess, even the estimated deficit for the financial year was understated by around 100 per cent.
As for broken promises, many or most are Labor spin, for example the failure to fund Gonski education grants to the states. Not true, the Coalition government had to make a provision to fund the 2013/15 Labor Budget on this and other items, and as promised the Coalition provided for funding over the forward estimate years ahead following the Labor Budget commitments however, as promised from that time onwards Gonski was dropped and will be replaced with a back to basics education plan to be agreed with the State Governments. No broken promise. And there are other Labor lies.
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Dennis, you are right regrading the historical events.
However, the failure of the Liberals was in their accepting the information they were given, and then building policy on that. Any half brained school kid would realize that you don’t commit yourself to anything until you have verified the data.
If the Liberals had had even a smidgen of skill in political tactics they would have said upfront, loudly and repeatedly, that “we will not commit to any policies until after we have conducted an independent audit”.
Regarding the “broken promises”, all TA had to do was stand up in public and say: “this is what the independent audit has shown, therefore, we are now obliged to do ….” (Of course, this is predicated on the fact that he committed himself based on Labor data. Dumb and dumber.)
In addition, I keep hearing on 2GB talk radio about TA being “a strong leader”. Those comments make me choke on my coffee.
Those that think so clearly are unaware of the fact that a lot of his current problems are due to his being totally weak and spineless. A strong leader? Don’t be ridiculous.
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You seem to forget William that there was an election campaign on and oppositions are called upon to announce their policies. As I explained, those policies had to be based on, had to rely upon the figures provided by the government, Labor in the 2013 example. And those figures when audited were revealed to have been misleading, creatively accounted with unfunded commitments and other what Labor calls “black holes” needing to be filled with money not allocated by Labor.
Nice try on passing the blame, the Coalition made it clear that Labor budget honesty was all they could rely on, the independent qualified audit accounting professionals discovered Labor budget dishonesty.
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Dennis:
I am not forgetting anything. Elephants have nothing on me.
From a tactical viewpoint, the Liberals blew it when, on discovering they had been lied to, did not take to the parapets and spend every waking hour exposing the lies of Labor. There should have been rivers of Labor blood on the ground.
Instead, TA and his merry band went MIA; then effectively committed political suicide.
How could I forget the mind blowing stupidity of TA saying: “Our deeds will speak for themselves”??
While TA was waiting for the deeds to speak for themselves, Labor was able to organise the troops and set the agenda. As a result, Labor’s propagandists in the ABC and the MSM had a free run at crucifying the Liberals.
And TA just bent over and grabbed onto his ankles.
In my career, I have hired and fired numerous people. In this case, I would have fired TA at the end of his first month in office.
He was an excellent performer as leader of the opposition. It is now obvious that he doesn’t have the skill set required of a PM. He seriously doesn’t seem to see the problem, as is evidenced by his performance over the past couple of days. Painful to watch!
So the sooner he is dumped the better.
The problem is, there is no obvious candidate to replace him. Don’t even think about Turnbull.
Time to organise the Tea Party South Pacific Branch.
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I read where the one possibility of getting some change in Aussie media has gone for the time being. Gina Rheinhart has sold all her Fairfax shares.
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Will we get a new PM next week? Not unless the Libs are completely insane.
To voters have had a gut full of PMs they didn’t voter for.
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We will know in 4 days. In the meantime expect the media to go into a frenzy about Abbott being doomed. They hate him, he destroyed their playmates, refused to believe the bedtime stories, and won the election.
Should he win, then I hope he will learn that there is no compromising with the Greens or the Left. Every bit given to them just encourages them to want more.
Remove the charity status of Greenpeace, Australian Conservation, WWF etc. Remove 18C as a symbol, and clean out a lot of Quangoes. It would help if he cut the size of the Federal Government by shipping things like Health and Education back to the States. Let them run them, and if there are inefficiencies, stuff ups etc. let them carry the can, not complain that is Canberra’s fault, like Jay Weatherall in SA who is howling non-stop about “lack of Federal funding” when he got more money each year for 3 years, but can’t manage. Now he’s closing hospitals and no doubt selling the land off to developers claiming “he was forced to do it”.
Any talk of the Commonwealth needs to run these is garbage; it just means not only another layer of bureaucrats in Canberra, but an extra horde in each State for liaison. If the States can’t run the hospitals deregulate the industry and let the Health Funds run their own. Charges would drop 30% and they would still be coining money.
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There is a good reason why states lack funds. It is called vertical fiscal imbalance.
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Agreed, BUT…
They have never tried to get their income tax powers back. It suits them to have Canberra raise the money, and they winge about the amount they get, regardless if it is more than previous years.
We might be better off if the States had to rely on income tax and the Federales reduced to Sales Taxes i.e. GST. The size of the federal take would shrink drastically, even with a 20% rate. The States would find themselves competing for business etc. with lower tax rates.
Years ago I knew 2 people (still do) – one was a doctor/investor in a private hospital. The Doctors knew nothing about running a hospital so got the business consultants to set it up, along with several common sense decisions. The Govt. set what they had to charge so they were getting 38% NET profit on the daily rate. The other was in a Dept. building short lengths of road. Basically for two thirds of the funds the Govt. could build one third of a road. The rest of the funds went to private companies who finished the road. (On paper this looks like 4 times more efficient but if you included preparatory work, access, legal etc. the private companies were ONLY 2.5 to 3 times more efficient).
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Binny
If Malcom Turnbull makes a move in this “out” would be appreciated IMO
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People did not vote for Abbott. They voted for the liberal party. Abbott was unpopular before the election and people thought that the Abbott factor will loose their election.
Whilst I personally like him, a descent bloke that goes to factories, dawns helmets, packs their products into boxes, lives with aboriginal communities (which other politician stayed overnight bah for 2 weeks in remote aboriginal settlements?). This however is not enough. The goal is to win the next election and avert the economic disaster. Look at what is happening to Victoria now, out of control budget after 6 months of labor.
The trouble is that the population has moved to the left with 2 mln public servant constituting 20% of the work force now always voting labor/green. Liberals now can,t hope to get more that 52-56% votes now with labour/green permanent vote base of 45% or someone that will never vote liberal. Liberal natural vote base is always shrinking as individuality expressed as business thinking and building is in ever shrinking short supply. It is much easier to work for someone, lie on on the couch and bitch about tony.
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Good note Jo, but then David your husband is an engineer which should help thinking. I wish my “better” half thought like you.
I have emailed some liberal MPs that a spill would look like the labor party disaster in government. Dropping the changes to 18C was one of the early signs Abbot was going off the rails. Turnbull would see the end of the Liberal Government and the end of the Liberal Party.
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Haven’t the lefty media run a clever game. Of course Abbott turning to water on so many matters & all the backflips have not helped much.
I have to wonder how many wets are winning fights in the party room, & if this is the problem. Is Abbott actually setting the agenda, or is he under control.
Still, the claims that opinion polls show so many would vote for Turnbull voters , when any thinking person realises that it is Labor voters swinging those opinion polls is a very smart fraud. [Shades of global warming tactics]. Boy wouldn’t Labor love to have him as their leader, he suits them perfectly.
His ideology makes him a Rudd clone, he has no place in the LNP, & should be expelled. The thought that he could become LNP leader is absurd. As someone else said, Turnbull as leader would be the end of the Liberal party, it would have as much electoral support as the Democrats. Remember them?
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Misleading the general public is not really all that difficult – they’re so willing, you know 🙂
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Mr. Turnbull has already had a go at being the leader and he stuffed it up. Conservatives do not want a labor-lite leader. Mrs. Bishop and Mr. Morrison have both said they support Mr. Abbott. Might as well leave him where he is. Remember how long it took him to settle in as Opposition Leader?
But no matter who the leader is, the Senate is the problem.
Following on from Jo’s point about the ABC, I wonder how obstructive certain Senators would be if they knew they couldn’t rely on the unconditional support of a major, publicly funded, left-wing news organisation supporting anything anti-conservative.
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… or how radically different it would be if there was a media outlet run by people not afraid to allow skeptics to speak unedited, to show photographs of temperature stations near car parks. To give conservatives their own shows. Imagine if it had $100m to develop and run dramas that were politically incorrect, and education programs that taught real history or austrian economics as well as the Keynsian view.
… or produce comedy programs that made fun of both sides of politics.
Let’s have a ratings battle and see which station is the most popular.
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Fair crack of the sauce bottle.
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Jo on the Pickering Post website Viv Hyland often contributes and I noted on his most recent posts claiming that your website has unqualified commentators and contributors who are deniers!!! Well done, the Labor Greens are worried.
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Luckily that will get her more hits
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Jo, your proposal to have a government broadcaster with two arms, left and right, is brilliant. I haven’t heard it anywhere else. It is also a much broader idea than simply cutting the ABC or ‘controlling’ the ABC. Give each arm free reign. I wonder what the ratings would show.
I’m not a scientist, I’m a musician and was a warmist until 2007. I visit this blog for some common sense on the warmist scam. This post on the political side of the debate is most welcome. After all, this is more about politics than it is about science.
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The problem with that Idea Jo is how do you define “left” and “right”? How do you choose people based on an idealogical difference when people are complex and will have views on some issues that could be classified as “left” and views on other issues that could be classified as “right”? How do stop the trojan horse of people proclaiming they are “right” but are actually “left? Over time you will not have “right” and “left” you will have “left” and “more left” because only the “left” think they have to proclaim their morality at all opportunities. They are the ones with the incentive to get into media. The most active and effective “right” are out there doing stuff, building things, actually making things better for the people around them. The only “right” in the media are those that are effectively the second team, the ones that do not have the abilities to create wealth for others.
As you said earlier, why do we need a $1bn a year public broadcaster when everyone can get all the information and entertainment they require from their smartphone?
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Agreed Truthseeker – and then is “right” to be designated as economically conservative or the traditional morality (i.e. no gay marriage, no abortion, no divorce, forceably removing babies from unmarried mothers at birth)?
And getting a bunch of individualists to agree on something is like trying to herd cats.
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It comes down to who pays.
Imagine a government that laid out what they wanted to achieve in the budget, and then went to a referendum, asking people to relatively rate how much they personally wanted each item, and whether or not they were personally prepared to pay their share for it. Items that have agreed funding get done, those without, do not. Those wanting to improve society end up paying for it, through their commitment. Anybody voting to receive a handout, ends up paying themselves.
Now I am not, for a moment, suggesting that such a system would work, in fact it is full of flaws. But just as a mind-game, it does bring a few things into stark relief.
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Truthseeker, I’ve struggled with this too: “how do you define “left” and “right”?” I’m thinking out loud…
The free-market-fan in me wants no public broadcaster. But since that’s a difficult sell to Australians, we need some other way to address this problem.
Journalists as a personality type are always more likely to lean left. Those who take risks, are entrepreneurial, and are good with numbers are not the ones who craft stories and network, write, and talk. How do we solve that and rebalance the media? In the free market the audiences shift to the storyteller who is the most useful or entertaining, which applies pressure to story tellers to stay connected to their audience. In the free market the story-tellers answer to bosses who are business managers. That competition and accountability happens one way or another in blogland (to audiences) and talk-back radio (to audiences, advertisers and shareholders), but in the mass-print-tv-media, the barriers to entry mean the mainstream gets entrenched, there is minimal competition. The big ones get captured, and the ABC are above that and don’t care about ratings anyhow.
How do we stop the “right” ABC from being captured by the left? How do we stop both halves working for Big-government if ultimately they are both funded by big-government? We have to get the incentives right. The ABC-L already have an incentive to pump big-gov. Their budgets increase when big-gov wins elections. Everyone on a big-gov payout wants the ABC and the ABC wants to increase the pool of dependents on big-gov — they are “friends” and co-lobbyists. How do we set up the ABC-R to pump small-gov? Do we set both budgets identically, but add bonus $ for ratings? That may be doomed to fail if small gov entrepeneurs and small business types watch less TV because they are too busy being productive instead of lounging around on welfare.
Better than ratings, we could get voters to vote in elections – tick a box to “send my tax to ABC-L or ABC-R”. They could then vote for a board member of either the ABC-L or ABC-R but not both. (too hard, and we are all sick of elections). Perhaps those check boxes should be done on tax-returns instead?
If we axed/disallowed most political donations and just called these stations “party news outlets” they’d be run by the parties themselves. (Which begs the question of what we do with the Greens, the Nats, and .. then there is golly the Libertarians who belong on both channels?)
Do we simply acknowledge that all people running for politics need a public broadcaster (or pro rata time on one) to get their message out. It stops the one with the most advertising dollars from dominating.
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Jo,
Again you do not need a public broadcaster. Anyone can record their views and put them up on YouTube, or start and run a blog or both. The new media does not require huge amounts of money for participation. The quality of what you do will attract attention, or not.
I would fund the ABC for drama production only, specifically Australian historically based drama. That is promoting our culture.
My first candidate for this would be …
https://quadrant.org.au/shop/books/australias-secret-war-unions-sabotaged-troops-world-war-ii/
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http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/feb/06/gina-rinehart-selling-fairfax-media-stake
Tried, Failed…..where to for daH Bolta?? 🙂
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Malcolm Turnbull…LINO => Liberal In Name Only
…Apparently, the Nationals will put new conditions on Turnbull IF he becomes leader. ie: No to gay marriage. No to Climate Change oriented policies, etc. Otherwise, Turnbull will lose their support.
On the economic side, ALP/Greens have really f**ked all Australians.
(There is no other word that is adequate to describe what they’ve really done to ALL of us).
At this time, we need to borrow approx $110 million PER DAY just to run the Govt and pay the interest on our borrowing. Every day, we give $40 million away in INTEREST.
All this BS was strategically planned by ALP/Greens alliance.
Let me elaborate how…
Non-discretionary spending is spending that is required by law. These programs have built-in cost of living increases every year. (Examples of such programs are: Medicare and welfare benefits). They are created via legislation. As such, they require legislation to change them.
Now with that background information in mind, have a think about what the political Left (Gillard Govt and Greens) mean by “Abbott-proofing” back in 2013.
They have intentionally locked in spending of taxpayer’s money to fund their ideologies (like give AUD$10 billion to Clean Energy Finance Corporation for 5 years) and it will require the Senate to change or end them.
Think about it, which political side has the power when they (ALP and Greens) form their own voting block? They will say “No” to everything in order to destroy this Govt and sacrifice the Nation in the process. Its all a political play.
This forces the LNP to turn to Independents.
The political Left are more than happy to destroy this Nation’s economics in order to destroy Abbott. (Yes, I repeated the comment because this political BS has to be sunk in). This is a fact. You can easily see this as they have intentionally blocked the very spending cut measures they were putting up when they were in power. Its all public record. Go through it yourselves. There’s billions of savings to be made. It is all locked in via non-discretionary spending.
They don’t just hate Abbott. They hate Conservatives because those people get in their way. They hate they got thrown out. They hate that power was taken away from them. And they want it back by ANY means.
And you know what’s really interesting?
They claim to be “looking out” for workers, Aussie battlers, those on struggle street, giving everyone their “fair share”, etc when in reality their very own actions tell you they don’t give two sh*ts about average Jane/Joe Australia as they throw “free stuff” at them to buy their vote. They care more about power and the luxuries that go with that power. The power to spend taxpayer’s money how they see fit. That includes ignoring the people who put them in power once they get it.
Debt? What debt? There is no debt! …This is their claim. When you look at the numbers yourself and ask any economist worth their dime, you come to the conclusion they’re behaving like the Iraqi (Dis-)Information Minister back in 2003 and that this generation will leave future generations a legacy of higher costs, economic enslavement from borrowing, fewer govt services as reckless spending has been locked in.
The poor will become even poor due to tax income creep. (People get pushed into different income tax brackets. The poor will lose out the most, while the well-off are able to absorb such impacts. Most will get hurt regardless. No one comes out unscathed.)
Ironically, even former Labor leaders like Bob Hawke and Paul Keating know we’re heading into serious economic trouble…While Shorten, Plibersek, Wong, Ellis, etc don’t even acknowledge it. Their catch cry is “It’s all Abbott’s fault!“.
And here is Bill Shorten (the alternative PM) being interviewed on Thursday night (5th Feb, 2015) on The Project.
=> http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/the-project/2015/2/5
Start at 8:50 where Carrie Bickmore asked him a serious question about ALP’s plans. Shorten had to be pushed into responding by the other host. And guess what his response was? Slogans! That’s right, bloody slogans! He has NOTHING to unf**k our economic situation and The Project hosts didn’t push him on it! They let him go via Game of Thrones joke!
Is this what Australian mainstream media is now? An extension of the political Left! Its all good times until you find yourself on the edge of a financial cliff? Or even over it?
There’s only one side of politics that puts a moral value on fiscal responsibility. And its not the political Left and their compliant media friends.
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aussieguy
ALP economic wisdom had a “leasing of assets” sprouted as a “sale of assets” in the Qld election.
On this basis they probably haven’t realised that a deficit has a minus sign in front of it.
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The Project is exceptionally left leaning. Occasionally the have Steve Price on the show, which makes it bearable, but the other hosts invariably gang up on him. But in 10’s defence they also have the Bolt Report. More balanced than the ABC by a long shot.
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Not really.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/julie-bishop-declines-pms-request-not-to-attend-fundraiser-with-malcolm-turnbull-20150206-138dqd.html
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MY take FWIW, the two major parties have become so similar any half-caring politician won’t get a look in due to the modern contrived rules of engagement that seems to be the recurring modus operandi of governing this country, Malcolm Turnbull is emerging from our cocooning as the globalist butterfly politician that the UN driven political machine loves, a leader that will pretend to serve their country whilst selling it out to the globalists, ask any genuine US conservative what that’s like.
I tried to hold hope with Abbott but it was folly, from here the only hope for a true free democratic Australia will be the breaking of the intensely corrupted MSM, the ABC, the cessation and deconstruction of all A21 initiatives and the emergence of a genuine conservative political party that can reconnect with the electorate, this may take some time, if ever.
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With enough rumor and spin, the PR merchants can turn a hypothetical into a reality.
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No comment.
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Politics has come down to one big issue for me.
Coal.
I want the world’s most modern, flexible, thrifty, advanced and low-pollution (in the real sense) coal power generation for Australia. I’m happy to see our coal gouged and sold o/s for dough – but now I want the stuff given pride of place domestically.
Australians who express contempt for coal power should remember that their yearly orgy of ingratitude, Earth Hour, would not be possible without it. Like most things we like to buy, own and do.
Big Oil and Big Green are presently playing footsies to stop coal and nukes. That’s why Chesapeake Energy gave $26 million to the Sierra Club and why they were going to give another 30 million till Greenpeace and others got angry – or maybe jealous.
I’ve got nothing against Big Oil, but my country is rich in coal and uranium and it embarrasses me how we have been persuaded to dismiss these marvellous resources as “durrrdy”. You may as well call your bloodstream “messy” (though that word doesn’t roll through the bogan adenoids quite like “durrrdy”).
So coal is my big issue. I really don’t see the point of proceeding with anything else first. Coal is fundamental.
370
Do you ever wonder what would happen if at the next Earth Hour when all the devout greenies turned off all their lights etc. then once the hour was up, upon going to turn things on, they found there was NO power at all?
Perhaps even better would be 1 minute prior to Earth Hour if the electricity providers all simply flipped the switch taking away the greenies ability to turn those things off themselves to make their statement.
Lets leave it off for a day or two and see how many of them survive and just who screams the loudest over the inconvenience.
It will never happen of course, the just the legal issues that would come up would be a nightmare. But it is an interesting idea. I fully expect if something like this ever did take place who would be screaming the most over the inconvenience, the same ones who actually bought into the Earth Hour silliness. The older I get the more I realize it is always about appearances with them but when the rubber hits the road they sing a different tune.
40
Robert, many of these Earth Hour people are in the habit of wearing scarves in summer, so I fear for their well-being if they are deprived of power for longer than the prescribed sixty minutes per year. It would be like turning back the clock to those dark pre-Whitlam times when the likes of Cate Blanchett couldn’t afford to go to the pub.
20
If Turnbull thinks that he is going to inherit all Liberal votes just by knifing Abbott he has a rude shock coming.
320
No, he thinks he will inherit Labor votes, which he would. It would be the end of the Liberal Party.
140
It would also be the end of the Coalition.
120
Maybe that was Littlefinger’s, err I mean Turbull’s, plan all along.
100
India won’t be pushed around, and neither should Australia. not for the sake of the EU’s ETS, which is what is behind the carbon dioxide emissions accounting nonsense:
6 Feb: Reuters: Global climate deal should not hamper individual countries’ economic growth: France
A global deal to curb carbon emissions must recognize each country’s right to develop, France’s foreign minister said in New Delhi on Thursday, as the host of this year’s U.N. climate change talks seeks to win India’s backing for a global deal.
Laurent Fabius said that efforts to reach an agreement, which is due at the United Nations summit in Paris in December, would fail if any country believed it would hurt their economic prospects…
“An agreement that would leave some countries to consider their growth hampered by its provisions will not be accepted,” Fabius told an audience at an annual sustainable development summit…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/05/us-climatechange-india-idUSKBN0L913V20150205
5 Feb: RTCC: Avik Roy: India resists international scrutiny as it shapes climate plan
Yet Javadekar made clear India would resist any outside scrutiny of its plans, in defiance of European calls for transparency.
“There is no question of an ex-ante review in an independent country and democratic country like India,” Javedekar said at a conference in New Delhi…
As a country in which 300 million people do not have access to electricity, cutting emissions is not top priority for India…
http://www.rtcc.org/2015/02/05/india-resists-international-scrutiny-as-it-shapes-climate-plan/
40
Abbott will survive next week, but the polls will continue to fall, and he won’t last until Easter before he comes out with another Abbott moment. Then the Party will move decisively and he will be gone. Lucky if he doesn’t then have to prove his qualification to be an MP (Section 44) or be audited for his allowance claims which kept his mortgage afloat during the period in opposition.
If Abbott wasn’t a political coward, Mal Brough would be a senior minister and Dennis Jensen would be Science minister.
You might not like Turnbull, but it’s either him or Shorten. He has certainly impressed me with his mastery of the Communications portfolio and his mastery of his temper under idiotic questioning. Except for Greg Hunt (about whom I take back all my earlier unkind remarks) no other minister has performed anywhere near as well.
722
So you believe the MSM spin on everything….. no wonder Australia is down the drain…..
160
Why do you think I can refer to “an Abbott moment” and everyone knows immediately what it means?
The MSM didn’t force him to knight sir prince Phillip on Australia Day five days before the Queensland election. How much damage does he have to do to his party before they act? Don’t forget there is an election due in NSW at the end of next month,
07
How many other Australian honours have been bestowed on Prince Philip, by other governments, of both stripes, over the years?
I suggest you look it up. You might be surprised.
50
Why would I even care? How is it relevant? How many other governments give Australian honours on Australia day? How many promised their people that their highest honours would be reserved only for citizens of their country who had given exceptional service without seeking honours?
But if you like, I take it all back. There won’t even be a spill motion, and Abbott will win the non-spill motion unanimously, and everyone on both sides of the Parliament will applaud him when he turns up on Tuesday afternoon, and all the opposition members will resign their seats and urge the voters to vote coalition in the ensuing byelections to ensure that the CSIRO and BoM abandon their global warming catastrophism. The ABC and Fairfax won’t be reporting it because they too will all have resigned in a fit of remorse.
There- is that the sort of political analysis you really want?
04
You imply that there is something wrong with bestowing an honor upon Prince Philip and to you this is an “Abbot moment”.
Clearly you are an anti-monarchist. Why do you think your own politics should be imposed upon everybody else?
So, clearly you care, but are too afraid to look up Rereke’s suggestion.
20
‘Except for Greg Hunt’ who believes CO2 causes global warming.
Barnaby Joyce for PM
63
Gee, up the page you were rooting for the traitor and now for Barnaby?
60
No no not Guy Fawkes.
30
Ah yes, I know you are a Hunt fan, but my vote only goes to outright sceptics.
There has been feuding over drought relief for farmers and graziers, a few Nats were prepared to cross the floor and Barnaby was forced to hose it down, but it remains unstable.
“If all of sudden a different person is walking down the aisle towards us, don’t necessarily think the wedding is still on.”
Barnaby Joyce / SMH
Jensen is not a traitor, don’t shoot the messenger. Still, any reshuffle after this kerfuffle may earn him a front bench seat and the title of ‘hit man’.
30
A fan? Grow up! Just because I know someone it does not qualify being a ‘fan’ in an adult world. Maybe because I point out here, in a cryptic fashion that people are way off the mark in their summations. He’ll be the Environment Minister if there is a spill.
That nasty warmist has approved over a trillion dollars in projects, has delivered a policy that has neutered the ongoing policy debate and is an excellent conduit to the leadership.
If you can’t see Barnaby’s comment as a shot across their bow then so be it. There is more at stake, in the greater scheme.
Ever met Jensen? Well, someone else and I had dinner with him around four years ago. He came across as a spiv and spent half his time slagging off at his colleagues and will never be appointed to any position of power. He is tolerated and after his latest outburst…we’ll see how the traitor fares.
Have you any idea what the ramifications will be if the spill is successful and Turnbull is made PM? Australia will be signing up in Paris and that would be a disaster in my opinion. If so, Jensen has blood on his hands.
What about northern development? No problem, because unlike my fellow travellers, been keeping Turnbull informed for years and he’s supportive of my version so the show rolls on.
Funny that.
60
‘he came across as a spiv’
I didn’t know that, but it won’t change my opinion.
‘and spent half his time slagging off at his colleagues and will never be appointed to any position of power.’
If he fails to become Science Minister (revamped) then he’ll go for Hunt’s job.
‘There is more at stake, in the greater scheme.’
Northern Development should happen, no matter who is leader, but to me the big picture is about the brainwashing of our citizens through the MSM and education system. Everything else seems insignificant.
20
Got you a green star prematurely. Your examples are nobodies. Is this best you lefties can come up with? Heaven helps us if this lot comes to power!
40
Yes, yes we know. The leftardulent Lame Scream Meeja and the Labor/green socialist alliance keep telling anybody who’ll listen that Malcontent Turncoat, member for Goldman Sachs is simply the best to lead the Liberal party. Thanks for the advice Gnome, you can be sure it will be given all due consideration.
I’m sure having a scientifically illiterate fatuous buffoon that called AGW sceptics “Hitler appeasers” would be the perfect leader for the Liberals during the collapse of the GoreBull Warbling hoax.
Conservatives just love the guy to bits, and what with being an absolute banker, he’s sure to draw a few votes from the 30% welfare dependant Labor/green socialist alliance rusted on as well!
20
Gave you a tick gnome for one of the few sensible comments I’ve seen on this thread.
11
Church of England and ClientEarth activists embrace Big Oil’s commitment to CAGW, to help “institutional investors”. only Abbott will keep people’s Super safe. bios at ClientEarth’s website tell their own story – ex bankers, EU characters, etc. having face cards like Coldplay & Brian Eno are for the trendy CAGW followers:
6 Feb: RTCC: Megan Darby: BP embraces climate change risk resolution
Oil major supports “non confrontational” call from shareholders to disclose analysis of climate risk
BP will advise shareholders to back a resolution on climate change at April’s annual general meeting. The resolution, similar to one endorsed by Shell last week, will force the company to reveal the risks climate action poses to its business plan. That is likely to heighten scrutiny on high cost projects like its “Sunrise” venture in Canada’s tar sands…
The Church of England, one of more than 150 investors to put forward the resolution, welcomed BP’s decision.
Edward Mason, head of responsible investment for the Church Commissioners, said: ”The positive way in which BP and Shell have responded to our shareholder resolutions is completely unprecedented.
“This represents a step change in engagement between ***institutional shareholders and the oil and gas industry on the strategic challenge that climate change poses to the industry.”
ClientEarth, an environmental law network that supported the shareholder campaign, also hailed the move.
Elspeth Owens, barrister for ClientEarth, said: “It’s great news that BP has today recommended its shareholders support the climate risk resolution. This confirms the potential of shareholder engagement and demonstrates that BP is listening to some of its biggest investors.”
http://www.rtcc.org/2015/02/06/bp-embraces-climate-change-risk-resolution/
Client Earth
ClientEarth is a non-profit environmental law organisation, founded in 2008, with offices in London, Brussels and Warsaw. In 2012 BusinessGreen gave ClientEarth its NGO of the Year award…
ClientEarth is attempting to make it a legal right for European citizens and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to bring environmental cases to court…
ClientEarth has challenged plans to build two coal-fired power plants in Kingsnorth, Kent…
Along with Greenpeace, WWF, Spanish energy companies and the regional authority of Galicia, ClientEarth has intervened regarding the European Commission’s decision to approve subsidies to the Spanish coal industry. The approved plan gives preferential access to the wholesale electricity market in Spain for power plants that run on domestic coal. Spanish electricity utilities, including Gas Natural, Iberdrola and Endesa have claimed that this will force them to withdraw from contracts for cheaper imported coal and buy more expensive, lower-quality domestic coal, while the parties have also argued that the decision breaches European laws on state aid and the environment, and that the Spanish government aid will unfairly skew the European energy market. ClientEarth also expressed concern that, if the decision was allowed to stand, other countries may be tempted to use similar tactics to bolster their coal sectors. They and the other environmental groups rejected Spain’s position that it was attempting to protect the nation’s energy security, arguing that the country has an oversupply of natural gas and, ***at times, renewable energy…
Employees of ClientEarth include Professor Ludwig Kramer and CEO James Thornton; the latter was named by the New Statesman in 2009 as one of “ten people who could change the world”…
Coldplay are patrons of the organisation, as is the environmentalist and MP Zac Goldsmith. Brian Eno is one of the group’s trustees.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ClientEarth
51
Do not underestimate Tony’s wile. If after this no one steps up to challenge we will have stability. Then we can learn how much he is listening. The backbenchers might get a bit more input as well.
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Lord Monckton warned that the UN/IPCC/Carbon lobby has everyone covered (including Obama) to hand over democracy to unelected communist bureaucrats in Paris, except the Canadian and Australian Prime Ministers. He expected they would try to remove both Prime Ministers before Paris. Their tools include infinite cash and a very compliant Green media, planting seeds and encouraging discontent and suggesting support. The very idea of putting Leftist Malcolm Turnbull in the job is unbelievable, so it fits. At $1Bn a day, the stakes are high.
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TdeF
Just in on Climate Depot to support your post
https://celebrity.yahoo.com/video/un-climate-chief-announces-remaking-204543894.html
I hope the link works –if not look at the current headline on Climate Depot
90
So GW crap is just their excuse to take over the world. How predictable. Why people want to do this? She wants a noble price or be recognised in history? Low self-esteem serving self service.
60
Incredible. The UN Climate Change chief says they are remaking the world economy. What? Why? Who?
Who said they could? Who said they should? When did nations surrender their sovereign rights to an unelected UN group to redistribute the world’s wealth (mostly to themselves and merchant bankers like Malcolm’s partners Goldman Sachs), or is that what is planned for Paris.
Cannot people see the danger? Like Winston Churchill, we need a inflexible, determined and strong Tony Abbott to fight this evil. No one believed what Hitler said openly. They wanted appeasement. Even Stalin did not believe it or thought he had a deal.
Sure Tony panders to the left but no one seriously believes that either he or Julie Bishop believe one word of Malcolm’s Climate Change scare. It is about power and money. It always was. We need to be saved from the UN itself. This is far bigger than the IPCC. We need Tony Abbott. We had a man of the people in 2007. How did that work out? Did we learn the difference between selfies and selfish?
110
UPDATE
Abbott says Julie Bishop will join him in opposing any spill of leadership positions. That seems to kill the push for change – for now.
Andrew Bolt
Daily Telegraph
Sydney
120
Jo, regarding expenditure and budget cuts, the 2014/15 financial year budget announced in May 2014 has been slowly progressing through the hostile Senate but around 20 per cent remains outstanding including over $30 billion in cuts that Labor and their opposition supporters are procrastinating about. Deliberately making it harder to deal with the budget financial crisis Labor created deliberately to hand over when they realised that they would probably lose the September 2013 election.
Their last budget 2013/14 had under estimated the deficit by about half and had commitments that they did not bother to fund, the Coalition government had to arrange provision to pay. I cannot recall a past federal government in Australia embarking on such a massive act of economic vandalism. And with a financial crisis storm on the international horizon right now our government does not have the means to fight back with stimulus packages. Also, with the falling A$ exchange rate the debt (federal, state, local government and government owned companies such as NBNCo) liability and interest liabilities are increasing.
In 2007 then Treasurer Peter Costello warned that there were financial storm clouds over the horizon and Kevin07 and comrades scoffed at him and claimed he wass pulling a campaign stunt. A year later the storm hit, Rudd Labor called it Global Financial Crisis. Shorten Labor is playing games via the Senate as a potentially larger storm gathers, and this time the cupboards are bare. And, it seems, the citizen voters are in a different world of their own and being treated by Union Labor as fools.
140
Sadly voters are fools or more precisely the minimum of 45% that are beyond redemption and some 20% that swing both ways. I suspect that there is only 30% of true right wing voters in this country that I would define as fiscally responsible. This roughly equates to about 20% of population that retires without government support.
How do you get 80% failure rate in one of the richest countries in the world?
60
Excellent post Dennis. For years we have been subjected to lectures on “Environmental Tipping Points” by the ALP/Greens, but then they want us to think “Economic Tipping Points” don’t exist. The way things are at the moment, I know which “tipping point” will arrive first.
Interesting comment on radio yesterday – on national debt (includes states), per head of population, Greeks pay $140AU less interest per year than Australians!
80
I’ve never voted for the ALP, the Greens or an Independent and never would. In retrospect I should have voted informally when Fraser led the Liberal Party.
I’m thankful for the British heritage in law and democratic government that underpins Australia however I think Abbott’s return to Knights and Dames was a politically naive and foolish move. Making Phillip a Knight is foolish on any level and gives one a sense of unease about his understanding even of those of us who are happy with our link to Britain’s monarch let alone those of a Republican bent.
I’m happy with Abbott’s AGW skepticism and some of the moves he has made against the alarmist camp and renewable energy targets. The mistake the Coalition made, that lost it electoral support was to plunge too quickly and too broadly into cost savings reform with such a fanfare that it was interpreted by the media as hurting the most vulnerable in society. I think Hockey was an incompetent/arrogant propagandist for those “nasties” in the budget.
A more measured approach, over a longer time span, to those savings without the blowing of technical economic trumpets that frightened the many ignoramuses who make up the Australian electorate (like the old Queensland fool recently on telly who told the reporter he didn’t want “HIS” State owned power assets to be sold off by Newman). This is where Abbott, as the government leader, made the mistake of forgetting the principal that it is the bearer of bad news, rather than the cause of it, in this case the ALP, that gets shot.
Abbott despite these negatives is still my choice for PM. And with others here I would vote informally if Turnbull were to become the leader of the Liberal Party.
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Well said LLew. I think what has been lacking is media spin. Has that department been cut? If the knighthood decision was made by say the Gillard government, then it would have been spun loudly the other way, as an anniversary of the duke of Edinburgh award and how much that programme has helped young Australian people develop their lives. Hence attributed to Prince Phillip.
The leadership spill, is as easy as observing dogs. Which dog would you rather lead. Who has more qualities when there is a serious problem, like the Malaysian airlines flight. Who just wants to steal your bones..
20
Llew Jones the limited number and scope of knighthood awards reflects that the British Queen is also the Queen of Australia, and a ceremonial position represented by a Governor General when she is absent, her husband has a ceremonial role too and has contributed public service to Australia (as the new award system requires for nominees) via Duke of Edinburgh Award for youth, being patron of many organisations here including charities and promoting Australian made or produced products overseas to assist our exports. The recipients are usually Australians but there is provision to award a non-Australian, and the Duke was nominated by our Prime Minister to the award committee and referred to the Queen by the Governor General for approval. So far two GGs have been awarded and both have considerable public service history. This year a former RAAF officer and head of the ADF was awarded.
The republicans are sore losers of a referendum and will do whatever they can to put down Monarchists. Labor in government even remove pictures of the Queen from government buildings and do other things to remove references to her. The fact is that Australia is an independent nation with our own sovereign laws, the highest court is the High Court of Australia. The Queen is a figurehead and after all Great Britain created the colony of New South Wales, Australia was part of the British Empire and remains a member of the Commonwealth of Nations which is invaluable for diplomatic relations and trade within the many member nations.
It shoud be noted that knighthoods are not available to the general public including MPs.
40
Dennis:
The Republicans are the greatest drag on the introduction of a Republic because they refuse to deal with the reserve powers and the checks and balances of the existing system. As an example-
If the PM dons a cocked hat, sticks his hand into the front of his coat and announces he is going to invade the South Island of NZ, then the GG sacks him and informs the Palace later as to why.
If the GG dons a cocked hat etc. the PM rings the Palace and they sack the GG.
If King Charles downs a cocked hat etc. he is whisked off to Highgate for an extended rest and William becomes Regent.
Under the Republican model, if the PM dons a cocked hat, he can sack the GG if he objects (and anyone else) and our troops get badly bitten by savage sheep and/or savage enzedders. Do you really think that Rudd, Gillard, Christopher Pynne would make a great dictator?
Until there is a serious intent about a Republic then any discussion is merely lips flapping, and there is never any shortage of that.
10
Multiple choice quiz. Select as many answers as you need.
Question: How do you know when a politician is lying?
Answer 1: When his lips are moving?
Answer 2: When he is writing something?
Answer 3: When he is thinking?
Answer 4: When he is doing anything else?
Answer 5: All of the above.
My conclusion is that if someone actively and voluntarily runs for a public office, he is not fit to hold that office. The fundamental fact is that the act of holding a public office corrupts the person holding that office. They soon begin confusing themselves with god. They begin to presume their decisions are to be automatically good simply because it is what they have decided.
They believe that all the consequences are to be exactly as they intend because they have countless unformed thugs of government to make it so. Then, if it doesn’t work out, they only need to kick the can a bit further down the road. To a person, they hope to be long gone before that happens so they don’t want to think about what happens when the road ends and neither do We the People.
We have had at least 100,000 years of politicians without more than a few momentary notable exceptions. Why do we think the next politician we elect to office will be any different? The most we have been able to do is to pick the least bad for the moment: Tweedledee, Tweedledumb, and Tweedledumber. They change for the worse faster than they can change their socks.
What can we do? I really don’t have an answer beyond having better ideas in the people – all the people and not just politicians.
I do know this, all past civilizations found the end of their road, beyond which they couldn’t kick their can. It was soon followed by a painful collapse. Why do you think we are any different?
My faint hope for the better is based upon the fact that we have the capacity to change. Will we change be enough soon enough to do some good? If so, what would the change have to be and will we have the courage to take the first step?
90
Politicians are a reflection of us. Enough said.
If you want to vote for me I will:
1.legislate promises as statements of real delivery and any failure to do so is equal to fraud and hence punishable by jail.
2. Will forgo my pay or donate this to the charity of the local voter choosing
3. Withdraw from the UN
4. Introduce flat tax rate of 15% and remove all other taxes.
5. Reduce public service by 90%
6. Introduce strong police and armed forces.
7. Sell abc or divide it into left and right wing segments.
9. Introduce depth penalty
10. Introduce euthanasia laws.
11. Free the economy from the green tape
13. Emigration not based on multiculturalism but on merit and acceptance of our way of life.
12. And for any of you hoping to introduce guns, definitively not. Why? Because of people are completely bonkers.
Oh I forgot, Christmas lists are not due for another 11 months.
40
Just as “Politicians are a reflection of us.”
The media are a reflection of us. How much effort do people make to investigate and form their own opinion, and how much do they want to follow the crowd…
100
“How much effort do people make to investigate and form their own opinion?” not much Jo going by the public reaction to the outrageous beat up done to slander the Abbott government, with people actually believing they are as bad as the Gillard circus!
So lets see what this plebian can come up with in under 60 seconds, ok how about an overall list of Gillard broken promises and failed policy ? not that really so I’d say unfortunately you’re correct in following the crowd with the biggest appeal of what freebies will be dangled for the conditioned electorate, all for simply offering your throat to the wolf with red roses.
Hate to sat it but the average Aussie has become a spineless fool with only themselves to blame, their reliance on big government to endlessly help out in endless hard times reminds me of a hyperactive boy who no matter how many times is told no, still gets the toast out with a knife…
60
In 1988, PM Bob Hawk awarded HRH Prince Philip the highest Australian Award at the time (Companion of the Order of Australia). There was little or no public outcry over this decision.
Very few people I know would think that Bob Hawk is an idiot because of his decision.
Since 1947, 44 countries [including most of the Commonwealth countries] have awarded HRH Prince Philip their highest civilian and military honors. No-one in the media has even mentioned this indisputable fact.
In June 2012, NZ awarded HRH Prince Philip the Additional Member of the Order of New Zealand. This was followed by Canada in April 2013, who awarded HRH Prince Philip its highest National award (Extraordinary Companion of the Order of Canada). The plan was for Australia to complete the trifecta by award HRH Prince Philip a Knighthood in 2014. These top awards were a way for theses three countries to say thank you to the Duke of Edinburgh in the last years of his life for a lifetime of service to the Commonwealth.
Why have many in the media hidden this important information from the Australian people?
For the simple reason that it might detract from its relentless campaign to over-throw Australia’s democratically elected leader of Australia, PM Tony Abbott and install mob rule.
240
Don,t forget our Julia bestowing a similar honour on the president of Indonesia. But that was ok after all she was a great PM, sarc.
Tony gets crucified for a wink and yet not knowing 10% GST by palaszczuk is dismissed as not having a morning coffee.
110
Ian
Who organises such a campaign of honours?
00
ghl,
It’s done through informal chats between Prime Ministers at Commonwealth forums or bi-lateral meetings – In this case you have three conservative leaders Steven Harper, John Key and Tony Abbott who regularly communicate between each other.
20
Salient point that was already known, but then, Bob Hawke did NOT have to contend with a vocal sub section of the community on facebook and twitter, High pitched screamers that thought there was no earthly chance of the Liberals being elected with Tony Abbott as the leader.
The media have tapped into that area and fed it with all sorts of bait and of course Simon Sheik and his Getup have worked this group for a long time, using the Fenton Communications International socialist modelling, find an issue be it animal cruelty, protect the bats, attack the hated capitalists, consumer issues but not unions as they either paid him off! or were a conduit for funds while Labor were in office, climate is another emotional issue they tap into, once they get those emails they have a conduit right into the homes of many of our most concerned and motivated citizens. Not only that they make it like everyone has a say in what issue will be taken up by GetUp – We are listening to the people, but really working a huge sociograms where you can design and tailor any agenda to have mass behind the scenes appeal to bring those concerned individuals to your desired goal..
Tony Abbott is a strong leader, but the bad media has made him a pale shade of what he needs to be, and the Liberal Party image machinery controlled him on what media reports? – he must be concerned, he needs to get out and about and be seen in the community etc. etc. Unfortunately some of these things are easily skewed by the mock tony, and hate class!! In his remake effort he did make statements and concessions that a strong leader should have avoided.
This should have been picked up in the Liberal strategy plan, it wasn’t. In this political void, the social media screamers become the normal encouraged others to join in and dumb Bill Shorten has had a free ride.
When you speak with people who you would think are the normal Liberal voter, these are openly wanting Tony dumped for a perceived softer Turnbull, but then when you speak with workers and business people they see Turnbull as dangerous and out of touch with the almost universal man in the street, the ones that reject the circus that was the climate Council, the useless warming propaganda that was a feature of the Gillard and Rudd Governments, yes the ones that elected Tony. It would be a disaster for Liberals if Turnbull replaced Abbott.
Tony Abbott has the strength and the moral commitment to take the fight up to Bill Shorten and decimate the greens, but only if ALL his team is 100 per cent behind him,picking at the weaknesses of Labor and the Greens, not navel gazing and wilting under pressure, Geez they are making Bill Shorten a weasel with no real desire or program to do anything for this country, look good by comparison.
Time for a name change for the Liberals, capture the middle ground voter and the other fair weather voters will come on board when their opposition is shown to be exactly what they are a mealy mouth group of whinging apologists. Lastly Tony flex that ticker and take the fight to the ones that made this economic mess, and get some good behind the scenes strategists to work the social media!
40
You have to be very suspicious of public media pressure to get rid of Abbott when there is no obvious replacement. There is a drive by large sections of the media to put Malcolm in the job. He refuses to discipline the Green ABC. He has crossed the floor to support a carbon tax.
Turnbull is clearly in the wrong party, so acceptable to the Left. He could even lead the Greens but then he would never be PM. That does not mean anyone would vote for Turnbull in a General Election. Bishop would be an interesting choice, but she is also a strong deputy and that is what a PM needs. She would be as tough on Global Climate shenanigans though, so unacceptable.
This pressure to have a popular leader who is pro carbon tax/ETS is amazing and it is not coming from the general public. The business with Prince Phillip is utterly irrelevant to the running of the country. Compared with Gillard’s stopping the entire cattle trade with a phone call after watching a TV program, it does not rate. People have short memories but the ETS Carbon tax would still be a hot issue if we were facing it again. Similarly with the boat invasion by Syrians and Iranians who are now largely a dead weight on the economy and a source of major future problems. No one wants are return to the Rudd/Gillard/Rudd days of utter dysfunctionality and rule by the minority Greens.
Unbelievable as it seems, this is all about clearing the decks for Paris and a worldwide movement to use Global Warming as a scare to force a world government. It could well be engineered from the UN. Trillions of dollars are at stake and only a few democratic leaders stand in the way and that does not include Barack Obama. Paris is the last chance for Climate Change to keep going as a perpetual business and political force.
240
Exactly Tdef, the clearing of the decks is the key issue and if that sounds too far fetched for some just look back at what’s been uncovered in blogs like this concerning the agenda and power brokers involved.
If anyone thinks powerful globalists would invest that much time, effort and wealth into a venture, only to walk away near the end or write it off as a ‘loss leader’ then they’re seriously wrong.
120
Let’s hope that the majority of the present members of government are at least suspicious that is what is driving the scare campaign the media is running against Abbott at present, that they stop the spill against Abbott in its tracks and really get stuck into the UN ACC alarmist camp’s crusade against fossil fuel energy.
I agree with the reality that the knights and dames issue is relatively trivial compared with the media passed over or excused, stuff ups of the Rudd/Gillard years. However given the politically lonely path Abbott has chosen in mocking the alarmist position (e.g. “our coal is a vital resource for many years to come”) he should not have given the media this free shot which is a like a gift from heaven for their get denier Abbott out of office campaign.
Tony it’s war. Don’t trust the bastards. And don’t give up the fight against hypocrites or idiots like Obama and Merkel. Let’s hope if Abbott stays on he doesn’t succumb to international pressure to fall in line with climate change alarmism and the potential destruction of our industrialized economy.
90
Tdef,see my comment at 1.1.2.
30
Bishop when she promised 200mill to the UN lost my vote
60
That was politics. As far as could be told, the Australian money was over years, conditional, administered by us and to be spent on foreign aid we would have spent anyway. In short, a sham donation to a sham cause from an existing budget for foreign aid. We are not ungenerous, just as the illegal boat arrivals was pulled from the existing 13,600 real refugee program. It was just that we never were able to choose who came. The ABC and the people smugglers chose for us on the basis of how much cash they had, $10,000 each. Some refugees!
20
Don’t forget what Monckton alerted the world to before Copenhagen, about what the UN had drafted out with their plans for a World Govt. Everyone thought he was an absolute nutter until he published a leaked version of it. Even then most thought it was hoax because it was so far fetched , but he was right.
So I’m inclined to believe on this one.
30
I fear that if the UN fail in ousting Abbott by political means, they will choose more drastic measures !
00
Turnbull == turncoat + bull****
20
Apparently Turnbull has now said if the spill succeeds he will stand for leadership !!
10
And when he loses we will all expect him to resign from The Liberal Party. Good riddance!
10
It is all a bit like blowing whistle & organizing a swimming carnival or a bikini parade on the deck of the Titanic:-
http://kingworldnews.com/billionaire-eric-sprott-just-made-one-dire-predictions-2015/
We probably will not get a global currency in Carbon Credits to create a NWO, but Keynse’s “Banko”is still in the wings. ( i.e. Turnbull may be superfluous)
30
7 Feb: AFR: Tony Walker: Allies marvel at more of Circus Oz in Canberra as Turnbull and Bishop circle Abbott
PHOTO CAPTION: A Julie Bishop-Malcolm Turnbull team would enable a more constructive dialgoue over climate change
A Turnbull-Bishop or Bishop-Turnbull configuration with a leavening of Scott Morrison or Andrew Robb as Treasurer would enable a more constructive participation in dialogue over issues relating to climate change leading up to the Paris conference later this year…
Under a rehearsed formula, first unveiled on Q&A last year, Turnbull now contends that “emissions trading schemes have worked better in theory than in practice”.
“If there is a global agreement that requires larger cuts in emissions – and I think that would be good – then obviously Australia would play its part,” he said…
But given recent developments, those noting the Turnbull speech could not avoid being struck by the following paragraph:
“Leaders,” he said, “must be decisionmakers, but they must also be, above all, explainers and advocates, unravelling complex issues in clear language that explains why things have to change and why the government cannot solve every problem.”
Turnbull was not to know that even as he crafted his speech a series of events, including a catastrophic outcome for the Coalition in Queensland, would cast doubt on Abbott’s longevity, and enable a baton-twirling Turnbull to join the Grand Parade along with Bishop, whose ability to survive various leadership putsches would seem to qualify her as a trapeze artiste on the high wire…
http://www.afr.com/p/national/politics/allies_marvel_turnbull_more_and_wVIRFSHq8WHkGG17arvtHO
nicely timed! it can’t get hotter unless the weather changes. what geniuses.
7 Feb: Sky News: AAP: Climate change ‘drove record hot year’
Australia’s hottest year on record would not have happened without climate change, according to a new report…
The Climate Council says recent studies show those heat events would have occurred only once every 12,300 years without greenhouse gas emissions from human activities…
‘In fact, we can say the 2013 record year was virtually impossible without climate change; it wouldn’t have happened,’ Will Steffen, the author of Quantifying the Strong Influence of Climate Change on Extreme Heat in Australia, told AAP.’I mean, no one would bet on odds of one in nearly 13,000.’ …
‘In my view, it’s extremely powerful, conclusive evidence that not only is there a link between climate change and extreme heat, climate change is the main driver of it.’ …
Climate Council co-founder Tim Flannery said the research strengthened the case for immediate action on climate change.’Australians are already feeling the impact of climate change making Australia hotter,’ he said.’Carbon emissions must be reduced rapidly and deeply if the worst of extreme heat in the second half of the century is to be avoided.’
http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/2015/02/07/climate-change–drove-record-hot-year-.html
00
the following SMH piece is hilarious. have no idea what “Panel” in the headline means as it is simply 3 topics (CAGW, Republic, Same-Sex Marriage) with a line or two about each of these men!
6 Feb: SMH: Panel: Abbott vs Turnbull policy positions
(FIRST UP) Policy positions: Turnbull vs Abbott
CLIMATE CHANGE
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/panel-abbott-vs-turnbull-policy-positions-20150206-1388qx.html
Murdoch’s Business Spectator:
6 Feb: BusinessSpectator: Tristan Edis: How PM Turnbull could act on climate without an ETS
CORRECTED 1.19PM February 6.
While no one, including members of the Coalition Government as senior as Christopher Pyne, has a clear idea of whether Tony Abbott will be deposed as PM, if it does happen Malcolm Turnbull is a clear favourite to replace him.
Such an idea causes delight among those concerned about climate change.
After all, Turnbull has made no secret about the fact that he shares their deep concern about the damaging effects on humankind from global warming…
There’s plenty more tricks to lowering carbon emissions than just putting a price on carbon pollution, although most involve less free-market oriented approaches.
Rather strangely, even though such approaches are more interventionist than an ETS, they seem to be strangely more acceptable to the hard-core climate sceptics, in spite of their paranoia about climate change as a cloak for socialism.
The reason why is that many of these other measures can be sold as being about addressing problems or delivering benefits beyond just reduced carbon emissions…
Here’s five ways a PM Turnbull could act to curb carbon emissions without an ETS…
***5. Use the surplus cash raised from the carbon tax after it was supposed to have been retrospectively abolished to buy up international carbon credits
OK, this one is unambiguously about addressing climate change so could be a tough sell to the climate sceptic crazies, but hear me out…
http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2015/2/6/policy-politics/how-pm-turnbull-could-act-climate-without-ets
20
‘Such an idea causes delight among those concerned about climate change.’
If by chance Malcolm became PM it would probably destroy the LNP Coalition, but if he sings the right tune for the Labor Green Coalition then he may win the next Federal election.
‘could be a tough sell to the climate sceptic crazies, but hear me out…’
No way, its back to the barricades.
20
Jo,
On PM Abbott, anybody who can get the Green Blob to scream, “You’re the only leader in the civilized Anglo-Saxon World to oppose carbon taxes (in Canada they say the same thing about PM Harper), warrants support.
I’ve noticed you’ve kinda picked up some Alinsky tricks, ridiculing the climastrologists, albeit with wit. “Climate Grief” was terrific. Keep it up., please.
If we can rewind the time-line tape, the Climate Scare had political-socie, not scientific, roots: butterfly-brained Paul Erlich (seriously that is what his Kansas PhD was in), Club of Rome, Mo Strong). The UN leaders wanted to grab onto something to make itself relevant, so they chose “climate change” as a theme to control the most important part of our economy, modern human energy extraction/production. They identified a superb target. So they had to figure out how to showcase it.
The UN promoted third and fourth rate science. Like, the Hockey Stick. That falloobered graph didn’t reach the mass-public conscious until Al (channeling P.T. Barnum) hosted an Academy Award (voted by Hollywood) movie. Which had totally bogus “Earth satellite images” including a clockwise-spinning northern-hemishpere hurricane.
Then he was voted a Nobel Peace Prize award.
Then Michael Mann said he “shared” the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Along with ca. 2000 other IPCC-report authors who received nice color photocopies of the Nobel Prize certificate, some of whom also claimed to “share” the Prize. They were so stupid, they did not know that the Nobel could only be shared by a maximum of THREE PERSONS, as defined by Alfred Nobel.
The Prize was a monetary award. What is a Prize worth? Medals are bestowed. Did Michael Mann, and other people who were IPCC report lead authors, get a Nobel Medal, or checks from the Nobel Committee, i.e. ca. $1M divided 2000 ways, i.e. ca. $500? Uhm, no, and no.
Did Michael Mann know what sharing the Nobel Prize meant? Obviously not.
There’s another thing: Nobel Prizes in science are: Physics, Chemistry, and Medicine or Physiology. The Peace Prize and Literature Prize are not scientific-achievement prizes. When Michael Mann claimed to “share” the Nobel Peace Prize, not only was he lying but he wasn’t even claiming a share of a science prize, but rather part of a a socie prize.
What I like about the Chicken Littles who defend the Hockey Stick are those who say, “Well, maybe Mann’s Stick was based on bogus science, but good science has replicated his stick.”
“Good science confirms pseudo-science’s findings. ”
Yeah, riight. I think astronomy needs to scientifically uphold astrology, so we can all better predict out futures. When I see mass migrations from Washington State,Minnesota and Maine, moving to Northern BC, Alaska, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, then I’ll admit global warming is a serious problem.
140
This whole thing stemmed from the knighting of Prince Phillip.
The Left were itching for a something to hammer Abbott with. The ABC especially wanted revenge for the budget cuts.
So, Abbott knights Prince Phillip and WHAM! Every single news outlet is smashing Abbott and his leadership abilities. Over what? Knighting someone? That’s it? That’s the lefts justification?
It didn’t affect anyone. It didn’t cost anyone anything. It’s completely insignificant.
If he didn’t knight PP we wouldn’t be where we are now. That was the catalyst.
You know. . .
Labor won the Victorian state election on a lie. A week after the election they scrap the East/West link (which we are desperate for). All us sucker tax payers have to pay $1.1 billion in compensation and we get nothing for it!
But wheres that reported? Why aren’t Labor getting getting lynched? Wheres the uproar?
Its pathetic!
160
What about the Qld election result?
60
Libs lost, Labor won.
Thats about as much as we hear about it down here.
50
The election result was the point when the panic set in.
50
You don’t hear about it in Qld either, the entire state is thinking ‘Uh oh’.
60
Absent minded buggers up there wot? 🙂
01
To any unbiased observer, the scrapping of your road building project is all Abbott fault! and so is everything else that is wrong, there are documents circulating in the high echelon of government that show, clearly, that Abbott is the mastermind behind ISIS rise to power, it is said that he wanted to make Australia self sufficient in oil production. Abbott is also responsible for the latest outburst from the pope, he wrote the off the cuff spiel, he is responsible for… the loss of several NASA inspired trips to Mars and so on and so forth. Abbott has to go he is the personified devil! (Or whatever that is in the warmist religion)
80
My suggestion as a Victorian is that the election of a Labor government in Victoria will assist the federal Coalition parties at the next election as the public is subject to the incompetency in so many areas of this Labor government. Ditto for Queensland..
100
I wish, but sadly no.
18 months ago they voted out the most incompetent government in recent Australian history (excluding whitlam). Now they hate tony for trying to fix the country. Who is stupid here or just greedy with attention span of a child? At least children have an excuse.
80
OT. . .
Melbourne gets its first hot day in weeks and, right on schedule. . .
Hot weather: Climate change to blame for Melbourne heatwaves
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/hot-weather-climate-change-to-blame-for-melbourne-heatwaves/story-fni0fit3-1227210906592?sv=15679126b6bf73ac123736fff50d5cef
Ummm. . . what heatwaves?
120
Yep 4 days in a row over 30°C and the bed wetting starts, it’s February in Australia and this is something to fear? FFS give me strength!!
170
Went for my daily 2.5 km fast walk at 3pm today when it was 35C. Couldn’t even get a sweat up. 35C? That’s about 5C below my optimum operating temperature. I’m certain it was a lot hotter and over many more days during Feb in the 1940s and 50s when I was but a boy.
30
Me again. . .
Australia is determined to be governed by a left party.
I urge you all to take three minutes and watch this rather clever and amusing clip.
Well, it would be amusing if it wasn’t true!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM-HJT8_esM
90
The fuss over Abbot is a demonstration of the low intelligence of the media and much of the public. Those who hate Abbott do so for his religious beliefs, arrogance, blue tie, apparent uneasiness when talking to anyone, etc. Notice it’s all about his personal attributes, not about his performance. His performance has to be light years ahead of what Labor ever did in the recent past, and what the opposition leader can do given his past performance. I couldn’t care less if our leader had two heads and was a Jew or atheist. As long as the leader was successful then that leader is fit for duty. I spoke to one person who hated Abbott and I asked would you prefer to have the opposition win the next election and have all the polices on border control, carbon/mining tax, overseas relationships, etc. reversed? He answered yes. I’m starting to think Australians are a bunch of whinging morons.
70
I blame Global Warming.
40
I blame CO2.
50
yes, the whole MSM beat-up began with the Knighthood. it was absurd to award it, but it was not without precedents, and it should have elicited nothing more than a cross-party YAWN, as it had on previous occasions.
instead, it created a media storm, in ALL the MSM.
friends who YAWNED at Climategate were suddenly interrupting my enjoyment of the tennis with their emails of OUTRAGE over this matter! i didn’t bother replying.
at the same time, in the US, it was DEFLATEGATE that occupied the MSM for weeks.
read all of the following for a reality-check on that one:
5 Feb: Failed DeflateGate Accusations Mean It’s Time For Irsay, Pagano To Be Banned From NFL
by Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
Here’s a story you definitely did not miss: The Patriots were accused of underinflating footballs in the AFC Championship Game.
Here’s a story you might have missed: It was all a bunch of hogwash.
Yeah, “DeflateGate,” you know the thing where the entire country lost its collective mind because Tom Brady and Bill Belichick supposedly cheated in the AFC Championship Game, a two-week period of absolute hysteria where people drew conclusions as soon as they heard the accusations?
All of it was nothing…
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/02/05/hurley-failed-deflategate-accusations-means-its-time-for-irsay-pagano-to-be-banned-from-nfl/
but, for the MSM, it was a great success:
29 Jan: Yahoo Sports: Super Bowl XLIX could make TV history thanks to deflate-gate, star power
2 Feb: Super Bowl XLIX the most-watched program in U.S. TV history
The Super Bowl attracted 114.4 million viewers…
Nielsen is reporting that Sunday’s Super Bowl scored a record overnight rating of 49.7, up 4 percent over last year’s game, according to the Associated Press…
Question: did Aussies, including Coalition voters who could have switched off the MSM during KNIGHTGATE, depriving the story of oxygen, prove their susceptibility to MSM propaganda, just as Americans did with the Superbowl?
50
Banana republic here comes Australia. Regularly change leaders on both sides, but don’t change any policies that might upset the voters – simply promise more handouts and you will be elected.
Oh for an inquisitive press.
From Tim Andrews at the Australian Taxpayers Alliance: It seems every day we read in the media about the Federal Government’s ‘savage spending cuts’.
Here are the spending forecasts from Wayne Swan (PEEFO) and Joe Hockey (MYEFO):
2014-15 $416.0 billion; $422.9 billion
2015-16 $430.9 billion; $436.5 billion
2016-17 $454.5 billion; $446.4 billion
Spot the savage cuts?
Note: this includes policy announcements made, but not passed. Ie, it is the best case scenario – an obstructionist Senate is not responsible.
50
A longtime I tried the political approach with global warming: I suggested to PM Abbott that he should set-up an Independent Commission to objectively look at the predictions, evidence etc. for global warming. This seemed the only way to remove the subject from the political agenda and the MSM: it was ignored. I did the same with the member for Wentworth: he did reply and basically pointed out that we should do something to combat global warming on the basis of the precautionary principle; better to do something in case the predictions, the IPCC models, are right. Is this not the PM’s problem that he doesn’t take advice, freely offered, or at least acknowledge other people’s concerns? I also personally requested an appointment with my local member at the time, Andrew Wilkie, but he never had the time to talk to me, or his staff didn’t forward my request.
120
I think we have passed a tipping point! It used to be that Australians would take their medicine when idiot governments overspend the kitty. Now it seems any government that does anything mildly sensible (like leasing some assets to pay down an $80B debt) is doomed. Are we that soft, so soft that we can’t unhook ourselves from the credit card debt.
I don’t know about you, the reader, but when I get into difficulies, I take what I can and invest it, sell underperforming assets, and maybe one or two that have appreciated and cut spending until I spend less than I am earning, or at least until I can make it to the next paypacket. It’s tough going without the lattes and vacations in exotic places but we do it, for our own good.
Of course there is another approach, spend up big and overdose on lattes and overseas holidays until you hit the poor house, have no assets or even dignity left and head to centrelink for a handout.
Which group are you in, where do the parties fit?
41
It,s easy. If this is not your money you spend it like a drunken sailor with absolutely no responsibility. Ah yes, I forgot, when the average Joe gets a credit he does the same.
What is the difference between the people and the politicians? Absolutely nothing. Why? Because all of these people come from the system dominated by teachers that have no idea about the value of money. Trust me I went out with a teacher for many years. However, she knew about the value of money when it came to our financial divorce.
10
SMH Peter Hannam. HORROR HEATWAVE heads east.Temps. In the mid 30s for a few days.Warning Will Robinson!
110
Since when were temperatures in the mid 30s in high summer in Australia anything out of the ordinary?
30
ABC 7:30, last night.
The closing 10 minutes involved ABC host (Leigh Sales) interviewing ABC’s Chris Uhlman, ABC’s Sabra Lane and ABC’s Annabelle Crabb about “the possibility of a spill motion – without a contender in sight”.
Isn’t there any other institution they could possibly have involved in their little tete-a-tete?
“Their” ABC is really becoming an embarrassment.
140
OzWizard makes a good point here where he mentions this little foursome on last night’s 7.30.
Consider this.
Leigh Sales the announcer has as part of her contract that she just does the four days a week. Originally Fridays was supposed to be for the State 7.30 program. In the (supposed) cutbacks, Lateline (Tony Jones ALP broadcast) was cut, as was those State 7.30 programs, and the National 7.30 replaced the State 7.30 programs which were cut.
Leigh Sales only does the 4 nights a week, and on Thursday night, she signed off, saying (as always on the Thursday night program) that Steve Kinnane would be in for the Friday show, (see this link, press play and it’s at the 30.30 mark)
However, with the opportunity to bring down their hated Prime Minister, she turned up for the Friday show, and for the last 9.21, she had those other three avowed leftist biassed commentators in to help with the destruction, and here’s the link to that little tete a tete, both video and transcript.
Four avowed Labor supporters, all paid by the taxpayer.
Leigh Sales – $280,000 + per annum, and without doubt, probably the single best paid maternity leave contract in Australia, now used twice.
Chris Uhlmann – $255,000 + per annum
Sabra Lane, same as for Chris Uhlmann as the senior ABC Political commentator – $255,000 + per annum.
Annabel Crabbe – Around $220,000 + per annum.
So there’s just a tick over One Million Dollars per annum just in those 4 people for that segment.
Was what they said worth a million dollars of our money.
Yeah Right.
Tony.
Source and this is just found out in late 2013 and was for their 2011/12 contracts. Look down that list and see if you can name one NON Labor supporter. Good luck with that.
160
The Abbott Government should have reversed the Rudd bribe to the MSM in the form of the licence fee reduction in the first week in a mini budget to put them ALL on notice.
20
You can only hope that when the putsch fails, Labor favorite and friend of the ABC Malcolm is no longer in charge of the ABC.
Is Scott Morrison doing anything?
Declare war on the ABC. They declared war on the Coalition many years ago. There is no longer any pretense of balance. Burned hands? Our Navy saved 50,000 lives and a change of government and our brave sailors are violent thugs torturing people? Why have current affairs programs anyway, as only the left of politics is ever presented including the man made Global Warming myth.
Why cut 1% a year for 5 years and still see hundreds of jobs and local production and regional television slashed? For a papercut, they stripped the place. Why did Tony agree to 1% just to be vilified as a liar? The self harm which followed would have been a red card in football.
So why not cut 10% today and save $130million a year, now that the job losses are done? Pandering to ‘their’ ABC simply sends the message that the ABC is untouchable. If children want the BBCs Peppa pig, any commercial channel would love it.
90
if we have a new PM on Tuesday, 10th Feb., will it effect our representation at this?
UNFCCC: Geneva Climate Change Conference – February 2015
The eighth part of the second session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) will be held from 8-13 February 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland…
http://unfccc.int/meetings/geneva_feb_2015/meeting/8783.php
read the following carefully:
3 Feb: UN Regional Info Centre for Western Europe: Figueres: First time the world economy is transformed intentionally
The Top UN Climate Change Official is optimistic that a new international treaty will be adopted at Paris Climate Change conference at the end of the year. However the official, Christiana Figueres, the Executive Secretary of UNFCCC, warns that the fight against climate change is a process and that the necessary transformation of the world economy will not be decided at one conference or in one agreement.
“This is probably the most difficult task we have ever given ourselves, which is to intentionally transform the economic development model, for the first time in human history”, Ms Figueres stated at a press conference in Brussels.
“This is the first time in the history of mankind that we are setting ourselves the task of intentionally, within a defined period of time to change the economic development model that has been reigning for at least 150 years, since the industrial revolution. That will not happen overnight and it will not happen at a single conference on climate change, be it COP 15, 21, 40 – you choose the number. It just does not occur like that. It is a process, because of the depth of the transformation.”…
The so called ‘Lima draft’, which was adopted in December 2014 at the UN Climate Conference in Lima (Peru) will be subject of further negotiations by members states, starting in Geneva next week…
The negotiators in Geneva have until 13 February to “manage and streamline” the draft…
Ms Figueres went on to say that the sum total of the national contributions are not expected to be enough to limit the increase of world temperature to 2ºC.
“That is not a discovery, that is not a breaking news item. We need to get to the maximum level of ambition of collective INDCs because what we are going to have to do all of the time is to close the gap between what science tells us where we have to be and where we actually are….But the point is will we be at the end destination? I would argue, yes.”
http://www.unric.org/en/latest-un-buzz/29623-figueres-first-time-the-world-economy-is-transformed-intentionally
40
– Donna Laframboise
“Those of us who dissent from mainstream thinking about climate change truly are voices in the wilderness, analogous to the Rebel Alliance in the fictional Star Wars’ universe.
Scattered, underfunded, thin-on-the-ground – that’s us.
On the other hand, the forces assembled against us are massive.
For many years now, the United Nations, national as well as local governments, Fortune 500 corporations …”
. . .
Christiana Figueres, the Executive Secretary of UNFCCC, sounds like a meglomaniac from a James Bond movie.
70
A combination of Blofeld and Oddjob perhaps? The mind boggles.
20
another must-read today:
6 Feb: CarbonBrief: Simon Evans: Briefing: What is the EU’s energy union?
Senior officials from across the EU are gathering today in the Latvian capital Riga to discuss the creation of an EU energy union…
In April 2014, European Council president and former Polish prime minister Donald Tusk launched the idea for an energy union in an article for the Financial Times, primarily as a response to the Crimea crisis and Russian aggression over gas contracts.
Tusk’s proposed energy union emphasised energy security above all. It called for region-wide purchasing of gas, linking and strengthening the EU’s electricity transmission systems, ***and making “full use” of EU fossil fuel reserves including coal and shale gas…
Some member states will be keen for more emphasis here on exploiting domestic fossil fuels. A leaked UK position paper, for instance, stresses the need to use “all low and lower carbon [energy] sources at our disposal”. The awkwardly phrased “lower carbon” source in this case is gas, in particular the shale gas that the current UK government is keen to exploit…
The commission will draw up plans to “deliver a new deal for energy consumers”.
***This new and potentially ambitious aspect to the energy union aims to achieve a “fundamental shift” towards consumers as active market participants, who generate their own electricity and adapt their energy use in response to changing prices…
Energy efficiency
***”The cheapest, safest and most secure energy is the one not consumed”, the commission notes…
Cutting carbon
Ambitious EU climate policy is the fourth dimension of the draft energy union strategy. This section appears ***incomplete, with a comment in the text noting “section needs to be reinforced”.
The undated commission document calls for a “transition to a largely decarbonised energy system by 2050, based on a very high share of indigenous renewable energy”. This language ***has been removed. The latest text calls for the EU to “become number one in renewables”…
One key unresolved area of the energy union debate is around governance, in other words how to get member states to stick to the plan…
***The draft strategy says there will be a single governance framework covering the energy union, the EU 2030 framework and “other relevant policy areas”…
The final draft is due to be published on the 25th of February. The document will be released alongside the EU’s formal plan to cut emissions, known as an intended nationally determined contribution or ‘INDC’, which it is required to submit as part of the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Heads of government are due to consider the draft at a European Council meeting at the end of March…
http://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/2015/02/briefing-what-is-the-eus-energy-union/
10
Rupert supports Malcolm.
12
Rupert is a globalist.
Australian or any sovereignty doesn’t come in to it.
20
I bet ya rupert has made a deal with fairfax and divided the media between them. One looks after the right, the other after the left knowing full well that you can,t force the leftie or the rightie to read or watch something that is mixed or balanced. They came to a conclusion that media can,t be balanced and people don,t want it. Hence their abc caphafel . Jo,s idea is a good one. Decide their abc into 2 camps or scrap it (2nd option I personally prefer).
20
Rupert also anointed Kevin as “Australian of the Year” for blowing our surplus faster than a speeding bullet.
20
el gordo say –
“Rupert supports Malcolm”
indeed. big time.
how many australians realise who really owns ICE Futures Europe, “the leading market for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions” in the world?
the “Minister for Goldman Sachs” would be in the know. the MSM? am sure many of them would know too.
gullible young CAGW followers? probably not:
Wikipedia: Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) is an American network of exchanges and clearing houses for financial and commodity markets.
ICE owns and operates 23 regulated exchanges and marketplaces; ICE futures exchanges in the US, Canada and Europe, Liffe futures exchanges in the US and Europe, New York Stock Exchange, Equity options exchanges, OTC energy, credit and equity markets. ICE also owns and operates 5 central clearing houses; ICE Clear Europe, ICE Clear U.S., ICE Clear Canada, ICE Clear Credit, and The Clearing Corporation…
Jeffrey C. Sprecher, founder, chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, was a power plant developer who spotted a need for a seamless market in natural gas used to power generators…
The principal backers for ICE US Trust were the same financial institutions most affected by the crisis, the top ten of the world’s largest banks (Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS). Sprecher’s clearing house cleared their global credit default swaps (CDS) in exchange for sharing profits with these banks…
***In June 2001, ICE expanded its business into futures trading by acquiring the London based International Petroleum Exchange (IPE), now ICE Futures Europe…
Since 2003, ICE has partnered with the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) to host its electronic marketplaces…
In April 2010 ICE acquired Climate Exchange PLC for 395 million pounds ($622 million) and European Climate Exchange (ECX) as part of its purchase…
Exchange-traded emissions products were first offered by the European Climate Exchange (ECX), which was established in 2005, by listing products on the ICE Futures Europe’s trading platform.
***ICE Futures Europe is the leading market for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. ICE’s ECX products comply with the requirements of the European Union Emission Trading Scheme…
In September 2014, ICE announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire SuperDerivatives, a leading provider of risk management analytics, financial market data and valuation services…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercontinental_Exchange
re Chicago Climate Exchange (from Wikipedia): “In November 2010, the Climate Exchange stated that it would cease trading carbon credits at the end of 2010, although carbon exchanges will still be facilitated.” in other words, the exchange hasn’t shut down.
Wikipedia: Jeffrey Sprecher
Jeffrey C. Sprecher is a American businessman and is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange and Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange…
Sprecher started Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in 2000 as an online marketplace for energy trading in Atlanta—”a sort of eBay for energy.” ***They sold equity stakes to “big hitters like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.” The idea was to be a “competitor to Enron”. “Specher’s business model was to provide an electronic marketplace where buyers and sellers could trade directly”. When Enron imploded, ICE soared.”…
Shortly after the company approached Enron to be a client, Enron started its own competing electricity trading platform, which dominated the market. Enron’s market model was to buy to every seller and sell to every buyer.
***Wall Street bankers, particularly Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, backed him and he launched ICE in 2000 (giving 80 percent control to the two banks who, in turn, spread out the control among ***Shell, Total, and British Petroleum***. When Enron’s exchange collapsed in 2001 in the Enron scandal, ICE’s business exploded…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_C._Sprecher
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Say,
I wonder if Prime Minister Abbott is game enough to catch everybody on the hop, especially those ALP sock puppets in the ABC.
Call a double dissolution election. Solve all the problems in one hit.
He has enough triggers I’m sure.
Go on.
As the children say in that clever new Holden TV ad ….. “Lets go there.”
Tony.
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Should have done it at the first sign of trouble with the Senate,and whilst he still had popular support. Only God knows what would happen now. The voters are not all that bright, e.g. Victoria, and there has been a constant media campaign against him from day 1. The stupid part of it all is that he didn’t address the bias when he had the power to do something: sack the ABC board and get them to appoint a new CEO to follow their charter, but he let Malcom take charge with a feather duster instead.
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Tony. Might be the best bet. It would only take a couple of days sitting to organize triggers.
Senate, PUP, might even give in.
Doug
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He should have done it from day 1. Figure out a budget that you’d want with no surprises and announce that unless the labour idiots pass it,he’ll call a DD,followed by an announcement that he’s doing this because Labour is blocking things out of pure spite. I can’t see them doing it now,as as they see it,they’d lose the election.
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Lol! on their current polling..seriously?
And exactly what is the DD trigger available or are you advocating a HoR only election?? 🙂
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Lanai Scarr is leading the charge for Murdoch.
first she had this headline:
Turnbull set to ‘challenge PM’
NEWS.com.au – 5 hours ago
Lanai Scarr, National Political Reporter
that’s been changed to:
7 Feb – 1 hr ago: News Ltd: Lanai Scarr: Liberal MPs believe Malcolm Turnbull will challenge Prime Minister Tony Abbott for leadership
MPs have privately told News Corp that they believe Mr Turnbull will present as a contender for the leadership before the spill motion is due to go ahead on Tuesday..
Multiple MPs told News Corp today that they were confident Mr Turnbull would be a contender.
At least 40 MPs are said to now be in favour of a spill going ahead.
“He will stand as a contender if a spill is successful,” one MP told News Corp of Malcolm Turnbull.
“Malcolm will contest the leadership if there is allowance for a spill,” another said.
“My gut feeling is that he will,” another MP said…
Another MP said it was possible Mr Turnbull would make his intentions public before Tuesday’s spill.
“It’s a possibility,” the MP said…
http://www.news.com.au/national/liberal-mps-believe-malcolm-turnbull-will-challenge-prime-minister-tony-abbott-for-leadership/story-fncynjr2-1227211342318?from=google_rss&google_editors_picks=true
all the News women gang up to write what? not even bothering with the url:
Prime Minister Tony Abbott v Malcolm Turnbull: Spill fight to death
by:Samantha Maiden, Lanai Scarr, Ellen Whinnett, Annika Smethurst
The Daily Telegraph – 4 hours ago
MALCOLM Turnbull will stand in the leadership ballot if a spill motion is successful and will dump Joe Hockey as Treasurer.
Rising Liberal star Scott Morrison will be installed as his Treasurer, Mr Turnbull’s supporters have confirmed.
LINK: ANALYSIS: TURNBALL A BRILLIANT MIND, BUT CAN HE RUN AUSTRALIA?
LINK: LAURIE OAKES: IRATE ABBOTT EXPLODES
LINK: Spill: Turnbull set to challenge and dump Hockey
Malcolm Turnbull has given no indication yet that he will stand for the leadership if a spill motion is successful…
in the righthand column – repeats of:
Turnbull to take on PM, dump Hockey (two more times)
video: Turnbull to take on PM, dump Hockey
Irate Prime Minister Tony Abbott implodes
Bishop won’t stand by Prime Minister
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THIS IS NOT UNRELATED:
7 Feb: ABC: Stephanie Anderson: 2013 record heatwave ‘virtually impossible’ without climate change, Climate Council of Australia report says
The independently-funded group used new modelling to look at the odds of extreme heat events occurring, with and without man-made emissions.
A computer simulation of the atmosphere showed that climate change tripled the odds that the heatwaves of 2012/2013 would occur as frequently as they did and doubled the odds that they would be intense as they were…
Professor Steffen said it highlighted the importance of taking action to reduce emissions.
“If we don’t get on top of this, what you consider an extreme heat event now would be a normal summer by the middle of the century,” he said.
“By 2090 when my grandkids are around, that’s going to be a cool summer.
“You don’t want to live in that world.”…
“It gets down to the issue of responsibility,” Professor Flannery said.
“Who or what is responsible for these extreme weather events that we’ve been seeing in Australia, particularly the heatwaves?
“This report tells us that we are responsible, that we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if we hope to have a better climate into the future.”
In a statement, a spokesman for Environment Minister Greg Hunt said the report drew on research conducted and published by the Australian Government.
The statement said the Government believed clearly and categorically in the science, and was committed to achieving its carbon emission reduction targets.
(THEN ABC LISTS THE FOLLOWING)
From other news sites:
SBS: ‘Unbearable heat by 2090’ if climate change not addressed
The Sydney Morning Herald: Climate change drove Australia’s record hot year, report finds
The Courier-Mail: Study links record heatwaves with climate change
The Guardian: Climate change to blame for Australia’s record hottest year, says report
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-07/record-heat-virtually-impossible-without-climate-change-report/6077634
IN OTHER WORDS, WE NEED MALCOLM.
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apparently this ran as a public service announcement (PSA) at the end of CNN Christiane Amanpour’s program yesterday. talk about anti-human! the other ads automatically play after the Roberts one. pretentious? yes:
Youtube: Nature Is Speaking – Julia Roberts is Mother Nature | Conservation International (CI)
Oct 2014 – Julia Roberts, Harrison Ford, Kevin Spacey, Edward Norton, Penelope Cruz, Robert Redford and Ian Somerhalder all join forces to give nature a voice. Watch the films and take action at http://natureisspeaking.org …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmVLcj-XKnM
Conservation International Launches Celebrity Studded Awareness Campaign
Nature Is Speaking
Arlington, Va. (October 6, 2014) — Nature doesn’t need people. People need nature. That’s the message of the provocative, celebrity-studded campaign Conservation International (CI) is launching today…
The campaign features a series of short films voiced by some of the biggest names in Hollywood including Penelope Cruz, Harrison Ford, Edward Norton, Robert Redford, Julia Roberts, Ian Somerhalder and Kevin Spacey. In the series, Nature reveals serious misgivings about the way humans are treating the Earth from the viewpoint of a cast of characters — from Mother Nature to The Ocean and The Rainforest.
“I have fed species greater than you, and I have starved species greater than you … I am prepared to evolve. Are you?” asks “Mother Nature,” voiced by Julia Roberts in the first film of the series.
“Every living thing on this planet needs me,” states The Ocean, through the legendary voice of Harrison Ford who also serves as Vice Chairman of Conservation International…
Conservation International Chairman and CEO Peter Seligmann: “Take climate change — one important way nature is speaking to us right here, right now.
And as nearly 400,000 New York City marchers recently amplified, how we respond will determine our future. Our message is simple: Nature doesn’t need people. People need nature.”…
http://www.conservation.org/NewsRoom/pressreleases/Pages/Conservation-International-Launches-Celebrity-Studded-Awareness-Campaign-Nature-Is-Speaking.aspx
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HQ in Arlington, Virginia says it all really.
Wikipedia: Conservation International
Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia…
From its origins as an NGO dedicated to protecting tropical biodiversity, CI has evolved into an organization that works with governments, scientists, charitable foundations, and business…
CI has been criticised for links to companies with a poor environmental record such as BP, Cargill, Chevron, Monsanto and Shell and for allegedly offering greenwashing services.
CI has also been chastised for poor judgment in its expenditure of donors’ money…
The organization has been active in United Nations discussions on issues such as climate change and biodiversity, and its scientists present at international conferences and workshops. Its United States policy work currently highlights “a direct connection between international conservation and America’s economic and ***national security interests”…
A 2008 article in The Nation pointed out that the organization had attracted $6 million for marine conservation in Papua New Guinea, but the funds were used for “little more than plush offices and first class travel.”…
In 2011, Conservation International was targeted by a group of reporters from Don’t Panic TV who posed as a major American arms company and asked if the charity could “raise [their] green profile.” Options outlined by the representative of Conservation International (CI) included assisting with the arms company’s green PR efforts, membership of a business forum in return for a fee, and sponsorship packages where the arms company could
potentially invest money in return for being associated with conservation activities. Conservation International agreed to help the arms company find an “endangered species mascot.” Film footage shows the Conservation International employee suggesting a vulture North African birds of prey as a possible endangered species mascot for the arms company because of the “link
to aviation.”…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_International
seems they have plenty of bucks to buy the “stars”:
2012: NYT: Q. and A.: Linking People’s Needs to Nature’s
By Felicity Barringer
But in the last few years Peter Seligmann, the founder and chairman of Conservation International, has made a major strategic change in his ***$250 million organization…
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/25/q-and-a-linking-peoples-needs-to-natures/?_r=0
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The implication in the Australian’s cartoon today is that we need a good prime minister and a good treasurer to run the country, , like Hawke Keating,Howard Costello.
Their ask is Why not Abbott, Turnbull?
If those two could agree, then Mr Hockey could be given something where grace, candor and a good business head would be useful.These are his strengths.
That co payment was a good fiscal idea, needed more work and control of unintended consequences.
From a societal point of view it could mean more of the poor not having health care or queuing in emergency wards.
Another few years of the ALP would be bad for the ALP.
It needs time to clean out the machine men and women and to stop focus group led politics.
We don’t need fights in either party, we need stable, principled leaders.
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I will say what I said when Kevin o Lemon was rolled by Juliar. It is clear to me that all the politicians in canberra are so completely and utterly self absolved in their own narcissistic world that they have no respect for the off of the prime minister or the purpose for which they are there – to represent the best interests of the people of Australia.
Now I’ll be clear – I have never liked abbott -(Nor Kevin or Juliar). Does that make me hard to please? Absolutely not. But I do think that whilst parties have the ability to roll a PM of an elected government, each and every time they do so, they spit in the face of the Australian public and might as well say that their own individual skins are more important than stability of government.
It is also completely clear to me that the major parties are so utterly devoid of talent that they are all incapable of selecting a leader worth spit – even when they’re in opposition (just look at shorten for yet another example).
I fear that australia has now been so long without an able leader that not only the politicians, but the australian public must have forgotten what an able leader behaves like.
I thought the adults were in charge. It’s clear to me that I was wrong.
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Relax, Abbott’s job is safe – Russell Brand just had a pop at Abbott. So the Libs will have to keep Abbott, or face accusations of being on the same side of a debate as Russell Brand 🙂
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/russell-brand-takes-aim-at-tony-abbott-20150206-138dk6.html
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I still think that he needs to bring his backbench into line,starting with the twits that called his spill in the first place. If they think Malcolm Turnbull would be a good replacement for Abbott,dream on. I am getting more than a bit annoyed at these leadership “spills”,as far am I’m concerned I voted to Tony Abbott to be PM,and I expect it to stay that way,not for them to remove the PM at their leisure. Also I don’t trust Malcolm Turnbull one iota.
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All the World’s ills are caused by CO2 in the atmosphere. Those that aren’t caused by Tony Abbott anyway.
00
Samantha has another turn…at poisoning the well!
8 Feb: Herald Sun: Samantha Maiden: Spill may not be Malcolm Turnbull’s only hope for top job
Let’s pause and take that in for a moment. Sinodinos, the man who sent shock waves through the leadership debate on Wednesday when he declared his support for the Prime Minister was not “unconditional’’ and he might not be Prime Minister by Tuesday.
He’s been in the background for a long time. That’s interesting.
And where is Scott Morrison in this tableau? He came out on Friday to make it clear that he was not running for a leadership position. But did he come out to speak publicly against a leadership spill? No, he did not. That’s interesting too. Morrison is the biggest winner. He will be Treasurer if Turnbull wins a ballot without blood on his hands.
Victorian powerbroker Michael Kroger is interesting too. He’s “Switzerland’’ and not urging MPs — he says — to vote against the Prime Minister. But standing back is a choice, too…
Let’s review the cabinet ministers who are publicly supporting Tony Abbott. Do they all believe that he will lead them to the next election? No, they do not. In fact, it’s a struggle to find anyone who believes that. Some of these ministers suggest they are doing Turnbull a favour by stopping the spill motion now. They expect Abbott will fall. The Budget will be a train wreck due to falling commodities prices and an exploding deficit. Another mistake will come. You can count on it.
In this event, Turnbull can take over the leadership without blood on his hands after the Budget…
Turnbull’s supporters are not convinced he is a changed man, but he is trying.
***One climate change denier, who has decided to switch to Turnbull in the event of a leadership contest says: “He just has to give some assurances that he won’t go psycho.’’…
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/spill-may-not-be-malcolm-turnbulls-only-hope-for-top-job/story-fni0ffsx-1227211710276
so the “climate change denier” – one of two, we have been told – can’t be named, and only Samantha manages to get this quote!
7 Feb: Age: Michael Gordon: Waiting for Malcolm
The third argument is that Turnbull, whose appeal is as the empathetic and articulate voice of the middle ground, will be compelled to move to the right to secure the support of the Liberal Party’s conservatives.
The obvious example is climate change, the issue that propelled his demise first time around. Here,Turnbull has already provided the answer: he will not be departing from the Coalition policy that was endorsed at the last election (which provides for stronger action if there is the global will for it).
***His advantage is that people know he takes climate change very seriously.
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/waiting-for-malcolm-20150206-137xiu.html
***couldn’t that be a “disadvantage” as far as Coalition voters go, Michael?
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Latest Galaxy out. 57 -43 🙂
#ImStickingWithTony 🙂
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At least you mob get notice. We are so technologically impaired in the Northern Territory that we wake up one morning and the NT NEWS says we have a new Chief Minister.
Wake up the next day, and the NT NEWS says the old guy is still boss. Can’t wait for tomorrows paper…….good tides I presume according to the moon….
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I like the idea of an Australian UKIP style party to split the conservative vote. They could still hold power through a new coalition with the Liberal and National parties by agreeing on core policy like small(er) government and lower taxes. But it would give the new party the freedom to oppose years of warmist policy or warmist appeasing policy. Both the Liberal and National parties would be forced to adopt more sceptical policy.
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The Australian Liberty Alliance, launching in October. Has already twice as many members of the Liberal Party.
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