Obviously thinking of their success at the last election, the Coalition have trotted out basically the same marketing strategy this time – we stopped the boats and we used to have a surplus – but who would have thought they would have the sheer gall to run with the ‘disunity’ angle again.
After knifing their own sitting Prime Minister, one would have thought they would have avoided this line of attack but no, out they come with their talking points of the day, jumping on any Labor candidate who expresses concern for the inmates of Manus and Nauru or who questions the advisability of opening whopping big new coal mines.
Josh Frydenberg is out there saying Labor is “trying to walk on both sides of the street” by allowing certain candidates to voice opposition to coalmines.
“It’s his candidate and party that are sending a finger upwards to the people who have jobs in the coalmining industry. It’s up to Bill Shorten to say whether he supports jobs and whether he supports his Labor colleagues in Queensland who do support the Adani mine.”
Since they don’t want to talk about how many boats have been intercepted, the Coalition is instead broadcasting a count of how many Labor candidates have shown an inkling of compassion for refugees.
What would be more informative is a count of Coalition MPs who think climate change is crap.
Greg Hunt is demanding that Labor show the modelling of the cost of 50% renewables by 2030 whilst refusing to show the modelling of the cost of Direct Action beyond 2020.
And what of the government MPs who have said they will vote against marriage equality regardless of the results of the plebiscite? Does Malcolm support his Coalition colleagues who think homosexuality is an abomination?
And let’s have a hands up of government MPs who are opposed to abortion, or contraception for that matter.
Could we have a count of those who, like George Christensen, think Islam should be banned.
Is the Coalition going to unite behind the lunatic fringe just for the sake of ‘unity’?
PS How’s the support for your superannuation changes going Malcolm?
Good stuff Kaye! Bit divisive though, all those facts!….Hee Hee…..Keep up your great work, love it!
Kaye, we have a big problem with the MSM , giving they have already decided we’d be better off with an LNP government. The Guardian also has a perceived bias towards the LNP as most posters have commented on since the election campaign began.
Now, after yesterday Bishop performance, unrest is growing in government ranks about the super changes.
Just wonder when will come the re-calibration of policies by the Coalition…….
I’m having difficulty here! How can the lunatic fringe hide behind the lunatic fringe?
Hitting the people that are already in transition to retirement is not a good idea – their tax will increase by 15% which is a big change. By all means, make the changes for the future so people can plan accordingly but you can’t change the rules on people who are already using the current system.
Islam should be banned from all forms of government support/allowances/charity status until such time as people are allowed to leave the religion far more freely. Just as OPUS Dei type Christian mobs and Scientology should be banned for the same reason.
But yes, I agree with your premise. The MSM love to report on each and every ALP candidate that expresses a more humane view. There is much about Shorten I hate, and he remains just the lesser of two evils. There is too much neo-liberalisation in the deals his and other unions have done lately (eg Coles and within the same area, not really supporting penalty rates).
keerti,
I wanted to put the whole damn lot of them in the photo. The few who had any sense or scruples are leaving. They are filling the ranks with people like Tim Wilson and James Paterson who know nothing other than the IPA’s paid view of the world. At least George Brandis will have some playmates.
jimhaz,
The deals struck by unions were what the members voted for. They got a higher base hourly rate. That’s what they wanted.
I am more than happy for charitable works to be tax exempt. I am less than happy about profit making religious business enterprises being tax exempt. Australia is one of only 2 (?) countries in the world who don’t separate the two and tax the businesses.
Another good article Kaye – my question is a little off topic though.
Did anyone read Sandy Keane’s article for Independent Australia of the 26th May.
Some one contacted her with a story (which may or may not be true), but the gist of it was regarding Turnbull’s rather lack lustre form about policies and how/why he ‘stabbed’ Abbott in the back. Abbott didn’t resign like Gillard did, but is still there in the background hoping to be re-elected. The person eludes to a secret deal done between Turnbull and Abbott purely to the LNP back for another 3 years. They also said that perhaps Turnbull will step aside for Abbott sometime in the next 15 months so that Abbott can resume the PMship.
They also mentioned Clive Palmer’s last question asked in QT as to whether Turnbull was just keeping the seat warm for Abbott.
This is purely conjecture of course, but it surely makes a lot more sense to me now as to why Turnbull is following pretty much all of the policies.
Kaye, perhaps you could look up the IA article by Sandi and see what you think.
@Kaye
[The deals struck by unions were what the members voted for. They got a higher base hourly rate. That’s what they wanted]
Or what they were presented with by the union. It is a bit like we got Abbott because of the way he was presented to the majority by the Murdoch press. There might also have been issues about the voting practice – did more non/low shift workers form more of the vote.
i do not believe excuses should be made. The union would have known the facts or were negligent.
Re Abbott and his return. Terry Barnes says:
get Abbott’s superior campaigning skills into the thick of the fray. One wonders whether Abbott’s scare tactics would have the same effect second time around. But I would urge Malware to give Abbott a go. Can’t do any harm. And while he’s at it, bring Peta on board as a special advisor. Kiss and make-up. ? ?
But don’t leave any knives lying around.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-01/barnes-turnbull-must-bring-abbott-back/7465382
Politicians. Few of them are worth the money we pay for them, and most are not worth the oxygen they steal from us.
After two shots of the truth and failing, they become a sick comedy act that nauseates most.
The National sport must be masochist in nature, considering what we choose to represent ourselves with.
After so much spin in the last election, enough to make a seasoned Astronaut puke on Terra-firma, I have found every reason I can to avoid their commercial activities this time around.
For it is on their own historical record and actions, without a single promise believed, I will choose who I vote for this time. Yes, the past can be a “Gotcha” moment of the best kind. 🙂
I have to admit, this election is so much quieter this time.
Is it because no one is talking about why this election is happening now?
The silence on that has been almost deafening, except for this site and two others out of all that is available that I can find.
Thank you and the Independent Media for your insights, for I couldn’t stomach the commercial pap this time around.
But please, expecting intelligence in comments from Ministers in a kakistocratic Government?
Hahahahahahahaha :'{P
Malcolm Turnbull has a cheek saying Pauline Hanson should be run out of the country (or words to that effect) for her views – yet he endorses that awful oafish bigot George Christiansen in Qld demanding that his electorate NOT take any refugees. (amongst other oafish things)
I haven’t read every article here in the last 24 hours but from what I’ve read so far it seems that Turnbull’s latest tactic has been missed.
Yesterday Turnbull was challenged on his move to the right. This came out of Shorten’s effective attack on this front during the debate. It’s hurting Turnbull and the surveys are showing people want politics to be towards the centre.
Turnbull is hamstrung and can’t move left an iota with being crucified. It was the far right that got him into power and that are keeping him there, and to Turnbull power is more important than any principles or past long held tenets, so instead of moving to the centre himself he framed Shorten as moving to the far left.
Paraphrasing. “I would be more worried about Shorten’s move left to the Greens than with me keeping my long held position.”
See what he’s done there? Made out as though he hasn’t changed his past position, which was centre right, but Shorten has moved way left from already being left. In other words Turnbull shifted the goal posts.
Don’t know how successful this will and he hasn’t repeated it so he might have judged it didn’t hold water.
Jaquix, in our Kakistocracy, do you really expect a valid and logical comment that is worthwhile, to come from the worst people our Country has to offer?
sandrasearle,
Aside from any backroom deals, a lot of the people who supported Turnbull were from marginal seats – they were the ones who got scared under Abbott. So if there is a swing against the government, quite a few Turnbull supporters may go. They are running this campaign as all about the leader so if they lose seats they will quickly blame Malcolm.
jimhaz,
I do not know enough about the negotiations and outcomes to comment further other than what I said before which I read somewhere. All union members would have been eligible to vote. If people aren’t union members, or didn’t bother voting, then they have to abide by what the majority accepted. If the deal was done without being put to the vote, or if the information was incorrect, it would be a different story.
ME,
It’s funny watching this Green germs no return campaign. Kroger says he’s done a deal, the Greens say they haven’t. Then the Coalition warns about a Labor/Greens alliance after they have just collaborated to get several pieces of legislation through starting with eliminating the debt cap.
Green germs….lol That is how they are portrayed err yucky dirty green germs, we must wash our hands of them.
Yes the IPA recruits keep on coming. Work hardened and all.
Take the case of James Paterson. Here was young Jim, on his push bike, delivering a telegram to the IPA when he was recruited by John Roskam who made him an Executive Director in charge of the photocopier on the second floor. With all that real world experience behind him Jim was considered suitable to be a Senator. And it came to pass.
But at least he didn’t belong to a ‘collective’ like a union. Now he belongs to a ‘collective’ called a political party.
And so it goes as Vonnegut would say.
Coles and the union deal, SMH today. “. . . Coles underpaid its employees and cut penalty rates in a deal with the Shop assistants union that cost low-paid workers perhaps $70 million a year. Fair Work Commission found some of the 77,000 workers faced significant underpayment from the deal. Tens of thousands of Coles workers have been paid penalty rates that are lower than the workplace award. The Commissions ruling on an appeal by trolley worker is a humiliating judgement for Coles and the conservative Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Associatin (SDA) the A L P’s largest union affiliate.
It is likely up to half a million workers are being underpaid due to cosy deals struck between big companies and the SDA. That includes agreements struck with Woolworths and McDonalds.”
Also worth a read “Hockey used terror threat to try to block Cabcharge details.” Apparently Sloppy Joe flucking up around the same time as Slipper. Driver had signed on Eleventy’s behalf Cabcharge dockets worth at least $10,000 dollars from as early as 2009.
Definitely a shitty state of affairs when people who express compassion can be used by this mob (LNP) of morally bankrupt twunts. The politics of hate rule, democracy for the dollar by the dollar.
Stuff them all
Malcolm has to support the right wing religious loony faction because they helped him to “et tu, Brute” Tony Rasputin Abbott or they’ll get rid of him (which I think is going to happen after the election anyway). He’s buggered either way.
Thanks for that link Vikingduk. It seems your concerns were justified jimhaz. I just listened to Dave Oliver (ACTU) saying that’s why we have an independent umpire and we are pleased with any decision that improves workers’ pay and conditions. That’s not good enough. They are supposed to negotiate deals where no worker will be worse off. The union clearly did not do enough homework on that.
He also talked about McDonald’s and how much their pay has increased over the last few years. It wasn’t convincing.
And right on cue from that never-ending source of lunacy, Cory Bernardi….
“Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi has lobbed a small munition into the political afternoon by linking to a Roosh article, which opens thusly.
‘Oh, poor, maligned, white men.
Social justice warriors believe in an extreme left-wing ideology that combines feminism, progressivism, and political correctness into a totalitarian system that attempts to censor speech and promote fringe lifestyles while actively discriminating against men, particularly white men. They are the internet activist arm of Western progressivism that acts as a vigilante group to ensure compliance and homogeny of far left thought.’
I don’t know what has provoked this incursion into the campaign – I must have missed something today – but presumably there has been an outbreak of leftwing feminist totalitarianism that I have missed.
If you have no idea about Roosh V (Daryush Valizadeh), this short excerpt from his online biography will doubtless be instructive.
‘Six years into my career, and a little over two years after I started DC Bachelor, I quit my job and finished my first book called Bang, a textbook for picking up girls and getting laid. Afterwards I spent six rough months in South America, which I detailed in my second book called A Dead Bat In Paraguay. I rested in the States for a year before returning to South America for thirteen months. Since then I’ve released over a dozen more titles while living for over four years in Europe, with the most popular book being Day Bang, my day game manual. You can view all my books at BangGuides.com. I’m currently nomadic, spending most of my time in Ukraine, Poland, and the United States.’
He’s the guy that Peter Dutton wouldn’t let in the country.
Mobius, as a further comment about Liberal tactics, today I have noted 2 groups mentioned. They have not been ‘attacked’ (yet) but clearly another example of the MSM/LNP tactic of putting doubts into the minds of voters. One group are construction workers who apparently are all massively overpaid. The other group is GPs. Apparently Australia has such a (quote) ‘glut’ of GPs that this has put upward pressure on GPs to bulk-bill. Otherwise translated: construction workers are a bunch of greedy unionist fat cats. GPs, their opinions and any changes to Medicare are irrelevant because patients are free to go elsewhere – which of course is quite incorrect except if you live in particular suburbs of particular cities. The reality being the in many areas there is an acute doctor shortage, with Australia having one of the worst patient to specialist ratios for any 1st world country.
Clearly construction workers and GPs (and others) can expect more of these less than subtle ‘digs’ in the lead up to the election.
The hypocrisy is outrageous. When the LNP can’t unite on issues they espouse that it is a broad church!!
If the lunatic fringe here in the US of A can unite behind a nightmare like Donald trump, why should it not happen in Oz??
quiltingforkids,
You certainly Trump us in the lunatic stakes. The thought of electing Trump sends shivers down the spine of the entire world. I cannot believe that Americans could possibly even consider it 🙁
on the subject of ministers showing compassion for refugees, i think this is a good thing, not only does it shown them as being human, but it also shows that it is ok to be compassionate to others, as opposed to the refugee demonisation that has been going on.
The Right of both majors want to continue the current policy settings with it’s horror and systemic torture for their personal gain and to protect their political arses.
The Left of both majors want to return to a more humane approach to people seeking our help despite the rantings of fear and lies about these vulnerable people.
Refugees are people like you and me, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties, grandparents, grandchildren, cousins etc, whose lives have been torn apart by bullshit started by politicians.
Out of everything that the LNP have done since Howard took office, this one shames us the most.
When all you have is a hammer…. every problem looks like a nail…
The thought of electing Trump sends shivers down the spine of the entire world. I cannot believe that Americans could possibly even consider it
I actually don’t think it will happen, but it’s nevertheless a scary thing from the GOP perspective that Trump is arguably the least scary candidate they’ve trotted out. I was kinda sorry Jeb Bush “suspended” his campaign. That might actually be a “watch this space” moment.