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Showing posts from August, 2017

Michelle Grattan on the "fractured and self-indulgent" Liberal Party

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Grattan on Friday: If defeat comes, what then for the Liberals' succession? The conservatives’ strategy is to reap what victories they can while Malcolm Turnbull leads. Dean Lewins/AAP Michelle Grattan , University of Canberra If the Turnbull government’s present agonies become death throes and the election is lost, coping with opposition will test to its very core a Liberal Party that in power has been fractured and self-indulgent. For a start, would the conservatives, who at the moment have an ideological mortgage over the party despite moderates holding some key cabinet posts, be able to foreclose and, if so, with what consequences? It’s almost two years since a widely hailed moderate prime minister overthrew a conservative one. Yet in many areas Malcolm Turnbull has not been able to assert his authority over the party. Instead, he has been forced to, or chosen to, accommodate the right’s demands and embrace senior conservatives as his closest ministerial con

Jacinda Ardern puts Tora Tora Tora Julie Bishop on notice following poll surge in NZ election race.

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NZ LABOR NOW AHEAD ON LATEST POLL! BE AFRAID JULIE TORA TORA TORA YOU READ IT FIRST IN THE OWL! https://politicalowl.blogspot. com.au/2017/08/the-new- zealand-threat-brings- sleepless.html

For the human headline - singalong to "Back in the USA"

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Everyone's a winner in Turnbull's power world. And if you believe that ...

"We believe, as many as two million Australian families, are paying more for their electricity than they ought to be paying ... so I'm very pleased to announce that today we've secured the agreement of the energy retailers to write to more of their customers to inform them that a better deal is available." Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at a press conference today  The Turnbull aim was clear: to persuade people he was acting to reduce their electricity bills. And for some people that might be right. Prices might go down for those - and I'm one of them - who have not shopped around to find the lowest price available. But there is one thing I am equally sure of. Those evil electricity retailers are not about to adjust prices in a way that lowers their profits. If someone pays less then someone else will be paying more. That's just the way of capitalism.

Let's Drop the Big One Now - A serious political singalong

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With rockets flying, Randy Newman doesn't seem so amusing at the moment. But join in. Especially to the optimistic part: We'll save Australia, Don't want to hurt no kangaroo, We'll build an all American amusement park there, They've got surfing too.

Tony Abbott's Mystery Melbourne Mondays - Free wine for a solution

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The Owl needs the wisdom of the crowd to answer this question and there's a bottle of Penfolds 389 from the cellar of his Adelaide correspondent for the best solution. What was Sydney MP Tony Abbott doing on 11 Monday nights in Melbourne last year including six in a row during May and June while pocketing a $438 nightly allowance? Melbourne's Herald Sun  outlined the mysstery this morning. Curiously, Mr Abbott spent 11 Monday nights in Melbourne last year, claiming the cost of flights as well the $438 nightly allowance. That included six Monday nights in a row during May and June. To stimulate thinking here's today's political singalong. Submit entries via the comments section below.

A political singalong for Bill Shorten's election challenger

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The widow of gangland killer Carl Williams wants to run against Opposition Leader Bill Shorten at the next federal election.  Roberta Williams has been chosen as the   Australian People's Party candidate for Mr Shorten's seat of Maribyrnong in Melbourne  - ABC News

Why Tony Abbott might have chosen Split? Surely not

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From The Australian  28 August 2017 From The Australian  18 July 2017

Friday's political singalong is inspired by Tony Abbott's great parliamentary performance

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The Australian's one sided view on the skills of federal MPs

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Times are tough for political writers when parliament is not sitting. They have to invent their own drivel rather than being able to report on the drivel of members. And in The Australian this morning there was a classic example. In a desperate search to fill the hold on page one The Oz came up with: TREASURER ACCUSES ALP FRONTBENCH OF LACKING REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE A shortage of “real-world” experience on Labor’s frontbench is fuelling concerns over a negative approach to small business and raising doubts about the party’s claim to represent the interests of its traditional “aspirational” bluecollar base. Analysis by The Australian shows that only three Labor frontbenchers have listed experience working in small business, prompting an attack from Scott Morrison, who said Bill Shorten would treat the sector like a “giant ATM” if he won office at the next election. And on the story went in similar terms without any attempt to compare the Labor team with that of the Coalition go

Robbing Peter to pay Peter (after a sizeable deduction for Messrs Sue, Grabbitt and Run)

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This has to be the weirdest story of the week. Shareholders in the Commonwealth Bank are being invited to sue the bank for possible losses because of some kind of rort the bank engaged in without telling them there might be a hefty fine if the bank was caught. So let's imagine all the shareholder owners take part in this grand legal exercise and win the $200 million plus expenses. The value of what they own is $200 million less than before. Instead of being better off they are worse off because the lawyers and their financier hop in for their chop. A wonderful example of what Private Eye would call the actions of Messrs Sue, Grabbitt and Run.

Butch Katter and the Warringah Kid

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Katter says he d back Abbott as PM https://t.co/CbaNpqsTGc pic.twitter.com/XqgAT1o5cu — Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) August 23, 2017 So Bob Katter and Tony Abbott are going to have a little chat about the future of government. "We rob Guvments" Beware!

Priests and ministers of religion held in low regard

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There's one clue for opponents of same sex marriage in a just released survey published by the Australian National University: don't have priests spruiking your message. Ministers of religion are held in low regard. And their contribution to society is rated the lowest among the 16 professions rated. The Australian Beliefs and Attitudes Towards Science Survey  found that the top three professions that most Australians rate as contributing a lot to the wellbeing of society are scientists (80.9%), followed very closely by doctors (80.5%) and then farmers (78.5%).  The top three profession that most Australians rated as very prestigious were doctors (72.9%), followed by scientists (62.1%) and then engineers (55.2%) Media executives might benefit from the topics people find of interest. Politics, which fills so much space and airtime, comes well down the list.

The New Zealand threat brings sleepless nights for Julie Bishop

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Sleepless night ahead for Julie (Tora! Tora! Tora!) Bishop as "the unworkable" NZ Labour Party dramatically narrows gap in election race and pundits declare Jacinta Arden a very real chance after Sunday's charismatic party launch. Could be much kiwi Tutti frutti if Jacinta turns up in Canberra as PM of New Zealand! Talk about Star Wars....The Beginning...........which side will Barnaby choose?......to be continued.......

Bill Shorten can sing Happy Go Lucky Me

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Opposition Leader Bill Shorten reads about his unbeatable opinion poll lead, finds his denouncement of British citizenship document and discovers George Formby all in the one day Join in the Owl's other political singalongs HERE

Nick Xenophon can't tell his English from his Irish

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Media Nick (accused Pommie) shows his distaste after ordering a "warm English beer" while media stunting at British Hotel (get it) Adelaide! Has he gone totally Irish?

Nasty Man - Joan Baez sings to President Donald Trump

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Today' political singalong.

A song for Malcolm Turnbull thanks to Mike Carlton

Song for Malcolm Turnbull, Nowhere Man. What a tragic, hollow figure he is. https://t.co/zN9p1gemRY — Mike Carlton (@MikeCarlton01) August 18, 2017 Go here for other political singalongs

Malcolm Turnbull's government has finally defied fiction

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Grattan on Friday: With the eligibility of the Nationals’ leadership under question, Malcolm Turnbull has had a nightmarish week. Mick Tsikas/AAP Michelle Grattan , University of Canberra In a week belonging more appropriately to Shaun Micallef comedy than parliamentary reality, it’s arguable Pauline Hanson’s burqa stunt wasn’t the most extraordinary thing that happened in Canberra. Hanson has extreme beliefs and therefore it mightn’t be so surprising – though it is appalling – that she’s willing to use the parliament as a stage for extremely bad behaviour. In donning the burqa purchased on eBay and entering the Senate chamber, she was as attention-seeking as the streaker who races naked across the football ground, though her motive was darker. Let’s call out her action, but not play into her cynical pursuit of mega publicity. Entirely beyond imagination was the week being bookended by the Nationals leader, Barnaby Joyce , and his deputy, senato

How career politicians now dominate our Parliament

I have been pottering along for a while now on my recollections of 50 plus years observing and playing politics. One day I might even end up with a flimsy document that people think worth reading. Whatever. One of the things that intrigues me is the way that the kind of people who have become federal politicians has changed since I came to Canberra in 1966 and today. That's a subject that two former Prime Ministers - Bob Hawke and John Howard - touched on at an event at the old Parliament House this week. Both men, according to an ABC report, warned that these day career politicians without enough life experience are letting the public down. Both men were asked to reflect on the state of Australian democracy in a discussion with Annabel Crabb on Wednesday night at the National Press Club, where they said both major parties were becoming less representative of the people who usually voted for them. "My advice consistently to every young person who comes and asks me about [

Does this woman have the answer to the Section 44 problem?

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Maybe that a nnoying TV woman who nearly fell off the chair could solve MP's dual nationality problems once and for all.

No, it wasn’t a conspiracy that caused Barnaby’s problem – it was himself

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Barnaby Joyce has now renounced his New Zealand citizenship but his future is yet to be determined. Mick Tsikas/AAP Michelle Grattan , University of Canberra Let’s get one point straight. The crisis around Barnaby Joyce has been caused by one simple oversight by one person. Joyce was careless in not properly checking whether he complied with the citizenship requirement of the Australian Constitution. He was not landed into this pickle by Bill Shorten, the New Zealand Labour Party, the media, or anyone or anything else. If he had acted years ago with abundant caution – or his party had – he wouldn’t have had a problem. And the government’s over-the-top efforts on Tuesday to find a conspiracy begs the question: does it think an MP’s alleged breach of the Constitution, if suspected, should be just ignored? At the extreme, wouldn’t there be a risk that, in such circumstances, an MP could be open to an attempt to compromise them? A few weeks ag

Kevin and Tony the cycling mates - not married but ...

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Kevin Andrews MP : I have a relationship with my cycling mates, but the law has no place in that relationship Kevin Andrews and Tony Abbott keeping their affectionate relationship on the road.

Could it be Footrot Flats for Barnaby with a dark moon shining over his horizon?

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A singalong for today.

A song for a strong political leader

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So here we have it. Malcolm Turnbull on the way to decide whether same sex marriage should be legal: PRIME MINISTER: Strong leaders carry out their promises. Weak leaders break them. I'm a strong leader.   So Singalong as Malcolm leads the way. Click  HERE  to go to YouTube for a musical accopaniment   Following the leader, the leader, the leader We're following the leader Wherever he may go Tee dum, tee dee, a teedle ee do tee day Tee dum, tee dee it's part of the game we play Tee dum, tee dee, the words are easy to say Just a teedle ee dum a teedle ee do tee day Tee dum, tee dee, a teedle ee do tee dum We're one for all, and all of us out for fun We march in line and follow the other one With a teedle ee do a teedle ee do tee dum Following the leader, the leader, the leader We're following the leader Wherever he may go We're out to fight the injuns, the injuns, the injuns We're out to fight the injuns Because he told us so Tee dum, tee dee a

Let's hope Senator Malcolm Roberts can represent himself in the High Court because that surely would be fun

The prospect of the Senate sending Senator Malcolm Roberts' election to the High Court must be thrilling legal scholars. A previous legal effort by the good Senator showed a unique grasp of juriprudence. See for yourself at this earlier post by the Owl : The wily legal wits of One Nation's Malcolm Roberts shown in a previous encounter

Some political marriage music

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Malcolm pines while watching the same sex marriage debate being driven into an uncertain political eternity...... Listen to other political singalong choices HERE

The great shrinking of the vote for Australia's major political parties

Not much joy for the Liberal-National coalition and the Labor Party in today's political research news. In The Australian Newspoll had the two parties share of the vote at just 72%. That's five percentage points down on the share at the last election. And in The Sydney Morning Herald a report on what focus groups have found about the current feeling of voters towards the big two had this to say: The distaste for both major parties did seem to create an opportunity for the minor parties; One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and independent senator Derryn Hinch were praised for speaking their minds. Some voters named the Greens as a potential alternative yet none could name the party leader, Richard Di Natale, nor his predecessor. No hint there of a change in the long-term trend that has seen a steady shrinking of the support for Australia's major parties. Major party first preference votes (House of Representatives) Period Number of elections Average major party vote