Come on, Bridget – it’s a bit late for outrage
Nationals leader in the Senate, Bridget McKenzie seemed outraged that Scott Morrison had breached the coalition agreement by usurping the authority of Nationals resources minister Keith Pitt in April 2021.
‘Our coalition arrangements are a negotiated outcome and they include a ratio of cabinet portfolios in a coalition government,’ she told ABC Radio National on Thursday.
‘By essentially removing the authority of one of those ministers and giving it to a Liberal minister… (he) breached the coalition agreement.
‘It showed complete disrespect for the second party of government… the National Party would not have agreed with having one of its ministers removed.’
Except Keith Pitt knew about the arrangement when he was overruled on the PEP-11 gas permit and he told Q&A host Stan Grant that Michael McCormack knew of Morrison’s co-ministering as well. So clearly the Nationals did know and allowed it to happen without comment.
McKenzie went further on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, calling the moves by Morrison “absolutely unprecedented”.
“I think these revelations do bring into question our Westminster system of government, the conventions that underpin how we have confidence and trust in our parliamentary system.
“As a former cabinet minister in the Turnbull and Morrison governments I took those conventions very seriously.
“If there were two ministers effectively exercising the same authority within cabinet, who was the senior minister? What if they disagreed? What implications does that have for decisions?”
McKenzie added that the Westminster system has many conventions to keep government officials accountable, but they only work “if everyone within it abides by those conventions” and all parliamentarians should be held accountable, agreeing that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has made the right call to review Morrison’s secret appointment.
But what makes Bridget’s belated outrage even more ludicrous is the fact that her partner, Simon Benson, is the journalist who wrote the book, based on contemporaneous interviews, that disclosed Morrison’s secret power grab.
So spare me your pretence, Bridget. You and your colleagues were complicit in the reign of secrecy and dishonesty because your own political ambition outweighs any respect for good governance.
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17 comments
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Terence Mills -
Kaye Lee -
New England Cocky -
leefe -
Phil Pryor -
Kerri -
leefe -
Josephus -
JudithW -
Phil Pryor -
Michael Saunders -
Max Gross -
Albos Elbow -
Pete Petrass -
paul walter -
Kaye Lee -
paul walter
Return to home pageSo good to see your research talents back at work on AIMN, Kaye.
The question that all this poses for Simon Benson and his employer Newscorp is : should a journalist who is in possession of information that is critical to the good governance of our democracy sit on this information with a view to capitalising from it in a book he later
writes ?
The ethical standards by which journalists are judged require a commitment to : truthfulness, accuracy and fact-based communications, independence, objectivity, impartiality, fairness, respect for others and public accountability.
Has Benson adhered to these standards ?
I am more worried about Bridget McKenzie (and other parliamentarians) sitting on the information. They have a duty to protect our system of governance yet they were happy to go down the Trump path if they thought it would win an election.
How can this self-serving country frump, as an alleged ”matter of principle”, take exception to a breach of a secret political deal, when she has willingly followed and served under an untruthful, self-serving, adulterous, alcoholic WITHOUT PUBLICLY DISSOCCIATING HERSELF from that ”leader” allegedly following the hypocritical ”adherence” to the long touted ”family values of the Nazional$”?
Where is the McKenzie public demand for Beetrooter to be kicked out of the Nazional$ for his common knowledge complete ignorance of ”Nazional$ family values”?
Bridget SportsRort McKenzie actually has the nerve to have a go at someone else for trashing government protocol and standards?
She’s reached Morrisonian levels of hypocrisy with that one.
It’s more than a bit slutty to hold on to information of national political significance for personal profiteering, but sluts, male and female are those who do anything for money, whether by choice or necessity. One sympathises with the poor ladies in poor countries, but what motivates a Media Murdoch Maggot like Benson? And “Lay down Sally” Mc Kenzie (or is it Lay, lady, lay) has no scruples (at all) about shouting some belated rubbish now. Agreements? Coalitions? Rorts? Ask those who were effectively deprived because some were rortily favoured, for slutty advancement, and we’ ll listen, Morrison is a major maggoty misfit, but the Mc Kenzie types are rank and file follower types, off to death or glory, or ill gained profits of any selfish kind.
She is stirring up interest in her partner’s book!
Any publicity is good publicity.
“Any publicity is good publicity.”
This has convinced me to not buy it.
If this person and hubby did not reveal the bible thumping semi fascist’s delusions de grandeur shouldn’t she at least be sacked? As well as Morrison. What does Jenny think?
The shabby selfishness of these two is beyond words. Albo please don’t violate the basic decency of of most citizens by being as dishonest as the dreadful coalition. One has to believe in something…
Kaye I missed you.
Phil
Could I suggest the word ‘mercenary’ better describes a person whose scruples, ethics and loyalties are subject to monetary gain?
Judith is right to mention word usage, and, my resort to old english, its usage and abusage, is now not “nice”, but I never refer to ladies as such generally, but hate male abuses greatly, and certainly the heartless mercenary would suit as a description here. I’ll cease and desist.
Brilliant thank you. I would be very interested in hearing BMc’s response to this. Squeamish. Good for a giggle.
How about peeking into GG Hurley’s diaries. Apparently he was a bit slack with his homework in recording the adornment of SM’s additional super powers. Maybe Bridget and David should stay back after school and brush up on their diary keeping as their memories may need some help. They could do a joint project. Bridget Davids Diaries?
What a performance! Bridget deserves an Oscar!!! https://www.crikey.com.au/2020/01/17/bridget-mckenzie-scandals-shame/
Corrupt cock sucking fuckwit.
Who is she going to give head jobs to now to get her gun club’s free renovations?
And if this book is supposedly about how Scummo handled the pandemic, it will be interesting to see just how honest it is.
Kaye Lee, how can I express respect for your constant and original insights into obscured angles involving current affairs.
I’ve pondered the idea that Morrison was under pressure from the Dutton /Nats hard right, for gaining the top job by default after Turnbull. To me, his reactions, especially after Xtian Porter, demonstrate a plausible retreat to anxiety mode created through a certain isolation.
His nature would be to do that anyway and it is not impossible to see the Pitt stunt as typical of destabilsing stunts. With enough time all of this readership could recail odd disruptions beneath surface kept calm by collusive msm.
Why is Rudd’s fall at back of my mind? Rudd was a much more constructive leader, but like Morrison a bit of an odd fish challenging factional control.and preoccupied with big picture stuff against the reality of mediocre micropolitics of the sort pursued by, say, Pitt.
Also, as Morrison had a dose of Covid, Rudd had the coronary problems that affected him towards the end. Once again speculative, but do others wonder at the performance of politicians who have had the coronavirus bug and seemed stunned for months and months afterward?
In an odd way, I start to feel a little sorry for Morrison, there must have been more at play than just HIM being ratty, although he has a ratbag element within his psyche, so someone like me wouldnt look down on him too hard’.
Bit I wonder if in the end he wasn’t a sacrificial goat for the Hard right.
No, Kaye Lee’s piece ends with the comment about McKenzie and the “boyfriend” and moving on , I find that very interesting as to Morrison’s paranoia, because something I would like to know is, what about the role of tabloid MSM behind the scenes, also factional myopia and probable monetisation of office in some case.
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre
the falcon no longer hears the falconer.
The cenre cannot hold, things fall apart.”
WB Yeats, 1919.
paul,
I think the infiltration of the Liberal party by hard right Christians is a real worry. But I don’t think anyone pressured Morrison. I found the following paragraph from an article written in 2012 about Scott very informative of the type of man he is and has always been.
“Something of a bureaucratic black belt from his days in New Zealand, Morrison also fought running battles with Tourism Australia’s nine-strong board. Its members complained that he did not heed advice, withheld important research data about the controversial campaign, was aggressive and intimidating, and ran the government agency as if it were a one-man show. But Morrison thought he had the upper hand. Confident that John Howard would ultimately back him, Morrison reportedly boasted that if Fran Bailey got in his way, he would bring her down.”
https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2012/february/1328593883/nick-bryant/so-who-bloody-hell-are-you#
Thanks for the article. MORE food for thought.
” What a tangled web we weave
when first we practice to deceive” – Robbie Burns.
I do not think he will last for long, the weight of history has been bucketed down on like the dung from thousand elephants instantaneously. So many fibs, so little time,so too many balls in the air- trips up.
It stays a fascinating subject, like a good Aggie Christie or John Grisham.