Sunday 25 February 2018
And so it came to pass as these things so inevitably do that Barnaby Joyce will tomorrow step down as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia. Those who seek to rule from the confines of narrow thought and buffoonery always come to the same end. Joyce has a history of ill-considered policies and inept thinking that has been very costly to the Australian taxpayer.
He reached the high altar of leadership with a mixture of country ockerism and controversial speech that persuaded people that he was acting in their best interests when he was really about his own.
No doubt Joyce, like former Prime Minister Abbott, will in due course want his old job back. That is why this resignation must be looked on as an interim measure that may last for just a few months.
Like Abbott he will use his former status as a reason to express his views on all manner of things. He will also use his vote to ride roughshod over a man he detests. And undoubtedly the same dissension will prevail. When he speaks he will do so as a leader in waiting. And if he decides to cut loose he will be much worse than Abbott however, his authority, because of his stupidity, will have been greatly diminished.
He still has many questions to answer. Try these passed on to me by Linda Gardiner. They are not limited to the following:
- The 3 million dollar security upgrade to that ‘rent free’ property were approved by who and on what basis?
- Was Barnaby actually an MP or just a ‘candidate’ at the time such security upgrades were a) approved and b) undertaken?
- Is it standard practise to upgrade security for an MP (presuming he was one at the time), who’s just living somewhere ‘rent free’? I mean, 3 million dollars is rather a lot to spend on a place when there’s not even a lease in place!
- Now that Barnaby and Campion have moved out of the ‘rent free’ accommodation, how do we, the Australian taxpayers, get our money back on that ‘security upgrade’?
- When will the investigation commence as to the real machinations of the ‘rent free’ townhouse? Maguire says Barnaby approached him, Barnaby says Maguire approached him.
- When did Barnaby register this ‘gift’? After he was elected? Well if that be the case, then once again I ask, when were those security upgrades approved and when were they undertaken?
- Is it coincidence or something else that Maguire, the provider of the ‘rent free’ townhouse just happened to get some rather heavily funded ‘function’ donations?
- Is it standard practise in government to just ‘create’ a job and employ ‘in house’ without a single advertisement for such ‘job’?
- What about all those travel expense claims staying out of home? Is there evidence of ‘official’ business being conducted?
- What about Grimes’ letter questioning Barnaby’s integrity in regard to Hansard? All that taxpayer money used fighting to keep that letter under wraps!
- Were the people of New England duped? I mean, this is a guy who positioned himself as a conservative, a practising Catholic, sang the praises and sanctity of marriage and all the while he was having an extra marital affair! Isn’t this ‘false, misleading and deceptive conduct’?
- What about the allegations on another affair with another staffer and an apparent abortion? What about the allegations of the affair with a high power lobbyist?
- Given that majority of Australia knew about the Campion ‘affair’ and ‘the pregnancy’, how is it that Turnbull ‘apparently’ didn’t? Or perhaps, on this one occasion, when Barnaby claimed the PM was ‘inept’, he had it right!
- As for the allegations of sexual harassment. Well that is indeed a police matter.
I think the only thing Linda left off are answers sought to the sale of water.
“I’d like to say that it’s absolutely important, it’s incredibly important that there be a circuit-breaker, not just for the Parliament, but more importantly, a circuit-breaker for Vikki, for my unborn child, my daughters and for Nat. This has got to stop. It’s not fair on them.”
The use of the phrase “circuit breaker” to me doesn’t indicate any longevity.
Having said that the leader they choose, likely from Michael McCormack, Darren Chester and David Gillespie, might find the power and the money for that matter, not easy to give up. McCormack is once alleged to have said that:
“Unfortunately gays are here and, if the disease their unnatural acts helped spread doesn’t wipe out humanity, they’re here to stay.”
Sounds like a nice guy.
Darren Chester is a nice fellow and represents my own electorate of Gippsland and was applauded for the work he was doing as infrastructure minister until Joyce, in a fit of revenge, sacked him. But like Joyce none are fit to be Deputy Prime Minister of Australia.
The conflicts between Liberals and Nationals will continue unabated because they are in a mixed marriage that cannot survive. Both have within their ranks conservative extremists who would be better off with Bernardi and his crew. The Nationals have never acted in the best interests of their constituents and would be better off alone uninhibited by those progressives, the small “L” Liberals .
The big winner in this scandal is Malcolm Turnbull, who tried everything to get rid of Joyce and then an allegation from the West did the trick. Maybe now he can reveal the contents of the agreement that has been holding him back all these years. Maybe now he can shrug off the right and go back to his left leaning ways.
However, whilst Turnbull got his way he may have stood on a rusted nail in the guise of two former leaders on the back-bench.
For his part Tony Abbott got slapped down after his “Immigration speech” by all and sundry: both friend and foe. Given his personal arrogance and hatred of Turnbull he will probably continue. Even his most ardent supporter Greg Sheridan got in on the act saying he was 100% wrong. I wonder where blind Freddy was? Perhaps Joyce and Abbott will form a tag team. Goodness, I’m seeing images of Barnaby in red speedos.
Abbott showed he had the gift for a bit of sarcasm by saying:
“… gratuitous criticism from ministers who are only in government because I led them there”, and that “you’d think a government that’s lost the past 27 Newspolls might be curious about how it could lift its game.”
We all have to ask ourselves this question. Why are they all doing this? It certainly isn’t for us?
Bill Shorten can now quietly claim the scalps of a Prime Minister and a Deputy Prime Minister. But as last week,s Newspoll showed, it doesn’t seem to hurt the Coalition at all. Almost half the population think they are doing a fine job.
My thought for the day
“Wouldn’t it be good if in our parliament, regardless of ideology, we had politician’s whose first interest was the people’s welfare and not their own?”
PS: That was the end of Act One. Act two: will Joyce after a month or so on the backbench accept a generous job offer and force another by-election in New England?
