Day to Day Politics: Looking back to 2014.
Monday 1 August 2016
In December of 2014 I posted my top 30 political thoughts of the year. As a writer I often refer back to my political posts for research or a nostalgic interest. Perhaps I have a morbid sense of curiosity.
Invariably when I do I am enticed by the quickness of time passed, but more often than not by what never gets done or conversely by the time it takes to achieve or change things.
Here is my list.
1 Scott Morrison has been promoted to Social Services Minister. Start praying for pensioners, the disabled, those looking for work etc. He demonised those seeking a better life. Now it’s their turn.
Then he became the treasure and the 2014 budget followed.
2 The government’s own Climate Change Authority has questioned the effectiveness of “Direct Action” saying the scheme won’t deliver on long-standing emissions reduction targets.
Nothing has changed.
3 In Tony Abbott has Australia ever elected a Prime Minister so ignorant of technology, the environment and science? So oblivious of the needs of women and so out of touch with a modern pluralist society.
Enough said.
4 The PM continues to tell the blatant and obnoxious lie that households received $550 of their energy bill as a result of the repeal of the carbon tax. Total bull. Now on top of that he sees it as his greatest achievement for women. Words fail me.
Every Factcheck proved it wrong.
5 Today the characteristic that most defines modern Australia is “diversity”. In all its forms, together with multiculturalism it defines us as a nation. People of my generation and later should divest themselves of their old and inferred racist superiority.
6 The murder of three people in Sydney was carried out by a deranged, religious fanatic with a criminal record. It was not by a terrorist organisation. People should keep this in mind.
7 Joe Hockey confirms bigger budget deficit; admits Coalition failures in communicating policies. True, but they still cannot bring themselves to admit it was unfair.
Yes, it was the most unfair budget ever delivered.
8 Hockey’s current budget dilemma reinforces how stupid it was to curtail the price on carbon. However, he could easily fix the problem by eliminating the 15% tax discount given to high income earners. It is nothing more than a legal tax dodge supplemented by low-income earners. It’s worth $12 billion plus PA. What about it Joe. After that you could look at the billions given to mining companies in subsidies.
Yes the discounts to the rich
Still talking.
9 “Do you really think my chief of staff would be under this kind of criticism if her name was Peter as opposed to Peta?” Mr Abbott asked the ABC’s Lyndal Curtis.
We know the history.
“Do you really think I would be attacking the Prime Minister in the manner I do if her name was James and not Julia”. “I think people need to take a long hard look at themselves with some of these criticisms“ to quote the PM.
10 George Brandis wins a Walkley award for his “what is metadata” interview.
Well-deserved, too.
11 The art of international diplomacy.
Our PM plans to “shirtfront” Vladimir Putin.
Once a thug always a thug.
12 In an attempt at self-justification the PM is telling lies to defend lies already told. It never works.
It didn’t stop him.
13 It is said that truth is the first casualty of war. Unfortunately it is also the first causality of Australian politics.
14 My condolences to all those Coalition supporters who were wetting themselves at the prospect of Julia Gillard slitting her wrists at the Royal Commission. Particularly the Liberal National Party Chat Page.
15 Ah, the law is a strange thing. Ashby brings charges against Slipper. After a long dalliance with legal argument Ashby drops the case. Slipper is left with a huge legal bill and Ashby’s lawyers say “No charge, mate”. There should be a law against it.
And so potentially the greatest political scandal was put to bed.
16 You would seriously have to wonder exactly what brand of Christianity it is that Scott Morrison practices. Fancy drinking champagne to celebrate sending refugees to one of the world’s poorest and most corrupt nations.
17 The list of companies avoiding tax is again headed by Murdoch. Others include Frank Lowy’s Westfield. It’s seems that it’s ok for them to lean but we must all lift. Common Joe change the law. Or is it the donations????
And so it went on with more revelations following.
18 It would seem that the Abbott Government has given up on their remaining budget cuts. And it should be remembered that they were not opposed on the basis of prudence but unfairness.
19 “The purpose of propaganda is to make you feel good about the wrongs being perpetrated on you“.
20 The common good should be at the very heart of every political philosophy. “When talking about the cost of living I think people get confused. There is a big difference between the cost of living and cost of lifestyle. A recent survey found that 56% of those complaining about the cost of living had taken an overseas trip in the same year. And a further 52% had reduced dining out from three to two times a week”
21 Australia does not, at this time, have a clearly articulated and legislated policy on climate change. Why?
We still don’t have one.
22 Prime Minister Tony Abbott has denied he has broken a pledge not to cut funding to the ABC and SBS, telling Parliament his government had “fundamentally kept faith with the Australian people”.
Lying is wrong but lying to defend a lie is appalling immoral.
23 Yesterday’s attempt by the PM to legitimise lying is like saying we are no longer communicating in English.
24 “The simplest way to turn the profession of politics on its head would be to demand they tell the truth“.
25 It may be a good thing that some asylum seeker children might now have a future but I find it chilling that Scott Morrison has effectively used kids as hostages to pass his legislation.
26 “Less informed voters unfortunately outnumber the more politically aware. Therefore, conservatives feed them all the bullshit they need. And the menu generally contains a fair portion of untruths”.
27 When asked about the Green Fund at a joint press conference with President Hollande the PM said that we already had a Direct Action fund of $2.5 Billion and a Clean Energy Finance Corp $10 Billion fund. The only thing wrong with the answer was that the first won’t work and it is Government policy to abolish the second.
His lying knew no bounds.
28 What would an intelligent 18-year-old about to vote for the first time think of this statement yesterday by our PM?:
“As for Australia, I’m focusing not on what might happen in 16 years’ time, I’m focusing on what we’re doing now and we’re not talking, we’re acting”.
Nothing worse than someone who believes their own bullshit.
29 The G20 meeting gave Prime Minister Tony Abbott a powerful stage to articulate his vision for Australia. So he spoke about his inability to pass his unfair budget. Now that’s statesmanship for you.
30 In 2015, 500 workers who benefited from Gillard’s edict that non-faith-based workers be allowed in our schools will be replaced by chaplains sourced predominantly from big Christian organizations. This in a secular public school system is fundamentally wrong be you religious or not.
A political decision based on religious belief.
A LATE ENTRY
My wife is upset that we didn’t get the carbon tax refund when every other family did. I’m struggling to give her an explanation.
My thought for the day.
“The danger in looking back to often is that we lose the will to go forward”.
21 comments
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paulwalter
Return to home pageTwo typo’s – “Then he became the treasure and the 2014 budget followed”
Morrison has never been a treasure, and I seem to recall his first budget was 2016 🙂
Yes correct. Thanks for that.
Doesn’t make for cheerful reading, does it?
What a festering sore Brandis has been.
It has not received much coverage but Dutton has increased the bribe, to asylum seekers on Manus Island to go “home” from $10,000 to $20,000.
Is it wise to give Peter Dutton access to public money : the last time he got his hands on our money he gave $50 million to Cambodia to resettle four asylum seekers….briefly.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-30/manus-island-asylum-seekers-offered-double-to-return-home/7674606
1/08/2014
loved the interplay between ‘no vote’ mars and ‘head in the sand’ linehan.
But I still believe that:
“It is not possible to have an opinion without searching for evidence to support that opinion?”
So why do engineers, lawyers, public servants and doctors repeat untruths under the guise of opinion? These people can regularly be heard mouthing off statements like ‘Gillard was hopeless, she did nothing’. ‘Labor cannot manage the economy only the libs can’ ‘we are in a debt crisis’. Sadly such untrue slogans have become ‘beliefs’ and evidence cannot change a belief. So Labor can either destroy the rabbott through his character flaws or just put up with lies that are already 40 years old and wait. 23 years of pig irons lies and 12 of little johnnie so it might only be two terms for the rabbott. We can only hope!!!
I’ll never understand:
How was it possible for someone like Abbott to become the country’s PM.
Why was Julia Gillard Treated so badly.
How can people say that John Howard is one of our best PMs.
(saw the Pauline Hanson story on SBS, and felt more disgusted with Howard than with Hanson.)
Same old, same old John. When will we ever learn. Regress instead of progress. Some progressives and Labor take the easy path of minor modifications while the system increase injustice, inequity and environmental degradation.
Intelligence. Bah humbug humans are looking incredibly stupid, and by stupid I mean stupefied by irrational magical and mythical thinking from the dark ages. The God of self immolation not love, justice, equity and utilitarian distribution.
Evolution gone wrong for the masses because we are portending much of our own extinction through habituated adherence to irrationality and rampant greed. Oh well a new species will evolve to replace this failed degenerate model. I am not defeatist or in the least worried because that is how evolution works either survive through cooperation, stagnate or become extinct. At the moment progress does not seem to be moving quickly enough to save us from ourselves.
Sometimes a good dose of detached observation sorts things out. My dear friends follow the path of justice, equity utility and love for all living things in the understanding that only goodness and morality can save us from self-destruction. I know we will not give up however things are not looking good.
Regardless it is all of you my friends that give me hope. There is always the possibility of tipping points whereby a system out of equilibrium flips into disorder leading to a struggle for a new sense of order so all may not be lost.
My friends who ply social justice and equitable distribution of physical and psychological goods are, without doubt, the future unfortunately the battle is far from won. For me it is our mutual respect and wish for love, equity, beauty, awe and wonder that keeps me sane and able to accept or shared love and respect in hope that we can enact change. Thank you all for your love and consideration for those who suffer through no fault of their own.
We will prevail.
Wasn’t impressed with Howard at all. We now g=have Dutton going after Liberal Deputy but sees himself as PM. Frightening.
Democracy is and never was a set and forget system, democracy requires the people to be informed, which is one reason why our ABC was formed. ……Democracy requires transparency and honesty.
Looking back mrabbit pee em giving Australia’s highest “Australian award ” to a greek living in another county. we were not worthy of course.
The problems of this world are so gigantic that some are paralysed by their own uncertainty. Courage and wisdom are needed to reach out above this sense of helplessness. Desire for vengeance against deeds of hatred offers no solution. An eye for an eye makes the world blind. If we wish to choose the other path, we will have to search for ways to break the spiral of animosity. To fight evil one must also recognize one’s own responsibility. The values for which we stand must be expressed in the way we think of, and how we deal with, our fellow humans”: – From the Christmas Message 2001 of HM Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
I. Am. Furious.
Just been told by the chemist that due to the government’s changes to the PBS my normal diabetes medication is no longer available. The pharmaceutical company no longer wants to bother with Australia due to the cut in their profit margins. They’ll send them here when they’re ready.
don’t worry michael when next you go to the gp for your susson chat she/he might put you on something else?
I’ve just been put on metformin hydrochloride 1 tablet after brekkie and tea?
Diabex XR 1000
No, I said “just been told by my chemist …” I can’t link to that.
Michael
The government seem to have done a deal on generics, I had the same experience with BP tablets.
There is also something going on with PBS approvals : my pharmacy charged me full price – $150 – for a prescription for solar keratosis cream and told me that it had not been approved for a PBS subsidy and may not be – they are not approving any new drugs under the concessional PBS subsidy program.
This is how the coalition achieve their objectives : they just don’t tell the truth.
Holy crap, Terry. $150! That stings.
Particularly, Michael, as Actinic keratoses (AK), also called solar keratoses – caused by damage from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays – If left untreated, up to ten percent of AKs develop into squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), the second most common form of skin cancer.
As we in Australia have the highest incidence of skin cancer and melanoma in the world, it did strike me as strange that, even with an old codgers concession card, I still had to pay full price.
The pharmacist told me that he had to get the preparation in but required pre-payment as some patients had failed to return for their medication when they found out the cost.
So, as a cost saving measure, this government are actually aggravating the future problem of evolved skin cancers rather than supporting early prevention.
Go figure !
Looking back on Abbott’s failed Stewardship, it wrongly came about by an overbearing Media Mogul with the resourses to foist and unleash a media propaganda campaign to back a party of his choice into power, to do his bidding at his whim .
Not forgetting the first thing Abbott done after winning the 2013 election was to wing it over to New York with Peta Credlin in tow to dine with Murdoch in his Penthouse apartment and recieve puppy dog pats and a tickle on the tummy off his electoral benefactor .
Not forgetting ,all along old Rupe had an outstanding $A800 million tax debit with the Australian taxation department
but after the Abbott ,Credlin cosy-up –magically –and all of a sudden –the Tax debit burden was turned around and just as magically turned into an $A800 million credit in favour of of Abbott’s Pent House Pet .
Voila –the puppet master ,pulled the strings and the sock puppet responded.
Murdoch -having no need for the incompetent any longer cut ties with the marrionette and let him fall to an uncontrolled
jumbled heap on the paliament floor .
the rest as they say in the classics –IS HISTORY –and we the sucker taxpayers had to pick up the bill for the whole failed fiasco .
My doctor did inform me of the cost : that was not the point of my comment….durrh !
Albury/Wodonga cancer services to be privatised. Funded by the taxpayer and community donations – sold to private enterprise.
Terry, that seemed clear to me. I saw the point of your argument.
Michael Taylor is right to raise the issue and little doubt it goes back to the TPP negotiated by that Judas Robb.
Naturally, the implementation was held back till AFTER the election.