Australia General Discussion

[Simfan34]

He'll have to try harder! Even the softest dictator is able to make state television work to his liking!

[andrew_c]

Tony's trying hard to copy Stephen Harper's authoritarian style of governance.

[Silent Hunter]

I don't realy understand the government's position? Obviously this Mallah guy is a chump, but "whose side are you on"? "Betraying Australia"!!!!?? Does Tony have aspirations to become a tinpot dictator or something?

In the UK, people say that about the BBC... but they tend not to be Cabinet ministers.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Tony Abbott has banned the CEFC funding both wind farms and small-scale solar, in favour of "emerging technologies".

...

Can't some liberal with a brain stab him in the back already?

[MaxQue]

Tony Abbott has banned the CEFC funding both wind farms and small-scale solar, in favour of "emerging technologies".

...

Can't some liberal with a brain stab him in the back already?

Anyone with a brain has been purged under Howard.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Tony Abbott has banned the CEFC funding both wind farms and small-scale solar, in favour of "emerging technologies".

...

Can't some liberal with a brain stab him in the back already?

They wanted to kill the CEFC, they couldn't do it through legislation due to the deal done with Palmer, but as predicted, if you can't kill the program outright, you starve it to death.

[Talleyrand]

Queensland federal LNP member for Dawson George Christensen is speaking at a rally for hate group Reclaim Australia.



In the ongoing Bronwyn Bishop saga, Joe Hockey has refused to defend the Speaker after she wasted $5000 on a helicopter to save a few minutes driving to a Liberal Party event.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/07/15/12/40/labor-questions-speaker-s-travel-claim

[politicus]

Queensland federal LNP member for Dawson George Christensen is speaking at a rally for hate group Reclaim Australia.

Weird how Danish-Australians seem to produce so many right wing nutters, while Danish-Americans seem to be fairly moderate.

Also, the Wiki page claims he is Greek Orthodox.. Whats up with that?

[Talleyrand]

Queensland federal LNP member for Dawson George Christensen is speaking at a rally for hate group Reclaim Australia.

Weird how Danish-Australians seem to produce so many right wing nutters, while Danish-Americans seem to be fairly moderate.

Also, the Wiki page claims he is Greek Orthodox.. Whats up with that?

The only other example I can think of of the top of my head is former Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen, obviously. Notably both are members of the (increasingly marginalized and useless) National Party.

The rest of Christensen's wiki page isn't flattering.

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[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Yes, it seems that Christensen's name has come up again and again this parliament.

[Platypus]

The spirit of Wilson Tuckey lives on

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Wilson Tuckey was a bit unhinged, but Christensen is attaching himself to every hardcore right-wing fad out there. He's on a decent margin now, but he's got to be careful, Dawson is not uber-safe LNP territory.

And the pressure on Craggle Rock to resign is growing...

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

The Speaker will face the media at 4pm (1hr 15min from now)

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Ha! Bronnie is doubling down. She's going nowhere and criticised the Treasurer.

Oh yes

[Talleyrand]

Ha! Bronnie is doubling down. She's going nowhere and criticised the Treasurer.

Oh yes

Awesome! I hope she stays the whole parliament.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Choppergate is turning into a Liberal Party split. Abbott putting up the barricades to protect Bishop, Hockey turning openly against her and Hewson suggesting that Abbott's defence of her is "staggering" and will "end in tears".

Shorten has declared this a test of Abbott's leadership... which is exactly what he should be saying. The best part is, if she and Abbott resist until Parliament resumes, then Labor will move a motion of no-confidence and put ALL LNP MPs in a really, really difficult position.

[Simfan34]

If Abbott was smart he'd cut her loose, no?

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

If Abbott was smart he'd cut her loose, no?

Theoretically, yes.

However, this whole debate is bringing up the long and widely known hostilities within the NSW Liberal Party.

1. Bronwyn Bishop has been in the upper echelons of the NSW Right for decades now. She was very important in Abbott's rise and knows where the skeletons are. The is a considerable danger for Abbott in casting her adrift. As we saw with Peta Credlin, he's a very loyal person, even if to his own determent, and he'll also resent being told what to do by his party room/the media.

2. Bishop and Hockey have hated each other for years. They're roughly from the same part of Sydney (as is Abbott) but Hockey is from the moderate wing and Bishop from the right.

3. It's really too late now. At the very beginning, Abbott should have showed some leadership and said "I have discussed this matter with the Speaker, and I believe that it is right and proper that she agree not to preside over the House until such time as this matter has been resolved". But by backing her, he cannot back down. a) it's not in his nature b) it'll make him look INCREDIBLY weak. 

[MaxQue]

Isn't she an hyper-partisan Speaker expelling Labor MPs as soon they critisize her beloved Tony, anyways?

[BaconBacon96]

Yeah she's one of the most blatantly biased Speakers I've ever seen.

But that aside, I do wonder why this is getting more attention than most instances of politicians inappropriately claiming taxpayer funded travel.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Yeah she's one of the most blatantly biased Speakers I've ever seen.

But that aside, I do wonder why this is getting more attention than most instances of politicians inappropriately claiming taxpayer funded travel.

Frankly, because of the idea of chartering a chopper to Geelong.

[BaconBacon96]

Yeah she's one of the most blatantly biased Speakers I've ever seen.

But that aside, I do wonder why this is getting more attention than most instances of politicians inappropriately claiming taxpayer funded travel.

Frankly, because of the idea of chartering a chopper to Geelong.

Yeah that is pretty absurd in of itself.

[Barnes]

I wonder if ChopperGate (haha) has increased Abbott's desire to not see the Parliament resume in August?  Having to deal with Labor's no-confidence motion will surely not be pleasant for him.

[BaconBacon96]

Western Australian Liberal MP Don Randall has died, suspected heart attack.

He was one of the MPs who moved the spill motion against Abbott in February.

[Talleyrand]

Western Australian Liberal MP Don Randall has died, suspected heart attack.

He was one of the MPs who moved the spill motion against Abbott in February.

RIP. He was only 62. Too young to die.

On to the topic of a potential byelection... Canning is a mostly Liberal-friendly seat with some areas of Labor strength in Mandurah and Armadale. Right now it's on a 12% margin, but was only on a 2% margin in 2010 due the popularity of ALP candidate Alannah Mactiernan (now MP for Perth), so it's not out of reach for Labor. However, they'd need a literal perfect storm to win it, and the federal ALP isn't doing well enough for that. Not to mention that their best candidate won't be able to run. I'd guess a small (5-6%) swing away from the Libs in a byelection, but not enough to threaten them.

As for ChopperGate, I think it makes Abbott less likely to call an early election, simply because it has reduced the momentum he was getting from Shorten's "woes" in recent weeks.


Meanwhile, in the NT, CLP Speaker Kezia Purick has quit the party. This means the government only has 12/25 seats in parliament and has lost its majority.