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Showing posts from 2019

If forced to have a bet the Owl would be taking the odds on about Labor in NSW

Back in November the Owl wrote the following about the NSW election: The Owl does not understand why the Liberals are the favourites in NSW The conventional wisdom is that the Liberals and National government will be re-elected in New South Wales. The betting markets have the coalition odds on favourite at $1.50. The Owl does not understand why. He thinks there has been an over reaction to the replacement of an Opposition Leader. He is happy to have a dollar or two on Labor at the $2.65 Those who followed that advice would be at peace with themselves at the moment because the Betfair market now has Labor favourite at $1.88 with the Coalition at $2.08. There's a nice little earn there. The opinion polls, for what they are worth, has the contest near enough to 50:50 but if you forced me to have another bet I'd be taking the odds on about Labor.

Will Barnaby Joyce be back in the National Party saddle for the election campaign?

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The Owl does not subscribe to The SydneyTele nor the Brisbane Courier Mail but has to confess to sometimes watching the free version of Sky News on free-to-air regional television. Last night he caught som of the item on what the papers will say this morning and was bemused by the suggestion that these eminent Murdosh journals were speculating that the National Party leader and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack was on the verge of losing his job. Surely not, I thought, with the next election almost upon us. But then again ... they are journals of record. And how much fun it would be to see Barnaby Joyce back in the saddle leading his party to victory. Surely a good enough reason a political singalong.

Julie Bishop on how she coulda been a contender

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. @JulieBishopMP has told the Sunday Times she would have beaten @billshortenmp if she had been selected during the leadership spill. pic.twitter.com/YHeL5QvBnB — Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) March 2, 2019 ">

Punters in the Adelaide Hills are shaking their heads as they sing "Hey there Georgie girl"

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A little bit of impersonation by Georgie Downer caught presenting a cheque which protocol says she may not be entitled to and then bowls up a died in the wool liberal operative as an “independent “ anti -Labor wringer all on her Sunday Bloody Sunday.
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I hope my fellow West Ham supporters will forgive me but the Canberra bubble merits a political singalong So.

A song for the Finance Minister Mathias Cormann :Hello World - won't you open up the door and let me in

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Singalong with Scomo as he celebrates a great parliamentary week

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It is good for a politician to have the faith. Scomo in action:

The Coalition like generals fighting the last war?

When you cannot think of anything new to do I guess it's natural to do what you have done before. That's the Liberal-National coalition approach to the 2019 election. Scott Morrison is trying to do a John Howard Tampa fright or a Tony Abbott shotgun style scare campaign. The Prime Minister's National Press Club speech on Monday set the tone. He elaborated on the horrors confronting us all: People smuggling, natural disasters, organised crime, money laundering, biosecurity hazards, cyber security, the evil ice trade, violence against women In the House of Representatives today the PM's target was more specific with boat people the target. Bill Shorten and the Labor Party do not have the mettle, do not have what is required, and do not understand what is necessary to ensure that Australia’s border protection framework … can be managed by the Labor Party. These comments met with applause from the normal pundits on talk radio and Sky News at night. But do these sentim

A light look at the Wilson family franking reviews

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Tony Abbott needs to bring back Peta Credlin

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The most famous surf club in Australia shouldn’t need port-a-loos every time a crowd turns up. pic.twitter.com/NJMm6U9RsJ — Tony Abbott (@TonyAbbottMHR) February 3, 2019 An unusual campaign offering today by Tony Abbott. Budgie smugglers are perhaps not the best look when you are under attack by women candidates. And promising to work hard for extra loos when you have done nothing about it for all the years you have been local member will have many constituents puzzled. The Owl suggests Tony should bring back his old minder to add a little discipline to his efforts to retain his seat. Today's was the kind of stuff-up that Ms Credlin normally kept her boss away from.

View from The Hill: O'Dwyer's decision turns the spotlight onto Bishop

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Michelle Grattan , University of Canberra The political down time over summer can be something of a respite for an embattled government. But for Scott Morrison, it has just brought more setbacks. The weekend announcement by cabinet minister Kelly O'Dwyer that she will leave parliament at the election is the latest and most serious. O'Dwyer says she wants to see more of her two young children, and would like to have a third, which involves medical challenges. Her decision is understandable. The first woman to have a baby while a federal cabinet minister has been juggling an enormous load. But with the general expectation that the Morrison government is headed for opposition, many people will think (rightly or wrongly) that O'Dwyer was also influenced by the likelihood she faced the grind of opposition, which is a lot less satisfying than the burden of office. Bad timing for the minister for women Her insistence at Saturday’s joint news conference with

Back to normal as Scomo backs a loser

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison ended a long streak of supporting losers when he rushed to the Rod Laver court to watch the final minutes of Ash Barty's win in the women's singles. Then things started returning to his normal error ridden style when he wore his boots on to the hallowed court for another photo op. I mean, where were those faithful old trainers when they were needed. So on to another sport and back to supporting another loser; this time the coach of his apparently beloved Cronulla Sharks rugby league team forced out for breaking the rules of the National Rugby League. Thanks to Shane Flanagan for his great service and contribution to the Sharks and our local Shire community. I wish you and your family all the best, Flano - our greatest coach and wonderful family man who made our community an even better place. — Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) January 21, 2019

Everyone loves a winner especially our Scomo who hasn't backed many of late

How good is @ashbar96 ! 🇦🇺🎾 pic.twitter.com/Taxsr6LcWX — Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) January 20, 2019 He, perhaps cautiously, did not arrive until well into the third set when a victory looked likely. But Scott Morrison was there when Ash Barty emerged a winner and it was his first for a while. What with a disastrous cricket season and all. And that pesky Fijian Prime Minister chiding him about kava and global warming. Scomo deserved a little reflected glory

Scott Morrison drinks prohibited import

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison tried the kava on his recent visit to Fiji. That was something he could not do legally in Australia. Kava was made a prohibited import when Tony Abbott was the country's Health Minister. The decision was meant to stop Aboriginals in the Northern Territory abusing the substance. Pacific islanders were mightily upset by the decision. Now that the national leader has given kava his approval and Mr Abbott has moved on to other things, perhaps the prohibition order will be lifted.

Mathias takes $37,000 flight to the political danger zone so watch along

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The ABC tells the story: A spokesperson for Senator Cormann said "use of the special purpose aircraft was approved in the appropriate way to facilitate official business in Adelaide in transit from Canberra back to Perth in between two parliamentary sitting weeks". ... The ABC has confirmed Senator Cormann met with Centre Alliance senators Stirling Griff and Rex Patrick in Adelaide, but he did not meet with South Australian independent senator Tim Storer. All were opposed to the corporate tax plan. Senator Griff said there was benefit in having a face-to-face meeting, but there was no urgency in this case given they would see each other in Parliament three days later. "It wasn't a meeting we instigated, it was a meeting that the Minister wanted to have with us to just discuss upcoming legislation," he said. "Look, it could have happened that day, it could have happened the next day, it could have happened three or four days later. "I don'

Sydney's Daily Telegraph plays at being even handed in its NSW campaign opening

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With its own opinion poll showing NSW Labor in front of the governing Coalition parties, starting out neutral is an understandable place for the Sydney Daily Telegraph  to be. Backing losers is not where Murdoch tabloids normally like to be and recent failures after stridently, but unsuccessfully, backing Liberal-National in Victoria and Queensland damaged the brand. The best that Premier Gladys Berejiklian can hope for in the lead up to polling day in March is for the kind of neutrality displayed in this morning's editorial to continue.

Singalong with Scomo the cool with his two white left feet

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Dug some more, found the OG dirty shoes in a Fiji Times article… LOL #shoegate #auspol https://t.co/DW3FgsJE7f pic.twitter.com/V4RUeGlaed — Luke (@lukerhn) January 8, 2019

The Caravan of Fools- a political singalong for Scott Morrison's government

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Some dull, blinding winner When you can't stand to lose You're running with the caravan of fools The caravan of fools, caravan of fools You're running with the caravan of fools