Barnaby sounds worried
Barnaby Joyce definitely doesn’t want a federal ICAC – a view he tried to justify in a rather extraordinary article in the SMH today in which he contends that a Federal anti-corruption body will manacle political vision.
It would be “an abrogation of democracy” if “the vision of elected representatives” was “usurped by another pillar of bureaucracy such as the proposed commission”, argues Barnaby.
“Government ministers have – and must have – the discretion to step outside bureaucratic recommendations and make decisions based on a vision for a greater Australia. It might be a decision based on their political views, or on their compassion, and it might not subscribe to the purity of a business case.
Any deviation from bureaucratic edict could be deemed corruption, so the primacy of the decision-making shifts from the parliament of the people to the bureaucracy of the government.”
Mr Joyce seems to miss the point that a federal ICAC would not remove a minister’s right to make decisions. They would just be required to justify them, as they supposedly are now if they go against departmental recommendations.
He claims that a body like the NSW ICAC would “usurp not only the proper process of democracy but of jurisprudence”, pointing to the “eviscerating, salacious expose´ into the personal life of Gladys Berejiklian”.
What the supporters of Saint Glad fail to admit is that she wasn’t being investigated for her choice of boyfriend, as ill-advised as it may have been. Ms Berejiklian chose to use public money to bolster the political fortunes of her secret lover, all the while not disclosing any conflict of interest.
Even more damning was the allegation that Ms Berejiklian was aware of the corrupt conduct of Mr McGuire, who has admitted using his position for personal gain, and did not report it as she is legally obliged to do.
It is telling that the NSW ICAC recently held a conference where pre-eminent members of the legal profession explained that pork-barrelling is, in fact, illegal despite what our politicians might think.
Constitutional law expert, Anne Twomey, told the forum “something I probably should not admit publicly” about previously being tasked with drafting a ministerial code of conduct while working in the legal branch of the NSW public service.
“We formed a beautiful one on the basis of best practice and it went to cabinet and I got called up to the cabinet door and they said, ‘nope we’re not doing any of that’,” she said, adding that a different code of conduct was “dictated to me from the cabinet room”.
“They didn’t want proper rules and restrictions on their powers in the code of conduct at all,” she said.
Which brings me back to Barnaby and why he might be worried.
For years, he has been doling out money hand over fist, often to people with connections to the Liberal or National parties, for water rights or dubious dams.
There was the Politics in the Pub night in Shepparton where Joyce promised irrigators more water from the Murray-Darling.
“We have taken water, put it back into agriculture, so we could look after you and make sure we don’t have the greenies running the show.”
He dismissed a Four Corners program about water theft as “them trying to take more water off you, trying to create a calamity.”
Never mind about fish kills and dried up rivers and towns with no drinking water.
Then there was ‘Watergate’ where Barnaby paid $80 million to a company with connections to Angus Taylor for worthless overland water flows.
Urannah dam is a whole other can of worms with hundreds of millions being funnelled to a company run by people with links to the LNP for a project facing serious questions about its economic benefit.
Likewise the Dungowan dam proposed for Barnaby’s own electorate, where he said he has “no real interest” in seeing the business case because “we’re not asking for a return”.
In March, Joyce promised $5.4 billion to build the Hells Gate dam on the Burdekin River despite there being no business case and no assessment of the environmental impacts yet.
Barnaby’s baby, the Inland Rail, also deserves scrutiny.
It’s time our politicians realised that public money is not theirs to dole out to mates or to use for their own political or personal benefit and if it takes a Federal ICAC to stop them, then bring it on – the sooner, the better.
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Return to home pageObvious skeletons to be found?
A whole graveyard full, Goog.
B Joyce has a crooked outlook, is indeed a suspicious type, always was, and believes “talking” to people and getting things done (by any means) is life.., And this is where his religious superstitious low grade education, belief system and attitudes collide with law and decency, for he will seek forgiveness and understanding, all the while believing in his righteouis superiority of thinking and believing. It’s a romanist way, attitude, doing what you want because of instinct. Mafia, church, people, result, same bankers, different clothes, and all of us can get stuffed, like the turkeys they think we are.
The Barnaby Coal Gang have every right to be worried about a federal ICAC.
Lets start with the multi million dollar deal he made with the ex-Minister for Burning Fossil Fuels to sell farmers water rights that he didn’t own, without proper process, transparency or accountability.
Or we could look at the federal government, at Barnaby’s behest, paying over $500,000 to hook up one already very profitable business in Barnaby’s electorate to FttP NBN. Barnaby neglected to disclose in his request the fact that his partner Vicki Campion owns shares in the company. When this was brought up by a journalist, the response, as always, was “Any suggestion Mr Joyce acted inappropriately is off base and only serves to perpetuate the anti-regions campaign the Labor party is running.” Any scrutiny of Barnaby’s largesse is portrayed as an attack on the regions. Great excuse to avoid any scrutiny of profligate, and possibly corrupt, spending.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/mar/25/nbn-upgrade-to-single-business-in-barnaby-joyces-electorate-to-cost-630000
with so many candidates for investigation by a federal ICAC, it might take a while for Barnaby and Scotty to actually have to face the music…. I mean Angus alone might take a fair amount of time, then there is Christian with questions to answer and Alan to explain why $500,000 is allocated to his ex girlfriend when there are no suspicious circumstances….
oh what interesting times we live in
Kaye Lee, what do we know about the latest on this?
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/nov/28/mining-giants-make-fresh-bid-to-explore-for-gas-with-licence-that-covers-land-owned-by-barnaby-joyce
Bananababy now keeps a big wheeled container filled with brown trousers and attached changing room close at hand because every time hears the words “federal ICAC” he soils, like Sir Robin, himself.
Barnaby reminds me of the president of a football club who publicly throws his support behind a struggling coach and announces that the coach’s job is safe… then sacks him the following week.
(Don’t ask me to explain the analogy. It was there when I started typing.)
The reason Barnyard Joyce, Bridget McKenzie, Michaelia Cash, Angus Taylor, Peter Dutton and that smug, autocratic elitist, Scott Morrison – as well as just about every member of the cabinet of totally corrupt, rorting political parasites in the LNP – are raging against an ICAC or doing their very best to prevent the formation of an independent ICAC – particularly one that has the power to investigate politicians RETROSPECTIVELY – is because they are corrupt to the eyeballs! So many members of the LNP are now multi-millionaires at the expense of ordinary working- and middle-class Australians. So many LNP MPs have had a sudden, mysterious and unexplained hike in their personal wealth that needs intensive and retrospective investigation!
I enjoyed Barnaby’s dissertation on why having a standing body to investigate corruption would put a ‘helluvva crimpy franger’ over his standard political modus operandi of arbitrarily operating contrary to all qualified advice.
I look forward to his thesis on why mandatory drug & alcohol testing for politicians at work would impede his usual ‘dynamic decision making processes’.
Quothe Greg Mullins; “Barnaby who?”
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/after-a-decade-in-the-freezer-climate-voices-welcomed-back-to-canberra-20220602-p5aqo6.html
Looking at the above photo Barnaby reminds me more of a potato than a beetroot. There are red potato’s and there is a spud theme going on.
CL, it looks like a skin tag with a human face.
My B Joyce visual association is of a lumpily misshapen and extra-fatty meatball crafted from the dodgiest offcuts of a cancer-riddled cow.
And here’s a picture… https://www.google.com.au/search?q=single+raw+meatball&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiurYz-g5v4AhXioukKHXOjCj0Q2-cCegQIABAC&oq=single+raw+meatball&gs_lcp=ChJtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1pbWcQAzoECAAQQzoFCAAQgAQ6BggAEB4QCDoECAAQHjoECAAQDToICAAQHhAIEA06BggAEB4QDToICAAQHhANEAU6BAgeEApQiRpYkTNg8T9oAHAAeACAAcMEiAGyE5IBCTItNi4xLjAuMZgBAKABAcABAQ&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-img&ei=3hqfYq7GNOLFpgfzxqroAw&bih=553&biw=375&client=safari&prmd=isvn#imgrc=dOzJi3BFdeu5yM&lns=W251bGwsbnVsbCxudWxsLG51bGwsbnVsbCxudWxsLG51bGwsIkVrY0tKR001WkRZeE1UWmxMVGMwWlRjdE5EazFPUzFpWldGbUxXSXlPVEJtWldaak5XSTFPUklmY3pselRXOXdVV1YxTmpSaldVeHVaVFo2U1ROWFNGQldVa055V1VWNFp3PT0iXQ==
Mmmmm, the raw meatball is a very good likeness.
its obvious, he’s been in the candy store so long , he feels entitled. He fails the pub test, hang em high.
Barnaby Joyce, head like a kicked in shit can. Personality to match.
Barnaby is Dorian Grays portrait.