All we have in the government is a shambolic gaggle of incompetent, unedifying politicians

1 This Government is devoid of wit, humour, words of intelligence and those with the eloquence and debating skills to give them meaning. Mainly it embraces a maleness that believes in conflict as a means of political supremacy over and above the pursuit of excellence in Government.

That is my view of this obnoxious Government.

2 Without so much as a whimper, the Government has caved in on its proposed Industrial Relations Reforms. Labor’s Tony Burke called it pure spite.

The Federal Government will not commit to keeping its industrial relations changes even though it had the numbers to pass the legislation.

The (on sick leave) Attorney-General Christian Porter, after countless hours of consultations with employers and unions, had proposed five major reforms but ended with only a fragment of what he wanted.

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation and Centre Alliance senators stepped in to help the Government get through a measure providing a more straightforward pathway for casual employees to convert to permanent jobs.

In a fit of anger, measures to crack down on wage theft by employers that had the support of all the Parliament were also dropped.

In my view, it is no tenable for an alleged rapist to remain in the job of Attorney General.

3 A few years back, Christopher Pyne said:

“Our reforms will make Parliamentary Question Time more concise and ensure Ministers are held to account and remain relevant to questions asked.

We will look to strengthen the definition of ‘relevance’ in the standing orders so Ministers must stay directly relevant to questions and ensure Matter of Public Importance debates follow Question Time.”

There is no requirement for relevance at all. And without it, Ministers cannot be held to account.

Without civility, a reasoned debate cannot take place.

All we have at the moment is a shambolic gaggle of incompetent, unedifying politicians not in the least interested in enhancing our democracy.

It has degenerated to the point of being obsolete. It needs to be given the flick and rethought.

What a ludicrous load of nonsense, Mr Speaker.

4 “Australia reports quarterly population decline for first time since 1980s,” read the headline. Not since quarterly population data was first collected in 1981 has Australia’s total population fallen until now.

Ross Greenwood (Editor of Sky News business) said:

“… while the current low population growth rates should be “bad news”, he expects the Government will allow the populations to grow “quite rapidly” once international borders reopen.”

The Government needs to give this urgent attention.

5 Sports Rorts scandal returned to the headlines this week with the Senate reporting that the Labor-controlled Upper House Committee, chaired by Anthony Chilsom concluded that:

“The evidence available to the committee indicates clearly the prime minister’s office, and likely the prime minister were aware of the use of electorate information to identify projects in marginal and targeted electorates well before the first grant recipient was announced.”

It also concluded that there was ample evidence to suggest that the Prime Minister was involved in the selection, although Coalition Senators disagreed.

Bridget McKenzie, in evidence, said that an unnamed staffer had made the $100m late changes during the caretaker period before the 2019 election.

Just one of many stains on the Coalition’s governance.

6 What do you think when thirty-four of Australia’s largest companies claimed JobKeeper wage subsidies in 2020 despite having improved their earnings on pre-pandemic levels, pocketing a total of $284m?

Here is one example from Kaye Lee. It is about Gerry Harvey, who I have said before only sees the world through the prism of his cash registers.

“In February, Harvey Norman reported that first-half sales climbed 25% and contributed to a net profit after tax of $462.03m for the last six months of 2020 – up 116% on the same time period in the previous year.

The retailer said it would pay dividends totalling $249m, of which Gerry Harvey is set to receive $78m due to his 31.4% shareholding in the company.

Despite this, they declined to pay back the estimated $22 million they somehow collected for JobKeeper, a payment they should never have qualified to receive.”

I have some questions: 1) Should they keep your money? 2) Should they be made to give your money back to you?

Scandalous, I should think, but our PM seems to think its perfectly okay.

7 An article in Central News also caught my eye during the week: “Leigh Sales asks why the powerful who abuse our trust keep getting away with it.”

She was being interviewed at a writer’s festival when she decided to let it rip on those who would destroy our democracy. Anyway, rather than quote a powerful read from start to finish, I urge you to read it on this link.

I suppose it’s the same as what I do every time my fingers hit the keys. In my 8th year now writing for The AIMN and I wonder at times just what effect my attempts at exposing these influential people has. It, at times, can be very dispiriting.

A Labor of love.

8 Is it just semantics (the meaning of a word)? It now seems powerful conservatives have convinced ASIO to delete “right-wing” from its description of rising right-wing terrorism.

We wouldn’t want to give it a bad name, now would we?

9 The Prime Minister, when confronted with a crisis, seems to harden himself. Australia’s most powerful man is waiting and calculating. There is no empathy shown. He is ruthless when he deems it necessary. His Christian teaching is forgotten.

What he wants to find out is this: is the Australian “Me too” movement just a flash in the pan, or does it have lasting credibility?

If it does, then both Linda Reynolds and Christian Porter will have to go. If it is just a passing thing, as the polls seem to suggest, then one or both might survive.

The Australian character’s malaise often seems to resolve these matters; however, to help the Government navigate the most significant political crisis they’ve faced, Morrison needs all the information he can gather. Then he will decide if the bar is too high to jump.

To think that we need to tell men how to behave decently when it is something their parents should have taught them as children.

10 The Government continued to play “Self-congratulations” with last week’s unemployment figures; however, the demise of JobKeeper will shoot unemployment through the roof. The Government is about job creation.

If it doesn’t happen, then don’t blame us. Blame Labor.

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My thought for the day

Perhaps a greater understanding of what I am saying might be obtained by exercising a greater willingness to think more deeply.

PS The next National Press Club debate will take place tomorrow.

Big swinging chicks Vs Big swinging dicks

“An App as a solution for rape.”

Ladies are asked to bring a plate.

And please obey the rules.

Debate is not of necessity about winning or taking down ones opponent. It is an exchange of facts, ideas and principles. Or in its purist form it is simply the art of persuasion.

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