Liberal National Party caucus HQ

[tpfkaw]

Since we have to have a leader elected soon ("election" is scheduled for next weekend, and we need to formulate policies and select a frontbench between then and now), I would suggest that Talleyrand and myself both write a speech of 1000 words or less in the next 24 hours and then we have a leadership ballot.

[Napoleon]

Since we have to have a leader elected soon ("election" is scheduled for next weekend, and we need to formulate policies and select a frontbench between then and now), I would suggest that Talleyrand and myself both write a speech of 1000 words or less in the next 24 hours and then we have a leadership ballot.

Sounds like a great idea!

[tpfkaw]

I'm afraid I went over my own 1000-word limit, sorry!

...



There's a certain canard that Labor and the left-wing media wants you to believe – I'm sure you've heard it – “The Coalition doesn't have any big ideas of it's own!  All they do is oppose, oppose, oppose.”  Now, I and most sensible people reject the notion that there is anything wrong with opposing, particularly when we are serving as the opposition to the most radical government in our nation's history.  And when they say the phrase “big ideas,” what they mean is more big government, big spending, big tax grabs, big handouts, big debt, big prices, and big immigration.  But, I have to admit, there's an element of truth to every criticism.  We talk a lot about what we are against, but too little about what we are for.  And so our answer is that the big idea is:  Think small.

I talked to a woman the other day, who told me that this government makes her afraid for this country and afraid for her children.  But she told me that she doesn't trust the Coalition either.  “You're for big business.  You're for the big banks.  You stand up for the big guy.  You don't stand up for the little guy.”  And what I said to her is, “You're right!”  We don't stand up for the little guy.  We are recklessly leaving acres and acres of ground in the vital center for Labor to claim without articulating a positive agenda of our own.  Working Australians don't think we stand for them even as they are the ones who have suffered the most under this government.

So, what do I mean by “think small?”  I mean that big business and big government are doing well enough on their own.  We Australians have never cottoned to rule by distant and impersonal bureaucracies.  I mean to say that we are wholly in favor of the moral values that unite us as Australians.  I mean to say that we are and ought to be the party of the ties that bind us; our communities, and our churches and temples, and our shared cultural inheritance.  We are the party of mothers and fathers and mom-and-pop shops.  We are the party of small towns and lively neighborhoods.  We are the party of farmers, and fishermen like my father, and firm handshakes.  We are not the party of a free lunch, but we are the party of a fair shot for our children.

And we have failed our children in so many different ways.  We have stood idly by as they've been taught that it is not okay to be proud to be an Australian; that patriotism and duty to our country is hateful, and evil.  I am not claiming that there are no black marks or unfortunate events in our history.  But my grandfathers did not fight on the shores of Gallipoli for today's coddled, spoon-fed patricians to yammer on about what awful racists they were.  We must draw a line in the sand and say that we are proud to be Australian, and that there are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.  Can Labor honestly say the same?

That some among us don't respect our history is only a symptom, not a cause, of a fundamental lack of respect for the people Labor once claimed to champion.  How can you say that you're on the side of the struggling middle when one of the first acts of your government is to break your promise on boat people?  Labor said that they would continue our successful policy:  Turn the boats back!  We saw how long that lasted.  It is unconscionable that at least 45,000 illegal migrants have been let into this country while so many Australians are out of work and hospitals and schools face budget cuts.  How is that standing up for the little guy?  The policy is simple and straightforward; asylum seekers must apply through the legal process, they must be in legitimate danger of persecution in their home countries, and they must pledge to respect our laws and our culture, including the rights of women and sexual minorities and our rights to free expression, free elections, and freedom of religion.  One strike, you're out.

And this is not Labor's only broken promise.  Labor's carbon tax, a tax they promised up and down they would not impose, will squeeze Australian families to the tune of $500 a year.  It is an unconscionable imposition on working Australians when electricity costs have gone up 90% over the course of this government.  Utilities:  Up 77%.  Water and sewerage:  Up 64%.  Natural gas – which is in more abundant supply than ever before – up 60%.  No wonder our mining, coal, and energy industries are already shedding thousands of jobs.  No wonder Ford says they're leaving despite the hundreds of millions Labor wasted on bribing them to stay.  With the carbon tax, they lose thousands on every car they make.  Labor says that it picks and chooses businesses and people and then spends billions on “compensating” them for the tax.  What, then, is the purpose of the tax in the first place?  Besides the fact that it allows them to create a bureaucracy to take the money and then send it back out again, it lets them pick and choose which politically-connected fat cats get a yearly payday from the government.  Every big business simply lobbies for more “compensation,” while small businesses and struggling families are left behind.  Giving out billions to politically-connected cronies while cutting education by $2.3 billion and hospitals by $1.6 billion makes not a whiff of sense.

Why is all this?  It is not even to co-opt big business, although that is a contributing factor.  It is because Labor has decided that the lives and the livelihood of those they supposedly stand for; our miners, our factory workers, are less important to them than meaningless gestures to the latest elite fad.  The ability of working families to put food on their tables and have the dignity and security of stable employment is less important than giving fuzzy feelings to fuzzy-headed yuppie fusses.  Even if we were to suppose that everything that the shrieking warmist crowd is true – and I believe Sydney was supposed to be underwater by now – the insane policies of this government still make no sense.  The emissions of Australia are absolutely dwarfed by countries with no emissions controls, like the United States, China, India, and Russia.  Even if we could flip a magic switch and not emit another ounce of carbon in this country, it would not matter one iota in the grand scheme of things.  This is what adds insult to industry – it is purely a feel-good policy for the most comfortable among us, and one that has real consequences for real Australian families.

This is why I am asking for your support to be leader of the Liberal-Nationals.  There are those who say that we don't have to change our tune - “oppose, oppose” is good enough.  They are wrong.  There are those who would say that we ought simply to agree with everything Labor puts forward, and propose that it be done somewhat differently, or more moderately.  They, too, are wrong.  What plays in the ivory tower does not have much appeal to us earthlings.  I pledge that as Leader I will put forward a positive agenda for our party that appeals to working Australians and small businesses.  I wholeheartedly and without reservation agree with the majority of Australians and far and away the vast majority of our party that Labor's anti-worker policies of the carbon tax and boat people invasion ought to be reversed – and will be.  These are the policies that Australians feel contrast us the most strongly, and in the most positive light, with Labor.  I call on anyone else who would seek the leadership of our party to also pledge to reverse those policies.

Thank you, and God bless you all.

[Talleyrand]

Each time I visit my constituency; ordinary Australians come up to me and share their concerns about the direction of our nation. From the nineteen year old girl struggling to pay for university to the ninety-six year old veteran who has seen his livelihood slip away, there’s a common theme we’ve been seeing the last six years; a lack of leadership from this government. As huge surpluses have collapsed into immense deficits due to the financial mismanagement of this government; as a record debt created by the incompetence of the Australian Labor Party shows its dark side upon millions of hardworking ordinary Australians, the Coalition cannot hope to form a parliamentary majority on the floor of the House of Representatives unless we show the electorate why we are an acceptable, viable alternative to the train wreck we have seen in recent times. The Liberal National Party has traditionally been the party of small, effective governance and creative, reasonable solutions. By presenting an articulate vision of where we want to take this country, we can win this election in order to turn back the tide in favor of Australia.

One policy that the Labor government has failed miserably in is the handling of the carbon tax, which has produced so many destructive effects for the Australian economy that they easily outweigh any environmental benefit it would bring. Our miners will see their electricity bills skyrocket, our small businessmen will see their businesses shut down in response to anxiety from our investors, and countless other hardworking, good people will see their livelihoods fall apart. Thousands of jobs have already been lost due this regressive bill, and many firms struggle to keep their doors open. If elected, our first priority must be to repeal this tax, the product of a broken promise, and vice on the aspirations of Australians, immediately. The Coalition is a party which acknowledges the science of man-made climate change, and it must be our priority to put in place a market-based emissions trading scheme, one which will reduce our carbon output while maintaining our economic security. It’s not rocket science.

For absolutely no reason at all, we’ve seen Australian exports savaged by this government, with the ban on cattle exports to Indonesia the most egregious example. The local cattle industry has suffered, undeservedly, and for what? Some unsubstantiated claims about the mistreatment of a few specimens by Indonesian authorities. This is not the way we should be treating one of our most important trading partners or our own farmers, the backbone of rural Australia. Meanwhile, the ALP allows imports of cattle from nations without proper health standards, exposing our citizens to mad cow disease. Free trade and deregulation transformed this country into a booming economic power, and while the Labor party goes on and on about “preparing for a global future” and “moving forward”, they’ve resorted to ridiculous trade policies, union-dominated industrial elections, and humiliating the nations which will be vital to Australia’s future abroad.

Australia must develop a world-class education system, and rather than the money-based block grants under the proposed Gonski scheme, the Coalition must take a free enterprise-oriented approach to school reforms across the country. More focus must be given on building successful charter schools and vouchers available to those students with the worst of circumstances. Underfunding schools isn’t the issue; throwing money at the problem won’t fix the issue. Instead, we have to change the core of the education system from the bureaucratic mess it is today. We need to strengthen our job training system, and encourage the development of more skilled workers, especially to reduce the remaining unemployment rate. A comprehensive education reform plan will be a top priority under an LNP government I lead.

Respect for Australia’s land and people will be restored by a Coalition government. After the initial positive steps for reconciliation with the Aboriginal population, the ALP has continued a destructive Wild Rivers intervention program, ripping apart their society. I am proud to be an Australian and even prouder of our shared cultural heritage, and the LNP will not dishonor that legacy by playing petty politics. Not only does this apply to the oldest of arrivals to this sacred land, but the newest. The Labor government’s racially charged game with Work Visas is an example of the destruction of the spirit of multiculturalism that Australia is unique for. Our nation is one the few in which immigrants’ culture can mold well into our own and create a diverse society tolerant of differences. A Coalition victory will produce a government and Prime Minister who are for all Australians, not just the Western Sydney-crazed union bosses who run the Labor Party. I will allow for a conscience vote on same-sex marriage by all LNP members if I am elected Prime Minster, as this is understandably a divisive issue within our caucus. All MPs will have a seat at the table in extending the right to marry the person one loves to all Australians. Conservation efforts will be critical under a government a lead, and we will work to preserve the natural fauna and flora of this land, from the Koalas of South Australia to the Cassowaries of Queensland, for many generations to come.

Broken promises, broken lives; these are the result of Labor’s sideshow in governing. We’re still waiting for every student to get a laptop, hundreds of Super Clinics and childcare centers, safe insulation schemes, and the balanced budget which has been supposed to be handed down every year and the year after that. A Coalition government will be on based on trust and clear-cut governance. It will be a government for all Australia, and government families can feel comfortable about their children’s future with. The economic prosperity squandered by the current leadership in Canberra will be restored, as will a consensus style of governance with allowance for all of our great states and territories.

Our greatest Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, once said “This is a wonderful country. It’s going to be more wonderful still, but it will achieve greater wonders on the hard work and efforts of its people and not by a spirit of dependency, not on the kind of attitude towards governments and what governments ought to do that our opponents find so easy.” Each year, this is the dream of the Australia that thousands are born into. Each year, this is the Australia that thousands of immigrants from nations where there is no such thing as civil liberty or freedom journey for. Each year, this is the nation where over twenty million people are all proud to play our own little niche in.

When I first entered politics in 2004, I never expected to contest the leadership election of Australia’s greatest political party (thanks to Matthew Collins for his nomination; he is one of party's brightest hopes for the future) , let alone win pre-selection for my own seat. It has been an honor to be elected by the people of Bowman three times, and now I’d like to present the LNP vision effort to restore the nation we love. These are not circumstances we had hoped for, but circumstances we were made to handle. Martin Oakleigh, despite our differences, is an honorable man, and one who was of great assistance to me as a young parliamentarian for this party years ago. Regardless of whoever wins this ballot, it has been an honor to serve in this body and our party will be in good hands.

I humbly request your vote in this leadership ballot. Thank you.


I think we can go ahead and vote on the leadership now. Once someone has secured a majority (hopefully in the next 24 hours), we can have declarations for deputy leader and an election for that (or the leader can just appoint one, depending on what caucus prefers).

Rank the following candidates for the leadership of the Liberal National Party by preference.
[2] Martin Oakleigh (Curtin-WA)
[1] Maxine Bartlett (Bowman-QLD)

[Napoleon]

Rank the following candidates for the leadership of the Liberal National Party by preference.
[2] Martin Oakleigh (Curtin-WA)
[1] Maxine Bartlett (Bowman-QLD)

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

Rank the following candidates for the leadership of the Liberal National Party by preference.
[1] Martin Oakleigh (Curtin-WA)
[2] Maxine Bartlett (Bowman-QLD)

[Platypus]

Just a reminder that when the election rolls around, I won't be looking for and scoring well attacks on the government (or Labor standing on their record). Try to focus on your own ideas and largely ignore the fact that Labor is in government, and particularly try to ignore the real-world policy successes and failures of the ALP.

[tpfkaw]

Rank the following candidates for the leadership of the Liberal National Party by preference.
[1] Martin Oakleigh (Curtin-WA)
[2] Maxine Bartlett (Bowman-QLD)

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Rank the following candidates for the leadership of the Liberal National Party by preference.
[1] Martin Oakleigh (Curtin-WA)
[2] Maxine Bartlett (Bowman-QLD)

[Del Tachi]

Rank the following candidates for the leadership of the Liberal National Party by preference.
[1] Martin Oakleigh (Curtin-WA)
[2] Maxine Bartlett (Bowman-QLD)

[/quote]

[Talleyrand]

By a vote of 5-2, Martin Oakleigh is elected Leader of the Liberal National Party, and by extension, Leader of the Opposition.

Mr. Oakleigh must now assign each MP one of the following ministries-

Shadow Treasurer
Shadow Foreign, Defence, and Trade Minister
Shadow Attorney General
Shadow Health and Community Services Minister
Shadow Infrastructure Minister
Shadow Environment and Climate Change Minister

There are only 6 listed by Hugh, so I suppose someone will be left without a ministry for now (Swedish Cheese, since he's gone until the election?) until more roles are added OR the Deputy Leader could be left without a ministry for now.

[tpfkaw]

With a majority of votes from our caucus, I am claiming victory in the leadership election.  Thank you to all my supporters for their aid in taking Australia in a new, better direction.  Thank you also to Ms. Bartlett for running a spirited campaign of her own.  Ms. Bartlett is a wonderful champion of our values and both a worthy adversary and comrade-at-arms.

If you are interested in a front-bench appointment, please now say so.  Do note:  A member of the front bench is expected to resign prior to voting against the party on certain whipped votes.

The whip system is as follows:

Unwhipped/"conscience" votes:  MPs may vote as they please.  This is for issues that the party has no official position on.  Alternatively, a majority of L-N MPs may request a conscience vote on any issue by PMing me.

1-line whip:  MPs are expected to vote and informed of the party position.  This is typically for minor issues.

2-line whip:  MPs are expected to vote for the party position.  Members of the front bench are expected to resign prior to voting against the party.  This is typically for more significant issues, i.e. manifesto promises.

3-line whip:  MPs are required to vote for the party position.  Members of the front bench are expected to resign prior to voting against the party.  MPs may be expelled from the parliamentary caucus for voting against the party.  This is for the most significant issues only, typically motions of confidence and supply while in government, or the yearly budget.

...

I am offering the position of Deputy Leader to Ms. Bartlett.  If she declines, I will hold an election amongst our members for the position of Deputy Leader.

[Platypus]

I'd encourage one member to remain without a ministry, because they'll become the Speaker after the election. So not having a ministry is a sign of faith

[Talleyrand]

I'd encourage one member to remain without a ministry, because they'll become the Speaker after the election. So not having a ministry is a sign of faith

The main thing I'm not understanding is how exactly the Speaker could function as a reasonable Game Moderator when he's elected by one party. How would you eliminate the conflict-of-interest? Have a Deputy Speaker from the other side to even it out?


I will accept the Deputy Leadership, and I thank the Leader of the Opposition for this opportunity to serve. I will accept any one of the six ministries if available.

[Platypus]

It's true to life

The government has advantages of being in office, including the speaker. But if that's abused, it's incredibly unpopular in the community.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

OOC: I am willing to take up the office of Foreign Minister, as I am somewhat informed on diplomatic issues relevant to Australia, like East Timor, etc.

[Napoleon]

Shadow Environment and Climate Change Minister

has my interest

[tpfkaw]

Just a reminder: Please do either indicate your interest in a front-bench appointment or state for the record that you do not wish to have one.  I'll make my appointments tonight.

[tpfkaw]

Last call...

This means you, Anton Kreitzler and Republican95...

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

I will happily and proudly accept a frontbench appointment.

[Del Tachi]

It would be an honor to serve Her Majesty as a frontbencher in Her Loyal Opposition.  I would like to note that my experience and interests make me an especially viable candidate for environment or infrastructure minister.   

[tpfkaw]

Shadow Treasurer:  Edward Lloyd
Shadow Foreign, Defense, and Trade Minister:  Donald Richards (sorry Sanchez, giving this one to our one actual Australian)
Shadow Attorney General:  Maxine Bartlett (the one lawyer character so far)
Shadow Health and Community Services Minister:  Matthew Collins
Shadow Infrastructure Minister:  Francis Jordan
Shadow Environment and Climate Change Minister:  Ian Alexander Harlow (sorry Napoleon, can't have someone who'll be contradicting me in their official capacity)

Speaker-designate:  Roger Erenford

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Shadow Treasurer:  Edward Lloyd
Shadow Foreign, Defense, and Trade Minister:  Donald Richards (sorry Sanchez, giving this one to our one actual Australian)
Shadow Attorney General:  Maxine Bartlett (the one lawyer character so far)
Shadow Health and Community Services Minister:  Matthew Collins
Shadow Infrastructure Minister:  Francis Jordan
Shadow Environment and Climate Change Minister:  Ian Alexander Harlow (sorry Napoleon, can't have someone who'll be contradicting me in their official capacity)

Speaker-designate:  Roger Erenford

OOC: No problem, I can certainly see why Richards is a strong pick for the position. Also, on the house floor, Ian Harlow is good enough. The Alexander is just a middle name. Ian Alexander in one name doesn't sit right with me for some reason .

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

Speaker-designate:  Roger Erenford

OOC: I'm honoured. (and back) 
And congratulations on the leadership win.

Now lets get ready to get into power!

[Napoleon]

okay, what now?