Friday 14 December 2007

Andrew Robb almost admits abuse of Senate power led to Coalition defeat

Did I hear right? Yes I did. On the tellie last night Andrew Robb came close to actually admitting that the Howard Government abused its Senate majority and carried legislation further than was prudent.
This is the first time anyone in the Liberal Party has come close to voicing the underlying cause of its electoral defeat.
Perhaps the Coalition is finally beginning to face the truth about its utter disregard of the wishes of the Australian majority over the last eleven years.
Well, I can hope can't I?

Thursday 13 December 2007

Who does Robert McClelland think he's fooling when it comes to David Hicks?

Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland has refused to confirm or deny that he has signed the initial papers authorising the imposition of an interim control order on David Hicks.
He tells us all that the Attorney-General only performs "an administrative function" in relation to any control order.
 
That's a heap of hot, steaming manure he is shovelling our way. Applications for interim control orders require the consent of the Attorney-General. In 104.3 of the C'wealth Anti-terrorism Act (No 2) 2005 as amended, there is a clear indication that the Attorney-General has choice in signing off on any interim application by the Australian Federal Police. This clause begins "If the Attorney-General consents". This phrase is repeated throughout the Act in relation to control orders.
See:
 
To put it crudely - the new Attorney-General appears to be running scared and whipped when it comes to a very right-wing Australian Federal Police.
 
David Hicks broke no Australian law existing at the time of his original capture and detention. His sentence by a US military tribunal showed that this court clearly saw him as being a minimal threat.
 
Enough is enough Mr. McClelland. Australia deserves better than to have Federal Labor continue to impose John Howard's distorted view of our society and values.

Vote on Rudd's performance at Bali

The Sydney Morning Herald is running an online readers poll today on Kevin Rudd's diplomatic performance at the Kyoto conference at Bali this week.
So far this morning the vote is running heavily in favour of Rudd's performance being statesmanlike.
Voting is at:
 
I have to say I was pleased that Kevin Rudd's address to the conference further differentiated Australia from the US position on climate change. However, he really needs to go further and stand up to America's attempt to force any mention of target percentages out of the final draft of the Bali declaration.
The Prime Minister would be foolish if he believed placating the Bush Administration will keep the US onside except momentarily.
The US will turn on Australia sometime in the next three years, because the Rudd Government has indicated that it will not play lickspittle and American's have never understood Labor Party philosophy.
With most American's believing in their heart-of-hearts that God is a white American male and that their country dominates by divine right, diplomacy by others is next to useless.
A show of strong leadership by our Prime Minister and a less narrow focus on climate change allegiances it required.
America is no longer a great and powerful friend, rather she is a major impediment to constructive change and international stability.
 
The Sydney Morning Herald article on Rudd in Bali:

I keep hearing the Nats say that nothing has changed

The new urban myth for NSW North Coast Nationals appears to be that even though the Coalition lost the federal election it doesn't really matter, because Kevin Rudd won't change things much.
A strange way to console themselves for losing at the polling booths on November 24.
WorkChoices is being dismantled, Kyoto was ratified, the Code of Ministerial Responsibility was expanded, reporting of political contributions was returned to pre-Howard criteria, Australian Law Reform Commission recommendations on Commonwealth sedition laws are on the agenda to be revisited, the NT Intervention is to be reviewed, the Australian Government is going to apologise to the Stolen Generation, there is a broad timeline for complete combat troop withdrawal from Iraq and cooperative federalism is the order of the day under a Rudd Labor Government.
Everything the former Howard Government would have hated to see happen.
No matter how you huff and puff, that's big change fellas! 

Is Morris Iemma turning into the new John Howard?

Premier Morris Iemma waited, until New South Wales was preoccupied with the federal election and State Parliament had risen for the final time in 2007, to begin putting the building blocks in place to privatise this state's electricity suppliers.
He gave an unworkable guarantee that the sell-off of public assets would not affect ordinary consumers and then ignored regional NSW by promising that sale money would be first spent on giving Sydney a brand new metro rail system.
This tactic was worthy of John Howard at his best. It seems the example of his highhanded approach continues to contaminate politics at all levels.
During the last ten years NSW Labor has moved so far to the right that it makes middle of the road voters like myself seem positively Red.
Morris Iemma should take a good look at all those voters who swung against the Coalition at the recent federal election. They are the same voters who will sweep NSW Labor from government if he keeps this up.

Wednesday 12 December 2007

Labor Party voters some of the happiest consumers in Australia right now

"CONSUMER confidence has rebounded in December, a survey shows, with Australian Labor Party voters some of the happiest consumers in the nation.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index, released today, rose 1.8 per cent in December, reversing November's 4.2 per cent decline.
Not surprisingly, the biggest swings in sentiment was based on political affiliation.
Spurred by the party's return to Federal Government, sentiment among Labor voters soared 15.6 per cent in December.
Sentiment among coalition supporters dipped 16.2 per cent after it was condemned to the opposition benches on November 24.
The survey of 1400 people was conducted between December 5-9, following Labor's federal election victory and after the RBA left interest rates on hold."
News.com.au article today:
 
Have to admit there are a lot of people on the NSW North Coast who still cannot wipe a silly grin off their face. Even I, who haven't a penny to spare, threw another pack of bikkies into the supermarket trolley to celebrate!

On those UN Kyoto Protocol talks in Bali

Dennis Shanahan of The Australian is on the wrong track in trying to tar Kevin Rudd with the same attitude brush as John Howard when it comes to climate change.
Unlike previous Coalition governments this Labor federal government is not a climate change doubter, but it is between a rock and a hard place in Bali right now.
Due to the Howard decade of denial and lack of any real investigation into the domestic economic impacts of climate change mitigation; Rudd, Swan, Wong and Garrett are at the Bali talks knowing less about potential impacts than many other participating nations who have been part of the Kyoto Protocol process for years.
It may be prudent for Australia not to commit to interim targets before Garnault's investigations are completed mid-2008.
But is it wise to join with the US to insist that no interim or medium term target figures be included in the Bali declaration document?
Years of national inaction have a price and perhaps Australia should pay up and accept the wish of developing nations on the 20-40 per cent greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2020.
After all, this appears to be a combined developed nations target and doesn't bind any one country to individually achieve within this percentage range.
John Howard's blind prejudices will impact on us all for a longtime to come and it may be unfair that the Rudd Government is left to clear up his mess, but the world and Australia don't need more aspirational garbage on climate change - they both need firm target commitments now.
Forget the Liberals election taunts about being a Kyoto negotiations pushover and get on with it, Kevin!
See Shanahan in The Australian today:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22910380-17301,00.html
Michelle Grattan on Bali in The Age today:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/climate-watch/wong-not-one-to-wilt/2007/12/11/1197135463267.html

Jenny Macklin starts "Sorry" consultations

True to its word the Rudd Government has begun to progress its promise to say "Sorry".
New Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin will consult with indigenous community leaders about the wording for a formal apology to the Stolen Generation.
The Age article today:
 
This apology is long overdue and it is good to see this election promise being kept by Federal Labor. It won't stop the depressingly high number of funerals for indigenous Australians who died an early death or redress inequality and the imbalance in opportunity, but hopefully it signals a change in government attitude to the needs and aspirations of indigenous people.
Aunty Della would have been pleased.

A red letter day for Australia

It was a red letter day yesterday when a red-haired female demonstrated to the world that Australia was all grown up.
Good on ya, Julia Gillard. You little ripper. Sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister last week and now for the next few days Acting-Prime Minister of Australia.
Roll over Barton.