Take up your cameras and fight the good fight.
From the beginning, the Abbott campaign has been waged in the media. Every move he makes is purely for the media. The ridiculous photos of Abbott, Hockey, and Corman sitting there looking at oversized graphs, the crews who just happen to be at Manly Beach to catch Tony surfing, the tweets of here I am driving a fire truck, the endless photos of Tony on the factory floor, the purchase of bigger planes to accommodate his burgeoning entourage of film crews, micro-managed photo shoots in Arnhem Land, way too much lycra – all designed to promote the image but woefully short on substance.
Tony doesn’t have time to meet with Ban Ki Moon but he always makes time to go see Rupert Murdoch. When he decides not to pursue the repeal of the racial discrimination laws, he contacts Andrew Bolt before telling Parliament. Organisations and individuals read about their future dismissal in the Daily Telegraph.
Abbott has used the media effectively and ruthlessly to manipulate the public discourse even to the degree where he convinced the Australian public that, rather than polluters paying for the damage they cause and to move their businesses towards sustainable practices, we should pay for their factory upgrades whilst eliminating their clean competitors. If they choose not to cut their pollution there will be no consequences.
In fact, Andrew Robb, who just oversaw the deal to sell uranium to India, tells us that coal is the future.
“Instead of thinking brown coal’s day has passed, we need to bear in mind its potential to support new industries and jobs in the future”.
This astonishing thinking, which flies in the face of all scientific evidence and international consensus, suggests that economic growth is a trade-off for action on global warming.
Imagine you were told your child was gravely ill and in need of urgent treatment. Would your reaction be to ignore that advice and pay off the mortgage instead? Would you tell the doctors they are “talking through their hats”?
Abbott, backed by Gina’s billions, was also able to convince the majority of people that asking mining companies to pay tax on their superprofits made by selling our resources was unreasonable. So keen were we to protect their record profits, we were willing to give up the increase in the superannuation guarantee, the increase in the tax free threshold, and to slow the rate of increase in pensions.
The beat up about mining jobs has proved to be just that. Since the repeal of the carbon and mining taxes, every day we hear of more job losses in the mining industry with more to come. They have never been a big employer and show no loyalty to anything except the bottom line.
But perhaps the most disgraceful display of media manipulation was the demonization of asylum seekers. Who could forget the “Egyptian jihadist terrorist kept behind a pool fence” who occupied weeks of parliamentary sitting time, only to turn out to be an accountant who had been a victim of unfair persecution. This sort of “scary Muslim” rhetoric has seen far right wing groups like the Australian Defence League ramp up a campaign of frightening online harassment against Muslim women and their children. Politicians like Jacqui Lambie and Cory Bernardi legitimise the xenophobia and discrimination with radio shock jocks and vile people like Larry Pickering whipping up hatred against a section of our community because of their faith.
The dog whistling was lapped up by the ugly Australians, many of whom were themselves migrants to this country. “Economic migrant” became a term of abuse as if these people had no right to seek a better life for their families. This set the stage for draconian measures that were sold to us as a “humanitarian” measure to stop the drownings at sea. Had it been accompanied by any increased facilitation of intake through regular channels then perhaps this argument might hold some water. Instead, they cut the intake by some 7000 and effectively closed the doors while refugees accumulate in their millions in poorer countries.
Morrison and Abbott continually bemoaned the arrival of “50,000 asylum seekers a year”. This is completely untrue. The government reported only 17,202 asylum seekers in 2012 and a further 13,108 to the end of June 2013, totalling 30,310 arrivals over a year and a half — a long way from 50,000 arrivals per year. In July last year there was a spike of 4236 arrivals. However, the following month only 1585 arrived — the lowest count for five months at that time. Further, just 3753 asylum seekers arriving by boat between July 19 and September 17, 2013. In other words, the statistic that Abbott keeps referring to simply does not add up.
According to the Liberal Party’s own press release, “over 50,000 people have now arrived illegally by boat since Mr Rudd dismantled our border security policies,” yet Tony Abbott tells us “They were coming in July at the rate of 50,000 a year.” He repeated that claim in January ”If boats were coming at the rate of 50,000 illegal arrivals a year, which was the case in July and if now they’re hardly coming at all, obviously some things have changed,” and again in July. This was no slip of the tongue, it was a deliberate falsehood propagated for media consumption.
50,000 refugees in 6 years kind of pales into insignificance when we see 140,000 Kurdish refugees flood into Turkey in the space of a few days while Turkey are already hosting some 1.5 million Syrian refugees from the three-and-a-half year conflict
Despite assuring us they would not engage in “megaphone diplomacy”, Abbott has done just that from day one. We began by insulting Indonesia by telling journalists that we didn’t need their permission to turn back boats. When Julie Bishop chose to castigate the Chinese and Russian ambassadors, she first alerted the press so they could film their arrival and quote the dressing-down.
But now this obsession with government by media has moved into very dangerous territory.
The decision to send over 800 police to round up a small group of young people could perhaps have been justified by intelligence that we were not aware of except for the way that it has been handled which exposes it as very much a propaganda exercise which is having disastrous consequences.
Since when have ASIO and the AFP released video of covert operations showing suspects and their homes when they have not been charged with anything nor committed any crime? Why do we need new harsher laws if these operations could proceed under existing laws? If there was evidence that these people had committed or intended to commit a crime, why have they been released without charge? Why use preventative detention laws which do not allow the detainee to be questioned (or to contact a lawyer, their family or employer)? Why has the stabbing of a policeman by a teenager been labelled a terrorist act?
Last Monday’s Q&A was an important program in that it gave voice to how the Muslim community are feeling and the victimisation to which they are being subjected by members of the public. Some of these women are truly afraid and with far more reason than “chatter” or a vague intercepted phone call.
The Australian Defence League has been following and photographing Muslim women on public transport, displaying anti-Islamic posters outside mosques and filming at Muslim schools and posting the videos online.
The League, which incites its followers to violence, is a registered not-for-profit organisation led by a former soldier who claims to have support from within the Defence Force.
The national president, Ralph Cerminara, posted this on facebook: “I’m calling for the end of Islam in our country and hopefully the world. If Muslims have to die then so be it. It is us against them.”
His incitement goes further as shown in this interview on 7:30 report in April.
The terrorist rhetoric being brayed in countless interviews by Abbott, Brandis and the like has backfired on them. Their emphasis of local threat and very public heavy handed approach, while failing to address the threat posed to local Muslims, has increased tensions immeasurably.
If the raids had been secret (and far smaller), the young people could have been brought in for normal questioning. It would have been useful to have Muslim counsellors there to speak with them. By broadcasting it to the world under explosive headlines, it is obvious that it was publicity rather than information that they wanted.
Brandis has jumped on recent incidents in the hope of having his new anti-terror laws rushed through parliament without scrutiny. This would be extremely dangerous as they take away many of our rights. One can only hope that sanity prevails and the Senate puts the brakes on while cooler expert heads investigate the implications of such laws.
I have come to fear tomorrow’s headlines and a government that seems not only oblivious to the consequences of Murdoch-led opinion but happy to use it to contribute to the hysteria for a boost in the polls.
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Return to home pageOh poor Gina. Australia’s biggest leaner (in more ways than one) pays no income tax and is worth more than $20 billion so the poor thing is obviously in desperate need of some more money.
It really is disturbing how people are grabbing ahold of the government-led hysteria and running with it. Together they are turning Australia into a very dangerous place to live.
Precisely, Kaye ! When you have Murdoch working in sync with a government in Australia democracy has very real problems that may be hard to fix at the ballot box.
Within days I believe that we will be told that the asylum seeker detention problem has been fixed by an agreement to pay dictator Hun Sen to allow us to dump refugees in Cambodia; perhaps the most contemptible act yet from this government at a time when our Prime Minister is in New York lecturing the UN on ‘humanitarian’ assistance to Iraq.
The guys writing ‘Utopia’ are obviously very close to what is happening in Canberra – they may even fall foul of the new security laws. Is Kitty Flanagan Peta Credlin do you think ?
In the meantime politicians have been told to keep their blinds drawn and not stand in front of windows in case of snipers – wonderful material, Rob Sitch and the gang have reams to work with here.
So so true Kaye Lee. Our country is becoming more divided by the minute and the rednecks in Parliament are primarily to blame! The miscalculated habit Abbott has of uglifying any incident (MH17 bodies, animals, weather etc) (a knife and iPhone and a victim) with his thoughtless commentary is terrifying those less informed, while inflaming those implicated. The young man who knifed the cops and was shot seemed to have known or felt something was up and he had very little option to do things his way. I am not justifying his actions but he obviously felt cornered not just in the moment, in that he voluntarily turned up for the interview but clearly felt his only option was to instigate a fight? What options are being left for people who have fled terrorism to be safe here, only to find they are not? Passports confiscated they cannot leave and the Governments actions and words leave them again threatened with no escape. Our Asylum Seeker policy reinforces the feeling that you are convicted before you arrive. I am sure the shabby underplan is to scare off more asylum seekers by reinforcing the racist and prejudiced nature of the Government.
They are also looking to justify new laws in the name of terrorism but they can be used against any of us. In the States when they started keeping metadata, the first victim was the next in line for head of the CIA when they found out he was having an affair with his biographer. How many times would the recent articles and ensuing discussions have set off their alert. I feel like that old guy in Life of Brian.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIaORknS1Dk
Rob Sitch is too realistic to be funny….it is truly depressing. I prefer the not-so-subtle ridicule of Monty Python for this government’s buffoonery.
Another extremely important next step is some protection for the Muslim community. Larry Pickering and the Australian Defence League and anyone else who propagates the overt vilification they do should be shut down. Radio shock jocks and Murdoch journalists should be made to clean up their act and told to stop using inflammatory headlines. Protection for all.
I agree with all that you say Kaye and feel very sorry for the Muslim community and what they must be going through. I wish there was some way to let them know of my support and feelings at this time.
I read an article somewhere in MSM this morning about a second person yelling out threats to Christians and being charged, which is reasonable (the charge, not the threats) but interesting that people only have the right to be bigots if they are Christians being bigoted about Muslims. I agree the Muslim community needs some protection. I fear that before this is over we’ll see rednecks killing people whose only crime is looking like they are of middle eastern origin.
When I told someone (who I thought until now was a sensible person) this morning that people are innocent until proven guilty and that includes Muslims, I was accused of supporting terrorists and condoning the stabbing of police officers. Divide and conquer – the idiot politicians are succeeding. Sigh.
It is pertinent to remember the Cronulla riots started when two groups of young men accused each other of staring at each other, words were exchanged, a fight ensued.
After Alan Jones stirred things up with comments like “We don’t have Anglo-Saxon kids out there raping women in Western Sydney” and broadcasting and endorsing one listener’s suggestion that bikie gangs be brought down to Cronulla railway station to deal with “Lebanese thugs” and that the event be televised, arguing that despite their reputation bikie gangs do “a lot of good things”, after he boasted “I’m the person that’s led this charge here. Nobody wanted to know about North Cronulla, now it’s gathered to this”, 270,000 individual text messages were transmitted inciting a racially motivated confrontation at North Cronulla Beach the following Saturday.
5000 people gathered and fuelled by alcohol, the crowd turned to violence when a young man of Middle Eastern appearance was spotted on the beach. He was surrounded by a crowd outside a local hotel and attacked, along with similar attacks later that day. Retaliatory riots also took place that night and on subsequent nights, resulting in extensive property damage and several more assaults, including one stabbing and even some attacks against ambulance and police officers.
Alan Jones was later found to have breached the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) Code of Conduct section 1.3(a), as his comments were “likely to encourage violence or brutality and to vilify people of Lebanese and Middle-Eastern backgrounds on the basis of ethnicity”. Yet here he is today, still broadcasting his poison.
The ringleaders of the violence appeared sheepishly saying sorry as the beer haze wore off.
Should the behaviour displayed by a very large crowd of drunken Australians that day be labelled terrorism? Should we be providing police to protect mosques as well as parliament house since they have already been subject to attack?
Let’s get some balance here before we, like Alan Jones, incite a riot that could have dire consequences.
I wish that were true, but the way I see it their strategy has worked exceptionally well. And does so at a number of levels.
Firstly, most of population now have a group that they can both fear and hate. Certainly that’s not true for many but I suspect it’s true for the majority, which is what politics is all about. Sad as that may be. Creating an enemy and then demonising them is a tried and true political tactic to unite the masses.
Secondly, the issue of Islam provides a welcome distraction from the day to day business of government, including a totally unfair Budget.
The danger for Abbott is that an election is along way off and if there are deaths in battle the voters will become angry and tire of this distraction.
Perhaps we are being set up for a ‘double dissolution’.
“There was a big theatrical raid on Muslim’s suspected of being “about to be very naughty”… it was highly organised, in 23 locations, netted one arrest and two days worth of footage and Pics (shot by the Police and given to selected reporters) and was in no way intended to stir up Islama-phobia!
It was to “Protect-the-Citizens”, “To-keep-us-safe-in-our-Suburbs.”
Which worked a treat…. when a 18 YO Muslim suspected of “wanting-to-be-naughty” was invited down to the police station …he arrived with a knife and stabbed two police before being shot and killed.
You have to wonder … if there was violence being fomented, surely , even at the intensity of this raid , keeping a lid on it would in fact have more impact where it is needed? But then Rabbutt-the-Hun and his rabble have never been known for subtleties. Sledgehammers’ to crack Walnuts and Fists through walls is much better for the psyche.. ..
Rabbutt-the-Hun’s rabble are destroying this country!
There is not one positive thing they have done. Nothing done has been of benefit to the country; in fact it’s been only to the benefit of “The Ugly American” Murdoch and the coal miners.
Many many posts ago I said, Petals, that if this IPA led Liarbril rabble were elected then civil society was going to be destroyed… they are the real terrorists, the Headless Chooks running amok, cutting away every social benefit for a safe, tolerant and collective society. They want this confusion and mayhem to distract from cutting wages and social services, medi-bank and destroying state education .. and the new “Terrorist” laws will be used to stop dissent when the the greater public finally wake up and the shit really hits the fan.
They are not to be trusted!
In Naptime’s Tardis State (Where-All-Goes-Backward) Police Commissioner “I-Know-Nuffin” Lay has decided that it would be “too political” to release the crime stats three days before the election. Hmmm that’s not political? That’s also not very democratic!
Labor have sided with Naptimes Liarbrils and are taking Packers Penny!
Do you really think we live in a functioning Democracy?…..http://shanewombat.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/like-headless-chook.html
Matters Not,
“I wish that were true, but the way I see it their strategy has worked exceptionally well.”
I guess it depends how you judge things. If you are talking about a few points in polls then maybe. If you consider the fact that we are now at war again in the middle east and are working on alienating disaffected Muslim youth so successfully that one of them is now dead and a policeman in hospital, then it may not be so successful. We now have Australian Muslims living in fear despite the fact that the vast majority of people killed by ISIS have been Muslims.
The repercussions being felt in our society make me say this has been an epic fail regardless of what polls may say.
Certainly true. I was ‘seeing’ it from Abbott’s intentions, which are always ‘base political’.
What is happening must be condemned but it’s likely it won’t be.
Yes! And Shia and Sunni adherents have been brutally killing each other for centuries. We won’t stop that, and we shouldn’t try.
I am just flabbergasted. At the first March in March there was a young Muslim women dressed in a beautiful blue/black dress, headscarf and veil. It was a rich iridescent blueish purple. Her eyes were made up exquisitely and she was really stunning. I learned something very important at that moment about tolerance, equality and beauty. The young Muslim men with her wore masks of anonymous and were readily accepted by the crowd. These were obviously well educated and informed individuals standing up for democracy and equality. I took several photos of them which they accepted gracefully. Really I need say little more than I grieve for the injustices these people will suffer at the hands of cruel ideologues who are little better than their supposed enemies.
This madness must stop or we are going to head down a very disturbing path. Thanks for the humor Kaye I just love having a bit of a laugh and joke. Puts things into perspective.
This complicity between the media and the LNP is an absolute disgrace. When journalists cannot honestly present the facts they are no longer journalist but strait out biased opinion writers. Murdoch experiments in the US and then applies his successful strategies in Australia and the dumb conformist just sidle along as if nothing has changed. It most certainly has invoking the worst type of lying and misinformation peddled by neo-fascist oligarchs of the wealthy elites (At least in their minds they think they are elite to me they are no more than a gaggle of ignorant fools).
We seem to have trouble identifying real threats…..
Two days before the Bali bombing in 2002, the US issued a worldwide warning notice urging tourists to Bali to avoid “clubs, bars and restaurants” where Westerners congregate. The Australian government had received US intelligence identifying Bali as a possible target of a terrorist attack on Western tourists but did not change its advice to Australian holidaymakers.
Regarding Howard’s “war on terror” Andrew Wilkie, who was an intelligence officer at the time who resigned claiming ethical concerns, said:
“He should instead feel deeply ashamed but grateful that he hasn’t been charged with conspiracy to commit mass murder,” he said.
“For him to continue to blame the intelligence agencies is plain wrong. His continued cherry-picking of intelligence is nothing more than an attempt to dishonestly distract people from the fact that politicians, not spies, make wars.”
Green hits the mark as well.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-25/green-our-disconcerting-certainty-in-battling-terrorism/5767916
Indeed he does.
“Common sense would also suggest that many of the possible responses could have the opposite to intended effect, that despite the instinct to flinch back from Muslim Australia with fists clenched, a closer embrace might do more to boost everyone’s sense of security and trust.
As the joke goes: if they hate us for our freedoms, perhaps removing that freedom will make us safer.”
Kaye
That is the magic solution. Magic because it would no occur to the purveyors of fear and discrimination.
Check this Poll. In the ‘minority’ again.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/thedrum/polls/
Thank you Kaye for another insightful, excellently written article.
And thanks too for injecting some fun in here – the videos made me laugh …. something I hope we can all do a little more of – even in the face of things as they are today – while we are ‘ ruled ‘ by this violently inclined Liberal mob of traitors.
=====
An almost natural progession of the kind of mob behaviour displayed at North Cronulla beach, can lead to organised vigilantism.
Not saying that WILL happen, just commenting that it could – it has happened elsewhere in the world.
I wonder how the AFP / local police in any area in Australia, would respond to vigilantes ?
I did my teacher training back in the 70s (at the tail end of the time when we were expected to wear dresses, stockings, and lipstick). I remember being told at the time to not insist that Lebanese boys look me in the eye if I was berating them and to try not to put them in confrontation situations in front of groups but rather deal with them individually. This did not mean condone or allow poor behaviour – it was advice on how to achieve an end with the minimum of confrontation. It was a recognition of possible cultural differences and how to deal with them. If I am to expect respect from others then I must show respect. Yelling at people or humiliating or belittling them in front of others was not the way to get the co-operation of difficult students.
I also was on the management committee for a homeless youth refuge in my local area and I witnessed first hand the benefit of offering support to young people who were struggling during a tumultuous period in their lives. We used a rewards based system which worked so much better than the punishment they were so often used to.
Teenagers have a great deal of self-doubt. They are moving from the guidance of their parents and often seek the security of other groups. They conform to that group for a sense of belonging during that uncertain transition from child to adult before they have life experience to help gain perspective. Many of us did silly things during that time that we look back on with a degree of shame.
Perhaps our Prime Minister would be well served to remember some of his antics at university because I remember them Tony. I remember you strutting around with your gang of bovver boys hurling abuse at feminists and gays. I remember you forcing your way into meetings, kicking in doors, engaging in an infantile lock changing war, shoving your very conservative views down everyone’s throats. I remember you speaking out against contraception while happily rooting away. I remember your arrogance and bullying behaviour.
Are these young people who have currently been swept up for stupid facebook conversations so very different? Can we not have members of the Muslim community talk to these kids rather than us sending in SWAT teams? They are all so very young we should be at least trying to help them get on track towards a positive future. We can’t save every kid, we have never been able to, but we have never before persecuted them for so little. Oh wait…yes we have – saying sorry to our Indigenous people seems so inadequate.
Kaye – I so totally agree with your comment. Unfortunately, I don’t think our PM is capable of looking back on his anti-most-everything antics at University ( and heaven knows where else ) …. as he sees himself as unimpeachable, beyond reproach, and would never look at himself in a true light – that is, warts and all. ….. Not while he is ‘in power’ anyway. Might have to when the chickens come home to roost, which they ultimately will.
Lebanese boys. I remember those days myself – some were at my sons’ Catholic college – and had formed into opposing gangs ( even though of the same ethnicity ). One lot in particular were extremely antagonistic and violent, and repeatedly cornered the Catholic lot – who in turn wreaked their vengeance on the Aussie schoolboys. My two sons and their friends managed to stay out of harm’s way – simply by not confronting these gangs …. in any way at all, especially not ‘eye-balling’ them.
From memory, because of the criminal acts of wanton vandalism, trespass, and attacks on vulnerable ( usually younger kids and older people ) … the police dealt with them – harshly. They grew up, dispersed and I don’t think there has been any repeats from that particular ethnic group there. Now it is others who come to the fore ( here in Victoria ) ….. young men, of different almost pure breeding ethnicity. Not to mention the yobo’s who are caucasian – and who beat the hell out of one another after a night on the booze.
It is sad beyond belief that violence of all kinds, is so prevalent in our own country today.
I must hasten to say I had no more trouble with Lebanese boys than any description of teenager. Whilst the advice may have specified them in an era when we were only just coining the phrase multiculturalism, it extends to all kids and even adults. if you go at someone with aggression you will be met with aggression. If you confront someone in front of their peers they are more likely to defend themselves rather than lose face. I grew up with sharpies and bikies and all manner of collectives. Avoiding confrontation didn’t require debasing myself, just treating others with respect which I found returned (though it did get a bit hectic when the bikies wanted to protect me).
Actually it was a Lebanese male friend who introduced me to my husband – I went to a lot of family parties with him and I have to say Lebanese aunts put on a mean spread. I remember them continually telling me to eat more because I needed fattening up. Those days are gone 🙂
The MSM promoted them in,and continue to promote these Libs.
If we had a MAJORITY public that had critical thinking skills,and weren’t so gullible,then these Libs would NOT have got in to begin with.
The MSM,and the Libs are bad,but so are the most of the public 🙁
The public can be taught. At the moment we are leaving that up to Rupert Murdoch and Mark Textor. People on this site and others like it are doing their best to address that problem. Whilst we are preaching to the converted we are also hopefully arming people with facts to use in their discussions with their children, extended family, friends and work colleagues.
We must take back the discussion from Rupert and the spin doctors and start giving the experts more of a platform. Politicians have lost sight of leadership so it must come from the electorate. We need to reaffirm our confidence and commitment to the society we have worked so hard to develop and stop MPs from treating the common wealth as their own.
What these Libs and most of the public sadly lack:-
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/consistency.html
Indeed and well said kaye 😉
I and of course many others,are trying…. 🙂
Kaye – I stand to be corrected here, but I think …. ‘back in those days’ …. the Lebanese gangs were the first ‘gangs’ we as people in neighbourhoods, had EVER encountered.
As I said – they grew up, left and most would have built families and opportunities of their own. The Lebanese people I know now, are hard working and are a very generous people. They’d give you the shirts off their backs – much like Greek, Italian and Chinese would, to name but a few. I am speaking in ethnic terms, of course. They are Australians – like those of us who have specifically British backgrounds.
Just because we are of British descent, does NOT make us any better than anybody else. And it does NOT make us any more law abiding – or not. We are a multi-cultural society of Aussies.
I just hope we can all remember that. …….
So the first and only person charged from the knee jerk panic raids was planning to attack our Prime minature, and the second casualty was tracking him as well. But hey who hasn’t wanted to do something less than savoury to him or some of his flunkies. In fact I’m sure those that didn’t want to shoot Tiny Abbott at some stage in the past year would be in the minority.
Kaye Lee you are so on point – a PM that gets photographed? Wowee. At least we know what hes up to.
The mining tax was unpopular with the majority of australians. In theory its an OK idea, even though the country already reaps a lot of benefits from the industry – but the timing of it was crap and as has been shown time and time again, doesnt make a cent and was never going to make even a 10th of the amount required to fund the promises Labor relied on it for and you now whinge about losing. You cant pay for things with imaginary money – as much as Wayne Swan would let you believe. Iron ore was nearly worth $200/tonne – its now under $80. I dont know what iron ore price Swan plugged into his calculator – but he made $0 at nearly $200/tonne with his tax…..so what do you expect to make at $80/tonne? The WA government forecast a price of $120/tonne for the next couple of years , I imagine Swan used a pretty similar number – guess what happens when theres that sort of plunge in price? You dont get as much money and therefore you cant pay your bills. The mining industry gave everyone around the world confidence in the Australian economy…..it played a far larger role in keeping us out of recession than any $900 TV did. Labor shouldve been saving for the mining downturn, instead they spent everything and more in what will go down in the biggest case of financial mismanagement the country will ever see. Swan spent the proceeds of a once in a lifetime boom, whilst labor systematically threw the money down the toilet on countless failed programs and projects. We came out the other end with nothing but a few books by ex labor politicians about how screwed up the government was. Hope you enjoy the read – for the cost of gillards book you could send 5 people to the doctor. Choose wisely.
As for refugees – you are simply misquoting him – “”If boats were coming at the rate of 50,000 illegal arrivals a year, which was the case in July and if now they’re hardly coming at all, obviously some things have changed.” He reiterates that in your other link – “Never forget that in July, just three months ago in July, the worst month in our history for illegal boat arrivals almost 5,000 came in a single month. They were coming in July at the rate of 50,000 a year.”
He clearly states thats the annual rate based on the July figures – you said there were 4237 arrivals in July – so 12 multiplied by 4237 is a touch over 50,000 on an annulalised rate. So it adds up just fine.
But if you look at total asylum seekers, it was at nearly 50,000. one look at the refugee council website shows in 2012/13 there were 18,119 applications for asylum from boat arrivals and another 26,427 from onshore arrivals. If you plot asylum seeker numbers on a graph by year – it was heading to infinity under Labor, completely out of control. The libs have succeeded spectacularly in reducing numbers and saving lives at the same time. Admit it – theyve done a fantastic job. And with current affairs reminding us what a spectacular failure multiculturalism and open border policies have been around the world, Australia’s policies are now the envy of the western world again.
Im glad you used a fine example of the Kurds in Turkey – do you think we should take the approach of the Turks and line our borders with police/armed forces and fight them back over the border with brute force? I’ll also point out – moving from a war torn country does not make you a refugee under the refugee conventions own definition.
Not since “The Amnesia Express” sung about the Revolution not being televised has the recent Asio, Operation Terror and the rest of Abbotts media generated brain farts shown Live and in full color had any display in Australia.
Well, Abbott declared his undeclared war on Australia the day he was elected to Parliament (what’s that,the dissappearing dual citizenship Docs).
Wrote about it in Battle lines and every one thought he was just kooky like scientoligists,
.
But now the rest who don’t arselick Abbott are finding out how small, vindictive, resentfull and destructive is Herr Abbott as PM.
Now he’s warmongering like no other on a global stage with his heartferlt media generated crocodile tears for the victims and still one eye on the polls is the decider on how hard to run, how hard to go, hit em hard and soon he thinks he will beat into submission the opposition to Abbott’s Australia.
And the dogs of war bark louder.
And collatoral damage..
Have just opened an email received from Bill Shorten. You all most likely have it, or it’s on it’s way.
His title heading is about Pyne :
“My comments get on the telly, yours don’t. You can’t be heard so you’re just wasting a lot of time” — Christopher Pyne to Labor MPs today in Question Time
Bill then goes on to give a link to donate ( I did – a very small amount as it is all I can afford ) …. for an ad. to be structured – against this Pyne thing, and his ill-conceived education reforms. He explains in his email, what needs to be done, and how we should do it.
If nothing else – it is worth ( ???? – ) …. watching the repulsive Pyne hurl his insults across the table. Made me want to throw up. It shows the true nature ( again ) of this creature.
https://australianlaborparty.nationbuilder.com/provehimwrong?utm_campaign=pyne_5&utm_medium=email&utm_source=australianlaborparty
choppa,
What a sad world view you have, but that’s hardly surprising considering your sources of information.
“guess what happens when theres that sort of plunge in price? You dont get as much money and therefore you cant pay your bills.”
BHP Billiton recorded full-year earnings of $US 27 billion in the 12 months to June 2012, on revenues of $US 72 billion. Even after paying $11 billion in taxes, the global mining giant still booked “attributable profits” of $15 billion. Rio Tinto booked half-year earnings of $5.9 billion. Xtrata — currently being taken over by shadowy commodities giant Glencore — recorded half-year earnings of $4 billion.
From BHP Billiton, for the half year ended 31 December 2013 compared with the half year ended 31 December 2012: Underlying EBIT increased by 15% to US$12.4 billion and Underlying attributable profit increased
by 31% to US$7.8 billion.
13 February 2014
Rio Tinto announces a 10 per cent increase in underlying earnings to $10.2 billion and 15 per cent increase in full year dividend
Next year, Rio’s bottom line is forecast to grow by 2.5% and BHP’s by 22.6%.
I donated to put the boot into Pyne. Following the US model on education whether it be Primary, Secondary of Higher is just so wrong. Gillard didn’t understand that either.
I went to donate but I object to having to give all my personal information including home address, email and mobile phone number before I could continue. They have lost my donation because of it.
Good onya Matters Not.
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Kaye – from my experience on the Net, many many sites require home address, mobile and/or home phone numbers etc. when accepting donations, or purchasing. ( I rarely PURCHASE on the Net ). I do NOT give that personal information unless there is an https:// url showing…… the “s” being locked secure, usually a 128 encrypted security format – an advanced encryption standard – used by e.g. Banks. Not saying it can’t be hacked, but the likelihood of hacking is remote. IF hacking were to occur, it would be solely for the use of your credit card number, and not much else.
Any site using a window that asks for credit card numbers, and personal information ( to confirm the accuracy and ownership of the CC number – and that it is YOU who is doing the transaction ) ….. use the highly evolved encryption method of entry.
Mind you, I also do NOT like giving away my personal address etc. …. but when you think about it, there has to be some form of primary and secondary information – so’s the Bank / Credit Card co. can confirm that you ARE who you say you are, and are not using someone else’s Credit card number. The email address requirement is most often ( as it was in this case with Labor ) to confirm that you have had XX amount taken from your credit card towards …. whatever. It is often also a receipt ( in this case with Labor – a receipt ). Some sites give the first 2 and last 2 numbers of the credit card used …. as extra assurance.
Labor did not do that on this occasion.
Over to you ……..
I didn’t even get to asking about credit cards. Unless you filled in ALL fields of personal info you couldn’t proceed. If they gave details for direct deposit then there would be no need for any of that information.
Kaye – I use a dear old PC. Everybody’s technology seems to have different ways of dealing with items – such as on-line purchases ( which that donation will be shown as, on my next statement ) ….
There was no indication of using a direct debit on the Labor site, for my installed technology ( ??? ) …. it went straight to ‘details’ and then the credit card information to be inserted.
Technology ? bah humbug ….gives me the irrits.
I have used just once, direct debit – on my savings account, and that was fairly recent. Most everything required ( email, home address etc. ) had to be filled in. Again, to make sure I was who I said I was ( I guess ).
Bah humbug to ever increasingly difficult and demanding technology !! ….. I think I am getting too old for all this ! 😉
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I'm not going to "Comment" on the false premise here about safe (locked) urls.
Finding a home address as well as a birth date is about as difficult as choosing the type of cheesecake you want from The Cheesecake Shop.
Also the spam filter appears to have caught an earlier post …. contained some Links.
Thanks for this very clear analysis of the current situation Kaye Lee. Things are escalating daily due to MSM coverage of events. Today they reported that a ADF member was threatened. Although they were informed, they refused to report the attack by an armed man on an Islamic School. There is a definite bias not only in his things are reported but in what is reported.
Agree! So do I, but I think we are fighting yesterday’s cause. Do you really believe that all political players don’t know who you are?
I post as Matters Not but donate under my legal name because it’s the only option and besides my ‘contributions’ are easily traceable.
Just sayin …
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@Matters Not
Every single day its more than likely you give out some thread of information that Big Brother adds to what is known about you.
Abbotts latest laws will enable government to look at the full picture of the owner of "Matters Not"
Same goes for organised crime ….. only on a smaller scale, but, more concerned about your financials than your politics.
Personally, I’ll not contribute a cent to help W Shorten(mp) hire an advertising agency to construct public propaganda to attack C Pyne(mp).
When LOTO Bill shows some integrity by proposing a legislative investigation(ICAC style) to clean up his own workplace(or shells me for a comfy new pair of workboots), he might get a morsel from this ‘potential customer’ for his outsourced ad.
Finally reported reasonably accurately – http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/09/25/man-knife-threatens-muslim-school. The person has not been caught and was not reported as a terrorist although he was clearly terrorising children.
I think most people realise that their every day online ‘doings’ are traceable … by anyone who wants to know. Big Brother is the main culprit who has become ‘BIGGER brother’ under this Government … or is about to become so. So far, secure httpS … has worked 100% for me, but I have no doubt it has kicked a few others in the teeth in the past….. Depends on many factors.
Had a phone call from my elected MP spokesperson, the other day. Nice enough chat about the pros and cons of the upcoming November election in Victoria. Of course, he ‘bent’ the conversation continually, even though he didn’t have to – the Labor MP ( deputy leader of the Opposition – James Merlino – a good bloke ) who I will vote for. I asked where he accessed my home ( land line ) phone no. from. He was suitably evasive … and perhaps did not in fact know – just had been given a list of numbers to call in the electorate. I cannot recall EVER giving my land-line phone no. to the Labor party – which I have never officially joined, except for requesting emails of news. In fact, I don’t give my land-line phone no. to anybody. ……… always my mobile phone.
Another phone call from a mortgage broker who claimed I had ‘registered interest’ in their product, on line. As a pensioner, the very LAST thing I would be interested in is mortgage. And I said so – rather strongly. I asked several times HOW he had accessed information – and of course he couldn’t answer me ( or wouldn’t ). My computer is ‘clean’ ( from continuous scans I run, and safe usage ). I can only imagine it was because of a Coles thing ( which ended up needing my mobile phone no. – which would have incurred cost to me for every promotional phone call THEY made ) ….. so when it hit that little hurdle, I shut the site down. At no time did it ask for my land-line no. AND my name is not in the phone book. It is in my partners’ name. They picked it up from God knows where – and possibly used the electoral roles to access further info ( just guessing on that one ). …. Might even have harked back to something I filled in, in the store.
As a matter of interest, anyone who sends an email to anyone else, and does NOT delete all those forwarding addresses, leaves open the possibility of all those addresses going to spammers, who catch them through a mild trojan that does no harm to a computer – just collects information, and then the information is sold on to interested parties.
My ISP catches spam for me, and junks it.
I do on-line banking. It so far has been very safe, using a one off 6 digit code ( from a small led display device I have from the Bank ), once only each time I log on. It cannot be duplicated – even from key stroke interference, and the number is always totally different each time. To take note of my on-line transactions, I copy and paste to a Word Document, the transaction ….. deleting all but the first 2 and last 2 numbers of the accounts I have used, or transferred / B-payed to ). All reference to bank account numbers are deleted, and cannot be traced through key strokes – in case someone does get in and hack. After completing my transactions …. I go into my history, and delete all reference to the on-line bank / banking that appears there. That way I do the best I can to cover myself, despite having an excellent anti-virus and firewall.
Just thought I’d let anyone who is interested ……. know. If the information ever helps – then … good.
Kaye lee my sources are pure commonsense – in that you cant spend money you dont have. My point was not that mining companies fail to make a quid, rather that the proceeds from the tax were never going to be enough to fund the promises Labor made. And the profits are sliding – so, so would the tax revenue. It was just another fine example of Labor’s economic incompetence.
The shareholders invest in these companies with the hope they make money – is there an issue with them receiving dividends? Mum and dad investors dont throw their money at failing companies willingly – they left that to Labor to do. Why do you expect a dividend unless you are an investor? Do you live in WA? Are you part of an aboriginal tribe that owns the land they are mining? If you are neither of these – you dont actually deserve anything – as they are not your resources.
During the boom the libs were reducing taxes, not introducing them and still saving money…and they did that with an iron ore price similar to what it is today with half the production, and entered into a bloody expensive war. The fact Labor threw away billions on failure after failure and had to resort to introducing a tax on the country’s best performing industry, whilst business conditions country wide were good shows a lot for their economic management.
At least there was a cameraman there for Rudd’s “sorry” publicity stunt I guess. If only Labor wasn’t run by secretive union thugs – the real photo ops would’ve been in the backroom as they knifed each other in the back. Believe me – every paper in the country would’ve been there with camera in hand if anyone had a clue who was running the Labor party. Maybe if they participated in Australian life rather than just preserving their own employment we would’ve seen more of the faceless men – instead the public face of Labor was Bob Brown, by Labor’s own design to take the heat off their growing debt disaster…and our papers were filled with all the important issues – like gay marriage. When that crap subsided they moved onto additional tactics to divert attention like the mysogny BS. Oh how life was simple, until we realised we were all conned.
“my sources are pure commonsense – in that you cant spend money you dont have.”
The government has to spend to bring the money into existence.
It’s very telling that people like choppa and Neil never speak about our current government.
I assume that your common sense stretches to knowing the difference between the investment phase and the production phase of mining. I assume you also know about accelerated depreciation.
Even using Hockey’s propaganda paper MYEFO, he estimated the mining tax would raise $3.4 billion over the forward estimates. PEFO said $4.4 billion. It would have helped to pay for Tony’s wars.
“Abbott government senators have argued that the creation of a federal body similar to the independent commission against corruption (Icac) in New South Wales would “address a problem that doesn’t exist”.
Addressing the issue during a Senate debate on Thursday, a Liberal National party senator, James McGrath, said he did not think the Australian people were “calling out for another bureaucratic institution to be established”.
“Sometimes they think we are incompetent … but when it comes to corruption I don’t think Australians think we’re corrupt,” McGrath said.”
You got THAT wrong buddy!
@ choppa — your comment : “pure commonsense – in that you cant spend money you dont have.” Dealing ONLY with that.
1) The Liberal party came out hollering in May, that the economy was in bad shape. We have to do all we can to bring it back to surplus.
………… so – they claimed they had to ‘fix the situation’, so far down the gurgler had we ALLEDGEDLY gone under Labor. And delivered a budget speech and budget disciplines that shocked all reasonable thinking Aussies. It was utterly draconian.
2) Hey presto – all hell breaks loose, and suddenly the Liberal Party, and in particular the Abbott, can find enough money to spend ( Billions in fact ) …. on defence upgrade, defence deployment, anti-terrorism plans and security – and, at least monthly – if not bi-monthly trips overseas for the Abbott or someone else in his party to attend meetings. ….. ( except for ONE of THE most important of meetings – on climate change – the wimp couldn’t handle THAT one ).
Which of the two did the Liberals lie about … cos it sure was at least one of them. …. They lied AFTER election – along with all the other PRE-election lies they delivered.
Well – we ALL know about those – don’t we ……… and YOU know them too.
So – which is it ? Do we have the money to spend or not ?
MAKE UP YOUR MIND Choppa !! ( for once ).
This latest lot of posturing and bluster has me recalling that some years ago I wrote a comment to a friend, opining that neither Chifley nor Menzies would recognize either of their political parties, so far have they shifted to the right. I said that modern Labor is well to the right of the 60s Libs – in fact it’s a couple of goosesteps to the right of Genghis Khan – while the LNP has fallen off the right-hand edge of the flat earth it inhabits. I suggested that the modern Coalition bore a resemblance to a certain German political movement of the 1930s, with its ultra-nationalist sloganeering, relentless pursuit of media opportunities, confrontationist approach to everything, and a scapegoat group that it constantly denigrated and persecuted. I wondered when we’d start to see more totalitarian and multiversal regulations applied to the citizenry, and when the detention without trial would extend past the original scapegoat group.
He poo-poo-ed my comments – said I was over-reacting. I wonder, though….
To BJWard ….. very interesting comments.
I agree with you, particularly about the similarities to a certain German 1930’s political movement
…. much as I hate to consider it.
“I said that modern Labor is well to the right of the 60s Libs – in fact it’s a couple of goosesteps to the right of Genghis Khan – while the LNP has fallen off the right-hand edge of the flat earth it ”
Very true. One of the best Premiers in South Australian history, Sir Thomas Playford, was a Liberal who made a significant contribution in building up the infrastructure. He carefully planned for decades ahead to leave us with a very valuable legacy. He would be turning in his grave if he could see the Liberals now. Modern politicians plan almost nothing beyond the end of their current term and they sell everything they can get their hands on.
@Choppa (a typical name a con would select – a hard callous criminal bastard they so admire and wish to be)
[It was just another fine example of Labor’s economic incompetence]
The incompetence existed, but it was a matter of trying to do too much too soon.
[The shareholders invest in these companies with the hope they make money]
Yes – EXCEPT they expect a return that is double traditional long term returns. With globalisation allowing investment to be shifted willy nilly to the highest area of return world wide – we now have to pay for this excessive greed.
Part of the problem is also the massive expansion of derivatives – they are vampirish on profits of the ordinary mum and dad shareholders. Derivatives (immoral monetary fiddling by banks) are simply gambling and needs to be taxed at about 70% minimum – the fewer in the game the better.
[The fact Labor threw away billions on failure after failure and had to resort to introducing a tax on the country’s best performing industry, whilst business conditions country wide were good shows a lot for their economic management]
I am not aware of any monetary waste failures whatsoever. Quote them, or shut the hell up.
[Believe me – every paper in the country would’ve been there with camera in hand if anyone had a clue who was running the Labor party]
You are greatly exaggerating the influence. On the other hand how would people feel if there was a tape of the off-camera comments from pretty much any member of the IPA and other propaganda instruments of the rich. The public would be in for a shock. Most of them are as vicious and stupid as any drug addled bogan – as they are addled by the money game.
Kaye Lee – i dont get your point about the investment and production phase. Labor had the best of both. You do understand they were actually producing whilst investing dont you? I dont know where to look for info – but wikipedia shows that between 2000 – 2007 iron ore production rose from 159 Mtpa (production value of $4.4 billion) to 264 Mtpa (production value of $16 billion). From another source by 2012 iron ore production in WA had risen to over 500 Mtpa with a production value of $67 billion.
The fact the Labor signed off on a tax that allowed the mining companies credit for the depreciation of assets is not the mining company’s fault is it. A first year economics student could’ve calculated that the tax was a dunce. I’m not sure if you quite understand my point though – $200/tonne is a bigger number than $80/tonne. It doesn’t matter how many tonnes you pump out – massive drops in price will affect profits and any tax. So what if Hockey predicted $3 billion over the forward estimates – thats piddly shit compared to what Labor advertised the tax would make – what you guys took hook line and sinker – “oh we can be like Norway” you all said. And if Hockey predicted $3 billion over the forward estimates – you do understand that $80/tonne is a smaller number than people expected, therefore would be lower now. $3 billion does not pay for what Labor had already dedicated the funds towards – therefore their future spending needs to be cut. Do you comprehend?
Jimhaz – “I am not aware of any monetary waste failures whatsoever.” Quote of the year!!
Cronulla riots — I remember that the Telegraph newspaper had free Australian flags in the newspaper on the weekend after the riots.
Were they hoping to stir up a repeat riot?