Arise Scott Morrison, Lord Sixwords of Cronulla!
There’s little doubt that Scott Morrison is the Abbott Government’s most notorious minister. We read about him almost daily, largely about his hard-line towards asylum seekers, and given his new portfolio we await similar stories about a hard-line attitude towards welfare recipients. But apart from his regular appearances in the media we know little about him. George Venturini sheds more light on the man, taking us through a four-part series about the enigmatic Scott Morrison.
Arise Scott John Morrison, Lord Sixwords of Cronulla!
But why Sixwords? Simple: Eine Sprache, ein Gezetz, ein Kultur – translated into ‘One Language, One Law, One Culture’ for the benefit of the ‘boys of Cronulla’, Morrison’s grand electors.
Scott John Morrison, born on 13 May 1968, is a member of the Australian House of Representatives for the Liberal Party. He was elected in the 2007 for the federal Division of Cook, an electorate in the southern suburbs of Sydney, which includes Cronulla, Caringbah, Miranda and Sylvania. After the Liberal Party was elected to government at the 2013 federal election, Morrison was appointed the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection.
At age 46 he became the most powerful person in the Australian Government of Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
When on 8 December 2009 Morrison became Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship he won the accolade from the newly elected Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, who referred to Morrison as “a great talent who was one of the bright new stars of the new generation of MPs.”
Five years later no other minister, not the Prime Minister himself – or his Deputy, the Foreign Minister, not the Attorney-General, reached the same unchecked control over the lives of other people. He became the only minister not answerable to anyone for his decisions – a dictator within the most Right-wing government in Australian history.
At 8.06 in the morning of 8 December 2014 the House of Representatives passed the Migration and Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment (Resolving the Asylum Legacy Caseload) Bill, which had been approved in the early hours of the day by the Senate and returned to the House as amended, into Act 135/2014.
The Act is a very complex, lengthy piece of legislation, which restores the failed policy of temporary protection visas introduced by the Howard Government – a process which, once lifted, increased the number of boat arrivals. The resolution of “Asylum Legacy Caseload” refers to the failure by the Rudd/Gillard/Rudd governments to “stop the boats” – which would become one of the slogans of the Liberal/Country Party Opposition during the electoral campaign concluded with victory of the Coalition in September 2013.
“Stopping the boats” of the Orwellianish described as ‘unauthorised maritime arrivals’ has been for years ‘the policy’ of both wings of what passes for a tropical rendition of the Westminster System in Australia: the Conservative Coalition and the Australian Labor Party. It was to become the ultimate step of cruelty to asylum seekers which began with the introduction in 1992 of mandatory detention of such arrivals.
In fact the new Act will go much further than what appears as a house-cleaning operation. It frees Australia from any obligations associated with the Refugee Convention and half a dozen of other international treaties or conventions to which Australia is a party – but by which it has long ceased to abide.
The Act confers upon the minister, Morrison until 21-23 December 2014 and after that his successor, and his Department of Immigration and Border Protection the power to return people to persecution, torture and possibly death; that decision is not subject to judicial review.
For all practical purposes Morrison would become and his successor will henceforth be effectively above the High Court.
How did Morrison get there?
As Nick Bryant, a former BBC correspondent from Australia, noted in The Monthly of February 2012, Scott Morrison was born and grew up in Bronte, one of the affluent eastern suburbs of Sydney, now one of the wealthiest enclaves of Australia’s richest parliamentary constituency. His family background, however, could hardly be described as part of the élite. Rather, Bryant wrote, “it was strongly Christian and communitarian.”
His father was a police commander who founded the local Boys Brigade in Bondi Junction, played rugby for the local Randwick team and was an active member of the local Returned and Services League of Australia. His mother worked in administrative positions. Outside their day jobs, Morrison’s parents ran youth programmes for the local church. His father was involved in aged care and served as a local-government councillor for 16 years.
Scott Morrison was an active member of the Uniting Church in Bondi Junction, and became “a dedicated Christian”. He is now a Pentecostal, a member of the most rapidly growing denomination in Australia. He worships at an American-style mega-church called ‘Shirelive’ in his constituency, where the ‘gospel of prosperity’ is preached in an auditorium which can accommodate over 1,000 members. With its water baptisms and designer-shirt pastors, ‘Shirelive’ has close ties with the better-known ‘Hillsong’ community. The founder of Hillsong, Harley Davidson-riding pastor Brian Houston, is one of Morrison’s mentors.
In Who’s Who Morrison lists the church as his number one hobby. The inaugural speech that he delivered on 14 February 2008 reads in part, as will be seen, like a personal testimony delivered on the last night of a church retreat. It is heavily larded with passages from Jeremiah and also from the Book of Joel: “Your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”
Maybe there was not enough money in the family to send young Scott to one of those (too many) private schools which are designed to instil ‘the values’ of Australian society in young aspiring leaders: conformity, a ‘Christian’ education, ‘good manners’ and the feeling that a ridiculous and backward looking uniform, cadet training, a traditional tie, a fanciful head-cover, and plenty of money would ‘buy an education first’, and the entry into the better-offs later. Still, Morrison’s formal schooling was privileged: he was sent to Sydney Boys High School, one of the best in the public sector. He proceeded to the University of New South Wales, where he received an honours degree in applied science, studying economics and geography. It is there, perhaps, that young Scott established his values and aspirations in life – officially: marketing, tourism, property, politics. [Emphasis added] The Italics seem critical. The official Parliamentary page describes his occupations before entering Federal Parliament: National Manager, Policy and Research Property Council of Australia 1989-95; Deputy Chief Executive, Australian Tourism Task Force 1995-96; General Manager, Tourism Council 1996-98; Director, NZ Office of Tourism and Sport 1998-2000; State Director, Liberal Party (New South Wales) 2000-04; Managing Director, Tourism Australia 2004-06; and Principal, MSAS Pty Ltd 2006-07.
After graduation he was fortunate, despite some ‘rough seas’: while in the employ of the Tourism Task Force he found a way of jumping ship to its main rival, Tourism Council Australia. Afterwards, the Tourism Task Force changed its employment contracts to prevent others from “doing a Morrison”.
When the New Zealand government looked around to set up an Office of Tourism and Sport, it favourably considered an application by Morrison. He distinguished himself for promoting the highly acclaimed ‘100% Pure New Zealand’ campaign, but also came under fire from the Labor Opposition for acting as a sidekick to the tourism minister who had appointed him. When his benefactor was forced to resign for corrupt practices, Morrison lost his protector. He turned that to his advantage and was able to terminate in advance his contract, at a price – in his favour of course.
In March 2000 Morrison returned to Sydney, where the Liberal Party offered him an appointment as State Director. The Liberal Party prides itself on being a ‘broad church’. It is quite possible that in Sydney Morrison came into contact with one sample of such ‘liberality’. One comes to think of one Lyenko Urbanchich, or Ljenko Urbancic. The precise name is of no importance. His activity in the Liberal Party is. Arriving in the l950s, Urbancic found his natural den in the Liberal Party in Sydney. It was he who invented ethnic branch-staking in Australia. Through that every aspect of nefarious activities took place, particularly the profound hatred for Jews which had become one of Urbancic ‘specialities’ as broadcaster of Radio Ljubljana, in that part of Yugoslavia which was occupied by Fascists and German troops.
Having joined the pro-Nazi party Zbor in early age, while at university Urbancic became a capable organiser and propagandist. In early October 1943 he wrote his first pro-Nazi article and organised the first SS-supported Home Guard volunteers – the Slovensko domobranstv, Slovene Home Guard. Domobranci Urbancic wrote for Jutro newspaper, another source of collaboration with the Fascist-German occupiers. From the very beginning of his career he had pledged his blind loyalty to General Leon (or Lav or Lev) Rupnik, Slovenia’s puppet ‘president’. At the end of the war Urbancic fled from Slovenia, was later arrested but released from British custody in 1948, and arrived in Australia as a Displaced Person in late 1950.
For over two decades he stacked Liberal branches along the eastern sea-board part of New South Wales. His control of the Liberal Ethnic Council of New South Wales, set up in 1977, was absolute. His faction was openly called ‘the Uglies’. It did not die with the death of Urbancic in 2006; on the contrary, it continued by the care of an Upper House’s member – with quiet success. The key to that is anti-Semitism – broadly defined, and most of the time discreet, whispered, nudge-nudged and wink-winked. The transfer of that prejudice was to embrace in an attitude of diffidence, in time mounting to hatred, for most people from the Middle East (in a convenient Anglo ‘definition’): ‘the Arabs’, the Turks – who won at Gallipoli, the Lebanese – often lambasted as ‘bloody Lebs’, the Iraqis attempting to take refuge after ‘the good, real-Australians’ had recently invaded and devastated their country, and of course the Israelis, and the Palestinians. So Morrison was, quietly at first, in his comfortable milieu.
Morrison presided over the organisation of the Liberal Party in New South Wales, earning the praise by future Prime Minister John Howard, who said that he had never seen the state party better organised.
In 2004 Morrison landed the position of Managing Director of the new government tourism body, Tourism Australia. The Federal Member for North Sydney, Joseph Benedict “Joe” Hockey – who since his re-election in 1998 held a number of ministerial portfolios including Small Business and Tourism, Human Services and Employment and Workplace Relations, who was later made Minister for Financial Services and Regulation, and since the return of the Coalition to government in 2013 has been Treasurer – secured for Morrison the position of Managing Director of Tourism Australia 2004-06. The salary was a not insignificant: $350,000, yearly. Morrison gained a tremendous success, in Australia, with the campaign based on the slogan “Where the bloody hell are you?” Abroad he encountered considerable troubles, particularly in England, where the adjective ‘bloody’, so commonly used in Australia, is considered ‘not kosher’ according to the advertising regulations, which incidentally had not been read and/or understood by the enthusiastic Morrison. Americans and Germans had no problem with the word. The Japanese, to whom the publicity was principally directed, did not understand a word of the slogan. As far as they were concerned the campaign flopped.
There were also problems with the board of Tourism Australia, the nine members unanimously regarding Morrison as aggressive, intimidating, arrogant, authoritarian, secretive and exclusive. The matter was settled by allowing Morrison to resign, quietly but under no uncertain pressure. The matter carried a tag of $300,000 for a ‘gentlemanly separation’.
The time was not too far for Morrison to demonstrate “through [his] actions his Christian faith and the value [his] family placed on public and community service.” and to declare, as he would in his inaugural speech in February 2008, that: “In our family it has never been what you accumulate that matters but what you contribute.”
It was probably after the ‘separation’ that Morrison turned his attention to securing a seat in the federal Parliament. He had taken up residence in the seat of Cook. The Division of Cook, an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales, was set up in 1969 and is named for Captain James Cook, who mapped the east coast of Australia in 1770. The division, located in the southern suburbs of Sydney, includes the suburbs of Cronulla, Caringbah, Miranda and Sylvania.
The seat was held by the mild-mannered Bruce Baird from October 1988 to November 2007. Baird had held seriatim the posts of Minister for Transport, Minister for Sydney’s Olympic Bid and Minister for Tourism between 1988 and 1995, in a New South Wales Coalition government. He had an interest in Tourist Training Australia and the Tourism Education Service. But that was the only thing that Morrison and Baird had in common. Baird along with fellow Liberal members of parliament Russell Broadbent, Petro Georgiou and Judith Moylan would actively oppose mandatory detention of asylum seekers.
In April 2007, when Baird announced that he would retire at the next election, a fierce battle over his successor ensued. One Michael Towke was initially pre-selected as the Liberal candidate, but allegations surfaced that Towke had engaged in branch-stacking and had embellished his résumé. The allegations were subsequently proven false. But the damage had been done – by careful arrangement.
The ‘Right’ and the ‘Left’ in the Liberal Party engaged in one of the most vituperative pre-selection campaigns in the State history.
Morrison was not supported by either side, Baird remained decently neutral, and Morrison – who ostensibly had remained out of the fray – finished a long way back on the first ballot, receiving just 8 votes, against 82 to Towke.
It was then, and because of the arranged allegations, that the state executive of the New South Wales Liberal Party rushed to dis-endorse Towke and to hold a new pre-selection ballot. Morrison won the seat at the election; he is the current sitting member.
Scott Morrison presented himself as a Liberal moderate in his first speech to
Parliament.
As Julian Burnside, a prominent Melbourne barrister and human right advocate, recently pointed out, once in government, Morrison unrelenting, programmatic cruelty to asylum seekers, “sat oddly with his avowed religious views, and his maiden speech in Parliament, delivered on February 14, 2008.
Among other things, Morrison said: “I turn now to the most significant influences on my life – my family and my faith. Family is the stuff of life and there is nothing more precious … For me, faith is personal, but the implications are social – as personal and social responsibility are at the heart of the Christian message …”
He drew on the example of William Wilberforce (the great English anti-slavery campaigner). He quoted Desmond Tutu as saying: “we expect Christians … to be those who stand up for the truth, to stand up for justice, to stand on the side of the poor and the hungry, the homeless and the naked” and was inspired to add: “These are my principles.”
It is lucky he identified his principles so clearly, because no one would be able to discover them by watching his behaviour as immigration minister.
As minister, Morrison was more concerned to ensure boat people were treated so harshly that the prospect of being locked up in Manus or Nauru would act as a “deterrent”: it had to look more alarming than the risk of dying on the sea in the attempt to reach safety. He was responsible for holding more children in detention than any previous government. He presided over a system that was calculated to humiliate, degrade, damage and break people. And, worse than all that, Morrison deceived us into thinking that all this was being done for the benefit of the Australian public.
Morrison’s conduct as immigration minister is impossible to reconcile with his stated Christian beliefs. He visited the detention centre at Manus Island on September 26, 2013, and delivered a clear message that the transferees would remain at the centre until they went home or resettled in a country other than Australia. This stands awkwardly alongside a passage from Matthew 25:35: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me”, a message at the heart of the Christian teaching he claims to embrace.”
Morrison was not destined to stay on the Opposition backbench for long. The Leader of the Opposition in 2008, Malcolm Turnbull, believing that he would recognise a fellow traveller from the ‘moderate wing’ of the party, elevated him to the Shadow Ministry as the spokesman for Housing and Local Government. But it was the immigration portfolio handed to him by the new Leader, Tony Abbott, in 2009 which provided the vehicle for his rise to prominence.
Some of his colleagues have criticised such rapid move to ‘the right’ under Abbott and have accused Morrison of “supreme opportunism”. The test was not long a-coming.
In December 2010, 48 asylum seekers died while attempting to reach Christmas Island by boat. Morrison’s attitude to the event was bitterly criticised by both the government and his own party for comments he uttered after the tragedy.
On 15 February 2011 the then Shadow Immigration minister questioned the decision of the Gillard Government to pay for relatives of the dead to attend funerals in Sydney.
Afterward fellow Liberal and Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey denounced Morrison’s statements, saying that that he would “never seek to deny a parent or a child from saying goodbye to their relative.” Morrison acknowledged that the timing of his comments might have been insensitive, but did not recoil from the comments themselves.
“Do you think you run the risk of being seen as heartless on the day of these funerals to be saying – to be bickering over this money?” asked ABC reporter Barbara Miller, whose report that morning was broadcast on the programme AM.
Here is what Morrison replied: “When it comes to the question of do I think this is a reasonable cost then my honest answer is, ‘No, I don’t think it is reasonable.’ ”
The Fairfax press published a column which called him a “cheap populist”, with the outburst “harmful to the national interest”.
Caught unawares and always prone to equivocation, the Leader of the Opposition gave the remarks a lukewarm endorsement during the course of an interview with a notoriously Right-wing radio station. He said: “It does seem a bit unusual that the government is flying people to funerals.” Morrison’s comments were met with condemnation from former Liberal leaders. One called the comments “inhumane”. Another expressed his hope that “Scott Morrison is just a fringe element in the party.”
Morrison was actually meaning what he said – and much more. In a very short time, understanding how quickly and conveniently the Liberal Party was lurching to the extreme right, he readied himself to become the hard-Right’s poster boy. It did not matter that he would associate with the militantly illiterate loud-mouths of re-emerging Australian racism. He thought it convenient, nay dutiful, that he should speak for his electors, no matter how degrading their views.
Within the Liberal Party it was not outrage to motivate criticism of Morrison’s attitude; rather it was fear that the mouthpiece of such vileness was being too ambitious and going too fast in the quest for ‘higher duties’.
Reaction to Morrison’s utterances encouraged leaks from party proceedings. One came from a Shadow Cabinet meeting in December 2011. In Abbott’s absence, Julie Bishop had been chairing the meeting. She had opened up a discussion on which issues should be prioritised the following year. The record of the meeting showed that Morrison had asked, in an agitated fashion: “What are we going to do about multiculturalism?” The question could be interpreted either way, but then Morrison made his position clear: “What are we going to do about concerns about the number of Muslims?”
For a long time multiculturalism had been a word of contempt in Cronulla, and Morrison was assuming the position of spokesperson for the people in his electorate.
There had been sectarian clashes and violent acts in 2005 in Cronulla, and they had subsequently spread to nearby suburbs. The situation became particularly tense on 4 December 2005 when a group of volunteer surf lifesavers were offended by a group of young men of Middle Eastern appearance, with several other violent assaults occurring over the following week. These incidents were widely commented on in the Sydney media and are considered to be a key factor in a racially motivated confrontation the following weekend. Racial tension was already prevalent among the two racial groups due to the Sydney Gang Rapes of 2000, among other social incidents. The Sydney gang rapes were a series of attacks committed by a group of up to fourteen Lebanese Australian youths against real-Australian women and teenage girls, as young as 14. Described as ethnically motivated hate crimes by officials and commentators, the crimes were covered extensively by the news media, and prompted the passing of new laws which likely contributed to the degree of the escalation, even though a later review by New South Wales Police found that the initial incident was no more significant, of itself, than other fights between the two racial groups.
A crowd gathered on the morning of Sunday 11 December 2005 and, by midday, approximately 5,000 people gathered at Cronulla beach to protest against the recent spate of violence against locals. Fuelled by alcohol, the crowd turned to violence when a young man of Middle Eastern appearance was spotted on the beach. He was surrounded by a crowd outside a local hotel and attacked, along with similar attacks later that day. Retaliatory riots also took place that night and on subsequent nights, resulting in several more assaults, including one stabbing and even some attacks against ambulance and police officers, and extensive property damage.
The attacks were widely condemned by local, state and federal members of parliament, police, local community leaders, and residents of Cronulla and adjacent areas. A large number of arrests were made over the subsequent months, from both the initial riot on 11 December and the retaliatory riots held over the subsequent nights. Travel warnings for Australia were issued by some countries.
Morrison had not yet reached federal parliament.
But he was there in February 2013 when he was accused of vilifying asylum seekers with his hard-line reaction to the charging of a Sri Lankan man living in Sydney on a bridging visa with the sexual assault of a university student. He said that the police should be notified of where asylum seekers are living in the community if any anti-social behaviour has occurred, and that there should be strict guidelines for the behaviour of those currently on bridging visas while they await the determination of their claims.
Image from radioaustralia.net.au
The new code of conduct was released by the Immigration Minister for more than 20,000 ‘irregular maritime arrivals’ living in the community on bridging visas. Before the end of the year the government announced a new rule which requires asylum seekers who arrive by boat and are in Australia on temporary visas to sign this code of conduct. Morrison repeatedly defended the use of the term “illegal arrivals” to describe asylum seekers and he had earlier said that asylum seekers have been referred to as “illegal arrivals” who “turn up illegally” on “illegal boats”. He further said that “I’ve always referred to illegal entry” – as opposed to claiming asylum, which is legal – commenting “I’ve never claimed that it’s illegal to claim asylum.”
On 18 September 2013 Morrison launched Operation Sovereign Borders, the newly elected Coalition government strategy aimed at stopping unauthorised boats departing for or reaching Australia. The practice has been controversial as it violates, amongst others, the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In February 2014 Morrison was accused of “bungling” and “desperate cover ups” over the release of information about the death of Iranian asylum seeker Reza Barati on Manus Island. Initially Morrison had claimed that Barati was outside the boundaries of the detention centre when he was killed. Morrison subsequently retracted that claim following reports confirming that Barati was in fact murdered inside the detention centre, and therefore while under his duty of care as minister of immigration.
In September 2014 another Iranian asylum seeker, Hamid Kehazaei, was pronounced brain-dead as a result of severe septicaemia, after reportedly seeking treatment on Manus Island for days. Scott Morrison’s policies and perceived negligence have been the focus of numerous protests against conditions in detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru.
To be continued …
Updated 4/4/2016. Click on the links to access Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
Dr. George Venturini has devoted sixty years to the study, practice, teaching, writing and administering of law in four continents. He is the author of eight books and about 100 articles and essays for learned periodicals and conferences. Since his ‘retirement’ Dr. Venturini has been Senior Associate in the School of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash; he is also an Adjunct Professor at the Institute for Social Research at Swinburne University, Melbourne. He may be reached at George.Venturini@bigpond.com.
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Roswell
Return to home pagePentecostal churches like Shirelive and Hillsong don’t associate Christianity with helping people in poverty. Here are Shirelive’s Beliefs: http://www.shirelive.com/about-us/our-beliefs/. So Morrison has obviously found his theological niche.
Thank you for this article. This is a despicable man and I fear for Australia if this man and this government continue to govern.
I fear he is more Torquemada than Hillsong but that is why the Libs love him. He is a mad zealot keen to do what they know they really shouldn’t.
Thank you Dr Venturini – He (I can’t even say his name) is a very dangerous hypocrite who has caused so much damage to so many incredibly vulnerable people – unfortunately I can see this being duplicated with vulnerable Australians.Potential politicians of this “calibre” should NEVER be elected. Your article shines a light on how far our society has fallen and how corrupt politics and (many) politicians are
“In February 2014 Morrison was accused of “bungling” and “desperate cover ups,” This person is completely at home with the LNP, as that is all they seem to do. I feel this person is a greater danger to democracy than Abbott.
By the way people, have a belated Happy New Year. Looking forward to a greater drop in the polls for Abbotts Team.
Thanks for this, I look forward to the next installment
Pentecostals are a very scary bunch of people, very intolerant of other religions, including other Christian denominations and also very intolerant of gay people. I attended a large Pentecostal church during my marriage to a Pentecostal. There was a constant display of opulence but little evidence of any programs to assist those in poverty, as can be seen within other Christian denominations. They have a tendency not to recognise mental illness, rather declaring any signs of illness to be a sign of demon possession and their antidote is prayer. I’ve personally known of some serious cases of mental illness among the church members which went untreated due to church and parental beliefs, including a case that led to fraud and landed the unfortunate individual in a lot of trouble. Other documented cases of untreated mental illness due to the teachings of Pentecostals have led to murder. The Family First party was founded by Pentecostals and has a strong Pentecostal following. The only families they are interested in are those that are headed by two heterosexual adults who are married to each other.
THE CAMBODIAN CAPER
towards a final solution
Mad Dog and the Minister
face the cameras
smiling reptile smiles
Not a word spoken
Champagne glasses
in hand
crashed trays
of glasses
(you hadda be there)
rent a felon
crowd
empty handed
unsmiling
as if
this criminal vileness
is even
too odorous
for those
who we thought
could go no lower
be more corrupt
feel
well, anything,
really
The fix
is in
the papers
signed
sealed
delivered
the victims
to be
delivered up
to no
tender
mercies
but
for sure
the papers
will be
in order
i’s dotted
t’s crossed
all
in order
Alles
in Ordnung
Just like Eichmann
One wonders just how much he took from Brian Houston, considering his “care” of children on Nauru.
For the information of members and guests, the following is a report on what Scott Morrison MP fostered during his time as “official guardian” of these poor kids.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/detention-centre-child-sex-abuse-claims-number-in-dozens-20140930-10o7pv.html
The following, refers to the efforts of his “mentor” Brian Houston, “founder” of the cult of god-botherers, called “hillsong” and the more upmarket “shirelive”, which appears to be an organisation, cast in the same mould, as hillsong.
Please note, I don’t choose to capitalise the names of these cults, since it gives them more than they are due, in terms of recognition, as organisations.
Phewwww… what a story. The History of a Hypocrite. I did like the bit where “…. church attendance is his number-one hobby…” says much for this murderous mongrel’s real avocation.
@Lee – indeed – 2 heterosexual “parents” of opposite genders, with a mean income of over $200K.
I do think that when you referred to both sides of the Westminster system the conservatives and the ALP it would have been more accurate to refer to the stated conservatives and the conservative ALP as it now has become under the right wing stewardship of the rabid right wing of the ALP.
One more reason why religion is the enemy and needs to be defeated. A difficult task. The promise of eternal life is a powerful lure, especially to children.
So the question is: what benefit does Abbott receive in allowing Morrison such a powerful free reign? The focus should be about Abbott, not Morrison. Yes it does look like Morrison is an opportunistic fellow but that opportunism suits the leader … for the time-being.
Lee, in my humble opinion you are far better off not having to deal with the Pentecostals, they are a cult rather than a religion, in my experience their members act more like robots than human beings partially explaining why they do not recognize mental illness or the poverty stricken. They themselves are a paranoid people an in my experience the assembly of god are lunatics who should not be allowed to exist in Australia, of course they are originally from the USA much like the overwhelming majority of our troubles.
A cultist in government in charge of the lives of the poor and disenfranchised.
That’s going to be a barrel of fun.
Whoops and I thought we missed the dark ages.
Dr Venturini, thank you for giving us this picture of the heart of the LNP government and its ministers. Morrison would have been perfectly at home in Hitler’s Germany, or Stalinist Russia, but he’s a reality we have to stand up to today in Abbott’s Australia. So, because I cannot stand by and do nothing, and despite some people’s scorn, I continue to ask all to support my petition to the GG for a DD asap:
https://www.communityrun.org/petitions/stop-this-government-s-madness.
Thank you and a Happy New Year which hopefully will see the back of this terrorist government once and for all.
“One wonders just how much he took from Brian Houston, considering his “care” of children on Nauru.”
Brian Houston’s father, Frank, is a paedophile. Let’s hope the son doesn’t follow in his father’s footsteps.
A superb expose of the loathsome person.
Its so sad we now have a Liberal National Party willing to accept people like Morrison, Abbott et al. They have truely gone down the drain.
First class research and analysis, Dr Venturini ; helping to lift AIMN to a national standard of excellence in 2015.
Hey you Guys and Girls, stop giving Scotty a hard time as in your heart, you know he is true of spirit and truth. letting all those children out of detention is a tolerable solution to obtaining more votes at the next election.
Scott cares for these kids. Just like 2 people were KILLED under his watch.This reprobate has to go along with his Liberal Party.
Morrison is close to a Psychopath . These Idjits will destroy themselves.
Scott Morrison is current holder of the Galactic Prostentnic Vogon Jeltz Prize http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minor_The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy_characters#Prostetnic_Vogon_Jeltz for his unstinting efforts in Tony Abbott & Co.’s campaign to Vogonise first Oz, then the World.
Elizabeth – at the risk of appearing cynical such churches may or may not associate Christianity with helping people…… Whatever it is irrelevant, simply because they are not Christian. Any group that worships the “Holy Spirit” the way neo-pentecostals do, by definition are not Christian. In John’s Gospel when referring to the Holy Spirit, Christ clearly states that the purpose of the Spirit was to “testify of me” (Christ). It is interesting to note, as in many of the stated beliefs of these groups, that there is no mention of Christ except for the last phrase which seems to be more of an addendum.
Christ’s message, indeed the message of most of the New Testament is one of love. Christ called it fruit inspection “by their fruit you will know them.”
A fig tree bears figs, a Christian bears love. If a tree bears bananas it is not a fig tree. If a person is not exhibiting love then he/she is not a Christian.
The early church at Corinth had this same problem and in his first letter to that church Paul tears strips off them. Chapter 13 is a beautiful description of love and is often used in wedding services but it is central to Paul’s teaching on this. Having spent chapter 12 referring to the church’s un-holy concern with spiritual gifts he finishes that chapter with effectively saying “you are chasing after the wrong thing let me show you the right way” and then commences chapter 13
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
Sorry about the rant but whenever men such as Morrison, Andrews et.al. open their mouths they profane the very name of Christ. until everyone comes to believe that that is what a Christian is like IT IS NOT
Good article. But doesn’t Greg Hunt’s retrospective immunity against prosecution for environmental mismanagement also make him above the law? Not to mention a minister who obviously has no confidence in his own decisions…
Sooo…. Morrison’s cold-blooded, inhumane treatment of asylum seekers can be partly explained by his religion? It either motivates him to be cruel… or gives him strength to push on. Fair enough… faith can do that…
Now… how do we explain Labor’s total lack of compassion and their demonisation of those innocent, vulnerable, isolated people? Political opportunism perhaps?
The pre selection vote for Cook was taken from the local branch and place in the hands of the state executive. There were leaks yo the Murdoch press from his faction to spuriously tarnish and maliciously impugn Michael Towke’s character. This is how Morrison won pre selection. He was parachuted in by the state executive rigging the process when it was clear he could not win
Thank you for this great but disturbing article,i have read about how he destroyed a mans reputation to get pre selection for his seat which was bad enough in itself,but your further revelations into this obnoxious mans character has left even me speechless,and that’s no mean feat.
It is obvious that he is an anti semite and an outright racist extreme far right Glen Beck Sarah Palin disturbed individual. This thing is now in charge of people on DSP pensions and the unemployed,lets hope that he will soon be exposed now that his actions will affect millions of low income people and their familes,and lets keep reminding the Media to do their job and expose him for what he is,or is not.”””””
…many of the detainees were survivors of torture and trauma in their home countries, and were arriving in Australia’s care weakened, often dehydrated and malnourished, from their boat journey.
“On a place like Manus Island, I would expect high rates of typhoid and hepatitis. Gastroenteritis is going to be rife, particularly if there is limited access to clean latrines, and certainly if you have trouble removing sewage cleanly and safely,” he said.
He described providing proper healthcare on Manus as almost impossible, and condemned the government’s offshore processing policy.
“It’s really an evil policy, they are saying publicly they want to crush these people so others don’t come. To deliberately harm another human being, that is completely unacceptable, it is morally wrong and just indefensible,” he said.
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/dec/30/manus-island-detainees-being-put-in-medical-isolation-at-rate-of-one-a-day
And there it is, the belief Morrison accepts that gives him the excuse to label the unemployed, single parents and disabled as lesser beings – leaners
From the Liveshire website:
“We believe that God has individually equipped us so that we can successfully achieve His purpose for our lives which is to worship God, fulfill our role in the church and serve the community in which we live”
Get that kids? “God has individually equipped us…”
If one is equipped for ‘economic participation’ by God, no excuse is possible for not ”serving” ie. being a ‘leaner’. God wouldn’t like it and God”s agent, Minister Morrison is going to show all those individually equpped people the consequences of not using their God given ‘equipment’.
The fact that Gods plan might be to, say, equip them with a mental illness, or parkinsons disease etc is not to be countenanced.
Don’t make light of the Knighthood thing : we allocate our new years honours on Australia Day and I have a recurring nightmare that we will wake up to Sir John Howard of Bennelong………
Excellent article by a valuable thinker. The links to the Uglies and Urbancic are no surprise. There has long been a very nasty fascist wing of the inaptly named “Liberal Party”. Back in the 1970s in a campaign to unmask the operations of fascist organisations in Australia, it was discovered that the NSW Liberal Party Migrant Advisory Council included Dr L. Megay, former Mayor of Ungvar in Nazi occupied Hungary, responsible for organising the Jews in that ghetto for deportation to Auchwitz; Dr Untaru, former Treasurer of the Nazi established Rumanian National Government after the king had surrendered to the Allies; and Fabian Lovokovic, a local leader of the Croatian Liberation Movement (HOP) which had been founded post-war by Pavelic the mass murdering dictator of Ustasha Croatia.
One comment which sticks in my mind after a film on the Nuremberg trials was a lawyer who commented upon the total lack of empathy for humanity amongst the accused. That is why I am not shocked at the Urbancic link.
@Lee apologies and quite correct. There is an associated thought however about applies falling close to the tree.
I saw a couple of memes the other day. The first one featured a child’s face and the words “If you could stop someone raping a child, would you? If you answered yes, you’re more moral than your god.”
The second one was a hit with my partner, who is amazed at how well I can sleep in just about any situation. It featured a guy sleeping on a sofa. “How well did you sleep? Like God through the Holocaust.”
“Welfare-to-work programs promoted by successive governments have had no impact on unemployment as they fail to take into account the changing labour market, researchers have found.”
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/02/welfare-to-work-programs-have-failed-to-reduce-unemployment-says-report
A wonderful addition to the histories of Morrison.The connection with Ljenko Urbancicis fascinating. The “Upper House Member” who took over the organisation of the “Uglies” wasn’t David Clarke, was it? Or is that a libellous suggestion.
I will ask the question again…. Morrison can use his religious beliefs as an excuse to be a nasty bastard devoid of compassion. He can fall back on his faith to justify his wicked actions…
So… what’s Labor’s excuse? Why do THEY think it’s okay to torment innocent, powerless, traumatised, human beings??
The issue is not that Scott Morrison uses his religious beliefs to justify his actions, rather that his walk does not match his talk. He’s just a mongrel.
I totally agree with all the comments expressed about this truly obnoxious man but perversely, in some ways I’m glad that he has got the Social Security portfolio: why? Because in his previous portfolio area it was populist (sadly) and easy to demonise ‘illegal migrants’, in many quarters, they were an easy target. However, just about everyone can relate to someone being unemployed, underemployed, on some form of pension etc and i will lay odds Morrison will simply over extend his ideology and simply crash and burn very quickly It will be painful in the interim but am sure it will happen.
An amazing expose of a scary politician. To treat our asylum seekers (only those who came by boat) like pawns is a pre cursor to how we on DSP will be made to feel. This piece explains the who and why. Either way it is steeped in religious pus.
The infantile belief in a mythical sky fairy is one of the biggest problems in society today.
I suspect Morrison ,Abbott etal , all know its a load of rubbish ,but have found the benefits of manipulating religion , a powerful tool.
This is why the LNP want the school chaplains at any cost ,more brainwashing of children (legalized child abuse ) to sustain their voter base into the future.
Unfortunately this lot cant even pretend to follow the book of fairytales ,such is their level of incompetence.
This latest act by Morrison gives insight to his mindset and just how dangerous this man can be:
http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2015/01/02/scott-morrison-ransom-note/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The+New+Daily+Saturday+3115&utm_content=The+New+Daily+Saturday+3115+CID_1fad4bdffae090914a085fe4459e7180&utm_source=&utm_term=Final%20act%20Scott%20Morrisons%20ransom%20note%20leaves%20dozens%20in%20limboan
It astonishes me that no-one seems to be interested I questioning this government on its trashing of the rule of law. Tony Abbott professes a love of all things British, his cultural warriors insist that the history of the First Australians should take second place to the history of British settlement, and the government and its supporters constantly crow that the reason people want to come here is because of the superiority of the ‘western’ way of life.
So why is a conservative government doing its best to breakdown what real conservatives would strive to uphold – the rule of law? The rule of law is the rock on which our democracy rests. When governments strive to hide their actions from the scrutiny of the courts, when their media lap dogs do their best to convince the populace that courts should not be allowed to scrutinise government decisions and legislation because they are unelected and are ‘judicial activists’, we are on a very dangerous path indeed.
It is very sad that members of this government are not being relentlessly grilled about their understanding of the rule of law, and why they are undermining it to a dangerous degree. I suspect that this is as much about our lamentable lack of civic education programmes in schools as it is about slack journalism.
Good post vanda but your final para says it all.
This government are avoiding any form of ‘relentless grilling’ by lying low when it comes to serious journalistic scrutiny and this is a planned strategy. That’s why the Prime Minister and his team avoid as far as they can our national broadcaster and trot into the 2GB studios on demand for a soft chat – interview is obviously the wrong word in this context.
It is telling that any television appearances are usually on SKY or Channel Nine – Channel Seven could be a problem after Abbott failed to remember the name of the morning host, twice – and they might be a bit worried about Karl Stefanovic after he started to show frustration at the PM’s bland responses.
The media strategy is formulated on the premise that our Prime Minister is unable to articulate policy on the run or to answer unscripted questions and an appearance on ABC’s Q&A for the type of one-on-one that Julia Gillard did is out of the question.
It is sad but also very disturbing given the direction this government is taking in so many areas.
I have not yet read the other 3 writings by Dr. Venturini, in exposing this excuse for a human being – to be what he ( it ) truly is ……. a dictator through and through – and worse.
I want to thank Dr. Venturini and the AIM Network, for ‘fronting’ this character, and giving details of this modern day behemoths’ true intentions. …. and that’s only after reading the first article.
Thank you …… this alleged ‘minister’ needs to be exposed fully.
To Lindsay Stafford …. ( January 2, 2015 at 4:04 pm ) …
I have had ( unfortunately ) dealings with Pentecostals. …. They in fact do worship Jesus – to the ENTH degree, and they seek FROM that worship – the Holy Spirit. …. Once they ‘believe’ they have the ‘ holy spirit ‘ … just about nothing else matters. ……. I had an American Pentecostal ‘friend’ for years – who proselytised me at every opportunity she got – to join her church here, and obtain – ‘ the one and only truth ‘. ….
I discovered many ‘tolerant’ ways of declining such an invitation !! ….
They are a Christian off-shoot sect / cult – many of whom believe in the End Times Ministries ( Rev. Irvin Baxter – ugh ) ….. and know no bounds when it comes to being superior – over all. … Some are moderate in their thinking, but they all believe the same thing. That above all – they – and they alone, have ‘the truth’.
Well – there’s many religions who claim the same thing. … but the Pents, being better than everyone, rail against Jews, Blacks, Catholics ( OMG – are THEY the worst thing that ever happened according to Pentecostals ) …. and well – just about everyone who is not of their cult.
A short while back, this ‘friend’ mentioned above, posted a very anti-black ( African American ) anti-Obama ”’ cartoon ”’ …. on Facebook, and I objected to it. Did I ever cop it from her – and her Pentecostal friends. Long story short – I ended up blocking her. But that did not ( for some reason ) stop her being able to abuse me via private message to which I responded, trying to reason with her. It was a hopeless, fruitless endeavour. I fixed that too eventually – but received emails of dire consequences to my life and my way of living ……. she was utterly and totally out of control. I blocked her on every avenue I could – and succeeded.
THIS is the background that Morrison comes from – or adheres to. …… a self-aggrandisement that knows no bounds. … a right that he has given himself, particularly in his former ministerial post, because he believes he can.
I think Abbott was ( and probably still is ) terrified of him, and had a lot of party backing to remove him from his post as the ugliest of Ministers for Immigration, imaginable. …. To put him in charge of Social Security, is a cunning move … as he will have NO rights over that. He might try, but won’t – cannot – succeed. …. He has already dabbled with the Seniors Card … and will no doubt dabble again with social security, but to do so would bring him down completely. … The Government could not stand the backlash, and therefore this mongrel is now hog-tied.
And there is no way he’d want THAT to happen. …. so – back in your nasty little box, Morrison.
p.s. …. to Lindsay.
There is much on the Net ( and I think in the Bible ) … about ‘speaking in tongues’ which the Pentecostals do a lot of, when in some kind of ‘rapture’. …… It is most often believed to be the work of the devil.
A seriously dangerous creature, is this minister.
There’s a simple rule when borrowing words from foreign languages: One needs to get the spelling right. Law in German is ‘Gesetz’. A similar rule applies when writting in public spaces: One should understand what one is writing about. George is a prime example for wasting six decades on feel-good studies, while remaining stuck in 1968 agitprop mentality. Setzen, mangelhaft.
A deeply moving series of articles, thank you so much George. You have put together a totally convincing case that whereas I had previously asked the question “Is the Abbott Government Fascist?” and concluded, well, heading that way, you have shown that the answer now since December last is a resounding YES. One man has been given nonaccountable powers over the lives of the world’s most vulnerable in a way that is indeed directly comparable to what the Third Reich was doing. The passionate reactions of the Greens are so impressive, but the reactions of Labor and some crossbenchers are utterly contemptible, especially those Labor members, and there were several, who didn’t even have the guts to speak up and vote against this fascistic bill. This is how fascists get their power, those who should be their opponents are too frightened to break with party discipline. Shame on them, shame on the system that puts them in that position.
This series must be given a wider audience, George, it is one of the most important articles I have seen in years.
I am not sorry that this series of articles is over now. …. While quite brilliantly written (researched) admittedly, I have the sense that the articles were written for the benefit of the writer – more than for the reader. … Dr. Venturini did not offer any form of positive action to be thought about, in denying this person any place in any Government.
———–
@Rauol Marchel …… I wouldn’t call these articles ‘feel good’ at all …. anything but, in fact. …. and propaganda ? In many instances it approached just that. …… but there was also much truth in his analysis of Morrison, who I/we believe is a decidedly dangerous man.
At one stage ( on another post ) I did thank Dr. Venturini for having the guts to confront Morrison in writing ….. and I still do, on that premise alone. ….. I just think a lot of it was self serving in its text, as well as informative.
> IF that is possible !!!
………..
The Minister for Menace, having climbed the Liarberal ladder of Christian hypocrisy to claim leadership credentials and backed fully by Australia’s leading LIAR showed his true colours in dealing with Refugees and silently creating a Policy hegemony of Border Force with no oversight by the Courts is set to monster the under privileged by his lying Team Australia Authors as all relevance to Corporate tax evasion is almost silently erased from the Abbott Rabble to do list. Once again the least able will suffer at the hands of this bunch of F*cktards masquerading as the Gov’t of Australia. No amount of disguise can change the fact the Abbott and his Liarberal rabble are still he’ll bent on the policies that so outraged what is left of Fair Go Australia. Abbott will never change his spots and Abbott will do whatever to disguise his true politics as a Bully, a mysogonist and no friend of the Australian Fair Go. What Abbott and his conga line of reactionary tea party cohorts represent is total destruction of the hard won community assets and policies that stop complete corporate control of Australia’s economic future using every trick in the book to fool you’all. Including masquerading as friendly “Christians”
Let’s face it …
Morrison has what it takes to succeed abbott as leader of the LNP …
He ticks all the boxes, and LNP types instinctively know he’s their man.
Will the Australian voters warm to him?
Don’t ask me … I always thought abbott was unelectable …
What follows is an in depth analysis of Morrison:
Vile man!
No that’s it.. that covers pretty well everything he does.
I do love the Church’s history page. Sounds like a business organisation which developed from a cooperative. Favourite sentence? “In May 2006 it changed its name to Shirelive Property Limited to help achieve consistent branding across the organization.”
“HISTORY
Shirelive was established in 1949 as a pioneer Church plant of the Assemblies of God in Australia, and met in the Sutherland School of Arts Hall. In the early 1950’s it purchased and constructed the current property at 7-9 Stapleton Avenue Sutherland. It has been through several name changes since being established. It was originally known as the Christian Growth Centre until 2000 when it became known as Shire Christian Centre. In May 2006 it changed its name to Shirelive Property Limited to help achieve consistent branding across the organization.
Under the leadership of Pastor Michael Murphy from 1996 Shirelive positioned itself through growth and ministry expansion to include 3 Sunday Services in 2 locations from the CBD and the main Campus in Sutherland. On the 20th of October 2013 Pastors Micheal and Valery Murphy passed the baton onto current senior Pastors Brad and Alison Bonhomme.
Shirelive regularly ministers to well over 2,000 people through it’s weekend services, children’s, youth, young adult and adult programs, which makes it a significant church in our nation.
GOVERNANCE
At establishment the Church was modelled on a congregational model where the congregation were involved in all facets of Church management. When the legal entity changed in 2000, from an unincorporated body to a Company limited by guarantee, the Church moved to an Eldership or Board governance model where the congregation function as partners in the vision. Day to day operations are managed by in-house staff with the support of a Board of Directors. An independent firm conducts an annual audit, and the limited Company reports to ASIC and adheres to accepted accounting standards.”
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I love the “pastas” name/s.
Bon Homme indeed. A good man is all that’s needed with them.
And a touch of “Frank-ness” perhaps.
To Michael T. ……
Did I push the envelope too far ??? ….. I replied to Crypt0 …. with some unveiled references to the former Minister for Immigration – which were not exactly pleasant ……. but then, many references haven’t been. I can now not find it on here. It has been removed ? I don’t think I am on the wrong post, as I began my comments with something like ” ” shut uppa your face please !!! ( joking ) ”
Sorry if I overdid it …….. I could have said a whole heap more though … 😉
I do think we all have to be a bit careful of how much we say these days, under the scrutiny of this current Government ??
Apologies Michael ……. Crypt0 ….. posted the exact same comment on Part 4 … Arise SM etc. and that’s where I responded …. it CAN get a bit confusing at times.
It’s on Part 4 that my comment back was posted.
Sincere apologies.
I do still think we should all be a little careful of what we say here – with Abbott’s ministry and its proposed laws about taking action of perceived ‘threat’ etc.
Many of us get a bit ‘threatening’ on independent news blogs, don’t we. !!!
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Tried to read all of it including the other parts but my eyes are sore tonight.
I did recall this from an early read today
https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2018/nov/04/scott-morrison-is-stuck-in-the-permanent-present-and-australias-getting-nowhere
as a sort of postscript of where we have arrived to over many years, as detailed by Venturini.
THE MAN WHO WOULD BE OUR PRIME MINISTER – BASTARDRY AND TREACHERY – Essential reading!
From “Where the bloody hell are you to’ ‘Stop the boats’, rising from an overpaid and failed job in tourism to Minister for Department and Border Protection, and thence to Prime Minster in little more than a decade – A chequered, bloody and sordid history!
Since then we have had many deaths in offshore detention due to government cruelty and negligence including murder, which Morrison himself denied and lied about, and now the children on Nauru who Morrison pretends to be getting off, except he, Dutton and his government must be dragged through the Federal Courts, kicking, screaming and lying to do so; as he acquiesces in defiance, recalcitrant to public pressure.
The man who would be christian oh ye of little faith!
Alas, Morrison’s ‘Until The Bell Rings’ (6 September 2018) speech in Albury was (still is) hogwash, full of holes, a sieve, a drain pipe, a sewer; and yes you can call it hypocrisy and sophistry, but hogwash will do. Morrison’s bell is already ringing after just a few weeks since the serpent crept in pretending to be Christian and a family man, a community man, an honest Australian.
Morrison’s Bell – The AIM Network, 29 October 2018 https://theaimn.com/morrisons-bell/
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A timeless classic.