From being horrible in government to being hypocritical in opposition
1) I am somewhat surprised at the lack of remorse from the outgoing Government. It’s as if this terrible loss came as a surprise to them. Better to own up, apologise and set about renewal.
There has always been a degree of bloodletting from the defeated party in the past. This time, I cannot recall any comments that might have the sting of guilt or blame about them.
There have been no repercussions, no scapegoating. Even the former Prime Minister has escaped the wrath of colleagues even though the fault for this most grievous loss sits squarely on his shoulders. As a fundamentalist Christian, he would, in all probability, put his defeat down to God’s will.
When a loss of such proportion demoralises a party, those who have lost their seats typically seek retribution or use words calculated to damage those responsible. There has been none of that.
Maybe I have been spooked by the last decade and never want to see a repeat of it. Whatever it is, it’s unsettling.
Nowhere can l find the word sorry for nine years of Luddite philosophy. Perhaps it’s just a matter of waiting for the invasive weeds to die off and for the political history of the time to write itself.
After a couple of weeks into a new Government, the Dutton Opposition is claiming that everything is Labor’s fault. However, the new Opposition leader already displays an intention of “business as usual,” or put another way; he shows every sign of just being who he is. Not the changed man he promised to be. Perhaps there will be a flood of books in the not-too-distant future.
Maybe they are telling us they will take a long time to get over the loss, or perhaps everyone has gone quiet because they have the letters ICAC ringing in their ears.
In any case, the sooner they come to the party of enlightened politics, the sooner we can get on with righting all those wrongs of the past decade.
I found three examples of this new enlightenment this past week while perusing the pages of respected publications. The Murdoch’s still seem to be in mourning. And yes, everything is Labor’s fault.
2) How refreshing it was to witness Chris Bowen methodically but quickly (within 14 days of being elected) bring the states and territories together to agree on devising an energy policy that everyone agrees on and will benefit all. Yes, we are on the cusp of change. It may not happen in a day, a month or a year. Still, we are witnessing the genesis of a new political evolution, refreshing honesty, transparency and the acceptance of new ideas. It was favourably reported on SBS that:
“Energy Minister Chris Bowen chaired a roundtable with his state and territory counterparts on Wednesday, where 11 action points were unanimously agreed to.
No silver bullet, no magic answers, but material steps forward in a very positive fashion…” he [Bowen] told reporters following the meeting.
The meeting also agreed to devise a national transition plan for the energy market ahead of the next meeting in July.
Noting the urgency, Mr Bowen later told a press conference that:
“The reason why we are in this crisis today is because there hasn’t been enough planning about the changes that are necessary…”
After a decade of monumental stuff ups and a three-ring circus mentality from the former Government, we are finally getting some action.
3) Another example of correcting wrongs from the past is that work has commenced on an anti-corruption bill. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but new Attorney General Mark Dreyfus isn’t wasting any time setting up Australia’s first Anti-Corruption Commission, and we now know that:
- It will have retrospective powers and be able to conduct public hearings.
- Labor will consult with the independent MPs on its design.
- Dreyfus hopes it will be up and running by the middle of next year.
2023 might sound a little distant, but a lot of consultation needs to occur because they must get it right. It will be based on the independent member Helen Haines’s draft legislation.
4) In contrast to the Prime Minister, Peter Dutton has been saying silly things like his Shadow Ministry has an enormous depth of talent when everyone knows it’s as shallow as a toddler’s wading pool. In addition, a piece in The ABC (and elsewhere) about submarines suggested that Dutton contravened elementary rules of foreign affairs.
It is recklessly irresponsible for Boofhead to reveal secret plans to buy two US nuclear subs early. Like the French, the Americans will know they cannot trust the Liberals with anything. https://t.co/Rkb0Qmber2
— Mike Carlton (@MikeCarlton01) June 9, 2022
This quote from Peta Credlin, as reported in Crikey (firewalled) is interesting as well as ridiculous:
“Dutton has got to do better than this. In the end, what are we? One cohesive nation or a collection of tribes, ethnicities and genders all nursing our grievances and looking for the next chance to take offence? So far, the new opposition leader is saying that he has an ‘open mind’ on the Indigenous Voice while asking the Government for more detail.”
While announcing the total cost to Australia for the blundered subs contract ($3.4 billion), Albanese further contrasted the now apparent difference in style. Dutton is about as boring as his appearance, while Albanese is already making a difference, as are his ministers.
5) So good to see that the Tamil family have returned to Biloela. A little bit of kindness goes a long way.
My previous article: Why is Scott Morrison remaining in the Parliament?
My thought for the day
Often life is an experience of random unidentifiable patterns and indiscriminate consequences that don’t always have order nor require explanation. The more we relate to others, the more we get to know ourselves.
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18 comments
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New England Cocky
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Terence Mills
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Scott
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Canguro
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Henry Rodrigues
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Harry Lime
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wam
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Kathryn
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leefe
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Josephus
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Michael Taylor
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Kaye Lee
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Canguro
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leefe
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totaram
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ajogrady
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Harry Lime
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wam
Return to home pageThe significance of this point cannot be overlooked:
”2023 might sound a little distant, but a lot of consultation needs to occur because they must get it right. It will be based on the independent member Helen Haines’s draft legislation.” (Bottom3)
The inclusion of Independents has begun …..
Thanks, John
Dutton has no idea about leadership !
Last night a very red Barnaby was on SKY after dark loudly berating the new government about the lack of planning on power generation – three weeks in office – Stephen Conroy the token voice from the ‘Left’ tried to ask why the coalition had done nothing in nine years and what happened to the NEG but got was shut down by Paul Murray.
Edit : “colleagues” not colleges para three
John, MainStream Media is averse to “use words calculated to damage those responsible” for the LNP loss, even though recriminations abound, because that would leave a subliminal message in the minds of voters that the LNP is a POS.
John, you’ve referred to Chris Bowen as ‘Nigel’, then correctly as ‘Chris’, in your point #2. No biggie, but some readers may have a momentary wtf reaction.
Ah yes, Paul Murray, the prototype, on which all rightwing dickheads are modeled. Why did Stephen Conroy even bother.
Albanese,with a modicum of good fortune, can become one of the most significant leaders in Australia’s history..right bloke at the right time,while the Dutton thing will cement his place as another egregious example in a long line of pretentious morons, who have no place in public life. I see the Liberal Party as the equivalent of a dying ,backwater football club,with dwindling supporters anchored to a distant past,’led’ by fools completely devoid of vision or imagination.Start planning for the funeral,boys.
Morrison was the changer, lord, dutton was the ‘my hubby’s no monster’ revelation.
Doesn’t the media allocate blame?
Would you respect a pollie who was someone she/he wasn’t? That is what we have, even hitler was nice at home? I think they should just be honest.
sam clench, today wrote:
“The Liberals have descended into internal bickering over who’s to blame for the election defeat. Scott Morrison’s name keeps coming up.”
The libs would have lost under the rabbott and were lucky that they changed to a ‘probable’ good PM but he wasn’t so they changed to possible but he got a green miracle who was the worst of them all but miracles happen to xstians(even doubtful handclappers) so they went to the well with the same bucket.
This time the bandit used a con like a scalpel, left the axe in tassie and was very successful at seats(like the nats, lord, seats) and money.
This is the time for Albo to order his caucus to spend two mornings door knocking, especially in the areas of low booth support.
How about your thought, lord? Depends if you are the knower or the knowee.
A minor observation of rabbottians.
I have two conservative golf friends, one in darwin and one in adelaide. They both position the cart to the right of the ball for themselves but not for their passengers and think nothing of having a drink with the clink of ice when someone is having a shot. Thinking of others is not in yheir nature.
ps
Michael. I see your unappreciative-hero is now a leg-end??
SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT rules that MUST be established when setting up an INDEPENDENT ICAC with the power to intensely and RETROSPECTIVELY investigate corruption on BOTH sides of the parliamentary fence is this:
THAT NO GOVERNMENT HAS THE AUTHORITY TO UNDERTAKE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS AGAINST AN INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION:
1) MEMBERS OF ICAC MUST BE SELECTED BY A REPRESENTATIVE BODY COMPRISING EQUAL MEMBERS OF ALL ELECTED PARTIES, EG LABOR, LIBERAL, THE GREENS AND SOME INDEPENDENTS IN ORDER TO PROVIDE A WIDE DIVERSITY OF VIEWS AND POLITICAL IDEOLOGY;
2) NO GOVERNMENT, OR GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE, MUST, IN ANY WAY, ATTEMPT TO DISEMPOWER, WEAKEN, OVER-RIDE AND/OR ABOLISH ICAC;
3) NO GOVERNMENT, OR GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE, MUST ATTEMPT TO INTERFERE IN ANY OF THE RULINGS OR DECISIONS MADE BY ICAC;
4) ANY RULING OR DECISION MADE BY ICAC IS FINAL AND CANNOT BE REVERSED OR MINIMISED BY ANY GOVERNMENT, ITS REPRESENTATIVE OR INDEPENDENT INDIVIDUAL;
5) NO GOVERNMENT, OR GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE, IS PERMITTED TO CORRUPT, MANIPULATE OR INFILTRATE ICAC WITH ANY PERSON OR PERSONS SEEN TO BE BIASED OR SYMPATHETIC TO THE IDEOLOGY OF THAT PARTICULAR POLITICAL PARTY;
6) NO GOVERNMENT, OR GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE, IS PERMITTED TO INFLUENCE, GUIDE, DIRECT OR PROVIDE ANY FORM OF MONETARY REWARD OR INDUCEMENT THAT WILL LIKELY IMPACT, SWAY OR MANIPULATE ANY DECISION MADE BY ANY MEMBER OR MEMBERS OF ICAC;
7) IT WILL BE DEEMED A CRIMINAL OFFENCE FOR AN INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP OF PEOPLE WITHIN, OR OUTSIDE, ANY GOVERNMENT, AND WITHIN ICAC ITSELF, TO BREAK ANY OF THE ABOVE REGULATIONS IN RELATION TO THE INSTIGATION AND MANAGEMENT OF ICAC.
8) ANY BREACH OR INFRACTION OF THE ABOVE RULES IN RELATION TO THE INSTIGATION, MANAGEMENT OF ICAC WILL RESULT IN SUBSTANTIAL FINES AND/OR A JAIL SENTENCE BEING IMPLEMENTED. IF ANY INDIVIDUAL FACES CHARGES IN THIS REGARD, ALL COURT COSTS, FINES, AND ANY OTHER RELATIVE COST, MUST BE MET BY THAT INDIVIDUAL PERSONALLY AND NOT SUBSIDISED BY THE TAXPAYER.
If anyone else can think of rules that MUST be established – and strictly maintained – with the instigation of an independent ICAC, please let us know!
To be fair, they were hypocritical when in government as well.
Those excellent caveats could and should be sent with polite apologies to attorney general Mark Dreyfus for consideration.
Thanks, Canguro. I’ve fixed it.
Unfortunately, too many of the invasive weeds kept their seats whilst any green shoots in the Coalition have been ripped out over the last decade.
Why is it that Liberal leaders are always promising to change? Abbott had his “good government starts today” moment. Turnbull promised to be more consultative than last time. Morrison told us he would do things differently after the election. Dutton promises to smile more (please don’t….it’s creepy) and show us his softer side (…..waiting….).
You’ll be pleased (?) to hear Tim Wilson intends to write a book.
re. Tim Wilson’s intention to write a book, you’d have to ask, why? He seems a snowflake that turns to a puddle once attention is turned elsewhere. Didn’t he post on Twitter that immediately after losing Goldstein he curled up in a foetal position and bawled his eyes out? And that he took himself to a therapist post-haste for a bit of ego-massaging? The guy seems to me to have significant issues if that’s his way of dealing with what was an always predictable outcome given his profession.
I can still envisage the video clip of Snowflake setting out on a jog from Parliament House with the other runners, then once past the camera crews, bailing out and slinking back to the House. Performative idiot that he is, it’s always about him; a narcissistic self-absorbed nobody.
So yeah, by all means, write the book, but don’t expect more than a few copies to sell, unless it’s utterly salacious… like ‘Insiders view of the Prayer Room’, or ‘How I circle-jerked myself into power’.
“Dutton has got to do better than this. In the end, what are we? One cohesive nation or a collection of tribes, ethnicities and genders all nursing our grievances and looking for the next chance to take offence? So far, the new opposition leader is saying that he has an ‘open mind’ on the Indigenous Voice while asking the Government for more detail.”
Yuck. Credlin really is a nasty piece of work, isn’t she?
Tim Wilson writing another book? Really? Did he make any money from the previous one? He might have considering it was the newest IPA propaganda booklet. But a rehash of the same stuff so soon might not attract the same customers.
I am in complete agreement with Canguro on this matter. I just wish the snowflake would remain curled up in a foetal position forever. After his great interventions in parliament with lies and obfuscations regarding everything and anything, I would be happy provide him a feeding bottle for the rest of his wretched life. I might even be persuaded to change his nappies.
There is a conga line of L/NP stenographers masquerading as journalists trying to find someone,anyone, to blame other then the corrupt to the core Morrison government itself for the election loss. The last election could have been fatal for democracy in Australia with the main stream media and big money doing its best to convince voters to vote against their best interests and for the best interests of big business. We do need to pay attention to the cold reality that Australia came the closest it has been since federation to closing the door on a democratic future worthy of the name. With the defeat of Morrison Australia has dodged the abyss of Trumpism. This may acknowledge the fact that Morrison was the architect but what is now left of the L/NP, particularly under opposition leader
Peter “loose lips sinks ships” Dutton is the hard fascist right of the L/NP rump who were Morrisons deft builders of division and derision. The mainstream media in Australia is currently whitewashing fascist politics. It is not just odious, sycophantic or lazy journalism. It is cumulatively dangerous and undermines, at its core, democracy itself. When Peter “loose lips sink ships” Dutton was named the leader of the LNP opposition, a number of poor puff pieces emerged about giving the “hard man a go” to prove who he is. One of the most supine was from Jacqueline Maley at Fairfax. What these articles have not detailed is Dutton’s appalling record as head of Immigration. In 2017, the government paid out $70 million to refugees and asylum seekers to avoid having the lawyers’ meticulously documented trail of abuse of innocent people laid out in court. The solicitors described it as the largest human rights class action settlement in Australian history. The life of refugees on Manus and Nauru is indeed well documented in its horror. Women coerced by guards to provide sexual favours to have enough water to wash out their shampoo or clean their children in the overwhelming heat. Women forced to queue for each issue of a sanitary item. People abused for taking a piece of fruit for later from the nursery-hour dinner. Tents smeared in black mould found to be “highly toxic,” with only a small fan to make the heat less intolerable. Utterly inadequate medical care. The point of this vile and vengeful treatment, under Morrison as well as loose lips Dutton, was to make the Taliban or the genocidal Sri Lankan army or the Iranian Revolutionary Guard less horrific than Australia. What it achieved was the trashing of Australia’s once good international reputation while funneling billions of hardworking taxpayers monies into L/NP donors pockets. Loose lips Dutton repeatedly misled the public about the conditions under which people lived, the quality of healthcare to which they had access, or suggested that the people living in harsh conditions were of criminal character and deserved it. Without a strong unbiased news media, Australia faces a clouded future. Albanese’s government may be able to repair our Rule of Law protections adequately to protect us into the future from the international far right’s divisive doctrine, flawed dogma, corrosive ideology and destructive authoritarian games that challenge democracy itself but can the Albanese government and we the people be protected from a ideologically and politically biased legacy media. We have seen in America, however, that this form of the right is prepared to play the long game. Journalists that help them whitewash their cruelest actions aid them in this plan. These journalists besmirch the profession of journalism and dishonour the fourth estates privilaged position. Dutton’s cruelty is indisputable as is his benevolent support of the fascist far right’s agenda. The “loose lips sinks ships” Dutton Coalition will be hoping that the Trump Republicans return to power, and that there can be a revival of the politics of fear and hate, a revival of anti-secularism and renewed attacks on inclusiveness and
human rights and democracy itself.
To meet this challenge it is vital the media should not be a cheer squad for one side of politics. Doing so cripples our hard fought for democracy.
As long as Dutton remains LOTO,the tattered remains of Morrison’s’last stand’ will accelerate into a much deserved oblivion.Boofhead Dutton,having failed to alter his extremely narrow world view of a failed Queensland walloper is currently trying to blame Bowen for the energy crisis that his fuckwitted ,incompetent and corrupt government left for the incoming government to deal with.He continues to treat the voters that comprehensively bounced them out,as idiots.The question arises of how long this moronic half wit remains in his job.
equal, kathryn? You put in one of the extremists but you left out The Nationals, PHON, Jackie Lambe’s Network. Centre Alliance, Katter’s Australian. Perhaps the independents could elect a rep?? Wonder why you omitted referring to the Terms of reference which, clever dick lawyers, like gillard, can control committee’s with being on the committee? ps Why are you shouting and to WTF does your ‘us’ refer?