politicalowl

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

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

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

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.

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'

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.

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

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