Election diary No 8. Saturday, January 29 2022.

As one summers day oozes into the next and the heat on small bald feet diminishes, kids, prepare for the start of another school year, having learned that it isn’t as bad as they thought.

Having downed his last stubbie and Mum having prepared her last meal in unfamiliar surroundings, both give their thoughts to returning to work.

Unlike most years, this one is different. Mum and Dad and all those 18 and over will have to vote, some for the first time. And others like my wife and I will be doing so for the umpteenth time.

Some take it seriously. Others do so because they are expected to. Most vote for the same party every time. Too many, because they are dissatisfied with the system, don’t vote at all. And then some vote after giving serious consideration to why they are doing so.

With a likely May election, now is the time we all pay more attention to what our politicians are doing and saying. Given that the stakes are so high in this election, people may give their thoughts over to things like integrity now that the current media focuses somewhat on politicians’ behaviour.

When l say the stakes are high, I’m not kidding. This Government collectively is a bunch of the most corrupt, self-serving politicians who will further destroy our democracy if given the opportunity.

There is an abundance of evidence to support my claims. Even now, we have a repetitive TV commercial that claims emissions have come down by 15%, whereas The Guardian reports they have risen by 7%. It might just be me, but I’ll take The Guardian‘s word over the Government’s any day.

The pre-election period is when the Government thinks it’s perfectly alright to spend our taxpayer’s money on falsehoods that make them look good. The budget for this lying rises considerably before each election.

If you live on a hill, look out for the pork barrels

There is always the temptation to use taxpayers’ money in marginal seats in the pre-election period. No doubt, most will recall the Sports Rorts affair when in the lead-up to the 2019 election, the Government used the $100m community sports grants program to prop up many seats. Later a massive scandal broke when the Auditor General found the grants were not awarded consistent with assessed merit and were biased in favour of marginal electorates.

This was followed by the revelation that the Auditor General also had a problem with $660m allocated to 47 sites for commuter car parks. 77% were located in Coalition electorates. Headlines like; Sports rorts on steroids’: scathing report finds Coalition car park program not effective or merit-based followed.

With a significantly increased war chest of $15.9bn in unidentified spending for “decisions taken but not yet announced,” a whopping increase on the previous year’s December budget update figure of $1.5bn.

We must be vigilant and watch out for the Government’s pork barrelling attempts in marginal seats. It is difficult to see them trying to put one over on the electorate again, but it isn’t beyond them.

The money rolls in

Political donations begin to roll in during the pre-election period to back the winner and buy influence into the future.

The big story in the 2019 election was Clive Palmer’s $60m to fund his own campaign. There wasn’t a suggestion of illegality, and he failed to win a seat; however, there can be no doubt that his repetitious anti-Labor advertising made a considerable difference to the Coalition’s vote.

Yes, you’re correct. Grattan Institute analysis tells us that the parties’ top 5% of donors account for more than half of their declared donations. And guess who they might be.

We all know of the subsidies given to the gambling companies property, mining and construction companies that would be better spent elsewhere. No wonder their donations are so sizable.

Something urgently needs to be done about political donations and their disclosure. An excellent first step to squashing this grey corruption is making it more visible.

Real-time disclosure is a must. The Grattan Institute reports that:

“… we won’t find out where the money came from until February 2023 because donation disclosures are only published annually. And even then we will only get a partial picture because high declarations thresholds and big loopholes mean that the major parties generally declare less than 60% of their total private funding.”

Taxpayer-funded political advertising

Governments frequently significantly bolster taxpayer-funded advertising in the months before election campaigns.

The guidelines are supposed to restrict taxpayer-funded advertising for political purposes. However, the Grattan Institute examinations tell us:

“… that over the past five elections, federal governments have doubled their spending in the two-to-three months before an election, compared to the previous three months.”

With a budget in March, goodness knows what they will throw into their electioneering.

The analysis published in The Guardian suggests another 59 million dollars will be spent on advertising.

The “positive energy” campaign and advertisements about the Government securing more rapid antigen tests have already hit our screens. Both are full of inaccuracies, I suggest. Or just plain propaganda.

Government appointments galore, or is that galah?

The Grattan Institute reports that:

“Ministers are responsible for filling hundreds of positions on independent government boards and agencies. In the lead-up to an election, there seems to be a rush to fill these spots – even some of the ones that aren’t currently vacant.

Governments like to control who sits in powerful positions, even more so when these positions are prestigious or well-paid. A forthcoming Grattan Institute report will show that appointing “political mates” to these positions is becoming more common.”

There isn’t much to be done except to highlight the hypocrisy. These appointments of former politicians and staffers need to be forensically examined by the media and Labor. Hopefully, the press will provide background on those who get a position.

Looking at a way to boost integrity?

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese, in his address to the Press Club on Tuesday, January 25, placed great emphasis on the restoration of the dignity that once was the Australian parliament. Making things transparent that have been allowed to disappear will take more effort, and still more challenging will be the replacement of those who have made it all possible. It won’t be easy to suppress the influence of money and corruption after it has flourished carte blanche for a decade or more. But all of it must be done.

Elections allow all of us a chance to change things. They afford us the opportunity to right wrongs and start afresh.

In his speech, Albanese said:

“A country and a people as extraordinary as ours deserve a government to match. A government of competence and a government of integrity. A government that doesn’t get out of the way but helps to create the way.”

Hear hear, Albo. Hear hear.

Election Diary No7, Wednesday, January 26 2022

People need to wake up to the fact that Government affects every part of their lives and should be more interested. But there is a deep-seated political malaise that is counter to representative democracy.

Less informed voters, unfortunately, outnumber the more politically aware. Therefore, conservatives feed them all the bullshit they can. And the menu generally contains a fair portion of hypocrisy and lies.

Hypocrisy is one area where conservatives dwell on the unthinking individual who has no idea of the ideological beliefs of different parties: the hundreds of thousands of people that take little notice of politics.

The word hypocrisy means a pretence to have a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not possess. A façade of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude. Or a situation where someone pretends to believe in something they don’t, or the opposite of what they do or say at another time.

1 When as Treasurer Scott Morrison repeatedly said of negative gearing that there were “excesses in the system” and decided to do nothing about them, it would be reasonable to conclude that he is a hypocrite.

Not long ago, former Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull co-wrote a paper that suggested that negative gearing skewed “national investment away from wealth-creating pursuits, towards housing.”

Could we be blamed for saying “bloody hypocrite” when he did an about-turn on climate change policies that he had assured the people he believed in to attain the leadership over a long period?

Like when you profess to be fixing a problem when you are doing the opposite. Examples are many. In 2016 Malcolm Turnbull said that negative gearing was “tax avoidance”; it could be seen as gross hypocrisy in light of his support for it later on.

Another example of hypocrisy: In 2015, 500 workers who benefited from Gillard’s edict that non-faith-based workers be allowed in our schools were replaced by chaplains sourced predominantly from big Christian organisations. It is a secular public school system, and it is fundamentally wrong be you religious or not.

In 2016 it seemed that Evangelical Christians were gaining most from the National School Chaplaincy scheme, earning millions of dollars. Kirsty Needham, writing in The Sydney Morning Herald that year reported that:

Generate Ministries has won $4 million to provide chaplains to 202 of the 438 NSW schools participating in the scheme in 2016.

The Hillsong-linked Your Dream will earn $1.4 million for 70 schools (up from 50 last year), while Macquarie Life Church will provide chaplains in 20 regional schools.

We are supposed to have a secular public school system. Religious Chaplains in secular schools was hypocritical.

When in his maiden speech, the present Prime Minister alludes to good Christian commonplace values of compassion and love for his fellow humans and then behaves entirely differently toward asylum seekers; then again, I suggest he is being hypocritical:

“From my faith I derive the values of loving-kindness, justice and righteousness; to act with compassion and kindness, acknowledging our common humanity and to consider the welfare of others; to fight for a fair go for everyone to fulfil their human potential and to remove whatever unjust obstacles stand in their way, including diminishing their personal responsibility for their own wellbeing; and to do what is right, to respect the rule of law, the sanctity of human life and the moral integrity of marriage and the family. We must recognise an unchanging and absolute standard of what is good and what is evil. Desmond Tutu put it this way: … 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 when that happens, then Christians will be trustworthy believable witnesses. These are my principles. My vision for Australia is for a nation that is strong, prosperous and generous: strong in our values and our freedoms, strong in our family and community life, strong in our sense of nationhood and in the institutions that protect and preserve our democracy; prosperous in our enterprise and the careful stewardship of our opportunities, our natural environment and our resources; and, above all, generous in spirit, to share our good fortune with others, both at home and overseas, out of compassion and a desire for justice.”

A close observation of his words reveals the narrowness and simplicity of his thinking; his views seem to be closed to other people’s values, thoughts and ideas. His standards are those he thinks others should have, his family, church, and the community, so everyone should have them. His words seem to represent a world long gone without considering what the future offers. “Well, that’s what my father believed in, and he was a good bloke” seems to be what he is trying to tell people, but society is changing quicker than he can think. The hypocrisy of not seeing it is blinding.

2 When will an election be held?

The Government has issued a parliamentary sitting calendar indicating that it intends to hold the federal Budget on 29 March 2022. The Government can change the sitting calendar, and there is no guarantee that the Budget will be held on that day however if it is that only leaves 3 possible election days (7, 14 and 21 May).

Any 2022 election held before 7 May 2022, would, according to the proposed sitting calendar, only have the Parliament sit during the February sitting weeks (and only the first week for a 19 March election). This means that any legislation the Government wants to pass in the current term would need to be passed by both Houses by the end of that sitting. An election on 14 or 21 May would potentially allow the March and April sitting periods to also go ahead.

A total of 10 sitting days before the election. Isn’t that deplorable?

The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, and sidekick senator Malcolm Roberts say the Coalition should not expect their votes until the Government rolls back the state-based vaccination mandates and border restrictions. It has never meant much in the past.

So, May 21 looks to be the date we will vote to see who will lead us into the future. One way or the other.

3 Weight problems.

Clive Palmer’s mind, like his body mass, is highly inflated, but he does carry a lot of weight into this election. I read recently that he plans an even bigger spend for the 2022 election. It will exceed $80 million. Yes, it is a lot of money to prevent the Labor Party you dislike from gaining power and electing a known fool instead.

As reported in the Brisbane Times, the unvaccinated mining billionaire says the United Australia Party “will run the most expensive political campaign in Australian history” at the next election. He would also lead the UAP’s Queensland Senate ticket.

4 Speaking of a strange character who is a member of the Coalition, George Christensen, as reported in The Guardian, will not be standing at the upcoming election. Still, it looks as though he will turn up the volume on his conspiracy theory and anti-vaccination commentary.

The Prime Minister has described his commentary as dangerous; however, nothing seems to discourage this thick head from his own stupidity.

In recent months, Christensen’s commentary has varied from the ludicrous to the idiotic.

His public commentary has included pushing anti-vaccination messages, climate change denial, conspiracy theories, and comments that have vandalised his own Government’s public health messaging. One headline in The Guardian read; “George Christensen advocates for civil disobedience as vaccine mandates rock Coalition.” Not a nice person.

5 On top of that, the other nutter Craig Kelly who thinks he knows more than those with the brightest minds, is set to join others to make the first sitting week of the Parliament a misery for the Prime Minister.

Neither of these (Christensen and Kelly) represent their respective parties in the usual way, speaking out against it at every opportunity. However, today’s circumstance dictates that Morrison cannot dismiss them without using some principle.

It remains to be seen who the nutters are who will replace them.

Diary No 5: January 19 2022

1 How is it possible that the attention of the world is so focused on a magnificent sportsman who, in essence, has tried to cheat his way into the Australian Tennis Open? I ask this question in defence of comparative justice. And l defend my use of the term comparative justice with another question.

How does the attention thrust on this tennis player who admits to being an anti-vaccination believer and refuses a jab compare with the plight of a group of asylum seekers housed in the same cheap lodgings? He was incarcerated or inconvenienced for a few days; they have completed as many as ten years imprisonment for never committing a crime.

According to our Government, their crime has been to seek the safety of Australian shores when persecuted by their own. Even after ten years of incarceration, there is no room for empathy from people whose blood runs thin through barren thoughts. If my words were able to jump from this page, I would command them to do so and confront these nefarious politicians’ intent only on using people’s lives to show how strict their border policy is.

Friday, January 14

Scott Morrison has made yet another political decision to send Djokovic home. A decision made only after calculating that the enormity of any alternative was a political cost he couldn’t carry.

No. Not at all. Fault lies everywhere here. It's been a mess. Novak, TA, Vic Gov, Federal Gov. It should've been a hard rule entering this country considering what the folks have been thru. Get vaccinated and come play the AO, or if not maybe see you in 23'. No wiggle room https://t.co/CzabtLGnMW

— Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill) January 14, 2022

Back in the real world, 32 detainees at Melbourne Park’s Hotel – where Djokovic was detained – didn’t receive the same celebrity attention as the tennis player.

Efforts to free them have been frowned on by the Morrison government: A government that is much more interested in Novak Djokovic and the political gain in the story.

Their objections have been dismissed yet again, the refugees and asylum seekers involved in this sad episode in Australian history. The forgotten men and boys who have been abandoned after up to 10 years of indefinite detention placed their weary eyes on putrid windows. They watched as people gathered in the streets below, waving Serbian flags and chanting support for the tennis great.

A more intense exercise in personal narcissism l have ever seen.

Not a word was heard from Djokovic about their plight. He was undoubtedly preoccupied with winning another grand slam, and the Government was busy putting out the flames of yet another controversy.

Djokovic could have used his high-profile position “to advocate for their freedom” but chose his own self-importance as being more critical.

We live in a country where good takes its place in front of evil, but the margin is slipping by degree.

6pm Sunday, January 16

Novak Djokovic loses his appeal to stay in Australia after the Federal Court upholds the Government’s decision to cancel the tennis star’s visa. The three judges’ unanimous decision and the reasons will be published later.

Notably, the case was about Minister Hawk’s authority to make the decision he did and had nothing to do with the rights or wrongs of it.

The judges concluded that: “It is no part of the function of the court to decide upon the merits or wisdom of the decision.”

Never have I seen so many double faults in one game.

2 If rules are rules, how did Hillsong avoid a fine for singing and dancing. There are rules for some but none for others. Added to that, they seem to have an endless supply of RATS. How come?

Sunday, January 16

I, for one, am sick of the political scam that takes place in Australia every three years or every day, for that matter. Something has to be done. If Labor cannot win this election, I sincerely fear for our nation and its future.

Australian politics has for over a decade been suffering from the longevity of sameness. I advocate a change in the way it is practised. We don’t have a representative and participatory democracy that administers for the benefit of all. It is time to evaluate just what we want from our democracy.

Change is needed, but it is more difficult for them because it is anathema to the conservative mindset. For progressive Democrats, it should be uncomplicated.

Anyway, I was thinking about whether it will be enough to just go through the motions of bland, vapid promises and a traditional election campaign. Will it achieve a Labor victory?

Albo’s low key philosophy in the face of a self-destructing Government might work, but if you offer to give the people back its democracy, you might emphatically secure victory.

We are at a point in our history where “change” demands it to be listened to. Where the events of a decade scream out for it. It only requires the voice of a natural leader to order it on behalf of the people.

The definition of servitude needs to be indelibly ingrained into the minds of those seeking election. And the self-serving attitudes that now exist need to be purged from the minds of our current politicians.

Brian Briggs tweeted. Never in my 35 years in the law have I seen a Federal Court Appeal proceed so quickly and before a Full Bench and on a Sunday. Some serious strings have been pulled by someone for this to occur. Normally the wheels of justice turn slowly.

Never in my 35 years in the law have I seen a Federal Court Appeal proceed so quickly and before a Full Bench and in a Sunday. Some serious strings have been pulled by someone for this to occur. Normally the wheels of justice turn slowly.

— Brian Briggs (@BrianBriggsSG) January 15, 2022

We await the court’s reply.

Election Diary. 2022. No2. Saturday, January 8 2022. “Now let’s get this straight: We don’t have the best…”

1 Who is paying for our Covid programme? Socialism is. The Government is borrowing money that the people will have to pay back. It is the public debt. At the same time, the rich and privileged are getting a tax cut. Work that out.

What do we want from this election?

2 Have we listened to the stories in the Child Abuse report? Of those in aged care. Those who have died or are dying from Covid. Or the treatment of women – we cannot escape their anger.

The horror that is our national shame. The dead are many. When will we govern with some form of proactive planning instead of reactive negativity? Did we imagine another variant would never rear its ugly head.? Has the cost spooked them? Rapid antigen tests (RATs) should be free to everyone who requires one. There are many questions.

3 I find it impossible to imagine that the Australian people could be so gullible as to elect for a fourth term a government that has performed so miserably in the previous three, and is becoming worse. And it has amongst its members some of the most devious, suspicious and possibly corrupt men and women in its ranks.

It seems to me that for some time now the electorate has been giving Morrison more than just a cursory going over. Instead, they have become more analytical of the man and his policies. Forensically so.

4 A fascination of mine has always been the “we have the best whatever” statement. We have the best army, the best political system, firefighters, police force. It goes on and on. It’s impossible to have the best everything all the time.

Before the upcoming election, we must do our very best to counter the Government’s claims about these matters.

Now let’s get this straight: We don’t have the best…

5 We are the best managers of the economy, the Coalition would have us believe. Well, the simple fact is that they are not. This link to a post I wrote on the subject affirms it.

The myth created by the Coalition as long back as I care to remember and memorialised for many years since is nothing more or nothing less, a myth.

Of course, those of a conservative bent won’t have a word of it. They simply insist that the tale has God’s word of truth attached to it.

6 John Menadue, always a good read, in The myth that the Liberals are better economic managers? writes that:

“The Coalition is handicapped and hidebound by an out-dated ideology about markets and private enterprise. The tide has turned in the world that now sees the failures of the market system. The Coalition has failed to catch up. That is why we are seeing the failure of the Liberal Party in economic and business management. Its ideology has passed its use-by date.”

7 The consummate liar and How do you trust a liar? are but two articles I have written on the subject of the Government’ s propensity toward telling lies, which you may wish to revisit.

8 Scotty, in his great wisdom, has decided that Rapid Antigen Tests should remain limited to people in close contact with symptoms, pensioners etc., despite growing pressure to provide free tests.

9 On Tuesday on 7.30 Albo faced a load of questions, looking and speaking Prime Ministerial. Like every inch the man you want to lead the country.

I had read earlier in The Guardian that:

“The Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, criticised the government for failing to secure enough RATs, accusing Morrison of again offering “too little too late”.

“This has been an example of something that has characterised Scott Morrison’s prime ministership. He identifies a problem only after it becomes a crisis, and then he doesn’t act. He just seems to blame someone else,” Albanese said at a press conference in Newcastle on Monday.”

No wonder the PM, and many of his associates refused an invite to appear on 7.30.

10 I have been trying to summarise or get my head around what Scomo is talking about on any subject. You see, now he is saying that what I thought he said is only a figment of my imagination. That what I think I thought he meant is not what he meant at all. When he says something, and I take it to mean one thing, he has the option of saying that what I thought I heard was not what I heard.

Or was it only my interpretation of what he meant? I mean, did he say what he meant, or did he mean to say what he meant or was what he meant really what he meant?

Well, that’s politics. And that’s Morrison.

11 And I thought that vaccinating the public was supposed to fix everything. It’s not as if answers aren’t available. The man is totality out of touch with what the problem requires. A man without any qualities of leadership. He should resign. Given his present form, he may take the option of a half-Senate election in May with a general election in August if that’s possible.

12 Here is something you may have missed. We had our coolest year since 2012, but it was still half a degree hotter than the average.

13 Did the panel (whoever they may be) consider that the Tennis Professional Novak Djokovic is a Covid denier and anti-vaccination freak. In my view, the Australian Tennis Open will have its reputation greatly diminished by his presence in the draw. Or booing a champion on the centre court will not do our international reputation much good.

By 6 am, Thursday, the world No.1 was still dealing with Border Force officials at Melbourne Airport.

Note: I will address this update in the comments section.

14 Would you be surprised if I told you that 21 schools received $90 million in JobKeeper payments while making profits of $97 million. Of course, you wouldn’t. Most of them serve highly advantaged families.

Election Diary. 2022. No1. 5 January 2022. “The baggage the LNP have dragged from one year to the next has gotten heavier and heavier.”

I am starting my Election Diary early this time around. It would seem the pollies are off and running, so I thought I had better get my running shoes on. Yet again, Labor will start in front. Well, at least the polls say so.

The importance of this election cannot be understated. Australia is at the crossroads with a democracy that has been ripped asunder by an incompetent government, easily the worst in living memory.

My first diary entry gives an analysis of where the parties currently stand. Anyone is invited to correct my diary or just comment. Even a bit of debate wouldn’t go astray. We welcome it.

According to The Poll Bludger:

“… analysis Labor is leading substantially in each state with the distinct exception of Queensland: by 53-47 in New South Wales, out from 52-48 in the previous quarter, for a swing of about 5% compared with the 2019 election; 56-44 in Victoria, in from 58-42 last quarter, for a swing to Labor of about 3%; 55-45 in South Australia, a swing of about 3%; and, most remarkably, by 55-45 in Western Australia, out from 54-46 last quarter for a swing approaching 11%. The Coalition retains a lead of 54-46 in Queensland, in from 55-45 last quarter, which still amounts to a Labor swing of about 4.5%.”

The bookies (Sportsbet) have Labor on 1.65 and the LNP on 2.20.

Policies released by Labor so far

Labor has released some policies but will campaign chiefly on the following. High-speed rail, child care, climate change, the NBN, a plan to save Medicare, a National Anti-Corruption Body, aged care, repairing social housing, rewiring the nation, free TAFE, and university courses, protecting the ABC, fully funding schools, opposing the Indue Card, and repairing our Australian democracy.

The Liberals say they have a plan

(As described on the Liberal Party official web page.)

They don’t list policies but describe what they say is a plan for Australia’s future. It includes a recovery after Covid-19, a better broadband, tackling union lawlessness, backing outback Australia, strong border protection, a stronger defence force, stronger national security, lower power prices, protecting the environment, supporting Australian women, supporting senior Australians, supporting young Australians, better health and covid responses, support for families, delivering infrastructure, lower taxes, support for small business and implementing Australia’s economic recovery.

The luggage they carry

The Coalition still carry the leftover remnants of past years. The Indigenous Voice to Parliament remains voiceless. Allegations of corruption, Robodebt, lying, and rorting abound. Accusations of poor governance, their attitude toward women. Global warming will be a more significant issue in this election, but the Coalition has come up with a policy that the whole world has condemned as being lousy.

Trust and transparency, wages theft, a national anti-corruption policy are negative issues. Will the religious discrimination bill be introduced before the election?

Damaged relations with China and our region are such a hot topic that it will unavoidably find itself on the list.

Massive tax cuts for the wealthiest Australians and foreign corporations. More expensive university degrees. Attempts to undermine Medicare. Shrinking home ownership. The everyday cost of living is up and higher debt will cost future generations. A fence-sitter, is Rudd’s forced Senate inquiry into Rupert Murdoch’s political influence in Australia.

The pandemic and the economy have become intertwined, making it more challenging for conservatives.

Water theft will be forgotten unless there is a change in government. The Cashless Welfare Card will also take prominence this year. So too the issue of political donations won’t bury its head in the sand. A shake-up of political donation laws is well overdue, including real-time disclosures.

The Government will have to write down the value of the National Broadband Network, however.

Angus Taylor carries so much baggage that it’s hard to imagine him being off any list. I remind you that we don’t yet have formal energy or climate change policies. How about sports rorts?

The lack of funding for the NDIS will continue to be a thorn in the Government’s side, as will its failure with (suicides).

Jumping onto the list will be aged care, which the Morrison Government is responsible for. And, of course, the resulting deaths which I hadn’t included will also take a place on the list. Bush fires (unless more are forthcoming) might drop a rung or two but remain in the public eye because of Morrison’s inept handling of the 2020/21 fires.

Welfare for the poor and vulnerable will also feature.

You might conclude that a party carrying the weight of all this luggage would be unfavoured to win an election, but that is not the case. Many say they will still win.

As for Labor

They carry the burden of toppling a government that has been in power for three terms. “Incumbency is a powerful weapon“. It has behaved well in opposition, but you can be assured the Coalition will throw plenty of mud. (Scare campaigns)

When will it be?

The Coalition’s preferred option for an election date is in May of 2022 rather than March, unless the Government shows signs of winning early in the year. Of course, Morrison will go when he thinks he has the best chance of winning. My view is that given the next scandal is just around the corner, he should visit the Governor General ASAP. (What’s his name?)

Leadership

Labor has as its leader Anthony Albanese, a man of integrity and respect. He has a long history of service to the nation and the Parliament. Albo seems to be everything that Scomo isn’t.

The Liberal and National parties have Scott Morrison and Barnaby Joyce, respectively. One need say nothing more about Morrison other than he is a blatant liar. There is nothing to be said for Joyce.

The Morrison Government consists of some of the most corrupt, ill-disciplined and untrustworthy politicians ever assembled in Parliament.

In Scott Morrison’s Australia, everyday citizens are not supposed to protest those things we know to be unfair. The things we know to be wrong. We are not supposed to object when the Government doesn’t meet our expectations. Workers cannot strike for better conditions.

Free speech is in rapid decline. Nor are we supposed to protest our inability to see or obtain information about the workings of Government.

People who report government wrongdoing are ostracised, and worst of all, government propaganda is seeking to change the way we think.

The absence of empathy is being replaced with narcissistic self-importance. It must stop.

In reality, both major parties have commenced their 2022 campaigns, and it is about time the media (you know who I mean) of this country admitted that there is more than one party running for election and give Labor equal billing.

So far, Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has given the Prime Minister a decent shirtfront every time he has crossed the boundary of lying. In January, I expect Albanese to announce minor preliminary appetiser policies that Australians will find more attractive than the LNPs.

Those who follow politics will acknowledge that the country’s political establishments, conventions, and political truth have been devalued and run-down to the point of being unrecognisable to the constraints we had but a generation ago.

We also have to recognise that it is not those who follow politics (the devotees of both parties) that we have to bring over but those whose vote is insecure-those willing to listen to a story of transparency, trust, fairness, honesty, ideas and sound policy.

Of all the issues, two have captured the electorate’s attention more than the meagre efforts of the Coalition in combating climate change and the decline in the standard of Governance. Rorting and unfairness have run amok and continued throughout the terms of Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison.

A virtual wage freeze has typified the lot of the average wage earner while the ultra-affluent have increased their wealth astronomically.

Robodebt is but one example of the Morrison Government’s unfairness, whilst the largesse of Jobkeeper for companies in comparison boomed during Covid is another.

The country now has more than a trillion dollars of debt, which raises the question of how it is repaid. The usual way of doing so for conservatives is to slash spending.

The usual targets are the ABC, universities, education, the unemployed, women’s programs, etc. After lowering taxes, they would unlikely increase them.

The answers to many questions remain so, but one thing we know for sure: The Morrison government must be defeated at this election.

Here is my plan for defeating the LNP in 2022. (You may also want to read Rob Gerrand and Noel Turnbull’s list on Pearls and Irritations, on which my list is based).

Trust

There is no common thread for a recovering society/economy to cling to without trust. Everyone likes to feel they can trust the other person. On multiple occasions, Morrison has been called out for lying.

The French president called him a liar on the international stage. Albo must go in hard exploiting his untrustworthiness. What will he do if he regains power? Can you trust him?

By comparison, Labor will stand by its promises and commitments.

The economy

Labor sees the post covid economy as an opportunity to marry society with economics where spending is bonded to and justified by the common good. It will grow the post-covid economy in a new state/national government cooperative agreement, including infrastructure and new green technologies.

An electric future confronts us. Electric vehicles are just a starting point. Incentives for Australian companies to undertake research into tomorrow’s key developments and services must be front and centre of Labor’s platform. Even to the extent of introducing a ministry for the future.

Taxation

The tax cuts introduced by the Coalition may not be sustainable, and Labor must be truthful about it.

With a trillion-dollar debt, cutting taxes may not be advisable. Labor should trust the rich and privileged to understand that the debt problem will have to be brought under control. Any economist would testify that it is unsustainable, and the nation has to fix it. A high-level enquiry with the powers of a Royal Commission is the proper way to address the problem. The ultra-greedy must pay their fair share.

Whenever Frydenberg bangs on about tax, remember that the two highest taxing governments of the last thirty years have both been Liberal-National governments, including his. #factsmatter #auspol #qt

— Jim Chalmers MP (@JEChalmers) November 22, 2021

Climate change

The fear I have here is that Labor, after being burned in the past two elections, will fail to recognise that this time around that the climate is a red-hot topic and needs to be respected as such. Tell the country the truth. Coal is finished. It has no future.

Tell mine workers that Labor will ensure that they are looked after as Australia transitions out of coal. Insist that they will not be left behind.

Tell them that the “billions being spent on subsidies for fossil fuels and new gas exploration will be diverted to investment in green hydrogen plants (using solar and wind electricity to generate hydrogen).” Tell them they have a future.

Integrity Commission

Labor needs to go in hard with its promise to release a policy (before Christmas) for a Corruption Commission. Now that the Coalition has vacated the transparent government space, it must promise to end corruption and waste and establish a proper independent anti-Corruption Commission “that has the power to hold politicians to account and stop the rorting.”

The workplace

People may have jobs, and there might be more in the pipeline. However, “wages have barely increased since the Abbot/Turnbull/Morrison governments have been in power.” At the same time, company profits are overflowing.

Labor is, of course, “committed to good jobs with good wages and training all workers, especially the young, for tomorrow’s industries.” The promise of free TAFE places has been a good start, as has its pledge to increase JobSeeker to $450 a week, at the poverty line.

Health

Health has traditionally been one of Labor’s strong suits and it must keep with this tradition. A focus on prevention would appeal to the younger voter. Promising to work with the health funds to reward those willing to adopt healthy lifestyles would be popular with many.

With covid in mind, it must refund our hospitals for their incurred costs. Not only for their selfless efforts during the pandemic but simply because it is something that needs to be done.

Raising doctors’ Medicare rebates (deliberately held down for years) would show how much society appreciates their work.

International relations

Labor should promise to restore the principles of sound old-fashioned diplomatic principles and promise to restore relations with China. Whilst being a treaty nation with the US, we should diplomatically tell them that we will always do what’s best for Australia.

The ABC

Labor would assure the ABC that proper financial support would be legislated over five years instead of three. It would also undertake an assurance that Government would “stop undermining its independence.” The arts would also receive appropriate sustainable support.

Innovation

Labor has already undertaken to fix the balls up, known as the NBN (or Fraudband). It should empathise the urgency of the task.

Labor will make Australia the world leader in green technologies with a fund to support start-ups that show promise.

Labor should offer to increase university funding if they commit to more significant research programmes. It would also provide funding to launch new innovative firms and create thousands of jobs. It must also address the unfinished work of Gonski.

The standard of Governance

The one thing that Morrison is now disliked for that is revealed in focus groups, surveys, and polls is his appalling leadership and governance. You can add to that the performance of his cabinet and Ministers in significant portfolios. This pitiful governance can also be attributed to the junior partner in the Coalition, the National Party.

Morrison cannot even admit that he tells the most outrageous lies and lies on top of lies in the face of facts that show he does. He really believes he doesn’t.

When Howard was our dear leader I was certain I’d seen the worse PM we’ll ever have.

Then came Abbott, & I was convinced I’ll never see worse.

Now we have Morrison, & I’m certain, without a doubt, he can’t be topped as the worst ever.

Nonetheless, it’s a disturbing trend.

— Michael Taylor 🇦🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🖤💛❤️ (@AusIndiMedia) December 12, 2021

I and many others have written over the year about the many examples of rorting in detail, almost to the point of boredom. Here are just a few reminders: Angus Taylor and Josh Frydenberg’s environmental stuff-ups; the sports rorts of Bridget McKenzie; the railway car parks fiasco; the gifting of billions of JobKeeper money to companies that earned record profits; the gifting of billions of dollars to the Government’s fossil fuel friends in the guise of meeting emission targets.

Need I go on?

“You can’t trust Scott Morrison” should be a slogan repeated ad nauseam throughout the election campaign.

As if given a second wind by a few writers who have dared call him out for his blatant lying (me included), the Australian Prime Minister has belligerently doubled down on his deceptions, telling 3AW Radio Host Neil Mitchell when asked if he had ever told a lie in public life, he answered; “I don’t believe so, no.”

Last week, I spoke to a Facebook friend who criticised me for not writing anything positive about this Australian Government. He was right. Indeed, I cannot remember the last time my keyboard had anything positive to say about the LNP and its leader.

I must admit that I took it to heart because I like to think that I can put aside any bias I might have when writing. So, I thought about it for the day and concluded that I was right.

The truth is the Prime Minister’s demeanour over the past week or so has been so agitated and his lying so blatantly offensive that I had to call him out for his dishonesty. I have nothing positive to write about Scott Morrison or his band of liars.

Neither does Chris Bowen, telling Sky News that:

“Tragically, Scott Morrison has managed to trash that, quickly, with his very clumsy handling.

“Secondly, of interest to the Australian people is Scott Morrison’s fundamental dishonesty; I mean this guy lies, he lies to Australians, he lies at every opportunity, he lies about Labor, he lies about the past.”

And Annabel Crabb said this in her weekly email newsletter:

“Never was this feature more in evidence than this week’s prime ministerial heavy-petting tour of Melbourne, during which the nation’s leader blankly denied ever having disparaged electric vehicles during the 2019 election.”

And on it goes, with Sarah Martin reporting in The Guardian that:

“For those who need a reminder, Morrison shamelessly claimed that Labor’s policy, which set a target of half of all new cars to be electric by 2030, would “end the weekend” and lead to apartment dwellers dangling extension cords out of their windows.

“It’s not going to tow your trailer. It’s not going to tow your boat. It’s not going to get you out to your favourite camping spot with your family,” Morrison said at the time.

“A hyperbolic Michaelia Cash, then the small business minister, pledged to ‘stand by our tradies and … save their utes’ from Bill Shorten’s grasp.”

Doug Cameron – always good at hammering a message home – got some runs on the board.

Have known ⁦@AlboMP⁩ for years and watched him promote a stronger, fairer Australia. He has, like his mentor the great Tom Uren always put Australia’s interests first.
To have a despicable fraud like Morrison question his patriotism is disgusting! https://t.co/IJVekOeFiu

— Doug Cameron (@DougCameron51) November 11, 2021

No @PhillipCoorey the Govt has not had an “epiphany”on climate action. It is a cynical ploy after years of climate denialism and is being called out by some professionals in the media.
Unfortunately too many simpering sycophants in the media are grovelling Govt mouthpieces!

— Doug Cameron (@DougCameron51) November 9, 2021

The Australian mainstream media had little to say about it, and surprisingly it hardly rated a mention on last Sunday’s Insiders programme.

His lying on both an international and national scale is very concerning. Without any understanding of the art of diplomacy, it is time perhaps that we should be truly concerned about the man’s ability to govern.

Morrison is currently converting himself and his language to that of outlandish “Trumpism.”

This is now my third post in a row in which I talk about his lying, mistakes, bungles, stuff up’s and what we Australians call a “balls-up.”

It is somewhat extraordinary when you think about it that a government with a lying leader could make so many blunders over such an extended period, many of bewildering proportion, and still be governing.

They have made errors, faults, blunders, slips, indiscretions, gaffes and been obsessed with an appetite for lying unsurpassed in Australian political history, but this Government has survived it all.

Morrison still thinks he is God’s gift to the nation. I find it impossible to imagine that the Australian people could be so gullible to re-elect a government that has performed so miserably over such a long period.

It has some of the most devious, suspicious and allegedly corrupt men and women amongst its MPs, yet we re-elect them. Astonishing, isn’t it?

Every day, it seems, I awaken to a new controversy wondering why illogical opinion is allowed to shout its perverted anger longer and louder than science.

Simply put, their rhetoric about climate change does not match the facts, and has become worse.

We have impacted the climate; can we at least agree on that? Dismiss the science if you wish, but can we acknowledge that the weather is manifestly unlike what we experienced when we were kids.

It is the self-superior wealthy white males who impact our thinking. People like the Trumps of this world have thrown every notion of facts, goodness and empathy out the window, and Australia, as is its way, is following suit.

Both Trump and Morrison are narcissists who have treated the rules and established conventions of democracy that bind a society together like a personal plaything. To bend and corrupt for a hold on power? With Trump now gone, the people of Australia need to see that Morrison suffers the same fate.

The people of this great nation need to, at the next election, reconsider the course their country is taking and the leadership that is compelling them toward disaster. Do we need a leader who lies as triumphantly and belligerently as he does?

In the history of Australia, have the people ever elected a Prime Minister so ready to abuse his powers. If not, then he is most certainly the most divisive ever.

The conversion of some Australians into de facto Americans usually comes after an extended stay in the land of milk and honey. Scott Morrison managed it in his first meeting with Trump.

His conversion to Trumpism is so apparent. So in your face, that we need to ask the Prime Minister if he agrees with the former president’s stated view that “The future does not belong to globalists; it belongs to patriots.”

A term I find to be an ugly and ridiculous proposition.

Morrison’s ability to be “Trumpesque”, repeatedly lie, lie by omission and obfuscate in an Aussie sort of way will either work for him or equally bring him undone.

Now he has added a new dimension to his character. Just like Trump, Morrison now shoots from the hip, rejecting anything he has said in the past as a Labor lie. Being “loose with the truth” is now the norm, even when confronted by a literal truth.

He warned against fuelling “needless anxiety”:

Watch: Australian PM @ScottMorrisonMP has warned against fuelling "needless anxiety" among Australian children in the wake of a scathing judgment from Swedish activist @GretaThunberg about the danger of climate change. "I've always liked kids to be kids," Mr Morrison said. pic.twitter.com/4QZQbJ1gYr

— The Sydney Morning Herald (@smh) September 25, 2019

If Scott Morrison wanted our kids to be free of worry and anxiety about their future, then he should do something about it.

He could start by declaring a climate emergency and not opening up more coal mines.

Morrison also claimed that:

“… activists had spread ‘completely false’ reports about Australia’s efforts on climate change.”

How grubby, how condescending, how patronising when speaking to the voices of tomorrow; the sufferers of his decisions.

And speaking of grubby, on Sky News Rowan Dean said:

“… climate activist Greta Thunberg has now become a “diagnostician able to cure mental illnesses” with the “medication” of climate change activism.”

Oh dear.

What do these misogynistic, demented, bigoted, and narcissistic right-wing zealots and deniers like Alan Jones, Andrew Bolt, Sam Newman, Chris Kenny, Mark Latham Lyle Shelton know about delusion? Other than they might all suffer from it themselves.

What do they see in this mild-mannered young girl that provokes such intense rage?

These types deny the science of climate change. All of them have debased, belittled, insulted, and pilloried a young girl who believes passionately in the planet before self-interest and greed.

In their temper, they have thrown at her some of the vilest, vicious criticism, but in the face of their bullying, she has stood mature and resolute.

Have they not viewed the pictures of our youth protesting in all our major cities and beyond?

Morrison repeated his claim that Australia exceeded its emissions targets in his recent speech to the United Nations. A claim those who know anything on the subject say is bullshit. Morrison’s use of Trumpesque language must be seen as words of bullshit and was taken as such when he addressed a near-empty auditorium at the COP26 meeting in Scotland.

Scott Morrison, his government, and by association the Australian people are now an international joke on climate policy.

Whatever advances we are so far making is being done by business and the state governments. Indeed, not the Australian Government.

Australia’s climate policies have:

• been ranked last for its climate policies behind Russia and Brazil
• slipped four spots to 58th overall in latest Climate Change Performance Index

What a disgrace we are.

More to the point, what a disgrace Scott Morrison is.

The person you can most easily convince about anything is yourself because you are susceptible to your own emotions – your own bias and beliefs. Some people are more prone to believing their own bullshit than others. In this instance, l refer to the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Some can consider these susceptibilities when speaking or writing about different subjects like politics, for example. Others have it in varying degrees, while others have no control over it at all.

It can be infuriating when listening to a politician answer a question (or most likely not answer), and you know the words they are using belong to a question they would have liked to have been asked.

You know what I mean. It goes backwards and forwards (you know, the answer) until the interviewer goes on to the next question. Your frustration builds while your respect diminishes.

The best tactician in this regard is the Prime Minister himself. He uses what l call the ‘conlie‘, where he simply denies any association with what he might have said.

You know it’s a con, but you separate the hustle from the lie. Then the argument is discussed in terms of the differences between the deception and the falsehood rather than the lying itself.

This week he used this technique regarding what he had said about electric cars during the 2019 election campaign.

Yes we're updating the Morrison Dossier of Lies right now.

Morrison says the claim that he campaigned against electric vehicles in 2019 is "a Labor lie."

Here's the video of him ridiculing and campaigning against electric vehicles in 2019.https://t.co/iSpCoRWQJN

— Bernard Keane (@BernardKeane) November 9, 2021

It’s akin to saying that life is about perception. Not what is but what we perceive it to be. Or people see what they are thinking and feeling, seldom what they are looking at. Morrison appeals to those who have reasoned by virtue of their feelings that they are correct, and it is totally futile to appeal to their logic.

That is why (if my previous remarks make sense to you) most people from the left at least have no hesitation in calling our leader a liar, and I think it’s safe to say he now surpasses Tony Abbott.

In 2019 during the election campaign after Labor announced its EV Policy, Morrison said that it would; “end the weekend”, and incorrectly stated that the vehicles in question wouldn’t “tow your trailer.” Then he questioned how people in apartments would charge them.

A reporter asks the PM about his remarks on EVs in 2019: "What about all these charging stations, how much will that cost…are you going to run the extension cord down from your window?" Morrison says "there has been a massive change in technology" since then. #Auspol @SBSNews pic.twitter.com/AUyY2gtlLw

— Naveen Razik (@naveenjrazik) November 9, 2021

His policy for this election, it seems, is to set up how the vehicle would be charged. It came with a rather ridiculous scare campaign on utilities.

Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers, appearing on RN Breakfast, labelled the U-turn an embarrassment:

“How humiliating for a prime minister who said electric vehicles would end the weekend,” he said. “[He’s] now trying to pretend, all of a sudden, because we’re on the eve of an election, that he cares about electric vehicles.”

Writing for The Monthly today Rachael Withers asked the question:

“So how exactly does Morrison intend to pull off this brazen backflip, from claiming EVs would ruin the Australian way of life to spruiking his own highly insufficient EV plan? The answer is with a shamelessness that outstrips many of his earlier instances of barefaced lying.”

When asked about his “end the weekend” comments at Melbourne’s Toyota hydrogen production centre, he classically did what I said he does. He conlied:

“I don’t have a problem with electric vehicles … claiming his issue was only ‘with governments telling people what to do, and what vehicles they should drive, and where they should drive them,’ as he alleged former Labor leader Bill Shorten had wanted to do.”

Again, he is lying by omission and twisting words. He went on to say things that Shorten had never spoken:

“Even when a reporter argued that Morrison couldn’t honestly say he hadn’t attacked EVs back in 2019, Morrison claimed he could “because that’s true.”

One cannot help but pick up on the likeness, style, and technique Morrison shares with former US President Donald Trump. “I didn’t say that,” when it is clear that he did.

Quoting Rachael Withers again:

“Morrison wilfully misrepresenting the Opposition’s policy as a “mandate” (it was a target, with incentives to boost uptake, which experts and the Electric Vehicles Council say is what’s needed), while suggesting it is Labor that is fibbing. “That is just a Labor lie,” he said, speaking of comments he made on the public record.”

I get so frustrated when Morrison does this. Indeed, it isn’t too much to ask that in a democracy that our politicians at least tell the truth. I, like most Australians, want to be proud of our Prime Minister and the work they do.

Morrison’s falsity is written all over his face. It is commonly accepted amongst writers that he is a liar, and I could never trust anything he says – the man’s an inveterate liar.

I have been flipping through a new book by former Rudd advisor and Monthly Today columnist Sean Kelly, titled, The Game. Kelly observes that:

“Morrison never feels, in himself, insincere or untruthful because he always means exactly what he says; it is just that he means it only in the moment he is saying it.”

When one thinks about it, the way Morrison lies might mean that there is some truth in it.

Unfortunately for Morrison, his insincerity on climate now just comes over as old fashioned bullshit, or he is conlying.

Of all the handouts, in whatever form, be it the Sports Rorts or others, the most blatant has been the $38 billion that went to employers that did not suffer sustained downturns below the required threshold levels, new data reveals.

Yes, that’s correct; the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) found at least $38 billion of taxpayers money was transferred to the private sector through JobKeeper.

Labor MP Dr Andrew Leigh, who is casting a forensic look over the program, told the ABC that:

“Every dollar paid out on JobKeeper needs to be paid by Australians, either in the form of higher taxes, lower services or more debt.”

Nothing I have read has been critical of the scheme itself; most have praised it. However, there is no doubt that it had some real problems, and it didn’t contain a section or clause that would have prevented this astonishing amount from being given away for basically nothing or being paid back, for that matter.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said a recent report showed the pandemic heavily impacted businesses that received JobKeeper:

“It saved lives and livelihoods and supported more than four million Australians and a million businesses during the greatest economic shock since the Great Depression.”

Well, that’s great, but it still evades the question of how $38 billion in JobKeeper funds found its way into businesses that shouldn’t have received it.

If they were gracious enough to say it was an oversight, they would cop a bit of flack but, in turn, would be appreciated for their honesty.

But crikey, $38 billion is a lot of our money to be giving away.

The Parliamentary Budget Office also found that:

“$1.3b went to companies where turnover tripled during the quarter for which they claimed JobKeeper… And a further $1.3b was paid to companies that doubled their quarterly turnover. “

Dr Leigh told the ABC:

“We had firms that were doubling or tripling their revenues, and yet still getting money from Josh Frydenberg.”

“At a time at which he should have been a frugal custodian of the nation’s finances, he was spraying money around like a Formula 1 winner spraying champagne over the crowd.”

University of New South Wales economics professor Richard Holden said:

“… the scheme did its job and it was the right call not to adjust JobKeeper for six months.

“The idea was to provide certainty in a time of radical uncertainty.”

“And the way you provide certainty is to make something simple, clear and not subject to change within a certain timeframe.”

Under the Coalitions “Need to know” philosophy, the ordinary punter cannot find out just who the beneficiaries of this enormous sum of money were.

The ABC reported at the time that:

“Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was alerted less than three months into JobKeeper that businesses were getting taxpayer support while increasing their turnovers.”

Such is their paranoia they won’t allow the tax office to disclose the names of the companies who benefited from Treasurer Frydenberg’s mistake. True, some have come clean and revealed what they got, but the majority have not. Were donors involved? We may never know.

Some have, in “the Australian way,” returned the money as a matter of conscience. The reader may recall that the programme’s cost was reduced by half when Treasury informed Frydenberg that they had made an error. The cost of the program has been nearly halved from $130 billion to about $70 billion.

Just why we aren’t allowed to know who the offending companies are is beyond me. Sometimes they act like a police state with all this lack of transparency and secrecy. These days it isn’t easy to find information under FOI.

Imagine how emboldened they will be if they win the next election.

With another win under their belts, one doesn’t need a vivid imagination to see how they would take it as a licence to rip the joint asunder. I dare not overthink about it lest I break out in a cold sweat.

The Coalition “must win 33 of the 48 seats on offer in WA and Queensland” to maintain the status quo.

Given the performance of what one can only describe as a corrupt, disgusting government, you might even be forgiven for thinking that Labor is in with a chance against this teflon-coated Coalition.

However, making it just a fraction easier has been the Prime Ministers erratic behaviour. It is disingenuous for the Australian Prime Minister to invoke patriotism and nationalism in defence of the accusation that he lied to France, and his shouty response is also noteworthy.

He is not my sort of leader, but for those who like to be led in his lecture come bossy style, it’s a winning one.

French President Macron branded him a liar, and he disowned some of our exporters with his misplaced diplomacy toward China. On top of that, the American President has called him clumsy, and in an Australian context, I would suggest he is a fool. He seeks permanency of power through his interpretation of righteousness.

His shouty response to accusations is also noteworthy, and never in my eighty years has an Australian Prime Minister leaked against an international leader.

The next poll will determine just what the people think of his brand of diplomacy.

Our Prime Minister has been called a liar by the President of France, and the worst thing about that is that it is unsurprising. People’s worldview will now be that Australia and its politicians cannot be trusted, and our leaders have only themselves to blame.

Hardly a day has passed since Tony Abbott and the Coalition came to power that some form of corruption, controversy or pathetic behaviour hasn’t been the subject of our media headlines.

What is it that in a thriving multicultural and prosperous country that would invoke Scott Morrison to summon the expression; “we will do it the Australian way.”

Before he did so, I intended to invite the reader to comment on the list of subjects that follow, but now you can add “the Australian way” to it or even how the world sees us as a nation.

1 On leaving for the Glasgow summit and upon his arrival, Scott Morrison looked and acted decidedly nervous. As he approached the podium to announce Australia’s emissions target for 2050, the adrenalin was pumping like a man about to tell a lie. Mind you, nervousness when you knowingly tell lies must be different than when you unwittingly tell them. Now with the added slogan “we will do it the Australian way,” one would have to be super careful about how you apply a saying that could be turned around, twisted or turned upside down – just saying. Anyway, Katherine Murphy has a good article on the subject here. And writing in the New Daily, Alan Kohler says:

“Most people in Glasgow will dismiss him as a freeloader, or laugh at his gall to come to such a consequential conference with something so inconsequential, but some might seize upon it as a remarkably fine wheeze.”

And this is the Australian way?

2 Insiders 31 October. David Speers interviews Angus Taylor from Rome. Taylor says $20 billion of taxpayer’s money to fund new technology. No new taxes after that. If it doesn’t work, then the government of the day will have to sort it out. It seems that if they could describe the $20 billion as other than our taxes, they would.

This is the Australian way?

3 Just as it would seem that finally, the public comprehends the importance of doing something about climate change, Labor becomes overly cautious about being burnt again. Come on be brave, Albo.

This is the authentic Australian way.

4 This is what brave is. “I’m a footballer, and I’m gay.”

It’s hard to believe that in 2021, a young tearful soccer player, instead of just being one among many, has to identify himself as gay; otherwise, he won’t be recognised. Well done, young man.

Setting an example of the Australian way.

5 “Opposition Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers has outlined a new political and policy strategy for Labor to target Australia’s middle class by developing an inclusive growth agenda.” The Australian 31, October Paywall.

A winning way.

6 On 31 October 2016, I wrote on Facebook that housing affordability is an issue they have put in the public domain without having anything positive to say about it.

No, this is not the Australian way.

7 I’m testing my memory, but I cannot recall an Australian Prime Minister who had his own personal photographers.

A marketing way.

8 Roy Morgan’s fortnightly poll has Labor’s two-party lead out from 53-47 to 54-46, from primary votes of Coalition 36.5% (down one), Labor 35% (down one), Greens 13.5% (up two) and One Nation 3.5% (up half).

Now, that’s the way.

9 “It was not done with a lot of grace. I was under the impression that France had been informed long before that the deal was not going through. Honest to God, I did not know you had not,” said the President of the USA.

Definitely not the Australian way.

10 The Australian Government, during its tenure, to put it lightly, has tried to bury our access to information. In my view, the only area where there is a valid reason to withhold information is in our national defence.

This article by Christopher Knaus of The Guardian points out the failings of the Morrison Government.

“Prime minister Scott Morrison’s office also again failed to meet lawful timeframes in the majority of FOI requests it received, according to the latest Office of the Australian Information Commission’s (OAIC) annual report.”

They do it their way.

11 The length to which the Morrison government has gone to protect Christian Porter is another example of power gone mad. The government doesn’t seem to mind how much it destroys our democracy.

And then there was this, as reported in The New Daily:

“Despite Speaker of the House, Tony Smith – a Liberal MP – deeming there was a “prima facie” case to refer Mr Porter to Parliament’s privileges committee, the government general from further scrutiny.”

For 120 years, this has been critical protection against corruption, yet the government walks away from anything that threatens its power.

In silent protest, this fine Speaker has moved to the backbench.

Protesting in the Australian way.

12 JobKeeper continues to find its way into the headlines. Now churches, it seems, were the benefactors of thousands of dollars, and The Guardian reported that:

“Hope Unlimited Church, a global church that began on the New South Wales Central Coast, revealed in filings to the charity regulator that it posted a $1.6m profit last year while receiving $660,000 in Jobkeeper payments.”

An unChristian way.

13 What did you think about Murdoch’s publications doing a backflip on Climate Heating. True, after telling its readers that the whole thing was a hoax for over a generation. From The Monthly:

“News Corp, meanwhile, began its recently foreshadowed pivot towards advocating for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 (or “Mission Zero” as it has been labelled), shamelessly pretending it had not spent years tearing down any and all efforts to achieve it – something Australian of the Year Grace Tame quickly dubbed “greenhouse gaslighting“.

“Momentum has clearly shifted on the net-zero debate, especially in light of News Corp’s late-stage conversion: 69 per cent of Australians want the government to commit to the target, according to the latest Climate of the Nation report, while a whopping 82 per cent back the phasing-out of coal, and these numbers have been growing for a long while.”

He does it his way.

14 Paul Fletcher has become the go-to man when the government wants to tell lies and do it while at the same time sounding reasonable. The car parking scam is but one example. The Guardian reports that:

“The auditor-general lashed the scheme in a report released mid-year, finding it was “not effective” and projects had been handpicked by the government based on the advice of its own MPs and candidates ahead of the 2019 election.“

A conservative way.

15 Lest it be forgotten in the essence of time when the campaign starts, don’t forget these words about Greg Hunt.

“After claiming “official” discussions with Pfizer had only started in December, Health Minister Greg Hunt has finally confirmed that the government met with Pfizer last July to discuss purchasing the Pfizer vaccine. Sources say Australia was given options for as many doses as needed to be delivered in January this year, yet government officials turned down the offer Callum Foote reports from Michael West Media.”

Lying is un-Australian.

16 Paul Keating speaks at the National Press Club Wednesday, 10 November 12.30 ABC24.

A genuine Australian way.

17 Just to prove they are tough; our very conservative government has refugees who haven’t committed a crime incarcerated on Nauru for no good reason. It has been ten years now. And the Biloela family still languish somewhere in outer Perth. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke, another Hillsong man, granted her parents and six-year-old sister Kopika bridging visas to be together while she recovers.

The Australian way?

And I’ll finish how I started: the Prime Minister has been called a liar by the President of France. The worst thing about that is that it is unsurprising.