A week ago today, I attended the memorial for Bill Leak at the Sydney Town Hall.
As I scanned the crowd, an eclectic group of people who had known Bill one way or another, I had to ask where were the Labor people? Where was Shorten, Plibersek or Dreyfus?
In the wake of the 2004 election, with the Howard government enjoying a majority in both houses, there was no opposition in the parliament. For at least two years, the worst part of Coalition MPs’ days was opening up The Australian and flipping to Bill Leak’s cartoon, to see another hilarious lampooning of their leader.
I would have thought some of the Labor people might have made an appearance simply out of gratitude for those dark days. It bothers me they stayed away and it speaks of a faddish clannishness the old Labor people would regard with contempt.
Bill Leak embraced everyone he met. Ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, it didn’t matter. He genuinely enjoyed the company of people but it was more than that. If he spied someone feeling awkward or a bit uncomfortable, Bill would bound up and make a fuss of them. He not only had the ability to make people feel special but he brought a sense of fairness and equity to any table.
It is a politician’s gift but Bill was not on the ballot. He wasn’t trying to sell anything. He simply loved people.
Full column here.
The NEM, AEMO the AER the federal department should be investigated to ask why the Fossil fuel companies are allowed to collude and block Innovation, Agility and price reduction by using new technology. The coalition as I predicted have stagnated the Nation again in pursuit of their narrow minded ideology. You only have to look at the comment here to know the cons want to take the world backwards.
http://www.theage.com.au/business/the-real-reason-our-power-companies-block-battery-systems-20170329-gv8ybe.html
Not satisfied with cutting penalty rate Business supported by the coalition government want the lowest paid to take a pay cut in real terms. Their submission for the minimum wage settings is disgraceful and highlights the government still is running on no work choices by wanting to reduce pay for the lowest paid. Lower pay, lower tax receipts, lower consumer spending. Shrinking economy. the coalition are ridiculous.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG7woCQkGUw
HK Jack = there ya go, Nikki Savva has found her mojo and is back to Abbott bashing. Whilst conveniently forgetting the white anting that Turnbull was doing consistently (q&a etc) when Abbott was leader of the opposition and PM, Savva neglects to focus on the current PM. And whilst today her argument revolves around what Abbott said and did before, she neglects all the things that Turnbull said and did before. Shameless hypocrisy from one who should know better.
And I read E(nemy) Kohli wouldn’t have his team around for a drink with our boys, after India’s win. What a petulant child. It’s only a game (??) but once it’s stumps, it’s stumps. play hard and then move on.
You are engaging in a bit of Savva bashing yourself, Milton. Can you spot any factual errors in her column? Most people don’t see how this will pan out but I can. The end of the Liberal Party as we know it today. And that means long term Labor governments.
No, I can’t see any factual errors but feel her locus is on the wrongs of Abbott, wrongs that he had suffered via Turnbull. Both have been guilty of saying one thing and doing another. This is essentially Turnbull’s main problem now. When he was not PM it was plain for all to see that he was not Abbott. He was seemingly a champion, and believer, or supporter, of most of the issues that labor run on: ssm, renewables, and so on. It appears he has had to overlook these matters just to keep his job, and perversely the reason why he has a good chance of losing that job.
As far as the collapse of the liberal party goes, I hope not. If it does happen then we may end up like Germany with so many fractured votes (labor, green, conservative, independent, far right types) that we will have govts formed by unwieldy coalitions, as in Germany. I believe you have offered that or a similar thesis for a fair while now.
if you’re holding on to hope M you might be holding the wrong position
Too much Abbott bashing is barely enough Milton.
C’mon man, give yourself a leg up into the real world.
Politics For Dummies. Turnbull was a Goldman Sachs man. Any bells ringing yet?
In order to get elected he had to spin a big line to the suckers, some of whom believed what he was saying was genuine. That’s what suckers are for.
You seriously don’t believe the movers and shakers behind the conservatives who rolled Abbott would have thought for a moment that he was really going to carry through do you?
They knew Abbott was gone for all money and they needed a charismatic smiling thief to rescue the election. And he did a bloody good job of it. Horse traders trade horses, that’s what they do. And they expect the new horse to perform. For them, not for the mugs.
Don’t worry. Be Happy. Turnbull will be the blue eyed boy again, starting about 8 weeks before the next federal. Berleying the suckers up with lots of new promises. And you think trout are dumb.
Abbott did the dirty work he was installed to do , he’s redundant and just a bloody nuisance now who doesn’t know he isn’t wanted. He’s got heaps coming if he wants to hang around playing silly buggers.
Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see him back.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/why-isnt-wall-street-in-jail-20110216
He can berley as much as he likes, JB but I think the people have stopped listening and no one’s biting.
Milton, it’s the end game that counts. You drive for show, you put for dough.
People don’t listen anyway, until the run up to the election. Turnbull will again be delivered up as the “steady as she goes, the devil you know” by the media, make a lot of empty promises and get re-elected.
They got a raving loony like Abbott into power, Turnbull will be a doddle.
All the negative huffing and puffing about Turnbull is the illusion of democracy at work for the mugs, it’s just theatre.
What works for Turnbull is the “Ah well, at least he’s not Abbott” perception.
well there is one howler, she seems to think a PM is required to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth when talking to a Chinese President.
that would be a novel idea indeed.
Now this is a worry!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/03/28/the-house-just-voted-to-wipe-out-the-fccs-landmark-internet-privacy-protections/?utm_term=.cb3bf599a02c&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1
Hazelwood Coal Fired Power Station closed today, Mr Insider, tragic imho. I don’t often agree with ex ousted PM Tony Abbott who called for Hazelwood should have been kept open for quite some time yet, but do so this time. alas. The net result is that Victoria will now become a small importer of electricity. Queensland still retains a number of Coal Fired Power Stations, bravo them! God bless Coal.
We have more sunlight per sq meter than most, if not all, of the developed countries, more coal and gas deposits than all, not a lot of wind but the clowns who govern us, both Liberal and Labor, have not only messed up continuity of supply but also have managed, within 10 years, to go from the cheapest electricity in the world to some of the most expensive. Just close down the old power stations and pray – even Germany had the nous to build a few new coal fired stations to ensure their electricity supply.
And they have the hide to crap on about populism and how bad it is but never look at their own performance.
They also wring their hands about business going off shore because of high taxes and never mention high energy prices. We now have high wages, high energy prices, an extortionate amount of red tape that makes developing anything long winded, and expensive and free trade with countries that have one tenth of our cost structure.
To top it all off now Turnbull and his cronies are going to allow foreign owned government enterprises to purchase anything under $100 million without any scrutiny – anything to look good for another couple of years.
They are all nuts.
This country is on a trajectory to nowhere with no relief in sight from anybody.
Put on my best Eureka Flag underwear today and headed to the Press Club to see the new ACTU chief, Sally McManus. I was impressed; her grammar skills dwarfing even those of the interminable Sen. J. Lambie. Ms McManus also showed deft skills in avoiding to answer directly any questions from the power table.
There were an uncharacteristic number of skirts today in the audience and it was not until the final standing ovation that I realized why trigger warnings were invented. Yes, I was the guy in the corner vomiting.
It was all pretty scary, Stud.
Pauline Hanson reckons that political correctness has ”shut us down from being able to have an opinion”
She’s right…….
Well that’s an effing opinion, whats wrong with that woman?
Pauline Hanson is also saying she’s suffering from reverse racism. She has also asked us to please quote any instances where she has come out with any racist comments. Umm….try her stance on aboriginals, Asians etc.
Saying Pauline is right about anything is a worry. Jacquie Lambie is now becoming a woman of some substance, something that we can never, ever say about Pauline
Actually Penny, in this instance she is very very correct.
Sorry JS, I still can’t agree with her statement. Everyone has an opinion on this blog, I can’t see political correctness creeping in here. And just what do you mean by political corectness? I see some amazing stuff on social media where bad language, cruel insults and absolute bigotry reign supreme. Pauline Hanson says and does what she likes and the media and the people who vote for her lap it up.
And that is fine, but Pauline can’t whinge about political correctness not allowing her to have an opinion, she has many opinions, I disagree with most of them, but she still sprouts her views everywhere and I’m not going to stop her, I’m just not going to listen to her.
George Brandis said that everyone has the right to be a bigot and I agree with him actually. We all have our prejudices and any person who says they don’t are fooling themselves. But, and it’s a big but, no-one has the right to make incorrect and insulting statements about other people, races or religions without some boundaries put in place. That’s not political correctness, that’s just human decency. So again sorry JS, but on this one I disagree with you strongly
Social media is open slather.
PC is rampant throughout the traditional media.
There is now talk of putting the same controls on social media.
If you are male , try making even a minor slight or criticism against the females and the sisterhood will come down on you like a ton of bricks.
And then there are the taboos and the cultural relativism crowd..
Thou shalt not make any criticism, valid or otherwise, against indigenous policies and practices.
If one is not part of a particular culture, how dare you criticize.
The list goes on and on.
Just start to look and you will find it everywhere or if you happen to agree with it you will not find it.
One cannot put boundaries in place because once you do the boundaries become more and more restrictive.
Let the bigoted clowns out themselves.
By the way, I am sick of seeing “white male” – it infuriates me, it is sexist but it is used by everybody including the BBC – it is used as a derogatory term., I have no come back so I just wear it. I rationalize it off as the sisterhood being well the sisterhood. Tell you what though, I ignore the rest of their message as well.
The thought of the “sisterhood” coming down on you a ton of bricks will keep me chuckling for a day or two.
Go girls!
Give him heaps.
🙂
The final investigation into South Australia’s blackout is complete AEMO has emphasised that renewables weren’t to blame, when a major storm triggered a series of events that led to the ‘system black’. The report has made a raft of recommendations, including more rigorous monitoring of weather warnings. AEMO has called for better access to technical data, to prevent such blackouts in the future.
SO
What does Michael Owen in the climate denying Oz write…exactly the OPPOSITE of what the report stated!
He says:- “South Australia’s heavy reliance on renewable power played a major role in last year’s blackouts.”
But Mr Bassman if there wasn’t a problem with the wind generation having to stop then there wouldn’t have been a blackout. Doesn’t that mean renewables were to blame? Or isn’t wind power a renewable anymore?
KO Read the report. The Transmission lines falling over were the Root cause. Regardless of what power generation was being used. You refuse to accept facts because you do not want to admit you are Wrong.
Excuse me Mr Dismayed please alter your tone. I am polite to you please be polite to me.
I agree the power lines failed but my understanding is that without the wind power 1000’s would have lost power anyway. Because of the failure of the wind power the whole state lost power. Is that simple point correct?
No.
Mr Dismayed could you show me where my assumption regarding only some of the state losing power as opposed to the whole state is incorrect?
23 Towers fell over mate….no matter WHAT the power would have gone out. And then the energy regulator did not switch on the after supply. Stop talking bias. By the way, NSW would have been on blackout as well during one period in that hot spell…what saved it? Sucking some of the renewables from Qld!
SAVVA:-someone mentioned her….I find her one of the more sane and measured writers in the Oz. She usually bases her stuff around facts and is usually up the middle and not so biased. She is good on Grinsiders as well. Easily keeps up with the men and talks more sense than most of the Drongos that front. She is copping some flack because of her old man’s gig. Not fair Bald.. In contrast Michel Owens’ column was a disgrace to journalism. I am astounded AEMO has not corrected him.
Interesting on AM:- The AVERAGE tax paid by ALL those companies that did pay tax was 20%…not the 30% which is the designated rate. Why? Oz business has one of the most generous deduction systems in the world for writing stuff off.
670 of the biggest companies with the highest turnovers paid ZERO tax last year. Yep…not a deena. And they want a tax cut? FM Dead!! Pass me my blood pressure tablets.
Mr Bassman Qld is run mainly on coal fired energy.
Thank God the cricket is finished. No more endlessly boring analyses of who should or shouldn’t be in the team!! 🙂
Harumphhh! What would you know? Simply because the test has finished it does not preclude learned debate on the constitution of the team for the next test, 20 over or one day matches. A hiatus in hostilities should allow all the more time for the pundits, not engaged in monitoring a gripping struggle between equally determined opponents, to contemplate and construct valuable thesis for the consideration and one is certain the appreciation of the national selectors and coaches.
I doubt madam that you have the slightest idea how vitally important the tireless efforts of volunteer tacticians are in the national sporting interest .
Don’t know anything about cricket JB. I just think too much of it is played. Can’t keep up with who is playing where.
Gosh Boady, realx you don’t have to keep up with who is playing where. Where on earth did you get that idea from?
If you want to be more involved with a minimum of effort, just access one of the many “current match cricket opinion generator sites” , choose your style from the options provided, select a player and then your level of antipathy or support. Click on “opinion.”
You might choose to go to “general observations” or “historical comparisons” or any of a plethora of categories.
Then just cut and paste your gleanings to the blog.
Love your style, JB 🙂
Hear, Hear, give em heaps JB
Yvonne. We have the Bangladesh tour, the Champions trophy. It never ends it just moves onto to somewhere else. Oh and hanson is right about NOTHING. She is a divisive racist, troglodyte.
If JTI can’t talk about cricket, I magine he’d shut the blog down. Cricket talk has been here forever, I sit back and read the comments, then quote what you guys have said back to my husband and he thinks I am a genius and know what I’m talking about. To be fair I also used to attend Tests at the MCG as part of my job, so think it’s a great game…..not boring, well maybe a little..
Didn’t say Hanson was right about things, Dismayed. Her opinion might well be very wrong about things. What she is saying is that she is entitled to her opinion. Obviously there are some who might agree with her opinions. They vote for her. I don’t.
Boadicea says:March 29, 2017 at 5:01 pm “Pauline Hanson reckons …blah blah blah “She’s right…….” If that is not saying hanson is right then you must have a different understanding of the words “She’s right…….” ???
Now I’m really confused.
As usual JB!
No, I am always right, remember.
I am confused because you quote Hansons claims she cannot have an opinion, but you keep on repeating her idiot opinions. Do you see the disconnect?
No disconnect, JB. Hanson is saying everyone has a right to have an opinion. Even yo believe you have the right to have an opinion -even though some here may think you’re nuts too – n’est-ce pas?
Everyone does have the right to have an opinion! Hanson claims we cant form an opinion while expressing opinions constantly.
The issue is whether or not we can express injurious opinions publicly.
I quite agree, some of the forelock tugging noodles here might think I’m crazy. That’s the price of enlightenment, individuation and overcoming indoctrination and childish need for substituted parental approval. The price of freedom. A polystyrene cross to bear.
Children don’t vote.
Anybody who has any doubts whose pocket Trump is in now,
http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-trump-orders-government-to-dismantle-1490723850-htmlstory.html
That unbelievable twit Trump will destroy this planet.
His time in the White House will only ever be associated with bigoted hate, obstruction, destruction & greed.
It’s my fervant wish that he experiences a cardiac event. Yesterday.
I mean it, Bella
Don’t forget he has sole control of 4400 nuclear weapons.
Sorry, Bella, I’ve been tweeking people with that lately when I think they’ve gone over the top.
Take a deep breath. It will all be fine.
“It will all be fine.”
I take your point however ‘all’ the bears, ‘all’ the wolves & ‘all’ their young certainly won’t end up ‘fine’ after being shot to blazes even in their dens by dickless, weak sociopaths who get their kicks from inflicting terror & pain on animals.
Donald Jr & Eric Trump must be drooling with excitement now that Daddy has lifted those dumb protections. Yay, Daddy came through!
Just imagine the carnage over the next 4 years with even 5000 armed DT Jrs with intent……
But wait…it’s all going to be fine.
As I said when he was “elected” he is trying to undone all that has been achieved over the last century. Dangerous for the world is he. Give me heaps JB.
Oh my. Give EM heaps JB.
Woops! A not so subtle Freudian slip, slipping in under your slip, Miss Date. Perhaps it is time you boys shared details?
Is that ” Freudian” thing something to do with small buttons and large fingers? Grasping at straws as usual Milton
If children can’t vote, does that mean they are not citizens? A serious question.
Should we allow them to drink alcohol buy cigarettes etc also? FN usual rubbish from you.
Sorry, Dismayed I should made it clear that that question was for the grown ups. You just run along and play, there’s a good boy.
“It was “children don’t vote.” I don’t see how it follows that children may not be citizens because they don’t/cant vote. In any case there are millions of citizens in the US who cant vote so being a citizen doesn’t mean the automatic right to vote.
http://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2014/02/26/felon-voting/
In the “Land of the Free.”