Humble servant of the Nation

Barnaby Joyce, Malcolm Turnbull split in spectacular style

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Let me take you back. Way, way back to the evening of December 2, 2017. The Prime Minister and his deputy stood arm in arm at the West Tamworth Leagues Club. Joyce had just won the New England by-election by a thumping margin and Turnbull declared he was “putting the band back together.”

Ah, good times.

Alas, rock stars and politicians are, if nothing else, a difficult and unpredictable lot. Velvet Underground reformed and got halfway through a European tour in 1992 before the band’s two enormous egos, Lou Reed and John Cale, remembered why the band had split up in the first place. The two men hated the sight, let alone the creeping presence, of one another. The tour and the reunion ended abruptly, and Reed and Cale went their separate ways.

The Turnbull-Joyce combo did not come to grief because of crippling personality conflict. although it may do so at some time in the near future. But back then the band had only broken up when Joyce discovered his unfortunate New Zealand-news. We subsequently learned the High Court did not so hold and Joyce was off to a by-election that on the parliamentary numbers at least, threatened the Turnbull government’s majority.

Full column here.

1,092 Comments

  • BASSMAN says:

    Tones keeps going on about winning elections-drovers dog comes to mind…also whilst he is screaming about immigration being too high, he promised to lower migration in the lead up to 2010 election then did nothing about it when he got in….. and ‘electricity prices will be lower under us’ and debt will be lower under us….and……and……and….it seems he criticises Turnbull on all the things he said HE would do but did none of them. Oh sorry-he stopped the boats…no he didn’t…he just turns them around.

  • Henry Blofeld says:

    Shocking news, Mr Insider as we read that the murderous tyrant Kim Jong un is sending one of his murderous henchmen to the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in South Korea. He is the mastermind of two attacks that killed 50 South Koreans in 2010. What a disgusting regime is the North Korean one and how anyone with a sliver of shame would support this I don’t know. Still “some” trumpeted the “wonders” of the murderous Fidel Castro too!
    https://tinyurl.com/y8teoq7b

  • The Outsider says:

    Republican strategist Steve Schmidt take on Trump’s recent CPAC speech:

    “This speech at CPAC is demagogic, vapid, intellectually dishonest and just plain old fashioned idiotic. If someone delivered this speech from the end of a bar most people would think that person was an imbecile.”

    Ain’t that the truth.

    • Razor says:

      TO,
      Barack Obama was a less than successful president. I liked the bloke and think his head was in the right place. In his second term he could have actually done something about guns but squibbed it.

      What you have to ask yourself is this; through Barack’s howlers why didn’t the media jump,him? I’ll tell you why, because he was black. My credentials on anti-racism are well known on this blog so I feel I can make that statement. In today’s world it’s more about how you fit not what you do and I think Trump is suffering from this. Pick one mistake?

      • Jean Baptiste says:

        Oh for God’s sake. WTF is your point, other than changing the subject?
        This monotonous “what about” coming from the barracking cons is way past tedious.
        Trump is a vapid moron, that’s all there is to it.

      • Gryzly says:

        Mistake No. 1 – Sacking James Comey. Look at guy he ended up with as a consequence. Mistake No. 2 admitting why he sacked Comey. Mistake 3. Hiring all the “great” people for his campaign, transition team and WH staff.

        While I would classify many more of his actions as mistakes the consequences will not be felt for a while yet even now they are starting to be displayed. Some are, the loss of respect for the USA as a nation, a loss of respect for the office of President and the loss of identity that has shown the USA as the leader in the world through their loss of humility.

        I could write pages on this but do not want to be hit by Jack’s “too long” warning.

        Regarding Obama not getting jumped on, ever seen him talked at by O’Reilly and his Fox Friends

      • The Outsider says:

        Razor, surely you’re not serious.

        Trump has got away with a multitude of gaffes, policy and personal, so far, any one of which might have sunk a previous POTUS, Democrat or Republican.

        You seem to be inured to Trump’s antics, as are many Americans.

  • Henry Blofeld says:

    PM Turnbull calls the US and Australia “Mates”, Mr Insider as he talks with POTUS Trump. 100 years of mateship in fact and looking forward to the next 100. Cant wait till POTUS Trump visits us here in Australia and that cant be too long now as we now have their new US Ambassador here,US Pacific Commander Admiral Harry Harris. I do hope my dear friend Mr Baptiste will join me at the Motorcade as POTUS and FLOTUS Trump go by and we both cheer loudly “God Bless America”.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utD5BbhCXoI

  • Carl on the Coast says:

    Anyone slagging the “drovers dog” not only has the bull by the horns, but they’re barking up the wrong tree.

    The drovers dog has been universally acclaimed as being the most super-smart, versatile, adaptable and energetic canine in the world, bar none.

    So ….., attempting to negatively link the electoral performance of politicians with poodles (generically speaking) is an absolute absurdity.

    • Jean Baptiste says:

      “Shagging the drovers dog” ! Sacre Bleu! What’s Barnaby been up to now?

      • BASSMAN says:

        Dnt U mean the drover’s sheep?

      • Carl on the Coast says:

        Having a smutty laugh at the expense of man’s best friend is not unlike straying into Cory Bernardi territory JB. But I suppose you’ve got to get your giggles where you can me old mate, eh?

        • Jean Baptiste says:

          Trust you. I expressed astonishment and horror Carl You bought it up in the first place.

          Reminds me of the case in Perth a decade or so ago where a chap was charged and fined for having nooky with his girlfriend’s dog ( hilariously the edit wont allow the breeds name).
          I am not kidding. Why the newspapers reported it I have no idea but it was stated in court in mitigation that while he was now estranged from his girlfriend he and the dog were still on good terms.

          • Carl on the Coast says:

            You will note JB, I used the word “slagging” (as in insulting or critically attacking), see my 12.32pm above. It was you who introduced the smutt and your attempt to wriggle out from under is nothing short than infantile me old mate

    • Razor says:

      One question Carl…..pretty drovers dog or an ugly one?

  • Boadicea says:

    At last – an article from Simon Bevilacqua in the Saturday Mercury that puts a positive spin on Joyce’s options after politics. “Run away, Barnaby
    Run” Very well written. Look it up if you can, Jack.
    I’m sick of all the hate stuff ‘and belated harrassment claims that should have and could have been addressed at the time it happened.

    • Jack The Insider says:

      Rather chicken and egg piece from Bevilacqua. Canberra is perceived as a cesspit because of the sorts of disclosures made about Joyce’s behaviour. Joyce may be many things but he is not a victim.

      • Boadicea says:

        I don’t think he is being cast as a victim by Bevilacqua. Rather as someone who has had a marriage breakup (albeit the circumstances were shabby. H’s not the only one!) who knows what the marriage was like before all this happened. Many, (and I’m not saying his was, because I don’t know) are just a façade. From my perspective the article was saying – ”get out of politics, leave Canberra behind and make another life for yourself – and the life he describes sounds pretty bloody good to me.
        Very often after a breakup couples move on, realising that it was finished, and manage to be friends down the track. Often for the sake of the children – which is great.W ho’s to say this might not happen for the Joyce family?

        • Jack The Insider says:

          Joyce can’t even be honest about the chronology of events. Was his partner, then wasn’t, now is. Sounds to me like he doesn’t want scrutiny on his expenditure by blurring timelines. Honesty is not his strong suit. Once you realise he’s a Queensland Nat cut from the dirty Bjelke-Petersen cloth, you’ll make more sense of this ugly business.

  • The Bow-Legged Swantoon says:

    He had to go two weeks ago. Another lead weight in the saddle of the increasingly broken-down nag that is this government.

  • BASSMAN says:

    The Outsider says:
    FEBRUARY 22, 2018 AT 9:42 PM……… you say re pink batts… “The real tragedy about Pink Batts was that a large proportion of installations were botched, thus doing little to save energy and reduce greenhouse emissions”.

    Wrong Bald. . A 2012 report on the “pink batts fiasco”said that by 2020, the insulation scheme would save at least 38 petajoules of energy (equivalent to lighting all Australian households for one and a half years) and avoid 14 Mt of CO2-e greenhouse gas emissions.

    By the way, out of the thousands and thousands of batt and school hall installations, I have not heard of one being handed back. My kid had his assembly in one this arvo-something schools would never have got under the Looters-$200billion set aside for military toys though. What I DID observe were grinning Liberals trying to take credit for the school halls that they opened in their electorates. Agree that Rudd handled the batt thing badly

    BRADMAN has to get its act together-very difficult to find out what is on and whether it is televised Oz time. We will lose the game at this rate to other sports. I had to ring up cricket Oz and even they had trouble getting the info…what chance would a keen kid have-none!

      • BASSMAN says:

        Thanks Bald-great piece on Kallis on that site-seems he was not well liked in his own country. I regard him as one of the greatest all rounders. Handscome DUCK…Dad won’t like dat!

        • Dismayed says:

          Absolutely Kallis is one of the greats. Handscombe has hardly made a run all season he is 33rd on the run scorer list for the Sheffield shield. I do not understand how he gets picked before Maxwell who has topped the run scorers in the Sheffield Shield, did very well in the Domestic 50 over comp. made runs in the Big Bash and tri series.

  • Carl on the Coast says:

    The most deliberately, insensitive barnyard ‘BREAKING NEWS’ quote of the day, courtesy Fox news – Barnaby Joyce quits over his mounting affair with Vikki Campion.

    Fair dinkum!

  • Tracy says:

    Jack, you must do a Friday blog on that prize dill Trudeau, he who wants to be everything to everybody.
    Can’t quite remember anything so embarrassing except maybe a couple of Prince Phillip gaffes on the odd state visit but even his fancy dress had a bit of class to it.
    Maybe he takes after his mum, Trudeau that is…….then again Phil’s mum was “interesting”

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