61 comments

1. DanDarkFebruary 7, 2015 at 11:32 am

   I can’t wait for my local by election 🙂
   “Despite the Nationals’ relatively comfortable margin in Gippsland South, winning the seat is not being taken for granted, particularly following the LNP’s disastrous performance in the Queensland election.”

   http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/time-for-fresh-talent-former-nationals-leader-peter-ryan-bows-out-of-victorian-politics-20150202-1341af.html

2. Richard LeggattFebruary 7, 2015 at 11:36 am

   Then let’s hope they vote for “Stability”.

3. Peter FFebruary 7, 2015 at 11:50 am

   ‘Steady’ as she goes – full steam ahead and damm the icebergs.

4. thevenerable1February 7, 2015 at 11:53 am

   And frankly, Kaye, I hope they do. The general public, faced with Malcolm instead, will overlook all his two-faced lies and about-faces and welcome him with open arms – just because he isn’t THIS two-faced liar.

5. Jennifer Meyer-SmithFebruary 7, 2015 at 11:53 am

   Getting rid of Rabid won’t be good enough coz the disease will still be in government.

   Kaye, your child care example is perfect for showing how the LNP Degenerates are only good at procrastination when it comes to legitimate policy implementation.

   Even more callous and cynical than procrastination is the LNP penchant for creating money making opportunities for their mates, who otherwise are identified as “experts”, committee members and board members.

6. BlanikFebruary 7, 2015 at 12:08 pm

   Yes, venerable one, they will overlook the chaos and lies and unfairness of everything that the fascists have done and will continue to do under any new leadership. Leave Captain Catholic as the leader, keep him sweating until his ears bleed then we can fire the sod and all the rest of them.

7. Kaye LeeFebruary 7, 2015 at 12:31 pm

   Who would you prefer to be Prime Minister?
   Tony Abbott 8%
   Julie Bishop 9%
   Malcolm Turnbull 62%
   Other 21%

   Total votes: 62790.

   http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/the-inside-story-of-how-the-liberal-leadership-duo-of-tony-abbott-and-julie-bishop-cracked-20150206-13884m.html

8. gangey1959February 7, 2015 at 12:38 pm

   Right on Kaye
   If he stays, they are gone come 2016. Sadly, enough die hard LNPs will be re-elected who will do to any new Government exactly what Abbott and Co did in opposition, ie destabilise, but we, as in Australia, have a chance to get back out of the economic & financial swamp into which we are currently being driven
   If a new leader is chosen, SOME of the electorate will be dumb enough to consider that to be enough of a change, and the LNP may even get back in if they can come up with a few rhetorical “policy alterations”, and then we are no better off.
   Maybe, just maybe, TA will try and put it all to rest by calling an early election. I can’t see it personally, but I am hoping for it. Then we may have a chance at making some real changes to all sides of politics. OK, Im dreaming, but I’m allowed to sometimes.

   Meanwhile, back in the real world, all the rest of us can do is wait and see.

9. Owen SneltenFebruary 7, 2015 at 12:46 pm

   Dan D ,I am only one seat away from you.. I am ashamed its NORTHE of you .I am upset for you guys having to go to the polls just a few months after last time!!! why did Mr Ryan even bother to contest his seat if he was going to bail out this quick after the election.- Another waste of a lot of peoples valuable time and money..(unless its another nationaL loss of course)

10. KerriFebruary 7, 2015 at 12:52 pm

    To me the multiple commissions and reports are like those who enter tattslotto every week because one day they will get what they want. Labor has a really good ad going around playing the number of times Turnbull has reneged on everything he promised as leader before, just so he can keep his job with Tony? I still want Bishop to win! She will assure us low Liberal votes for decades! Especially as she is carefully wording her “loyalty”. The voters we can hope to win over before the next election will think Malcolm too left. And let’s not forget there will be some telephone talk from the Nats this weekend? They don’t want Turnbull under any circumstance! But they may want their pay packets?

11. Rafe FalkinerFebruary 7, 2015 at 1:13 pm

    Interesting that you refer to this bunch of clowns as the Liberal party, Not the LNP…………The National party have been lied to & shat on as much as the rest of the Australian Population……When are they going to wake up & realise they would be better off going it alone…. Or is actually BEING in power more important to them than representing the people who vote for them

12. John KellyFebruary 7, 2015 at 1:25 pm

    Turnbull will give them a lift in the polls and maybe put them into positive territory but it will take a lot more than that for them to hang on to it. Once the honeymoon is over, the policy position will resume its primacy. Then we will see how good they are.

13. jagman48February 7, 2015 at 1:25 pm

    Rafe I am punting on your last statement as to being correct. Being in power. The Nats do not represent country people anymore. As a matter of fact how many members are farmers now?

14. John FraserFebruary 7, 2015 at 1:51 pm

    <

    No one is saying or asking the question of what will happen to Turnbull should he put up his hand to challenge and then get beaten.

    I couldn't see Turnbull staying in politics if that happens ….. and its a win win time for him to quit saying he wants "stability" in the Liberal party while at the same time making a graceful exit from the politics of boredom.

    How good would Turnbull quitting be ?

    Perfection.

    The Liberals who know they have a slight chance of getting re-elected with Abbott leading and Turnbull there would most likely commit Seppuku if Turnbull left.

15. Möbius EckoFebruary 7, 2015 at 1:53 pm

    “Or is actually BEING in power more important to them than representing the people who vote for them..”

    Rafe Falkiner and there you have hit the nail on the head. Way beyond their actual percentage of votes won and being representative of their constituents, the Nationals get a number of seats and both major and minor portfolios, along with he grand prize of Deputy PM purely for propping up the Liberals so they can win elections.

    Indeed if you look back through history, especially at the State level, you will find that Labor overall has done better for the bush than the L-NP have.

    This arrangement also pisses off many Liberals who miss out on plum portfolios and of course can never be Deputy PM or Deputy Premier in what they see as an unfair distribution of power to country hicks. So it’s not uncommon to see Liberals also challenging for National Party seats and often winning them, this is especially true at the State level. Jeff Kennett won power in his own right without the need for the National’s prop, and he just about relegated them to oblivion as he cut swaths across rural infrastructure and services. So much so that for Kennett’s whole first term only the smallest handful of Victorians knew who the Deputy Premier and leader of the Nationals was.

    To see the unfair advantage the Nationals get by being in a suckholeCoalition with the Liberals look at the percentage of the votes they get as compared to the Greens and then look at the number of seats and portfolios they get.

16. Kaye LeeFebruary 7, 2015 at 2:21 pm

    Ya gotta laugh at politics sometimes. Campbell Newman has been approached to stand against Kathy McGowan in Indi in the next Federal election. Gee I am sure Campbell would appeal to the voters of Indi who mobilised to oust Sophie Mirabella.

    http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/campbell-newman-approached-to-stand-in-victorian-seat-of-indi-20150206-138czt.html

17. DandarkFebruary 7, 2015 at 2:21 pm

    Owen Snelton, noooo not Northe another Nat Nutcase, yep he is rotten old Ryan, he has been on the nose around here for a while, At the last state election I came across a couple of nasty Nat leaflet distributors, they put there bits of paper out thinking I was going to automatically gobble it up, but no I walked around them to find the Labor person giving their leaflets out, and to my surprise it was 70 year old mother,
    I said “good on ya old girl keep up the good work” it was a stinking hot day and she survived a triple by pass 11 years ago, a huge effort for an oldie I reckon,
    anyways so I went in and voted, came out and walked over to my mother and said “here you might as well use my bit of paper again, recycling and all that” well the two nasty women said to me as I was walking away back to my car “have a nice day wont you” I said “yea you to” and pointed to the sign with Ryan on it and said “he will be booted out next”, but he has quit because the Nats hit a brick wall last election in Victoria.
    The mine fire will remembered for along time, and he had to run from the firefighters in the street because the fire was mishandled so badly and many people were lied too and are still being lied to.

18. DanDarkFebruary 7, 2015 at 2:36 pm

    Jeff Kennet was the Grim reaper of politics. The Jeff experiment I call it, he got rid of that many railway workers, they couldn’t run the trains in a safe fashion in the end, because Kennett got rid of the people with the experience and the knowledge, after giving them all redundancy packages, he had to re employ a lot back to run the fecking trains, I stopped voting for years when he got in, because I thought if people can vote for such a nasty f*ck knuckle what hope is there, I voted for the first time since then at last state election because I don’t know why now, but for years I just lost faith like hundreds of thousands of other Aussies in corrupt politicians…..now I am a political warrior LOL….

19. Matters NotFebruary 7, 2015 at 2:37 pm

    John Fraser

    happen to Turnbull should he put up his hand to challenge and then get beaten

    Interesting question. It seems to me that Turnbull will not say or do anything until the ‘spill’ motion is carried (if it is), which in effect is a vote of ‘no confidence’ in Abbott. When that happens, nominations for the position will be called. I suspect that Abbott, never one to die wondering, will again nominate for the position. (He’s like that). So will Turnbull I believe (and possibly others given that there are those who hate Turnbull with a passion). Nevertheless, given the result of the ‘spill’ he will probably win.

    If Abbott survives he will be tempted to take revenge on those seen to be ‘plotters’. He may very well drop Turnbull from the Cabinet but this wouldn’t necessarily be the end of Turnbull. Remember Keating had to challenge Hawke twice before he was successful. On the backbench, whether that be by force or choice, gives much more opportunity to plot and organise further.

    I think Turnbull ‘knows’ that Abbott now has a very short shelf life. His time may be coming. Time is running out.

20. John FraserFebruary 7, 2015 at 2:44 pm

    <

    Matters Not

    I think Turnbull will leave politics if unsuccessful on Tuesday.

21. LozFebruary 7, 2015 at 2:51 pm

    What gets me is all this talk of causing instability if they change leadership when in fact we are now experiencing a very unstable government. Nothing is being done and the country is sinking further into the mire.

22. JexpatFebruary 7, 2015 at 2:55 pm

    Loz:

    Better “nothing being done” than causing further problems that will be far harder and more expensive to fix down the track.

23. Matters NotFebruary 7, 2015 at 2:57 pm

    Kaye Lee, the letter writer seems to think that Newman would be a good choice because of defence personnel in the electorate. If homework was done, then the writer would learn that Newman’s former seat of Ashgrove includes the Enoggera Army Barracks.

    Didn’t help him. He says he’s finished with politics. I suspect he isn’t. However, that he would just ‘blow into Indi and defeat a ‘local’ is just fanciful.

24. Kaye LeeFebruary 7, 2015 at 3:42 pm

    The thing for Turnbull is that it won’t really matter for him if he leaves politics. He is assured of positions on boards etc should he want them. He can do the speaking circuit. He is wealthy in his own right so if he wanted to kick back for the rest of his life he could.

    Tony will get whatever someone gets for being PM for half a term but I cannot see anyone wanting to employ him in any capacity after he leaves politics. He will be provided with an office and have nothing to use it for. I guess he will just fly around hoping someone wants to take his photo which won’t be much different to what he does now.

    On top of their generous parliamentary pensions, former prime ministers are entitled to taxpayer-funded support, “in recognition of public service”, in the form of domestic airfares – for themselves and family – an office and staff and a car.

    Each former PM is entitled to at least two staff, including a senior private secretary, and the annual wages bill of each is nearly $300,000 (2010).

    Each PM can usually expect to receive about 70 per cent of the incumbent’s salary, unless they chose to take a lump sum on retirement.

    Tony Abbott’s salary is approx. $507,000 per year. This would give him a wage of approx. $350,000.

25. ejdur662February 7, 2015 at 3:55 pm

    I hope Abbott doesn’t get rolled on Tuesday as I think he is Labor’s greatest asset. Keep him there!

    Keeping Tony would be like not assassinating Hitler in WW2. With Adolph removed the generals may have conducted a more professional war and a lot of us may now be speaking German.

26. Matters NotFebruary 7, 2015 at 3:55 pm

    it won’t really matter for him if he leaves politics

    I suspect it will. Yes it’s true that Turnbull like Rudd (and Palmer for that matter) aren’t in it for the money’

    While the ‘drivers’ might be many, they certainly include concepts such as ‘ego’, ‘sense of achievement’, ‘place in history’ and ‘power’.

    Thus I suspect it will matter for him to go out as a ‘loser’. It’s why he hung around after losing his position to Abbott some years ago.

27. gangey1959February 7, 2015 at 4:01 pm

    @Kaye Lee. If, or should I say once TA is booted, I’m sure the Army would be able to find a use for him, especially when they consider his treatment of their wages. His photo would be used over and over for general target practice, and he would be a one off live fire target. I don’t know what that pays these days, and I’m not sure whether he would be covered by insurance or what he has left of Medicare, but it would do really well on YouTube.
    To top it all off he would be really cheap to send back home to the old Dart. In a post pack. Ordinary Rate. For a VERY ordinary person.

28. Jennifer Meyer-SmithFebruary 7, 2015 at 4:15 pm

    If Rabid is annihilated by his own party on Tuesday, he still is potentially at risk of legal action, if proof comes into the light of day of his alleged ineligibility to be a MP or PM, even if that should happen after he’s been kicked out.

    That means if found guilty, huge fines, repayment of alleged ill-gotten gains and possibly incarceration.

29. Kaye LeeFebruary 7, 2015 at 4:18 pm

    I don’t wish Tony Abbott any harm. He is a man who has been encouraged all his life to have an inflated sense of his own ability. His bully boy methods have been enabled by those around him. He has, by chance, been promoted to his “level of incompetence” and finds himself completely out of his depth, hence the continual factory visits – let me pack a box rather than answer questions – are the photographers ready?

    He is easy meat for the rich and powerful who have chewed him up and are in the process of spitting him out. In the grand scheme of things Tony Abbott is inconsequential, as he has always been in my opinion. The real fight is against the corporations who seek to squeeze our country dry for their own short term gain.

30. BacchusFebruary 7, 2015 at 5:01 pm

    Under the rules of the Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Scheme, of which Mr Abbott is entitled to be a member, after 18 years or more of service he gets a lifetime pension of 75% of the parliamentary allowance (ie base salary) which is currently $195,130pa (75% of this gives $146,347.50pa.) plus an additional pension in respect of service as a Minister or office holder at the rate of 6.25% of the Ministerial or office holder salary for each year the office is held (pro-rated for the number of days if less than a full year), up to a maximum of 75% for the highest office held.

    Good luck working out the 2nd part of that, given Tones has been parliamentary secretary for two years, minister for nine years, shadow minister for two years, LOTO for 3½ years, and PM for 17 months. My back of the envelope calculation for this gives a pension for Tones of about $260,000pa indexed to the increase in the parliamentary allowance, but that could be wildly inaccurate.

    John Howard (our most expensive former PM), as PM for a little bit longer than 17 months, would get a pension of about $380,000pa if he didn’t convert any of it to a lump sum when he left.This figure pales into insignificance when his expenses are taken into account. John Howard’s expenses averaged $850,000pa from 2007-2010. Who knows what it’s grown to now…

    For those who may wish to work out accurate figures:
    http://www.finance.gov.au/superannuation/parliamentary-superannuation/parliamentary-leaflet.html#benefits
    http://www.remtribunal.gov.au/media/documents/2015/2014-determinations/2014-10-principal-determination-members-of-parliament-basesalary,-additional-salary-for-parliamentary-office-holders,-and-related-matters/2014-10-MPs-Base-Salary,-Additional-Salary-for-Parl-OH-Determination-for-1.7.2014.pdf
    http://www.remtribunal.gov.au/media/documents/2015/reports/2014-report-on-ministers-of-state-salaries-additional-to-the-basic-parliamentary-salary-report-1/Report-1-of-2014-Ministers-of-State.-7.8.2014.pdf

31. townsvilleblogFebruary 7, 2015 at 5:09 pm

    It is worth noting that the extreme right wing faction of the Liberal Party currently controls the party and as such if the person who fills the Prime Minister’s role, whoever he or she is, remains controlled by this extreme right wing faction and will only be allowed to do what they decide. If Turnbull accepts the position he may be soon dismayed as to what he is able to achieve. Hopefully Abbott wins the ballot and faces judgement from the Australian people.

32. Kaye LeeFebruary 7, 2015 at 5:11 pm

    If, however, it turns out that Tony was ineligible to run for Parliament due to his dual citizenship we could save ourselves a shitload and Tony could find out what it’s like to get retrenched when you have a mortgage.

33. paul walterFebruary 7, 2015 at 5:45 pm

    If I had shares in a chook farm and found the CEO running about strangling the chooks, I would think of looking elsewhere.

34. Kaye LeeFebruary 7, 2015 at 6:00 pm

    The New York Times : Will a Passion for Royalty Ruin a Prime Minister’s Career?

    India Gazette: Close confidant of Tony Abbott says his prime ministership is over

    http://www.indiagazette.com/index.php/sid/230059147

    BBC: Australian PM Tony Abbott ‘will fight leadership challenge’

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-31159737

35. paul walterFebruary 7, 2015 at 6:15 pm

    OK, I wont pick on Julia, but the citing of Sinodinis was a bit egregious.

36. Terry2February 7, 2015 at 6:51 pm

    ‘Getting some mixed messages from the Murdoch camp who seem to be having two bob each way although Peter Van Onselen in today’s Weekend Australian doesn’t pull any punches:

    “On becoming Prime Minister, Abbott broke promises; refused to refresh his front bench; allowed his office to use force instead of persuasion to garner loyalty; centralised command and control systems to the exclusion of others; cut himself off from his front back bench; failed to listen to criticisms by conservative allies about his chief of staff; failed to build a narrative for policies……….worst of all, Abbott became arrogant and believed that he was untouchable at the top because of what Labor had done to a first term PM…….Whether Abbott survives next week or not, he is a dead man walking.”

    Tell us what you really think , Peter.

37. RoswellFebruary 7, 2015 at 7:24 pm

    He did a good job of doing that, Terry. 😉

38. diannaartFebruary 7, 2015 at 10:36 pm

    There is nothing stable about Tony Abbott.

    Libs do need to change leaders. With the Far-Right Faction in control at present I don’t see how Turnbull could manage – unless the FRF’s are prepared to sit-back quietly – can’t see that happening.

    Possible scenario Turnbull gets the nod, FRF’s white-ant HIM, Labor does a ‘Bradbury’, Libs appoint another from their seemingly endless supply of FRF’s as the 2016 LOTO, then…. too damn hot and I’m too damn tired to think any further.

39. Matters NotFebruary 7, 2015 at 11:06 pm

    Been thinking. We know that the ‘spill motion’ emanates from WA via three climate sceptics. It’s clear therefore they are not Turnbull’s ideological and certainly not his scientific bed mates. Robb said it has the smell of an organised campaign, and given his history he has a good nose for that.

    So for whom and therefore why?

    Despite my earlier speculation, perhaps Turnbull isn’t the intended inheritor of the crown?

    So many questions.

    Perhaps Turnbull believes that Abbott isn’t ‘done’ yet and therefore doesn’t run this time. Certainly risky, but remember he pulled the trigger too early re Nelson and paid the penalty.

    But I love the speculation that this standoff evokes.

    Gillard’s ‘Schadenfreude’ is probably a serious personal health risk.

40. JexpatFebruary 7, 2015 at 11:07 pm

    “The thing for Turnbull is that it won’t really matter for him if he leaves politics.”

    A bit of time around people like Mr. Turnbull might change your perspective on that, Kaye Lee.

41. KerriFebruary 7, 2015 at 11:12 pm

    Unlike Kaye Lee, (you are way too kind babe) I actually do wish Tony Abbott as much harm as can be legally meted out to him! He has ruined Australia’s reputation internationally! He has wasted our taxes on jobs and favours for his mates! He has contributed SIGNIFICANTLY to global warming! He has destroyed the faith of the Australian voter! (See Dan Dark) He has lowered the moral tone of ANY debate currently occurring in Australia! He has used his office to feather his own and the nests of those related to him. The man does not deserve to be spat on and he certainly doesn’t deserve any form of taxpayer funded pension, car, secretary or toilet paper!!!
    I seriously hope the whole citizenship thing results in him having to pay back the money wasted on his sorry carcass for the last however many years he has been sucking from the country’s teat! And that goes as well for Abetz and any other politician who has cheated the country. But at least, if there are any other than Abbott and Abetz, they have had the good sense to shut up and lay low!
    And Matters Not! I am with you on the comments from Robb and the lack of or very careful comments from Bishop! It would be interesting to see a three way squabble and see if Julie’s intention is to take as many votes as she can and hand them to Abbott (if that’s possible) or vice versa? She is holding her cards very close!
    Also I just want to repost a comment I made from another page today.
    I think everything Abbott has steadfastly pushed as PM will have the precise opposite effect! His monarchism will result in greater Republicanism. His push to punish unions will provoke greater unionism! His protection of the wealthy will result in greater revolt against those who have too much! Murdoch’s papers are already suffering! Unwittingly Abbott may well unite Australia as a fairer, more independant and more robustly international country!

42. mars08February 7, 2015 at 11:21 pm

    diannaart:

    There is nothing stable about Tony Abbott…

    I became blatantly, undeniably obvious (although largely ignored by the corporate meeeja) when the blundering imbecile started bemoaning his struggle (kampf) and comparing himself to Margaret Thatcher. He’s an utter fruit-loop! Totally unhinged!

43. Matters NotFebruary 7, 2015 at 11:21 pm

    A bit of time around people like Mr. Turnbull might change your perspective on that, Kaye Lee

    Definitely! Certainly not about the monetary rewards.

    Prestige, Status. Historical presence. And the like.

44. PopsieJFebruary 7, 2015 at 11:33 pm

    Words,words words but to sum it up in one sentance Nobody could be worse than Tony Abbott.

45. Damo451February 7, 2015 at 11:51 pm

    Popsiej ,considering at the moment the spill is between Abbott and the thin air next to him ,i think you may be right

46. DanDarkFebruary 8, 2015 at 12:17 am

    No body could be worse than Abbott, Morriscum is on the hunt, and it’s not Greg hunt who by the way
    has gone missing in action as Kaye said in a comment….a tree must have got him 🙂
    Morriscum has been very quiet, conspicuously quiet.
    the hard right wing and cheerleaders don’t like Turnbull never have,
    but they love the Face of cruelty Morriscum
    MAINTAIN THE RAGE till the lot of the nasty ideological rabble are kicked to the curb………

47. Kaye LeeFebruary 8, 2015 at 7:31 am

    Good article by Bernard Keane:

    There’s a name for this approach to public policy: it’s crony capitalism, pure and simple. Industries and business leaders with close connections to the Coalition, including extensive financial support for the Liberal and National parties, benefit from public policy through tax cuts, direct assistance, “deregulation” and government campaigns against their competitors.

    Coalition’s crony capitalism makes communication harder

48. David KFebruary 8, 2015 at 7:59 am

    Just reading elswhere that a deal could be on the cards.

    Abbott to stay, Hockey to go, Turnbull given treasury. The article also states,

    “Even with Malcolm Turnbull as leader the coalition would still trail Labor at an election, a new poll shows.”

    http://www.9news.com.au/National/2015/02/08/00/28/Abbott-urged-to-dump-Hockey-in-favour-of-Turnbull-to-stave-off-leadership-challenge

    So we’d still have an unpopular leader, and who ever heard of a popular treasurer?

49. Matters NotFebruary 8, 2015 at 8:33 am

    Crisis meeting now to be on Monday at 9.00 am. Not surprised. Saves fronting a difficult Question Time.

    Predictable and predicted.

50. Terry2February 8, 2015 at 8:55 am

    Abbott couldn’t resist the opportunity to insult the electors of Victoria and Queensland when he made that revealing statement in his Press Club speech:

    “in a fit of absent-mindedness when people elect Labor governments”

    He really believes this and it is at the core of his flawed ideology : ‘ if you don’t think like me you are absent minded or worse ‘. Tony, has it ever occurred to you that it is you who are out of step with the majority of the people of this fine land ?

    Malcolm, keep your powder dry and with your superior intelligence you will defeat this neanderthal. Indeed this evolution in leadership from the knuckle dragging simian to an upright homo-erectus is really quite appealing.

51. John FraserFebruary 8, 2015 at 8:58 am

    <

    The LNP in Queensland is the only political party in Australia that looks up to the Abbott government.

52. Möbius EckoFebruary 8, 2015 at 9:55 am

    All I’m hearing is Labor, Labor, Labor. Every Liberal minister that comes on in an interview goes on about how well they have done since winning government and how bad things would be under Labor. They cannot give an answer without embellishing in how bad things would be under Labor as they were when they were in government.

    Not one person in the media picks them up on that.

    My initial reaction was one of anger, but then I thought I hope they keep this attitude right up until the next polling day as they will certainly go the way of the Queensland LNP.

    ——————————
    Whilst on the Queensland LNP I note that Springborg is the new State Liberal leader with Langbroek as deputy. Newman didn’t oversee the biggest collapse in political history on his own, indeed he, like Abbott, seems to be figurehead for far right wing vested interests. What I’ve read on Queensland over the last few years on their failures, unreasonably harsh policies, environmental destruction, social neglect, cronyism and self rewards is the Springborg and Langbroek names often popping up.

53. Möbius EckoFebruary 8, 2015 at 10:12 am

    Further on Queensland.

    Labor has won enough seats to form government.

54. John FraserFebruary 8, 2015 at 10:14 am

    <

    Tweets :

    "Knighthood worst call since Chappell called for underarm bowl".

    "Abbott dead man talking".

    "Abbott sets record for shortest press conference. Next time he will cycle past".

    "Abbott has childhood dreams of becoming a martyr"

    "Condolence motion for Sydney siege in parl overshadowed by Abbott bringing forward spill"

    Its always about Abbott ….. first and hopefully on Monday …… last !

55. John FraserFebruary 8, 2015 at 10:37 am

    <

    I can't remember the last time Australia woke up with a hangover on "back to work Tuesday".

56. RossFebruary 8, 2015 at 10:55 am

    If the board of a corporation appoint a CEO under whose direction the share price falls to record lows what should they do?
    Normally they give the CEO a massive multimillion dollar pay rise and a shirt load more shares.

    Whatever happens this week someone will have to clean the blood from the carpet.

57. Jennifer Meyer-SmithFebruary 8, 2015 at 11:45 am

    If Springborg and Langbroek are associated with consistent cronyism in Qld politics and political lobbying, this just proves the Qld branch of the LNP Degenerates either can’t or won’t learn from their mistakes.

    IDIOTS.

58. diannaartFebruary 8, 2015 at 1:51 pm

    @Möbius Ecko

    All I’m hearing is Labor, Labor, Labor. …Not one person in the media picks them up on that.

    My initial reaction was one of anger, but then I thought I hope they keep this attitude right up until the next polling day as they will certainly go the way of the Queensland LNP.

    The Victorian and QLD elections have proven this mantra no longer works, in fact I’d say most of their slogans are now working against them – but nobody tell ’em, that, OK?

    Same goes for Murdoch, Queensland, the land of Murdoch only, didn’t take a bit of notice.

59. HaildebusFebruary 8, 2015 at 2:07 pm

    The Labor Party would no doubt mourn the loss of the best friend it ever had. I am hoping that he (T.A.) survives.
    It matters not who leads. The absurd pursuit of infinite growth is a race to disaster.

60. paul walterFebruary 8, 2015 at 2:59 pm

    The Bernard Keane link was good and interesting incidentally as to what punches it pulled as well as landed…a dot joining-exercise.

61. Don WintherFebruary 9, 2015 at 1:20 pm

    Bad Luck Australia, we still have the car salesman in charge. The car yard is a bit empty though, not much left to sell and with his destruction of manufacturing we cant make any more. Tony will have to sell the farms and our houses. He has taken us back to 1920 in half a term.