The arrival of the Prince Charles on Australian soil, the opening of the Commonwealth Games and the appointment of Kim Beazley as Governor of Western Australian combined to rustle up the republican debate this week. There is going to be more of it next year and beyond.
The way things are going the republican movement is set to be ripped apart again due to a lack of leadership and a deep sense of paralysis when it comes to what it should be advocating and why.
Beazley’s a nice bloke without any major flaws unless you describe an addiction to KFC as a psychological disorder. He was deputy prime minister, held a raft of heavyweight portfolios and as leader of the party, led Labor to two electoral drubbings. He was well on the way to a third when Kevin Rudd stepped in.
Since then Bomber has cashed in his chips, taken the rolled gold parliamentary super and got the gig as Australia’s Ambassador to the US, offered to him by a Labor government in the same manner as one of the rarer Hallmark gift cards, the ones of the “Sorry we knifed you” variety.
Full column here.
I like to play what ifs. Here’s one that’s buzzing through my mind right now.
What if, the latest Newspoll triggers a party room spill?
What if Turnbull gets a big win out of it, better than last time?
What if this persuades him to junk the deals he mad with the lunar right and drag the liberals back the centre?
That makes Labor suddenly less electable.
Interesting times ahead. Any comments?
He may well get all you say UQ but sadly for him does not make him any more electable to the long suffering Voters who simply have long ago turned off listening to anything he says. Cheers
On the premise that anyone gives a rats about newspolls? They don’t, unless they really really want to get rid of an raw onion eating drongo, and then they only pretend to give a rats about newspolls.
I think the spill idea is a good one but he wont have the guts to do it. Not exactly sure he did too many deals with the right UQ.
Van the Man wrote a column on this them in The Oz a while back. He said it would
be the best thing to have a spill-it would reinforce his leadership.
Or not.
I think it might be a good tactical move on his part, UQ. If nothing else it would serve to get rid of TA. He obviously needs it spelt out to him in words he can understand. No one in their right mind could harbour thoughts of his resurrection surely?
They have to go with MT to the next election. Any panic now would be disaster imo
I have to wonder what you’re smoking to imagine the Liberals could now be reasonably described as right-of-centre? This government is as Tory as Bob Hawke’s.
They’re certainly to the left of me nowadays, and I haven’t moved in a few years.
Turnbull has cracked the big Three – Ohhh Mr Insider, today another Barry Crocker Newspoll, his 30th Negative Consecutive one and ex ousted PM Abbott must feel gutted!
“The one thing that is clear about our current situation is the trajectory. We have lost 30 Newspolls in a row. It is clear that the people have made up their mind about Mr Abbott’s leadership”.
But wait there’s more! That makes 60 on the trot for the Lib/Nats combining Abbott’s and Turnbulls!
https://tinyurl.com/yafcmjf6
As Howard said 3 years ago…the Libs are in the state they are now simply because of their adoption of a far right wing ideology. The election loss will be good. They will re-group and come back stronger with a middle of the road agenda. For some weird reason Abbott seems to think he will get the Opposition Leader gig,,,,knot a chance Bald.
I had to get a Pinterest account recently to look at something. Forget what it was. Now they send me daily ‘Pins’ that will be ‘right up my street’. Like f*ck. Yesterday it was crafts (FFS). Today with my morning coffee it’s a picture of a naked woman standing at attention and waiting to be shot in the head by a uniformed woman in Poland during WWII. Just what the?
Goodbye Pinterest.
Yairs well, the profiling apparatus might be onto something deep in your psyche. Maybe not, maybe so, could be worth persevering for the sake of your personal journey of self discovery and insights into previous incarnations.
I don’t think they’re that good JB. If they were there’d be witch ducking and morris dancing.
I did the same, TV.
Now, I’m getting jig suggestions (wooden ones) for all manner of useless creations.
Bye from me, too.
I did exactly the same thing Tri, took me about a month to get rid of the unwanted/annoying emails. One has to be careful what one signs up for.
What a stupid post sweetie are you on pills darls?
Not as good as the ones you’re on sweetie.
Wishing you all the best for Tuesday and the ensuing weeks Jack.
I concur with Carl, Mr Insider, may your Op be a huge success and your recovery perfect. Cheers
I gather that you are closing for medical reasons. All the very best with that. Thank you for your efforts in providing one of the better blogs at a major media outlet. ( I miss Matt and George). And thank you for your efforts and patience at running a fairly fractious at times blog. All the best to you and yours and to everyone here.
Cheers, to you and to all for their best wishes, COHD. Looking forward to reopening the blog to comments in a week or two.
Razor says:April 6, 2018 at 10:11 pm. “I have but one wish in life and that is to meet you one day”. Still getting you ambitions mixed up with your abilities old man. Just your usual pathetic effort. Lucky for you most don’t get their wishes. You are too old for Kumite and would not make through the first kata. Trust me.
Careful Dismayed, you’re having a go at the 1964 third place getter in the Lancashire Ecky Thump martial arts championship. He could be still a bit handy with the old black pudding sausage.
Hey JB, Nah, just about every QLD”er I have met claims to be a “golden gloves” boxer razor probably is more adept at unboxing things at the Golden Arches.
Or the fish slapping champion.
Mack the Knife says: April 6, 2018 at 8:02 pm Carl on the Coast says:April 7, 2018 at 8:26 am. Even ancient relics like you can google Bagdad Battery or some of the Egyptian stuff. You have already forgotten more than you ever knew. Closed minds will do that.
I reckon the only closed mind on here is you. Your desperate attempts to put everyone in the too old to make sense category mask your inability to see when someone is attempting a little humour to lighten up on your predictable dirge-like posts which you seem to slurt out in spasms containing little of interest going by the dearth of comments. On another subject, your paranoia is showing in your reply to COTC below, seems to indicate he may be onto something, not be confused with being on something as some here appear to be.
Another swing and miss MTK. go back and look at your comment I noted. Move along old dinosaur.
I think the dearth of reactions to the dirge-like posts, MtK, is because no one is interested in them. The blog has been a very pleasant and friendly exchange of points of view with no insults in any direction.
Carl on the Coast says:April 7, 2018 at 12:43 pm. Accusing people of people being drug addled? Gee you cons supposedly don’t do that? Pigs arse.
What the limpid POTUS needs, Jack, is a real tough guy like our Lord Lex to give him a good thrashing with the skin from a rice pudding and insist that he must “stay the course!”.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/trump-defies-his-generalson-isis-and-syria
Those were the days.
Trump just doesn’t understand the agenda, and it aint about defeating ISIS. Or maybe he does, in either case he needs to get a grip on who is running the US. Or else.
“Limpid POTUS’ is a bit Kiplingesque wot? Pass the G and T.
How much longer can this expensive farce go on? Dutton has paid Broadcom $8billion over three years to supervise the jailing of 1500 refugees on the islands. Nearly all are designated genuine refugees. How much tax did they pay on the $8billion Dutts shovelled into their satchels?? ZILCH….so us taxpayers are being shafted at both ends. For Christ’s sake bring them here and save billions. On economic grounds alone this farce must end. What happened to the budget emergency? This is NOT about deaths at sea. It is about politics and nothing else,