As we sit and wait for news of the fate of the seven dual citizens as they traipse from their parliamentary offices with the woebegone air of condemned men and women to the High Court this afternoon, it is worth reflecting on the sort of week the government has already had.
There is a prescient sense of deja vu about it. The Turnbull government often has good Tuesday afternoons but come the weekend, the control of the agenda has been lost, a scandal has emerged, or infighting on the backbenches has turned into a donnybrook. The familiar theme is, in any one week of the Turnbull government, one step forward and three back.
Indeed it has happened so often the thought occurs that possibly Malcolm Turnbull isn’t very good at being prime minister.
Full column here.
There will be a ton of pork rolled into Tamworth once again to buy Mad Barnaby’s seat…what a waste of money when he will easily walk it in. Probably with an increased majority if Windsor caves. Malcolm can’t win a trick can he? The only person NOT forced to be ejected from the parliament in his team was the bloke he booted out! And here is Malcolm verballing the Hi Court which probably did him no good…
“The Deputy Prime Minister, is qualified to sit in this House, and the High Court will so hold.”
“No Judgement or Tact Malcolm” we should call him. Probably the dopiest thing a so-called ‘leader’ has ever said. This govt is starting to look very McMahonish Bald.
And Bill? He just coasts along with that Stan Laurel perception about him. Sigh!
He won’t need pork. He’s actually popular there.
We need more Barnabys in Parliament along with a few journos who are not seeped in {C.
Must confess JS, I like Barnaby. Calls a spade a spade – sometimes a shovel!
They are so worried about getting Barnaby back in they fail to see the dilemma that they have no current 2IC. I should be shocked, but Im not. Its just so Liberal to be this screwed. Bet Ms Cash is enjoying the bullets flying somewhere else though, get stuck in your teeth dont they girl!!?
I really like Bill Bassy, he’s like a cuddly possum face.
He needs to go on a Public speaking course that covers presentation as well as content and voice.
He does have a bit of the Gillard nasal twang, JS. Makes him sound like a simpleton.
I imagine that’s been tried JS. But somehow he still manages to look like the aggrieved teachers pet! The tougher he tries to be, the sillier he looks.
What a fiasco. Government members, especially ministers, should know what they have to do to be an MP.
Tony Abbott’s government was the worst Australian government – ever.
This one’s not much better.
I think we have had four in a row.
This country is resilient but we must reaching the limit.
Barnaby will walk it in! No pork barelling required. His electorate like him.
The interesting bit will be One Nation – if they field a candidate.
Barnaby has set new heights when it comes to pork barrelling his electorate received more mobile towers than a couple of entire states. The governments own auditor slammed it as wasteful. Lets not even mention the moving a department to his electorate even though it would cost $150 million a year in economic activity for the ACT, should we mention slush funds for sugar $2 billion, dairy $1.5 billion, over $4 billion to date on water infrastructure again demonstrated as wasteful and not returning anything to the nation by the auditor. What about the $5 billion in the northern slush fund? the list goes on and on. You people really are blinded by group think.
Agree JS. A Shorten government (which seems very much on the cards) will just be the coup de grace
Rubbish. Were you overseas during RGR?
Let’s face it, we haven’t had a good government since….ooohh this hurts…..Howard. And don’t think I mean that in a laudatory kind of way. It was good in that it wasn’t half mad (until around 2006). It sure had it’s moments of badness, but then most of them do. The last truly good government for mine was Keating’s before they all got tired.
Over to you Milton.
i think we had 23 years of pretty good government and Australia was a lot better off for it.
kicked off by ten years of exceptionally good government setting the general agenda and strategy for the rest of the time.
not perfect government of course, but a helluva lot better than what has followed.
I think you mean before they all got “fired”. And agree, since Howard was given the boot it went downhill, except that brief flash of sunshine with Abbott, whom wasn’t allowed to grow into the job for grown-ups! Maybe Rudd is delusional enough to make a comeback. Gillard, to her credit, has generally kept herself to herself. Smart move and one that should set an example to your man Keating and his constant need to share his arsehole with the world.
21 years since Keating left the building. He actually hasn’t poked his nose into public affairs much at all over that time. Fact.
Abbott grow into the job? How long would you think he needed? Where’s Nossy when you need him? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
You gotta be joking Trivalve. Fact!
JB was asking after you the other day Razor.
Trust you had a good break!
Here he is , Mr Insider, a few weeks ago, clip of PM Turnbull aka “Wile E Coyote” emphatically declaring in Parliament how confident he was in Joyce remaining in Parliament. The Bookies love Malcolm, lots of money, no skill and always backs losers! Turnbull the new “Errol Flynn” of Australian Politics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCxi6JL6zaQ
I think Barnaby will regain his seat easily. The guy is so dinky di. In the end his electorate will probably think he got a rough deal and get him back in .
After all the huffing and puffing Windsor declines to stand. What a loser.
and again you show the same sort of judgement as turnbull. No surprises.
His huffing and puffing usually makes sense though; one of the few on the political scene who do. Barnaby, in the meantime, should be running a pub – he’d be bloody great at it and we could all like him. We could all laugh at statements like “There’s no global warming is there, you’re wearing a beanie”, instead of cringe . Our deputy PM. Only in the age of Trump would this make sense.
if i had to choose between them. i would take Barnaby, i have always thought there was something untrustworthy or devious about the demeanour of Windsor.
A few very dodgy land sales, to miners I believe.
He doesn’t like Barnaby and probably enjoyed making him uptight about the prospect of facing off again in the by-election.
His electorate have no time at all for him after his treachery with the Gillard govt – and he found that out at the last election! Self important man.
And you know that how?
Perception is everything in politics Penny. Sad but true. I used the word probably.
Note some of the comments here re Dutton – whom Razor says he has met and reckons is actually a really nice guy. Again perceptions and his appearance seem to count against him.
Joyce made no secret of his feelings towards Windsor, and vice versa, during the last stoush.
IMO his electorate (LNP orientated) never forgave him forgave him for siding with Gillard.
and duplicitous
True Boa, but I never really knew anything about Barnaby until the last six months and now people are throwing all kinds of accusations out there about his personal life and his drinking habits. So there now is a different set of perceptions about the man. On the other hand I have heard some good things about Tony Windsor…….so I guess unless you have met these people personally as Razor has with Dutton, or you are in the electorate perceptions don’t really matter. I too think Barnaby will get back in, but as Tony Windsor isn’t running against him, we should leave him be. As an aside I follow him on Twitter and love what he has to say (Tony that is, not Barnaby)
Ha, beginning to look like Barnaby will cruise in – bit like that Olympic speedskater (can’t remember his name) who won the Gold because everyone else in the race fell over!
Laissez le bon temps rouler.
Malcolm is the second best thing to happen to the Libnits (leaving Barnaby out of the equation) in the last ten years.
And the best part is we could see the first best thing back as PMOA! Yeehah! There must be some involuntarily twitching sphincters on the front bench these days.
Just joking, in accord with the theatre. Seriously, Bill will be smeared all over the wall and hammered down so far by the press in the lead up to the next election he’ll have to pull down his socks to have a dump. Unless Turnbull eats a baby and kills the Pope, he cant lose, but Abbott could!
I disagree I believe Shorten could win. He has time to brush up his image. Voters will be asked (assuming both leaders stay on) to vote on two extremely unpopular leaders. Shorten has a headlock on least liked. President Trump also had a headlock on least liked and won in a hand canter, and against the polling. Turnbull may be more popular PM, a useless accolade, but the LNP are about as popular as a farter in the space station. After the US election, I think polling is like doing maths while tripping on acid. You can see anything you want to see. I’m sceptical of polls and pay them scant notice. I’m very sceptical of polls this far out from an election.
Electricity will be a major point of conflict until the next poll. Neither side are doing anywhere near enough to resolve the issues. Away from climate change argy bargy, neither side are doing enough in the environment generally, particularly about my pet hate, plastic. Both sides have abandoned any pretence of wanting to improve the lot of our indigenous peoples. Constitutional recognition will not occur under ejther of these leaders, and has been poorly promoted by all sides, and housing has been put on the backburner, probably forever. Both sides argue with passion (probably false) about the merits of the human rights case for or against SSM, but ignore the human rights of indigenous kids in the squalor of the Alice Springs town camps and other settlements of equal ignominy. There’s room for strong policy development in just these areas, and they would ‘burnish the shield’ of the aspirants to the Lodge keys, but I can’t see the current pair of self-obsessed wankers being bright enough, or interested, enough, to work up the detail for sound outcomes.
Basically we are being offered two crapbag choices, and we are fed the line that’s this is the best there is. Forget the racist Greens – the fact there’s not a black face to be seen speaks volumes about them. A fringe group of white supremacists. We’re stuck with this binary political system that I see is a drag on any progress. The average bloke won’t get squat from either side, or the stupid, antiquated system we now have. But it’s the system that could see Shorten triumph, against the odds, and likely in a hand canter. He just needs to polish his image.
Wizz, please. You’re killing me here.
Sorry Jack. Your pain is noted. Shorter is better. Message received.
No worries, mate. You are far from the worst. Hope you’re well.
Thanks Jack. Infection seems to have gone, and I’m on a lower dose of pain relief now. Came home Thursday. Getting great support from family but able now to do most things for myself. Ex Mrs Wissendorf has installed herself as chief aide-de-camp, and cook. Plenty of sport on telly. Workmates came over to watch PNG – Wales and to mock me for not being able to have a drink. Bastards. I’m not really struggling though. 🙂 I hope your treatment is also progressing well.
It pays to belong
“as popular as a farter in the space station. After the US election, I think polling is like doing maths while tripping on acid.”
Are they yours? I hope so.
LOL. No all borrowed but I’m sure they were out of copyright. Feel free to re-use at will.
It’s not about the country Wiss.
Personal ambition driving them both.
IMO the Turnbull/Liberal government is cactus.
In much the same way as he should have called an election straight after he was installed – his decision to delay it damn near cost him government – I get the feeling that the longer he delays an election now, the bigger his defeat will be.
I agree Boa. If Turnbull had the guts to call an election straight after he took over the leadership, we might have got rid of Dutton and Abbott at the same time. He called a Double Dissolution on flimsy grounds and almost lost government. He has made some disastrous decisions, but none so bad as the one yesterday about indigenous recognition. A lot of hard work has gone into this, particularly his own people like Nigel Scullion and even George Brandis. Bill Shorten has said he would support it, but what does Malcolm do? He squibs it for particularly non convincing reasons. He can’t blame Labour for this one and any amount of respect (which was very little anyway) has disappeared completely.
I am very angry about this and to tell you the truth I honestly think that the LNP will destroy Australia.
Turnbull is correct on this Penny. What reconciliation morphed into would never get passed at a referendum and that would create an even bigger mess.
In my opinion, it is unfortunately an issue that is near the top of concerns of only a few people – it very rarely comes up in discussion.
It falls way behind housing costs , child minding, job security, a general cynicism about PC, and a feeling that this country is rudderless.
Certainly won’t pass if the government of the day doesn’t support it. Another weak decision.
Dutton is the best of the lot Penny. At least he doesn’t squib. He is what he is and personally a very nice bloke. Anyone on this blog who can say otherwise has never met him.
No! The best of the lot. Mr. Potato Head. The dread overlord of immigration. OMG they are stuffed.
I guess we have all been conditioned by TV to only accept good looking people at the expense of good people who want to make a difference
Gulp! Dutts is so unpopular and such a failed minister in every potfolio he has held he will be lucky to hold his seat.He lost 5% at the last election and 1500 votes would see him gone….thank Christo.
I reckon B’by could handle the potfolio B’man. I doubt he’d knockback an outback bong after a few frosties.
Shorten might be too. Maybe even Brandis is. 99.99% of the population will never meet any of them, so your advantage in the Dutton-space is not representative.
Remember when Abbott was asked why he had no science minister? His reply was “Don’t judge us on what we call ourselves, judge us by what we do”. We did. And in the case of Dutton, my judgement of what he does is that I don’t want him anywhere near the treasury benches, let alone the prime ministership.
Razor, fair enough. I haven’t met Dutton so I acknowledge that I am only going on what I read in the media. I have met quite a few politicians though and I was asked to stand for a fairly safe seat in the Northern Territory, which would have seen me become one…..dread the thought. I did think about it but realized that the loss of privacy and resultant loss of any beliefs and values that were different to the party line, made me decline the offer. And I’ve had a much better time in my life since then anyway.
However I seriously think this decision by Malcolm Turnbull about the indigenous recognition, not being accepted by the Australian public is a bad decision. I have been having a conversation with a reasonably conservative academic, who believes that this issue is along the lines of giving Tasmania 12 Senators, because Tasmanians are scared that all non-Tasmanians will overrule their status as a minority (?) A lot of consultation took place over 10 years to get them where they were with some kind of resolution regarding Indigenous issues and Malcolm Turnbull threw it all back in their face. He has no plan, he has no intestinal fortitude and I think he’s about to take the place of wee Billy Mcmahon as Australi’s worst Liberal PM ever….
My type of girl! P
You’re about seven months too late for that joke, Razor.
You’ve gotta be having a laugh Penny – “…. the LNP will destroy Australia.” ??
For someone of your ‘standing’ to wholeheartedly believe that the remnants of the conservative rump in this country has so much power is simply breathtakingly astonishing.
Or is it that you are a person of little faith in your fellow citizens?
CotC……not sure what you mean by someone of your “standing”. I have great faith in my fellow citizens as a matter of fact, so don’t talk down to me Carl.
Didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers Penny, but I was just wondering how you would envisage the LNP may destroy our nation without the complicity of the majority of its citizens at the ballot box?
Two years and a lot could happen in that time, for both sides.
Watching the swearing in. Alternate universe stuff.
Mad Barnaby Joyce’s loss means nothing…like the $122million waste on SSM survey, the $55million to set up 4 refugees in Cambodia, the billions to keep a handful of legal asylum seekers offshore etc etc etc. We know the result before the money was wasted. Joyce will win so what is the point? It would mean something if all the costs to the taxpayers this fiasco has incurred were handed back to the idiots who caused it. And Turnbull’s continued pain?Serves himself right for trying to verbal the High Court. As Keating said. Turnbull lacks Judgement eh Godwin?
The $ waste of bye elections could be stopped easily…those who leave parliament of their own
volition should have to pay for them OR the person who got the 2nd place in votes takes the seat= no more bye elections. They would serve out their term rather than risk losing the seat to ‘the others’.
Also, you could have the Senate system right throughout the Lower House. Somebody goes…somebody from the same party gets nominated to fill the vacancy. Would save a lot of bloody money!
I find it shocking that Plibersek should question anyone else’s judgement ever, but I have to agree with her (for the first and last time) on Turnbull.
That big old wrecking ball has just swung into the air, done the swing back and wiped him out standing by the bird seed jack. Lost his one seat majority. Beep Beep!
Was the Labor member who lost her son recently in quite tragic circumstances and took leave from Parliament in the lower house?.
I can not remember the details.
Linda Burney, yes and will be paired.
Given