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How can we get rid of a useless Prime Minister?

I am not sure how many of the Australian population approve of Scott Morrison as PM, or on what basis that approval might rest.

Everything I have read about the way in which he has assumed his present position leaves me absolutely certain that he is totally misplaced.

I make a point of subscribing to a variety of independent news outlets, and one of these – Crikey – is, I believe, one of the best in terms of its extensive research and balance.

The outlet criticises government – not because of which is the current party in power, but in terms of their capacity to govern fairly.

While it is, sadly, true that most politicians lie, IMHO, Scott Morrison wins the prize for the most blatant performance.

As a woman, born and educated in the UK, but an Australian resident for over 50 years, and a citizen for 46 of those years, I have seen Australia going backwards during the times that the Coalition has maintained power.

I did not take much notice in my early years here of what was going on in Canberra, but Gough Whitlam’s vision for equality was as inspiring as his attempts to develop it were clumsy. His overthrow was not a total disaster, given that Fraser was a small ‘l’ liberal.

AND – we still have a national health service which sets a standard for all other developed nations!

Free education has been replaced by systems which benefit private school students to an unreasonable extent.

Equality is not part of the Coalition vision.

In fact the reverse is definitely seen as more desirable.

But when it comes to sexual equality, the difference between the major parties is stark!

To have ministerial officers behaving like dirty little boys, sniggering over their sexual prowess, is, I find, absolutely disgusting.

I am well aware that TV and social media have resulted in a general lowering of the threshold for what is acceptable, but, even so, what is now seen as acceptable is often absolutely disgusting.

As is the behaviour of the PM.

In my early years here, a Minister in Hawke’s government stepped down while he was being investigated for failing to declare that he had imported a Paddington Bear.

Now, the death of an alleged rape victim has shown the person whom she accused of being the rapist being supported to the hilt by the PM.

No chance of an inquiry – which, one might think, might actually be advantageous for this person. So why refuse to let it happen?

Morrison tells so many lies that I fear for the reputation of Australia in other nations with more robust standards.

As long as we have a Prime Minister whose own standards are so unacceptable, I shall feel no pride in being Australian.

And a great lack in our Constitution is our inability to force the resignation of a PM who commands little, if any, respect from a majority of voters.

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27 comments

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  1. Matters Not

    The Australian Constitution is not fit for purpose and hasn’t been for some time.

    the Prime Minister and Cabinet are not mentioned in the Australian Constitution. … In the Constitution, section 61 says that executive power of the Commonwealth is vested in the Queen and is exercisable by the Governor-General.

    But it is possible to amend:

    The Australian Constitution can only be altered by referendum. In a referendum, all Australians of voting age vote yes or no for the proposed changes. To succeed, a majority of voters nationwide and a majority of States (four out of six) must approve the changes.

    But there’s no appetite for that on either side of the aisle if recent developments are any guide.

  2. Kronomex

    Nothing much can be done to remove him or the rest of the vile party he leads until people wake up and vote them out at the next election. Somehow I can almost see them getting back in again although Scotty may not be leader. There is no way that the puppet G.G. is going to exercise any of his power to remove the feds, he’s on too good a wicket and is no doubt a rusted on Liberal.

  3. David Stakes

    Time to bring back your your competent government tag line.

  4. Michael Taylor

    “But probably for reasons that are far beyond the understanding of the writer.”

    Is condescension necessary, MN?

  5. Kerri

    Most of the anti-woman behaviour currently being exposed in essence comes down to bullying.
    Most of these actions have been to express power over certain women.
    When your country is run by a bully the “trickle down effect” you can expect is the abuse of power by lesser political figures who see no harm in mimicking their boss.
    A bit like the US under Trump! 🤔

  6. Pagnol

    Absolutely Rosemary J36, absolutely. Well said. Thanks.

  7. Margaret Johnson

    This government has reached the limit of electoral tolerance. Water and land sales to benefit ‘friends’, sports grants to winnable seats, environmental vandalism, financial mismanagement, education, health and welfare cuts, attacks on the ABC, the list goes on. The latest juicy sex scandals, despite their seriousness, are acting as a cover up to what is in fact, an incompetent bunch of overpaid grifters, whose practices would attract police attention in the private sector. Nations get the government they deserve, but are we really this bad?

  8. RomeoCharlie29

    I do not like the thought of a GG interfering (again)in the government of the country, Constitution or not. It is up to the people to change governments but their ability to decide should not be allowed to be distorted by lies in election advertising, or by hidden donations, so I believe we need root and branch change in the way our election campaigns are paid for and run. Will we get that from Scummo and his merry band of muppets? No way.

  9. Kronomex

    Michael, MN has a habit of doing that and I really don’t care. Let him have his little “holier than thou” moment.

    MN, I do know about the G.G.’s “reserve power” and what it entails and it makes no difference because Scotty would find a way to quell any such thoughts.

    All we can do is wait until the election and hope that the LNP get the boot.

  10. Andrew J. Smith

    The G-G’s role as exemplified by many G-G picks is to be symbolic in representing old white Christian nationalist or ‘quiet’ Australians linked to the Crown, it does not do activism but maintains the status quo.

    Australians suffers from inertia and are remarkably tolerant of the LNP etc. nowadays, helped or persuaded by a protection racket run by NewsCorp etc., in accepting sub-optimal moral and ethical behaviour, masquerading as ‘leadership’* or ‘conservative values’ from the LNP and related public figures.

    Suggests passivity, ignorance and averting one’s gaze from politics; the objective of many operators to at least discourage (informed) voting by denigrating and degrading parliamentary democracy aka US and UK.

    *People have been led to accept that ‘leadership’ as a PR construct, delineated by media, exemplified by appearing energetic, using a lectern (pulpit), charismatic, politically savvy, preach/lecture or hector and talking about nothing at a rate of knots; quasi Christian in an increasingly secular society.

  11. Tim

    Mick Young was a minister in Hawkes government when he failed to declare the paddington bear…..and he didn’t resign, he stepped down until he was cleared……

  12. YouKnowIt

    Morrison played a substantial role in the recent obliteration of the WA Liberal Party in March state elections – aside of fact Morrison offered no support, nor any senior Cabinet members to fly in to aid campaigning – of much greater significance, Morrison had backed Clive Palmer’s High Court litigation against WA’s Covid border actions (Palmer then also launched a gratuitous personal legal action against WA State Premier McGowan, and not an eyebrow was raised amongst the federal Liberals on the matter). This was catastrophically stupid federal policy – a tin-ear on steroids – WA has largely been Covid free whilst eastern seaboard spent 2020 in months of lock-downs. But worse, Clive Palmer is poisonously unpopular in WA for his actions, and by default so are the Liberals for aligning themselves with his self-grandiose legal actions. Morrison led the then WA Liberal Opposition leader, Liz Harvey, by the nose on the issue and it destroyed her position immediately – after months of resisting the inevitable, she was eventually replaced very shortly before state election (by a complete political nobody!). When called out on his contribution to the recent WA Liberal election debacle Morrison washed his hands of any responsibility – Pontius Pilate style – declaring it a state affair. Morrison could not have been any more wrong – his support of, and push for WA state Liberals to follow, Palmer’s obnoxiousness was a very significant factor in the complete decimation of WA Liberal Party. Completely uncountable knob-head.

  13. RosemaryJ36

    Tim- thank you for the correction. I should have checked my facts.

  14. Bert

    The health care system we have is due to the Hawke government, Fraser and the rest of his mob destroyed the first iteration developed by Whitlam.

  15. Scribe

    The juggernaut of change is coming but Scomo with only a one seat majority is hamstrung and cannot and will not act to get rid of MP’s causing him trouble. He is stuck with them and no further transgressions, even that of Laming openly defying a public apology will see the PM act.. he is holding on for as long as possible until the next election must be held. The Libs are burying their ‘people’ into agencies on massive salaries to ensure that even if labor win at the election the apparatus for Liberal control remains in place, commercial media are faithfull propaganda arms still and snouts as usual deep in the taxpayer trough. We need more public outrage and protests on the scale of the recent womens campaign until the LNP are forced to hold the election.. perhaps a female LNP polly can be convinced to cross over for a vote of no confidence and a forced DD but its not likely. Perhaps merde orc rags change sides and demand an election but that would only be if it suits their business case. Meanwhile the slo mo Scomo train wreck continues as he defends the indefensible, defies principles, standards and protocols of parliamentary democracy and decency and bullies and blusters his way to keep the reins of power.

  16. Max Gross

    I stopped reading when I reached this absurd pronouncement regarding Gough Whitlam: “His overthrow was not a total disaster, given that Fraser was a small ‘l’ liberal.”

  17. New England Cocky

    Somehow I think the optimists are expecting too much of the GG to forsake his cushy post-military position on a silly little matter of principle like the present chaos in the elected Australian government. English multinational corporations active in Australia will be benefitting from the uncaring incompetence of government politicians, so do not interfere in the matter and doubtless the Americans are also benefiting.

    I mean, only a political sceptic could consider the GG to be treasonous in his disinterest in the political shenanigans currently besmirching Parliament House in Canberra and that other COALition sinecure, Parliament House in Macquarie Street Sydney.

  18. Gangstas Paradise

    If it was only a PM that Australia had to get rid of it wouldn’t be such a problem …. going on recent history.

    The problem is the entire Coalition govt that needs throwing out.

  19. Williambtm

    The most coveted role of this L/NP coalition party in leadership is the control of Australia’s annual revenues, which happens to include the high-speed printing of brand new multi-billions of dollars in banknotes as new tangible revenues for the Big Banks in Australia to dole out to favored corporations. Murdoch, for example, does not return anything tangible in return for his Morrison gifted money; he merely rings the editors of his rags and media presenters to increase their pro-Lib/Nat coalition party news stories while giving the opposition party and individual independents a kick in the head within its false fact news deliveries. Then we have the facts in this appropriate article that has arisen from the keyboard of RosemaryJ36…add the high calibre facts contained within the many fine comments submitted. Only then will the enormity of the horrors dished out to the Australian people, take on the tone of criminality. Too many people have not cottoned on to the White-collar crime engaged in by the execrable Lib/Nat PM and ministers; white-collar crimes can be litigated against through the higher jurisdiction levels of Australia’s Courts of Law. Yet here we encounter another breach of Australia’s Commonwealth Constitution; this is specific to the role of Australia’s Parliamentary process; we read below how Australia’s Judiciary system and its various jurisdictional law courts are claimed to be independent of the government party in the leadership role at any given time. Thus one will learn that this current Federal government continues to guiltily ignore the basis for Australia’s Separation of Powers Act.
    Here I make the statement that the L/NP party government currently in power and, while so positioned, are illegitimately doing so.
    Section 61 https://www.australianconstitutioncentre.org.au/separation-of-powers.html

  20. Michael Taylor

    I read that using a phone to take a photo of a woman’s underwear (while she’s wearing them) without her knowledge carries a 3 year prison sentence.

    Let’s see what the lady does.

  21. calculus witherspoon.

    It seems that the whole Conservative entity is heading, Laming-like, toward a precipice of its own creation, since its entire response devolves from an acute self blinding that comes of childish perverse denialism driven by a tendency to expediency derived of a reflexivity lack.

    No, idiots.

    If you hurt enough people in your rude headlong haste toward selfish goals, eventually they turn, cornered and bite back.

  22. DrakeN

    Michael, that particular piece of legislation actually butts head with the common concept that what is publicly visible may be photographed on the provision than the images may not be used to defame and/or to gain commercial benefit.
    “Up-skirting”, where the photogaphs are of items not on public display, already comes under legislation prohibiting ‘Invasion of Privacy’, so that it, as with many laws of a similar nature, is unnecessary ‘overkill’ intended to placate an irate public.
    Legislatures are replete with similar cases, all providing greater benefit to the legal profession than to the citizenry in general.
    The practice of ‘Up-skiting’ is of a depraved, even possibly ‘deprived’, nature but if never published and the person who is the object of the snap remains unaware of the occurrence then little harm is done.
    I am reminded of a silly joke told to me by a lady of my acquaintance regarding a schoolgirl telling her mother that the boys at school kept asking her to do ‘cartwheels’ in the playground. Her mother inferred that the boys simply wanted to see her knickers, to which the girl repied that she was aware of that so she had removed them and put them in her schoolbag.

  23. Michael Taylor

    Drake, I didn’t read the rest of the legislation (which was put on Twitter by a well-known reporter) but I would imagine that what is done with the photo that carries most weight (eg defaming the subject).

    Nope. Just checked with Carol – it is the actual taking of a photo without consent which is illegal.

  24. DrakeN

    MT, which is another case of “If the Law says that, then the Law is an ass.” or words to that effect.

    I am often reminded of a Westerrn Australian Country Party politician (yes, it was that long ago) say, in all seriousness, that if Alstatian Dogs were to interbreed with German Shepherds then an uncontrollable menace would be created.

    All so reminiscent of shooting at flies on the ceiling with a 12 gauge shotgun.

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