politicalowl

Michelle Grattan , University of Canberra There’s a nice story about Arthur Fadden - the Country Party leader who became PM in the 1941 hung parliament amid conservative leadership turmoil - deciding not to move into the Lodge after a colleague told him he’d “scarcely have enough time to wear a track from the backdoor to the shithouse before you’ll be out”. The warning was prophetic: Fadden was dispatched in little over a month, replaced in a House of Representatives vote by Labor’s John Curtin. Scott Morrison, ensconced in Kirribilli, has already had a longer spell than Fadden, and his government appears safe in parliament, despite losing its majority. Regardless of these differences, Morrison’s likely trajectory seems as clear as that of “Artie” all those years ago. The widespread feeling that the Morrison government is doomed will only be reinforced by this week’s outbreak of hostilities between the former and current prime ministers. At one level, it’s hard to believe we’r...

It was most entertaining this morning listening to the 2GB screechers denouncing Malcolm Turnbull for remarks he made in Indonesia. There are people who just love hating someone and for the moment Malcolm is the number one hated one. But a tweet this morning suggest that the anger is being wrongly directed. A few facts. @ScottMorrisonMP asked me to discuss trade and the embassy issue in Bali and we had a call before I left to confirm his messages which I duly relayed to @jokowi There was a detailed paper on the issue in my official brief as well. — Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) November 1, 2018 Unless Malcolm Turnbull is telling an outrageous lie, what he said to Indonesian President Joko Widodo was what Prime Minister Scott Morrison had asked him to say on the subjects of trade and the location of the Australian embassy in Israel. Making public the "detailed paper on the issue in my official brief" would clarify matters but my guess is that it will take a le...

Grattan on Friday: Malcolm Turnbull's NEG remains in snake-infested territory Michelle Grattan , University of Canberra Malcolm Turnbull had a party-room victory but a god-awful week, and it wasn’t because his approval plunged in Monday’s Newspoll . His energy policy is back in the mire, and Tony Abbott is being – as one colleague neatly describes it – the agent of chaos. It’s nearly unimaginable how the Coalition chooses to replay that old self-destructive record. In Bill Shorten’s office they’ve been digging out the 2009 headlines, such as “Battered Turnbull faces mutiny” and “Abbott leaves leader in crisis”. Well, Turnbull is not “in crisis” but things are quite a serious mess, as those who hate him, plus others who don’t, sharpen their attack in another round of the climate wars. In Tuesday’s Coalition parties meeting, where Turnbull won strong support for his energy policy, several reserved their right to cross the floor on the emissions reduction legislation, and ...

The federal government will lobby states to make sport mandatory in schools in a push to improve children's health and performance in class. Federal Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie said physical activity was not just good for kids' health and wellbeing, with research now linking it to better learning. "Sport is a powerful platform for a whole lot of things, not just for the fun of it (and) I want to use the power of sport whenever I can,'' Senator McKenzie told News Corp on Monday.

It seems mighty strange to the Owl that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was not at Saturday's annual conference of the Victorian Liberal Party. Federal parliamentary leaders normally give a major speech at such a gathering. This time it was Mr Turnbull's Liberal Party deputy Julie Bishop who did the honours. And, if the tweet by former Tony Abbott staffer Terry Barnes is true, Ms Bishop in 30 minutes managed to avoid mentioning the name of her boss. That's even stranger. Something is very much amiss in the Victorian Liberal ranks.

A very small minded effort by Malcolm Turnbull in France for the opening of the Villers-Bretonneux memorial. A bigger man than our current Prime Minister would have allowed his predecessor to say a word or two. It was, after all, Tony Abbott's idea. But no. Our Tony was left to skulk around on the outskirts wearing his plastic poncho. The hostility in the Liberal Party is clearly too great for even a semblance of civility.

Front page of The Daily Telegraph. #auspol pic.twitter.com/ggFNVZCZNN — Christopher Dore (@wrongdorey) April 12, 2018 The Telegraph's front page makes it look like something really terrible. An Australian Prime Minister wanting companies to fail. What a disgrace! Yet when you read the details of the story it really does seem like much ado about very little. Malcolm Turnbull is a wealthy man. When he entered Parliament he put his investments into the hands of assorted fund managers and stopped having any say in what was bought and sold. One of those fund managers has engaged in "short selling" - made bets that the prices of some Australian shares will go down rather than up. But there is nothing strange about that. As the Tele acknowledges well down in its sensationalised yarn "almost every ­investment fund or trader engages in short selling." It looks very much to me as if the Tele is in the business of trying to undermine PM Turnbull.

Rain, hail or shine we support our Aussie 🇦🇺 athletes 🥇🥈🥉 @TurnbullMalcolm @GC2018 @CommGamesAUS #lovesport #getactive #Commgames2018 pic.twitter.com/q1L9jK7Y9a — Senator Bridget McKenzie (@senbmckenzie) April 10, 2018

Malcolm Turnbull backed a winner at the rugby league last night and he has reason to be a tiny bit happier about some opinion polls too. While the aficionados are concentrating on Newspoll number 30, three others out this week have the Coalition doing better. Not winning, mind you. But close enough to show that the next election contest is not yet over. Ipsos       Coalition 48 Labor 52 Essential Coalition 48 Labor 52 Morgan   Coalition 49 Labor 51

Turnbull almost destroyed the Coalition in ‘09, and he has nearly finished the job after his idiotic nuclear attack on the Deputy PM this week. Time to restore conviction, credibility, and leadership: @TonyAbbottMHR MUST return. #BringBackAbbott #auspol pic.twitter.com/Ok90NEqDzb — #BringBackAbbott (@TeamTAbbott) February 17, 2018 And it is not just Tony Abbott's leading Twitter supporter who is calling for his return. “It could not be worse. This would never have happened under Tony” Thus spoke a worried government backbencher to The Owl late last reflecting on the sacking of Tony Abbott as Liberal Prime Minister and the current crisis besetting the coalition. And he is not the only Liberal thinking the unthinkable - that a man the party got rid of after he spent 30 consecutive Newspolls well behind Labor is the man to lead the resurrection from Malcolm Turnbull's dismal position. Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never is, but always to be blessed: ...

The Prime Minister @TurnbullMalcolm made changes to the ministerial standards and banned sexual relations between ministers and staffers. pic.twitter.com/g5oFp95Q5B — ABC News (@abcnews) February 15, 2018 That's what Malcolm Turnbull said but the Owl thinks some translation is needed. I am terrified by what the next Newspoll will show. If it's really bad my team might sack me. I tried to get Barnaby to fall on his sword but he told me to get stuffed. If I sacked him he might quit and I'd not have a majority and be forced to an election where I'd lose my own job I tried to humiliate him into quitting peacefully by telling him I would not let him be the acting Prime Minister while I was away but that didn't work either. So now I'm pretending that I can put a stop to human nature by announcing a ban on ministers getting a bit on the side in future.

Monday morning and the Daily Terror brings us this story of an incident from three years ago: So now we know Malcolm Turnbull is human. He sometimes drinks too much at birthday parties, allows an idiot to make him angry and can swear a bit. The Owl expects his popularity to rise dramatically.

"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.

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 ...

A political song for the day.

There was one observer who got it right after Malcolm Turnbull turned feral with that personal attack on Bill Shorten early in February. Hugh Mackay, who Michael Gordon writing in the Fairfax papers described as having been studying the national mood for decades, says Turnbull has done himself immense damage. "I think we will be able to track the gradual disintegration of Turnbull from that attack," he tells me. "It was such a weak strategy and so appallingly personal and vile that I think a lot of people are going to lose a lot of respect for him over that." Today's Newspoll suggests Hugh Mackay was on the right track.

Lib polls number hits low point of  34%......Malcom stands on deck regretting appalling tactical move on energy...begs Maria for help and forgiveness.