The first rule of politics is to attain power, and the second rule is to retain it. I have never known a political party to throw government away purposefully. Well, except for the ALP, who in 1955 split into two parties; the ALP and the DLP (the Democratic Labour Party) and gave up any hope of government for many years to come. They took the high road and found that it was all uphill.
Power itself is a mesmerising thing that, once won, isn’t easily forfeited. The last thing Scott Morrison and Barnaby Joyce want to do is give up this, born to rule, self-entitlement. Both in their political history have displayed a willingness to attain power that goes beyond a desire to create a better society.
Both carry the baggage of alleged corruption, and most of the world’s problems stem from the fact that men have never really grown up. Too many take the wrong road.
Political power for conservatives is the ability to control the behaviour of people through the passage, approval, and implementation of laws and regulations.
Others lust over power for the influence it gives them or the control over people that satisfies them. Rarely do they crave power simply to improve the common good.
Both Morrison and Joyce know that if they are to retain the power they so obviously relish, they must give our delegation something to take to the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland that will validate our intentions to net zero emissions by 2050. If they cannot, then their ability to retain power will be significantly diminished.
The conservative party and the party representing country people met last Sunday. The party led by Scott Morrison handed over its plan to achieve this to the party led by Barnaby Joyce for their consideration. Remember, this is only happening now because, to be truthful, these things take time, and in nearly nine years in power, they haven’t yet procured a policy to satisfy those who want a road less travelled.
The Prime Minister finally ended another bad period when he eventually confirmed he would be going to the COP26 in Glasgow. The fact is by the time the week ended, every Tom, Dick and Harry was telling him he should, and even the corgis in the palace were barking mad.
His admission suggested at the time that it might be a done deal. He wouldn’t dare go without a deal that would meet with the approval of other more concerned world leaders, would he? Even if it was conditional on the bush being shown a few 44gallon tanks full of hard cash in return for net-zero emissions.
Otherwise, why use up a few more gallons of aviation kerosene, destroying the environment if all you had to talk about was “technology not taxes.” Our Chief bullshit robot, Angus, could do that without us being there.
[textblock style=”4″]
The rise of narcissism and inequality and the demise of compassion illustrate the state of the man’s world.
[/textblock]
As I write, the first of many meetings has been held, and Joyce’s crew are playing it tough. The Guardian reported that the Deputy Nationals leader, David Littleproud, walked out of the meeting and into the Sky News studio, saying there were more questions to be answered. “We are going to take our time to get it right,” he said. Yes, that’s what he said: “take our time.”
On reading the comments as reported in The Guardian, I must say I’m not imbued with any confidence that they are headed down the right path. The three-word slogan “technology not taxes” might sound trite in a marketing sense, but it only has currency if the technology is robust and proven.
The Coalition cannot do this, so after many years of deliberately barking up the wrong tree for nothing more than political advantage, the Coalition will be relying on carbon capture and storage together with whatever comes along with hydrogen. Sounds more like a wing and a prayer. Our taxes have been paying for the research into the technology for decades.
Littleproud went on to say:
“But from our perspective, we have already done much of the work. We are already on a trajectory of meeting much of our [national] commitments through technology.”
That to me sounds like a straight out lie, and it would not be so if one were to subtract the rebates from the Kyoto agreement and COVID-19 for shutting down industry.
My view is that both Morrison and Joyce will place the importance of the retention of power way ahead of any genuine concern for the environment.
What has happened so far gives me little confidence that (no matter what road we take) we will go to Glasgow with an ambitious 2030 target and a mid-century commitment. Nor will we have any sort of mechanism that ensures these commitments are actually met, let alone legislated.
I fear these meetings are less about saving the planet than how much money he might extract for regional revitalisation. That is their reputation; that is their history. Ask yourself what has the National Party ever done for its constituents.
This is a straightforward proposition as politics are played in Australia, but the Nats are hellbent on bleeding the conservatives for as much as they can get.
Some Nationals want Morrison’s to go to Glasgow with a worthwhile climate policy. However, most are conspiracy types who probably believe that climate change is a communist plot. Those types will expect a heavy price for Morrison’s anticipated capitulation, and if he wants to retain power, he will be generous.
The planning for Morrison’s trip to Bonnie Scotland and his surrender to a plan for 2050 has been meticulous. Murdoch came on board with the same comedians who promoted Abbott’s “axe the tax”, then Twiggy Forrest offered some excellent advice (really) and to top it off, the Royals gave their blessing. The only catch is the price; what is it worth to retain power.
To top it off, Barnaby Joyce sank a few with Twiggy Forrest, who then fronted up for breakfast with Bridget McKenzie. She then told the PM to put a bomb under them if he was fair dinkum about landing a net-zero agreement with a higher 2030 emissions reduction target.
[textblock style=”4″]
Just because we are governed by clowns, it doesn’t mean we have to laugh.
[/textblock]
Barrie Cassidy made an excellent point:
Hang on. Why has Joyce weakened Morrison? The PM overwhelmingly has the numbers in the parliament to go flat out on climate change. Why would he even contemplate using taxpayers money to buy Barnaby? https://t.co/8UNLEYZtTK
— Barrie Cassidy (@barriecassidy) October 17, 2021
And of course, as a further extension of this proposition, Morrison doesn’t need the Nationals. He has said all along that the Liberals, as the senior partner in the Coalition, has the “prerogative” to decide the policy. This is true, and the Cabinet can decide; no legislation is needed, and no one has to cross the floor.
Watching Twiggy Forrest at the National Press Club, one could only agree when he said:
“It is past time for any leader worthy of the title to consciously uncouple from the self-generated insanity of the climate wars.”
[textblock style=”4″]
My thought for the day
Power is a malevolent possession when you are prepared to forgo your principles and your country’s wellbeing for the sake of it.
[/textblock]
[textblock style=”7″]
Like what we do at The AIMN?
You’ll like it even more knowing that your donation will help us to keep up the good fight.
Chuck in a few bucks and see just how far it goes!
[/textblock]
Thoughtful article and very accurate cartoon about buying off the greedy, self-serving borne-to-rule Nazional$.
Consider one of the ‘sweeteners” Beetrooter is demanding to provide consensus for COP 26; the extension of the Northern Inland Railway (NIR) to Gladstone Port.
The NIR is the picadillo of former Nazional$ ”leader” and current Campaign Manager for Beetrooter, John Anderson, who has gained the second Senate spot on the Nazional$ ticket for the 2022 feral elections.
The NIR ”just happens” to pass close to two ”grazing properties” owned by Beetrooter that sit above significant CSG deposits in the Pilliga Scrub. It also passes through Narrabri, the local town for the SANTOS CSG hub of over 800 wells likely to pollute the Great Artesian Basin groundwater relied upon by western NSW agriculture.
To date during the COALition RAbbott, Turdball, Scummo misgovernment, Australian taxpayers have ”donated” about $700 MILLION to this NIR project that its own cost benefit analysis shows will take at least 50 years to return the initial investment.
So what are the benefits to Australia of the NIR?
The Nazional$ wrongly assert that providing an extra $350 MILLION to the Northern Inland Railway (NIR) to extend the line to Port Gladstone BECAUSE IT WILL IN FACT NOT ASSIST country people.
.
The present automated heavy duty track laying machinery requires a small team of experts to conduct track laying operations, NOT the hundreds of minimal skilled labourers used on the Adelaide to Perth railway line construction in 1917.
.
So the economic impact on towns en route will be negligible at most, limited to a few nights accommodation & forage for this group.
.
Check out the history of Eungai Rail NSW to see how ephemeral the economic effect of railway construction is as railways pass through a town.
.
So once again the Nazional$ have deliberately misled country voters while passing $MILLIONS to their corporate mates. 😋
NEC
Morrison has already capitulated to the Nationals on the Toowoomba – Gladstone inland rail extension at a cost estimate of $5 billion.
The Morrison government has cynically decided to allow this to be kicked down the road by providing up to $10 million to investigate the viability of extending Inland Rail from Toowoomba to the Port of Gladstone. This means that Morrison can deny that he has given in to Barnaby’s demands and when the viability study has been done sometime in 2022 the coal industry will quietly be gifted their rail line paid for by the Australian taxpayer, courtesy of the National Party.
So, if you hear the slogan technology not taxes from Morrison (and you will !) just remember that this gift to the coal mining industry comes from the Australian taxpayer from our taxes.
https://www.inlandrail.gov.au/for-business/future-market-expansion/port-of-gladstone-business-case
“Morrison doesn’t need the Nationals”
Twice as many people vote for the Greens than for the Nationals, but the Nationals have ten times more seats to determine who holds government in the Federal Parliament. The Greens are treated as a complete irrelevance, while both Labor and the Liberals are desperate to win the approval of this tiny, tiny minority that has so much more say in how Australia is run than the rest of us.
Where is the call for electoral reform to give those who want action on climate change equal representation with those who don’t?
Democracy in Australia is nothing more than an obscene joke. You can’t fool all of the people all of the time, but to win government in Australia you don’t have to. You only have to fool the people who vote for the Nationals.
Morrison won’t care what he promises the Nats,or proposes to the COP26; after all, it will only be an announcement, with no intentions of actual delivery
Scummo will have to get heavy duty leather patches sewn on the knees of his trousers because of all the kneeling at the feet of Beetroot he has to do to keep himself in power. That, and a good lip cleaner from kissing the ring.
B. Sullivan……..Agreed, there has to be a change in electoral laws perhaps proportional representation, just so that the parliament is a true reflection of people’s desires and their hopes. What we have at present is a gerrymandered system serving the interests of few and perpetuated by powerful groups and the corrupt media, self serving landowners and big business. The Greens make more sense than that shithouse rat, Barnaby, but they will never get the opportunity. To be realistic, the greens blew their chances when they sabotaged Rudd’s emission trading scheme. Its been downhill for them ever since.
Its time for Labor and the Greens to start afresh and form a joint strategy to defeat the crooks.
At present, it appears as though ideology along with a conservative brand of economics is pitted against science. Physics and Chemistry are components of climate science that are being ignored.
Net zero in 2050 is a somewhat doubtful concept without a very strong definition of what it actually means. Climate scientists suggest we have an emissions budget, once that budget is bypassed we can expect more worsening of extreme events amplified by climate change. Already at a little over 1C above pre-Industrial times we are seeing extreme events costing over a billion dollars each. Those stark figures hide the deaths, loss of homes and businesses, infra-structure, and breakdown of communities caused by those events. In 2021 there have been 30 such extreme events listed, the costliest event being over 40 billion dollars.
It was a quite clear acceptance at the Paris Agreement that any goals made in relation to emissions reductions would need to be lifted later, the science has since has shown that to be true. The conservative IPCC has stated that we are in a Code Red situation after having reviewed 14,000 studies. Subsequently, 100,000 studies were assessed by machine learning, with the results stating that 80% of the land mass excluding Antarctica, and 85% of the world’s population have been effected.
Oceans are warming at at a quickening pace, they sequester less CO2 as they become warmer. CO2 in the atmosphere can take large time frames to break down.
Meanwhile, the LNP want to open up more coal mines and gas fields which is mutually exclusive to having any kind of emission reduction plan. The International Energy Agency has stated that all new fossil fuel developments need to be stopped.
The LNP have had 8 years to get their act together, the flurry of activity over the last few weeks is a display of political concerns rather than wanting to protect citizens. The LNP have already stated that they have no duty of care for young people. The dollars earnt by fossil fuel corporations are stained with blood, as are the donations to the major political parties.
Net zero is a paperwork goal. Enough creative accountancy and you can reach the target without actually doing anything to reduce emissions. Just see how it works in NSW.
What we need are actual practical programs that will make a difference: regenerative agriculture, renewable energy, more efficient homes and business premises, reforestation, end to fossil fuels, etc. Putting more money into carbon capture and storage is just more corruption, just shifting more public money into private hands while making the problem worse.
warming causerie today, lord, with many points to ponder. Glad you mentioned the DLP. We were teenagers when the prime wasp despite his all protestant party, accepted the catholic vote against the godless socialists. You were xstian then, did you ever listen to santa maria? Sad the loonies didn’t rate a mention for, arguably, the two most disastrous decisions of this century. Read Henry Rodrogues, he has the guts to mention one and he may look at christine’s loonie decision to abolish any limit for government’s access to cash
add blackmail and there is no longer any worth in the loonies so until credibility and honesty returns the greens ???
ps for a good hot read, look up gunner vs cruz: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/michael-gunner-hits-back-at-us-republican-ted-cruz-over-nt-covid-19-vaccine-mandate/8434e20c-cb4d-46fa-8109-d26097c05832)
Saint Scotty can, and does, spend hours mouthing meaningless drivel barely disguised as, in his mind, meaningful dialogue. To anyone with more than two brain cells he is just a fart in a cyclone.
A Fool’s Errand.
‘Tis a fool’s errand, surely,
This waltz into old age.
When accrued knowledge, or wisdom,
Ought to grant a wily sage
Better fare than oaten porridge,
And a babbling forage into senility.
Any old fool would prefer, surely,
Less respect for ageing gracefully,
In trade for a little more disgustingly
Behaving in a depth of decadence,
Equalling those days of youthful exuberance,
To become just a dirty-old-man of no consequence.
A close friend passed, not a year ago,
Diligent..thoughtful, of humble ego.
Their health a primary concern,
A spiritual person in a mortal coil,
All their careful attention to no avail,
When that death-stroke hit like bludgeoned hail.
So ‘tis a fool’s errand..surely,
This stumbling into old age.
Where neither wisdom, knowledge nor eloquent sage,
Spares us the fear, the certain pain,
Of a litany of illnesses, failing bones or brain,
And turns a once youthful beauty into a babbling drone.
‘Tis but a fool’s errand…..I’ll own.
wam
you write…
You were xstian then, did you ever listen to santa maria?
which for some reason has reminded me of “Sanctus”.
1968, I was still in school, wow, the movie “if” was a blast…
Alan Moir nails it again:
Ask any federal politician why they are in politics and the usual trite answer would be “a commitment to make things better for all and to make a difference”.
On this commitment our current federal politicians have failed miserably, they have made things measurably worse.
I look forward to a pre-election apology followed by immediate public ritual suicide to atone for their sins.
Note; There are a couple of independents that should escape this fate and are worth returning at the election.
Paraphrasing Churchill, Morrison is more like a gas, wrapped in a fart, inside a Föhn:
The best way to ensure re-election is to provide good governance, not destroy the opposition.
Florence H….. Of course, that’s what we all think should be the prerequisite, but tell that to the braindead, brainless, brainwashed voters.
Florence sounds good but this gov has been elected 2013/16/19 without a skerrick of ‘good’ governance.
Any ideas why?
2013 absolute negative to juliar
2016 a scare with mediscare but turnbull’s newness, a few lies and money from the loonies edged labor out
2019 scummo’s newness debt money and boobies miracle won again. No policies nothing positive but another win.
ps
Perhaps henry has the key because in terms of a labor victory the extremes should ^##^ disappear.
pps
yes BB a negative lying true film – right up ‘clockwork’
Let it henceforth be known that I ; Joe Carli, bask in the glorious light that I did expose the machinations of a moral and ethically devoid middle-class…several years before Ms. Van Badham published her excitable expose’ (that many of you will have seen) on the “Lumpenbourgeoisie” in the last couple of days, along with Pru Goward’s cowardly effort concerning a patronising of the working classes…with several pieces here on this site..you can look them up..and that I was reviled and in effect driven from the pages of this blog by several ignorant and pusillanimous wankers unable to even identify their OWN class affiliations and who still pride themselves on their obtuse perceptions to the public here…YOU BASTARDS OWE ME AN APOLOGY!
Oh how sweet it is!!
I have railed against the loonie booby for 12 year , Henry mentioned his disastrous vote, on Monday the NT news published my letter about the loonie extremists and today listed boobies decision to vote down labor’s policy, in a timeline. They, like you lord, omitted the bandit’s blackmail but used the consequence of his action blaming Julian.
So let’s celebrate the NT news and anticipate, lord’s condemnation of the loonies’ 2009 and 20013 votes.
Our apologies for your comment being sent to moderation, wam. The system didn’t recognise you because of a typo in your email address, so it thought you were a newbie.
Either that or it thought you were a Crows supporter. 😜
HAHA no worries, I wrote it on an ipad and loose fingers make errors.
I have, rightly and wrongly, been insulted by biggest mobs of people and it washes off but none would dare call me a crow supporter.
Although the non-loonie part of corvus is both admirable and supportable.
ps
I am old enough to think every post to be a newbie.