Peter Dutton's track record

Peter Dutton MP has the front running to become the Liberal National opposition leader in the federal government. 

It is worth remembering some of his recent political history, Peter Dutton:

• Refused to commit to aiming for a 1.5% limit on climate warming at the Pacific Island Form in PNG, where he was heard to joke about island nations with "waves lapping at your door"
• Boycotted the Apology to the Stolen Generations
• Claimed Victorians were scared to go out because of African Gangs
• Blamed Laa Chol's death on "Sudanese Gangs", contrary to Victoria Police advice
• Accused Ali France, who is an amputee, of leveraging her disability for political gain
• Referred to Murugappan children as "Anchor Babies"
• Claimed refugees [medivac'd from detention] will cause locals to be "displaced from those services"
• Referred Bruce Pascoe to AFP claiming he lied about indigenous identity
• Called journalist Samantha Maiden a "mad f***ing witch" in a text message
• Described Brittany Higgins rape allegation as "She said, He said"
• Claimed women are using rape and abortion claims as a ploy to get to Australia
• Used SLAPP suits to silence critics (Shane Bazzi)
• Marked Anzac Day 2022 by invoking the spectre of Nazi Germany and declaring that Australia can only preserve peace by preparing for war.

*Credit to Helen Smart for this list.

There are now media attempts to portray him as a nice family guy to soften is reputation as a hard right political warrior, a hard-line border protection minister and, more recently, a China hawk beating the drums of war.

It will be interesting to see how he goes as opposition leader.

See also

• Election 2022 results: Peter Dutton battles to reform image as Coalition faces three difficult years 
• Peter Dutton marks Anzac Day by again comparing China and Russia to Nazi Germany before World War II - ABC News
• Dictator Dutton’s Disdain for Democracy: Part 1, Building the Surveillance State

Patricia Karvelas interview with Josh Frydenberg on Radio National 29 Apr 2022

Text [from Twitter thread here]

Recording: http://ab.co/3F2CH1Q Kooyong content starts at 1:10:15

Poster of Frydenberg in Brunswick

Frydenberg with coal in parliament

Notes on his dubious statements and some outright lies follow.

JF:  "I am facing .. somebody who is no more than a slogan, or a board or a banner."

• derogatory, dismissive, disrespectful
• Dr Monique Ryan ran the neurology department at the Royal Children’s Hospital until recently.

PK: "Why undermine her and use this kind of language?"

JF:  "just because you may have had a professional occupation doesn't mean you will bring to the table detailed policies that will enhance the parliament or the local seat"

• Non answer

PK: "Monique Ryan said the party with the most ambitious climate change policy and the toughest integrity commission she would make a deal with [if minority govt].  Isn't the onus on you to create those conditions?"

JF: Non answer, diversion 

PK: "Do you see yourself as as moderate?" 

JF: "I see myself as having progressive views, moderate views on number of issues ..."

"I supported Same Sex Marriage." 

• Lie = he voted against it theyvoteforyou.org.au  
• Josh Frydenberg voted consistently against same-sex marriage equality

JF: "I was one of the strongest advocates for net zero by 2050 ... We have a detailed costed plan to get there"

• Lie. Morrison's "plan" is a pamphlet with no details and many questionable assumptions. 

PK: "Why are you preferencing One Nation over this independent if you are a moderate?"

JK: 'Well because firstly my preferences aren't going to make any difference in the seat because .." [interrupted]

PK: "But the symbolism matters"

JF: "Well no, it doesn't. Because in my seat its going to come down to me and the independent because the Labor party and the Greens, you can barely find a sign for them, are in bed with the so-called independent."

• Lie. There is no conspiracy.

PK: "So if you are progressive/moderate what do you make of embattled Liberal candidate Katherine Deves?"

JF: "Historical analogies with the Holocaust are largely inappropriate. Her [Deves'] comments are inappropriate and unacceptable."

• Morrison endorses her

In summary, Frydenberg: 

• Won't use Monique Ryan's name (disrespectful) 
• Says Dr Ryan is a "fake independent" (a lie)
• Alleges conspiracy between others against him
• Doesn't provide any compelling example of being an effective "moderate"

Australian federal election 2022 - consider who you vote for

The next federal election in Australia is approaching. The date is not set - it will be called at the discretion of Scott Morrison, the incumbent Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal - National Party Coalition government. He will do this when he thinks he has the best chance of winning.

When will the election be held?

The first date for a normal house and half-Senate election was 7 August 2021 but that date has passed.

The last date for a normal house and half-Senate election is 21 May 2022. This date gives six weeks to complete the complex Senate count and allows Senators to be declared elected and start their terms on 1 July 2022. A mid-May election would be announced in early April 2022.

See: When can the Next Federal Election be Held? – Antony Green's Election Blog

Possible election dates are:

2022: February 26, March 5, 12, 19, 26 (with SA election moved), April 2, 9, May 21 as earlier dates overlap Easter and Anzac day

It is now likely the election will be in either March, April or May 2022

Morrison Government election campaign strategy

Strengths - issues they will attempt to campaign on.

• "Morrison the saviour" - leading Australia out of COVID-19 lockdowns, chastising the Labor states (VIC, QLD, WA) for "causing harm by draconian lockdowns".   See this thread from @aarondodd for more information.

• "Sound economic management" - providing financial measures to get Australia through the finanicial impacts of lockdown.

• Coal votes - keep promoting coal for "baseload power" and the importance of jobs associated with coal mining and profits from coal exports

• Border security - keep refugees detained in offshore gulags to "deter refugees arriving by boats"

• Defence and national security - publicly criticise China about the origins of COVID, human rights, occupation of islands in South China Sea. Keep speculating about possible war with China. Strengthen alliance and "military cooperation" with the United States, Indonesia and India.

Also read Great Scott: the grand narrative of Scott Morrison

Attacks - on other parties and candidates.

• "Labor are incompetent" - Labor is held hostage by Unions and will wreck the economy
• "Independents are stooges" - for other political parties
• "Greens are dangerous radicals" - with extreme left policies that will ruin Australia

Weaknesses - they will attempt to protect against

• Climate change - The Morrison government has set no long term or short term targets for reducing carbon emissions. They claim that "technology solutions" will be effective but there is no evidence that they will. They are still spending money on implausible "carbon capture and storage" projects.

• Great Barrier Reef - in peril from climate change, but the LNP successfully lobbied to stop the reef being listed as "endangered" by UNESCO

• COVID-19 responses 
• Vaccine delays: Failure to get enough appropriate vaccines in time and severe delays in getting the population vaccinated. Orders for Pfizer vaccines delayed for 6 months
• Vaccine politics: Reallocating Pfizer from Labor states to Sydney
• Vaccination campaign: Very poor public campaigns to encourage vaccination
• No quarantines: No provision of safe quarantine facilities - a Federal government responsibility
• Aged care deaths: 700+ deaths in federally regulated aged care homes from COVID-19, and no COVID-19 management plan for them
• Stranded Aussies: Morrison's failure to get home 40,000+ Australians stranded overseas for 18+ months

• Corruption - sport rorts, car park rorts, Great Barrier Reef foundation donation, electoral donations from fossil fuel companies [link]

• Treatment of women and sexual violence
• no action taken on alleged rape of Brittany Higgins in parliament building on 22 March 2019
• Morrison says he was not informed of the alleged rape until 15 February 2021. The Gaetjens inquiry about who in the Prime Minister's Office knew what and when has not been completed and will not be releases (its a cover up).
• Morrison Govt voted against 49 of the 55 recommendations made in the landmark Respect@Work report
• Morrison Govt held  "Women's Safety Summit" in early September 2021 which was a talkfest to "hear from women" - but not enact any new legislation.

Murdoch's Newscorp

 The Murdoch press provide propaganda to support the Morrison government.

Independents are making a stand

Several independent community-based grass roots candidates are running on platform of climate action, integrity and better treatment of women. Candidates include:

• Dr Monique Ryan, Kooyong 
• Zoe Daniel, Goldstein
• Aleggra Spender, Wentworth
• Dr Sophie Scamps, Mackeller
• Kylea Tink, North Sydney
• Zali Steggall, Warringah (re-contesting, won seat from Tony Abbott)

For a video see: The Project (@theprojecttv) December 20, 2021

Some things to consider when voting

• How has your local MP voted in parliament? Find out here: They Vote For You — How does your MP vote? 
• How do candidate's policies and statements align with your values?
• For candidates in political parties - how does their party's policies and statements align with your values
• What are candidate policies and statements on climate change, social justice, peace and environment, health, education and other things that matter to you?
• How have candidates contributed to public health response measures for COVID-19?
• The honesty, integrity, accountability and competence of each candidate.

This upcoming election will have a huge impact on Australia's and the world's future. Use your vote wisely.

Links

• As Scott Morrison feels the heat, Labor and Anthony Albanese must swing into gear 
• Morrison is gearing up for an election based on "freedom". Thread by @AaronDodd 
• Too late now, but ‘let it rip’ might prove tricky for Scott Morrison come election time, Hugh Riminton, The Guardian

Coronavirus is extremely infectious - a cautionary tale

This is an example of how incredibly infections the coranavirus that causes COVID-19 disease is.

A worker in a Dandenong factory contracted the disease at work, he commuted to a medium size town in Gippsland daily.  The infection spread to his teenage children before any symptoms were visible.

The children travelled to school on a school bus shared by three secondary schools in or near the town.

Students and teachers at all schools subequently tested positive for COVID-19 - the schools were then closed and deep cleaned, along with the buses.  

Contract tracing and isolation contained this outbreak that started from one person.

The virus can spread easily in a confined space with people - such as a bus, classroom, dinner party, family meal or church service - without anybody showing symptoms.  It can spread by aerosol (tiny droplets suspended in the air) and people just breathing that air.  Coughs and sneezes are not required to spread it (unlike the flu).

Lockdowns are vitally important to drive large case numbers and resultant deaths down.

Social distance and masks are vitally important to stop it spreading.

State and federal Liberal MPs continually attacking Dan Andrews and the public health response measures in Victoria are compromising efforts to contain the pandemic and putting lives at risk.  

This is not the time for petty politics.

Politically motivated attacks on the considerable efforts by contact tracing teams and health care workers in Victoria is causing them distress and also angering the Victorian community.

If Australia had similar public health response measures to the United States, United Kingdom and Sweden we would have over 12,500 more deaths.

See also

• Has Scott Morrison forgotten that he's Victoria's Prime Minister, too? Sean Carney, The Age 

Political attacks are compromising COVID-19 public health response measures in Victoria

Australia has been relatively successful so far in minimising COVID-19 infections and deaths compared with many other countries. Here are comparative stats to date:

Source: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Source: https://ourworldindata.org/

New Zealand has succeeded in eliminating COVID-19 community transmission at this point in time.

Australia was initially successful in suppressing, but not eliminating, the virus.  However, a significant outbreak occurred in Victoria around 24 June 2020, with daily cases still over 400 as at 8 July 2020. 

Reasons for this second outbreak include:

• Private security guards spreading COVID-19 from quarantined returned travellers to the community (an Inquiry is in place to investigate this)
• Outbreaks in some meat processing facilities.
• Outbreaks in aged care facilities - apparently partly due to lowly paid casual workers getting infected and moving between facilities.  Aged care is a federal government responsibility.

Significant interventions to reduce community transitions include:

• Lockdown of several suburbs with high community transmission
• Lockdown some community housing hotspots for 2 weeks
• Stage 3 Lockdown of Greater Melbourne and Mitchell council areas
• Stage 4 Lockdown of Greater Melbourne and Geelong Council areas and Stage 3 Lockdown of the rest of Victoria (current situation)

See Victoria's restriction levels for more information 

Premier Dan Andrews and Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton, along with selected government ministers and other senior public servants, provide daily updates on cases, deaths and public health measures.

Questions are asked by media representatives at these updates. Some choose to abuse this privilege by repeatedly asking the same question (e.g. about the failure to contain the virus in hotel quarantine) and they do this in an aggressive manner.  The main offender is Rachel Baxendale of the Murdoch owned Australian newspaper.

Wall of shame

These questions align with ongoing criticism of public health response measures (including lockdowns) and personal attacks on both Dan Andrews and Brett Sutton by current and former Liberal MPs. Here are the offenders:

• Scott Morrison (Prime Minister)
• Tim Smith (State MP, Kew)
• Georgie Crozer (State, Southern Metropolitan Region)
• Michael O'Brien (State, Opposition leader)
• Jeff Kennett (Former Premier)
• Tim Wilson (Federal, Goldstein)
• Josh Frydenberg (Federal Treasurer, Kooyong)
• Peter Dutton (Federal, QLD)
• Gladys Berejiklian (NSW Premier)
• David Davis (State, Southern Metropolitan Region)
• Katie Allen (Federal, Prahran)
• Sarah Henderson (Federal, Victorian Senator)
• Tony Abbott (ex Prime Minister)
• Greg Hunt (Federal, Flinders)
• Allan Tudge (Federal, Aston)
• Bridget Mackenzie (Federal, Victorian Senator)
• David Southwick (State, Caulfield)
• David Sharma (Federal, Wentworth)
• Edward O'Donohue (State, Eastern Victoria)
• David Van (Senator, Victoria)

Reactionary commentators also attacking Dan Andrews and public health response measures include:

• Andrew Bolt (Heraldsun, Murdoch owned)
• Ray Hadley (2GB radio in Sydney. owned by Nine Entertainment Co.)
• Alan Jones (Skynews, Murdoch owned)
• Rachel Baxendale (Heraldsun, Murdoch owned)
• Sophie Elsworth (Newscorp, Murdoch owned)
• Adam Creighton (Economics editor, The Australian, Murdoch owned)
• Rita Panahi (Opinion writer, Heraldsun, Murdoch owned)
• Alex White (news.com.au, Murdoch owned)
• Sophie Smith (independent sports journalist)
• Philip Coorey (Australian Financial Review)
• Chris Uhlmann (Nine News)
• Peta Credlin (Sky news, Murdoch owned)
• Joe Hildebrand (Daily Telegraph, Murdoch owned)
• Leigh Sales (7:30 Report, ABC). 

I am an emergency services volunteer. We don't start reviewing mistakes halfway through a job, we don't challenge the leadership, we get on with the job.  Afterwards there is a formal debrief. 

This "holding to account" nonsense by some journalists and self-serving members of parliament is a coordinated campaign to attack Dan Andrew's leadership for political gain.

In doing so they give out mixed messages that undermine public health response measures and the leadership required to deal with the incredibly infectious and sometimes lethal COVID-19 pandemic.

I call on the people named above to stop their coordinated campaign to tear down Dan Andrews that is putting Australians in harm's way. 

I also call on Scott Morrison to put a stop to this too.

Why hasn't a national emergency been declared for 2019-20 catastrophic bushfires in Australia?

As at 11:00am Thursday 2 January 2020, 13+ people have died, more are missing. 6 million+ hectares burnt, 1500+ houses destroyed. Millions of animals dead. Evacuation in progress of 4,000+ people from Mallacoota and more from the NSW south coast. Many fires have been lit by recent dry lightning strikes.

Bushfires have crossed state borders of NSW, VIC and ACT. Mega fires in eastern Victoria and south NSW could join up. National coordination is clearly required.

Federal assets - army, navy, leased firefighting aircraft and personnel have now been deployed in support roles. Why are there different levels of support between NSW and VIC?

Emergency Management Australia (now under Home Affairs) has responsibility for coordinating and supporting national response to emergencies. Peter Dutton and David Littleproud are responsible ministers.

Littleproud said on 2 Jan that "APAC is coordinating the response" - but it is a peak body for collaboration, not coordination.

If a national emergency was declared, a national coordination centre (under EMA) could be spun up and would be directly responsibility to the Morrison government (Littleproud perhaps).

So far Scott Morrison, Michael McCormack, Peter Dutton and David Littleproud have NOT declared a national emergency.

Catastrophic bushfires and property losses have occurred in recently WA, SA, VIC, NSW, QLD and ACT. Many lives have been lost in SA, VIC and NSW.

This is gross dereliction of duty in the face of clear and present danger.

• NSW - 15 deaths, 1300 homes lost
• SA - 2 deaths, 90 homes lost
• VIC - 1 death, 18 missing, 81 homes lost

If there is no actual mechanism to declare a national emergency (State of Emergency can be declared only by individual states) here is a solution:

1. Convene meeting of State Emergency Coordinators & premiers

2. Agree to declare national emergency

3. Determine which federal resources are required in states/territories

4. EMA establish national emergency coordination centre

5. Legislate to provide for this in the future.

Video: Bushfire emergency has claimed 1000 homes and razed an area the size of Belgium, ABC 7.30

Links

• Incidents and Warnings - VicEmergency 
• MyFireWatch - Bushfire map information Australia 
• Fires Near Me - NSW RFS 
• What is Emergency Alert? - Emergency Alert. Be Warned. Be Informed. 

Eastern Victoria

NSW South Coast

Sydney and NSW Central Coast 

Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour

Northern NSW to Gold Coast

An excellent summary of Liberal National government in Australia over 6 years

Kooyong ballot paper 2019 federal election

The order of candidates on the ballot for Kooyong for the 2019 federal election is:

D'ELIA Steven United Australia Party

YATES Oliver,  Independent

ZUBAC Angelina, Independent

FRYDENBERG Josh,  Liberal

STEWART Jana,  Australian Labor Party

HINKLEY Davina, Animal Justice Party

BURNSIDE Julian, The Greens (VIC)

CHANDLER Bill, Independent


Analysis of candidates

D'ELIA Steven United Australia Party - Right wing (Clive Palmer)

YATES Oliver,  Independent

• Strong policies on tacking climate change and renewable energy

ZUBAC Angelina, Independent

• Some policies on tacking climate change
• Stood in previous 2014 election

FRYDENBERG Josh,  Liberal

• Deputy Leader of Liberal Party and Treasurer
• Very weak policies on tacking climate change and renewable energy
• Liberal party policies and politics are now mostly right wing
• Very few policies released for this election

STEWART Jana,  Australian Labor Party

• Running a strong local campaign
• Labor party policies on climate change are much stronger than the Liberals but could be improved
• Significant policies including tax reform announced well in advance of and during the election campaign.

HINKLEY Davina, Animal Justice Party

• Running mainly on animal rights

BURNSIDE Julian, The Greens (VIC)

• Prominent barrister well know for advocacy on refugees

CHANDLER Bill, Independent

• Strong policies on climate change, transport
• Extensive experience in urban planning

How to Vote

You must number every square (candidate) on the ballot paper in order of your preference.

How to vote cards handed out by parties and candidates only provide their suggestions on how to allocate your preference.  The choice is yours.

I am considering supporting independent candidate(s) then putting Jana Stewart (Labor) ahead of Josh Frydenberg (Liberal Party) due to Labor's more progressive policies as per below.

If you want your preference to go to the Morrison government then put Frydenberg above Stewart, but you can still vote for independent candidates before them.

If you strongly support the Greens, Labor or the Liberals then give them your first preference.

Links

• Kooyong - Federal Election 2019 Electorate, Candidates, Results | Australia Votes - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) 
• Practise voting - House of Representatives - Australian Electoral Commission 

Victorian Senate ballot for 2019 federal election - how to vote card

Here is my analysis of the Victorian Senate ballot for the 2019 federal election.

In my assessment there are considerably more right wing political parties on the ballot.

These ratings take into account climate change policies.

Note that while the Health Australia Party has reasonable climate change policies they oppose mandatory vaccination.

Voting
You can vote "above the line" by numbering at least 6 parties on the top row of the ballot paper.

You can vote "below the line" by numbering at least 12 boxes below the top row of the ballot paper.

See: Practise voting - Senate - Australian Electoral Commission 

See also: Senate Preview: VIC - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Leave any feedback in the comments below.

Fraser Anning calls for "White Australia" and "Final Solution" for refugees

Senator Fraser Anning, elected as a One Nation senator after getting 19 votes, called for "White Australia" and a "Final Solution" for refugees in Australia during his speech in the senate on 14 August 2018.

Anning is now with the Katter Party.

He also said the reasons to ban Muslim immigration were "compelling and self-evident", labelling them welfare-bludgers and criminals.

His speech is completely unacceptable in the Australian parliament, he should be expelled.

The Senators that shook his hand after his speech were:

• Mathias Cormann, Liberal, WA
• Bridget McKenzie, National, Vic
• Matt Canavan, National, QLD
• Nigel Scullion, Country Liberal, NT
• Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Liberal, NSW
• Cory Bernardi, Australian Conservatives, SA
• Derryn Hinch, Independent, VIC
• Tim Storer, Independent, SA
• Barry O'Sullivan, Liberal QLD
• David Leyonhjelm, Liberal Democrats, NSW
• Amanda Stoker, Liberal, QLD
• James McGrath, Liberal National OLD
• Jonathon Duniam, Liberal TAS
• James Paterson, Liberal, Vic
• Peter Georgiou, One Nation, WA
• John Williams, National, NSW
• Dean Smith, Liberal WA
• David Bushby, Liberal, TAS
• Anne Rushton, Liberal, SA
• Stirling Griff, Centre Alliance, SA
• Rex Patrick, Centre Alliance, SA

In doing so they have endorsed racist hate speech.  None of them are fit for office.

• Fraser Anning: White Australia Policy honoured by Queensland senator, calls for 'final solution' on immigration, Sydney Morning Herald

Australia's continued slide to fascism

Recent observations by Andrew Wilkie in parliament.  10 characteristics of a "pre-police state".

Denying some citizens the right to access the legal system is wrong.

Incremental loss of freedoms, democracy deteriorating bit by bit.

1. Metadata retention. Govt knows where you go, what you look at, who you talk to. No warrant required

2. Media - used, manipulated, bullied

3. Manipulation of judiciary - Royal Commission

4. Secrecy - operational matters "on water"

5. Law - can be arrested on suspicion of terrorism with no evidence.

6. Some people can be incarcerated indefinitely without trial - asylum seekers

7. Complete disregard for international law and agreements - Refugee convention, rights of the child.

8. Parliament forbidden to debate or decide on important matters of state - e.g. bombing of Syria.

9. Safeguard mechanisms disregarded and people bullied - Human Rights Commissioner. Autocratic regime

10. Security agencies act beyond lawful powers. Australian Border Force operation on the streets of Melbourne - unlawful, beyond their legal power.

http://insidestory.org.au/immigrations-disappearing-visa-applicants

And Border Force now prevents people reporting brutality, rape, sexual abuse in immigration detention.

Update 28 Dec 2015.  George Williams, Professor of Law at the University of NSW writes that

An extraordinary number of Australian laws now infringe basic democratic standards, but we hardly bat an eyelid. The growing assault on our democratic rights, Sydney Morning Herald: 

The Speaker's resignation reflects a government that is in chaos

This tweet by Tony Abbot on 24 Nov 2011 applies now to his government in August 2015.  The Internet never forgets.

The Speaker's resignation reflects a government that is in chaos. The Govt has lost its way, lost its majority and now lost its speaker.

— Tony Abbott (@TonyAbbottMHR) November 24, 2011

Tony Abbott Doorstop: Peter Slipper MP

This article was published on the Liberal Party of Australia website but was deleted on 17 August 2015 amidst the furor surrounding incumbent Speaker Brown Bishop over her misuse of entitlements relating to using here parliamentary travel allowance for a helicopter trip from Melbourne to Geelong to attend a Liberal Party fundraising event.

=============

21/04/12

Source

  

TONY ABBOTT:

The Speaker is the guardian of parliamentary standards. The Speakership is one of the most important offices in the Parliament. The Speaker is there to uphold the integrity of the Parliament and now we have very, very serious allegations against the incumbent Speaker, allegations of sexual harassment and allegations of potentially criminal misuse of entitlements. These are very serious allegations indeed. Yes, the Speaker is entitled to the presumption of innocence but he does have quite a lot of explaining to do.

 It’s also very important that the Prime Minister act to ensure the integrity of the Parliament. The Speaker is only in that office because the Prime Minister used her numbers late last year to install him. The Prime Minister, to uphold the integrity of the Parliament, needs now to require the Speaker to step down until these matters are resolved.  It’s also incumbent upon the Australian Federal Police to swiftly investigate the potentially criminal allegations that have been made against the Speaker. 

I can’t underestimate the seriousness of this. The Speaker is required to maintain parliamentary standards and yet there are now these extremely serious allegations against the Speaker himself. So in order to maintain the respect and the reputation of the Parliament, in order to preserve the integrity of the Government and our institutions, it is very important that the Prime Minister act swiftly to require the Speaker to step aside and it’s very important that the Australian Federal Police quickly investigate these matters so that they can be resolved as soon as is humanly possible.

QUESTION:

So these aren’t the first allegations against him. Should this have been dealt with a long time ago?

TONY ABBOTT:

Well these are matters that have been referred to a court. These are matters where legal documents have been lodged. These are matters that are now to be the subject of proceedings in court, so these are of a vastly more serious and substantial nature than anything that has been alleged against Mr Slipper in the past.

QUESTION:

After everything that’s been going on with Craig Thomson, I suppose the question is, you know, where to from here? Does she need to make a stand now?

TONY ABBOTT:

Well this does go to the integrity not just of the Parliament but of the Prime Minister and of the Government. The Prime Minister cannot wash her hands of this business the way she has tried to wash her hands of the allegations concerning Mr Thomson because Mr Slipper is no mere backbencher. Mr Slipper is the Speaker of the Parliament. Mr Slipper occupies a very, very important office. He is the guardian of the standards of the Parliament, the protector of the reputation of the Parliament and now there are these extremely serious allegations against him and that’s why the only proper way forward is for the Speaker to step aside while these allegations are being dealt with. If he doesn’t do so voluntarily, the Prime Minister should indicate that she will require him to step aside until these matters are resolved.

QUESTION:

Do you have any thoughts on who should take his place while the investigation is ongoing?

TONY ABBOTT:

Well, as a matter of ordinary parliamentary procedure, if the Speaker is unable to take the chair, the senior Deputy Speaker automatically would take the chair.

[ends]

Tony Abbott, the Game of Thrones and why party politics is failing

Its interesting to watch the decline of Tony Abbott as Prime Minister.  I was concerned when he became Prime Minister that he would not be a good leader.  My worst fears have since been realised.

Tony Abbott: Source

The list of broken promises and bad policies gets longer almost every day, here are just a few:

• Funding cuts to ABC and SBS (a broken promise and appalling "efficiency levy lie)
• "Loggers are the ultimate conservationists" and "no more national parks" (appalling lie)
• "Coal is good for humanity" (appalling lie)
• Deregulation of university fees - that could result in $100,000 degrees (no policy for this during the 2013 election campaign)
• Continued incarceration of asylum seekers (including children) in concentration camps and offshore processing centres - a clears breach of human rights and the UN Convention for Refugees. (Note this is also supported by the Labor opposition)
• Encouraging Islamaphobia is making Australia less safe, rather than considering the causes of radicalisation of the minority who join the likes of ISIS, and how we can prevent this happening.
• Lifters and Leaners: vilification of low income earners and protection of corporate tax evaders
• A budget emergency that actually did not exist, but is now being created by the failed LNP budget and policies.
• Ongoing denial of climate change accompanied by policies that are crippling our transition to renewable energy and a zero carbon future.
• The proposed GP Copayment - research indicated that this will have a negative effect on health care outcomes and greatly disadvantage low income earners.

All these policies have a common thread - they are based on ideology rather than evidence.

However, for all this I don't just blame Tony Abbott.  

We have serious systemic problems with political parties, where their policies come from, how their leaders are elected, and the basic failure of representational democracy.

Political parties actually only represent their own traditional support bases:

• Liberal - medium to high income earners, "the big end of town" corporates, media barons etc. Notional "conservatives".
• Labor - "working families", unions (some but not all), Notional "progressives" etc
• Greens - conservationists, some unions, progressives disillusioned with Labor and the Coalition
• Nationals - the notional "rural vote"

The average citizen has next to zero input into party policies.  Many actual party members (a small fraction of voters) also have little or no input to party policies.

Party policies come from secretive processes that are largely controlled by internal and vested interests.

The basic failure of representational democracy is twofold:

1. Yet we vote for our local Members of Parliament, who are supposed to represent us. In reality, they vote the way their party instructs them most of the time.
2. Parties have policy platforms during an election that are not binding - promises are routinely broken once government and policies that were not part of their election platform are forced onto society.

Our Prime Ministers are selected by internal party processes such as Party Room votes.  There is never any public participation with this - MPs decided when to sack a sitting Prime Minister and appoint a new one.

Recently, this has been chaotic.

The Labor Party sacked Kevin Rudd due to internal problems they had with his autocratic leadership style.

The Labor Party then sacked Julia Gillard and reappointed Kevin Rudd because nervous Labor MPs thought she couldn't win the 2013 election - which Rudd went on to lose.

Malcolm Turnbull was deposed as Coalition Opposition Leader in 2009 by the Liberal Party room, many of whom were concerned by his bipartisan support for an emissions trading scheme.  Tony Abbott won by one vote and went to become Prime Minister.

Now in 2015, it is evident to the wider electorate that Tony Abbott is manifestly unsuitable for the role of Prime Minister, so nervous back benchers (scared of losing their seats) bring on a "vote of no confidence" in him, which is defeated (61 votes for him, 39 against) with no alternative candidate. 

Since then, Abbott has continued to prove himself incapable of governing the country, he is locked into "attack mode" where he insists he well "beat Bill Shorten" and he continues to bully and threaten anyone who doesn't agree with him such as Human Rights Commissioner Gillian Triggs.

It now seems likely that the Coalition Party Room will vote again on who will be Prime Minister (if someone challenges) and that Tony Abbott is considered likely to now lose.

So these are some big problems.  

Here are some possible structural solutions:

Constitutional change: Form governments based on the skills of elected MPs rather than party allegiances and membership

Constitutional change: Ban binding party votes - make every vote a conscience vote

Constitutional change: Provide voters with the opportunity to directly elect political leaders (e.g Prime Minister, Head of State) and move to some form of Republic

Legislative change: Ban large political donations - these fundamentally corrupt politics as they buy influence and large media driven election campaigns.

Constitutional change: Citizen initiated referendums and issue/policy referendums - give voters the opportunity to vote on binding policy matters that governments must then implement.

If we don't reinvigorate our democracy will continue to be subjected to the whims and vagaries of a largely autocratic political elite that don't act in the best interests of the nation and all citizens.

Why roads are not suitable for mass transportation

The now departed Napthine government was hell-bent on spending up to $16b on the "East West link" tollway tunnel project, claiming that it would "be the transport infrastructure that Melbourne needs".  They included fanciful claims including that the new tunnel would:

• Reduce commute times by 20 minutes
• Reduce congestion on Hoddle Street

Both claims are patently false.  The Napthine government lost he election held on 29 November and the incoming Premier, Daniel Andrews, has pledged to stop the East West Link road project  proceeding.

Similar claims were made by Jeff Kennet back in the 90s when he claimed the City Link road project, constructed between 1996 and 2000 would "will solve Melbourne's traffic problems". Clearly, it has not.

However, there is another good reason why roads cannot provide a suitable mass transport system for a city such as Melbourne - every driver is a single point of failure.

Nearly every day there is a crash which can close or seriously disrupt traffic on a route.

Six cars and a truck were involved in two crashes on the West Gate Bridge. Photo: Seven News

For example,a crash closed the West Gate Bridge on Tuesday 2 December. Such crashes and closures are now a daily occurrence.

By comparison, trains carry up to 800 passengers with a single driver - and don't have to contend with road intersections and "lane changes".

We need some real political leadership to build more train lines and revise the train network for Melbourne - given that no new suburban rail lines have been built since the Glen Waverley line in 1932.

A dedicated safe bicycle path network should be included too.

Links

• Crash closes West Gate Bridge lanes, The Age  
• West Gate Freeway crash causes delays, The Age 22/11/14
• CityLink, Wikipedia
• East West Link, Melbourne, Wikipedia

My email to the 39 Senators who voted for the Carbon Tax Repeal

You recently voted against Australia's carbon tax.

Please do not compromise Australia's RET.

The RET is a very important and effective mechanism for transitioning Australia towards zero emissions clean energy.

The RET has only contributed 8% to electricity price increases from 2007/08 to the present.

The Carbon Tax only contributed 16%.

Over this same period distributor costs and charges have contributed 70% to electricity price increases

Investment in renewable energy has risen $5 billion per year.
Renewable energy capacity has almost doubled from 2001 to 2012.
86% of Australians think that Australia needs more renewable energy.
71% of Australians support the RET
90% of Australians want more electricity from solar
80% of Australians want more electricity from wind.

Overall the RET comprises only 3% of the total price of electricity bills.

Please support meaningful action on climate change and transitioning Australia to a new economy with clean energy and associated local industries and jobs.

Total Electricty cost increase 2007/08 to present
Wholesale costs	55	5%
Distributor costs & charges	746	70.4%
Carbon Price	172	16.2%
RET	87	8.2%
	$1060

Source: The Australia Institute

You can send your own email to the 39 Senators here: http://www.savetheret.com/

Links

• Fact file: How does the Renewable Energy Target affect your power bill? - Fact Check - ABC News 

Australian needs a national Integrity Commission now

Add your voice to our call to clean up politics

It’s time to for a national corruption watch dog to clean up politics.

Politicians of all persuasions should recognise that the public interest is best served by a clear separation between politics and business.

Recent revelations by state ICACs make it clear that sadly this is not the case in Australia.

That’s why we urgently needs a national Integrity Commission to oversee anti-corruption measures at a federal level in the same way that state ICAC do.

The Australian Greens have called on both Liberal and Labor to urgently consider legislation for a national Integrity Commissioner in light of recent events in NSW politics.

An Australian Greens bill for a national Integrity Commission is already before federal Parliament. Among other integrity measures, the bill would establish a new Office of the Independent Parliamentary Adviser to advise MPs and Ministers on entitlements claims and the ethical running of their office that the public rightly expects. The adviser will also be tasked with developing a legally binding code of conduct for MPs for the Parliament to adopt.

Add your voice to our call to clean up politics:

To the Honourable President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled:

The petition of the undersigned shows:

Politicians of all persuasions should recognise that the public interest is best served by a clear separation between business and politics.

The Australian public expects their elected representatives to act ethically and in the public’s best interest.

A National Integrity Commissioner would help ensure that this is the case.

Your petitioners ask that the Senate:

Urgently support legislation for a National Integrity Commissioner to oversee and implement anti-corruption measures at a federal level.

Online petition is here

Obama wins. Politics is the new religion

I watch the final weeks of the U.S. presidential campaign with interest.  Many called it to be a close race, with Obama's chances reduced to high unemployment and having a hostile Republic-dominated Congress blocking many of his initiatives and much of his legislation.

The Mitt Romney suffered from the secret video recording of him declaring that "47% of Americans are sponging off the welfare system".  He couldn't really refute it as those were his words.  I really wonder if he and most Republicans believe this to be the case.  Many people in the United States do it very hard if they don't have a job.  When the "unemployment insurance" they have banked while employed runs out, that's it, they get no more money.

Then Romney won the first presidential debate with Obama looking ill-prepared and flat footed.  Romney's campaign had good momentum.

When Hurricane Sandy hit everything changed.  Obama paid close attention to emergency and relief efforts.  He also put significant funding into the Federal Emergency Management Agency - the main government agency that provided emergency services to the tens of thousands of affected people.  Romney was on record stating that this funding should be reduced.

Climate change was the elephant in the room during the presidential campaign.  Neither Romney nor Obama spoke about during their debates or elsewhere.  Yet climate scientists have clearly attributed the increased ferocity of Hurricane Sandy to climate change.  The other topic not mentioned during the campaign was forest protection, despite ongoing logging of old growth forests in the United States.  In general, policies for environment protection were not really covered at all.

When the election results came in, a strong result for Obama was obvious fairly early on, despite the shrill protestations of Karl Rove on Fox, who had something resembling a meltdown when the trend showed clearly towards Obama.

Obama claimed victory on Twitter - a first for a Presidential campaign.

Watching the campaign, it seems that politics is now the new religion.

Many people follow a political party and its leader as a matter of faith.  For example, many Republicans believe in their policy positions as a matter of doctrine, such as no abortions (the "right to life"), small government and reduced taxes (despite George W Bush as president increasing both) and undertones of "white superiority" with mutterings about "getting tough on immigration".

On the other hand, many Democrats would believe they have progressive policies on climate change (despite the emissions trading or a carbon tax being abandoned), foreign affairs (despite the ongoing un-winnable war in Afghanistan and ongoing drone attacks that kill civilians) the environment (despite ongoing forest destruction and Americans still driving around millions of massive cars) and human rights (despite Guantanomo Bay still not being closed).

Many people polarise around these two positions - and both sides believe they are "right" and the others are "wrong".

Obama won the big majority of Electoral College votes that mattered (in the Swing States) and therefore comfortably won the presidency.

The Democrats won the Senate again, assisted by a couple of Republican Senators that made telling remarks during the campaign:

• Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock said pregnancies resulting from rape are part of God's plan, tearfully explaining that he only supports abortions when a mother's life is in danger.

• Missouri the incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill defeated Republican candidate Todd Akin to win a second Senate term after Mr Akin said in a television interview on August 19 that "legitimate rape" rarely results in pregnancy.

The comments indicate how beliefs and dogma are entrenched within political ideology - akin to or even linked to religious beliefs.

The Republicans however retained control of Congress.  So the end result of the election was a situation identical to how it was before - Obama as President, a Democrat controlled Senate and a Republican controlled Congress.  So it seems more political deadlocks and bickering will ensue.

After the election, partly lost by the Tea Party dragging Republican policy to the far right, Tea Party people insisted that they lost "because Romney didn't stay true to their hard right fixed policy positions on taxation and strayed too far to the left".  The opposite appears to be the case.

Obama ran a more inclusive campaign and picked up strong support among the Latino, Black and Gay communities.

However, in the final result Obama won 50.8% of the primary vote against Romney's 47.5%

So it really is a divided country, with both sides holding positions, much of which are grounded in dogma, that are somewhat opposed to each other.

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Obama's team ran a very good on the ground campaign and mobilised lots of people.  But these same people have little or no influence on how political policies and legislation will not proceed.

Democracy is now all about the prize (winning the Presidency and the Government) rather than the process of representing people and consulting with them to shape and implement policies.

Premier Baillieu please support the NDIS

Dear Premier Baillieu,

I believe that you should support the National Disability Insurance Scheme and commit appropriate funds to it. Thousands of people with disabilities are in urgent need of assistance and protection as a basic human right.

Please don't play politics with this.

I encourage to persuade your colleagues in New South Wales and  Queensland to support the NDIS too.

Regards, Peter Campbell

Links

• Petition | Premier Ted Baillieu: Bring the National Disability Insurance Scheme to Victoria , Change.org
• State faces disability pressure, Brisbane Times 

Rudd on the rampage and its all about him

Honesty in politics is a rare thing.  We don't get to hear about what happens in Cabinet, the Labor Caucus or the Liberal-National Party Room, or the Greens Party Room for that matter.

So it is refreshing that we are now hearing some honest and candidate stories from several Labor MPs and Ministers about what life was really like under Kevin Rudd when he was Prime Minister.

These include:

• Nicola Roxon, Attorney-General "said working with Mr Rudd as Prime Minister could be “a complete joke” [link]
• Craig Emerson, Minister for Trade  "There has been attack on the Prime Minister going back to the last election. There was destabilisation and leaking then; it's been going on since." "Well these things matter, don't they? I mean, whether you run an organised or a dysfunctional government." [link] [link]
• Wayne Swan, Treasurer.  "However for too long, Kevin Rudd has been putting his own self-interest ahead of the interests of the broader Labor movement and the country as a whole, and that needs to stop" "  "He sought to tear down the 2010 campaign, deliberately risking an Abbott Prime Ministership, and now he undermines the Government at every turn."  [link] [link]
• Julia Gillard, Prime Minister. "She said that while Mr Rudd had been an excellent campaigner in 2007, the government had descended into paralysis because of his “chaotic” and dysfunctional” work patterns." [link]
• Stephen Conroy, Communications Minister On poker machine reform: "Well let's be very clear about this. What's been revealed last night on television and over the weekend with Andrew Wilkie is a complete and utter fraud by Kevin Rudd." " He has been pretending that he supported the pre-commitment technology, pretending he supported reform in this area, but his key numbers man just happened to have two meetings and tell Clubs Australia that he would kill it."  [link]
• Stephen Smith, Defence Minister  "I'm articulating it to you from my perspective, and my perspective is that by the time we came to the end of Kevin's term as prime minister, the cabinet, the caucus, the overwhelming majority of the cabinet and caucus had lost confidence in the ability to work through difficult policy or political issues with him."  [link] [link]

On the other side, supporters of Kevin Rudd include:

• Kim Carr, Manufacturing Minister, who was demoted in a Cabinet reshuffle in December, says Mr Rudd is the victim of a "campaign of vilification" by senior members of the Government.  "It's my opinion that the man has a great breadth of vision and a commitment to the future of this country that stands us in good stead."  [link]
• Chris Bowen, Immigration Minister "There's no doubt there's a lot of support in the community for Mr Rudd" [link]
• Martin Ferguson, Resources Minister "Kevin Rudd is best placed to take on Tony Abbott and potentially best position us to win the next election,"   [link] [link] 
• Alan Griffin MP, "I think that should there be a change of leadership what we need to do is get over it and start working together. And that's what the people want, that's what the party wants and that's what we should be doing."  [link]
• Daryl Cheeseman, MP.  "Kevin Rudd is the most popular politician in Australia as opinion polls show. "Kevin is the right person to lead Australia. "I like Julia Gillard, I have a lot of respect for her, but that's the reality. It's important I reflect the views of my community." [link]
• Doug Cameron, Senator "We have to make sure that we stop running these character attacks on Kevin Rudd,'' ''Because it's unfair, it's unprincipled and its not deserved.'' [link]
• Maxine McKew, former MP for Bennelong, "Kevin Rudd is best placed to beat Tony Abbott," "He delivered a 23-seat majority and I think that should be noted," she said. "His appeal is broad and the breadth of his victory in 2007 shouldn't be overlooked." [link]
• Anthony Albanese "called Gillard and informed her I would be voting for Rudd and resigned as leader of the house" [link]

Kevin Rudd (and Doug Cameron) have claimed that the "faceless men" are after Rudd again, but both are  unwilling to say who they are.  So we have "faceless and nameless men" apparently running the country!

As an aside, it is interesting to note that Kim Carr and Alan Griffin were two of the "faceless men", along with Tim Gartrell, that did the preference deal with Family First that resulted in Steven Fielding being elected to the Senate in 2004 at the expense of the Greens. [link]

Some other interesting commentary has emerged, including:

• We need to talk about Kevin, "Kevin Rudd was ultimately responsible for his own downfall, writes his former speechwriter"
• Resurrection of Saint Kevin "No one does victimhood like Kevin Rudd. Forget the fact he's the bloke who calls the Prime Minister "the bitch" - or worse - behind her back, to senior figures in industry, to newspaper editors and to members of the Press Gallery" 
• Labor’s rotten core needs the leadership implosion " This is a party imploding. The word is used carefully: Labor’s internal weaknesses, its ideological drift, its lack of core values, the devolution of the factions in mechanisms for distributing patronage, its reluctance to publicly argue over important issues — the hollowing out of a once vibrant, reformist institution, is causing Labor to cave in on itself."
• Independent MP Tony Windsor "Should Mr Rudd become prime minister again, it would most likely lead to an early election.  And if Mr Rudd did try to command a majority on the floor of Parliament, he could not rely on Mr Windsor's support. "If the Labor Party suddenly want to change arrangements in the middle of the stream all bets are off," [link]

In conclusion

Julia Gillard as Prime Minister was able to from government after the 2010 federal election with support from three independent MPs and the Greens.  Her government has legislation for several import reforms such as the Clean Energy Bill (with a carbon price), the Mining Tax (albiet compromised) to name a few. 

However, she has been unable to garner much support from the Australian public with her wooden style of speaking and continued utterance of media lines.  She has also avoided direct questions about her exact role in the demotion of Kevin Rudd as PM.  Opinion polls indicate that Gillard is on track to lose the next federal election to Tony Abbott.

It has now become clear that Kevin Rudd has been actively destabilising the Gillard government over several months, so she has not been able to get "clean air" to get her message across and demonstrate leadership.

Gillard and her supporters have portrayed Kevin Rudd as a Prime Minister who was almost impossible to work with.  He lost his mojo and backflipped on important initiatives such as the Mining Tax (Resources Super Profits Tax) and his much vaunted but highly compromised Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

Kevin Rudd and his supporters say that only he has the personal popularity with and support from the Australian public to beat Tony Abbott at the next election.  Polls indicate he has more support from the public than Julia Gillard (and Tony Abbott).  Rudd has also given assurances that he has "learned from his past mistakes" and is a "change person" with respect to his leadership style.

However, Rudd has also just flagged a review of the Clean Energy Bill, even though it has just been through and exhaustive process with the Multi Party Climate Change Committee and will be legislated in July this year. 

So the choice before the Labor Party is a capable PM who has Cabinet and party support, but looks like losing the next election due to her poor public profile, or perhaps winning the election and a return to Kevin Rudd's autocratic leadership.

It is also likely that Rudd will not be able to form a minority government if Labor doesn't win a majority of seats under his leadership (if he gets it).

Rudd might also spit the dummy completely and resign from his seat.  This would force a by election, and possibly then a general election.

If Rudd loses the leadership ballot, as appears likely, all indications are he will continue to destablise the government.

I don't envy them.

It looks like Tony Abbott will sail into office whatever happens now.