And a few things are falling in to place about Robb. . Robb went public with his illness in 2009 and has written a book but that will not elevate him within the Liberals
Why has he been quiet since the Huawei outburst and with Abbott having his nanny thought bubble ? you either go all the way with the “its good ” or start pulling the remainder of your hair out.
No one else in the Coalition criticised the decision because of the ASIO advice.
The opposition finance spokesman, Andrew Robb, has stood by his comments blasting the government for blocking the Chinese telecommunications equipment company, Huawei, from tendering for work with the National Broadband Network, despite the government decision being based on advice from the security agency, ASIO.
Mr Robb, with Bronwyn Bishop and Julie Bishop, recently travelled to China at the company’s expense to visit its Shenzen headquarters. After it was revealed on Saturday that Huawei had been blocked from supplying equipment to the NBN on security grounds, Mr Robb lashed out. He told the Australian Financial Review the decision was ”the latest clumsy, offensive and unprofessional instalment of a truly dysfunctional government”.
LIBERAL frontbencher Andrew Robb’s tough criticism of the government’s decision to ban Chinese firm Huawei from supplying equipment to the national broadband network has been repudiated by senior Coalition colleagues.
Sue, its possible that Abbott knew full well that his comment would be reported, and what better way to distract from more serious matters!
Alexander Downer is in the spotlight – something he usually enjoys, but maybe not this time.
[Same author, different strokes..]
IT ISN’T easy keeping track of everything as a former foreign affairs minister when you’re juggling international political appointments and a host of corporate duties.
Former pollies can be pulled every which way when they venture into private enterprise.
Accusations of conflict of interest often arise when a former politician tries to cash in on their time in public office.
Former foreign minister Alexander Downer found himself in just such a situation.
Downer is a director of Clive Palmer’s Resourcehouse. This week he went public, bemoaning that a Chinese company of which he is a director, Huawei, had been barred from tendering for the national broadband network after advice from ASIO.
This put him in a unique position. On the one hand, he is allied to a maverick businessman who, a fortnight ago, accused America’s CIA of trying to destabilise Australia’s interests by aligning itself with the Greens via the Rockefeller foundation. On the other, Downer has publicly advocated that Huawei, a privately owned Chinese company, be allowed to build Australia’s telecommunications network against the advice of ASIO.
But the tale gets more worrying. What hasn’t been broadcast is Downer’s role with corporate intelligence company Hakluyt, founded by former officers at MI6, Britain’s secret service. Downer, among other political and business luminaries, is on the Hakluyt international advisory board.
British businessman Neil Heywood, who was found dead in his hotel room in China in November, was an adviser to Hakluyt. The mysterious circumstances of his death have sparked a diplomatic rift between Britain and China.
and
***
Former BHP Billiton chairman Don Argus sits alongside Downer on Hakluyt’s advisory board. But Argus’ role is unlikely to attract the same kind of criticism as that of a former foreign minister now embroiled in a deepening political scandal which, while not of his making, certainly could have been avoided.
It’s easy for Abbott to make a suggestion aimed at pleasing the women who vote, and easier still to palm it off to the Productivity Commission, who can be blamed at a much later date when the plan falls over.
“The opposition will have to determine whether they would drag down the quality standards of childcare services overall, or introduce an appropriate regulatory and assessment system for nannies — which would be costly and presumably also taken from the existing funding envelope.”
General Motors, the world’s largest carmaker, has confirmed that it is pulling funding from the Heartland Institute, an ultra-conservative thinktank known for its scepticism about climate change.
The decision by the GM Foundation to halt its support for Heartland after 20 years underlines the new image the carmaker is seeking to project as part of its social responsibility programme. In the past GM has itself been associated with efforts to discredit climate change science, but in recent years it has been investing heavily in green technologies and cars including the electric/petrol hybrid, the Chevy Volt.
In a statement, GM said that it now runs its business “as if climate change is real and believe we have a role to play in developing new cars, trucks and technologies that can make a difference”.
The funding cut – just $15,000 a year – is small beer for the institute, which has a multi-million dollar turnover, largely from a single anonymous donor. But it is a blow to the standing of the thinktank and to the leading role it plays as an advocate of climate change scepticism.
Thank you Ross Gittins, it’s about time someone tackled this issue…
So let’s start with the basics. When governments grant patent, copyright or trademark protection they are intervening in the market to give particular individuals or businesses a monopoly over the commercial exploitation of that idea for up to 20 years.
For starters – copyright is assumed and does not have to be granted.
Patent rights give individuals and businesses protection from exploitation rather than the other way around. However, the system isn’t infallible as several nations eg Russia do not recognise international copyright. Therefore for example, if an Australian comes up with an original invention or work, and it’s somethig successful..you can bet your life on it that there will be cheap copy of it in the cheap junkie type shops within a few months.
There is zilch stopping people copying someone else’s invention, changing the design slightly to get around a patent.
But Gittins is right, people are often discouraged from say taking out a $500,000 loan to market a product when the product can be so easily copied and the copyright/patent protection avoided.
Shock and horror! Yet another example of the waste of the BER – fancy wanting to spend money on something as frivolous as children’s education 🙄
THE ability to use internet search engines such as Google in the classroom is fastly becoming the new way of learning for students at Browns Plains High School.
Now, instead of writing down all of their notes, the students are able to type up their lessons and save slide shows.
Last year, the school purchased 700 brand new laptops to hand out to students in Years 9, 10 and 11 to use on a permanent basis from funds the school received through the Building and Education Revolution (BER).
School principal Mark Blackshaw decided to purchase the laptops instead of building more computer labs.
He said the laptops were more practical as he merged his school towards a new digital age of learning.
“We have to start shifting how the kids learn because they live in a digital and connected world,” Mr Blackshaw said.
“Schools have got to mirror that and see the learning opportunities.
Bacchus, that reminds me of when I was a Disability Advocate. That was a 3 year job..a HREOC case and Anti-Discrimination NSW…not that I ever got paid.
This young lad with Aspgerger’s couldn’t write, but by hell kids are quick on their mobile phones. Therefore with the assistance of Clinical Psychologist Dr. Tony Attwood, it was recommended that the lad be taught keyboard skills. This was rejected by the school.
EVERY child these days should be taught computer use. We take it for granted that children all know these things, so how more important is it for children from low income and other disadvantaged familes have access to these daily in the class room.
Today it seems inconceivable that every home doesn’t have at least one computer – howver, there are plenty which don’t, especially Indigenous families.
How disadvantaged are children who do not have access to a computer. Today it would be almost impossible for a child to even write an assignment without a computer – the alternative being what? Go to the library only to find that there is a 2 week wait for the book to be returned..too bad, the assignment is due in on Monday.
Broken Hill High here in the far west of NSW have also slashed costs in teacher training. Where they once sent one teacher away to Sydney to get the latest up-to-date and then come back and try to up date the rest of staff. They now have all staff training via a video link-up in the newly built BER funded IT classroom. A saving of travel costs(flights,accom,taxi etc), costs associated while staff away(casual teachers etc) and with all staff doing the training, a better understanding of the training topic. These are on going savings that benifit the school in other areas.
Add an NBN into that picture LOVO – you could train all the teachers in the state or the country at the same time 😉
Yes Min – I well remember when son was in year 7. We went up to the local prestigious Private School (John Paul College) to sit the exam for a scholarship. This would have been in 1998. Even then, parents were expected to buy a laptop from the school for every student entering year 8. The school provided all the software and servicing of the computers, but that came at the up-front cost parents had to pay.
Luckily, son didn’t win a scholarship there 🙂
ps. I just checked the current JPC laptop program – all students from year 4 onwards must have school provided laptops now, these days leased for a minimum of 3 years from the school.
Broken Hill High here in the far west of NSW have also slashed costs in teacher training.
I disagree with that statement LOVO
Broken Hill is in the Far East of South Australia (imo) 😉
..or the far north west of Tungamah…or quite close to Menindee.
Actually, if you zoom far enough out on Google Earth. we’re all actually quite close 🙂
Hooray!
‘A 106-YEAR-OLD legal opinion written by a former chief justice of the High Court has been unearthed by lawyers for the South Australian government to scuttle the national plan for the Murray-Darling river system.
‘The document, Waters of Murray River and its Tributaries and Interstate Rights to Divert Them, was found by the government’s external legal team in the state’s archives during preparations for High Court action being threatened over the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s draft plan.’
Pip
thanks to those links from earlier today, some good reading there. Robb is a worry with his comments, however it appears his own side of politics is the side more interested in damaging him. There is something going on within the Liberals.
On Schools and the new age of learning. A friends grandkids have all their homework online. Tough hey, no excuses.
Hi Sue, I think you’re right, there is something going on behind the scenes with Andrew Robb and the Coalition.
Is he trying to force a showdown perhaps, after all he and Hockey don’t seem to even be on the same page!
As well, we should keep in mind that Abbott had only 50% backing of his colleagues.
Pip
Downer may have afew more thoughts on Bo and the latest crackdown in China
“The campaign, which was announced late Friday and put in place in stages through Saturday, was directly linked to the political instability that has gripped China since one of its most charismatic politicians, Bo Xilai, lost his post in mid-March. That spurred rumors of a coup, which the government-run Xinhua news agency cited as the reason for the measures
and from your link
“Heywood died in the southern city of Chongqing. Until a fortnight ago, the region was governed by Bo Xilai, a rising star in Chinese politics who was destined this year to sit on the elite nine-member standing committee of the Communist Party’s Politburo.
This month Bo was sacked after his former deputy fled to the American consulate, where he raised the possibility of foul play in Heywood’s death.
Heywood was cremated immediately after he died. There was no autopsy and his ashes were handed to his family. The British embassy in Beijing has now demanded a fresh investigation, and Beijing now seems willing.”
THE biggest price cuts in the history of the nation’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme will hit chemist shelves today, delivering big savings to families.
Prices will be slashed on 1000 brands of 60 popular prescription medicines by up to $14 per script.
Some of the most widely used medications, including scores of antibiotics, painkillers, antidepressants, cholesterol controllers, laxatives, blood pressure and heart drugs, will fall in price, thanks to a Gillard government move which brings drug costs into line with the market price.
“Speaking at a carbon farming forum organised by Federal Member for Page Janelle Saffin, Mr Dreyfus encouraged farmers, land owners, local government and other stakeholders to utilise the Carbon Farming Initiative to generate extra income by reducing agricultural and landfill waste pollution.
“Climate change poses a serious risk to the future of Australian agriculture and food production, with scientists confirming a strong link to less predictable and more intense weather events. Over the next six years, the Gillard Government will support the land sector by investing $1.7 billion dollars of carbon price revenue to support the CFI and other programs to improve productivity, sustainability and profitability,” said Mr Dreyfus.
While in the region, the Parliamentary Secretary also visited Casino West Public School, which received funding under the National Solar Schools Program, and met with local councils to discuss the CFI and the Government’s Clean Energy Future plan. ”
good story, And the Tele has it online @11.58pm it is such a good story I expect to see it in the news for days. Wouldn’t that be an April Fools joke, the Tele printing good news for Gillard govt and the punters.
More savings for families, but haven’t the pharmacists been doing well, from that link
“But in many cases, pharmacists have been buying lower-cost drugs – including generic versions of well-known brands – from wholesalers, and still claiming the full government rebate.
Pharmacists were then able to pocket the difference – at huge expense to the taxpayer.
Now, the government’s “price disclosure” agreement, which comes into effect today, requires the drug industry to reveal the true market price of that drug. The government will now only pay the market price, rather than the previous set price.
Now here is a real april fools joke, the Tele accusing Barrel O ‘Lies of LYING!
“PREMIER Barry O’Farrell is being accused of lying about a state government report into school speed zones as well as violating parliamentary rules and his own ministerial code of conduct.
The Sunday Telegraph last week revealed the Staysafe committee had recommended the government consider enforcing 40km/h zones outside schools up to 24 hours a day.
VIVA Las Coolum: Queensland’s richest man Clive Palmer is set to gamble on his boldest business venture yet – creating a mini Las Vegas on the Sunshine Coast.
The multi-billionaire mining magnate is looking at luring Asian high-rollers by adding a casino to his luxury resort and golf course in the sleepy tourist town.
I can’t help wondeing how many pokie machines will be made available for the locals in order to add to Queensland’s coffers.
and
Mr Palmer, the Liberal National Party’s biggest donor, would need approval from the newly elected State Government but that is unlikely to be a barrier.
THE man blamed for demonising refugees with false claims they threw children overboard, former defence minister Peter Reith, has taken part in the next SBS series of Go Back To Where You Came From.
In a coup for SBS and production company Cordell Jigsaw, Mr Reith will headline the second series of the documentary, which proved a big ratings and social media success last year.
Mr Reith will join a volatile mix of media commentators and celebrities. The cast includes lads’ magazine model Imogen Bailey, Rose Tattoo frontman Angry Anderson, Sydney shock-jock Mike Smith, consumer advocate Allan Asher and comic Catherine Deveny.
How Mr. Reith found the time to leave The Drum to do this program is a mystery, although he’ll no doubt smile his gormless ‘trust me’ smile and
worm his way out of having to explain his previous actions!
Gawd, Angry Anderson, “oh, Mike”, and Peter Reith, all in the one show….
too much…!
Pip
sure that isn’t a joke? Reith, Angry and Smith just a bit too settled in their bias aren’t they?
So the Premier’s advisor had worked for Star casino for 16 years. And the advisor’s partner was one of the complainants. And Packer, with the Premiers backing, wants to open a rival casino.
Not much in that story, the public hearings, ‘to investigate the circumstances surrounding the sacking of Mr Vaikunta over inappropriate ”behaviour in a social work setting” and the timeliness in which Echo reported the affair to regulatory authorities’ will probably be over quite quickly.
He and Abbott would be in lock step. Both were educated by the Jesuits at Riverview, the great Catholic boys’ school on the banks of the Lane Cove River. While Abbott’s roots are sunk in the barren rocks of the nasty old Democratic Labor Party, Joyce is a pork-barrelling Queensland primitive in the Joh Bjelke-Petersen mould. But in the end they converge. Each is an unashamed right-wing populist who will say anything to get elected: stop the boats, axe the tax, climate change is crap, the prime minister is a liar. Sloganeering for the talkback and tabloid masses is so much easier than the unspectacular grind of making public policy.
Even more so than Abbott, Joyce comes with the added baggage of a touchy-feely chumminess with the mining magnates Clive Palmer and Gina Rinehart. Last year he flew in Rinehart’s private jet as her guest at the sumptuous, three-day wedding of an Indian industrialist in Hyderabad, a frolic he described as ”absolutely mind-blowing”. A few weeks ago he inserted himself into the Rinehart family inheritance feud, revealing that he had written to one of the estranged daughters urging her to drop her case against Mummy.
Imagine it: Barnaby Joyce, MP, the Member for Rinehart and Acting Prime Minister of Australia whenever Abbott slips into the lycra and goes off cycling.
THE aged-care industry is one of the gre
Have to get behind the pay-wall to see what it actually means.
I cannot tell from the headlines. Maybe el gordo has a copy of the finding, or where it ie to be found.
I am interested in what they thought 106 years ago, long before all that water was removed from the river.
el gordo, I suggest that small business look to bug business for some of their woes.
I can still remembering small business going into the polls praising their hero Mr. Howard, way back when he first ran for PM.
Mr. Howard was great at promising, maybe el gordo, you can enlightened me of one thing he delivered in this regard.
I would find of it hard to believe many small businesses had faith in Labor to lose.
Why they stick to a party that does not deliver is beyond me.
I can only think they must be slow learners.
Three letters that small business just loved about the Howard government – GST Another three – BAS 🙄
VIVA Las Coolum: Queensland’s richest man Clive Palmer is set to gamble on his boldest business venture yet – creating a mini Las Vegas on the Sunshine Coast.
Haystacks of Strawmen. The unskilled level of political debate in Australia. wp.me/p1gCe-5Xg
Even Telstra wants to showoff the benefits of the NBN
The Telstra Fibre Experience Centre is a travelling showcase that demonstrates Telstra services and products working live on the NBN, which has been rolled out in the area of Armidale surrounding the university
Telstra Country Wide area general manager Tricia Wilson said the centre was a chance for local residents to learn more about the improvements to services, NBN would bring to the region.
Catching up @ 11.14am, about Barbaby Joyce and Tony Abbott:-
He and Abbott would be in lock step. Both were educated by the Jesuits at Riverview, the great Catholic boys’ school on the banks of the Lane Cove River.
After reading about their old school my conclusion is that Joyce and Abbott failed to take on board the important ethical considerations of caring for the most vulnerable, favouring instead, the selfish road of cynical politics.
Ignatian Service
“Helping Souls” was a primary concern for Ignatius and came from his desire, like Jesus, to be at the service of those who are left out, ostracised, isolated and/or thought to be unimportant. It is these other people living on the margins of our society that Ignatius chose to be with and it is these same people that we are challenged to stand with and for today in the churches.”
(“Preferential option for the poor.)
Our Ignatian tradition calls us to enter into solidarity with the poor, the marginalised, and the voiceless, in order to enable their participation in the processes that shape the society in which we all live and work. They in turn teach us about our own poverty as no document can.
It’s easy to come down harsh on religion, but let’s have a look at the ethics..
Ignatian Service
“Helping Souls” was a primary concern for Ignatius and came from his desire, like Jesus, to be at the service of those who are left out, ostracised, isolated and/or thought to be unimportant.
This does not mean to say that the religion as he/she is practiced is worthy…but let’s not blame the original intent.
Could not possibility be true.
O’FARRELL went about his job unencumbered by any leadership speculation for exactly 11 months, three weeks and six days.
He couldn’t quite make the one-year mark. This is NSW, after all.
It was the hard right of the Liberal Party, led by Chris Hartcher, the Energy Minister, and his fellow factional warlord, David Clarke, that put the subject on the agenda.
The Hartcher-Clarke forces briefed journalists during the government’s one-year anniversary coverage that they would back Baird in any baton change. This has put Baird head and shoulders above O’Farrell’s preferred successor, the Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian. Baird is from the Liberal left but his conservative family views appeal to the Christian right.
In a bid to assert more influence over O’Farrell, the right has established a new sub-group, the Conservative Forum, led by Hartcher, the Attorney-General, Greg Smith, the Police Minister, Mike Gallacher, and the Fair Trading Minister, Anthony Roberts.
Moderate and centre-right MPs say everything is not as it seems with the Conservative Forum. ”It’s a sabre-rattling exercise,” one Liberal source said. ”Its formation is a symptom the right is suffering a relevance deficit, having seen its candidates rolled in five of the past five federal preselections in NSW.”
Bridget Abbott’s new public profile is being overseen by her father’s parliamentary office to shield the 19-year-old from making any political ”gotcha” moments for Tony Abbott.
The Opposition Leader’s youngest daughter made her fashion debut yesterday as one of the ambassadors for the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.
When The Sun-Herald called the Australian Turf Club to speak to Ms Abbott about the trend of politicians’ children taking up modelling, the paper was referred to Mr Abbott’s press secretary and told Ms Abbott does not have her own agent. ”[Bridget] is being managed by Tony Abbott’s media agents,” the BMW Sydney Carnival’s PR agency, Torstar Communications, said in an email. Asked on Friday whether taxpayer dollars were being used to foot the bill for media inquiries about Ms Abbott’s activities, a spokesman for Mr Abbott said his office was not acting as her agents.
THE pokies war is over.
The poker machine industry has claimed victory and has called off its controversial $40 million campaign that targeted worried Labor MPs in the Government’s most marginal seats.
In a big boost for Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her team, more than 4200 clubs across the country will be told today to remove anti-Labor propaganda after Clubs Australia decided it was happy with the Government’s watered-down reforms.
Specifically targeting 41 Labor electorates in Queensland, NSW and Victoria, the grassroots campaign will now scrap 2.5 million beer coasters, thousands of posters and banners, cease advertising and order staff to stop wearing campaign uniforms.
The campaign was launched to stop reforms hatched with Independent MP Andrew Wilkie that would have seen the rollout of mandatory pre-commitment (MPC) technology in 2014.
Bullshit and the love of money go together like bacon and eggs!
AGW Scam exposed!
A group of colleagues has all but solved one of the greatest remaining puzzles in climate science. But the story is not one of scientific triumph – rather, it is so embarrassing that we had controversial discussions in our group whether to break this to a wider public at all.
Clive Palmer’s Gold Coast United has lost its Supreme Court bid to secure an injunction against its expulsion from the A-League.
The struggling Gold Coast United club was axed from the competition on Tuesday, following a series of alleged breaches of its participation agreement to play in the A-League.
Justice Jean Dalton refused the application for an injunction about 7.45pm.
She ruled the wearing of the “Freedom of Speech” slogan was not a material breach of the club participation agreement, but Mr Palmer’s repetitive comments, particularly on Feburary 19 and 20, were a serious matter and she did consider them to be a materail breach.
Mr. Palmer boasted recently that he had won 68 Court cases and lost none;
what a busy little litigant he is.
And Old Clive knows when to fold, payout before court decides.
Por old soccer/football fans on the Gold Coast, I hope you realise that Clive is over his football thing and is now more interested in Gambling, his own Casino, and up the road on the Sunshine Coast .
Another side to the headlines of last week
TWENTY faith leaders have signed a letter urging people to declare their support for same sex marriage to two federal parliamentary inquiries on the issue.
The move follows six Victorian Catholic bishops writing to their parishioners to tell them allowing gay couples to marry would be a ”grave mistake” and would undermine the institution of marriage.
Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal George Pell has made a submission to the inquiry supporting the traditional definition of marriage.
But two of Sydney’s most high-profile Catholic women – Kristina Keneally and Clover Moore – have put in their own submissions disagreeing with their Archbishop.
Kristina Keneally said that taking a contrary view to church teaching was not a position she had come to lightly.
”It is formed by prayer, reading, and reflection. It gives me no relish to be at odds with my church,” she said. ”But it also gives me no joy to see people who are created in God’s image unable to fully express their humanity, or live with the rights and dignity that heterosexual people are afforded. I act in good conscience – as a Catholic, I can do nothing else.”
Palmer knows where the money is. One thing that astounds me is how multi-millionaires such as Palmer can want to be involved in the gambling industry. It’s a bit like taking the torn shirt off a beggar’s back.
Jamie Packer has done well out of gambling, his dad would be proud.
ICHEAT…refreshing read.
I may have missed something, but didn’t see the word ‘lag’ anywhere?
El gordo, there’s an advert on Sky from Tom Waterhouse who boasts about gambling being in his blood..I’d be looking for a transfusion.
I may have missed something
It is highly likely
On pondering this question of the ‘lags’, the oceans hold the answer.
grodo ran a simulation
It contained the variable ILIE
Clive wants to fly in the new money, the businessmen from china. poor old sunshine coast, they once thought themselves above the gold coast.
There could also be an expanding business opportunity for Goldman Sachs.
lol
A poll, sponsored by a denialist think tank, fails to get the results, but that doesn’t stop ltd news from putting their slant on it
A Galaxy poll for the Institute of Public Affairs found 18 per cent of people regard the country’s official climate change spokesman as “somewhat unreliable”, while 7 per cent consider him “very unreliable”. Less than a third, 31 per cent, found him somewhat or very reliable.
(yea, this should probably be in the media thread)
Tom R
The Drum will have the Tim Flannery issue as a major talking point. I hope the new Chairman watches.
Flummery is a loser, let’s hope Julia keeps him in the chair.
The Drum will have the Tim Flannery issue as a major talking point
Along with their resident IPA spruiker no doubt. In an ‘official’ capacity 😉
And the 2 News ltd independent journalists.
Flummery is a loser
not according to 75% of the respondents
And the 2 News ltd independent journalists.
Just for balance 😉
Or
Peter Reith and a labor identity Hawker/Latham/Richardson
nothing like balance
A third of Labor voters oppose the tax on carbon dioxide, in the belief that its a harmless trace gas.
Who are these people?
We could start with very small business operators who normally vote Labor being opposed, while public servants and ex PS are more than likely in favor of the tax.
Is this the workplace we want.
Sometimes this is true. But 99 percent of the time “flexibility” is code for “free for all” in the labour market. Ultimately that means the boss gets to dictate the hours and conditions of work. Most people working in retail and hospitality, where casualisation rates are among highest, know this from experience: you get work when the rush is on and are sent home when it’s slow. An employee’s preference for hours may be taken into consideration, but only insofar as it corresponds to the employer’s actual needs.
This is what the bosses want. The bosses utopia, the workers hell. Once again bact ti the past, the master, servant regime.
You expect nothing less from this Opposition.
Insecure labour boosts profits at the expense of workers in a number of ways.
Firstly employers save money by paying less in wages. It is usually illegal to undercut the Award (although many do), so the easiest way to reduce the wage bill is to reduce the total amount of hours worked. If everyone were full time, that wouldn’t be possible without sacking someone. But with the rise of “flexible” labour, hours of work can be altered significantly, depending on the needs of the firm.
Secondly, the risk of undertaking business is transferred more readily onto the shoulders of the workforce. If business is slow, the boss can offset more of the cost simply by not engaging those employees s/he decides are unnecessary. The “risk profile” of the investment, as it is called in finance, is much more favourable when potential losses can be mitigated in this way.
Thirdly, the rate of exploitation can be increased by putting more pressure on those workers who remain permanent and full time. One “big picture” illustration of this is the relationship between underemployment and overwork. On one hand there are over 850,000 part timers who would like to work more hours, but can’t get them. On the other, there are 2.2 million who would prefer to work fewer hours (more than 1.8 million of whom work upwards of 50 hours per week).
By under-working the former group of employees, the latter can be more effectively screwed. The total amount of work that gets done is then much more than the actual price paid for its performance. Research by the Australia Institute suggests that the total amount of unpaid overtime performed by full time permanent staff totals a whopping $72 billion every year.
Lastly, precarious employment allows bosses to create a more pliant workforce. When people already have fewer rights they are less confident to speak up about unsafe work practices, or to stand up to bullying or harassment. The fact that so many are desperate to get a few more hours – or to be put on permanently – make them more likely to just put up with whatever shit the boss is doling out, just to make sure they still have a job tomorrow. In the longer term, this process is an important way for the bosses to try and undermine the power of the trade unions (which, compounding the problem, have been unsuccessful at breaking into the casualised sectors of the workforce).
“Mr. Palmer boasted recently that he had won 68 Court cases and lost none;
what a busy little litigant he is.”
It does not say how he won. I might be a cynic but I suspect that many could not afford to continue the fight. Their pockets just not deep enough.
Now, the football club is another matter,
He might find taking on the government in the same league.
“”It’s not a tax. It’s (an) emissions trading scheme that starts with a fixed-price period. Let’s just get that straight again from the start,” Mr Combet told ABC radio today.
“Even Prime Minister Julia Gillard admitted it was a tax” says the opposition
Well, I don’t recall her saying that. I do recall her saying that others can call it a tax if they want. Not the same thing. Can we call them Liars now?
Sue I hope the new ABC Chairman sweeps the IPA/coal and tobacco promoters out of the ABC completely; they should be promoting their opinions in a commercial setting, not out of the ABC’s government revenue stream.
Tom, Well, I don’t recall her saying that. I do recall her saying that others can call it a tax if they want. Not the same thing. Can we call them Liars now?
Why not, that’s what they are!
I heard Fran Kelly this morning, running interference, trying to block Mr. Combet’s perfectly articulated responses with her comment that the Prime Minister did say “carbon tax”…thankfully Greg Combet shot her down in a second.
thankfully Greg Combet shot her down in a second.
Was this his reply
You can make that observation.
Because if it was, sorry, it didn’t work. “No she didn’t” would have been the better one
Poor ol’ Bazza O’Farrell needs to keep up; complaints have been around about the government announcing the NDIS but ” there’s no funding”…
THE Gillard government is preparing to launch its proposed $15 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme next financial year with substantial start-up funding to be announced as a central feature of the federal budget.
Julia Gillard has placed overhauling the way the nation supports and cares for Australians with a disability at the core of Labor’s social equity agenda.
Wayne Swan told social welfare advocates this week that the May budget would not be a “choice between surplus or social policy” because budget management made social improvements possible and sustainable, and enabled the government room to deliver big, forward-looking reforms.
The Treasurer foreshadowed that existing programs would be reduced or axed to find savings in the face of dwindling revenue.
This is Bazza, two days after the Government announcement!
JULIA Gillard and Wayne Swan have been accused by the Victorian government of perpetrating a “cruel hoax” on disabled Australians by talking up a national disability insurance scheme before any funding deal has been put to the states.
And the West Australian government has cited the proposed NDIS as evidence federal Labor is in the habit of “committing fully to projects without having much idea how much the projects will cost”.
You’re right Tom, your suggestion would have been much more effective. 🙂
Btw, I can’t seem to have my comments posted on your blog for some reason.
Sorry about that Pip. That blog is kind of in stasis at the moment
It is a Google blog (or, at least the account I sue on it is Google), and I have not logged into that account since they started amalgamating all Google accounts into one. So it might be that it is Kaput 😦
Basically, I don’t trust them. They are not the Google of old.
That’s a shame Tom.
@ Tom R on April 2, 2012 at 11:06 am
Crikey have taken up the case for Tim Flannery:
Galaxy also took a different view.
“Opinion on the reliability of Tim Flannery as a source of information about climate change is divided,” Galaxy explained in its “Main Findings” section.
The reason? More people actually found him reliable (31%) than unreliable (24%). A crucial additional fact from the survey went unreported. The greatest number, 45%, were uncommitted.
Galaxy explains: “A sizeable minority (45%) are uncommitted. This will include those not sure how reliable he is as a source of information as well as those who don’t know who he is.”
So, 76% of respondents had either a positive or neutral opinion of Flannery.
“Mr. Palmer boasted recently that he had won 68 Court cases and lost none”
lol CU – I suppose “settling out of court” doesn’t count as a loss 😆
Bacchus, which basically indicates that what the media have achieved is to confuse people. 45% of uncommiteds is a huge number for any poll.
Min
the repondents for the poll may have wanted to know who was behind it, if told the IPA well 45% may have been WTF!
A vote of no confidence in the IPA
where does the stupidity end. On one hand we are all going to be rooned. On the other the government is giving us too much in compensation.
Climate Change Minister Greg Combet has dismissed as ‘rubbish’ claims that workers will be overcompensated for the carbon tax.
The Australian Industry Group (AIG) has asked Fair Work Australia to limit the next rise in the minimum wage to $14 a week – below the rate of inflation, The Australian reports.
The industry group argues the cost of the carbon tax will be far less than the compensation received through government measures.
‘Isn’t it funny that you’ve got some peak business people running around like Chicken Little screaming fear and all the rest of it,’ Mr Combet told ABC Radio on Monday.
‘And then on the other hand you’ve got the Australian Industry Group indicating that people are being overcompensated with the assistance.
‘There’s just a lot of rubbish that goes on in the debate that we’re hearing.’
AIG says the compensation offered by the government to offset the impact of the carbon price is so generous that the lowest-paid workers should only get a 2.4 per cent pay rise.
The Clean Future Act is taking form very quickly. There will be much to undo. How this could be done without harming the economy and instability for business, is beyond me.
LIVE: Breaking News
The Clean Energy Regulator, which is overseeing the government’s carbon price scheme, has begun operations.
The Clean Energy Regulator is an independent statutory authority that will administer several schemes including the carbon pricing mechanism which starts on July 1.
It was formally established and started work on Monday.
It also will be responsible for national greenhouse and energy reporting, the renewable energy target, carbon farming initiatives and the national registry of emissions units.
Cu, AIG says the compensation offered by the government to offset the impact of the carbon price is so generous that the lowest-paid workers should only get a 2.4 per cent pay rise.
What a colossal cheek – it is not be an either/or situation.
A pay rise would never be given by an AIG employer to compensate for the carbon price.
A pay rise is just that – a pay rise.
Pip, the arguments are beyond belief. That is mainly because there are no logical arguments against what the government is doing.
They have to start off with, it will not lower the warming or something equally misleading. It is not meant to make the globe cooler. It is to stop it getting hotter.
Where they get their figures from is puzzling.
At the end of the day, even if we call it a tax, we are not paying it.
Australian singer Jimmy Little has died at the age of 75.
He died at his home in Dubbo in central-west New South Wales from complications from a longstanding condition.
Little was well known both within the Aboriginal and broader Australian music industry for such songs as Royal Telephone and the top 10 single Baby Blue.
Royal Telephone was the first song by an Indigenous performer to top the pop music charts and become a mainstream hit with white audiences.
It was recorded in the 1960s when Aboriginals were not recognised as citizens.
and
Little’s music saw him officially recognised as a National Living Treasure, awarded an Order of Australia and inducted into the music industry’s Aria Hall of Fame.
He was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Sydney University for his contribution to Aboriginal culture.
Little underwent a kidney transplant in 2004 and then suffered the onset of crippling diabetes.
He also lent his name to the Jimmy Little Foundation, which works to combat the high rate of kidney disease and diabetes among Indigenous Australians.
Rest in peace gentle Jimmy.
Jimmy Little has died.
Community Service Announcement
Ratty…. if yer lurkin’… its called The Farnham Report.
El gordo, I think that you will find a link on the RHS of this blog.
One for Jimmy Little…
el grodo, ‘ratty’ lurks here… who’d have guessed?
Mr. Carr on. Getting the message across. Things, they are a changing, regardless of what the polls say. ABC24
Broken promise once again reared it’s ugly head. How long can this ONE alleged lie be kept up.
Thanks el gordo, you mean that ratty has been peeking through the cafe window for over one and half years. I hope that we’ve given him’her a thrill for his’her money.
Ratty…. if yer lurkin’
Here we witness the mating call of the ideological tragic
Agree, the PM should not ponder on the headlines or polls. She should keep going as she is now. Forget about Mr. Abbott, he is of no concern. He has nothing new to add to any debate. His name does not have to be mentioned, unless he makes a mistake and says something of importance. Not much chance of that happiness.
My mother’s favourite singer was Frank Sinatra. It was out of character and the only time I question her judgement, but there was one song of his that applies to our PM today.
“I did it my way.”
The historic political massacre in the sunshine State – and the inexorable seeping Liberal tide – presents Julia Gillard with a special opportunity: to govern for the next 18 months without fear, compromise and with a big, bold and freewheeling agenda.
Cast aside the inclination to be politically timid on any issue – from tax reform, infrastructure investment, size and role of government, immigration and so on.
Jettison the silly focus groups. Forget the media cycle and the obsession with ‘winning’ the message. The media won’t comply.
Don’t play political favourites with the States. Deal with the premiers as leaders who have a serious job of governing in partnership with the commonwealth and deal with the Greens as a lobby group, not co-partners in government.
Desist from using the parliament as a cheap political stage. Ignore the taunts and the name-calling of Opposition politicians. Cut out the manic obsession with Tony Abbott. Tony can attract enough self-attention without his political opposition intervening – as the past few days have proved.
Stand above it – and simply deliver good public policy as best you can allowing for the cards you have been dealt.
Min, I admire el gordo’s persistence even when she gets no takers.
Another one found innocence. How many careers are going to be destroyed before politicians start respecting the that one is innocence until proven guilty.
I believe many on the Coalition side do not care.
Of course we are going to hear an apology.
A former New South Wales Labor MP has launched a legal challenge to findings that she engaged in corrupt conduct.
In 2010, the state’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) found Angela D’Amore falsely claimed more than $4,000 through a parliamentary allowance.
The commission found that the MP instructed or authorised two staffers to falsely claim the allowance, known as Sitting Day Relief, during 2006 and 2007.
and
Brett Walker SC for Ms D’Amore has this morning told the Supreme Court there was not sufficient evidence to support a finding of criminal conduct against her.
He said that there was no evidence before the ICAC that she had knowingly instructed staff to put false information in claims forms.
The Counsel told the court that the misinformation could have been an innocent mistake.
Counsel for the ICAC Justin Gleeson SC has told the court that the commission hearing heard conflicting evidence before making its findings.
Min, I admire el gordo’s persistence even when she gets no takers.
It must be something to do with the size of her butt..or perhaps she wears jackets. 😉
Tom..el gordo and t’other person and a mating call. I somehow find that kinda freeky..
‘…ideological tragic.’
I’ll have you know The Farnham Report is a respectable Liberal leaning blog.
This was the Australian scene a few short years ago, The highest Liberal in the land was Mr. Newman, as Brisbane mayor.
It can and probably will swing back the other way. It appears to be the nature of Australian politics for well over the last half century or more.
Mr. Howard at one stage had to deal with all Labor Premiers.
There is much rubbish being written.
The Rudd government completed a clean sweep of Labor government’s across the country. For the first time in Australian history Labor was in power federally and in every state and territory. It capped a quarter century of success for the Labor Party since its sweep to office in most states in the early 1980s. Labor has had more electoral success since 1980 than at any time in its history.
Yet just five years on from its 2006-7 high-point, some are predicting the demise of the Labor Party.
El gordo, whatever. Same time, same place and nothing’s changed.
Notice, the downturns appear to be sudden each time.
The first is that the party in office federally clearly has a deleterious impact on that party’s representation across the country. Every period of federal Coalition government since 1969 has seen a rise in Labor representation, and every period of federal Labor government has seen a decline in Labor representation.
Second, the three formations of federal Labor governments since 1969 have coincided with new peaks in Labor representation. Labor’s representation has nose-dived since 2010, but it is a bit hard to say this is somehow structural rather than cyclical when you compare it with the four decades previous.
A third point to make is that safe seats don’t seem to be as safe as they used to be, especially in urban areas. In 2002 the Bracks Labor government won middle class seats that Labor would never have dreamt of winning previously. At the NSW and Queensland elections, the Liberal Party/LNP won seats they had never previously held.
What you make of the graph above and the next one depends on which bits you think are most important. Focus on the last three years and it is all about Labor demise. Focus on the five years before that it is about record Labor success. Scan the four decades and it is all about ebbs and flows.
The next graph removes the Federal seats and just concentrates on state Labor representation. Again the shading shows the party composition of the federal government in the same period.
The graph again shows the impact of party composition at the federal level on state representation for Labor. It reveals more clearly the period of Labor state success since 2000, but also more starkly how Labor’s representation has fallen off a cliff at the last two state elections.
As the graph shows, Labor briefly held a majority of state seats between 1982 and 1985. Labor’s greatest state success however has been since 2001, when the unpopularity of the Howard government played a part in the defeat of conservative governments in Western Australia and the Northern Te
Cu, at the time there were several on the nose Labor state governments and the only reason that they weren’t tossed was because nobody in their right mind would have wanted to hand even more power over to John Howard.
The more Liberal state governments elected, giving due regard to the fact that we’re not looking at a federal election for quite some time – then the Libs at state government level have plenty of time to be on the nose with the electorate..in fact, they’re already excelling themselves in this regard. This therefore encourages people to stop and have a think: Do we really want Tony Abbott to be Australia’s Prime Minister?
The industrial watchdog is expected to reveal the broad findings of its investigation into the Health Services Union’s (HSU) national office, and the union’s former boss Craig Thomson, on Tuesday.
Fair Work Australia has yet to guarantee all of the details of the investigation – which in part looked at alleged credit card misuse by Mr Thomson, who now sits as a federal Labor MP – will be publicly released.
FWA kicked off an inquiry into the union’s finances in April 2009 but it became a fully fledged investigation in March 2010.
It has been alleged the credit card in the name of Mr Thomson, as the union’s national secretary from 2002 to 2007, was used to pay for prostitutes, lavish meals and cash withdrawals.
TWENTY faith leaders have signed a letter urging people to declare their support for same sex marriage to two federal parliamentary inquiries on the issue.
The move follows six Victorian Catholic bishops writing to their parishioners to tell them allowing gay couples to marry would be a ”grave mistake” and would undermine the institution of marriage.
Signatories of the pro-gay marriage letter, organised by the gay marriage campaigners Australian Marriage Equality, include the Sydney Uniting Church minister Bill Crews, the Baptist minister Mike Hercock, the Metropolitan Community Church pastor Karl Hand and the Outreach Ministries church fellowship senior pastor Shane Anderson.
The story on Barrel O’Lies and Star casino is now getting interesting. It is even to be on 7.30 tonight, goodness, it mus be bad for Barrel.
Gina Rinehart on Australian Story tonight. ABC 1
Can see where the rumours are coming from last week with removal of O’Farrell.
The Coalition has set the bar so high during the Labor years. They now have to get over in, themselves.
Sue, I wonder why Labor does not throw the dirt like the other side. What Bligh was accused of was mild.
This is a good idea…
‘The federal government will allow workers from the United States, such as electricians and plumbers, to get their licences to work in Australia on arrival.’
‘BOB Brown’s kooky speech to his “fellow Earthians” deserves greater scrutiny. Apart from providing an insight into the Greens plan for a universal world government, it makes clear the dilemma confronting the Gillard government.
‘With fewer than three in every 10 people now identifying Labor as their political party of first choice, Julia Gillard has two options: she can continue chasing the votes of her fellow Earthians to the left, or she can rejoin the contest for the mainstream Australia.’
You got a link for that el gordo? 😉
Ouch
Laws -Tell me the difference between a levy and a tax
Abbott – Well…umm…John…we can speculate all day
Laws – No, no we don’t need to speculate.
Abbott – I accept John, I absolutely accept that the paid parental leave scheme does have to be paid for and it is going to be paid for by a levy which you prefer to call a tax, it will be paid for by a levy or a tax if you prefer that term..um.. on larger companies.
Now, I wonder if this revelation will get the same frenzied attack that Gillards “I don’t care if you call it a tax’ got.
Even though, Gillards argument is not if a fixed price is a tax or not, it is simply not The Carbon Tax that was being referred to at the time. No wonder she didn’t want to play semantic games, it was (well, should have been) irrelevant.
I’m guessing this will go through to the keeper though.
Boo Hoo Ten News Sydney doesn't love me. Story floated off to the never never.
I see on trusty 9 news tonight that “the Federal Government” is in a bit more strife. Yes, “the Federal Government” is in a bit of trouble with representatives of the old folks’ carers, & “the Federal Government” is in the S.A. Government’s bad books over the Murray Darling.
But not everyone from those parts is in trouble, some are showing quite a generous spirit. We learn in a segment on the Fiji floods that “Canberra” is sending a million dollars in relief aid. It didn’t specify what part of “Canberra” is doing the giving. Perhaps Sophie Mirabella’s organised something or the people running the Fyshwyck mobile lunch trolley have passed the hat round. Does anybody know?
No el grodo, Chris Kenny has been off key for years!
The best he can come up with is the same old slanted lines from the Liberal handbook, even the same silly words, ie. “Earthians”, as his fellow traveller, Perce Akerman.
“Gina Rinehart on Australian Story tonight. ABC 1”
hmmm – interesting (and old) “puff piece” spouting the virtues of Gina. “Their ABC” still doing the work of the RWDBs?
Tom @ 8.29pm, that’s priceless, and yes, it will go straight through to the keeper
Sorry Pip – you spelled that incorrectly. It’s Pies Akerman 😆 Lovely fellow 🙄
Alleged harassment
Five former employees, three of whom agreed to be named, have said they witnessed Mr Akerman “sexually harass” female members of his staff, according to a 1991 story in a rival newspaper.
Alleged assault threat
One of the most controversial episodes in Akerman’s life was his alleged threat to assault the literary editor of The Advertiser, Shirley Stott Despoja. The dispute ended before a full bench of the Supreme Court where the newspaper appealed against Stott Despoja’s successful worker’s compensation claim for stress-related sick leave pay. Stott Despoja alleged: “I was physically threatened by the editor while alone with him in an office in a dispute over my work.” The appeal by The Advertiser was dismissed and Stott Despoja won her $4000 claim.
Defamation
In 2006, former director of NRMA Richard James Talbot was awarded a $200,000 defamation payout plus costs. In regards to one point the judgment read “The inaccuracies of fact by the defendant [Akerman] on this topic are gross”.
Bacchus, Pies is much more fitting… 😆
It’s true, his form sheet makes for interesting reading!
The thing that gets me is the way jerks like Adderman can front up and denigrate and pontificate to their hearts content from their supposedly moral high ground.
Mr. Abbott must have been asked some questions in that interview this morning. That must have been s shock to his system.
AUSTRALIA’S greatest ancient Aboriginal rock art detailing kangaroos, turtles and humans on boulders in the remote Pilbara area will be studied under a US$1.1 million deal announced Monday.
Tens of thousands of the indigenous works, which are scattered over the mineral-laden region, will be researched and catalogued under a six-year agreement between the University of Western Australia and miner Rio Tinto.
Although one of the world’s richest collections of Aboriginal art, the carvings which lie on the National Heritage-listed Dampier Archipelago, about 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) north of Perth, have never been fully documented.
continue.
This is very good news, and an excellent read.
Yes, care of the age is another disaster that Mr. Howard left behind. Was not Bronwyn minister at one time. The minister that seen nothing wrong with kerosene baths.
The audio is here – http://www.2sm.com.au/laws.html#audio
Daily show 2nd April, at about 58 minutes, to save you listening to the whole thing.
stay tuned until you hear John’ comments about his dictionary research and his snipe at Abbott after he has left the studio
Wilkie has just said he believes the PM is attacked because of her gender.
Caused an uproar, but he stick to what he said.
I believe if the PM was a man, she would not be getting the shit she is.
Quite true, Cu. How often do we hear nasty comments about the size of .. oh.. let’s say… Joe Hockey’s bum??
Has any journalist ever called Tony Abbott on his aggressive, testoserone driven bullying tactics??
Hear’s a completely irrelevent pic from the past…. my how we change 😦
If Mr. Wilkie believed that others could be bought on side to support what he wants in his bill, why has he not delivered them to the government. The reason in my opinion, is that it’s wishful thinking on the part of Mr. Wilkie. Maybe he should see the world as it ism not as he would like it.
Mr. Wilkie did spend much time in WA, talking to Mr. Crook.
No matter what one would like to think, politics is the art of the possible, always has been.
Mr Wilkie said the government didn’t try hard enough to get the numbers for his pokies reforms.
WA Nationals MP Tony Crook, who has no poker machines in his electorate, was never lobbied, Mr Wilkie said.
‘The government never wanted to get the numbers and now it doesn’t even appear to want to progress the watered-down reforms,’ Mr Wilkie said.
I would say this man knows the cost of everything but the value of nothing. What huge percentage will he be saving.
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has scrapped the Premier’s Literary Awards on the grounds that it will save taxpayers money.
A spokeswoman for the Premier has confirmed the annual awards will not go ahead under the new Liberal National Party (LNP) Government.
She says the LNP has been clear in communicating its plan to control government spending and return the budget to surplus.
“In light of this, the Queensland Government has decided not to proceed with the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards in 2012,” the spokeswoman said in a statement.
It would save taxpayers at least $244,475, she said.
The awards have been running since 1999.
Last year, $203,000 in prize money was offered across 14 categories.
Yet one of Newman’s senior ministers, in direct contradiction to (Alfred E) Newman has stated that the Queensland government will need to grow in order to meet Newman’s election promises, with one of the core ones being to increase frontline services, along with increasing employment, probably by allowing more holes to be dug up in environmentally sensitive areas and oil exploration to go ahead on the Barrier Reef, and cutting the budget, whilst somehow miraculously increasing services, a favoured magical trick of conservative leaders when promising the world they know they have no hope of delivering.
Barry and the Casino
Grimshaw resignation,
”
The breach related to an email from Mr O’Farrell that Mr Grimshaw forwarded to his partner, an employee at the star.
Mr O’Farrell said he had not made the report public yet because he was given advice that it should not be released until hearings run by Gail Furness began this week.”
Also gaming irregularities occurred prior to new management, which is contradicts previous media reports
“a gambler was left to gamble for 72 hours and fell asleep at the table.
National Secretary of the Health Services Union, Kathy Jackson, joins us to respond to news that Fair Work Australia’s investigation into the Health Services Union National Office is complete, and the entire investigation report has been referred to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
KATHY JACKSON: Before I answer your question, I just want to make it quite clear that I’m not here as the National Secretary of the Health Services Union as I’ve been gagged by national executive. I’m here as a private citizen and a member of the Health Services Union. I’ve not… and to answer your question now, I’ve not seen the report. The report has not been provided to me. I note that in Miss O’Neill’s media release she states that on the 28th that we received such a report. I have not received such a report. If anyone else in the union has received it they’ve not provided it to me.
Ms Jackson says she speaks as a private citizen and a member of the Health Services Union, and not as the National Secretary of the Health Services Union. Can she not see, or doesn’t she care that viewers might see her as both under the circumstances.
Like Senator Brandis she’s un-inclined to let the process take it’s course and wait for the official response.
“More than £1bn of public funds will be allocated to a new push to develop carbon capture and storage technology, that could create an industry with 100,000 jobs, with the revival of a government-sponsored competition to design the first workable demonstration project.
predicted that a CCS industry could be worth £6.5bn a year to the UK economy by the end of the 2020s, by which time there could be 20GW to 30GW of power plants using the technology – the equivalent of 12 to 20 large power stations.
“Bean-counters at the gates of Queensland
And here I was thinking that Queensland wasn’t about to return to the Dark Ages. That nice, “comparatively urbane” Campbell Newman wouldn’t do anything really dumb in his first fortnight, like, say, axe the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards. Would he?
Barry’s halo has slipped considerably in the last year!
Pip, why would she be vindictive. It would not be because Mr Thompson of similar activities.
Now she might be as she says. We do not know. Why should she be treated different to Mr. Thompson.
She is the one making the allegations.
She does not appear to have the support of the union.
Watching Lateline is giving me a headache.
Questions to Penny Wong about the Thomson matter revolve around what Tony Abbott wants, regardless of due process.
Ms Wong stated that, being a lawyer, she believes in the “presumption of innocence”, and the “independene of statutory bodies”.
The whole program is a waste of time…. government can’t get it carbon
‘tax’ message across blah blah…
Pip
i look forward to reading the “email’ from Barry, funny how there was all talk about smashing the casino and the casino has all the texts. i wondered how the casino would have the texts, surmised that grimshaw and the girlfriend must have had work mobiles that were returned on resignation.
Cu, Ms Jackson seemed very angry to me, compared to Craig Thomson who appeared to be relaxed when he was bailed up by the media. Do you remember whether they were actually outside his home today?
The confidential 1100-page report names three former or current officials of the union and an individual who was not an official, yet the only name mentioned in the 7.30 program was Thomson!
CHRIS UHLMANN: Fair Work says there are 181 breaches apparently, 105 are civil, so assuming up to 76 might be criminal breaches – could any of those refer to you?
KATHY JACKSON: Definitely not. Those breaches relate to Mr Thomson, and I think Miss O’Neill should have made that quite clear in her report that she put out today.
Sue the casino story also has some way to run, with Packer being part of the intrigue it all has a nasty pong about it …… enough rope….
Getup have a petition to be sent to David Gonski, chairman Future Fund, not to invest in nuclear weapons
Cu, Ms Jackson used an old trick in her answers to Uhllman’s very leading questions…
CHRIS UHLMANN: So what do you make of this investigation? There’s already an Ombudsman inquiry into it, should there be more?
KATHY JACKSON: I think there definitely should be more. I believe there should be a judicial inquiry into the goings-on at Fair Work Australia. I believe that either it’s… you know, when I say, “I believe”, I also include in that, “the public have already made up their minds, the members of the Health Services Union have made up their minds and I believe the media’s made up their minds.”
CHRIS UHLMANN: You say the public’s made up their minds, your members have made up their minds – what do they think, then, of Fair Work Australia? What do you think they have made up their minds about?
“The media’s made up their minds”…. she got that right !
Protocol has flown out the window.
Sue, GetUp can then start another petition for the FF to stop investing in tobacco companies.
Packer also wants a casino in perth. And clive wanting a casino on the sunshine coast
makes you laugh when you see the angst over poker machines. where was wilkie thinking he would get support for his ideals when he withdrew support from the govt. sure ain’t the liberals.
my sick sense of humour had me laughing that RSL clubs were worried about clive’s plans. just how much money did they put up to defeat the gillard pokie plan only to have billionaire clive scoop the results
“The chief executive officer of RSL and Services Clubs Association, Penny Wilson, says it is hard to tell if Mr Palmer is being serious.
I have not heard any outcry from the union members, except from a handful in Eastern Sydney, she tried to stir up.
I hope one is still innocence until convicted in a court of LAW,
I have my own opinion of this woman, but as I believe in justice, even for her, I will keep it to myself.
It was outside his home I think. he was getting in his car to go to work.
I believe there were other allegations, something to do with cards. The other chap resign from the union over it,. I am not sure if Mr. Thompson was connected or not.
Yes Sue… boo hoo.
Cu, Lateline transcript isn’t up yetr but this will do for the quote from Penny Wong.
But Finance Minister Penny Wong has rejected Ms Jackson’s allegations.
“This government and its ministers have repeatedly made clear that these processes are independent end of story,” she told ABC Television on Tuesday night.
Senator Wong said FWA and the director of public prosecutors should be free to pursue their work “free from political advocacy.”
She dismissed claims the government has a tainted vote in parliament, as opposition leader Abbott “running another slogan.”
Senator Wong said as a former lawyer she understood the importance of people receiving the presumption of innocence.
Of course, the crux of the story is here:-
The Gillard government has a one vote majority in the lower house.
Is it still only one?
Cu, I’d be very surprised if the 181 are mostly Thomson’s.
Jackson was keen to put the Labor party down, but there could be different reasons for the slowness of the FWA inquiry.
Apart from that FWA has many other issues to deal with.
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Health Services Union in controversial merger
ALP National President Michael Williamson has launched an audacious bid for control of the troubled Victorian wing of the Health Services Union, creating an eastern states conglomerate run by factional ally and the union’s national secretary Kathy Jackson.
The HSU’s national council met in Sydney yesterday to pass the changes, which will see the Victorian No. 1 and No. 3 branches dissolved and merged into a new super-entity, or “eastern branch” run from Sydney. Under the terms of the merger, around 15,000 Victorian members will be effectively absorbed into the 35,000-strong NSW branch.
Williamson will oversee the new entity, with Kathy Jackson serving as executive president.
Long read…
Last year, the Victorian HSU was placed into administration by the Federal Court, as tension between the Fegan and Jackson camps turned vicious.
Subsequent elections saw forces aligned to Jackson, her former-husband and Victorian Senator David Feeney scrape over the line in a three-way race. The election was marked by a poisonous campaign that included current Assistant Secretary Jamie Martorana’s portrayal as a leather-clad gimp and claims of sham post office boxes apparently designed to filter votes.
One couldn’t make this up…
Fegan had previously released HSU credit card statements with charges linking Jeff Jackson to an escort agency, an allegation he vehemently denied. The scandal then engulfed Federal Member for Dobell, Craig Thomson, with claims circulating that Thomson had used another credit card to bankroll his 2007 federal election bid. Those allegations have been examined as part of a Senate estimates hearing and are disputed.
Abbott is a brave man to stick his neck out on this one.
The allegations were made by Thompson against Jackson. Money was repaid,
This was occurring before and after Thompson’s time.
It is not a tainted government. We would not be hearing about it if it was not a minority government.
Even if Mr. Thompson was guilty, he is entitled to sit under the law, unless convicted and sentence to more than a years jail.
Does one really believe Mr. Abbott would any any different if the situation was reversed.
The media can be wrong. We had a Labor state MP who was force to resign in NSW cleared by the High Court yesterday because there was no evidence. She was convicted by a state.
I believe this is about much more than Mr. Thompson. I gave been saying that since day one.
It is a complicated matter, over many years that the time taken to sort it out is not unreasonable,.
I believe the interference by the Coalition has prolonged and complicated the matter.
It will be interesting to see who is setting up whom.
Oh to have been a fly in the stair well Cu,
Union rivalry turns violent in office stairwell
Paul Austin
July 29, 2009.
ONE of Victoria’s most powerful unions is in chaos after a fight broke out yesterday between two of its leaders.
Police were called to the headquarters of the Health Services Union No. 1 branch after a tussle involving the national secretary, Kathy Jackson, and her arch enemy, state president Pauline Fegan.
Last night Ms Jackson obtained an interim intervention order against Ms Fegan, saying she now feared for her safety and would press charges.
Ms Fegan in turn accused Ms Jackson of starting the fight and wrote to the union’s national executive, calling on it to immediately stand down the national secretary for ‘‘abusing and assaulting members’’.
The scuffle is the latest eruption in a bitter battle for control of the ALP-affiliated union between forces loyal to Ms Fegan and supporters of Ms Jackson.
Cu, I’m not sure about ‘brave’ but one quality missing from Abbott’s arsenal is integrity.
If he was a man of integrity he would have said what Penny Wong said.
“This government and its ministers have repeatedly made clear that these processes are independent end of story,” she told ABC Television on Tuesday night.
Senator Wong said FWA and the director of public prosecutors should be free to pursue their work “free from political advocacy.”
and
Senator Wong said as a former lawyer she understood the importance of people receiving the presumption of innocence.
Last night’s extraordinary claims by former ALP Administrative Committee member and HSU national secretary Kathy Jackson that her Labor government was guilty of political interference with the Fair Work Australia investigation into corruption in her union could be coming from within the organisation itself, insiders say.
Jackson’s fiancé or partner is Michael Lawler, a high-ranking official within FWA, appointed by Tony Abbott when he was minister.
Lawler is universally regarded as a nice chap, agreeing to host very festive parties in Fair Work Australia premises that required extensive cleaning, some say, while also agreeing somewhat late in life to sport “nipple-rings” which have been on display at Melbourne pool parties from time to time. Living the dream.
appointed by Tony Abbott when he was minister.
I had missed that bit last time I read it Pip. Which puts this line, which I thought was stupid to begin with, in a whole new light.
CHRIS UHLMANN: Mr Abbott was suggesting that the institutional go-slow was because it was trying to help out the Government.
This dragging on is doing nothing to help Labor, just adding to its woes. Considering tabots fingers have been in the pie since way back, the go slow could be coming from anywhere.
Does the union have a Gretch?
Also, why do the major media outlets not mention this sort of thing, instead focussing everything on Thompson? Surely the story is larger than that, especially considering the now infamous ‘shovel’ incident, which turned out to belong to Jackson in the first place. Then everything went quiet over that.
Sue @12.10am and the sicker thing is that a good majority of RSL Clubs are no longer run and operated by the RSL – they were sold, and quite a long time ago. The proviso of the sales was that the clubs maintained and displayed the RSL memorabilia. Operated for the benefit of members and their guests..hardly…
Reading through the link put up by Pip on indigenous art in WA…. they point to SL during the Holocene Climate Optimum
“So the sea level rose to where it is now about 7,000 years ago and a lot of the art there has been produced after that time, so we’ve pictures of turtles and fish and sharks and other marine animals that obviously record that phase.”
The more I think about this, the more surreal it gets.
The libs are complaining (in fact, declaring) that the Government is providing influence over the FWA to ‘go slow’.
Meanwhile, the main protagonist in this, kathy jackson, is dating the vice president of FWA, who himself was installed by Jthe libs!
I haven’t watched last nights 730, but, apparently, it was all jackson throwing shit again. Apparently, ulman takes her at her word. Nice journalism there chris
CHRIS UHLMANN: Fair Work says there are 181 breaches apparently, 105 are civil, so assuming up to 76 might be criminal breaches – could any of those refer to you?
KATHY JACKSON: Definitely not. Those breaches relate to Mr Thomson
Do these two sit down and write the script beforehand?
Interestingly, she starts out with this
KATHY JACKSON: Before I answer your question, I just want to make it quite clear that I’m not here as the National Secretary of the Health Services Union as I’ve been gagged by national executive.
Then, the entire interview is directly related to her role as National Secretary of the Health Services Union 😯
Is there any other employer in the land that would allow her keep her job after something like that?
How amazing! The clubs cannot, no way, possibly afford the technology to help problem gamblers, yet miraculously can afford new hybrid cash machines…
POKER machine venues in Victoria have been accused of trying to circumvent a looming ban on ATMs by introducing new hybrid cash machines.
Time for the Liberal party to call for names to be published over criminal activity in building game in victoria.
Oh wait, hang on, better wait for evidence……..Its the Watchdog and the builders in the headlines
‘UP TO 30 officials and consultants who work for Victoria’s building industry watchdog are being investigated for alleged corruption, serious misconduct and harassment.
State Ombudsman George Brouwer is examining allegations that several officials of the Victorian Building Commission sought – and accepted – kickbacks from building industry practitioners.
A main area of concern within the commission is its compliance and investigations section, which examines complaints against builders and surveyors. The section in recent years has been staffed by several former Victoria Police detectives, including one who left the force after being suspended for misconduct.
Mr Pearson commented on the suitability of the commission’s investigators in his 2010 report, writing: ”The commission’s investigators are recruited from police or other investigative backgrounds and thus have extensive experience in conducting investigations
Sue, the Government would be better served to simply put an advert up with tabots interview with Laws where he states that he is going to TAX big companies.
At least that way, it will get out there. 😉
Ah, let’s see ltdnews go out and defend ‘freedom of speech’
A NEW code of conduct for publicly funded construction projects in Victoria will crack down on the display of union logos, mottos and insignia on building sites.
COMMONWEALTH law officials will decide if criminal charges can be laid against Labor MP Craig Thomson and other former and current officials of the controversial Health Services Union.
The confidential 1100-page report names three former or current officials of the union and an individual who was not an official.
Star Casino- Grimshaw- The complete Timeline, makes interesting reading
“‘December 6/8 2011: Allegations of sexual harassment made against Sid Vaikunta by Mr Grimshaw’s partner and another woman.
December 14, 2011: Government receives Furness report warning of some casino practices but clearing the casino to keep its licence
December 21: Text message exchange where Grimshaw suggests to partner that he tell his close friend George Souris about the harassment allegations so he will ring Echo board chair John Story. Also discussions between the pair about how they can make nuisance calls to push the allegations.
16 January 2012: Texts between Grimshaw and his partner in which Grimshaw gives partner Echo board member John O’Neill’s number
Tom..that word if might be small, but it’s extremely significant. Yes, another one of “those”..a misleading headline.
The first Two Rules of journalism on how to influence your audience:
1. The headline
2. The photo
That 7.30 segment was a piece of crap, just allowing jackson to throw more mud, nothing came out of it. Like we knew it wouldn’t.
When will they get back to journalism. I’m sorry I wasted my time now 😦
Will someone buy Mr. Abbott a dictionary. There is a difference between the words allegations and facts.
What is in the public arena about three officials of the HSU and another person is assumptions and guesses. It is not fact. It is allegations.
One is guessing what is in the report. One is guessing whom and what has been referred to the Commonwealth DPP.
Who would rely on Mr. Brandis legal opinion.
We need to recall that one of whom made the allegations to FWA is themselves under investigations.
It is an independent body, who on legal advice, has referred the report to the DPP.
There should be no government intervention. The rule of law shoukls be above and apart from politics.
All Mr. Abbott is playing is politics and dirty politics at that.
One is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
One should not be convicted by the Opposition, media or public opinion.
Mr. Abbott is on the airwaves claiming what is in the public arena is facts.
He is claiming union money has been stolen and spent on prostitution. This is not fact. It is allegation.
IT IS NOT. IT IS ALLEGATIONS.
What I find hard why a man that accused and proved another of similar doings, would be doing the same thing himself.
Interesting that Ms Jackson’s former husband was accused of the same things she’s now accusing Mr Thompson of… This saga is a lot more complex than the simpletons who have him tried, convicted, hung, drawn and quartered, would like to acknowledge…
if you look at the tele online they have a photo of thompson, i assume, about to come out of his front gate. but the tele has cropped the photo for a headshot and just by chance he is “looking out through bars” guilt by photo-editing
Bacchus
when you read that article the “3 people” associated with the union and the 1 non union person certainly could be a wide field, way beyond an mp from bateau bay.
Sue, and otherwise they always use a pic of Thomson looking rather shifty..mind you, having small eyes he does have a shifty look about him. However, that’s the power of a photograph.
I was somewhat amused at finding this pic on The Belfast Telegraph..why don’t these sort of pics appear in our newspapers..oh yes, that’s right the PM has a big bum..
Just watching the whinging liberal treasurers at a press conference.
it looks as though the plain bickies and the international roast coffee was served for morning tea. still the cuts have to start somewhere.
Consideration is being given to expelling the HSU from the peak body. That is the ACTU.
Something is very rotten in the sate of Denmark, as they say. I would say it is a lot more that misdemeanours by Mr. Mr. Thompson. U\It is the union they are distancing themselves from.
ABC 24
Tom R, ever since this story began, I have been pointing out it was about many more that Mr. Thompson.
All I have got is that I am supporting Mr. Thompson, saying he is innocence.
For the record this is not true. I do not know, and would be surprise that any one knows for sure, even FWA.
I do have concerns about how much inside information the Opposition is getting on this one.
I do berlieve the Opposition has three agendas going.
One is to get rid of Mr. Thompson.
Two, to bring down the PM,
Thirdly to undermine and destroy the FWA.
“UP TO 30 officials and consultants who work for Victoria’s building industry watchdog are being investigated for alleged corruption, serious misconduct and harassment.”
Sue, once again, not the workers or building unions.
“CHRIS UHLMANN: Fair Work says there are 181 breaches apparently, 105 are civil, so assuming up to 76 might be criminal breaches – could any of those refer to you?
KATHY JACKSON: Definitely not. Those breaches relate to Mr Thomson”
HOW DOES SHE KNOW????
Well the new government was quick in breaking promises.
WC chief executive Kate Eltham said Mr Newman had broken an election pledge and must immediately explain how the savings will be reinvested to support authors in other ways.
‘Certainly during the election campaign, the shadow arts minister talked about no nett loss to the arts in Queensland,’ Ms Eltham told the ABC on Wednesday.
‘We’ve seen a cut to the Premier’s Literary Awards. We’d really like to see how the new government might be using that money to support emerging writers in other areas.’
FWA says it is not qualified to judge whether any of these breaches may also constitute criminal activity so it has sent the whole report to the DPP, rather than the police, to make that determination.
Perhaps the government should release the report. IF there was a possibility of Mr Thompson being charged with an offence, the resultant uproar from the likes of Abbott, Brandis and Co. would almost certainly ensure that Mr Thompson could not receive a fair trial. Case dismissed due to the efforts of the Coalition. They should be careful they don’t get what they wish for…
Bacchus, is there any impediment to the government being able to release the report..such as being prejudicial to any court case.
That’s probably it, you cannot release evidence – and evidence which is yet to be tested by the judiciary because to do so the evidence would become a dud.
Law is so logical, it’s just basic common sense. People might want gotcha moments, but the law works on everyman’s behalf as well.
Here is a positive story about manufacturing in Victoria, it counters all those negative stories. But if you do a search you probably won’t find it in the newspapers. Ted Bailleau was so happy he had it on his own web site
“GSK injects $60 million and 58 jobs at Boronia site ”
GlaxoSmith Kline
Does anyone in Australia honestly think that Craig Thompson would recieve a fair trial in this country ?
I certainly do not anymore.
He has been ridiculed, vilified, accused, tried, found guilty and sentenced by the opposition, the media and sites such as this on the internet.
While in the real world he is yet to have charges laid against him.
Problem is, so many cannot separate the real world from the make believe world of media and the internet.
The other problem is that Tony Abbott wants the process to operate like business.
What, like the Murdochrocy which simply throws enough money at any victim of phone tapping sufficient cash to avoid a trial and the truth becoming public.
What, like the Murdochrocy which offloads companies to avoid action.
What, like the Murdochrocy which shreads all evidence shuts down a paper in an attempt to isolate blame to a few employees.
What like the Murdochrocy which claims that governments from the top job accept responsibility yet the top at News Limited refuse to accept responsibility.
Businesses do absolutely everything within their power to halt and bury any accusations or even real charges, by dragging cases on for years and years through delaying tactics and as soon as this ends an out of court settlement is quickly negotiated so that nothing becomes public.
I suggest that under the business standards I have seen on many an occasion, Craig Thompson offer to pay $X to the Union as an ex gratia payment while refusing and denying any liability and on condition that silence forms part of the payment.
That way the allegations would be dealt with under business rules as per Tony Abbotts request. Deception, Lies, Manipulation, Cash and Stalling tactics galore.
“Perhaps the government should release the report. IF there was a possibility of Mr Thompson being charged with an offence,”
Problem, it is not up to the government.
An independent body should just be that.
With all the pressure and uproar surrounding the investigations, I believe FWA has a duty not to taint any evidence produced.
it should not take into consideration any political calls. That is not it’s job.
The truth is that the process is not finished.
I would say that the release of the report is now up to the DPP.
What right the police have, I have no idea. I suspect they would not be too keen to have all the evidence in the public domain.
Thomson and the others will get a fair go, through the normal process.
According to the DPP is not a brief of evidence or a criminal allegations. The DPP will look at it.
ABC 24.
Shane and Does anyone in Australia honestly think that Craig Thompson would recieve a fair trial in this country ?
I certainly do not anymore.
He has been ridiculed, vilified, accused, tried, found guilty and sentenced by the opposition, the media and sites such as this on the internet.
While in the real world he is yet to have charges laid against him.
Which is precisely what we’ve been saying here over many months, ever since this issue appeared in the press.
I beg to differ about sites such as this as, while other sites were laying into Thomson people such as Tom R, Sue, Pip, Cu etc etc on this site were talking about the presumption of innocence.
We have been lambasted for this stance. I cannot speak for others here, but during the general rounds of discussion the opinion is that Thomson, the same as every other citizen is entitled to the presumption of innocent until proven guilty – this is not to mean that he isn’t guilty, he may well be – however, he is entitled to this presumption.
Thomson and the others will get a fair go, through the normal process.
Pigs just flew over !
Min
Please reread my comments from the very first sentence.
“Just Posted this at TFR”
My first comment is that I posted this at TFR so that is the site I was referring to.
Sorry Shane, I didn’t know what you meant by TFR. I’ve now been enlightened.
Min
thanks, i agree.
No worries Min
shaneinqld
shhhh those flying pigs are probably dispersing methane
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions says he cannot investigate information that Fair Work Australia has referred to him about the Health Services Union.
A Fair Work Australia inquiry found 181 breaches of rules and referred the matter to the Commonwealth prosecutor.
DPP Chris Craigie has released a statement saying Fair Work Australia’s report was not a criminal investigation or a brief of evidence.
“The CDPP is not an investigation agency,” he said.
“It does not have investigative powers and is not able to conduct a criminal investigation.
“In order for a matter to be assessed as to whether a prosecution should be commenced, a criminal investigation is conducted and a brief of evidence prepared and referred to the CDPP.”
Mr Craigie said the letter he received from Fair Work made it clear that the industrial tribunal had not conducted a criminal investigation.
“The letter states that the report does not consider whether any person (or body) may have contravened a provision of the criminal law,” he said.
“The material forwarded is not a brief of evidence.
“The CDPP will examine the material forwarded and consider what further action may need to be taken.
DPP
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
Chris Craigie SC
4 Marcus Clarke Street Canberra City 2601GPO Box 3104 Canberra ACT 2601Telephone 02 6206 5666 Facsimile 02 6257 5709
4 April 2012
Media Release
The CDPP has received a report from Fair Work Australia into the National Office of theHealth Services Union. The report is over 1100 pages long and has been provided alongwith some other material.The CDPP is not an investigation agency. It does not have investigative powers and is notable to conduct a criminal investigation. In order for a matter to be assessed as to whether aprosecution should be commenced, a criminal investigation is conducted and a brief ofevidence prepared and referred to the CDPP.The letter referring the report to the CDPP from Fair Work Australia makes it clear that FairWork Australia has not conducted a criminal investigation. The letter states that the reportdoes not consider whether any person (or body) may have contravened a provision of thecriminal law. The material forwarded is not a brief of evidence.The CDPP will examine the material forwarded and consider what further action may need tobe taken.
I wonder how many times we have to say the same thing, without it sinking in..from Cu’s link:
Mr Craigie said the letter he received from Fair Work made it clear that the industrial tribunal had not conducted a criminal investigation.
In fact it cannot conduct a criminal investigation – the matter has already been referred to…but WTF..case closed as far as I’m concerned until there is some substantiative evidence of criminal actvity – to date there is none. I’ll await the next exciting episode.
The Thomson argument is just going around and around in circles. I agree, it was supposed to be a gotcha moment by Abbott which was supposed to bring the government down. It didn’t happen and it isn’t going to happen.
It’s been stated over and over that even if criminal charges are laid, it will be too little and too late for Abbott. Why the urgency Abbott? Is there something that you’re worried about?
A Senate committee has formally asked that Fair Work Australia provide its investigation report into the Health Services Union for public release.
The committee, chaired by Labor senator Gavin Marshall, met by teleconference on Wednesday morning.
In a letter to Fair Work Australia, the committee noted that the tribunal had forwarded a copy of its investigation report to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to consider criminal charges.
‘On behalf of the committee I am writing to request that you provide the report to the committee secretariat as soon as it is possible to do so,’ Senator Marshall wrote in the letter.
‘In the event that you do not intend to provide the report, because you do not believe it is in the public interest to do so, as is usual in such circumstances I would ask that you provide the committee with the reasons provision of the report would be contrary to the public interest.’
FWA allowed a previous report into the HSU’s Victoria No 1 branch to be tabled and publicly released.
But it has legal advice that the HSU national office investigation report should not be published.
Old Barrel said the word “smash” isn’t the type of word he would use. Trouble for Barrel a search of Hansard over the last year has shown he has used “smash” quite often (abc news 124)
Hey Min, that delicious pic of the PM just won’t come up on the Belfast Telegraph, nor with the tag World_News_9-1_jpg_621775t. What was the story line and how recent was it? We really should find a way to use that and circulate it as much as possible. No wonder the Opposition are determed to get rid of her – brains and beauty!
If you do a search by Imagine, zero for Australia. It seems that the pic was only ever published overseas.
Min, I will reply to your email when I sort this so and so computer out. Let an update go through. No longer can send emails. Do not seem to have restore working.
No worries Cu, it was just to keep the other authors up to date.
Thompson is not going to bring this government down.
I believe that FWA is trying to save themselves from further unfair attack from the Opposition.
FWA has not the power to conduct a criminal enquiry.
There does not appear to be the black and white evidence that the Opposition seems to have.
The truth appears to be that there is very little evidence or no case to answer.
There are still police investigations going on, but I am under the impression, these do not all involve Thompson.
What the Opposition is on, is an fishing expedition, that should have no place in law and order.
This is in spite of the wide net spread.
Hmmm! The Thomson saga continues, proving that bullshit baffles brains. I think Ms Jackson should keep her big fat yap shut.
Having said that, I sincerely hope she’s one of the persons of interest and Thomson is not on the list. I wonder how Sneerleader would spin that one-his brave whistle blower, blown?
Would there be a snowball’s chance that Sneerleader would open HIS big fat yap and apologise? I think we all know the answer to that one.
Catching up,
Plus they’re gone on, and on, and on about it. As has been related here, first there was the NSW police investigation which revealed nothing, then it was the Victorian police.
Still they’ve come up with nothing. Who knows, they might come up with something but in the meantime isn’t there something worthwhile to do, you know the homeless, the underemployed, something of real value.
The PM was in western Sydney today, at Toll talking about hundreds of new jobs and thirty new apprenticeships.
Worthwhile, I would say.
Jane, I believe the lady is going to have it shut for her, by the ACTU,
The lady is the one person that has been there the whole time. She seems to have problems getting on with ALL her co-workers.
The lady also appears to pick her partners well.
With thanks to Race Mathews for the link..for those who don’t know Race, then you ought to. 😉 Google is useful.
For those who want to argue —->> join Race on Facebook.
Thomson will be treated fairly, we do have a justice system that works well, but of more serious concern is the unhappiness in senior ranks with the CO2 tax.
‘SENIOR government ministers have privately lashed out at having to make savings in the May Budget to help pay for the $3 billion shortfall in this year’s carbon tax compensation bill.’
The economic slowdown in Europe is having a dramatic effect on priorities, as Benny Peiser, director of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, observes:
“In the past, Poland’s intractable hostility to green unilateralism was greeted by protestation in capitals around Europe. Today it is hardly noticed by the media, while green campaigners have become limp . . . Other and more pressing concerns are taking precedence and are completely overriding the green agenda.”
Thomson will be treated fairly
Yep. Any day now 😉
Another scandal in the making?
The wait has been absolutely horrendous. It’s been really traumatic. The statements with the police have been finalised in 2010,” she said.
“We’ve been told the case is on the DPP’s desk, but it’s been on the DPP’s desk for seven months. Now they keep telling us they’re just waiting for a signature, so it’s beyond me how it’s been so long.
“The case has been investigated. It’s very clear the evidence is there from all the witnesses, so I don’t understand why he hasn’t been charged.”
Father Egan has always denied the allegations, and as the case dragged on questions were raised elsewhere in the media about the alleged sex offender’s long-time association with Attorney-General Greg Smith.
Mr Smith and Father Egan go back some years, and when Mr Smith was elected to Parliament five years ago he cited Father Egan’s influence in his maiden speech to Parliament.
“At St Gerard’s, Father Finian Egan charmed us with his Irish wit and his pastoral devotion to his flock,” he said in the speech.
Damien Tudehope, now the Attorney-General’s chief of staff, also knows Father Egan well, attending the priest’s church and, as a solicitor, defending him against sexual abuse allegations.
The ABC does not suggest that either Mr Smith or Mr Tudehope have interfered with the potential prosecution involving Father Egan, but critics argue there is an appearance of a potential conflict which the A-G should address.
‘Completely horrified’
But 7:30 can reveal discussions it is alleged the Attorney-General has had regarding the Egan matter which cast doubt over his impartiality.
Last year Ms Wells spoke to another Catholic priest about her frustration at the delay.
That priest, who the ABC has agreed not to name, says he then met Mr Smith last July.
After that meeting the priest detailed his version of what was said in an email to Ms Wells which the ABC has obtained.
In the email the priest says Mr Smith told him he thought Ms Wells was trying to take money from the church.
“I was with Greg Smith the other day and I raised your case with him. He commented that ‘you were just trying to get $1m from the church’,” the priest said in the email.
Ms Wells says the conversation was completely inappropriate.
“I was completely horrified that the chief lawmaker in the state could comment on an open criminal case for a start,” she said.
“Secondly, that he’d pass judgment on someone he doesn’t even know and just disbelief that the whole matter that our Attorney-General could speak so publicly about me and my case and a criminal matter
Did you hear abbott on the tv today. he was making his own statements of facts on the fwa investigation.
from his web site does saying “i think” make it libelous
LNP broken promise, oh dear, and the minister only sworn in yesterday
“LNP backs off from Tier 1 hospital pledge”
not in the courier mail, this story from a regional paper, because it is only about Cairns Base hospital, so who cares.
“QUEENSLAND’S new State Health Minister Lawrence Springborg is backing away from the LNP’s pre-election promise to make Cairns Base Hospital a Tier 1 funded facility.
The former Nationals leader, who was sworn into his new role yesterday, last night told The Cairns Post he needed to make sure an upgrade to Tier 1 status will “enhance the health service in the region”. http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2012/04/04/213355_local-news.html
CU @ 9.09
an important the story on 7.30, betrayal of trust. Attorney general of NSW has important questions to answer.
Sue, and none are Labor.
Three states of broken promisers and scandals. Not a bad effort for little over twelve months.
Three states of broken promisers and scandals. Not a bad effort for little over twelve months.
Is anyone really surprised though? The proof of this pudding is in how this plays out in the MSM over the next year or so 🙄
Sue, did you find that 7.30 report on the Church and the NSW Attorney General deliberately misleading as if to suggest it was not a state, but a federal matter? Uhlmann’s reference to ‘the highest legal authority in the land’ and no mention at all of NSW except by the interviewee who made reference to the ‘the state’ quite often.
Sue @9.12pm, isn’t Sneerleader jumping the gun a bit? Whether he says “I think” or not, he’s stating as a fact that Thomson misused the credit card, when Thomson hasn’t been charged with any crime.
Just because Sneerleader wants it to be so, doesn’t mean it IS so. I hope that Thomson is found not to have a case to answer and sues the arse off Sneerleader. Let’s hope Mrs Thomson is making notes; she seems like a pretty organised efficient type.
patriciawa
yes. i had to wait till he said the name of ag, which i didn’t recognise, then eventually i realised it was nsw.
not in the nsw papers so far tonight. but of course i will expect a comment from tony abbott, first thing tomorrow.
jane
i was a bit surprised by abbott’s statements today, so surprised i thought i better check the online papers. none of them had the direct quotes, (which makes you wonder) but then i found abbott’s own web page with the door stop interview.
it must be really blowing abbott’s mind, with thompson as cool and calm with all the press.
Was the highly esteemed George Brandis SC on Lateline this evening demanding a BOE about JJW Coward and the illegal Iraq War, and Alexarnder Darner and the AWB $300 million bribe to Saddam Hussein…..
Pip
my favorite at that time was the former Nats leader, who sold his AWB shares before the sh1t got out, and then decided to retire for the sake of the family. and the missus did quite nicely with her share offloading as well.
insider trading must only matter for inside board rooms as opposed to inside cabinets.
Pip
but i won’t get onto how much he got out of e10 fuels
Sue @10.55pm, Sneerleader must be at breaking point. I feel certain he thinks he’s got Thomson, but there must be that little niggle with Thomson so cool, calm and collected in the face of all the frenzy.
If Thomson comes out smelling like a rose, there will be an unhinging the like of which we have never seen.
Can you imagine the frothing at the mouth? It will be a joy to see.
Bacchus, Sue and Jane, the “Dementors” are already unhinged!
Anyone who has ever visited Africa and witnessed the continent’s still grinding poverty and its poor access to electricity will be delighted by recent news that work should begin later this year on a 300-MW wind farm in Kenya
Officials with the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project (LTWP) said 365 wind turbines would eventually be erected in an arid region in the east African nation, which has a population of about 43 million people.
The €582 million project, which will become the largest wind farm on the African continent, has been in development for seven years, officials noted.
Windfarm given go ahead despite local opposition, and should produce enough energy to power 175,000 homes.
A major windfarm on Shetland, which could be the most productive in the world, has been approved by ministers despite a bitterly fought campaign against the scheme by local residents.
The Viking windfarm will straddle the hills and moors of Shetland’s main island, where the onshore wind speeds are frequently the highest in Europe, and lead to earnings of £30m a year for islanders and Shetland’s wealthy charitable trust.
Winds of Change in Maryland
State Could Become a Leader in Clean, Renewable Offshore Wind Energy
Maryland has the opportunity this week to go where no state has gone before. Not exactly deep space, but a big leap into uncharted territory nevertheless. The Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2012, spearheaded by Gov. Martin O’ Malley, places a good bet on offshore wind by incentivizing the development of what could be the nation’s first offshore wind farm—providing stable, renewable wind power to the state’s residents and positioning Maryland to become a leader in the manufacturing and development sectors for decades to come. The measure passed the state House of Delegates last week and moves to the Senate for this, the final week of Maryland’s 2012 legislative session.
If criminal charges do emerge, given the glacial pace of the legal system, it is unlikely there would be an outcome before the federal election is due by the spring of next year.
In its bones, the Opposition knows this, so its tactic is to try and muster moral outrage over the concept of Julia Gillard’s government depending on an MP who is under investigation by the DPP.
It hopes to create enough pressure that four independent MPs support it in moving a no-confidence motion against the government, which would end its tenure.
The shadow attorney-general, George Brandis, has demanded Thomson should at least move to the cross benches.
Apart from the fact Thomson must be presumed innocent until proved otherwise, the biggest impediment to the Coalition argument is the fact Tony Abbott stood by and accepted the vote last year of his own Senator, Mary Jo Fisher, after she had been actually charged with theft and assault.
The alleged offences are not the same but the principle is.
.
*******This can’t be right!!
MP may be spared, but heat on union
Phillip Coorey, Kate McClymont
April 5, 2012.
THE likelihood of criminal charges against Craig Thomson following the Fair Work Australia investigation has lessened but other officials with his old union are under pressure with the impending release of an internal audit that insiders say will be explosive.
******The Australian tries to explain why this can’t be right with a large amount of cherry-picking!!
Craig Thomson ‘bypassed authority regularly’
by: Ean Higgins
From: The Australian April 05, 2012
Meanwhile, pressure on union president Michael Williamson – who is understood to be among those named in the Fair Work report – continued to mount ahead of the release of findings by the HSU’s internal audit. Sources predicted attempted moves against Mr Williamson from within the union.
After revelations reported in The Age last year, Mr Williamson stood aside on full pay, while the HSU appointed Ian Temby, QC, to review the union’s tender, recruitment and expenditure processes and the use of corporate credit cards within HSU East, which covers NSW and Victoria.
It is understood Mr Temby has examined a company associated with Mr Williamson’s family, which has received more than $400,000 from the HSU for ”secretarial services”.
Mr Williamson is also alleged to have failed to disclose that his son pays about $70 a week rent to use an HSU building bought in 2006 for almost $800,000. The union then spent $500,000 on renovations including putting in a recording studio that is rented out by Mr Williamson’s son.
The Age has previously revealed that Mr Williamson’s company, United Edge, received about $1 million a year to provide IT services to the union.
A source has told The Age that discussions have been held among senior officials in the union about taking legal action to try to prevent Mr Temby from releasing his findings. Mr Temby was expected to present his report to the HSU council, which meets on April 30, but its release date is now uncertain.
The union is set today to be suspended from the ACTU, as the union movement distances itself from the allegations swirling around Mr Thomson.
Maybe Abbott, Brandis and the media, blinded by the ‘swirls’ they stirred up themselves, have been looking in the wrong direction!
Only had a half ear listening to RN this morning, but the guest was saying, if I were thompson’s legal brief I would be pleased, look’s like this is the end of it.
( i think it was peter faris, on RN)
What? i thought the msm were saying the Gillard govt had buried the Gonski report, now I read this
Tom, it’s difficult to know at the moment. The NSW police found insufficient evidence for a criminal prosecution to proceed, and from the brief mention of the Vic police, it seems that this was also their conclusion. This leaves the Feds.
I am not conversant with FWA procedures but the media say that they haven’t prepared a brief with a view to criminal proceedings – but is that their job anyway? It would therefore be up to the Feds to plough through the FWA report and then to decide whether there is sufficient evidence for possible criminal action.
quick to offload unimportant stuff such as literacy
hoo kneads literacy anyways!
Sue and Pip, and why is the heat off..don’t tell me it’s because of our old friend..insufficient evidence!
From Coorey
“Fair Work Australia says it found 181 contraventions which occurred during the period Thomson was at the helm of the Health Services Union, before his move to Federal Parliament.
Of these, 76 were minor administrative breaches which do not warrant further action or penalty. The other 105, says FWA, are breaches of the Workplace Relations Act which it will refer to the Federal Court for civil action. The maximum penalty for each is a fine.”
Sue…and as we wave a fond farewell to Tony Abbott’s dream of an early election, because after all this is the “why” for the prominence of this issue..because a fine is not sufficient for Thomson to have to quit.
The maximum penalty for each is a fine
String him up I say! 😯
He has not even been officially accused of a criminal offence.
Mr. Thompson has not been charged, convicted and sentenced.
One would not know this if one listened to Mr. Abbott and Mr. Brandis.
Mr. Brandis interview last night was beyond belief.
Mr, Brandis gave the impression that FWA has a mandate to investigate criminal matters. This as he well knows is false.
Mr. Brandis refuse to acknowledge the advice of the solictor general, demanding their advice be used.
Mr. Brandis claimed that referring the matter to the DPP was going nowhere. This is another false statement. The DPP has said they would look at the report.
FWA cannot prepare a brief on evidence, as it’s investigation has not been of a criminal nature.
This was all that was asked of FWA. FWA is not set up to make decisions on criminal matters.
Mr. Abbott and Mr. Brandis are both talking as if Mr. Thompson has been charged and convicted. This is not true.
Mr. Brandis talks and congratulates Ms. Jackson as an heroine in this matter. The fact is that Ms. Jackson is in the same position as Mr. Thompson.
Does Mr. Brandis have inside information of what is in the FWA report. He seems to have knowledge that no one else has. One cannot rely on the word of Ms. Jackson. Ms. Jackson does not have an history of honesty.
Mr. Brandis still does not recognised the independence of the FWA. One wonders how they would interfere if in office.
Is the Opposition paranoid as they appear to believe that many bodies and government departments are out to get them.
FWA has asked the DPP for their view on the matter. The only problem I can see, as far as the Opposition is concerned, is that FWA refused their advise and do as they demand.
There is still a presumption of innocence and due process is being followed. Maybe not quick enough to get Mr. Abbott into power, bur due process regardless.
From a political perspective, all that matters in the Craig Thomson saga is whether the MP is eligible to remain in Parliament.
If Labor had a 10-seat majority, the Coalition would not be showing much interest at all in the case.
and
But Labor has a one-seat margin and if Thomson were drummed out, then the government would most likely fall as it could not, in the current climate, conceivably hold his Central Coast seat of Dobell in a by-election.
But to be drummed out, an MP must be convicted of an indictable offence that carries a penalty of a year or more in jail.
As of now, Thomson has not even been charged with anything. He has not even been officially accused of a criminal offence.
Mr. Abbott and Nr. Brandis should be condemned for their present behaviour.
As I said, due process continues. Maybe it would have been speedier if the Opposition had not put political pressure on FWA,
In my opinion, the Opposition are after the PM and FWA. They are using Mr. Thompson as the tool to reach their aims.
The reaction of the ACTU indicated that this is about much more than Mr. Thompson.
The Opposition is not interested in this development.
Is a corrupt previous leader more important than a possible corrupt union that exists today.
The ACTU proposed action is unheard of before today.
What the DPP is saying, is that they have not been asked to take action on the report but to give an opinion. I believe they are being asked if there is any evidence to take the matter further. If the answer is yes, I would imagine it would be referred to the relevant police department.
After the Opposition past relationship with the NSW and Victoria police forces, I would not blame them for covering their backsides on this matter.
FWA says it is not qualified to judge whether any of these breaches may also constitute criminal activity so it has sent the whole report to the DPP, rather than the police, to make that determination.
For Labor – and Thomson – the best result yesterday would have been for FWA to make its findings and, as it did when it handed down a report into the HSU’s Victorian East branch a month ago, decide none of the breaches warranted referral to the DPP.
Notwithstanding the two ongoing police investigations in NSW and Victoria, this would have resolved the matter, insofar as it would have eliminated the prospect of criminal charges against Thomson emanating from the Fair Work Australia process.
However, referral to the DPP keeps the issue alive as a distraction and an embarrassment for federal Labor and keeps alive the prospect that criminal charges may result.
Thus, the nightmare continues.
If criminal charges do emerge, given the glacial pace of the legal system, it is unlikely there would be an outcome before the federal election is due by the spring of next year.
In its bones, the Opposition knows this, so its tactic is to try and muster moral outrage over the concept of Julia Gillard’s government depending on an MP who is under investigation by the DPP.
It hopes to create enough pressure that four independent MPs support it in moving a no-confidence motion against the government, which would end its tenure.
The shadow attorney-general, George Brandis, has demanded Thomson should at least move to the cross benches.
Apart from the fact Thomson must be presumed innocent until proved otherwise, the biggest impediment to the Coalition argument is the fact Tony Abbott stood by and accepted the vote last year of his own Senator, Mary Jo Fisher, after she had been actually charged with theft and assault.
The alleged offences are not the same but the principle is.
THE likelihood of criminal charges against Craig Thomson following the Fair Work Australia investigation has lessened but other officials with his old union are under pressure with the impending release of an internal audit that insiders say will be explosive.
The ACTU national executive is today expected to suspend the Health Services Union in an explicit signal to HSU officials that its national president, Michael Williamson, should be drummed out, along with anyone else who may be implicated in the audit.
and
It is understood that Mr Temby’s investigations have uncovered, among many things, a company associated with Mr Williamson’s family that has received more than $400,000 from the HSU for ”secretarial services”.
The Herald revealed previously Mr Williamson’s company United Edge received an estimated $1 million a year for providing IT services to the union.
Mr Thomson is not believed to be in the firing line of Mr Temby’s findings.
However, Kathy Jackson, the HSU’s national secretary who blew the whistle on Mr Thomson’s alleged misuse of a union credit card when he led the union, found herself fending off allegations yesterday.
A Victorian branch of the union that she led before succeeding Mr Thomson as national secretary referred to the Victoria Police and Mr Temby allegations of financial irregularities during Ms Jackson’s tenure.
A letter, obtained by the Herald, mentions the purchase of a Volvo, childcare fees, a computer, iPod, consultancy fees and a $58,000 ”loan” to Ms Jackson’s now ex-husband, Jeff Jackson. Ms Jackson denied engaging in ”any fraud or wrongdoing”, saying the expenses were legitimate and that she was being fitted up as payback for blowing the whistle on Mr Thomson.
She produced a letter from the Victorian police saying they were not investigating.
As Julia Gillard stood by Mr Thomson, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions indicated it was unlikely to take criminal action after having referred to it the findings of the three-year Fair Work Australia investigation into the HSU when Mr Thomson was at the helm.
The investigation found 105 breaches of workplace law and 76 technical infringements that are just civil breaches.
It referred the report to the DPP to see if criminal charges were warranted but the DPP said yesterday ”the material forwarded is not a brief of evidence” and it did not have investigative powers. It will look at the 1100-page report but criminal charges are unlikely, providing some relief to Mr Thomson and the Gillard government.
The Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, again demanded FWA release the report and furnish the DPP with a brief of evidence.
Mr. Abbott better be careful. He might just get what he wants. It might not pan out as he believes.
I have been saying since this matter began, that there would be many more caught in the Opposition fishing net than Mr. Thompson. He is beginning to look like a minor player.
Mr. Thompson had said in the past, that he tried to clean the union up. Just maybe he was telling the truth.
The ACTU is not in the habit of taking the action is proposes to do today without serious reasons.
I wish someone would asked why Ms. Jackson should be believed but not Mr. Thompson.
MP Craig Thomson looks unlikely to be charged for alleged financial impropriety, according to commentators
Mr Thomson is not believed to be in the firing line of Mr Temby’s findings.
However, Kathy Jackson, the HSU’s national secretary who blew the whistle on Mr Thomson’s alleged misuse of a union credit card when he led the union, found herself fending off allegations yesterday.
A Victorian branch of the union that she led before succeeding Mr Thomson as national secretary referred to the Victoria Police and Mr Temby allegations of financial irregularities during Ms Jackson’s tenure.
A letter, obtained by the Herald, mentions the purchase of a Volvo, childcare fees, a computer, iPod, consultancy fees and a $58,000 ”loan” to Ms Jackson’s now ex-husband, Jeff Jackson. Ms Jackson denied engaging in ”any fraud or wrongdoing”, saying the expenses were legitimate and that she was being fitted up as payback for blowing the whistle on Mr Thomson.
She produced a letter from the Victorian police saying they were not investigating.
As Julia Gillard stood by Mr Thomson, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions indicated it was unlikely to take criminal action after having referred to it the findings of the three-year Fair Work Australia investigation into the HSU when Mr Thomson was at the helm.
“I am not conversant with FWA procedures but the media say that they haven’t prepared a brief with a view to criminal proceedings – but is that their job anyway? It would therefore be up to the Feds to plough through the FWA report and then to decide whether there is sufficient evidence for possible criminal action”
Min, it is my understanding it is not their job. They are only involved in civil matters. It is their job I believe to pass on any investigation for criminal matters to other bodies.
I believe that the DPP is being asked for advice. It is likely that the matter will end up with the Federal police. If this is the case, surely the right decision is not to publish the report until all legal processes have been exhausted.
It is about many more than Mr. Thompson. He is a minor player in this scenario.
It must also question the value of much of the alleged evidence against Mr. Thompson, if the union is completely dysfunctional.
Min, it could be more than insufficient evidence. It could be questionable evidence.
It could be questionable evidence.
Exactly CU – that’s what many just don’t get…
Cu, in legal-ese it means the same thing. Insufficient evidence can also mean that what evidence exists is would be insufficient to obtain a conviction. For example evidence obtained via questionable methods – evidence which might not pass court standards.
I’ve given this example before along the way, but here it is again.
Joe Blobs goes away on holidays and gives his front door key to his neighbor Fred Nerks. While away Joe’s house is broken into. The police can find no signs of forced entry and so Fred is the prime suspect. An investigation finds no stolen items in Fred’s house, and even though another neighbor Harry Smit swears that he saw Fred lurking around the premises on the night in question, it is insufficient for the police to be able to press charges against Fred.
Fred is probably as guilty as sin, however the evidence is insufficient or questionable given that the Harry is on with Fred’s missus.
Tony Abbott:
“And yet, we are not threatened in the way Israel was and is, and if we were threatened in the way Israel was and is, I am sure that we would take actions just as strong in our own defence.”
Sounds like Abbott and his Neo-con supporters are keen to provoke an incident…use fear-mongering and conflict trauma to garner votes…like Mr. Sarkosy.
The war on terrorism…the war that keeps on giving.
Tony Abbott is a menace to Australian society…as are the old guard Liberals who took us into a bogus war in Iraq…one that managed to recruit many many Islamic militants.
Tony Abbott:
“When Israel is fighting for its very life, well, as far as I’m concerned, Australians are Israelis. We are all Israelis in those circumstances.”
What a ridiculous and irresponsible thing to say.
An insult to Arab Australians for one.
Sounds like Abbott is willing to sell Australia to both the Israel lobby…and super rich mining interests.
Just like GW Bush did to the Israel lobby and big oil…Texas and Saudi Arabia for starters.
How did that turn out for America and the world?
Not too well for Israel either.
Abbott, Murdoch, the neo-cons…a threat to world stability.
N’
WAR MADE EASY
WHY WE FIGHT
It appears that the fishing expedition has not landed much, except for the huge catch of landing the union itself.
This is a justice. Mr. Abbott stands accuse of attempting to manipulate the justice system for political gains. He should be condemned for this.
Every official organisation called on to find that telltale evidence – NSW police, Fair Work Australia – has passed on the opportunity. The latest to do so was the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions who yesterday effectively said: Not my job.
It could be the evidence doesn’t exist, that whatever Mr Thomson did wasn’t criminal. It might be that his actions as union secretary were reprehensible, but not illegal.
If proof of criminal wrong-doing is there it will take another police investigation or a judicial inquiry followed by court cases for guilt to be established.
Meanwhile, the Fair Work Australia dossier should lead to Federal Court proceedings on administrative breaches by HSU leaders – civil charges – and the public interest in Craig Thomson might taper off as that rambles on.
Before the DPP yesterday declined to join the Craig Thomson hunt there was a significant debate over whether the fair Work Australia report could or should be made public.
Campaigners against Mr Thomson didn’t pull back and risked setting an unhappy precedent for judging politicians guilty of crimes before they are even in front of a judge.
There was a concerted effort by senior Liberals led by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to have the FWA report made public before the DPP was finished with it – which came sooner than most expected. A string of past inquiries into unrelated matters were offered as precedents for the document’s release.
They included findings of the royal commission into the $5.3 billion collapse of HIH in 2003; the 1989 report of the Fitzgerald inquiry in Queensland; a 2007 report suggesting charges against Brian Burke; and two reports by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption.
But one inquiry was glaringly absent. That is the Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry (2001-2003) under Terence Cole, set up following an Employment Advocate report ordered by Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott.
In March 2003 there was debate over making public the royal commission’s recommendations for criminal prosecutions.
Tony Abbott forcefully insisted the recommendations be kept secret.
“If we were to publicly table a document which names people and recommends various prosecution actions, then we would obviously be creating a media firestorm,” Mr Abbott said at the time.
“When Israel is fighting for its very life, well, as far as I’m concerned, Australians are Israelis. We are all Israelis in those circumstances.”
I had a reasonable amount to do with the Australian Jewish community, Isi Liebler having been my boss. That goes back a couple of decades and there was strong feeling then, not anti-Muslim but of an Israeli nationalistic flavour. Does that feeling still exist in young Australian Jewish people today..only minimally I would say.
I would add, who is fighting for it’s existence today, the nation of Israel or the Palestinian people?
Cu, the extreme irony in that one doesn’t escape me.
Tom hoo kneads literacy anyways!
Well we dont for a starter, we’re all inttelect around here….
Min,
Back in the early 80s my co-workers in Greece and I were interested in visiting Israel due to:
—–
If the Israelis have not learnt from the Lebanon bombing campaign disaster…and the mismanaged catastrophic Afghan & Iraq wars…I feel their long-term future is sadly in doubt.
They have been neo-CONned
‘hoo kneads literacy anyways!”
Pip, you are correct, it only gets in the way of a good story, that most rely on for facts and evidence for.
Illiterate people can say what they want.
How would the likes of Mr. Abbott succeed if we were all literate.
Nas’, I certainly remember that.. it used to be every young Jewish person’s duty to spend at least a year on the kibbutz, but given that it was all to do with free love and beautiful girls and tanned young fellas..it wasn’t too onerous a task..probably a bit the same as a gap year only with more outdoors and more vino.
The sympathy for the Israelis came from the fact that they were refugees, stateless and were deserving of a place to call their own. You turn from love to war and eventually destiny will teach you a lesson.
Newman cutting the literacy awards is more than just political pettiness…and cost saving.
It is part of a long-term strategy to silence dissenting and alternative voices…to ensure that ex-military man Newman and his ally Abbott can pursue a hard-right, pro-war, pro-nuclear, religion over secularism, mining over the environment, fishing & cattle uber alles agenda.
In many ways these people have their heads in the 1940s.
It’s a PATTERN OF BEHAVIOUR…
Continuing on from where Bush and Howard left off.
N’
nasking, just like the Victorian government bringing in legalisation to ban any advertising of unions on work sites. I believe this is aimed at clothing the workers wear.
The right are all in favour of freedom of speech, but only their rigth to say anything they like. Everyone else is restricted.
Min wrote:
The sympathy for the Israelis came from the fact that they were refugees, stateless and were deserving of a place to call their own. You turn from love to war and eventually destiny will teach you a lesson.
Indeed Min.
When you act like those who persecuted you…become addicted to the same ruthless, heartless, callous, insane approach…you lose not only the respect of others…but yourself.
You become the problem. Rather than the answer.
N’
Nas’, that’s a reminder for how long it took for Australia to become other than a cultural backwater. Kowtowing to the Brits and later to the Americans, and the assumption that anything resembling Australian culture must by definition be inferior.
History comes in cycles and I can see us heading down this path again – the almost total lack of Australian culture in the media is an indication of the backward path we are taking.
Nasking, In many ways these people have their heads in the 1940s.
Are you sure? :shock:.
Pip, @12.53am, good news for Africa. This is huge. It will provide so much opportunity for Africans. Let’s hope it’s a roaring success.
Interestingly, it is also good news for Australia in that more countries are taking up alternative energy sources.
I wonder if Premier Palmer will be inclined to rethink Alternative Energy for Queensland. Or will he be content to let the state slide back 30 or so years?
Ditto Bailleau and Barnett.
And with the news coming thick and fast from the US and now the Shetlands, we absolutely must press on with the renewable energy program under this forward thinking government.
Slogan-Forward to the Future with Labor or Back to the Dark Ages with the LNP?
And nice of Philip Coorey to point out the hypocrisy. About f*cken time!!! As I see it, the only bypassing happening is the truth by the Liars party and their chief barrackers in the Merdeochracy.
el gordo @8.18am, puhlease! Now pull the other one; it plays Jingle Bells.
………why is the heat off..don’t tell me it’s because of our old friend..insufficient evidence!
Which of course is insufficient evidence for the Liars Party to come to the amazing conclusion that insufficient evidence means that there is insufficient evidence. I refer my learned colleagues to Lionel Murphy, if there is any doubt about my conclusion.
However, this time I think the government should remove the gloves and deliver the old one, two consisting of Fisher, Michael Williamson and their whistleblower the sainted Kathy Jackson, who could be up to her scrawny neck in poo by the looks of things.
This shit storm looks more interesting by the second.
CU & Bacchus, questionable evidence, particularly as it has been driven by one Kathy Jackson who has a big grudge against Thomson and who now appears to be less than the brave whistle blower the Liars Party would have us believe.
I have a suspicion that Thomson was dropped in it to cover a certain person’s arse. He may have been getting too close for comfort, if, as he says, he was trying to clean up the union.
CU @10.31am, it’s encouraging to see that Liealot is living down to his usual “standards”. I hope someone decides to drag the bugger through the courts.
CU,
these people do not really believe in freedom of speech…they are a CON…
libertarians are stupid to fall for their bullsh*t
Every one is expendable when it comes to their loopy religious & resource wars.
Civil rights are thrown out the window when it suits them.
Ask this lady how her freedom of speech rights were respected:
Cornelia Rau is a German citizen and Australian permanent resident who was unlawfully detained for a period of ten months in 2004 and 2005 as part of the Australian Government’s mandatory detention program.
Vivian Alvarez Solon (born 30 October 1962) is an Australian who was unlawfully removed to the Philippines by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) in July 2001. In May 2005, it became public knowledge that she had been deported, although DIMIA knew of its mistake in 2003. Solon’s family had listed her as a missing person since July 2003, and until May 2005, did not know that she had been deported. The circumstances surrounding Solon’s unlawful deportation have caused much controversy in the Australian media.
In October 2005, a report on Solon’s deportation was released, following an inquiry conducted by former Victoria Police commissioner Neil Comrie.
The report revealed that several senior DIMIA officials in Canberra knew about Solon’s unlawful deportation in 2003 and 2004, and failed to act. It also found that Solon’s mental and physical health problems were not given proper attention.
Solon has since returned to Australia on 18 November 2005.
Anyone who thinks Tony Abbott and the Coalition…or Newman and the LNP give a crap about your right to dissent…to differ…is fooling themselves.
Newman has proved himself to be just another Neo-CONARTIST…
Silencer of VOICES.
N’
Nas’ @11.29am, hear! hear!.
The Liars have banked on people either forgetting or being indifferent to, their utter disregard for the rights of fellow Australians, and in the case of Dr Haneef, of foreign nationals working in this country.
We should also remember their disgraceful conduct in the cases of David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib.
The Liars Party has covered itself in inglory time after time. We should always hold them to account over these things.
Mr. Abbott is now demanding that FWA turn the report into a brief of evidence,
Why would they do this, as it is not their brief to launched criminal cases. It is their brief to lodge civil claims in the FWA court.
The so called evidence against Mr. Thompson is still hearsay and innuendo.
It is unclear that what FWA is seeking advice about has any connection to Mr. Thompson.
I suggest not, following the reaction of the ACTU,
It appears to be about current reasons. Mr. Thompson has been in parliament since 2007. He retired from the union long before that.
One only compiles a brief of evidence if they have the ability to take the matter to court. It appears that FWA does not have this ability.
Another loss for Palmer. He shares something with Mr. Aboot. If he cannot have his own way, he will destroy it.
Football Federation Australia officially axed Gold Coast United on Thursday, confirming the city would not be represented in the A-League next season.
The decision comes a day after FFA announced it would bankroll a new western Sydney franchise from next season.
FFA blamed a lack of public and corporate support in the city for the decision, as well as a shortage of new investors with ‘a viable business plan and adequate capital investment.’
And it said the failure of the franchise could be directly attributed to the Clive Palmer-owned club’s ‘lack of community engagement and its inability to build a football culture around the club.’
‘FFA is bitterly disappointed that Gold Coast United Pty Ltd failed to develop a market for football on the Gold Coast over the past three seasons,’ FFA chief executive Ben Buckley said in a statement.
‘… We acknowledge the hard work and commitment over the past six weeks by Football Queensland, Gold Coast Football Association, the Gold Coast players and coach Mike Mulvey.
‘The team showed great professionalism and pride in performance in the way they completed the season.
Nas’ @11.29am. I remember the one about Vivian Alvarez Solon very clearly because she was picked up in a park in Lismore. It was assumed by officials that she was a Filipino prostitute.
What Mr. does not want, is for the matter to be referred to the Federal police.
He wants the innuendo and hearsay about Mr. Thompson to be in the public arena.
He cares nought for justice.
FWA have already said that it is not their brief to make decisions about criminal matters.
All that could be in the report is the allegations that have been made. There will be no proof either way. Only they they could or may have criminal consequences.
Mr. Abbott is making a last ditch effort to get this to happen before the matter is referred.
Cu, this is the last straw with which Abbott has to grasp to be able to insist on an early election.
I remember you saying that Abbott was looking quite desperate, and his last day in Parliament before the break was a shocker – the shrillness etc.
“Shrill” is hardly a strong enough description anymore Min,
“I think the public are concluding that basically a protection racket has been at work here inside officialdom to look after Craig Thomson and the Gillard government,”
According to this account Mr. Thomson is the only person of interest…..at least to Abbott and his media supporters….
Mr Thomson, the member for Dobell on the NSW Central Coast, has strenuously denied all wrongdoing.
He said outside his home today that he was yet to receive any information from FWA about the findings.
“But the DPP's indications yesterday were very encouraging and very consistent with what I've said all along about being innocent in relation to this issue,” Mr Thomson said.
“We are very encouraged by that but we really still have a lack of information generally.”
Further comment was being sought from Fair Work Australia.
“Further comment?”
what are they expecting the FWA to say that hasn’t already been said?
Another point missed by Abbott is that Craig Thomson has not heard from the Victorian Police, which is strange if one believes that he is guilty of a ‘crime’.
Their investigation is still ongoing and one would expect that Mr. Thomson would have been questioned before now as a matter of some urgency!
Could it be that there is nothing ….
Pip, I should imagine that it’s all in the 1,100 page report. From the snippets, and these are very few and far between it seems that the Victorian police’s conclusion is the same as that of the NSW police.
If we’re all not completely confused by this..who would blame us!
I dare say that it will take the DPP considerable time to plough their way though the FWA report.
For we independent thinkers…
For el gordo
Pip, if the evidence was as black and white as Mr. Bandies alleged, surely they would not have needed the assistance of FWA to carry out their investigations.
Cu,
It seems to me that all that remains is to sit back and observe how the media will save their golden boy Abbott from further embarrassment.
HSU suspended from the ACTU.
While FWA general manager Bernadette O’Neill made no judgment on whether crimes had been committed, she said there were enough ‘significant matters’ for prosecutors to consider.
The report, which FWA is not releasing on legal grounds, makes allegations of workplace law breaches against three former or current HSU officials and another person.
These are serious claims to make without any proof.
TONY Abbott says Fair Work Australia’s failure to provide prosecutors with a brief of evidence on the Health Services Union may be part of a deliberate “obstruction of justice” orchestrated by allies of the Gillard government.
The Opposition Leader said that if after waiting over three years for the workplace watchdog to complete its investigation into the HSU and Labor MP Craig Thomson’s alleged misuse of union credit cards and funds, no charges were pursued, it would send an “appalling message” to the Australian people.
“I think the public are concluding that basically a protection racket has been at work here inside officialdom to look after Craig Thomson and the Gillard government,” Mr Abbott told Sydney’s 2GB.
More on ACTU. I believe that Mr. Abbott is becoming completely unhinged. Not one word about the action of the ACTU.
He is obsessed with Mr. Thompson. He does not realise that another door has closed.
I do not think there are any others for him to go through.
He will just have to wait for the schedule election 18 months away.
The PM is not as easy to take down, as he believed.
Today, delegates voted 1797 to 103 in favour of the suspension.
Victoria Police is still investigating activities at the HSU during Labor MP Craig Thomson’s tenure as national secretary, and may still refer evidence to the state’s DPP.
The case was referred to police in September, but Mr Thomson’s office says he has not been approached by police.
“It has really got nothing to do with me,” Mr Thomson said.
“I haven’t been a member, employed by the HSU for five years, so clearly it is about current issues that are there and that is a matter for the ACTU and the HSU to sort through.”
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says if the investigation into the HSU and Mr Thomson fails, then it will be due to deliberate obstruction.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she will not comment on the process because it is being run by independent agencies.
But Mr Abbott has told Macquarie Radio says the public is beginning to suspect that officials are protecting Mr Thomson and the Government.
“You’ve got union officials investigating union officials, and the suspicion has got to be that you’ve had former union officials protecting union officials to protect the Gillard Government,” he said.
Tom R, not a very successful exercise when one reads the comments.
Mr. Bolt is having a section dedicated to Mr. Abbott on his show. I suspect it will not be not like the ones we have,
It is going to be very tiny if the insist on only reporting the positive about the man.
Mr. Abbott is on ABC24 with his bullshit once again.
Please ask Mr. Farris why FWA would create a brief of evidence if it does not have the ability to take the matter to court,
He has confirmed today that there is corruption charges in relation to Mr. Thompson. How and where?
This has not been established. He is once again lying.
It is a long bow he is pulling. He wants to be careful that the string does not break.
Pure politics and dirty politics at that.
Mr. Abbott is claiming if charges were laid it could lead to the immediate resignation of Thompson.
He must know what is in the report to be continuing with this bullshit. The question is how?
His appointment could not be leaking, could it.
I do not believe it, they cut him off.
He is still talking about evidence.
Evidence is hearsay, allegations and innuendo that has been tested in a court of law.
When did this happen.
We must have been all asleep, as Mr Abbott is the only person in the land that has this information.
Does this man lie straight in bed. He must have a extra large king-size bed or he and his wife, sleep in separate beds, probably rooms.
he did speak very carefully, but I fear not carefully enough.
Simply, he lied.
The ACTU would not be dumping the union for something it did years ago, This would not be necessary.
It much be acting on the current state of the HSU today.
Therefore Mr, Thompson cannot ne the main concern. He has gone.
this is the man upon whose advice Mr. Abbott is demanding all sorts of dodgy actions in his bid to oust Craig Thomson from Parliament before the end of the year!
It is a deeply unflattering photograph. On anyone else’s website, you’d suspect it had been chosen with extreme malice aforethought to portray the lawyer as some harrumphing grump.
In a sense that’s exactly how it happened: Faris’ son took the picture. “Give us your trademark scowl,” he directed and his father happily complied and then posted it on his blog.
Which might say as much about Peter Faris QC as any of the provocations he types into that weblog. After more than 40 years as one of Melbourne’s most successfully combative criminal lawyers, Faris, 66, has made a new name for himself — with business cards to match — as 3AW broadcaster and multi-media commentator. And career controversialist.
On the station’s Sunday morning discussion program, in his Faris QC Blog (subheaded “Australia, Love It Or Leave It”), and in contributions to Crikey.com and newspaper opinion pages, he assails a variety of targets. He wants racial profiling of Muslim airline passengers, suggests Joseph “Jihad Jack” Thomas be handed over to Pakistan to face terror charges, and argues that torture is acceptable under certain circumstances.
Abbott named an HSU person as saying that the majority of the offences were Thomson’s…..I have me doots.
Pip, that again would be Ms. Jackson. Talk about denial. It could be that he is talking about her partner. Now that would be news, when one looks at who the partner is.
It does not make sense in what Mr. Abbott said. If it was all about Thompson, I do not believe FWA would be taking the steps they have. As much as Mr. Abbott would like to make it a crime of the highest order, $100,000 is not that great in the scheme of things.
Would one expect the ACTU to take action over such am alleged crime. Me thinks not. It would have to be at least systematic corruption. Current corruption at that. Maybe Mr. Abbott should listen to what Mr. Thompson is saying.
Mr. Abbott is now trying to convince the public that he would have to resign if the accusations were made public. Sorry, he does not and Mr. Abbott knows this.
What makes it more stupid, the public is also aware of that fact.
I do hope some of the eggs that are aimed at his face, are rotten. he is digging that hole deeper for himself.
.
Pip, Mr. Faris is indeed a nice bloke.
The only question I want asked of him, is what will FWA do with the brief of evidence if they did compile it.
They do not have the brief to take criminal matters to court.
It is that fact that makes all their arguments nothing but propaganda.
Cu, this gentleman was much more circumspect on ABC24, about the ACTU suspending the HSU, and also made the point that the timing is strange because we don’t know who did what yet!
I’lltry and find a written account of what he said, but don’t be surprised if ot doesn’t appear in print anywhere!
Andrew’s main interests lie in employment law and workplace relations, contract law and intellectual property. His most recent publications include Parental Leave: A User-Friendly Guide (with Erin McCarthy and Elise Jenkin) and an edited collection of articles for the Journal of Industrial Relations on the new agency Fair Work Australia. He has also complted new editions of his popular texts, Labour Law (with Breen Creighton), Intellectual Property in Australia (with Philip Griffith and Judith Bannister) and Stewart’s Guide to Employment Law.
Besides working as a consultant with the national law firm Piper Alderman, Andrew has provided expert advice to the International Labour Organisation, to Federal and State governments in Australia, to the Auditor-General of South Australia and to a wide range of other organisations. He has played a prominent role in the public debate over workplace reforms, and has spoken and written widely about their implications for businesses, workers and unions.
Andrew is the President of the Australian Labour Law Association, Deputy Dean at Adelaide Law School, and a fellow of the Australian Academy of Law. He has previously been Chair of the Committee of Australian Law Deans and President of the Industrial Relations Society of South Australia. Before taking up his current post he worked at the University of Sydney and at Flinders University, where he was Dean of Law from 1994-1997.
It’s propaganda Cu, that is why Abbott went to the shock jock style Mr. Faris, 3AW ‘careerist, instead of a lawyer, any lawyer who might talk sense!!
What surprises me is that he is an criminal lawyer. This is not how he is being presented by the Opposition.
Faris tells how barrister and human rights advocate Julian Burnside QC looked at him at a dinner recently and said “I think you are the most dangerous person in Australia”. He barks out a husky laugh: “And he meant it!”
This is the side of Peter Faris that unlovely photo seems to illustrate. The topics and language he chooses seem calculated incitements, intended to further exsanguinate already bleeding hearts. There’s a suspicion of shock-theatre about his pronouncements, as if they’re verbal versions of that “trademark scowl”, until you wonder if he’s reactionary or just looking for a reaction.
“He certainly thrives on the notoriety, the recognition,” says a fellow barrister. “He revels in that — and he’s got an adoring fan base of rednecks and vigilantes.”
But Faris insists he says what he means and means what he says: “All I’m being is me, all I’m saying is what I think. What I say, even though it sounds confrontationist, is something I believe, that I’ve thought deeply about. I don’t just say those things for sensational effect.”
Yet, next breath, he adds that part of his job each Sunday is to do the program’s first editorial. “And it’s talkback radio, I’ve got to light up the switchboard. It’s my job to get them on the line and you don’t do that by pussyfooting around … You’ve got to work out what you think and say it in such a way that half the people are going to agree and the other half hate it.
Labour Law (with Breen Creighton), 5th ed, Federation Press, Sydney, 2010
Intellectual Property in Australia (with Philip Griffith and Judith Bannister), 4th ed, LexisNexis, Sydney, 2010
Fair Work: The New Workplace Laws and the Work Choices Legacy (co-edited with Anthony Forsyth), Federation Press, Sydney, 2009
Prime Minister Julia Gillard must stop relying on Craig Thomson’s vote in parliament in the wake of the ACTU’s decision to suspend the Health Services Union, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says.
Why not. Mr. Thompson has a right to sit in parliament.
It is getting ridiculous. According to Mr. Abbott and his supporters, he decides who is allow in parliament. The PM has no right to put forward legislation he disagrees with.
Mr Abbott said it was clear corruption had occurred.
“”This is the term that the ACTU itself has used in suspending the membership of the HSU – corruption,” he said.”
yes it has indeed. What is not clear, more than that, not known, by whom and when.
“Mr Abbott called on the FWA to “redeem itself” by preparing a brief of evidence the Director or Public Prosecutions could use.
“If Fair Work Australia is unwilling or incapable of doing this the state police would be justified in seeking the evidence that Fair Work Australia clearly has … to prepare their own briefs of evidence”.
The arrogance of the man. Maybe he should redeem himself for the lies he continues to spread.
“A very, very serious term.”
Very serious indeed, Serious enough to be treat with respect, not twisted to meet his political aims.
,
I wasn’t listening to Fran Kelly’s Breakfast program today so missed the
interview with none other than Mr. Peter Faris QC.
Where does it go from here. They say there are criminal matters. The police have not found any in what has been referred to the,
My guess is there maybe criminal matters but no proof. Further it might be difficult to decide who have committed any criminal offences.
One thing for sure, it is not an open and shut case, as thre Opposition alludes.
What is being overlooked amid all the huff and puff of the Craig Thomson saga is that the investigation by Fair Work Australia was never supposed to be a precursor to the laying of criminal charges.
When the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions said yesterday the 1100-page report referred to it by Fair Work Australia did not amount to a brief of evidence and therefore, it was unlikely the DPP would do much about it, it was hardly a surprise.
Fair Work Australia was only ever tasked to investigate whether the Health Services Union, during the time Thomson was the national secretary and before he was a politician, breached the Workplace Relations Act.
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The investigation identified 76 technical breaches which are minor and do not warrant penalty and another 105 breaches which possibly warrant referral to the federal court and the imposition of fines.
Fair Work Australia’s general manager Bernadette O’Neill said this week when the report was finalised that it was not within the bailiwick of her organisation to establish whether its findings were of a criminal nature.
That, she said, was for the DPP to determine.
However, she implied there was material that was possibly of a criminal nature.
”I am satisfied that the report raises many significant matters which may be appropriate for the DPP’s consideration,” she said.
But the DPP is not an investigative body so the report with which it has been furnished, is next to useless. It will go through the motions of looking at it but not much more presumably.
If the DPP were to recommend criminal charges, it would be on the back of a brief by the police.
At the behest of the shadow attorney-general, George Brandis, the NSW police looked at the case last year and decided no investigation was warranted.
Following subsequent revelations by the Sydney Morning Herald of more serious allegations against the union administration more broadly, rather than Thomson per se, both the NSW and Victorian police are having another look. Those investigations are still ongoing.
There is plenty that can be criticised about the Fair Work Australia investigation.
Primarily, it took too long, lasting more than three years.
Now that the DPP is unlikely to act on its findings, there is no good reason why its report cannot be released.
Afterall, it released a report a couple of weeks ago into the administration of a Victorian branch of the HSU that had nothing to do with Thomson but identified various breaches of the Act.
Fair Work Australia has also refused along the way to co-operate with any police investigation and is therefore unlikely to refer its report to the police. It went to the length of securing advice from the Australian Government Solicitor as to why it was more appropriate the report went to the DPP.
b. assume that he is being true to form, saying whatever wants to say with the intention of his repeated mantras hogging and clogging the public conversation, knowing full well that he’s being untruthful and misleading the public.
c. He’ll continue to blather and lie till someone smarter and more powerful
. explains to him that he is wrong in what he’s been saying,not that he
would worry too much after the easy ride he was given over the
Mary Jo Fisher shoplifting case.
Pip, when did Tony Abbott being proven wrong ever stop him from blathering..
Pip, all of the above. Abbott is milking it for all he’s worth as are certain journalists.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard must stop relying on Craig Thomson’s vote in parliament in the wake of the ACTU’s decision to suspend the Health Services Union, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says.
Mr. Abbott’s demands are nonsensical,
The ACTU executive on Thursday announced it was suspending the HSU over the allegations.
Mr Abbott said Ms Gillard could not wash her hands of the scandal.
“It’s just not good enough for the prime minister to say this is none of her business,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“Fair Work Australia is Julia Gillard’s creation, Craig Thomson is Julia Gillard’s member of parliament.
“If the ACTU is no longer prepared to rely on the Health Services Union’s affiliation fees, the prime minister should no longer rely on the vote of the Health Services Union member in the parliament.”
Mr Abbott said it was clear corruption had occurred.
“This is the term that the ACTU itself has used in suspending the membership of the HSU – corruption,” he said
Peter Faris is just another bitter, disallusioned, angry jerk who is probably terrified of death…yet afraid to live…without spreading his guilt, fear, doubts and anxiety everywhere by way of opinionated vomit…and stirring people up.
Spreading the cynicism and anger…trying to infect others…make them same…somehow eases the pain…
Temporarily.
These raging opinionators tend to be smug…arrogant…use reactions to their unpleasantness to fuel themselves.
Fear and guilt tend to drive them…that’s why they fingerpoint so much…in some ways they are like serial killers…they consider themselves sooo intelligent…but a part of them knows they are a sham…a show…sick in the head and heart…hoping oneday someone will see thru them…take them down…put them out of their long misery.
Yet another part of them is terrified of being caught.
Adrenalin comes from playing the game…seeing what they can get away with…how far they can go.
Eventually the crash will come…unfortunately they’ve left a string of casualties…
and as shock jocks…been paid well for it.
Imagine the guilt that lies beneath.
But once blood has been tasted…they believe it is too late to turn back. No path to redemption…
Apart from kowtowing to the religiously delusional.
Ya see, when some people lose what they perceive as their “goodness”…feel forced to compromise…give up on their principles, their long-held beliefs…are caught out and humiliated…perhaps don’t get the adoration and respect they feel they deserve…they can transform into cynical, angry tosspots…spewing venom at all and sundry…like children, adolescents…siding with others who support their rage and cynicism…those who applaud and kneel at their sick altar.
Expressions of self-hate and distrust of others and paranoid delusions and severe disappointment with life and fear can be terrible things to witness…particularly if they manifest in a highly articulate person who gets in front of a microphone…
think many shock jocks…including Limbaugh, Jones and Bolt.
The money is merely a bandaid…the applause and kowtowing agreement merely temporary motivators…hollow.
Nothing fills the dark hole.
Sad ugly men. Smug…but in many ways dead inside.
Abbott is like the pied piper to them…
N’
One of the things that I enjoyed most about studying law was that opinion unless backed up by facts is not worth a baker’s cuss.
You can drag out as much opinion as you like, but the facts do not change. Therefore all the rants and raves from opposition politicians might fill up some space but they will not influence the outcome.
And really should we want the outcome influenced by politicians and the media?
Min, Pip, when did Tony Abbott being proven wrong ever stop him from blathering..
Never, as far as I know!
Roswell, certain journalists are having a field day, but they too are loose with the truth, and have been omitting pertinent facts!
I’ve been out for a good portion of this afternoon and so have just come across:
Tony Abbott wants police to raid Fair Work Australia offices
Actually I don’t think that they’ll find much as staff have all knocked off for the holiday break and the office doubtless is locked…
From your link to the Age CU
Fair Work Australia was only ever tasked to investigate whether the Health Services Union, during the time Thomson was the national secretary and before he was a politician, breached the Workplace Relations Act.
As I said in a comment I posted there, I wonder if all of our journos (OK, I should have said most) got their journo courses from the University of East Bum Craxk
Seriously, she is crying conspiracy, when the facts show that the outcome should have been predicted.
FFS!
So, what’s happened? I’ve just come in and after reading all your comments and one at Poll Bludger saying that Channel 10 was promising an exclusive on HSU releasing that report to them I went straight to ABC News 24 and then 10 News – but nothing about HSU or Craig Thomson at all.
Has it dropped off the radar? Or am I living in a different universe over here in Freo?
Or has Tony Abbott been picked up and taken off into protective custody?
Tom, we could bash our brains out on this one trying to get these facts through.
To try to put it as simply as I can – one thing is a civil action, one thing is a criminal action.
On occasions these things overlap. Therefore for example if you threw rubbish on your neighbor’s naturestrip you might have a penalty courtesy of your local council, you might even have a civil action .. but is it a criminal action?
Min @ 5.49pm what were you saying? And really should we want the outcome influenced by politicians and the media?
Fair Work report on HSU to be released
April 5, 2012 – 5:49PM
Fair Work Australia has agreed to release the report of its investigation into the Health Services Union’s national office.
But the report will not be tabled in the Senate until FWA general manager Bernadette O’Neill has finished considering which of 181 contraventions of workplace laws found by investigators should be taken to the Federal Court for civil action.
The report has made findings against three former or serving HSU officials, and one other individual.
{Professor Andrew Stewart as per my previous link @ 5.03pm….}
The World Today spoke to a former high ranking judicial officer with extensive experience in industrial law who preferred not to be named. He said Fair Work Australia should release that legal advice to establish the bona fides of its decision.
But Professor Andrew Stewart says the decision is unsurprising.
ANDREW STEWART: It’s not at all unusual for a report of this type to be kept private while an assessment is being made about whether criminal charges are possible. The police don’t routinely release reports from their internal investigations while a decision is still being made about whether or not a prosecution should be initiated.
TANYA NOLAN: And Professor Stewart says the example used by the Opposition of the Queensland Fitzgerald Inquiry as a precedent for doing so is not a fair comparison.
ANDREW STEWART: It’s not the same because this is a question of a process that it is operating under legislation that places clear limits on Fair Work Australia in terms of when it’s appropriate to disclose information.
I think there have been many, many other examples where you’ve had investigations where the details remained largely confidential until a decision has been made whether or not to pursue criminal processes.
Patricia, the short answer is nothing much.
Tom, As I said in a comment I posted there, I wonder if all of our journos (OK, I should have said most) got their journo courses from the University of East Bum Craxk
Seriously, she is crying conspiracy, when the facts show that the outcome should have been predicted.
FFS!
My sentiments exactly.
Ms Crabb disappoints more each week; she’s been heavily promoted as the cute, funny, quirky, whatever … , but I’m over her!.
patricia, you’re lucky you’ve missed most of it; it’s enough to do your head in!
Pip and..
ANDREW STEWART: It’s not at all unusual for a report of this type to be kept private while an assessment is being made about whether criminal charges are possible. The police don’t routinely release reports from their internal investigations while a decision is still being made about whether or not a prosecution should be initiated.
Basic common sense isn’t it. An investigation might include 200 persons, all but 2 of whom are innocent – therefore one does not release internal reports.
Ok, imagine if it was a rape case and there were 200 suspects who all attended the same dance party. Should the police release the names of all 200.
But the report will not be tabled in the Senate until FWA general manager Bernadette O’Neill has finished considering which of 181 contraventions of workplace laws found by investigators should be taken to the Federal Court for civil action.
Lets look at this brief of evidence we have been hearing about for what seems an eternity.
The impression is being given, that once written down, they are proven fats. It is NOT,
In my working life, as a DO. I took many matters to the Children’s Court for DOC’s .
When I lodged a matter, it included what was call a brief of evidence.
What it consisted of was the facts as I saw it. It was not proven facts.
As the case went on, I added to the the brief of evidence with a court report.
Everyone of those so called facts had to be defended through out the length of the trial.
Mr. Abbott and Mr. Faris are giving the impression that a brief of evidence carries weight. It does not.
The magistrate can and often does find the brief of evidence not proven.
I believe that Mr. Abbott’s alleging that an conspiracy has occurred beyond the pale. No one is safe from his vindictive tongue.
Why would FWA draw up a brief of evidence they can do nothing with. It just does not make sense.
Sending this to state police also is of dubious value, as the Opposition has tainted their ability to act.
There are other bodies that do have the power to act in corporate matters
This is what I believe FWA is trying to establish.
It is much more that using a credit card for prostitution.
If the PM manipulated this outcome, she is a very clever lady.
It is the outcome I seen twelve months ago. I have been amazed that no one else voiced similar concerns.
Heck no, Min, they should release all 200 names – the public has a right to know. 😯
Cu, it wasn’t in the interests of Mr. Abbott for anyone in the news industry to
voice their concerns if they differed from those of Mr. Abbott.
It may also not have been in the best interests of the journalists to differ from the ‘groupthink’.
Journalists have been known to argue strongly about that point but i don’t necessarily believe them.
By the way, I only distributed that brief of evidence after it was lodge in court,
All it is, is what one is being ACCUSED of.
t is given to the party, so they have a chance to answer the charges.
It is not something one releases to the public.
In fact one would be in BIG trouble if that occurred.
Min, I did not hear this one.
TONY Abbott wants police armed with search warrants to raid Fair Work Australia if it won’t use its 1100-page report on the Health Services Union to launch criminal prosecutions.
The police would then be able to use the contents of the report for a brief of evidence leading to the laying of criminal charges.
The Opposition Leader said that “effectively” it was known the report contains “corruption charges” involving former HSU secretary and Labor MP Craig Thomson.
Mr Abbott based that on the ACTU’s decision today to suspend the membership Health Services Union as a statement of “zero tolerance for corruption”.
He said Fair Work Australia should now draw up a brief of evidence for the prosecution of Mr Thomson.
If it didn’t: “the state police would be justified in seeking the evidence that Fair Work Australia clearly has, and in using the evidence that Fair Work Australia clearly has to prepare their own briefs of evidence that can then go to the state directors of public prosecution”.
The report will be released when FWA is finish with it.
This will be at least another month. Poor Tone will have to wait.
Next we will be hearing he wants to take the armed forces in.
The suspension motion was passed overwhelmingly but there was sympathy for Health Service Union officials who had cleaned up their branches.
Acting national secretary Chris Brown gave what one union leader called an intelligent and strong defence of the well-managed branches, while another source said Ms Jackson – who had called in investigators into the union – had been “rambling”.
The decision was made after Fair Work Australia revealed it had uncovered 181 rule breaches related to the union’s finances and amid speculation that a separate inquiry had uncovered misuse of funds.
Mr Lawrence said investigations of HSU finances should be completed and the ACTU made no allegation of guilt by any individual.
Pip @6.46pm..good girl..yep you have it, for civil action.
Civil action is not criminal action although the two can often overlap. For example one’s pet spaniel nipping your boss on the leg and then piddling on the carpet may not warrant criminal action for illegal entry to his premises, but he might decide to sue for damages to the carpet and for medical expenses.
Let me guess. tabot will claim it was his threats that made them release it
The Prime Minister was in Adelaide today, and maybe there were no reporters available till late, to report on her words about the Abbott demands of the FWA.
She said it isn’t up to her, and it isn’t up to Tony Abbott to be telling FWA what to do.
‘Almost equally disturbing is that mainstream Australian media sources now display an almost complete incapacity to assess environmental matters objectively.’
Bob Carter et al, Quadrant 5 April 2012
Clever Tom… 😆
Cu, you mention Abbott and Co tainting the ability for FWA to act. Surely they have also made it impossible for Craig Thomson to get a fair trial if he is one of those named?
If FWA is keeping the report until they identify who they are going to charge, then hand it on to the Senate, I would say there are going to be no criminal charges laid.
Funny, I bet the FWA will be compiling briefs of evidence for this action.
FWA I believe by this action has carried out it’s brief.
Corruption can mean much more than stealing etc.
It could be making false accusations. it could be lying. Corruption is such a wide term. It could even be making bribes.
Funny it is only Mr. Abbott that knows what they are not saying.
el grodo, Bob Carter is your scientisit of choice, but he doen’s impress everyone!
His funding comes from the “big polluters”, so one would nopt expect him to support an ETS, or renewable energy sources..
Bob Carter
Credentials
•Ph.D., University of Cambridge, Palaeontology, 1968.
•B.Sc. (Hons), University of Otago, Geology, 1963.
Source: [1]
Background
Robert (Bob) Carter is research professor at James Cook University, Queensland, Australia, where he was head of the School of Earth Sciences between 1981 and 1999. He is a marine geologist and environmental scientist. [2]
In response to claims made by Carter that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change uncovered no evidence that global warming was caused by human activity, a former CSIRO climate scientist stated that Carter was not a credible source on climate change and that “if he [Carter] has any evidence that [global warming over the past 100 years] is a natural variability he should publish through the peer review process.”
Carter has written numerous newspaper articles, primarily for UK and Australian newspapers, that attempt to disprove global warming.
In reference to his involvement with the Institute for Public Affairs (IPA), Carter stated in a March 15, 2007 Sydney Morning Herald article: “I don’t think it is the point whether you are paid by the coal or petroleum industry.” [3]
With thanks for something interesting on 7:30 for a change:
Yes Pip, but what he said is true….journalists are blinkered and ignorant on the issue of climate change.
That’s how we got ourselves into a political mess, the msm watchdog role is not happening….and there is a lot of denial about
“This is a perfect storm I’ve never seen before in politics,” said one senior Labor MP.
“And we are in total denial. Unless we radically change the way we do business, and soon, Labor, will die.”
As tomorrow is good friday, abbott can ask the nsw police to storm the offices of the nsw attorney general, and demand he sign the documents against the AG’s mate the priest. then the police can go to the priests home or even the church he is attending and arrest him. tony abbott can do this as there is apparently a brief of evidence against the priest. the brief of evidence has been sitting on the AG’s desk for a considerable length of time. as abbott is determined to stick up for poor unionists, who may have had their funds misused , imagine the outrage abbott must be feeling for catholics abused by a priest. go on abbott stand up for these catholics who are being doubly abused as a result of their case not proceeding.
Brilliant idea Sue. 😆
but it ain’t going to happen ….there’s no value in it for Tony…
Pip
the value in it for Tony is sticking up for catholics that have charges of abuse against a priest and the police have prepared a brief of evidence.
brief of evidence being of so much importance to tony
an advisor on a number of “think-tanks” and groups. In addition to Heartland, Professor Carter is an advisor to the Institute for Public Affairs (Aus), The Galileo Movement (Aus), the Science and Public Policy Institute (US), the International Climate Science Coalition (US/Canada), the Australian Climate Science Coalition, the Global Warming Policy Foundation (UK) and Repeal the Act (UK). He was a founding advisor to the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition.
All of these groups promote the same contrarian views on human-caused climate change that are not backed by any national science academy of note anywhere on the planet. Few, if any, reveal their funders.
i watched the sh1t called a story on 7.30
“CHRIS UHLMANN, PRESENTER: It can only be described as a farce. An investigation that dragged on for three years, a secret report handed to the Commonwealth prosecutor that turns out to be useless for pursuing criminal action and state police investigations stymied by Fair Work Australia’s refusal to co-operate.”
FARCE , the FARCE IS 7.30 look who reporter Hayden Cooper interviewed as one of his experts, Stewart Wood
“Stewart Wood is a senior counsel whose advice was referred to this week in the Fair Work report. In the end, his opinion was ignored because he believes Fair Work Australia should have co-operated with police from the word go.” http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2012/s3472324.htm
WHAT Cooper did not disclose about Wood is that he is asssociated with the HR Nicholls society, is counsel to employers. and an advocate for Workchoices
“By his own admission ex Freehills lawyer Stuart Wood isn’t having much luck lately. Wood who offers legal advice to employers and claims to be “one of Australia’s leading workplace relations barristers” has been on the losing side of a number recent industrial disputes
Wood’s reveals the real intent of Workchoices is to bypass this democratic process and allow the employers to implement any change regardless of the social consequences. http://www.unionsolidarity.org/irnews/2007/05/stop-throwing-wood-on-fire.html
i have not investigated Hayden Cooper’s other expert that was John Lloyd an ex vice president of the IRC, the body replaced by FWA. My guess he isn’t working with the new industrial body the FWA and may be he was a Howard appointtee.
Sue, whatever happens, Tony Abbott probably won’t have a word to say on that subject!
CU @1.42pm, love the cartoon. The Origin of the Specious. Gold!
He has confirmed today that there is corruption charges in relation to Mr. Thompson. How and where?
How and where indeed, CU. Has nobody asked him how he knows this, when it appears two police forces and other agencies have no such knowledge?
I think it’s about time he got a very sharp slap and the threat of legal action if he continues in this vein.
CU @3.47pm, Sneerleader has nothing but desperation and his usual accomplices lies, innuendo, unfounded allegations, dishonesty and misrepresentation. As a lawyer himself, he should know that he is on flimsy ground making all these statements publicly.
Pip @4.02pm, as I understand it, the majority of the “offences” occurred AFTER Thomson ceased working for the union. Bit hard for him to commit these “offences” if he was no longer involved with the union.
Mr. Abbott is now trying to convince the public that he would have to resign if the accusations were made public.
Oh, you mean like Mary Jo fisher’s resignation? Oh wait…
Pip @5.03pm, why would Sneerleader go to him for advice? He knows of what he speaks. Definitely NOT Sneerleader’s type of legal adviser.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard must stop relying on Craig Thomson’s vote in parliament in the wake of the ACTU’s decision to suspend the Health Services Union, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says.
What????? What has today’s decision by the ACTU’s got to do with someone who hasn’t worked at HSU for 5 years?
Corruption may well have occurred, but we don’t know when, nor who was corrupt.
Min @5.36pm, he might shut his big fat lying gob if someone finally decides to take legal action against him for what is essentially an egregious and irresponsible abuse of his position.
Of course, what’s worse is that once again he’s allowed to get away with the lies by the msm.
…..the prime minister should no longer rely on the vote of the Health Services Union member…..
Who might that be? Yet another flagrant lie.
Tom R, Their TER would barely qualify them for a course at the Weeties School of Journalism.
Frankly, I think now would be an appropriate time for the government to say it’s decided to reopen the inquiry into AWB, with broader TOR.
TONY Abbott wants police armed with search warrants to raid Fair Work Australia if it won’t use its 1100-page report on the Health Services Union to launch criminal prosecutions.
Well he’ll be f*cked if it doesn’t contain what he so desperately wants. He is really desperate. I wonder if his desperation is linked to goodies that will be contained in the Budget?
It’s only a month away and I’d wager the house that when voters start unwrapping their Budget presents, they won’t want to give them to Gina, Clive and Twiggy.
Also, the fact is that state Liars party governments are starting to hum a bit. Sneerleader can’t wait until August next year to confess that he’ll be handing over all the goodies to three if the richest people in the country. He NEEDS an election, now.
It could be making false accusations. it could be lying. Corruption is such a wide term.
Sneerleader falls smack dab in the middle of that definition, CU.
Was Bob Carr, FM, right? Were Julie Bishop, shadow FM and the msm wrong to attack Carr?
“Papua New Guinea’s government has warned other countries, particularly Australia, not to interfere in its internal affairs after it delayed its elections.
The deferral is the second major backflip from the PNG government in two days.
Yesterday, the government used a controversial law to suspend two judges who were involved in a major constitutional case, despite previously saying it would not use the law until the public had been consulted.
That earlier mentioned Professor said on ABC24 during the afternoon that the inquiry was slow to begin. He said they were slow in collecting information. He was unsure why this happened.
seem to recall the HSU was slow in providing it. (I see, to also remember that much is missing)
He added that after that time, the progress was normal.
He also said he could not understand the requests that Mr. Abbott was making
It has turned out to be a very complex matter.
Sue, NG is becoming a worry. There were many that supported Mr. Carr.
It was also what Ms. Bishop was calling on Mr. Rudd to do.
Sue @10.00pm, you don’t understand, do you? It’s a completely different situation. I mean you only have to look, I mean one is a priest, so it’s totally different.
And the priest wasn’t in HSU and he isn’t a member of a minority government which needs his vote. So you can see it’s totally different, isn’t it? I mean it’s not corrupt to abuse boys, is it? Just a peccadillo, really and quite harmless.
‘Cos priests are NEVER corrupt, are they?
The New South Wales Premier has jumped to the defence of his Attorney-General, Greg Smith, who has come under fire over comments he allegedly made about a woman who claims she was sexually abused by a priest when she was a child.
and
“The Premier has been assured that neither the Attorney-General nor his office has been involved in the consideration by the state’s legal authorities of allegations concerning Father Finian Egan,” the statement said.
Federal Education Minister Peter Garrett has hailed a meeting of the country’s education ministers on a new schools funding scheme as a co-operative success.
The gathering has heard from the author of the report into school funding, David Gonski.
By June a high-level plan should set out how to move towards reforms, starting with base funding levels per student.
Mr Garrett says today’s meeting suggests the reform will happen.
“Mr Gonski identified not only a schooling resource standard but a series of loadings that might apply to students as well – there’s a great deal of work but we can do it,” he said.
New South Wales Education Minister Adrian Piccoli says the meeting made sure the response to Mr Gonski is a state and federal partnership.
“These are reforms critical for the future of Australia an
“Damien Tudehope, now the Attorney-General’s chief of staff, also knows Father Egan well, attending the priest’s church and, as a solicitor, defending him against sexual abuse allegations.”
But this is different. The Premier is not Labor and not the PM.
Mr. Abbott does not want his job.
I have never seen a Opposition Leader set out to destroy a legitimate government before this,
Mr. Abbott is also will to talk down the economy, destroying it in the process to achieve what he was promised as a child.
He is so desperate, he cannot wait.
Why?
Does he know in his guts that this PM is not as bad or incapable as many believe.
It is a shame he does not know in his guts, that he is nuts.
Just popped in to remark on how absolutely depressing & predictable it is that every misrepresentation, segue, non sequitur & lie of Abbott’s about the HSU thing is parroted & disseminated by the MSM.
Sue at 10.36
I think Uhlmann’s getting worse by the day.
Was it ever FWA’s brief to produce a prosecutable case against Craig Thomson? Mr Abbott says it is now & it’ll just have to go back & try again.
The problem is according to Mr. Abbott, they did not get it right.
They should have Mr. Thompson in jail by now.
We know this was possible in Mr. Howard’s day.
How many innocence people ended up behind bars, in detention or exile from the country, in his day.
The have no respect for the processes of law and order.
They have no respect for ones rights.
They will say and do anything to get what they want.
Sue, computer is slow so I’m still on your 10.36pm mention of the HR Nicholls society.
For Cafe visitors who know nothing about the Society, one of it founders was one former Treasurer, Peter Costello.
Australia is a country in which political life is carried out through debate and argument. The Society’s ambition is to bring about, through the processes of debate and argument, urgently needed reform in Australia’s industrial relations attitudes, law and institutions, and thus to transform our labour market into a job-creating and wealth-generating engine of growth and prosperity.
Our aims are:
To promote discussion about the operation of industrial relations in Australia, including the system of determining wages and other conditions of employment.
To support the reform of Australian industrial relations with the aim of promoting the rule of law in respect of employers and employee organisations alike, the right of individuals to freely contract for the supply and engagement of their labour by mutual agreement, and the necessity for labour relations to be conducted in such a way as to promote economic development in Australia.
In other words, they would like to see the unions finished off!
Pip
’cause your computer is slow, UK sky news has advised that on at least 2 occassions management gave permission for a journalist to HACK emails
(that is, trust us, it was for the public good, even though it is against the law and there is no such defense as public good)
Thomson inquiry misfires
Michelle Grattan, Kate McClymont and Clay Lucas
April 5, 2012
THE Craig Thomson affair has taken an extraordinary twist, with a three-year investigation by Fair Work Australia into alleged misconduct at the Health Services Union declared useless for preparing any prosecutions.
The declaration came ahead of the release of an explosive internal audit that is expected to lay bare extensive corruption within the union.
As the affair escalated, Prime Minister Julia Gillard continued to back Mr Thomson, the Labor MP who formerly headed the Health Services Union and who represents a key number in her minority government.
Fair Work on Tuesday gave the Director of Public Prosecutions its report. It found 181 breaches of civil law or other rules, and identified three former or current HSU officials – one of them understood to be Mr Thomson. Fair Work did not make any findings about criminal actions, leaving that to the DPP.
But DPP Chris Craigie, SC, said in a statement yesterday that for a matter to be assessed for prosecution, there needed to be a criminal investigation and a brief of evidence.
He pointed out that the letter from Fair Work made it clear it had not conducted a criminal probe and ”the material forwarded is not a brief of evidence”. Despite this, Mr Craigie said he would look at the material and consider what to do with it.
The DPP could hand material to police, but it first has to examine what it can legally pass to another agency. Victorian and NSW police are already investigating the union.
The DPP issue means a further delay in the affair, after the Fair Work inquiry took more than three years.
Meanwhile, pressure on union president Michael Williamson – who is understood to be among those named in the Fair Work report – continued to mount ahead of the release of findings by the HSU’s internal audit. Sources predicted attempted moves against Mr Williamson from within the union.
and it goes on and on.
That discussions have been held among senior officials in the union about taking legal action to try to prevent Mr Temby from releasing his findings. Mr Temby was expected to present his report to the HSU council, which meets on April 30, but its release date is now uncertain.
Bob, yes it is depressing and predictable, as well as blatant yellow press!
Sue, tthanks for that; that’s quite an admission. Was that at the Levesen Inquiry ?
I wonder did management ever give permission to HACK the computers of the climate scientists??
“For Cafe visitors who know nothing about the Society, one of it founders was one former Treasurer, Peter Costello”
One needs to remembered that Mr. Costello spent his earlier days destroying unions.
One that comes to mind was Dollar Sweets. I cannot recall the name of another case in the Territory.
Cu, The problem is according to Mr. Abbott, they did not get it right.
They should have Mr. Thompson in jail by now.
It just NOT FAIR!!!
Pip
No it was not at Leveson, they have just announced it. 2 cases mentioned 2007,2008. sent story to guardian
Cause they have “integrity” have done internal audit and external review, but nothing to report (trust us).
Yeah right, will look forward to next instalment/ next investigation
Now the Tele rekons it has a copy of the summary from the FWA report
“A summary of the report lists a series of illegal donations, including $10,000 to the “Dads in Education” organisation in Mr Thomson’s local electorate.
The Mudginberri abattoir was the focus of a major industrial relations
dispute from 1983 to 1985 in Australia’s Northern Territory
..
The successful prosecution of the Australasian Meat Industry
Employees Union (AMIEU) under section 45D of the Trade Practices Act
(Secondary boycott provisions) was seen by the National Farmers
Federation and the developing New Right in and outside the Liberal
Party of Australia as a breakthrough in a campaign to break the power
of the unions and introduce contract employment.[1][2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudginberri_dispute
..
The Right wingers and BEEF producers celebrated their victory
John Howard, then leader of the Opposition, urged the creation of many
more Mudginberris.
Barrister for Pendarvis and the NFF was Peter Costello, who was to
later co-found the H. R. Nicholls Society, act for Dollar Sweets in
the Dollar Sweets dispute and go on to become the federal treasurer in
the Howard Government and a prominent architect of the Howard
Government Industrial Relations reforms.[19]
..
By 1998 there were no functioning abattoirs in the Northern
Territory. Skilled men will not work in remote areas for peanuts.
Sue, I might be mistaken but I think I read that somewhere yesterday.
FAIR Work Australia will release its findings against Craig Thomson next month, while his old union, the Health Services Union, faces threats of deregistration or being placed in the hands of administrators if it does not clean out its leadership.
[and]
It is understood the Temby report is less concerned with Mr Thomson, who was the union’s national secretary until he entered Parliament in 2007.
[and]
The acting national president of the HSU, Chris Brown, said ”the vast majority” of the contraventions involved Mr Thomson, including allegations he misused his union credit card to pay for prostitutes.
Hmm, “it is understood” said one thing, and the Acting National President of the HSU said another.
How surprising.
(Phil Coorey: “Fair Work, which was never tasked to look for criminal activity, nonetheless suspects there may be material warranting criminal investigation. But it refers it to a body that can’t do anything about it, instead of referring it to the police which is currently undertaking an investigation.”
Michelle Grattan: “He pointed out that the letter from Fair Work made it clear it had not conducted a criminal probe and ”the material forwarded is not a brief of evidence”. Despite this, Mr Craigie said he would look at the material and consider what to do with it. The DPP could hand material to police, but it first has to examine what it can legally pass to another agency. Victorian and NSW police are already investigating the union.”
Thinking generally about grundnorms/interests of justice, a(n un)certain amount of the ‘evidence’ upon which ‘investigating’ police might otherwise seek to rely presumably was gathered in a very specific way for a very specific purpose, and it might well be unconscionable and/or unreliable simply to transplant it somewhere else, a somewhere else with a different format and context, given that participants in one jurisdiction may well have chosen, have been advised, even have been required, to arrange their legitimate legal affairs differently than if they were to (have) be(en) presented in/with another jurisdiction, and per that other jurisdiction’s specific procedures, standards, and requirements. Any such further ‘investigation’ by police of those materials, on their own initiative or upon referral, presumably will need to keep that circumstance squarely in mind, as will any agency ‘examining’ what it can legally pass on.
Or, and for present purposes, one road-raging vigilante’s ‘brick wall’ to be busted through may be another person’s road divider, if and when it comes to conflicts of interests between left-hand and right-hand drive jurisdictions; and maintenance of general confidences in which set of road rules is which is possibly handiest of all, for all, when collision is the foreseeable consequence of (mis)application(s).
Perhaps.)
Here it is explained..civil, not criminal..
TONY ABBOTT’S frustration that the Fair Work Australia investigation into the Health Services Union has not paved the way explicitly for criminal charges in part stems from legislation he introduced as the workplace relations minister in 2002.
The Registered Organisations Act, which details the rules about the financial management of organisations such as unions, provides for civil, not criminal, penalties for breaches.
Pip…Readfearn is a ratbag. We fought many a battle before he was sacked by the Courier Mail….he’s a rusted on watermelon.
The fact that Carter gets paid by right wing think tanks is irrelevant, his science is sound.
Yet scientists who submit their work for peer review are supposedly tarnished??
Min
From your coorey link
“Consequently, the investigation by FWA was never supposed to be a precursor to the laying of criminal charges and it was not surprising the Commonwealth DPP said the 1100-page report referred to it by FWA was of next to no use because it did not amount to a brief of evidence.”
So Phil Coorey can write, how about Phil confronting Abbott with this at a press conference. Show Abbott up for the crap he rants on about and on TV. And Phil if you won’t do it alert one of your colleagues, or at least someone with the guts to show Abbott up as the hypocrite he is.
Sue, this one is an excellent example of the way the msm treat Abbott with kid gloves. That is, even when Abbott is shown up to be a hyprocrite, the language used is very mild amounting to little more than a slap over the knuckles with a fluffy slipper.
not those cloisrered scientists sucking on the teat of the taxpayer again Min. When will they ever get it right
A VAST ice shelf in the Antarctic peninsula, a hotspot for global warming, has shrunk by 85 per cent in 17 years, the European Space Agency (ESA) says.
<i.That is, even when Abbott is shown up to be a hyprocrite, the language used is very mild amounting to little more than a slap over the knuckles with a fluffy slipper.
If they repeat it at all
Still waiting to hear about him declaring his ‘levy’ is a ‘tax’
It is so blatant the protection they offer him.
Min
not only could the journos challenge Abbott with his lack of understanding of the law’s he ushered in but how about Brandis, the supposed shadow attorney general, the person Abbott relies of for legal opinion. Brandis has either no understanding of the Act or choses to misrepresent the Act, either or is a pretty damning assessment of Brandis as an Attorney General.
Tom R do you thunk Annabelle is aware of what is happening in, at the least, the UK?
Sue, I do not think Annabelle is aware (fullstop) 😉
Tom r
I too have given annabelle something to read. The PM’s statement on the australia network decision “We have done the right thing” has a bit more weight when you read Sky UK say “we hacked for the public good” .
not a good reference for a company that wanted to handle “soft diplomacy” on behalf of the australian govt.
On the australia Network.. Now that
“Sky UK has admitted it hacked for public good”
will the other members of the Sky tender, channel 7, telstra look to see if they have been misled by “sky’ or look to see if “sky” was the reason the tender was cancelled. the govt did say the process had been compromised by “leaks” it makes you wonder in what form the “leaks” occurred? we may never learn.
Sue, Brandis has me completely perplexed at times..not just over this but a number of issues. It seems to me strange that he puts forward certain arguments which are at odds with anyone with any vague training in law. The only thing that I can think of is that he believes that he can say what he likes, knowing that there is no one around to contradict him – and even if they are, that their opinion will receive scant attention from the media.
Listening to the media, there appears to be a great outcry about the Thompson Affair and FWA. Is this true.
There seems to be bigger outcry that the man is not being given the presumption of innocence.
There is disquiet at the statement of Mr,. Abbott and Mr. Brandis not basing their replies and demands on what the FWA is capable of delivering.
Both must know what the powers and intentions of FWA are.
Mr. Abbott is now attempting to say FWA is all the PM’s work. I will be surprise if this true. As we learnt in the Qantas dispute, much of FWA was transferred from earlier bills, such as WorkChoices, which in itself retain much from previous IR courts.
We are hearing from the Opposition that the evidence is black and white . This does not appear to be true. There are now allegations of a dysfunctional union over a great many years. The allegations investigations made appear to cover over eleven hundred pages. That in itself points to more that a credit card being used to but the services of a prostitute. It points to many being involved over many years.
It also point to a very complicated case-and it appears to be difficult to work out who should be investigating.
What is clear, Mr. Abbott is desperate to have Mr. Thompson drawn and slaughtered and has no regards for his legal rights ot the process involved in settling this matter.
Mr. Abbott is willing to slander ans condemn everyone dealing with the matter to achieve his aims. he has no respect for the legal processes of this country.
Sorry if this has been posted before but it simply says it all.
Myself being of a somewhat suspicious mind, could this be an attack on FWA itself. The opposition are going to want to make changes and what better way to start than to undermine FWA’s credibility. An old Howard trick.
CU @11.37pm 5/4, no, no! It’s not the same at all! As I explained to Sue, Father Egan is a priest, not an MP in a minority government which needs his vote to survive.
So it’s not the same at all. Father Egan has the presumption if innocence and we all know the wheels of the Church grind slowly and we mustn’t put any pressure on the Church to move it along.
Nor must we make presumptive statements about the good Father’s guilt or innocence as that could be prejudicial and it would be very naughty and quite possibly illegal.
No, Craig Thomson’s case is very different; because if we can force him out of Parliament, I, the great Sneerleader will be PM before that bitch Gillard and that cancerous blot, Swan get the Budget passed and people start realising I’m the worst LOTO in history and the mob of talentless hacks I lead couldn’t run a chook raffle that only sold 10 tickets!
Shane it is simple in my eyes. They want to get rid of FWA and the PM. I am not too sure what they hate the most. Mr. Thompson is the tool they are using to do so.
While Mr. Abbott’s and Co maintain this agenda, how can we take at face value whatever they utter.
They have moved on from misconstruing the truth and facts to straightout lying
They make misleading statements about FWA, DPP and others are supposed to have said, and mount their attack.
When one starts accusing all the parties involved of conspiracy and lying, one wonders at how far they are willing to go, to get their own way.
This Opposition has to be one of the worse and most dangerous in Australia political history.
Abbott is demanding the police seek warrants. I wonder it the police have the power to do this.
Shorten is threatened to deregister the HSU if they do not get the union into line.
Can some one tell me haw the actions yesterday of that ACTU is connected to Mr. Thompson who left the union over five years ago.
I would assumed the action is aimed at the present day incumbents.
Happy Easter everyone,
and the trout-mouth Mr. Abbott is the tool of the HR Nicholls Society, whose goal in life is to smash the unions and the FWA.
Abbott’s own act to blame for the lack of criminal charges
April 6, 2012
TONY ABBOTT’S frustration that the Fair Work Australia investigation into the Health Services Union has not paved the way explicitly for criminal charges in part stems from legislation he introduced as the workplace relations minister in 2002.
The Registered Organisations Act, which details the rules about the financial management of organisations such as unions, provides for civil, not criminal, penalties for breaches. Consequently, the investigation by FWA was never supposed to be a precursor to the laying of criminal charges and it was not surprising the Commonwealth DPP said the 1100-page report referred to it by FWA was of next to no use because it did not amount to a brief of evidence.
FWA was asked to investigate whether the HSU, during the time Craig Thomson was the national secretary, breached the act.
so, originally the investigation looks to have been instigated specifically to catch Craig Thomson, and has blown out to the point where bigger fish have been entangled in the web!
Pip, anyone who only had a small knowledge of the history of this union, or who did a Google search, would not be surprised at the outcome that has come about.
We have a Labor government of previous union heavies,
I am sure that when Mr. Abbott began his campaign knew that all they had to do was sit back and wait.
Labor would know that Mr. Abbott has put his faith in one lady, that the kindest thing one could say, her allegations would have to be suspect. The lady does not have a reputation for truth.
Yesterday it was reported that this lady rambled on at the ACTU meeting.
It amazes me that the ACTU and Mr. Shorten are not treating this matter the same as they treated the builders labourers many years ago.
It makes one wonder how bad things are within the HSU.
it cannot be because Mr. Thompson misused a credit card. It has to be much more than that.
Min @7.45am “The Registered Organisations Act, which details the rules about the financial management of organisations such as unions, provides for civil, not criminal, penalties for breaches.”
Min, the great Senator Brandis is the emperor with no clothes…
I didn’t see your link when I posted mine but we should repost it every hour on the hour 🙂
Eddie @ 10.43am, thanks for the link to the Reith phone card scandal..
COMPERE: Now to Canberra, and who’s been using Peter Reith’s phone card, and who’s going to pay the $50,000 bill?
These were Opposition questions after it was revealed that Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith had racked up massive phone debts on a service he says he hadn’t used for years. He admitted he had given his son his card, a clear breach of the rules, but that only accounts for less than $1,000 worth of misuse. For that he was forgiven, by the Prime Minister at least, but not by the Opposition. Not when they have ‘Mr Waterfront Reform’ on the back-foot, as chief political correspondent Philip Williams reports from Canberra.
PHILIP WILLIAMS: Modern communications, the dog and bone, and today the call went out to Peter Reith – please explain how $50,000 worth of calls were clocked up on his tele-card account, some of which were racked up by his son.
Mr. Reith now writes regularly for the ABC’s The Drum and appears on the The Drum TV program and he’s still talking about industrial relations and “productivity”. [WorkChoices is still on the minds of the neo-conservatives].
Happy Easter Roswell, this needs to be repeated as well
Min @7.45am “The Registered Organisations Act, which details the rules about the financial management of organisations such as unions, provides for civil, not criminal, penalties for breaches.”
Roswell, that is what the experts have been saying all a long. That is what Mr. Abbott and Mr. Brandis chooses to ignore.
Where is the outcry about the state of the union today from the Opposition.
Not a word uttered. Where is the concern doe the members in the latest developments. Not a word uttered.
It appears that the legislation that Mr. Abbott himself is to prevent his demands being carried out.
Why should FWA compile a brief of evidence they cannot use. They do not have the power to launch criminal matters. The are briefed to deal with civil matters in the IR court.
We do not have any knowledge, nor should Mr. Abbott, of the alleged corruption. We have no idea of what the corruption comprises of. Therefore we cannot say or suggest what FWA should now do.
We do not know what agencies should now be involved. Should it be state police. Should it be Federal police. Should it be those who investigate corporation matters. It could be any or combination of all.
NSW says investigation is proceeding well. Funny that they have not questioned Mr. Thompson.
Pip, therefore the reason why FWA could not be expected to prepare a brief for a criminal investigation. Abbott must know this, but as per situation usual he runs with the rhetoric – because he can.
Min, I am not even sure that misuse of the credit card would warranted more that twelve months jail term.
it would be a first offence and in the scheme of things, not a major crime.
It is time for Mr. Abbott to utter he will let the law take it’s course and shut up.
His actions are only making matters more complexed and complicated.
Surely on the name of justice, investigations should not occur in the public gaze.
Being investigated does not imply guilt. It does not imply a case to answer.
Jane @ 11.06am, the stench of hypocrisy is all around the Abbott led gang of shysters.
The Liberal party has adopted lock, stock and barrel, the tactics used by the neocons in the US, and is eagerly supported by some very senior journalists.
Think-tank talking heads have taken over the public conversation and Tony has his very own gang of shock-jocks with their dirt campaigns against the mining tax, the carbon ‘tax’, the NBN, the pokies reform and last but not least, the very ugly campaign against our Prime Minister.
Also consider the mis-representation of the BER audit report, and the home insulation scheme, [pink batts].
The total number of lies is breath-taking.
Truth has no place in their three word slogans.
Pip, as usual, much ado about nothing.
Min, because he can. That’s the point isn’t it, that Abbott can and does say whatever he likes, as has Senator Brandis this week, and until the Phillip Coorey article today, not one of the hundreds of ‘Opinion” pieces has came close to challenging any of it
It just NOT FAIR!!!
Stamps feet, rolls on floor, flails arms, sobs shrilly. Everyone walks over the top of screaming toddler. They’ve seen it all before!
I wonder if Sneerleader is on notice-nail the government or we’ll be looking at our vast pool of talent for a replacement.
Min @7.45am, rofl. So Sneerleader is the one responsible for the very thing he’s whining about!! Justice!
grodo @7.45am, Carter’s science is tainted. He is not independent of those he is investigating.
And Phil if you won’t do it alert one of your colleagues, or at least someone with the guts to show Abbott up as the hypocrite he is.
Just saw a mob of pigs flying overhead, Sue. and wrt Brandis, I go for deliberate misrepresentation.
Tom R @8.58am, oh noes! Those cloistered bastards, again!
Min, Brandis can say what he likes in the sure and certain knowledge that the msm will NEVER challenge what he says. The same goes for Sneerleadeer with extra sugar and a cherry on top.
Anthony G @10.58am, you’re not being suspicious, imo. For the Liars it would kill two birds with one stone. Sneerleader is the Rodent’s political love child, it’s in his DNA.
CU @11.15am, precisely. Why would the ACTU have waited for 5+ years to take this action? It’s illogical and makes absolutely no sense whatever.
But we’re forgetting…we’re dealing with Sneerleader. Logic, morality, truth, integrity and honesty are thrown out of the window and lies, distortions, misrepresentations, immorality, innuendo and dishonesty are welcomed with open arms.
Pip @11.21am. It’s hilarious, isn’t it? He’s the architect of his inability to impeach Craig Thomson. I hope his nose is being ground into this fact daily.
Does anyone else feel this all has a whiff of emailgate?
Pip @12.16pm, and the blame for this lies squarely on the shoulders of the msm, who are every bit as corrupt as the Liars Party. Had they made ANY attempt at honest reporting for the last 3 years, the government would be hailed as a great success and their actions during the GFC lauded.
We would also not have the government tying itself in knots to achieve that most useless of objectives; a surplus.
I pray that the Empire is utterly destroyed and lies in tatters at the Emperor’s feet and his minions in the msm are cast out on the ashes to starve.
Antony, the further into the current parliamentary term we go, the more the
Coalition has tried to bring about the destruction of Labor and the unions.
Of course that isn’t what Opposition parties are paid to do but they don’t care.
Whatever their reasoning, they’ve been so cocky, not to mention angry… they are all so angry…. they should be angry with the machinations that put Abbott in as their Leader. after all it’s no secret that he’s a one dimensional
drop-kick, an ideologue, a puppet doing the bidding of the powerful.
Abbott exudes hate, and that’s very scary in a leader.
A NEW code of conduct for publicly funded construction projects in Victoria will crack down on the display of union logos, mottos and insignia on building sites.
And ”no ticket, no start” signs on sites, or any indicators that imply union membership is compulsory, will be banned under the code.
Premier Ted Baillieu and the Finance Minister Robert Clark yesterday released the government’s long-promised code of practice for the building and construction industry.
Shane @ 10.54am
thanks for your link 🙂
A clutch of recent studies reinforces evidence that people are causing climate change and suggests debate should now move on to a more precise understanding of its impact on humans.
The reports, published in various journals in recent weeks, add new detail to the theory of climate change and by implication cast contrarians in a more desperate light.
To be clear: there’s nothing wrong with doubting climate change; but doubts based on ignorance, a political bias or fossil fuel lobbying don’t help.
I too have given annabelle something to read. The PM’s statement on the australia network decision “We have done the right thing” has a bit more weight when you read Sky UK say “we hacked for the public good” .
not a good reference for a company that wanted to handle “soft diplomacy” on behalf of the australian govt.
Exactly!
The tender was “compromised by leaks”.
Jane the hour is up…time to repost this…. in fact it’s time to post this on as many sites as possible!
Abbott’s own act to blame for the lack of criminal chargesApril 6, 2012
Opinion
TONY ABBOTT’S frustration that the Fair Work Australia investigation into the Health Services Union has not paved the way explicitly for criminal charges in part stems from legislation he introduced as the workplace relations minister in 2002
Does anyone realize if Mr. Abbott fell opn his sword at this time, the Opposition would have to rebuild itself.
He is becoming increasing isolated and on his own.
We have Mr. Brandis supporting him on this one issue,
Where are the likes of Mirabella, Robb, Hockey, Hunt, and anyone else. They all give the impression of keeping their heads down. They pop up now and then to make a comment relating to their own interest and quickly disappear again.
The only other one we are hearing from, is Mr. Turnbull. Not exactly out there praising Mr. Abbott.
In comparison we have the PM and ALL her ministers out each day announcing and putting in place policy.
“we’ll be looking at our vast pool of talent for a replacement.”
jane, are you serious.
What is this ??
Korea Set to Try Again on Carbon Trading, Climate Head Says
By Sangim Han – Mar 19, 2012
Korea Set to Try Again on Carbon Trading, Climate Head Says
South Korea, the fastest-growing emitter among rich nations, will try again to pass a bill that sets up emissions trading in 2015 and allows lawmakers to work out details later this year, a top climate official said.</blockquote>
CU
Robb got batted down over his support for Huawei and against advice to the the govt based on national security .
His disappearance was hastened when revelations of the freeby for him and his staffer by Huawei appeared for a short time in the msm.
Mirabella probably in a huff over big bum comparisons, and there is also her own legal issues outstanding.
Hockey is worried about having to make sense of Richie rich, parental and nanny schemes.
Sue, an all round [so to speak], bad weak for Cruella, and J Bishop… where is she?
Andrew Robb is an ambitious fellow but his hopes have been dashed, and poor cuddly Joe looks like a buffoon.
Bayside residents need to brace themselves for the impact of the carbon tax and the changes to the private health insurance rebate, both due to commence in 100 days.
In exactly 100 days, Bayside householders will start paying more for electricity, the essentials of life and for private health insurance, Federal Member for Goldstein Andrew Robb said.
The carbon tax and the changes to the private health insurance rebate will put great pressure on household budgets.
Julia Gillard promised “there will be no carbon tax under the government I lead” and also promised she would not touch the private health insurance rebate – she broke her word to Bayside householders on both counts.
“The Gillard Government is adding the world’s biggest carbon tax to the world’s highest electricity prices at the worst possible time,” Mr Robb said.
“Household electricity prices have already increased by 40% in real terms since 2007 and will go up by at least another 10 per cent in the first year of the carbon tax.”
Oh where to start on the lies …
Mr. Robb does not want comments on his blog -shame.
Yesterday we had a policeman sentenced. He was thrown out of the police force seven years ago.
It has taken seven years to reach this stage.
Methinks that the allegations of the time taken by FWA is rare, sis suspect.
Maybe if we looked closer, we would find many more examples.
The demand that the PM not take support from the HSU is a little puzzling,
it is my belief that the HSU has already disassociate itself from Labor.
Much of what is being said does not make sense at all.
Pip, there was book written about his attempt to get into China.
He failed but did snare a wife.
I read it years ago, but cannot recall the title.
Sue, Mr. Robb has now ducked for cover as Cu pointed out.
Where are the likes of Mirabella, Robb, Hockey, Hunt, and anyone else. They all give the impression of keeping their heads down. They pop up now and then to make a comment relating to their own interest and quickly disappear again.
The only other one we are hearing from, is Mr. Turnbull. Not exactly out there praising Mr. Abbott.
The Opposition leader Tony Abbott and his climate spokesperson Greg Hunt have again been caught out misleading the public on climate change.
A leading CSIRO researcher has made it clear that Mr Abbott’s Direct Action plan cannot achieve its promised level of reductions in carbon pollution through changes to soil management practices.
Pip, of course Abbott’s Direct Action Plan can achieve only sweet bugger all. Abbott’s plan would be lucky to achieve even minimal impact on coastal erosion and saltification much less an impact on climate change.
There is not one hour in any day when the carbon tax ‘lie’ is not mentioned.
and I noticed it rated bold lettering in Mr. Robb’s blog.
It should not be allowed to go unchallenged.
Speech: Julia Gillard, “Moving forward together on Climate Change”
Julia Gillard posted Friday, b><b23 July 2010
Pip @1.00pm, I agree. The sooner people realise that Sneerleader is the one who’s shit in his own nest and is too crooked or stupid to know it, the better.
@1.34pm, it’d take a week to get around Slagabella and Joe doesn’t just look like a buffoon. 😯
CU, I can’t believe you’d think I’d take the mick wrt that vast untapped pool of talent which is the Parliamentary Liars Party. 😯
Just look at the Shadow Ministry-absolutely crammed with the stuff.
I mean just look at the short list: there’s Prissy whose bulging eyed, scarlett faced tantrums are second only to his fearless leader’s, Sloppy Joe, renowned for his iron grip on all things economic, Barnyard, who admittedly has a slight problem driving through puddles, Eyes Bishop who has scored so many telling points against the government, Bronnie, a lover of kero baths for the elderly and bringing up the rear we’ve got the lovely Vampirella Slagabella, who has a penchant for elderly, wealthy lawyers with Alzheimer’s.
Seriously, how could you go past any of these talent laden pretenders to the throne.
I invite everyone to feel free to add their personal favourites.
Jane, Ruddock, the Amnesty member…still there after entering the Parliament in 1973
How he can continue to wear that badge is beyond belief.
Did not one of his daughters leave the country because of shame in how he dealt with refugees.
He kept saying the boats had to be stopped so we could take more from Africa.
TRICKY TIMES: Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s Government has been on the back foot all week, dogged by issues of trust and competency. Source: The Courier-Mail
Funny, I thought Labor was having a good week. It is Mr. Abbott that does not seem to be getting his own way.
We have Mr. Albanese out again today pushing for the second Sydney Airport which cannot be put off much longer.
The PM has been out all over the country, looking relaxed and confident. The states have been dealt with. Her ministers are seen all over the place with important announcement.
Mr. Thompson’s plight has occupied little of her time.
What have seen of Mr. Abbott. Either on a bike or fronting the media with lies and attempts to bully independent bodies, including the DPP and police in two states.
The hysteria from the man is increasing every day, until he now sounds shrill. The noise and mis-reporting from the media is not far behind.
Time is fast running out for the man.
The government has already moved on to new pastures, which I believe will and are being well received by the public.
Mr. Abbott is being left behind and is fast becoming irrelevant.
EASTER is a time to reflect on death and resurrection, but as Prime Minister Julia Gillard reflects on the sinking fortunes of her Labor Government, she will be hard-pressed to see signs of a revival.
If there is a thread that pulls together events of the past week, it is that Labor and the wider labour movement need to get their houses in order to rebuild public trust and respect.
The latest Nielsen poll has Tony Abbott’s Coalition maintaining a landslide-winning lead, with federal Labor’s primary vote slumping to a near-record low – similar to the devastating result at last month’s Queensland state election.
While most senior Labor figures dismissed the polls, Foreign Minister Bob Carr took a more sober view, saying it was clear that if an early election was held the government would fall.
and this very balance opinion.
Mr Abbott neatly pulled together the problems facing the Prime Minister, Mr Thomson and the unions when talking to reporters in Cairns.
“If the ACTU is cutting the Health Services Union adrift because it doesn’t maintain decent ethical standards, what is the Prime Minister going to do about the HSU’s representative in the Parliament?
“Is she going to cling to Craig Thomson as a lifeline while the ACTU is cutting the Health Services Union adrift?”
Mr Thomson’s vote is crucial to the minority Government surviving to the next election, due in late 2013.
It’s now more than likely he will avoid any criminal case that could see him expelled from Parliament.
As much as Mr Abbott would like an early election, he’s happy to leave the pall hanging over the Government and union movement.
Cu, that’s typical ‘fair and balanced’ from Murdoch’s Courier Mail.
Will these dickheads continue with their fiction or will they make public corrections on the front page??
A new facet to our PM, who many claim as a barren, unmarried woman, living in sin that has no life experiences. The story sounds very genuine. In a way it was the way I managed my own children at times. Not Sallies though.
Ms Gillard announced the government’s appeal contribution of $350,000 during a visit to her home city of Adelaide on Thursday.
As a youngster, the prime minister spent a lot of time at Sunset Lodge, where her mother was a cook at an aged care home, run by the Salvation Army.
Her mother would run out and pick up the young Ms Gillard from school, and the future Labor leader would sit on a stool in the kitchen watching her work until 6.30pm.
“And when I tell people that story, it all sounds a bit, you know, Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens, doesn’t it?” she said at a breakfast in Adelaide.
“A small girl sitting on a stool in a kitchen for a number of hours every day … but it wasn’t like that at all because it really was a very special place, full of a lot of love and friendship.”
It was particularly special to be around 70 to 80 older women for a small migrant girl, with no extended family or grandparents in the country, the prime minister said
More Murdoch garbage running interference to deflect from Abbott’s self-inflicted disaster.
FOREIGN Minister Bob Carr has ruled out making a tilt for the prime ministership
.
“I’m ruling it out, I don’t have to give a reason,” he said outside his Maroubra home in Sydney’s east.
“I’m ruling it out.”
Senator Carr would have to move to the lower house in order to take the Labor leadership from Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who is struggling in the polls.
There has been speculation recently about the possible retirement of Schools Minister Peter Garrett, which would create a vacancy in his eastern Sydney seat of Kingsford-Smith.
However, Senator Carr, who spent a decade as NSW premier, says he is not considering that option.
His predecessor as foreign minister, Kevin Rudd, abruptly resigned from his post in February to challenge for the Labor leadership, only to be trounced by Ms Gillard 71 votes to 31.
A change of pace.
BARRY O’Farrell’s behaviour over the past week has been baffling.
Last Sunday, we carried a front page story revealing parliament’s road safety advisory group was urging the government to consider extending school zone hours.
The Premier obviously had plans for his Sunday that didn’t include having to deal with a potentially unpopular proposal. So, instead of batting the proposal away as a recommendation he wasn’t so keen on, he took aim at The Sunday Telegraph.
Mr O’Farrell’s strategy was simple: kill the story in its tracks so it didn’t feature on radio news bulletins all day, and didn’t get a run on the high-rating Sunday night TV news.
Mr O’Farrell told journalists that the story was ‘BS’ and speculated the source of the “inaccurate” story was Labor upper house MP Walt Secord.
and
Sunday papers – there is no recommendation in his report to extend the hours of speed zones outside schools,” he said.
With no other journalists having access to the yet-to-be published report, it was an easy kill, and his media strategy for that day stayed on course.
The problem for Mr O’Farrell is that the story was accurate. Two days later, on Tuesday, the report was tabled in parliament, and there it was: “Recommendation 18.
Cu, and isn’t about time that we, the people learned about our Prime Minister’s real life. When you think about it, we know very little about this little redheaded Welsh immigrant girl.
Cu, O’Farrell’s behaviour is baffling, or is it cynical manipulation of the media for his own interests?
It should be called by it’s proper name.. a lie.
He then trashed Sunday newspapers in general.
“I’ve talked to the chairman of the committee this morning, and surprisingly – this is my scepticism about other stories in the Sunday papers – there is no recommendation in his report to extend the hours of speed zones outside schools,” he said.
With no other journalists having access to the yet-to-be published report, it was an easy kill, and his media strategy for that day stayed on course.
The problem for Mr O’Farrell is that the story was accurate. Two days later, on Tuesday, the report was tabled in parliament, and there it was: “Recommendation 18.
TONY ABBOTT’S frustration that the Fair Work Australia investigation into the Health Services Union has not paved the way explicitly for criminal charges in part stems from legislation he introduced as the workplace relations minister in 2002.
The Registered Organisations Act, which details the rules about the financial management of organisations such as unions, provides for civil, not criminal, penalties for breaches. Consequently, the investigation by FWA was never supposed to be a precursor to the laying of criminal charges and it was not surprising the Commonwealth DPP said the 1100-page report referred to it by FWA was of next to no use because it did not amount to a brief of evidence.
Min, Min
Cu, and isn’t about time that we, the people learned about our Prime Minister’s real life. When you think about it, we know very little about this little redheaded Welsh immigrant girl.
Well, we know our Prime Minister is single, childless, sorry, “deliberately barren”, she’s an atheist, she was found to have an empty fruit bowl in her kitchen immediately after returning from a trip away, AND she’s a red-head.
What more could we possibly need to know? 😯
Pip and Min, when they run out of something to say, they are once again bringing up the relationship the PM had with an union official that turned out to be unfortunate.
Our PM also has a sister and a niece and nephew she is close to. She does have family, a retired mother and father, that have worked hard all their life.
The PM does not live the life of a nun. The only thing she has not done is have a child.
A pretty normal life if one asks me.
I’m shocked Cu, the msm are usually so quick to report what Tony Abbott has said or done,…. well ar least they report what he says, so I suppose we should only be half angry!
Just thinking..why is the msm so coy about the real private lives of the leaders..might it be that Julia’s is so more positive than Tony’s?
Stable relationship, spends as much time at home as possible..meanwhile, there is Tony..
Cu, any reporter, [read gossip columnist], or politician suggesting to a reporter that they should write about a relationship that the Prime Minister had about 15 years ago, is treading on thin ice.
It would be an interesting exercise to check out the private lives of all the Prime Minister’s detractors!
Who knows what we mght turn up?
We already know about one unfortunate relationship that Mr. Abbott walked/ran away from when the going got tough!!
Min, that question bears repeating…
Min
Just thinking..why is the msm so coy about the real private lives of the leaders..might it be that Julia’s is so more positive than Tony’s?
Stable relationship, spends as much time at home as possible..meanwhile, there is Tony..
Pip, it is only in comments that I have seen it so far.
Ruddock, I’d forgotten all about that apology for a human. He was a wet and apparently not a bad sort of a bloke before the Rodent got hold of him, apparently.
Having all sorts of trouble with firefox tonight.
Hi Jane, re Ruddock, we’ll probably never know who the ‘real Philip’ really is.
Was nice Philip for real way back then, or was that just an image, or was he corrupted under the Rodent’s regime?
He rarely speaks out these days, and I can’t help hoping that he’s full of regrets.
If so, and I have missed your reference to it elsewhere forgive me. I have to go to bed or I’ll fall asleep on this bloody keyboard!
Why does that apologia for Abbott’s stance on gay marriage fail to convince me?
The last time I read of a comment from one of Tony Abbott’s sisters was many years ago during the ‘lost son’ saga, when one of his sisters referred to the ‘lost son’s’ mother as ‘that woman’. I cannot find the article now.
Now another sister is in the spotlight at a most opportune time for her brother.
On the same weekend as one lonely article appeared which uncovered Abbott’s incompetence and deceit, his sister comes to the rescue.
VOTERS know that Tony Abbott opposes gay marriage but what he hasn’t been able to share with the electorate until now is the compassion and support he’s shown towards his sister, Christine Forster, since she has come out as a gay woman.
The siblings are extremely close and strikingly similar in appearance and personality but they stand on different sides of the gay marriage debate. The Opposition Leader is a traditionalist who believes marriage is for men and women. Ms Forster is committed to a live-in relationship with her partner, Virginia Edwards.
So far so good.
“In response to the media interest, I have decided to publicly confirm that I am gay and am in a committed, live-in relationship,” Ms Forster said. “My brother and I have always had a strong relationship and he respects and supports me and my lifestyle choices.”
Has there really been “media interest”?
Unable to reveal the personal dimension to this political fracas, Mr Abbott has been hostage to caricature, with critics lambasting his social conservatism and commentators suggesting he should get to know some gay people. Ms Forster wished at times she could have enlightened the community with her experience of his empathy.
Now for the punchline, or should that be another bit of Julia bashing?
When Julia Gillard hosted gay couples to a dinner at the Lodge, the event made headlines around the country. Mr Abbott and his wife, Margie, have welcomed Ms Forster and Ms Edwards to their home as a couple on countless occasions without fanfare or fuss. They know more about gay relationships than people think.
The “headlines around the country” are easily explained. they were not the result of government spin, rather, the dinner with the Prime Minister was organised by GetUp who saw to it that it received publicity in aid of the same sex marriage campaign.
patricia @ 1.05am I’m sorry, I should have put my comment on your post.
It’s very hard to be convinced with this puff piece; the timing is too pat after Phil Coorey’s article which revealed the news that Abbott legislated in part the FWA rules which prevent the over the top demands Abbott has made about the FWA.
Besides, I haven’t been able to find any sign of “media interest” anywhere!
The whole article looks like a cynical, considered piece of SPIN.
….
Pip, warning bells for me also..the phrase “lifestyle choice” is often seen as a put down by many in the gay community.
Min, it is a put-down, whether intentional or whether it’s ignorance..
We don’t say we choose to be heterosexual – it’s not a choice, it’s just the way we are, and it’s exactly the same for anyone whatever their persuasion.
Pip, exactly. Which is why it sounded odd coming from Ms Forster.
Min, I’ve had a look at tomorrow/today’s headlines and there is nothing in ltd news about Phil coorey’s topic, but there is another Abbott puff piece by the same author.
Mr. Dutton, I am afraid your tears will fall on barren ground. Hot rage because they will have to wait for something they do not need or want.
Mr. Dutton, one cannot have it both ways.
The rage, if is it there, is because they know if your lot get into power, they will not get it at ALL.
I would like to remind Mr. Dutton, Labor tried to bring your, I believe 17th scheme into being. It was not possible. Telstra’s copper wire got in the way.
If Mr. Howard had separated Telstra’s two arms, you might have had success while in power.
COALITION frontbencher Peter Dutton says there is “white hot rage” among the constituents of his Brisbane electorate who believe neighbouring Labor seats are being given priority when it comes to the rollout of the $36 billion National Broadband Network.
The Australian reported on Thursday that NBN rollout maps show that by next year’s election, the network build would have started across most of Wayne Swan’s electorate of Lilley.
The rollout is also due to start across most of Trade Minister Craig Emerson’s electorate within three years, and both Kevin Rudd’s seat of Griffith and Labor MP Bernie Ripoll’s seat of Oxley are slated to benefit from the early stages of the NBN.
and
Senator Conroy has also accused the Coalition of hypocrisy for complaining that Labor seats have been given precedence in the rollout, when the opposition will not proceed with the NBN if it was to win the next election.
Mr Dutton said his electorate would already be served by high-speed broadband under the Coalition’s 2010 telecommunications policy.
Another Coalition MP, Wyatt Roy, whose electorate of Longman sits north of Mr Dutton’s, said he too had received calls from constituents: “They’re disappointed the Labor party has politicised the rollout, but they also have questions more generally about the NBN and whether it represents value for money.”
Cu, the Coalition have changed tack – it’s not just about cost now, but complaints that their electorates aren’t on the first ‘to do’ list!
Several articles full of nonsense but this one cuts through.
Rollout Times Will Be The New NBN Battlefield
Alex Kidman Gizmodo AU April 3, 2012
When the NBN three year rollout plan was announced last Thursday, Malcolm Turnbull was quick to go on the attack, as is Coalition policy in these cases. But something had changed; rather than complain on the grounds of cost, the new battlefront appears to be one of timing.
At yesterday’s NBN Co media briefing, representatives were quick to label Turnbull’s attacks as “odd” based on the difference between the trial and stage one rollouts, but it appears that Coalition MPs aren’t done with this particular tack as yet.
In a release on his Website, Federal MP for Wide Bay (Fraser Coast, South Burnett, Cooloola Coast) Warren Truss has the following statement:
I also doubt you have the skills, experience or self-confidence to have accepted the obvious job after losing the last election, namely shadow treasurer. You’d be lost without Treasury. You may have delivered 11 budgets but ask yourself honestly how many of them were actually yours, rather than Treasury’s. I am told Treasury is now drawing a sharp contrast between your little interest and involvement and that of Wayne Swan.
Mr. Hewson was also mistaken back in 2009 in his predictions about the economy!
As we are now up to 469 comments on this topic, it’s time for a new Open Thread. I’ve placed a link to Open Thread XIX at the top of the page..or at least attempted to. Mucked it up slightly but it will do until Migs is back to fix it up. 🙂
A GROUP of federal Coalition MPs has begun a behind-the-scenes campaign in a desperate bid to persuade the Premier, Barry O’Farrell, to drop his opposition to a second airport in the Sydney basin.
The MPs want to avoid what some describe as the ”armageddon scenario” spelt out in a recent report if immediate action is not taken to start planning for a second airport – of traffic gridlock around Sydney Airport, air travel delays, lost jobs and economic growth and a return to the concentration of aircraft noise that plagued Sydney in the 1990s.
Is this what the Liberal party is based on today. HATE and little more.
She does not have the sort of confidence in Abbott that a facile reading of polling data might suggest the Liberals ought to enjoy.
As one veteran Liberal MP lamented, “We are constantly exhorted now to see Labor not as a political adversary but as a hated enemy. That does not go down well in the electorate.”
You bet it doesn’t. Any fool can create more heat than light. If you don’t have any solutions – an Abbott doesn’t – then it’s incumbent upon you to shut your face.
Archie, interesting indeed. We had the now elderly of the Great Depression, followed by the Boomers. As a late Boomer, I wouldn’t say that we were spoilt..in that everything was very frugal in the ’50’s, nothing wasted..shoes were resoled, newspaper used to wrap garbage, the tough end of the lamb went to make soup as did left over vegies.
I rather think that it all happened with the advent of the credit card where people no longer had to save in order to buy what they wanted. Then came the fall.
ps. Our Open Threads go over to the next Open Thread. This is purely house keeping as people with mobile devices and old computers have problems downloading when the topic extends to over 400 comments. Hence the reason for putting up a new Open Thread or Media Watch thread.
Café Whispers 
And a few things are falling in to place about Robb. . Robb went public with his illness in 2009 and has written a book but that will not elevate him within the Liberals
Why has he been quiet since the Huawei outburst and with Abbott having his nanny thought bubble ? you either go all the way with the “its good ” or start pulling the remainder of your hair out.
Sue, three days ago…
ASIO not target of my outburst, Robb explains
http://www.watoday.com.au/opinion/political-news/asio-not-target-of-my-outburst-robb-explains-20120327-1vwnh.html
No one else in the Coalition criticised the decision because of the ASIO advice.
He’s like the shag on a rock…. on his own.
Then damage control..
Coalition disavows Robb on Huawei
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/coalition-disavows-robb-on-huawei-20120327-1vwya.html
Sue, its possible that Abbott knew full well that his comment would be reported, and what better way to distract from more serious matters!
Alexander Downer is in the spotlight – something he usually enjoys, but maybe not this time.
[Same author, different strokes..]
Downer linked to MI6 company
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/downer-linked-to-mi6-company-20120330-1w3m6.html
**
Lie down with intelligence and get up with allegations
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/lie-down-with-intelligence-and-get-up-with-allegations-20120330-1w3qz.html
Former pollies can be pulled every which way when they venture into private enterprise.
and
***
It’s easy for Abbott to make a suggestion aimed at pleasing the women who vote, and easier still to palm it off to the Productivity Commission, who can be blamed at a much later date when the plan falls over.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/childcare-laws-must-apply-to-nannies/story-fn59niix-1226313945868
This is a reminder of what Tony Abbott really thinks about women, and jobs for Indigenous people.
I think it was lunalava who mentioned the Koch Bros., a few days ago – wouldn’t it be a snowy day in hell if they followed GM……
General Motors pulls funding from climate sceptic thinktank Heartland
Source: The Guardian
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101486927?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/mar/30/climate-change-general-motors-heartland-institute
Thank you Ross Gittins, it’s about time someone tackled this issue…
So let’s start with the basics. When governments grant patent, copyright or trademark protection they are intervening in the market to give particular individuals or businesses a monopoly over the commercial exploitation of that idea for up to 20 years.
For starters – copyright is assumed and does not have to be granted.
Patent rights give individuals and businesses protection from exploitation rather than the other way around. However, the system isn’t infallible as several nations eg Russia do not recognise international copyright. Therefore for example, if an Australian comes up with an original invention or work, and it’s somethig successful..you can bet your life on it that there will be cheap copy of it in the cheap junkie type shops within a few months.
There is zilch stopping people copying someone else’s invention, changing the design slightly to get around a patent.
But Gittins is right, people are often discouraged from say taking out a $500,000 loan to market a product when the product can be so easily copied and the copyright/patent protection avoided.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/its-patently-obvious-that-the-system-is-broken-20120330-1w35l.html#ixzz1qf2IYLtB
Shock and horror! Yet another example of the waste of the BER – fancy wanting to spend money on something as frivolous as children’s education 🙄
http://www.thereporter.com.au/story/2012/03/29/switched-on-to-digital-learning/
Bacchus, that reminds me of when I was a Disability Advocate. That was a 3 year job..a HREOC case and Anti-Discrimination NSW…not that I ever got paid.
This young lad with Aspgerger’s couldn’t write, but by hell kids are quick on their mobile phones. Therefore with the assistance of Clinical Psychologist Dr. Tony Attwood, it was recommended that the lad be taught keyboard skills. This was rejected by the school.
EVERY child these days should be taught computer use. We take it for granted that children all know these things, so how more important is it for children from low income and other disadvantaged familes have access to these daily in the class room.
Today it seems inconceivable that every home doesn’t have at least one computer – howver, there are plenty which don’t, especially Indigenous families.
How disadvantaged are children who do not have access to a computer. Today it would be almost impossible for a child to even write an assignment without a computer – the alternative being what? Go to the library only to find that there is a 2 week wait for the book to be returned..too bad, the assignment is due in on Monday.
Broken Hill High here in the far west of NSW have also slashed costs in teacher training. Where they once sent one teacher away to Sydney to get the latest up-to-date and then come back and try to up date the rest of staff. They now have all staff training via a video link-up in the newly built BER funded IT classroom. A saving of travel costs(flights,accom,taxi etc), costs associated while staff away(casual teachers etc) and with all staff doing the training, a better understanding of the training topic. These are on going savings that benifit the school in other areas.
Add an NBN into that picture LOVO – you could train all the teachers in the state or the country at the same time 😉
Yes Min – I well remember when son was in year 7. We went up to the local prestigious Private School (John Paul College) to sit the exam for a scholarship. This would have been in 1998. Even then, parents were expected to buy a laptop from the school for every student entering year 8. The school provided all the software and servicing of the computers, but that came at the up-front cost parents had to pay.
Luckily, son didn’t win a scholarship there 🙂
ps. I just checked the current JPC laptop program – all students from year 4 onwards must have school provided laptops now, these days leased for a minimum of 3 years from the school.
Broken Hill High here in the far west of NSW have also slashed costs in teacher training.
I disagree with that statement LOVO
Broken Hill is in the Far East of South Australia (imo) 😉
..or the far north west of Tungamah…or quite close to Menindee.
Actually, if you zoom far enough out on Google Earth. we’re all actually quite close 🙂
Hooray!
‘A 106-YEAR-OLD legal opinion written by a former chief justice of the High Court has been unearthed by lawyers for the South Australian government to scuttle the national plan for the Murray-Darling river system.
‘The document, Waters of Murray River and its Tributaries and Interstate Rights to Divert Them, was found by the government’s external legal team in the state’s archives during preparations for High Court action being threatened over the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s draft plan.’
Pip
thanks to those links from earlier today, some good reading there. Robb is a worry with his comments, however it appears his own side of politics is the side more interested in damaging him. There is something going on within the Liberals.
On Schools and the new age of learning. A friends grandkids have all their homework online. Tough hey, no excuses.
Hi Sue, I think you’re right, there is something going on behind the scenes with Andrew Robb and the Coalition.
Is he trying to force a showdown perhaps, after all he and Hockey don’t seem to even be on the same page!
As well, we should keep in mind that Abbott had only 50% backing of his colleagues.
Pip
Downer may have afew more thoughts on Bo and the latest crackdown in China
“The campaign, which was announced late Friday and put in place in stages through Saturday, was directly linked to the political instability that has gripped China since one of its most charismatic politicians, Bo Xilai, lost his post in mid-March. That spurred rumors of a coup, which the government-run Xinhua news agency cited as the reason for the measures
stemmed from disagreement among senior leaders over whether to remove Mr. Bo, who is undergoing an investigation for corruption and abuse of power.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/world/asia/china-shuts-down-web-sites-after-coup-rumors.html?_r=1&hp
and from your link
“Heywood died in the southern city of Chongqing. Until a fortnight ago, the region was governed by Bo Xilai, a rising star in Chinese politics who was destined this year to sit on the elite nine-member standing committee of the Communist Party’s Politburo.
This month Bo was sacked after his former deputy fled to the American consulate, where he raised the possibility of foul play in Heywood’s death.
Heywood was cremated immediately after he died. There was no autopsy and his ashes were handed to his family. The British embassy in Beijing has now demanded a fresh investigation, and Beijing now seems willing.”
Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/lie-down-with-intelligence-and-get-up-with-allegations-20120330-1w3qz.html#ixzz1qhDcd1UW
And Robb criticises the Gillard govt on acting in the National interest and on the advice of ASIO
and as an aside wikipedia on huawei, is interesting read
Spotted this comment on Twitter
Bloody Gillard!!! 😆
PBS slashes prices of major drugs in major win for families
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/pbs-slashes-prices-of-major-drugs-in-major-win-for-families/story-e6freuy9-1226315372642?sv=d9c39e4416a12d5ed599edce1a218967
“Speaking at a carbon farming forum organised by Federal Member for Page Janelle Saffin, Mr Dreyfus encouraged farmers, land owners, local government and other stakeholders to utilise the Carbon Farming Initiative to generate extra income by reducing agricultural and landfill waste pollution.
“Climate change poses a serious risk to the future of Australian agriculture and food production, with scientists confirming a strong link to less predictable and more intense weather events. Over the next six years, the Gillard Government will support the land sector by investing $1.7 billion dollars of carbon price revenue to support the CFI and other programs to improve productivity, sustainability and profitability,” said Mr Dreyfus.
While in the region, the Parliamentary Secretary also visited Casino West Public School, which received funding under the National Solar Schools Program, and met with local councils to discuss the CFI and the Government’s Clean Energy Future plan. ”
http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/new-carbon-farming-handbook-launched-in.html
Pip
good story, And the Tele has it online @11.58pm it is such a good story I expect to see it in the news for days. Wouldn’t that be an April Fools joke, the Tele printing good news for Gillard govt and the punters.
More savings for families, but haven’t the pharmacists been doing well, from that link
“But in many cases, pharmacists have been buying lower-cost drugs – including generic versions of well-known brands – from wholesalers, and still claiming the full government rebate.
Pharmacists were then able to pocket the difference – at huge expense to the taxpayer.
Now, the government’s “price disclosure” agreement, which comes into effect today, requires the drug industry to reveal the true market price of that drug. The government will now only pay the market price, rather than the previous set price.
That means the checkout price will fall, and the government will only reimburse pharmacists for the market price, plus a small profit margin.”
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/pbs-slashes-prices-of-major-drugs-in-major-win-for-families/story-e6freuy9-1226315372642?sv=d9c39e4416a12d5ed599edce1a218967
Now here is a real april fools joke, the Tele accusing Barrel O ‘Lies of LYING!
“PREMIER Barry O’Farrell is being accused of lying about a state government report into school speed zones as well as violating parliamentary rules and his own ministerial code of conduct.
The Sunday Telegraph last week revealed the Staysafe committee had recommended the government consider enforcing 40km/h zones outside schools up to 24 hours a day.
But the Premier, who has also been accused of trying to influence the report by improperly contacting the committee’s chairman before it was tabled in parliament, wrongly claimed the recommendation did not exist.”
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/barry-ofarrells-in-the-danger-zone/story-e6freuy9-1226315391349
Sue, thanks for your links too.
The pharmacists won’t be pleased will they?
O’Fiberal telling pork pies… surely not… that has to an April fools joke!
My computer is being a pain tonight… very slow!
Clive Palmer bets on creating Sunshine Coast casino
April 01, 2012
Charming pic of Mr. Palmer 😆
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/clive-bets-on-coast-casino/story-e6freon6-1226315380979
I can’t help wondeing how many pokie machines will be made available for the locals in order to add to Queensland’s coffers.
and
Reith going overboard for SBS asylum seeker show
http://www.smh.com.au/national/reith-going-overboard-for-sbs-asylum-seeker-show-20120331-1w5cv.html
How Mr. Reith found the time to leave The Drum to do this program is a mystery, although he’ll no doubt smile his gormless ‘trust me’ smile and
worm his way out of having to explain his previous actions!
Gawd, Angry Anderson, “oh, Mike”, and Peter Reith, all in the one show….
too much…!
Pip
sure that isn’t a joke? Reith, Angry and Smith just a bit too settled in their bias aren’t they?
So the Premier’s advisor had worked for Star casino for 16 years. And the advisor’s partner was one of the complainants. And Packer, with the Premiers backing, wants to open a rival casino.
Not much in that story, the public hearings, ‘to investigate the circumstances surrounding the sacking of Mr Vaikunta over inappropriate ”behaviour in a social work setting” and the timeliness in which Echo reported the affair to regulatory authorities’ will probably be over quite quickly.
“http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/political-advisers-called-to-hearings-into-the-star-20120331-1w52q.html
A frightening future.
My emphasis.
The big problem for Labor is the loss of small business, they have lost all faith in Gillard.
A link that el gordo finds to hard to add.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/old-brief-may-sink-murray-plan/story-fn59niix-1226314924779
Have to get behind the pay-wall to see what it actually means.
I cannot tell from the headlines. Maybe el gordo has a copy of the finding, or where it ie to be found.
I am interested in what they thought 106 years ago, long before all that water was removed from the river.
el gordo, I suggest that small business look to bug business for some of their woes.
I can still remembering small business going into the polls praising their hero Mr. Howard, way back when he first ran for PM.
Mr. Howard was great at promising, maybe el gordo, you can enlightened me of one thing he delivered in this regard.
I would find of it hard to believe many small businesses had faith in Labor to lose.
Why they stick to a party that does not deliver is beyond me.
I can only think they must be slow learners.
Three letters that small business just loved about the Howard government – GST Another three – BAS 🙄
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/clive-bets-on-coast-casino/story-e6freon6-1226315380979
Haystacks of Strawmen. The unskilled level of political debate in Australia. wp.me/p1gCe-5Xg
Even Telstra wants to showoff the benefits of the NBN
The Telstra Fibre Experience Centre is a travelling showcase that demonstrates Telstra services and products working live on the NBN, which has been rolled out in the area of Armidale surrounding the university
Telstra Country Wide area general manager Tricia Wilson said the centre was a chance for local residents to learn more about the improvements to services, NBN would bring to the region.
“We’re really excited because this is about helping our customers understand what they can do with NBN in their home,” Ms Wilson said
An on-site speed test showed the NBN had a download rate of 92 megabytes per second, compared to 20 megabytes per second with an ADSL2 connection.
http://www.armidaleexpress.com.au/news/local/news/general/telstra-shows-us-life-in-the-fast-lane/2502685.aspx
Catching up @ 11.14am, about Barbaby Joyce and Tony Abbott:-
After reading about their old school my conclusion is that Joyce and Abbott failed to take on board the important ethical considerations of caring for the most vulnerable, favouring instead, the selfish road of cynical politics.
http://www.riverview.nsw.edu.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=156
It’s easy to come down harsh on religion, but let’s have a look at the ethics..
Ignatian Service
“Helping Souls” was a primary concern for Ignatius and came from his desire, like Jesus, to be at the service of those who are left out, ostracised, isolated and/or thought to be unimportant.
This does not mean to say that the religion as he/she is practiced is worthy…but let’s not blame the original intent.
Could not possibility be true.
Wonder if she gets her clothes free as well.
When does this man have time for politics.
Once again it is all about Tony.
Something we should be proud of.
Pokie industry calls dogs off Labor MPs
http://www.news.com.au/business/pokie-industry-calls-dogs-off-labor-mps/story-e6frfm1i-1226315936502
Bullshit and the love of money go together like bacon and eggs!
AGW Scam exposed!
A group of colleagues has all but solved one of the greatest remaining puzzles in climate science. But the story is not one of scientific triumph – rather, it is so embarrassing that we had controversial discussions in our group whether to break this to a wider public at all.
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2012/04/wrong-sign-paradox-finally-resolved/
Were the skeptics actually right all along 😯
Tom, you do realise how upset el gordo will be? 😆
Palmer loses bid to save club
http://www.greaterdandenongweekly.com.au/news/national/national/sport/palmer-loses-bid-to-save-club/2475628.aspx
Mr. Palmer boasted recently that he had won 68 Court cases and lost none;
what a busy little litigant he is.
And Old Clive knows when to fold, payout before court decides.
Por old soccer/football fans on the Gold Coast, I hope you realise that Clive is over his football thing and is now more interested in Gambling, his own Casino, and up the road on the Sunshine Coast .
Another side to the headlines of last week
TWENTY faith leaders have signed a letter urging people to declare their support for same sex marriage to two federal parliamentary inquiries on the issue.
The move follows six Victorian Catholic bishops writing to their parishioners to tell them allowing gay couples to marry would be a ”grave mistake” and would undermine the institution of marriage.
Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/church-leaders-back-calls-for-samesex-marriage-bills-20120401-1w6la.html#ixzz1qpWZGVkT
Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal George Pell has made a submission to the inquiry supporting the traditional definition of marriage.
But two of Sydney’s most high-profile Catholic women – Kristina Keneally and Clover Moore – have put in their own submissions disagreeing with their Archbishop.
Kristina Keneally said that taking a contrary view to church teaching was not a position she had come to lightly.
”It is formed by prayer, reading, and reflection. It gives me no relish to be at odds with my church,” she said. ”But it also gives me no joy to see people who are created in God’s image unable to fully express their humanity, or live with the rights and dignity that heterosexual people are afforded. I act in good conscience – as a Catholic, I can do nothing else.”
Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/samesex-marriage-bill-reveals-differences-20120401-1w6s4.html#ixzz1qpWyuUFi
Sue,
Palmer knows where the money is. One thing that astounds me is how multi-millionaires such as Palmer can want to be involved in the gambling industry. It’s a bit like taking the torn shirt off a beggar’s back.
Jamie Packer has done well out of gambling, his dad would be proud.
ICHEAT…refreshing read.
I may have missed something, but didn’t see the word ‘lag’ anywhere?
El gordo, there’s an advert on Sky from Tom Waterhouse who boasts about gambling being in his blood..I’d be looking for a transfusion.
I may have missed something
It is highly likely
On pondering this question of the ‘lags’, the oceans hold the answer.
grodo ran a simulation
It contained the variable ILIE
Clive wants to fly in the new money, the businessmen from china. poor old sunshine coast, they once thought themselves above the gold coast.
There could also be an expanding business opportunity for Goldman Sachs.
lol
A poll, sponsored by a denialist think tank, fails to get the results, but that doesn’t stop ltd news from putting their slant on it
A Galaxy poll for the Institute of Public Affairs found 18 per cent of people regard the country’s official climate change spokesman as “somewhat unreliable”, while 7 per cent consider him “very unreliable”. Less than a third, 31 per cent, found him somewhat or very reliable.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/tim-flannerys-like-the-weather-unreliable/story-e6frfkvr-1226316094295#ixzz1qqB7HHPV
So, another way of reporting might well have been
75% of people consider Flannery reliable
Holy Shit, it gets worst
http://yfrog.com/oeyeggp
WE don’t trust Tim Flannery. Officials say he’s harming the government on climate change.
Who is this official? It must be someone form the Governments Climate office, surely?
the Institute’s James Paterson said.
Yep, the IPA’s official said, the same institute that arranged the poll
http://ipa.org.au/people/james-paterson
(yea, this should probably be in the media thread)
Tom R
The Drum will have the Tim Flannery issue as a major talking point. I hope the new Chairman watches.
Flummery is a loser, let’s hope Julia keeps him in the chair.
The Drum will have the Tim Flannery issue as a major talking point
Along with their resident IPA spruiker no doubt. In an ‘official’ capacity 😉
And the 2 News ltd independent journalists.
Flummery is a loser
not according to 75% of the respondents
And the 2 News ltd independent journalists.
Just for balance 😉
Or
Peter Reith and a labor identity Hawker/Latham/Richardson
nothing like balance
A third of Labor voters oppose the tax on carbon dioxide, in the belief that its a harmless trace gas.
Who are these people?
We could start with very small business operators who normally vote Labor being opposed, while public servants and ex PS are more than likely in favor of the tax.
Is this the workplace we want.
This is what the bosses want. The bosses utopia, the workers hell. Once again bact ti the past, the master, servant regime.
You expect nothing less from this Opposition.
“Mr. Palmer boasted recently that he had won 68 Court cases and lost none;
what a busy little litigant he is.”
It does not say how he won. I might be a cynic but I suspect that many could not afford to continue the fight. Their pockets just not deep enough.
Now, the football club is another matter,
He might find taking on the government in the same league.
“”It’s not a tax. It’s (an) emissions trading scheme that starts with a fixed-price period. Let’s just get that straight again from the start,” Mr Combet told ABC radio today.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/its-not-a-taxits-an-emissions-trading-scheme/story-e6frfkvr-1226316373815#ixzz1qqb2mGyr
”
Finally
“Even Prime Minister Julia Gillard admitted it was a tax” says the opposition
Well, I don’t recall her saying that. I do recall her saying that others can call it a tax if they want. Not the same thing. Can we call them Liars now?
Sue I hope the new ABC Chairman sweeps the IPA/coal and tobacco promoters out of the ABC completely; they should be promoting their opinions in a commercial setting, not out of the ABC’s government revenue stream.
Tom,
Well, I don’t recall her saying that. I do recall her saying that others can call it a tax if they want. Not the same thing. Can we call them Liars now?
Why not, that’s what they are!
I heard Fran Kelly this morning, running interference, trying to block Mr. Combet’s perfectly articulated responses with her comment that the Prime Minister did say “carbon tax”…thankfully Greg Combet shot her down in a second.
thankfully Greg Combet shot her down in a second.
Was this his reply
You can make that observation.
Because if it was, sorry, it didn’t work. “No she didn’t” would have been the better one
Poor ol’ Bazza O’Farrell needs to keep up; complaints have been around about the government announcing the NDIS but ” there’s no funding”…
Disability plan to be fast-tracked with budget cuts to bankroll scheme
by: SUE O’REILLY
From: The Australian
March 31
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/disability-plan-to-be-fast-tracked-with-budget-cuts-to-bankroll-scheme/story-fn59niix-1226314976323
This is Bazza, two days after the Government announcement!
Gillard government is failing to engage with states on reform, says Barry O’Farrell
by: Lanai Vasek
From: The Australian
April 02, 2012
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/gillard-government-is-failing-to-engage-with-states-on-reform-says-barry-ofarrell/story-fn59niix-1226316268775
The WA government is in well rehearsed lock-step
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/gillard-government-is-failing-to-engage-with-states-on-reform-says-barry-ofarrell/story-fn59niix-1226316268775
Fast-track disability plan a ‘cruel hoax’
by: Imre Salusinszky and John Ferguson
From: The Australian April 02, 2012
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/health/fast-track-disability-plan-a-cruel-hoax/story-fn59nokw-1226315956411
You’re right Tom, your suggestion would have been much more effective. 🙂
Btw, I can’t seem to have my comments posted on your blog for some reason.
Sorry about that Pip. That blog is kind of in stasis at the moment
It is a Google blog (or, at least the account I sue on it is Google), and I have not logged into that account since they started amalgamating all Google accounts into one. So it might be that it is Kaput 😦
Basically, I don’t trust them. They are not the Google of old.
That’s a shame Tom.
@ Tom R on April 2, 2012 at 11:06 am
Crikey have taken up the case for Tim Flannery:
http://www.crikey.com.au/2012/04/02/flannery-hits-back-at-ipa-polling-on-his-credibility/
“Mr. Palmer boasted recently that he had won 68 Court cases and lost none”
lol CU – I suppose “settling out of court” doesn’t count as a loss 😆
Bacchus, which basically indicates that what the media have achieved is to confuse people. 45% of uncommiteds is a huge number for any poll.
Min
the repondents for the poll may have wanted to know who was behind it, if told the IPA well 45% may have been WTF!
A vote of no confidence in the IPA
where does the stupidity end. On one hand we are all going to be rooned. On the other the government is giving us too much in compensation.
The Clean Future Act is taking form very quickly. There will be much to undo. How this could be done without harming the economy and instability for business, is beyond me.
LIVE: Breaking News
Cu, AIG says the compensation offered by the government to offset the impact of the carbon price is so generous that the lowest-paid workers should only get a 2.4 per cent pay rise.
What a colossal cheek – it is not be an either/or situation.
A pay rise would never be given by an AIG employer to compensate for the carbon price.
A pay rise is just that – a pay rise.
Pip, the arguments are beyond belief. That is mainly because there are no logical arguments against what the government is doing.
They have to start off with, it will not lower the warming or something equally misleading. It is not meant to make the globe cooler. It is to stop it getting hotter.
Where they get their figures from is puzzling.
At the end of the day, even if we call it a tax, we are not paying it.
Some very sad news..
Jimmy Little dies, aged 75
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-02/jimmy-little-dies-aged-75/3927756
Rest in peace gentle Jimmy.
Jimmy Little has died.
Community Service Announcement
Ratty…. if yer lurkin’… its called The Farnham Report.
El gordo, I think that you will find a link on the RHS of this blog.
One for Jimmy Little…
el grodo, ‘ratty’ lurks here… who’d have guessed?
Mr. Carr on. Getting the message across. Things, they are a changing, regardless of what the polls say. ABC24
Broken promise once again reared it’s ugly head. How long can this ONE alleged lie be kept up.
Thanks el gordo, you mean that ratty has been peeking through the cafe window for over one and half years. I hope that we’ve given him’her a thrill for his’her money.
Ratty…. if yer lurkin’
Here we witness the mating call of the ideological tragic
Agree, the PM should not ponder on the headlines or polls. She should keep going as she is now. Forget about Mr. Abbott, he is of no concern. He has nothing new to add to any debate. His name does not have to be mentioned, unless he makes a mistake and says something of importance. Not much chance of that happiness.
My mother’s favourite singer was Frank Sinatra. It was out of character and the only time I question her judgement, but there was one song of his that applies to our PM today.
“I did it my way.”
Min, I admire el gordo’s persistence even when she gets no takers.
Another one found innocence. How many careers are going to be destroyed before politicians start respecting the that one is innocence until proven guilty.
I believe many on the Coalition side do not care.
Of course we are going to hear an apology.
Cu and,
It must be something to do with the size of her butt..or perhaps she wears jackets. 😉
Tom..el gordo and t’other person and a mating call. I somehow find that kinda freeky..
‘…ideological tragic.’
I’ll have you know The Farnham Report is a respectable Liberal leaning blog.
This was the Australian scene a few short years ago, The highest Liberal in the land was Mr. Newman, as Brisbane mayor.
It can and probably will swing back the other way. It appears to be the nature of Australian politics for well over the last half century or more.
Mr. Howard at one stage had to deal with all Labor Premiers.
There is much rubbish being written.
El gordo, whatever. Same time, same place and nothing’s changed.
Notice, the downturns appear to be sudden each time.
Cu, at the time there were several on the nose Labor state governments and the only reason that they weren’t tossed was because nobody in their right mind would have wanted to hand even more power over to John Howard.
The more Liberal state governments elected, giving due regard to the fact that we’re not looking at a federal election for quite some time – then the Libs at state government level have plenty of time to be on the nose with the electorate..in fact, they’re already excelling themselves in this regard. This therefore encourages people to stop and have a think: Do we really want Tony Abbott to be Australia’s Prime Minister?
Min, we have been here at least two times before.
And at least some church leaders have ethics..
http://www.smh.com.au/national/church-leaders-back-calls-for-samesex-marriage-bills-20120401-1w6la.html#ixzz1qrxGfKBi
The story on Barrel O’Lies and Star casino is now getting interesting. It is even to be on 7.30 tonight, goodness, it mus be bad for Barrel.
Gina Rinehart on Australian Story tonight. ABC 1
Can see where the rumours are coming from last week with removal of O’Farrell.
The Coalition has set the bar so high during the Labor years. They now have to get over in, themselves.
Sue, I wonder why Labor does not throw the dirt like the other side. What Bligh was accused of was mild.
This is a good idea…
‘The federal government will allow workers from the United States, such as electricians and plumbers, to get their licences to work in Australia on arrival.’
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/us-workers-to-fill-shortages-in-australia-20120402-1w7pp.html#ixzz1qsOYpUtk
Chris Kenny is on song…
‘BOB Brown’s kooky speech to his “fellow Earthians” deserves greater scrutiny. Apart from providing an insight into the Greens plan for a universal world government, it makes clear the dilemma confronting the Gillard government.
‘With fewer than three in every 10 people now identifying Labor as their political party of first choice, Julia Gillard has two options: she can continue chasing the votes of her fellow Earthians to the left, or she can rejoin the contest for the mainstream Australia.’
You got a link for that el gordo? 😉
Ouch
Laws -Tell me the difference between a levy and a tax
Abbott – Well…umm…John…we can speculate all day
Laws – No, no we don’t need to speculate.
Abbott – I accept John, I absolutely accept that the paid parental leave scheme does have to be paid for and it is going to be paid for by a levy which you prefer to call a tax, it will be paid for by a levy or a tax if you prefer that term..um.. on larger companies.
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2012/04/01/nielsen-57-43-to-coalition-2/comment-page-18/#comment-1207130
Now, I wonder if this revelation will get the same frenzied attack that Gillards “I don’t care if you call it a tax’ got.
Even though, Gillards argument is not if a fixed price is a tax or not, it is simply not The Carbon Tax that was being referred to at the time. No wonder she didn’t want to play semantic games, it was (well, should have been) irrelevant.
I’m guessing this will go through to the keeper though.
I see on trusty 9 news tonight that “the Federal Government” is in a bit more strife. Yes, “the Federal Government” is in a bit of trouble with representatives of the old folks’ carers, & “the Federal Government” is in the S.A. Government’s bad books over the Murray Darling.
But not everyone from those parts is in trouble, some are showing quite a generous spirit. We learn in a segment on the Fiji floods that “Canberra” is sending a million dollars in relief aid. It didn’t specify what part of “Canberra” is doing the giving. Perhaps Sophie Mirabella’s organised something or the people running the Fyshwyck mobile lunch trolley have passed the hat round. Does anybody know?
No el grodo, Chris Kenny has been off key for years!
The best he can come up with is the same old slanted lines from the Liberal handbook, even the same silly words, ie. “Earthians”, as his fellow traveller, Perce Akerman.
“Gina Rinehart on Australian Story tonight. ABC 1”
hmmm – interesting (and old) “puff piece” spouting the virtues of Gina. “Their ABC” still doing the work of the RWDBs?
Tom @ 8.29pm, that’s priceless, and yes, it will go straight through to the keeper
Sorry Pip – you spelled that incorrectly. It’s Pies Akerman 😆 Lovely fellow 🙄
Bacchus, Pies is much more fitting… 😆
It’s true, his form sheet makes for interesting reading!
The thing that gets me is the way jerks like Adderman can front up and denigrate and pontificate to their hearts content from their supposedly moral high ground.
Mr. Abbott must have been asked some questions in that interview this morning. That must have been s shock to his system.
Have to see if I can find it.
Ancient Aboriginal rock art to be catalogued
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/ancient-aboriginal-rock-art-to-be-catalogued/story-e6frfku0-1226316867406?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+newscomaubreakingndm+%28NEWS.com.au+%7C+Breaking+News%29
continue.
This is very good news, and an excellent read.
Yes, care of the age is another disaster that Mr. Howard left behind. Was not Bronwyn minister at one time. The minister that seen nothing wrong with kerosene baths.
Cu, it was in Tom’s link,
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2012/04/01/nielsen-57-43-to-coalition-2/comment-page-18/#comment-1207130
comment 854 by Leone.
Plus
.
http://www.2sm.com.au/laws.html#audio
John Laws
Interview there with the PM
Wilkie has just said he believes the PM is attacked because of her gender.
Caused an uproar, but he stick to what he said.
I believe if the PM was a man, she would not be getting the shit she is.
Quite true, Cu. How often do we hear nasty comments about the size of .. oh.. let’s say… Joe Hockey’s bum??
Has any journalist ever called Tony Abbott on his aggressive, testoserone driven bullying tactics??
Hear’s a completely irrelevent pic from the past…. my how we change 😦
http://lockerz.com/s/195934824
If Mr. Wilkie believed that others could be bought on side to support what he wants in his bill, why has he not delivered them to the government. The reason in my opinion, is that it’s wishful thinking on the part of Mr. Wilkie. Maybe he should see the world as it ism not as he would like it.
Mr. Wilkie did spend much time in WA, talking to Mr. Crook.
No matter what one would like to think, politics is the art of the possible, always has been.
Mr Wilkie said the government didn’t try hard enough to get the numbers for his pokies reforms.
City of Sydney to get trigeneration electricity, Sydney to reduce Carbon Emissions. What will Barry do about Clover?
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/sydney-to-build-low-carbon-energy-network/story-e6frf7jx-1226317491286
But note the positive story is in a Melbourne based paper not the Sydney Telegraph.
Just another News ltd way of not reporting positive news on low carbon initatives.
FWA + HSU announcements on Media Watch page
Fair Work refers HSU report to prosecutors
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/fair-work-refers-hsu-report-to-prosecutors-20120403-1wa7i.html
I would say this man knows the cost of everything but the value of nothing. What huge percentage will he be saving.
Yet one of Newman’s senior ministers, in direct contradiction to (Alfred E) Newman has stated that the Queensland government will need to grow in order to meet Newman’s election promises, with one of the core ones being to increase frontline services, along with increasing employment, probably by allowing more holes to be dug up in environmentally sensitive areas and oil exploration to go ahead on the Barrier Reef, and cutting the budget, whilst somehow miraculously increasing services, a favoured magical trick of conservative leaders when promising the world they know they have no hope of delivering.
Barry and the Casino
Grimshaw resignation,
”
The breach related to an email from Mr O’Farrell that Mr Grimshaw forwarded to his partner, an employee at the star.
Mr O’Farrell said he had not made the report public yet because he was given advice that it should not be released until hearings run by Gail Furness began this week.”
Also gaming irregularities occurred prior to new management, which is contradicts previous media reports
“a gambler was left to gamble for 72 hours and fell asleep at the table.
the practice of letting patrons gamble for so long had been in place for “five or six years” and had not begun with the takeover of Americans of the casino”
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/barry-ofarrells-suspended-communications-director-peter-grimshaw-resigns/story-e6freuzi-1226317622922
Rat bait would be a better choice, Tom R.
Trusty Mr. Uhllman scored/arranged the big interview du jour.
HSU’s Kathy Jackson reacts to prosecutor referral
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-03/hsus-kathy-jackson-reacts-to-prosecutor-referral/3931018?section=nsw
National Secretary of the Health Services Union, Kathy Jackson, joins us to respond to news that Fair Work Australia’s investigation into the Health Services Union National Office is complete, and the entire investigation report has been referred to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
Ms Jackson says she speaks as a private citizen and a member of the Health Services Union, and not as the National Secretary of the Health Services Union. Can she not see, or doesn’t she care that viewers might see her as both under the circumstances.
Like Senator Brandis she’s un-inclined to let the process take it’s course and wait for the official response.
“More than £1bn of public funds will be allocated to a new push to develop carbon capture and storage technology, that could create an industry with 100,000 jobs, with the revival of a government-sponsored competition to design the first workable demonstration project.
predicted that a CCS industry could be worth £6.5bn a year to the UK economy by the end of the 2020s, by which time there could be 20GW to 30GW of power plants using the technology – the equivalent of 12 to 20 large power stations.
If the plans are successful, the first demonstration plants are likely to come onstream between 2016 and 2020. Companies must register their bids by 13 April, under European Union regulations.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/03/carbon-capture-storage-competition
“Bean-counters at the gates of Queensland
And here I was thinking that Queensland wasn’t about to return to the Dark Ages. That nice, “comparatively urbane” Campbell Newman wouldn’t do anything really dumb in his first fortnight, like, say, axe the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards. Would he?
Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/books/beancounters-at-the-gates-of-queensland-20120403-1wamq.html#ixzz1qz1jcGet
Sue, thanks for the links.
Barry’s halo has slipped considerably in the last year!
Pip, why would she be vindictive. It would not be because Mr Thompson of similar activities.
Now she might be as she says. We do not know. Why should she be treated different to Mr. Thompson.
She is the one making the allegations.
She does not appear to have the support of the union.
Watching Lateline is giving me a headache.
Questions to Penny Wong about the Thomson matter revolve around what Tony Abbott wants, regardless of due process.
Ms Wong stated that, being a lawyer, she believes in the “presumption of innocence”, and the “independene of statutory bodies”.
The whole program is a waste of time…. government can’t get it carbon
‘tax’ message across blah blah…
Pip
i look forward to reading the “email’ from Barry, funny how there was all talk about smashing the casino and the casino has all the texts. i wondered how the casino would have the texts, surmised that grimshaw and the girlfriend must have had work mobiles that were returned on resignation.
then it becomes all the more intriguing when this year we read how barry was backing packer on a new casino
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/barry-ofarrell-is-backing-james-packers-barangaroo-casino/story-e6freuy9-1226282103167
Cu, Ms Jackson seemed very angry to me, compared to Craig Thomson who appeared to be relaxed when he was bailed up by the media. Do you remember whether they were actually outside his home today?
The confidential 1100-page report names three former or current officials of the union and an individual who was not an official, yet the only name mentioned in the 7.30 program was Thomson!
Sue the casino story also has some way to run, with Packer being part of the intrigue it all has a nasty pong about it …… enough rope….
Getup have a petition to be sent to David Gonski, chairman Future Fund, not to invest in nuclear weapons
http://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/future-fund/futurefund/ask-the-future-fund-to-stop-investing-in-nuclear-weapons?t=dXNlcmlkPTUxODkzMSxlbWFpbGlkPTY2NQ==
Cu, Ms Jackson used an old trick in her answers to Uhllman’s very leading questions…
“The media’s made up their minds”…. she got that right !
Protocol has flown out the window.
Sue, GetUp can then start another petition for the FF to stop investing in tobacco companies.
Packer also wants a casino in perth. And clive wanting a casino on the sunshine coast
makes you laugh when you see the angst over poker machines. where was wilkie thinking he would get support for his ideals when he withdrew support from the govt. sure ain’t the liberals.
my sick sense of humour had me laughing that RSL clubs were worried about clive’s plans. just how much money did they put up to defeat the gillard pokie plan only to have billionaire clive scoop the results
“The chief executive officer of RSL and Services Clubs Association, Penny Wilson, says it is hard to tell if Mr Palmer is being serious.
“If it was to come to fruition the club industry as a whole would be very concerned about it,” she said
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-02/palmer-casino-fears-aired/3926484
boohoo
Funny the courts have not made up their minds.
The press, media and public does not count.
I have not heard any outcry from the union members, except from a handful in Eastern Sydney, she tried to stir up.
I hope one is still innocence until convicted in a court of LAW,
I have my own opinion of this woman, but as I believe in justice, even for her, I will keep it to myself.
It was outside his home I think. he was getting in his car to go to work.
I believe there were other allegations, something to do with cards. The other chap resign from the union over it,. I am not sure if Mr. Thompson was connected or not.
Yes Sue… boo hoo.
Cu, Lateline transcript isn’t up yetr but this will do for the quote from Penny Wong.
Wong rejects claim of Fair Work protection
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8446246/wong-rejects-claim-of-fair-work-protection
Of course, the crux of the story is here:-
Is it still only one?
Cu, I’d be very surprised if the 181 are mostly Thomson’s.
Jackson was keen to put the Labor party down, but there could be different reasons for the slowness of the FWA inquiry.
Apart from that FWA has many other issues to deal with.
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Health Services Union in controversial merger
http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/04/07/health-services-union-in-controversial-merger/
Long read…
One couldn’t make this up…
Abbott is a brave man to stick his neck out on this one.
The allegations were made by Thompson against Jackson. Money was repaid,
This was occurring before and after Thompson’s time.
It is not a tainted government. We would not be hearing about it if it was not a minority government.
Even if Mr. Thompson was guilty, he is entitled to sit under the law, unless convicted and sentence to more than a years jail.
Does one really believe Mr. Abbott would any any different if the situation was reversed.
The media can be wrong. We had a Labor state MP who was force to resign in NSW cleared by the High Court yesterday because there was no evidence. She was convicted by a state.
I believe this is about much more than Mr. Thompson. I gave been saying that since day one.
It is a complicated matter, over many years that the time taken to sort it out is not unreasonable,.
I believe the interference by the Coalition has prolonged and complicated the matter.
It will be interesting to see who is setting up whom.
Oh to have been a fly in the stair well Cu,
Union rivalry turns violent in office stairwell
Paul Austin
July 29, 2009.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/union-rivalry-turns-violent-in-office-stairwell-20090728-e06y.html
Cu, I’m not sure about ‘brave’ but one quality missing from Abbott’s arsenal is integrity.
If he was a man of integrity he would have said what Penny Wong said.
Interesting connection…
http://www.vexnews.com/2012/02/one-flew-over-the-hsu-nest-kathy-jackson-asks-is-kathy-jackson-a-hero/
appointed by Tony Abbott when he was minister.
I had missed that bit last time I read it Pip. Which puts this line, which I thought was stupid to begin with, in a whole new light.
CHRIS UHLMANN: Mr Abbott was suggesting that the institutional go-slow was because it was trying to help out the Government.
This dragging on is doing nothing to help Labor, just adding to its woes. Considering tabots fingers have been in the pie since way back, the go slow could be coming from anywhere.
Does the union have a Gretch?
Also, why do the major media outlets not mention this sort of thing, instead focussing everything on Thompson? Surely the story is larger than that, especially considering the now infamous ‘shovel’ incident, which turned out to belong to Jackson in the first place. Then everything went quiet over that.
Sue @12.10am and the sicker thing is that a good majority of RSL Clubs are no longer run and operated by the RSL – they were sold, and quite a long time ago. The proviso of the sales was that the clubs maintained and displayed the RSL memorabilia. Operated for the benefit of members and their guests..hardly…
Reading through the link put up by Pip on indigenous art in WA…. they point to SL during the Holocene Climate Optimum
“So the sea level rose to where it is now about 7,000 years ago and a lot of the art there has been produced after that time, so we’ve pictures of turtles and fish and sharks and other marine animals that obviously record that phase.”
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/ancient-aboriginal-rock-art-to-be-catalogued/story-e6frfku0-1226316867406#ixzz1r0ncSXYj
And why can people not close of their italics? 😯
The more I think about this, the more surreal it gets.
The libs are complaining (in fact, declaring) that the Government is providing influence over the FWA to ‘go slow’.
Meanwhile, the main protagonist in this, kathy jackson, is dating the vice president of FWA, who himself was installed by Jthe libs!
I haven’t watched last nights 730, but, apparently, it was all jackson throwing shit again. Apparently, ulman takes her at her word. Nice journalism there chris
CHRIS UHLMANN: Fair Work says there are 181 breaches apparently, 105 are civil, so assuming up to 76 might be criminal breaches – could any of those refer to you?
KATHY JACKSON: Definitely not. Those breaches relate to Mr Thomson
Do these two sit down and write the script beforehand?
Interestingly, she starts out with this
KATHY JACKSON: Before I answer your question, I just want to make it quite clear that I’m not here as the National Secretary of the Health Services Union as I’ve been gagged by national executive.
Then, the entire interview is directly related to her role as National Secretary of the Health Services Union 😯
Is there any other employer in the land that would allow her keep her job after something like that?
How amazing! The clubs cannot, no way, possibly afford the technology to help problem gamblers, yet miraculously can afford new hybrid cash machines…
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/pokie-venues-accused-of-circumventing-atm-ban-20120403-1wava.html#ixzz1r0tfVxuB
Time for the Liberal party to call for names to be published over criminal activity in building game in victoria.
Oh wait, hang on, better wait for evidence……..Its the Watchdog and the builders in the headlines
‘UP TO 30 officials and consultants who work for Victoria’s building industry watchdog are being investigated for alleged corruption, serious misconduct and harassment.
State Ombudsman George Brouwer is examining allegations that several officials of the Victorian Building Commission sought – and accepted – kickbacks from building industry practitioners.
A main area of concern within the commission is its compliance and investigations section, which examines complaints against builders and surveyors. The section in recent years has been staffed by several former Victoria Police detectives, including one who left the force after being suspended for misconduct.
Mr Pearson commented on the suitability of the commission’s investigators in his 2010 report, writing: ”The commission’s investigators are recruited from police or other investigative backgrounds and thus have extensive experience in conducting investigations
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/building-watchdog-shambles-20120403-1wb06.html#ixzz1r14KUwOm
Govt cannot get its message out even when they pay for advertising.
Last week, NBN Co contacted 2GB asking for its live-reads to be moved to another show.
”We did not believe the reads in their existing slots would be read straight or without misinterpretation,” an NBN Co spokesman said yesterday.
shock-jock Ray Hadley and another presenter prefaced paid ”live-reads” with negative comments about the government’s broadband project
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/it-pro/government-it/shockjock-criticism-sees-nbn-ads-pulled-20120403-1waud.html#ixzz1r150UEMZ
Sue, the Government would be better served to simply put an advert up with tabots interview with Laws where he states that he is going to TAX big companies.
At least that way, it will get out there. 😉
Ah, let’s see ltdnews go out and defend ‘freedom of speech’
A NEW code of conduct for publicly funded construction projects in Victoria will crack down on the display of union logos, mottos and insignia on building sites.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/crackdown-on-union-logos-20120403-1wav4.html#ixzz1r177bJIr
COMMONWEALTH law officials will decide if criminal charges can be laid against Labor MP Craig Thomson and other former and current officials of the controversial Health Services Union.
The confidential 1100-page report names three former or current officials of the union and an individual who was not an official.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/thomson-report-goes-to-prosecutors/story-e6frfkvr-1226317680164#ixzz1r17cqkyW
Hang on, yesterday, their headline said CASE TO ANSWER!!
What changed overnight??
Isn’t jackson one of the ‘ three former or current officials’?
Oops, link to 730 where earlier quotes came from
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2012/s3470436.htm
Star Casino- Grimshaw- The complete Timeline, makes interesting reading
“‘December 6/8 2011: Allegations of sexual harassment made against Sid Vaikunta by Mr Grimshaw’s partner and another woman.
December 14, 2011: Government receives Furness report warning of some casino practices but clearing the casino to keep its licence
December 21: Text message exchange where Grimshaw suggests to partner that he tell his close friend George Souris about the harassment allegations so he will ring Echo board chair John Story. Also discussions between the pair about how they can make nuisance calls to push the allegations.
16 January 2012: Texts between Grimshaw and his partner in which Grimshaw gives partner Echo board member John O’Neill’s number
17 January 2012: O’Neill receives crank call from a woman claiming to know about sexual harassment at the casino.”
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/star-casino-scandal-timeline/story-e6freuy9-1226316930913
Tom..that word if might be small, but it’s extremely significant. Yes, another one of “those”..a misleading headline.
The first Two Rules of journalism on how to influence your audience:
1. The headline
2. The photo
That 7.30 segment was a piece of crap, just allowing jackson to throw more mud, nothing came out of it. Like we knew it wouldn’t.
When will they get back to journalism. I’m sorry I wasted my time now 😦
Will someone buy Mr. Abbott a dictionary. There is a difference between the words allegations and facts.
What is in the public arena about three officials of the HSU and another person is assumptions and guesses. It is not fact. It is allegations.
One is guessing what is in the report. One is guessing whom and what has been referred to the Commonwealth DPP.
Who would rely on Mr. Brandis legal opinion.
We need to recall that one of whom made the allegations to FWA is themselves under investigations.
It is an independent body, who on legal advice, has referred the report to the DPP.
There should be no government intervention. The rule of law shoukls be above and apart from politics.
All Mr. Abbott is playing is politics and dirty politics at that.
One is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
One should not be convicted by the Opposition, media or public opinion.
Mr. Abbott is on the airwaves claiming what is in the public arena is facts.
He is claiming union money has been stolen and spent on prostitution. This is not fact. It is allegation.
IT IS NOT. IT IS ALLEGATIONS.
What I find hard why a man that accused and proved another of similar doings, would be doing the same thing himself.
Interesting that Ms Jackson’s former husband was accused of the same things she’s now accusing Mr Thompson of… This saga is a lot more complex than the simpletons who have him tried, convicted, hung, drawn and quartered, would like to acknowledge…
http://www.news.com.au/hsu-president-kathy-jackson-faces-accusations-she-misused-a-union-funded-credit-card/story-e6freuzr-1226145396520
Min @ 8.19
the photo
if you look at the tele online they have a photo of thompson, i assume, about to come out of his front gate. but the tele has cropped the photo for a headshot and just by chance he is “looking out through bars” guilt by photo-editing
Bacchus
when you read that article the “3 people” associated with the union and the 1 non union person certainly could be a wide field, way beyond an mp from bateau bay.
Sue, and otherwise they always use a pic of Thomson looking rather shifty..mind you, having small eyes he does have a shifty look about him. However, that’s the power of a photograph.
I was somewhat amused at finding this pic on The Belfast Telegraph..why don’t these sort of pics appear in our newspapers..oh yes, that’s right the PM has a big bum..
Just watching the whinging liberal treasurers at a press conference.
it looks as though the plain bickies and the international roast coffee was served for morning tea. still the cuts have to start somewhere.
Consideration is being given to expelling the HSU from the peak body. That is the ACTU.
Something is very rotten in the sate of Denmark, as they say. I would say it is a lot more that misdemeanours by Mr. Mr. Thompson. U\It is the union they are distancing themselves from.
ABC 24
Tom R, ever since this story began, I have been pointing out it was about many more that Mr. Thompson.
All I have got is that I am supporting Mr. Thompson, saying he is innocence.
For the record this is not true. I do not know, and would be surprise that any one knows for sure, even FWA.
I do have concerns about how much inside information the Opposition is getting on this one.
I do berlieve the Opposition has three agendas going.
One is to get rid of Mr. Thompson.
Two, to bring down the PM,
Thirdly to undermine and destroy the FWA.
“UP TO 30 officials and consultants who work for Victoria’s building industry watchdog are being investigated for alleged corruption, serious misconduct and harassment.”
Sue, once again, not the workers or building unions.
“CHRIS UHLMANN: Fair Work says there are 181 breaches apparently, 105 are civil, so assuming up to 76 might be criminal breaches – could any of those refer to you?
KATHY JACKSON: Definitely not. Those breaches relate to Mr Thomson”
HOW DOES SHE KNOW????
Well the new government was quick in breaking promises.
It appears that Mr. Abbott and Co are.
Perhaps the government should release the report. IF there was a possibility of Mr Thompson being charged with an offence, the resultant uproar from the likes of Abbott, Brandis and Co. would almost certainly ensure that Mr Thompson could not receive a fair trial. Case dismissed due to the efforts of the Coalition. They should be careful they don’t get what they wish for…
Bacchus, is there any impediment to the government being able to release the report..such as being prejudicial to any court case.
That’s probably it, you cannot release evidence – and evidence which is yet to be tested by the judiciary because to do so the evidence would become a dud.
Law is so logical, it’s just basic common sense. People might want gotcha moments, but the law works on everyman’s behalf as well.
Here is a positive story about manufacturing in Victoria, it counters all those negative stories. But if you do a search you probably won’t find it in the newspapers. Ted Bailleau was so happy he had it on his own web site
“GSK injects $60 million and 58 jobs at Boronia site ”
GlaxoSmith Kline
http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/3065-gsk-injects-60-million-and-58-jobs-at-boronia-site.html
Now it was announced back on 3 feb 2012, i saw it on the tele today.
It is a big investment by GSK in australia for sales in the Asian market, As part of the deal they are partnering with a university and other companies will be able to use its manufacturing facilities.
http://landsofopportunity.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/pharma-opportunities-in-australia-gsk.html
Just Posted this at TFR.
Does anyone in Australia honestly think that Craig Thompson would recieve a fair trial in this country ?
I certainly do not anymore.
He has been ridiculed, vilified, accused, tried, found guilty and sentenced by the opposition, the media and sites such as this on the internet.
While in the real world he is yet to have charges laid against him.
Problem is, so many cannot separate the real world from the make believe world of media and the internet.
The other problem is that Tony Abbott wants the process to operate like business.
What, like the Murdochrocy which simply throws enough money at any victim of phone tapping sufficient cash to avoid a trial and the truth becoming public.
What, like the Murdochrocy which offloads companies to avoid action.
What, like the Murdochrocy which shreads all evidence shuts down a paper in an attempt to isolate blame to a few employees.
What like the Murdochrocy which claims that governments from the top job accept responsibility yet the top at News Limited refuse to accept responsibility.
Businesses do absolutely everything within their power to halt and bury any accusations or even real charges, by dragging cases on for years and years through delaying tactics and as soon as this ends an out of court settlement is quickly negotiated so that nothing becomes public.
I suggest that under the business standards I have seen on many an occasion, Craig Thompson offer to pay $X to the Union as an ex gratia payment while refusing and denying any liability and on condition that silence forms part of the payment.
That way the allegations would be dealt with under business rules as per Tony Abbotts request. Deception, Lies, Manipulation, Cash and Stalling tactics galore.
“Perhaps the government should release the report. IF there was a possibility of Mr Thompson being charged with an offence,”
Problem, it is not up to the government.
An independent body should just be that.
With all the pressure and uproar surrounding the investigations, I believe FWA has a duty not to taint any evidence produced.
it should not take into consideration any political calls. That is not it’s job.
The truth is that the process is not finished.
I would say that the release of the report is now up to the DPP.
What right the police have, I have no idea. I suspect they would not be too keen to have all the evidence in the public domain.
Thomson and the others will get a fair go, through the normal process.
According to the DPP is not a brief of evidence or a criminal allegations. The DPP will look at it.
ABC 24.
Shane and Does anyone in Australia honestly think that Craig Thompson would recieve a fair trial in this country ?
I certainly do not anymore.
He has been ridiculed, vilified, accused, tried, found guilty and sentenced by the opposition, the media and sites such as this on the internet.
While in the real world he is yet to have charges laid against him.
Which is precisely what we’ve been saying here over many months, ever since this issue appeared in the press.
I beg to differ about sites such as this as, while other sites were laying into Thomson people such as Tom R, Sue, Pip, Cu etc etc on this site were talking about the presumption of innocence.
We have been lambasted for this stance. I cannot speak for others here, but during the general rounds of discussion the opinion is that Thomson, the same as every other citizen is entitled to the presumption of innocent until proven guilty – this is not to mean that he isn’t guilty, he may well be – however, he is entitled to this presumption.
Thomson and the others will get a fair go, through the normal process.
Pigs just flew over !
Min
Please reread my comments from the very first sentence.
“Just Posted this at TFR”
My first comment is that I posted this at TFR so that is the site I was referring to.
Sorry Shane, I didn’t know what you meant by TFR. I’ve now been enlightened.
Min
thanks, i agree.
No worries Min
shaneinqld
shhhh those flying pigs are probably dispersing methane
DPP
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
Chris Craigie SC
4 Marcus Clarke Street Canberra City 2601GPO Box 3104 Canberra ACT 2601Telephone 02 6206 5666 Facsimile 02 6257 5709
4 April 2012
Media Release
The CDPP has received a report from Fair Work Australia into the National Office of theHealth Services Union. The report is over 1100 pages long and has been provided alongwith some other material.The CDPP is not an investigation agency. It does not have investigative powers and is notable to conduct a criminal investigation. In order for a matter to be assessed as to whether aprosecution should be commenced, a criminal investigation is conducted and a brief ofevidence prepared and referred to the CDPP.The letter referring the report to the CDPP from Fair Work Australia makes it clear that FairWork Australia has not conducted a criminal investigation. The letter states that the reportdoes not consider whether any person (or body) may have contravened a provision of thecriminal law. The material forwarded is not a brief of evidence.The CDPP will examine the material forwarded and consider what further action may need tobe taken.
http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/87917742
I wonder how many times we have to say the same thing, without it sinking in..from Cu’s link:
In fact it cannot conduct a criminal investigation – the matter has already been referred to…but WTF..case closed as far as I’m concerned until there is some substantiative evidence of criminal actvity – to date there is none. I’ll await the next exciting episode.
The Thomson argument is just going around and around in circles. I agree, it was supposed to be a gotcha moment by Abbott which was supposed to bring the government down. It didn’t happen and it isn’t going to happen.
It’s been stated over and over that even if criminal charges are laid, it will be too little and too late for Abbott. Why the urgency Abbott? Is there something that you’re worried about?
Barrel O’lies and the Casino
Old Barrel said the word “smash” isn’t the type of word he would use. Trouble for Barrel a search of Hansard over the last year has shown he has used “smash” quite often (abc news 124)
Hey Min, that delicious pic of the PM just won’t come up on the Belfast Telegraph, nor with the tag World_News_9-1_jpg_621775t. What was the story line and how recent was it? We really should find a way to use that and circulate it as much as possible. No wonder the Opposition are determed to get rid of her – brains and beauty!
Patricia, I should have take note of the location of that pic. I found it again here: http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/world-news/australian-pm-gillard-defends-job-2864908.html
If you do a search by Imagine, zero for Australia. It seems that the pic was only ever published overseas.
Min, I will reply to your email when I sort this so and so computer out. Let an update go through. No longer can send emails. Do not seem to have restore working.
No worries Cu, it was just to keep the other authors up to date.
Thompson is not going to bring this government down.
I believe that FWA is trying to save themselves from further unfair attack from the Opposition.
FWA has not the power to conduct a criminal enquiry.
There does not appear to be the black and white evidence that the Opposition seems to have.
The truth appears to be that there is very little evidence or no case to answer.
There are still police investigations going on, but I am under the impression, these do not all involve Thompson.
What the Opposition is on, is an fishing expedition, that should have no place in law and order.
This is in spite of the wide net spread.
Hmmm! The Thomson saga continues, proving that bullshit baffles brains. I think Ms Jackson should keep her big fat yap shut.
Having said that, I sincerely hope she’s one of the persons of interest and Thomson is not on the list. I wonder how Sneerleader would spin that one-his brave whistle blower, blown?
Would there be a snowball’s chance that Sneerleader would open HIS big fat yap and apologise? I think we all know the answer to that one.
Catching up,
Plus they’re gone on, and on, and on about it. As has been related here, first there was the NSW police investigation which revealed nothing, then it was the Victorian police.
Still they’ve come up with nothing. Who knows, they might come up with something but in the meantime isn’t there something worthwhile to do, you know the homeless, the underemployed, something of real value.
The PM was in western Sydney today, at Toll talking about hundreds of new jobs and thirty new apprenticeships.
Worthwhile, I would say.
Jane, I believe the lady is going to have it shut for her, by the ACTU,
The lady is the one person that has been there the whole time. She seems to have problems getting on with ALL her co-workers.
The lady also appears to pick her partners well.
With thanks to Race Mathews for the link..for those who don’t know Race, then you ought to. 😉 Google is useful.
For those who want to argue —->> join Race on Facebook.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/apr/26/climate-casino-exchange/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=April+3+2012&utm_content=April+3+2012+CID_70114d2028b086d45dde094c553ffbc0&utm_source=Email+marketing+software&utm_term=climate+change
Thomson will be treated fairly, we do have a justice system that works well, but of more serious concern is the unhappiness in senior ranks with the CO2 tax.
‘SENIOR government ministers have privately lashed out at having to make savings in the May Budget to help pay for the $3 billion shortfall in this year’s carbon tax compensation bill.’
The economic slowdown in Europe is having a dramatic effect on priorities, as Benny Peiser, director of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, observes:
“In the past, Poland’s intractable hostility to green unilateralism was greeted by protestation in capitals around Europe. Today it is hardly noticed by the media, while green campaigners have become limp . . . Other and more pressing concerns are taking precedence and are completely overriding the green agenda.”
Thomson will be treated fairly
Yep. Any day now 😉
Another scandal in the making?
Did you hear abbott on the tv today. he was making his own statements of facts on the fwa investigation.
from his web site does saying “i think” make it libelous
” I think that a member of parliament who has misused a union credit card for election campaign expenses and for prostitution services should no longer be counted as a part of that governmen”
http://www.tonyabbott.com.au/News/tabid/94/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/8662/Joint-Doorstop-Interview-Cairns.aspx
LNP broken promise, oh dear, and the minister only sworn in yesterday
“LNP backs off from Tier 1 hospital pledge”
not in the courier mail, this story from a regional paper, because it is only about Cairns Base hospital, so who cares.
“QUEENSLAND’S new State Health Minister Lawrence Springborg is backing away from the LNP’s pre-election promise to make Cairns Base Hospital a Tier 1 funded facility.
The former Nationals leader, who was sworn into his new role yesterday, last night told The Cairns Post he needed to make sure an upgrade to Tier 1 status will “enhance the health service in the region”.
http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2012/04/04/213355_local-news.html
CU @ 9.09
an important the story on 7.30, betrayal of trust. Attorney general of NSW has important questions to answer.
Sue, and none are Labor.
Three states of broken promisers and scandals. Not a bad effort for little over twelve months.
Three states of broken promisers and scandals. Not a bad effort for little over twelve months.
Is anyone really surprised though? The proof of this pudding is in how this plays out in the MSM over the next year or so 🙄
Sue, did you find that 7.30 report on the Church and the NSW Attorney General deliberately misleading as if to suggest it was not a state, but a federal matter? Uhlmann’s reference to ‘the highest legal authority in the land’ and no mention at all of NSW except by the interviewee who made reference to the ‘the state’ quite often.
Sue @9.12pm, isn’t Sneerleader jumping the gun a bit? Whether he says “I think” or not, he’s stating as a fact that Thomson misused the credit card, when Thomson hasn’t been charged with any crime.
Just because Sneerleader wants it to be so, doesn’t mean it IS so. I hope that Thomson is found not to have a case to answer and sues the arse off Sneerleader. Let’s hope Mrs Thomson is making notes; she seems like a pretty organised efficient type.
patriciawa
yes. i had to wait till he said the name of ag, which i didn’t recognise, then eventually i realised it was nsw.
not in the nsw papers so far tonight. but of course i will expect a comment from tony abbott, first thing tomorrow.
jane
i was a bit surprised by abbott’s statements today, so surprised i thought i better check the online papers. none of them had the direct quotes, (which makes you wonder) but then i found abbott’s own web page with the door stop interview.
it must be really blowing abbott’s mind, with thompson as cool and calm with all the press.
Was the highly esteemed George Brandis SC on Lateline this evening demanding a BOE about JJW Coward and the illegal Iraq War, and Alexarnder Darner and the AWB $300 million bribe to Saddam Hussein…..
Pip
my favorite at that time was the former Nats leader, who sold his AWB shares before the sh1t got out, and then decided to retire for the sake of the family. and the missus did quite nicely with her share offloading as well.
insider trading must only matter for inside board rooms as opposed to inside cabinets.
Pip
but i won’t get onto how much he got out of e10 fuels
Sue @10.55pm, Sneerleader must be at breaking point. I feel certain he thinks he’s got Thomson, but there must be that little niggle with Thomson so cool, calm and collected in the face of all the frenzy.
If Thomson comes out smelling like a rose, there will be an unhinging the like of which we have never seen.
Can you imagine the frothing at the mouth? It will be a joy to see.
Bacchus, Sue and Jane, the “Dementors” are already unhinged!
Now for something completely sensible/different.
African wind farm will help electricity-deficient Kenyans power up affordably
http://blog.ewea.org/2012/04/african-wind-farm-will-help-electricity-deficient-kenyans-power-up-affordably/
» By Chris Rose | Published 04 Apr 2012
Also in the Shetlands.
Shetland Islands to host ‘world’s most productive’ windfarm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/04/shetland-islands-windfarm-scotland-energy?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Severin Carrell Scotland correspondent
guardian.co.uk,
Wednesday 4 April 2012 13.23 BST
Winds of Change in Maryland
State Could Become a Leader in Clean, Renewable Offshore Wind Energy
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/04/maryland_winds_of_change.html
Phil Coorey wrote this on the 4th April.
Charges or not, the Thomson nightmare continues for Labor
April 4, 2012 – 11:43AM
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/charges-or-not-the-thomson-nightmare-continues-for-labor-20120404-1wc0b.html
Opinion
.
*******This can’t be right!!
MP may be spared, but heat on union
Phillip Coorey, Kate McClymont
April 5, 2012.
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/mp-may-be-spared-but-heat-on-union-20120404-1wd9k.html
******The Australian tries to explain why this can’t be right with a large amount of cherry-picking!!
Craig Thomson ‘bypassed authority regularly’
by: Ean Higgins
From: The Australian April 05, 2012
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/industrial-relations/craig-thomson-bypassed-authority-regularly/story-fn59noo3-1226319115939
More of the same, PM bashing from Michelle Grattan.
Fair Work’s hospital handball leaves a mess for the DPP
Michelle Grattan
April 5, 2012.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/fair-works-hospital-handball-leaves-a-mess-for-the-dpp-20120404-1wdab.html?rand=1333545716737
Thomson inquiry misfires
Michelle Grattan, Kate McClymont and Clay Lucas
April 5, 2012.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/thomson-inquiry-misfires-20120404-1wdaf.html
Maybe Abbott, Brandis and the media, blinded by the ‘swirls’ they stirred up themselves, have been looking in the wrong direction!
Lateline transcript
George Brandis discusses the HSU affair
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2012/s3471362.htm
The libs are getting as cocky as they did with the gretch affair.
Wonder how quickly this would disappear from the front pages should something similar to that emerge here?
Meanwhile, theirabc provide some more ‘fair and balanced’ reportaging
Australian aid in razor gang’s sights
But Mr Costello says everybody in the aid community knows adjustments are at least being considered by the Government, based on reports in the media.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-04/australian-aid-in-razor-gang-sights/3933644
some people say 😯
Only had a half ear listening to RN this morning, but the guest was saying, if I were thompson’s legal brief I would be pleased, look’s like this is the end of it.
( i think it was peter faris, on RN)
What? i thought the msm were saying the Gillard govt had buried the Gonski report, now I read this
“Federal, state and territory education ministers are expected to thrash out the details of a dramatic new proposal for school funding at a meeting in Sydney today.”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-05/school-funding-shakeup-mooted/3933876
And so it’s already started with Campbell Newman quick to offload unimportant stuff such as literacy..
There is a petition at:
http://www.change.org/petitions/queensland-premier-campbell-newman-reinstate-the-qldpremier-s-literary-awards-no-more-arts-cuts-qldlitprize?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=friends_wall
look’s like this is the end of it.
wishful thinking there Sue.
Slightly off topic, they have discovered it wasn’t CO2 causing warming, just lack of cloud cover.
http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/new-paper-finds-significant-natural.html
Tom, it’s difficult to know at the moment. The NSW police found insufficient evidence for a criminal prosecution to proceed, and from the brief mention of the Vic police, it seems that this was also their conclusion. This leaves the Feds.
I am not conversant with FWA procedures but the media say that they haven’t prepared a brief with a view to criminal proceedings – but is that their job anyway? It would therefore be up to the Feds to plough through the FWA report and then to decide whether there is sufficient evidence for possible criminal action.
Pip
from your link
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/mp-may-be-spared-but-heat-on-union-20120404-1wd9k.html
KJ is in the heat
quick to offload unimportant stuff such as literacy
hoo kneads literacy anyways!
Sue and Pip, and why is the heat off..don’t tell me it’s because of our old friend..insufficient evidence!
From Coorey
“Fair Work Australia says it found 181 contraventions which occurred during the period Thomson was at the helm of the Health Services Union, before his move to Federal Parliament.
Of these, 76 were minor administrative breaches which do not warrant further action or penalty. The other 105, says FWA, are breaches of the Workplace Relations Act which it will refer to the Federal Court for civil action. The maximum penalty for each is a fine.”
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/charges-or-not-the-thomson-nightmare-continues-for-labor-20120404-1wc0b.html#ixzz1r74QBcKx
A FINE? talk about bursting the bubble
Sue…and as we wave a fond farewell to Tony Abbott’s dream of an early election, because after all this is the “why” for the prominence of this issue..because a fine is not sufficient for Thomson to have to quit.
The maximum penalty for each is a fine
String him up I say! 😯
He has not even been officially accused of a criminal offence.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/charges-or-not-the-thomson-nightmare-continues-for-labor-20120404-1wc0b.html#ixzz1r78frnOV
Hang on, what was tabot saying?
Mr. Thompson has not been charged, convicted and sentenced.
One would not know this if one listened to Mr. Abbott and Mr. Brandis.
Mr. Brandis interview last night was beyond belief.
Mr, Brandis gave the impression that FWA has a mandate to investigate criminal matters. This as he well knows is false.
Mr. Brandis refuse to acknowledge the advice of the solictor general, demanding their advice be used.
Mr. Brandis claimed that referring the matter to the DPP was going nowhere. This is another false statement. The DPP has said they would look at the report.
FWA cannot prepare a brief on evidence, as it’s investigation has not been of a criminal nature.
This was all that was asked of FWA. FWA is not set up to make decisions on criminal matters.
Mr. Abbott and Mr. Brandis are both talking as if Mr. Thompson has been charged and convicted. This is not true.
Mr. Brandis talks and congratulates Ms. Jackson as an heroine in this matter. The fact is that Ms. Jackson is in the same position as Mr. Thompson.
Does Mr. Brandis have inside information of what is in the FWA report. He seems to have knowledge that no one else has. One cannot rely on the word of Ms. Jackson. Ms. Jackson does not have an history of honesty.
Mr. Brandis still does not recognised the independence of the FWA. One wonders how they would interfere if in office.
Is the Opposition paranoid as they appear to believe that many bodies and government departments are out to get them.
FWA has asked the DPP for their view on the matter. The only problem I can see, as far as the Opposition is concerned, is that FWA refused their advise and do as they demand.
There is still a presumption of innocence and due process is being followed. Maybe not quick enough to get Mr. Abbott into power, bur due process regardless.
Mr. Abbott and Nr. Brandis should be condemned for their present behaviour.
As I said, due process continues. Maybe it would have been speedier if the Opposition had not put political pressure on FWA,
In my opinion, the Opposition are after the PM and FWA. They are using Mr. Thompson as the tool to reach their aims.
The reaction of the ACTU indicated that this is about much more than Mr. Thompson.
The Opposition is not interested in this development.
Is a corrupt previous leader more important than a possible corrupt union that exists today.
The ACTU proposed action is unheard of before today.
What the DPP is saying, is that they have not been asked to take action on the report but to give an opinion. I believe they are being asked if there is any evidence to take the matter further. If the answer is yes, I would imagine it would be referred to the relevant police department.
After the Opposition past relationship with the NSW and Victoria police forces, I would not blame them for covering their backsides on this matter.
This is the real story now.
Mr. Abbott better be careful. He might just get what he wants. It might not pan out as he believes.
I have been saying since this matter began, that there would be many more caught in the Opposition fishing net than Mr. Thompson. He is beginning to look like a minor player.
Mr. Thompson had said in the past, that he tried to clean the union up. Just maybe he was telling the truth.
The ACTU is not in the habit of taking the action is proposes to do today without serious reasons.
I wish someone would asked why Ms. Jackson should be believed but not Mr. Thompson.
“I am not conversant with FWA procedures but the media say that they haven’t prepared a brief with a view to criminal proceedings – but is that their job anyway? It would therefore be up to the Feds to plough through the FWA report and then to decide whether there is sufficient evidence for possible criminal action”
Min, it is my understanding it is not their job. They are only involved in civil matters. It is their job I believe to pass on any investigation for criminal matters to other bodies.
I believe that the DPP is being asked for advice. It is likely that the matter will end up with the Federal police. If this is the case, surely the right decision is not to publish the report until all legal processes have been exhausted.
It is about many more than Mr. Thompson. He is a minor player in this scenario.
It must also question the value of much of the alleged evidence against Mr. Thompson, if the union is completely dysfunctional.
Min, it could be more than insufficient evidence. It could be questionable evidence.
It could be questionable evidence.
Exactly CU – that’s what many just don’t get…
Cu, in legal-ese it means the same thing. Insufficient evidence can also mean that what evidence exists is would be insufficient to obtain a conviction. For example evidence obtained via questionable methods – evidence which might not pass court standards.
I’ve given this example before along the way, but here it is again.
Joe Blobs goes away on holidays and gives his front door key to his neighbor Fred Nerks. While away Joe’s house is broken into. The police can find no signs of forced entry and so Fred is the prime suspect. An investigation finds no stolen items in Fred’s house, and even though another neighbor Harry Smit swears that he saw Fred lurking around the premises on the night in question, it is insufficient for the police to be able to press charges against Fred.
Fred is probably as guilty as sin, however the evidence is insufficient or questionable given that the Harry is on with Fred’s missus.
Tony Abbott:
“And yet, we are not threatened in the way Israel was and is, and if we were threatened in the way Israel was and is, I am sure that we would take actions just as strong in our own defence.”
Sounds like Abbott and his Neo-con supporters are keen to provoke an incident…use fear-mongering and conflict trauma to garner votes…like Mr. Sarkosy.
The war on terrorism…the war that keeps on giving.
Tony Abbott is a menace to Australian society…as are the old guard Liberals who took us into a bogus war in Iraq…one that managed to recruit many many Islamic militants.
Tony Abbott:
“When Israel is fighting for its very life, well, as far as I’m concerned, Australians are Israelis. We are all Israelis in those circumstances.”
What a ridiculous and irresponsible thing to say.
An insult to Arab Australians for one.
Sounds like Abbott is willing to sell Australia to both the Israel lobby…and super rich mining interests.
Just like GW Bush did to the Israel lobby and big oil…Texas and Saudi Arabia for starters.
How did that turn out for America and the world?
Not too well for Israel either.
Abbott, Murdoch, the neo-cons…a threat to world stability.
N’
WAR MADE EASY
WHY WE FIGHT
It appears that the fishing expedition has not landed much, except for the huge catch of landing the union itself.
This is a justice. Mr. Abbott stands accuse of attempting to manipulate the justice system for political gains. He should be condemned for this.
Nas’ and..
I had a reasonable amount to do with the Australian Jewish community, Isi Liebler having been my boss. That goes back a couple of decades and there was strong feeling then, not anti-Muslim but of an Israeli nationalistic flavour. Does that feeling still exist in young Australian Jewish people today..only minimally I would say.
I would add, who is fighting for it’s existence today, the nation of Israel or the Palestinian people?
Cu, the extreme irony in that one doesn’t escape me.
Tom
hoo kneads literacy anyways!
Well we dont for a starter, we’re all inttelect around here….
Min,
Back in the early 80s my co-workers in Greece and I were interested in visiting Israel due to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibbutz
How things change eh?
—–
If the Israelis have not learnt from the Lebanon bombing campaign disaster…and the mismanaged catastrophic Afghan & Iraq wars…I feel their long-term future is sadly in doubt.
They have been neo-CONned
‘hoo kneads literacy anyways!”
Pip, you are correct, it only gets in the way of a good story, that most rely on for facts and evidence for.
Illiterate people can say what they want.
How would the likes of Mr. Abbott succeed if we were all literate.
Nas’, I certainly remember that.. it used to be every young Jewish person’s duty to spend at least a year on the kibbutz, but given that it was all to do with free love and beautiful girls and tanned young fellas..it wasn’t too onerous a task..probably a bit the same as a gap year only with more outdoors and more vino.
The sympathy for the Israelis came from the fact that they were refugees, stateless and were deserving of a place to call their own. You turn from love to war and eventually destiny will teach you a lesson.
Newman cutting the literacy awards is more than just political pettiness…and cost saving.
It is part of a long-term strategy to silence dissenting and alternative voices…to ensure that ex-military man Newman and his ally Abbott can pursue a hard-right, pro-war, pro-nuclear, religion over secularism, mining over the environment, fishing & cattle uber alles agenda.
In many ways these people have their heads in the 1940s.
It’s a PATTERN OF BEHAVIOUR…
Continuing on from where Bush and Howard left off.
N’
nasking, just like the Victorian government bringing in legalisation to ban any advertising of unions on work sites. I believe this is aimed at clothing the workers wear.
The right are all in favour of freedom of speech, but only their rigth to say anything they like. Everyone else is restricted.
Min wrote:
The sympathy for the Israelis came from the fact that they were refugees, stateless and were deserving of a place to call their own. You turn from love to war and eventually destiny will teach you a lesson.
Indeed Min.
When you act like those who persecuted you…become addicted to the same ruthless, heartless, callous, insane approach…you lose not only the respect of others…but yourself.
You become the problem. Rather than the answer.
N’
Nas’, that’s a reminder for how long it took for Australia to become other than a cultural backwater. Kowtowing to the Brits and later to the Americans, and the assumption that anything resembling Australian culture must by definition be inferior.
History comes in cycles and I can see us heading down this path again – the almost total lack of Australian culture in the media is an indication of the backward path we are taking.
Nasking,
In many ways these people have their heads in the 1940s.
Are you sure? :shock:.
Pip, @12.53am, good news for Africa. This is huge. It will provide so much opportunity for Africans. Let’s hope it’s a roaring success.
Interestingly, it is also good news for Australia in that more countries are taking up alternative energy sources.
I wonder if Premier Palmer will be inclined to rethink Alternative Energy for Queensland. Or will he be content to let the state slide back 30 or so years?
Ditto Bailleau and Barnett.
And with the news coming thick and fast from the US and now the Shetlands, we absolutely must press on with the renewable energy program under this forward thinking government.
Slogan-Forward to the Future with Labor or Back to the Dark Ages with the LNP?
And nice of Philip Coorey to point out the hypocrisy. About f*cken time!!! As I see it, the only bypassing happening is the truth by the Liars party and their chief barrackers in the Merdeochracy.
el gordo @8.18am, puhlease! Now pull the other one; it plays Jingle Bells.
Which of course is insufficient evidence for the Liars Party to come to the amazing conclusion that insufficient evidence means that there is insufficient evidence. I refer my learned colleagues to Lionel Murphy, if there is any doubt about my conclusion.
However, this time I think the government should remove the gloves and deliver the old one, two consisting of Fisher, Michael Williamson and their whistleblower the sainted Kathy Jackson, who could be up to her scrawny neck in poo by the looks of things.
This shit storm looks more interesting by the second.
CU & Bacchus, questionable evidence, particularly as it has been driven by one Kathy Jackson who has a big grudge against Thomson and who now appears to be less than the brave whistle blower the Liars Party would have us believe.
I have a suspicion that Thomson was dropped in it to cover a certain person’s arse. He may have been getting too close for comfort, if, as he says, he was trying to clean up the union.
CU @10.31am, it’s encouraging to see that Liealot is living down to his usual “standards”. I hope someone decides to drag the bugger through the courts.
CU,
these people do not really believe in freedom of speech…they are a CON…
libertarians are stupid to fall for their bullsh*t
Every one is expendable when it comes to their loopy religious & resource wars.
Civil rights are thrown out the window when it suits them.
Ask this lady how her freedom of speech rights were respected:
Cornelia Rau is a German citizen and Australian permanent resident who was unlawfully detained for a period of ten months in 2004 and 2005 as part of the Australian Government’s mandatory detention program.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelia_Rau
Or this poor lady:
Vivian Alvarez Solon (born 30 October 1962) is an Australian who was unlawfully removed to the Philippines by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) in July 2001. In May 2005, it became public knowledge that she had been deported, although DIMIA knew of its mistake in 2003. Solon’s family had listed her as a missing person since July 2003, and until May 2005, did not know that she had been deported. The circumstances surrounding Solon’s unlawful deportation have caused much controversy in the Australian media.
In October 2005, a report on Solon’s deportation was released, following an inquiry conducted by former Victoria Police commissioner Neil Comrie.
The report revealed that several senior DIMIA officials in Canberra knew about Solon’s unlawful deportation in 2003 and 2004, and failed to act. It also found that Solon’s mental and physical health problems were not given proper attention.
Solon has since returned to Australia on 18 November 2005.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Solon
Anyone who thinks Tony Abbott and the Coalition…or Newman and the LNP give a crap about your right to dissent…to differ…is fooling themselves.
Newman has proved himself to be just another Neo-CONARTIST…
Silencer of VOICES.
N’
Nas’ @11.29am, hear! hear!.
The Liars have banked on people either forgetting or being indifferent to, their utter disregard for the rights of fellow Australians, and in the case of Dr Haneef, of foreign nationals working in this country.
We should also remember their disgraceful conduct in the cases of David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib.
The Liars Party has covered itself in inglory time after time. We should always hold them to account over these things.
Mr. Abbott is now demanding that FWA turn the report into a brief of evidence,
Why would they do this, as it is not their brief to launched criminal cases. It is their brief to lodge civil claims in the FWA court.
The so called evidence against Mr. Thompson is still hearsay and innuendo.
It is unclear that what FWA is seeking advice about has any connection to Mr. Thompson.
I suggest not, following the reaction of the ACTU,
It appears to be about current reasons. Mr. Thompson has been in parliament since 2007. He retired from the union long before that.
One only compiles a brief of evidence if they have the ability to take the matter to court. It appears that FWA does not have this ability.
Another loss for Palmer. He shares something with Mr. Aboot. If he cannot have his own way, he will destroy it.
Nas’ @11.29am. I remember the one about Vivian Alvarez Solon very clearly because she was picked up in a park in Lismore. It was assumed by officials that she was a Filipino prostitute.
What Mr. does not want, is for the matter to be referred to the Federal police.
He wants the innuendo and hearsay about Mr. Thompson to be in the public arena.
He cares nought for justice.
FWA have already said that it is not their brief to make decisions about criminal matters.
All that could be in the report is the allegations that have been made. There will be no proof either way. Only they they could or may have criminal consequences.
Mr. Abbott is making a last ditch effort to get this to happen before the matter is referred.
Cu, this is the last straw with which Abbott has to grasp to be able to insist on an early election.
I remember you saying that Abbott was looking quite desperate, and his last day in Parliament before the break was a shocker – the shrillness etc.
“Shrill” is hardly a strong enough description anymore Min,
Desperation is driving Abbott’s latest mafia dog-whistle to 2GB
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/protection-racket-shielding-mp-tony-abbott/story-fn59niix-1226319684054
According to this account Mr. Thomson is the only person of interest…..at least to Abbott and his media supporters….
“Further comment?”
what are they expecting the FWA to say that hasn’t already been said?
Another point missed by Abbott is that Craig Thomson has not heard from the Victorian Police, which is strange if one believes that he is guilty of a ‘crime’.
Their investigation is still ongoing and one would expect that Mr. Thomson would have been questioned before now as a matter of some urgency!
Could it be that there is nothing ….
Pip, I should imagine that it’s all in the 1,100 page report. From the snippets, and these are very few and far between it seems that the Victorian police’s conclusion is the same as that of the NSW police.
If we’re all not completely confused by this..who would blame us!
I dare say that it will take the DPP considerable time to plough their way though the FWA report.
For we independent thinkers…
For el gordo
Pip, if the evidence was as black and white as Mr. Bandies alleged, surely they would not have needed the assistance of FWA to carry out their investigations.
Cu,
It seems to me that all that remains is to sit back and observe how the media will save their golden boy Abbott from further embarrassment.
HSU suspended from the ACTU.
These are serious claims to make without any proof.
If you need cheering up there’s a great post from Ad Astra over at TPS. http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/post/2012/04/05/Why-Julia-Gillard-will-win-the-2013-election.aspx
Catching up. That cartoon from Fiona Katauskas is brilliant, isn’t it?
This is not balance, this is agenda setting. It is no longer objectively reporting news, ABC are actively trying to change opinions and beliefs.
http://turnleft2013.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/abc-wants-you-to-change-your-mind-about-climate-change/
Patricia, I thought it was clever.
More on ACTU. I believe that Mr. Abbott is becoming completely unhinged. Not one word about the action of the ACTU.
He is obsessed with Mr. Thompson. He does not realise that another door has closed.
I do not think there are any others for him to go through.
He will just have to wait for the schedule election 18 months away.
The PM is not as easy to take down, as he believed.
Tom R, not a very successful exercise when one reads the comments.
Mr. Bolt is having a section dedicated to Mr. Abbott on his show. I suspect it will not be not like the ones we have,
It is going to be very tiny if the insist on only reporting the positive about the man.
Mr. Abbott is on ABC24 with his bullshit once again.
Please ask Mr. Farris why FWA would create a brief of evidence if it does not have the ability to take the matter to court,
He has confirmed today that there is corruption charges in relation to Mr. Thompson. How and where?
This has not been established. He is once again lying.
It is a long bow he is pulling. He wants to be careful that the string does not break.
Pure politics and dirty politics at that.
Mr. Abbott is claiming if charges were laid it could lead to the immediate resignation of Thompson.
He must know what is in the report to be continuing with this bullshit. The question is how?
His appointment could not be leaking, could it.
I do not believe it, they cut him off.
He is still talking about evidence.
Evidence is hearsay, allegations and innuendo that has been tested in a court of law.
When did this happen.
We must have been all asleep, as Mr Abbott is the only person in the land that has this information.
Does this man lie straight in bed. He must have a extra large king-size bed or he and his wife, sleep in separate beds, probably rooms.
he did speak very carefully, but I fear not carefully enough.
Simply, he lied.
The ACTU would not be dumping the union for something it did years ago, This would not be necessary.
It much be acting on the current state of the HSU today.
Therefore Mr, Thompson cannot ne the main concern. He has gone.
this is the man upon whose advice Mr. Abbott is demanding all sorts of dodgy actions in his bid to oust Craig Thomson from Parliament before the end of the year!
Is this the grumpiest man in Melbourne?
http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/melbournes-grumpiest-man/2006/10/14/1160246368946.html?page=fullpage
Abbott named an HSU person as saying that the majority of the offences were Thomson’s…..I have me doots.
Pip, that again would be Ms. Jackson. Talk about denial. It could be that he is talking about her partner. Now that would be news, when one looks at who the partner is.
It does not make sense in what Mr. Abbott said. If it was all about Thompson, I do not believe FWA would be taking the steps they have. As much as Mr. Abbott would like to make it a crime of the highest order, $100,000 is not that great in the scheme of things.
Would one expect the ACTU to take action over such am alleged crime. Me thinks not. It would have to be at least systematic corruption. Current corruption at that. Maybe Mr. Abbott should listen to what Mr. Thompson is saying.
Mr. Abbott is now trying to convince the public that he would have to resign if the accusations were made public. Sorry, he does not and Mr. Abbott knows this.
What makes it more stupid, the public is also aware of that fact.
I do hope some of the eggs that are aimed at his face, are rotten. he is digging that hole deeper for himself.
.
Pip, Mr. Faris is indeed a nice bloke.
The only question I want asked of him, is what will FWA do with the brief of evidence if they did compile it.
They do not have the brief to take criminal matters to court.
It is that fact that makes all their arguments nothing but propaganda.
Cu, this gentleman was much more circumspect on ABC24, about the ACTU suspending the HSU, and also made the point that the timing is strange because we don’t know who did what yet!
I’lltry and find a written account of what he said, but don’t be surprised if ot doesn’t appear in print anywhere!
Professor Andrew Stewart
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/directory/andrew.stewart
It’s propaganda Cu, that is why Abbott went to the shock jock style Mr. Faris, 3AW ‘careerist, instead of a lawyer, any lawyer who might talk sense!!
What surprises me is that he is an criminal lawyer. This is not how he is being presented by the Opposition.
I would assume there is a difference.
More about the charms of Mr. abbott adviser, Mr. Faris, from my link
http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/melbournes-grumpiest-man/2006/10/14/1160246368946.html?page=fullpage
More about Professor Stuart, whom Mr. Abbott did not ask for advice…..
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/directory/andrew.stewart
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/pm-must-not-rely-on-thomson-vote-abbott-20120405-1wexy.html
Why not. Mr. Thompson has a right to sit in parliament.
It is getting ridiculous. According to Mr. Abbott and his supporters, he decides who is allow in parliament. The PM has no right to put forward legislation he disagrees with.
yes it has indeed. What is not clear, more than that, not known, by whom and when.
The arrogance of the man. Maybe he should redeem himself for the lies he continues to spread.
Very serious indeed, Serious enough to be treat with respect, not twisted to meet his political aims.
,
I wasn’t listening to Fran Kelly’s Breakfast program today so missed the
interview with none other than Mr. Peter Faris QC.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/fair-work-australia-peter-faris-qc/3934190
Where does it go from here. They say there are criminal matters. The police have not found any in what has been referred to the,
My guess is there maybe criminal matters but no proof. Further it might be difficult to decide who have committed any criminal offences.
One thing for sure, it is not an open and shut case, as thre Opposition alludes.
Cu, we can assume that
a. he’s unhinged
or
b. assume that he is being true to form, saying whatever wants to say with the intention of his repeated mantras hogging and clogging the public conversation, knowing full well that he’s being untruthful and misleading the public.
c. He’ll continue to blather and lie till someone smarter and more powerful
. explains to him that he is wrong in what he’s been saying,not that he
would worry too much after the easy ride he was given over the
Mary Jo Fisher shoplifting case.
Pip, when did Tony Abbott being proven wrong ever stop him from blathering..
Pip, all of the above. Abbott is milking it for all he’s worth as are certain journalists.
As I mentioned, hogging and clogging…
PM must not rely on Thomson vote: Abbott
April 5, 2012 – 3:59PM
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/pm-must-not-rely-on-thomson-vote-abbott-20120405-1wexy.html
Mr. Abbott’s demands are nonsensical,
Peter Faris is just another bitter, disallusioned, angry jerk who is probably terrified of death…yet afraid to live…without spreading his guilt, fear, doubts and anxiety everywhere by way of opinionated vomit…and stirring people up.
Spreading the cynicism and anger…trying to infect others…make them same…somehow eases the pain…
Temporarily.
These raging opinionators tend to be smug…arrogant…use reactions to their unpleasantness to fuel themselves.
Fear and guilt tend to drive them…that’s why they fingerpoint so much…in some ways they are like serial killers…they consider themselves sooo intelligent…but a part of them knows they are a sham…a show…sick in the head and heart…hoping oneday someone will see thru them…take them down…put them out of their long misery.
Yet another part of them is terrified of being caught.
Adrenalin comes from playing the game…seeing what they can get away with…how far they can go.
Eventually the crash will come…unfortunately they’ve left a string of casualties…
and as shock jocks…been paid well for it.
Imagine the guilt that lies beneath.
But once blood has been tasted…they believe it is too late to turn back. No path to redemption…
Apart from kowtowing to the religiously delusional.
Ya see, when some people lose what they perceive as their “goodness”…feel forced to compromise…give up on their principles, their long-held beliefs…are caught out and humiliated…perhaps don’t get the adoration and respect they feel they deserve…they can transform into cynical, angry tosspots…spewing venom at all and sundry…like children, adolescents…siding with others who support their rage and cynicism…those who applaud and kneel at their sick altar.
Expressions of self-hate and distrust of others and paranoid delusions and severe disappointment with life and fear can be terrible things to witness…particularly if they manifest in a highly articulate person who gets in front of a microphone…
think many shock jocks…including Limbaugh, Jones and Bolt.
The money is merely a bandaid…the applause and kowtowing agreement merely temporary motivators…hollow.
Nothing fills the dark hole.
Sad ugly men. Smug…but in many ways dead inside.
Abbott is like the pied piper to them…
N’
One of the things that I enjoyed most about studying law was that opinion unless backed up by facts is not worth a baker’s cuss.
You can drag out as much opinion as you like, but the facts do not change. Therefore all the rants and raves from opposition politicians might fill up some space but they will not influence the outcome.
And really should we want the outcome influenced by politicians and the media?
Min, Pip, when did Tony Abbott being proven wrong ever stop him from blathering..
Never, as far as I know!
Roswell, certain journalists are having a field day, but they too are loose with the truth, and have been omitting pertinent facts!
I’ve been out for a good portion of this afternoon and so have just come across:
Tony Abbott wants police to raid Fair Work Australia offices
😯
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/thomson-report-could-easily-lead-to-prosecution-says-george-brandis/story-e6frf7l6-1226319565110
Actually I don’t think that they’ll find much as staff have all knocked off for the holiday break and the office doubtless is locked…
From your link to the Age CU
Fair Work Australia was only ever tasked to investigate whether the Health Services Union, during the time Thomson was the national secretary and before he was a politician, breached the Workplace Relations Act.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/thomson-saga-travels-slowly-in-a-culdesac-20120405-1we2s.html#ixzz1r9UsqWiu
yet, we have their abc doing this sort of shit
As of this week, conspiracy is now the more obvious conclusion.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-05/crabb-australia-network-tender-troubles/3935536
As I said in a comment I posted there, I wonder if all of our journos (OK, I should have said most) got their journo courses from the University of East Bum Craxk
Seriously, she is crying conspiracy, when the facts show that the outcome should have been predicted.
FFS!
So, what’s happened? I’ve just come in and after reading all your comments and one at Poll Bludger saying that Channel 10 was promising an exclusive on HSU releasing that report to them I went straight to ABC News 24 and then 10 News – but nothing about HSU or Craig Thomson at all.
Has it dropped off the radar? Or am I living in a different universe over here in Freo?
Or has Tony Abbott been picked up and taken off into protective custody?
Tom, we could bash our brains out on this one trying to get these facts through.
To try to put it as simply as I can – one thing is a civil action, one thing is a criminal action.
On occasions these things overlap. Therefore for example if you threw rubbish on your neighbor’s naturestrip you might have a penalty courtesy of your local council, you might even have a civil action .. but is it a criminal action?
Min @ 5.49pm what were you saying?
And really should we want the outcome influenced by politicians and the media?
Fair Work report on HSU to be released
April 5, 2012 – 5:49PM
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/fair-work-report-on-hsu-to-be-released-20120405-1wf7r.html
and on The World Today
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-04/questions-over-fair-work-australia-investigation/3932548?section=business
{Professor Andrew Stewart as per my previous link @ 5.03pm….}
Patricia, the short answer is nothing much.
Tom, As I said in a comment I posted there, I wonder if all of our journos (OK, I should have said most) got their journo courses from the University of East Bum Craxk
Seriously, she is crying conspiracy, when the facts show that the outcome should have been predicted.
FFS!
My sentiments exactly.
Ms Crabb disappoints more each week; she’s been heavily promoted as the cute, funny, quirky, whatever … , but I’m over her!.
patricia, you’re lucky you’ve missed most of it; it’s enough to do your head in!
Pip and..
Basic common sense isn’t it. An investigation might include 200 persons, all but 2 of whom are innocent – therefore one does not release internal reports.
Ok, imagine if it was a rape case and there were 200 suspects who all attended the same dance party. Should the police release the names of all 200.
Min, this took a minute to sink in:-
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/fair-work-report-on-hsu-to-be-released-20120405-1wf7r.html
Lets look at this brief of evidence we have been hearing about for what seems an eternity.
The impression is being given, that once written down, they are proven fats. It is NOT,
In my working life, as a DO. I took many matters to the Children’s Court for DOC’s .
When I lodged a matter, it included what was call a brief of evidence.
What it consisted of was the facts as I saw it. It was not proven facts.
As the case went on, I added to the the brief of evidence with a court report.
Everyone of those so called facts had to be defended through out the length of the trial.
Mr. Abbott and Mr. Faris are giving the impression that a brief of evidence carries weight. It does not.
The magistrate can and often does find the brief of evidence not proven.
I believe that Mr. Abbott’s alleging that an conspiracy has occurred beyond the pale. No one is safe from his vindictive tongue.
Why would FWA draw up a brief of evidence they can do nothing with. It just does not make sense.
Sending this to state police also is of dubious value, as the Opposition has tainted their ability to act.
There are other bodies that do have the power to act in corporate matters
This is what I believe FWA is trying to establish.
It is much more that using a credit card for prostitution.
If the PM manipulated this outcome, she is a very clever lady.
It is the outcome I seen twelve months ago. I have been amazed that no one else voiced similar concerns.
Heck no, Min, they should release all 200 names – the public has a right to know. 😯
Cu, it wasn’t in the interests of Mr. Abbott for anyone in the news industry to
voice their concerns if they differed from those of Mr. Abbott.
It may also not have been in the best interests of the journalists to differ from the ‘groupthink’.
Journalists have been known to argue strongly about that point but i don’t necessarily believe them.
By the way, I only distributed that brief of evidence after it was lodge in court,
All it is, is what one is being ACCUSED of.
t is given to the party, so they have a chance to answer the charges.
It is not something one releases to the public.
In fact one would be in BIG trouble if that occurred.
Min, I did not hear this one.
The report will be released when FWA is finish with it.
This will be at least another month. Poor Tone will have to wait.
Next we will be hearing he wants to take the armed forces in.
Pip @6.46pm..good girl..yep you have it, for civil action.
Civil action is not criminal action although the two can often overlap. For example one’s pet spaniel nipping your boss on the leg and then piddling on the carpet may not warrant criminal action for illegal entry to his premises, but he might decide to sue for damages to the carpet and for medical expenses.
Let me guess. tabot will claim it was his threats that made them release it
The Prime Minister was in Adelaide today, and maybe there were no reporters available till late, to report on her words about the Abbott demands of the FWA.
She said it isn’t up to her, and it isn’t up to Tony Abbott to be telling FWA what to do.
‘Almost equally disturbing is that mainstream Australian media sources now display an almost complete incapacity to assess environmental matters objectively.’
Bob Carter et al, Quadrant 5 April 2012
Clever Tom… 😆
Cu, you mention Abbott and Co tainting the ability for FWA to act. Surely they have also made it impossible for Craig Thomson to get a fair trial if he is one of those named?
If FWA is keeping the report until they identify who they are going to charge, then hand it on to the Senate, I would say there are going to be no criminal charges laid.
Funny, I bet the FWA will be compiling briefs of evidence for this action.
FWA I believe by this action has carried out it’s brief.
Corruption can mean much more than stealing etc.
It could be making false accusations. it could be lying. Corruption is such a wide term. It could even be making bribes.
Funny it is only Mr. Abbott that knows what they are not saying.
el grodo, Bob Carter is your scientisit of choice, but he doen’s impress everyone!
His funding comes from the “big polluters”, so one would nopt expect him to support an ETS, or renewable energy sources..
With thanks for something interesting on 7:30 for a change:
Yes Pip, but what he said is true….journalists are blinkered and ignorant on the issue of climate change.
That’s how we got ourselves into a political mess, the msm watchdog role is not happening….and there is a lot of denial about
“This is a perfect storm I’ve never seen before in politics,” said one senior Labor MP.
“And we are in total denial. Unless we radically change the way we do business, and soon, Labor, will die.”
As tomorrow is good friday, abbott can ask the nsw police to storm the offices of the nsw attorney general, and demand he sign the documents against the AG’s mate the priest. then the police can go to the priests home or even the church he is attending and arrest him. tony abbott can do this as there is apparently a brief of evidence against the priest. the brief of evidence has been sitting on the AG’s desk for a considerable length of time. as abbott is determined to stick up for poor unionists, who may have had their funds misused , imagine the outrage abbott must be feeling for catholics abused by a priest. go on abbott stand up for these catholics who are being doubly abused as a result of their case not proceeding.
Brilliant idea Sue. 😆
but it ain’t going to happen ….there’s no value in it for Tony…
Pip
the value in it for Tony is sticking up for catholics that have charges of abuse against a priest and the police have prepared a brief of evidence.
brief of evidence being of so much importance to tony
Spread this around.
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1039050
el grodo, this little thread is just for you.
http://www.readfearn.com/2012/02/bob-carter-responds-to-heartland-leak/
Professor Carter is
i watched the sh1t called a story on 7.30
“CHRIS UHLMANN, PRESENTER: It can only be described as a farce. An investigation that dragged on for three years, a secret report handed to the Commonwealth prosecutor that turns out to be useless for pursuing criminal action and state police investigations stymied by Fair Work Australia’s refusal to co-operate.”
FARCE , the FARCE IS 7.30 look who reporter Hayden Cooper interviewed as one of his experts, Stewart Wood
“Stewart Wood is a senior counsel whose advice was referred to this week in the Fair Work report. In the end, his opinion was ignored because he believes Fair Work Australia should have co-operated with police from the word go.”
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2012/s3472324.htm
WHAT Cooper did not disclose about Wood is that he is asssociated with the HR Nicholls society, is counsel to employers. and an advocate for Workchoices
“By his own admission ex Freehills lawyer Stuart Wood isn’t having much luck lately. Wood who offers legal advice to employers and claims to be “one of Australia’s leading workplace relations barristers” has been on the losing side of a number recent industrial disputes
Wood’s reveals the real intent of Workchoices is to bypass this democratic process and allow the employers to implement any change regardless of the social consequences.
http://www.unionsolidarity.org/irnews/2007/05/stop-throwing-wood-on-fire.html
i have not investigated Hayden Cooper’s other expert that was John Lloyd an ex vice president of the IRC, the body replaced by FWA. My guess he isn’t working with the new industrial body the FWA and may be he was a Howard appointtee.
Sue, whatever happens, Tony Abbott probably won’t have a word to say on that subject!
CU @1.42pm, love the cartoon. The Origin of the Specious. Gold!
How and where indeed, CU. Has nobody asked him how he knows this, when it appears two police forces and other agencies have no such knowledge?
I think it’s about time he got a very sharp slap and the threat of legal action if he continues in this vein.
CU @3.47pm, Sneerleader has nothing but desperation and his usual accomplices lies, innuendo, unfounded allegations, dishonesty and misrepresentation. As a lawyer himself, he should know that he is on flimsy ground making all these statements publicly.
Pip @4.02pm, as I understand it, the majority of the “offences” occurred AFTER Thomson ceased working for the union. Bit hard for him to commit these “offences” if he was no longer involved with the union.
Oh, you mean like Mary Jo fisher’s resignation? Oh wait…
Pip @5.03pm, why would Sneerleader go to him for advice? He knows of what he speaks. Definitely NOT Sneerleader’s type of legal adviser.
What????? What has today’s decision by the ACTU’s got to do with someone who hasn’t worked at HSU for 5 years?
Corruption may well have occurred, but we don’t know when, nor who was corrupt.
Min @5.36pm, he might shut his big fat lying gob if someone finally decides to take legal action against him for what is essentially an egregious and irresponsible abuse of his position.
Of course, what’s worse is that once again he’s allowed to get away with the lies by the msm.
Who might that be? Yet another flagrant lie.
Tom R, Their TER would barely qualify them for a course at the Weeties School of Journalism.
Frankly, I think now would be an appropriate time for the government to say it’s decided to reopen the inquiry into AWB, with broader TOR.
Well he’ll be f*cked if it doesn’t contain what he so desperately wants. He is really desperate. I wonder if his desperation is linked to goodies that will be contained in the Budget?
It’s only a month away and I’d wager the house that when voters start unwrapping their Budget presents, they won’t want to give them to Gina, Clive and Twiggy.
Also, the fact is that state Liars party governments are starting to hum a bit. Sneerleader can’t wait until August next year to confess that he’ll be handing over all the goodies to three if the richest people in the country. He NEEDS an election, now.
Sneerleader falls smack dab in the middle of that definition, CU.
Was Bob Carr, FM, right? Were Julie Bishop, shadow FM and the msm wrong to attack Carr?
“Papua New Guinea’s government has warned other countries, particularly Australia, not to interfere in its internal affairs after it delayed its elections.
The deferral is the second major backflip from the PNG government in two days.
Yesterday, the government used a controversial law to suspend two judges who were involved in a major constitutional case, despite previously saying it would not use the law until the public had been consulted.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-05/png-defers-national-elections/3935706
That earlier mentioned Professor said on ABC24 during the afternoon that the inquiry was slow to begin. He said they were slow in collecting information. He was unsure why this happened.
seem to recall the HSU was slow in providing it. (I see, to also remember that much is missing)
He added that after that time, the progress was normal.
He also said he could not understand the requests that Mr. Abbott was making
It has turned out to be a very complex matter.
Sue, NG is becoming a worry. There were many that supported Mr. Carr.
It was also what Ms. Bishop was calling on Mr. Rudd to do.
Sue @10.00pm, you don’t understand, do you? It’s a completely different situation. I mean you only have to look, I mean one is a priest, so it’s totally different.
And the priest wasn’t in HSU and he isn’t a member of a minority government which needs his vote. So you can see it’s totally different, isn’t it? I mean it’s not corrupt to abuse boys, is it? Just a peccadillo, really and quite harmless.
‘Cos priests are NEVER corrupt, are they?
Same defence as the PM in regard to Mr. Thompson.
and government business goes on.
CU
from your link
“Damien Tudehope, now the Attorney-General’s chief of staff, also knows Father Egan well, attending the priest’s church and, as a solicitor, defending him against sexual abuse allegations.”
But this is different. The Premier is not Labor and not the PM.
Mr. Abbott does not want his job.
I have never seen a Opposition Leader set out to destroy a legitimate government before this,
Mr. Abbott is also will to talk down the economy, destroying it in the process to achieve what he was promised as a child.
He is so desperate, he cannot wait.
Why?
Does he know in his guts that this PM is not as bad or incapable as many believe.
It is a shame he does not know in his guts, that he is nuts.
Just popped in to remark on how absolutely depressing & predictable it is that every misrepresentation, segue, non sequitur & lie of Abbott’s about the HSU thing is parroted & disseminated by the MSM.
Sue at 10.36
I think Uhlmann’s getting worse by the day.
Was it ever FWA’s brief to produce a prosecutable case against Craig Thomson? Mr Abbott says it is now & it’ll just have to go back & try again.
The problem is according to Mr. Abbott, they did not get it right.
They should have Mr. Thompson in jail by now.
We know this was possible in Mr. Howard’s day.
How many innocence people ended up behind bars, in detention or exile from the country, in his day.
The have no respect for the processes of law and order.
They have no respect for ones rights.
They will say and do anything to get what they want.
Sue, computer is slow so I’m still on your 10.36pm mention of the HR Nicholls society.
For Cafe visitors who know nothing about the Society, one of it founders was one former Treasurer, Peter Costello.
Australia is a country in which political life is carried out through debate and argument. The Society’s ambition is to bring about, through the processes of debate and argument, urgently needed reform in Australia’s industrial relations attitudes, law and institutions, and thus to transform our labour market into a job-creating and wealth-generating engine of growth and prosperity.
Our aims are:
To promote discussion about the operation of industrial relations in Australia, including the system of determining wages and other conditions of employment.
To support the reform of Australian industrial relations with the aim of promoting the rule of law in respect of employers and employee organisations alike, the right of individuals to freely contract for the supply and engagement of their labour by mutual agreement, and the necessity for labour relations to be conducted in such a way as to promote economic development in Australia.
In other words, they would like to see the unions finished off!
Pip
’cause your computer is slow, UK sky news has advised that on at least 2 occassions management gave permission for a journalist to HACK emails
(that is, trust us, it was for the public good, even though it is against the law and there is no such defense as public good)
and it goes on and on.
Bob, yes it is depressing and predictable, as well as blatant yellow press!
Sue, tthanks for that; that’s quite an admission. Was that at the Levesen Inquiry ?
I wonder did management ever give permission to HACK the computers of the climate scientists??
“For Cafe visitors who know nothing about the Society, one of it founders was one former Treasurer, Peter Costello”
One needs to remembered that Mr. Costello spent his earlier days destroying unions.
One that comes to mind was Dollar Sweets. I cannot recall the name of another case in the Territory.
Cu,
The problem is according to Mr. Abbott, they did not get it right.
They should have Mr. Thompson in jail by now.
It just NOT FAIR!!!
Pip
No it was not at Leveson, they have just announced it. 2 cases mentioned 2007,2008. sent story to guardian
Cause they have “integrity” have done internal audit and external review, but nothing to report (trust us).
Yeah right, will look forward to next instalment/ next investigation
Now the Tele rekons it has a copy of the summary from the FWA report
“The report summary obtained by The Daily Telegraph gives an insight into how Mr Thomson controlled the HSU for five years. It details dozens of transactions never brought before the national council.”
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/craig-thomson-ignored-health-services-union-code-of-conduct/story-e6freuzi-1226320115692
The Tele story is not “sensational”
“A summary of the report lists a series of illegal donations, including $10,000 to the “Dads in Education” organisation in Mr Thomson’s local electorate.
It also showcases the Labor MP’s lavish spending as HSU boss, including $100,000 in cash withdrawals that were never ticked off or properly recorded. In terms of breaches of workplace laws, it lists “failing to keep financial records”, “failure to appoint auditor” and “failure to approve employment” of six union officials.”
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/craig-thomson-ignored-health-services-union-code-of-conduct/story-e6freuzi-1226320115692
Thanks sue.
Cu, it was Mudginberri.
http://phorums.com.au/archive/index.php/t-278218.html
Sue, I might be mistaken but I think I read that somewhere yesterday.
Cu,
Dollar Sweets dispute
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_Sweets_dispute
HSU warned to clean up or clear out
April 6, 2012.
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/hsu-warned-to-clean-up-or-clear-out-20120405-1wfo4.html
Hmm, “it is understood” said one thing, and the Acting National President of the HSU said another.
How surprising.
(Phil Coorey: “Fair Work, which was never tasked to look for criminal activity, nonetheless suspects there may be material warranting criminal investigation. But it refers it to a body that can’t do anything about it, instead of referring it to the police which is currently undertaking an investigation.”
Michelle Grattan: “He pointed out that the letter from Fair Work made it clear it had not conducted a criminal probe and ”the material forwarded is not a brief of evidence”. Despite this, Mr Craigie said he would look at the material and consider what to do with it. The DPP could hand material to police, but it first has to examine what it can legally pass to another agency. Victorian and NSW police are already investigating the union.”
Thinking generally about grundnorms/interests of justice, a(n un)certain amount of the ‘evidence’ upon which ‘investigating’ police might otherwise seek to rely presumably was gathered in a very specific way for a very specific purpose, and it might well be unconscionable and/or unreliable simply to transplant it somewhere else, a somewhere else with a different format and context, given that participants in one jurisdiction may well have chosen, have been advised, even have been required, to arrange their legitimate legal affairs differently than if they were to (have) be(en) presented in/with another jurisdiction, and per that other jurisdiction’s specific procedures, standards, and requirements. Any such further ‘investigation’ by police of those materials, on their own initiative or upon referral, presumably will need to keep that circumstance squarely in mind, as will any agency ‘examining’ what it can legally pass on.
Or, and for present purposes, one road-raging vigilante’s ‘brick wall’ to be busted through may be another person’s road divider, if and when it comes to conflicts of interests between left-hand and right-hand drive jurisdictions; and maintenance of general confidences in which set of road rules is which is possibly handiest of all, for all, when collision is the foreseeable consequence of (mis)application(s).
Perhaps.)
Here it is explained..civil, not criminal..
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/abbotts-own-act-to-blame-for-the-lack-of-criminal-charges-20120405-1wfkr.html#ixzz1rClERqjO
Pip…Readfearn is a ratbag. We fought many a battle before he was sacked by the Courier Mail….he’s a rusted on watermelon.
The fact that Carter gets paid by right wing think tanks is irrelevant, his science is sound.
Yet scientists who submit their work for peer review are supposedly tarnished??
Min
From your coorey link
“Consequently, the investigation by FWA was never supposed to be a precursor to the laying of criminal charges and it was not surprising the Commonwealth DPP said the 1100-page report referred to it by FWA was of next to no use because it did not amount to a brief of evidence.”
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/abbotts-own-act-to-blame-for-the-lack-of-criminal-charges-20120405-1wfkr.html#ixzz1rCs1buOa
So Phil Coorey can write, how about Phil confronting Abbott with this at a press conference. Show Abbott up for the crap he rants on about and on TV. And Phil if you won’t do it alert one of your colleagues, or at least someone with the guts to show Abbott up as the hypocrite he is.
Sue, this one is an excellent example of the way the msm treat Abbott with kid gloves. That is, even when Abbott is shown up to be a hyprocrite, the language used is very mild amounting to little more than a slap over the knuckles with a fluffy slipper.
not those cloisrered scientists sucking on the teat of the taxpayer again Min. When will they ever get it right
A VAST ice shelf in the Antarctic peninsula, a hotspot for global warming, has shrunk by 85 per cent in 17 years, the European Space Agency (ESA) says.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/features/environment/vast-ice-shelf-in-antarctic-has-shrunk-by-85pc-since-1995/story-e6frflp0-1226320136661#ixzz1rD41cEl5
Thanks for the link to Cooreys article Min. I have updated my comment at crabbs tin foil hat rant with that link 😉
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-05/crabb-australia-network-tender-troubles/3935536
<i.That is, even when Abbott is shown up to be a hyprocrite, the language used is very mild amounting to little more than a slap over the knuckles with a fluffy slipper.
If they repeat it at all
Still waiting to hear about him declaring his ‘levy’ is a ‘tax’
It is so blatant the protection they offer him.
Min
not only could the journos challenge Abbott with his lack of understanding of the law’s he ushered in but how about Brandis, the supposed shadow attorney general, the person Abbott relies of for legal opinion. Brandis has either no understanding of the Act or choses to misrepresent the Act, either or is a pretty damning assessment of Brandis as an Attorney General.
Tom R do you thunk Annabelle is aware of what is happening in, at the least, the UK?
Sue, I do not think Annabelle is aware (fullstop) 😉
Tom r
I too have given annabelle something to read. The PM’s statement on the australia network decision “We have done the right thing” has a bit more weight when you read Sky UK say “we hacked for the public good” .
not a good reference for a company that wanted to handle “soft diplomacy” on behalf of the australian govt.
On the australia Network.. Now that
“Sky UK has admitted it hacked for public good”
will the other members of the Sky tender, channel 7, telstra look to see if they have been misled by “sky’ or look to see if “sky” was the reason the tender was cancelled. the govt did say the process had been compromised by “leaks” it makes you wonder in what form the “leaks” occurred? we may never learn.
Sue, Brandis has me completely perplexed at times..not just over this but a number of issues. It seems to me strange that he puts forward certain arguments which are at odds with anyone with any vague training in law. The only thing that I can think of is that he believes that he can say what he likes, knowing that there is no one around to contradict him – and even if they are, that their opinion will receive scant attention from the media.
Peter Reith’s Phone Card.
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s197803.htm
Listening to the media, there appears to be a great outcry about the Thompson Affair and FWA. Is this true.
There seems to be bigger outcry that the man is not being given the presumption of innocence.
There is disquiet at the statement of Mr,. Abbott and Mr. Brandis not basing their replies and demands on what the FWA is capable of delivering.
Both must know what the powers and intentions of FWA are.
Mr. Abbott is now attempting to say FWA is all the PM’s work. I will be surprise if this true. As we learnt in the Qantas dispute, much of FWA was transferred from earlier bills, such as WorkChoices, which in itself retain much from previous IR courts.
We are hearing from the Opposition that the evidence is black and white . This does not appear to be true. There are now allegations of a dysfunctional union over a great many years. The allegations investigations made appear to cover over eleven hundred pages. That in itself points to more that a credit card being used to but the services of a prostitute. It points to many being involved over many years.
It also point to a very complicated case-and it appears to be difficult to work out who should be investigating.
What is clear, Mr. Abbott is desperate to have Mr. Thompson drawn and slaughtered and has no regards for his legal rights ot the process involved in settling this matter.
Mr. Abbott is willing to slander ans condemn everyone dealing with the matter to achieve his aims. he has no respect for the legal processes of this country.
Sorry if this has been posted before but it simply says it all.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/world-business/sceptics-case-melts-more-20120406-1wg35.html
Catching up,
Myself being of a somewhat suspicious mind, could this be an attack on FWA itself. The opposition are going to want to make changes and what better way to start than to undermine FWA’s credibility. An old Howard trick.
CU @11.37pm 5/4, no, no! It’s not the same at all! As I explained to Sue, Father Egan is a priest, not an MP in a minority government which needs his vote to survive.
So it’s not the same at all. Father Egan has the presumption if innocence and we all know the wheels of the Church grind slowly and we mustn’t put any pressure on the Church to move it along.
Nor must we make presumptive statements about the good Father’s guilt or innocence as that could be prejudicial and it would be very naughty and quite possibly illegal.
No, Craig Thomson’s case is very different; because if we can force him out of Parliament, I, the great Sneerleader will be PM before that bitch Gillard and that cancerous blot, Swan get the Budget passed and people start realising I’m the worst LOTO in history and the mob of talentless hacks I lead couldn’t run a chook raffle that only sold 10 tickets!
Shane it is simple in my eyes. They want to get rid of FWA and the PM. I am not too sure what they hate the most. Mr. Thompson is the tool they are using to do so.
While Mr. Abbott’s and Co maintain this agenda, how can we take at face value whatever they utter.
They have moved on from misconstruing the truth and facts to straightout lying
They make misleading statements about FWA, DPP and others are supposed to have said, and mount their attack.
When one starts accusing all the parties involved of conspiracy and lying, one wonders at how far they are willing to go, to get their own way.
This Opposition has to be one of the worse and most dangerous in Australia political history.
Abbott is demanding the police seek warrants. I wonder it the police have the power to do this.
Shorten is threatened to deregister the HSU if they do not get the union into line.
Can some one tell me haw the actions yesterday of that ACTU is connected to Mr. Thompson who left the union over five years ago.
I would assumed the action is aimed at the present day incumbents.
Happy Easter everyone,
and the trout-mouth Mr. Abbott is the tool of the HR Nicholls Society, whose goal in life is to smash the unions and the FWA.
Abbott’s own act to blame for the lack of criminal charges
April 6, 2012
Opinion
.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/politics/abbotts-own-act-to-blame-for-the-lack-of-criminal-charges-20120405-1wfkr.html
so, originally the investigation looks to have been instigated specifically to catch Craig Thomson, and has blown out to the point where bigger fish have been entangled in the web!
Pip, anyone who only had a small knowledge of the history of this union, or who did a Google search, would not be surprised at the outcome that has come about.
We have a Labor government of previous union heavies,
I am sure that when Mr. Abbott began his campaign knew that all they had to do was sit back and wait.
Labor would know that Mr. Abbott has put his faith in one lady, that the kindest thing one could say, her allegations would have to be suspect. The lady does not have a reputation for truth.
Yesterday it was reported that this lady rambled on at the ACTU meeting.
It amazes me that the ACTU and Mr. Shorten are not treating this matter the same as they treated the builders labourers many years ago.
It makes one wonder how bad things are within the HSU.
it cannot be because Mr. Thompson misused a credit card. It has to be much more than that.
Min @7.45am “The Registered Organisations Act, which details the rules about the financial management of organisations such as unions, provides for civil, not criminal, penalties for breaches.”
Min, the great Senator Brandis is the emperor with no clothes…
I didn’t see your link when I posted mine but we should repost it every hour on the hour 🙂
Eddie @ 10.43am, thanks for the link to the Reith phone card scandal..
Mr. Reith now writes regularly for the ABC’s The Drum and appears on the The Drum TV program and he’s still talking about industrial relations and “productivity”. [WorkChoices is still on the minds of the neo-conservatives].
Happy Easter Roswell, this needs to be repeated as well
Min @7.45am “The Registered Organisations Act, which details the rules about the financial management of organisations such as unions, provides for civil, not criminal, penalties for breaches.”
Roswell, that is what the experts have been saying all a long. That is what Mr. Abbott and Mr. Brandis chooses to ignore.
Where is the outcry about the state of the union today from the Opposition.
Not a word uttered. Where is the concern doe the members in the latest developments. Not a word uttered.
It appears that the legislation that Mr. Abbott himself is to prevent his demands being carried out.
Why should FWA compile a brief of evidence they cannot use. They do not have the power to launch criminal matters. The are briefed to deal with civil matters in the IR court.
We do not have any knowledge, nor should Mr. Abbott, of the alleged corruption. We have no idea of what the corruption comprises of. Therefore we cannot say or suggest what FWA should now do.
We do not know what agencies should now be involved. Should it be state police. Should it be Federal police. Should it be those who investigate corporation matters. It could be any or combination of all.
NSW says investigation is proceeding well. Funny that they have not questioned Mr. Thompson.
Pip, therefore the reason why FWA could not be expected to prepare a brief for a criminal investigation. Abbott must know this, but as per situation usual he runs with the rhetoric – because he can.
Min, I am not even sure that misuse of the credit card would warranted more that twelve months jail term.
it would be a first offence and in the scheme of things, not a major crime.
It is time for Mr. Abbott to utter he will let the law take it’s course and shut up.
His actions are only making matters more complexed and complicated.
Surely on the name of justice, investigations should not occur in the public gaze.
Being investigated does not imply guilt. It does not imply a case to answer.
Jane @ 11.06am, the stench of hypocrisy is all around the Abbott led gang of shysters.
The Liberal party has adopted lock, stock and barrel, the tactics used by the neocons in the US, and is eagerly supported by some very senior journalists.
Think-tank talking heads have taken over the public conversation and Tony has his very own gang of shock-jocks with their dirt campaigns against the mining tax, the carbon ‘tax’, the NBN, the pokies reform and last but not least, the very ugly campaign against our Prime Minister.
Also consider the mis-representation of the BER audit report, and the home insulation scheme, [pink batts].
The total number of lies is breath-taking.
Truth has no place in their three word slogans.
Pip, as usual, much ado about nothing.
Min, because he can. That’s the point isn’t it, that Abbott can and does say whatever he likes, as has Senator Brandis this week, and until the Phillip Coorey article today, not one of the hundreds of ‘Opinion” pieces has came close to challenging any of it
Stamps feet, rolls on floor, flails arms, sobs shrilly. Everyone walks over the top of screaming toddler. They’ve seen it all before!
I wonder if Sneerleader is on notice-nail the government or we’ll be looking at our vast pool of talent for a replacement.
Min @7.45am, rofl. So Sneerleader is the one responsible for the very thing he’s whining about!! Justice!
grodo @7.45am, Carter’s science is tainted. He is not independent of those he is investigating.
Just saw a mob of pigs flying overhead, Sue. and wrt Brandis, I go for deliberate misrepresentation.
Tom R @8.58am, oh noes! Those cloistered bastards, again!
Min, Brandis can say what he likes in the sure and certain knowledge that the msm will NEVER challenge what he says. The same goes for Sneerleadeer with extra sugar and a cherry on top.
Anthony G @10.58am, you’re not being suspicious, imo. For the Liars it would kill two birds with one stone. Sneerleader is the Rodent’s political love child, it’s in his DNA.
CU @11.15am, precisely. Why would the ACTU have waited for 5+ years to take this action? It’s illogical and makes absolutely no sense whatever.
But we’re forgetting…we’re dealing with Sneerleader. Logic, morality, truth, integrity and honesty are thrown out of the window and lies, distortions, misrepresentations, immorality, innuendo and dishonesty are welcomed with open arms.
Pip @11.21am. It’s hilarious, isn’t it? He’s the architect of his inability to impeach Craig Thomson. I hope his nose is being ground into this fact daily.
Does anyone else feel this all has a whiff of emailgate?
Pip @12.16pm, and the blame for this lies squarely on the shoulders of the msm, who are every bit as corrupt as the Liars Party. Had they made ANY attempt at honest reporting for the last 3 years, the government would be hailed as a great success and their actions during the GFC lauded.
We would also not have the government tying itself in knots to achieve that most useless of objectives; a surplus.
I pray that the Empire is utterly destroyed and lies in tatters at the Emperor’s feet and his minions in the msm are cast out on the ashes to starve.
Antony, the further into the current parliamentary term we go, the more the
Coalition has tried to bring about the destruction of Labor and the unions.
Of course that isn’t what Opposition parties are paid to do but they don’t care.
Whatever their reasoning, they’ve been so cocky, not to mention angry… they are all so angry…. they should be angry with the machinations that put Abbott in as their Leader. after all it’s no secret that he’s a one dimensional
drop-kick, an ideologue, a puppet doing the bidding of the powerful.
Abbott exudes hate, and that’s very scary in a leader.
Crackdown on union logos
Clay Lucas
April 4, 2012.
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/crackdown-on-union-logos-20120403-1wav4.html
Shane @ 10.54am
thanks for your link 🙂
Here’s another…
Last ice age ended by carbon dioxide increase
Climate skeptics’ popular argument discredited by clear global trend
CBC News
Posted: Apr 5, 2012 12:54 PM ET
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/04/05/environment-climate-co2-ice-age-end.html?cmp=rss
Sue,
Sue
Tom r
I too have given annabelle something to read. The PM’s statement on the australia network decision “We have done the right thing” has a bit more weight when you read Sky UK say “we hacked for the public good” .
not a good reference for a company that wanted to handle “soft diplomacy” on behalf of the australian govt.
Exactly!
The tender was “compromised by leaks”.
Jane the hour is up…time to repost this…. in fact it’s time to post this on as many sites as possible!
Abbott’s own act to blame for the lack of criminal chargesApril 6, 2012
Opinion
Does anyone realize if Mr. Abbott fell opn his sword at this time, the Opposition would have to rebuild itself.
He is becoming increasing isolated and on his own.
We have Mr. Brandis supporting him on this one issue,
Where are the likes of Mirabella, Robb, Hockey, Hunt, and anyone else. They all give the impression of keeping their heads down. They pop up now and then to make a comment relating to their own interest and quickly disappear again.
The only other one we are hearing from, is Mr. Turnbull. Not exactly out there praising Mr. Abbott.
In comparison we have the PM and ALL her ministers out each day announcing and putting in place policy.
“we’ll be looking at our vast pool of talent for a replacement.”
jane, are you serious.
What is this ??
Korea Set to Try Again on Carbon Trading, Climate Head Says
By Sangim Han – Mar 19, 2012
CU
Robb got batted down over his support for Huawei and against advice to the the govt based on national security .
His disappearance was hastened when revelations of the freeby for him and his staffer by Huawei appeared for a short time in the msm.
Mirabella probably in a huff over big bum comparisons, and there is also her own legal issues outstanding.
Hockey is worried about having to make sense of Richie rich, parental and nanny schemes.
Sue, an all round [so to speak], bad weak for Cruella, and J Bishop… where is she?
Andrew Robb is an ambitious fellow but his hopes have been dashed, and poor cuddly Joe looks like a buffoon.
A. Robb wrote on 23rd March,
http://www.andrewrobb.com.au/Media/PortfolioMediaReleases/tabid/71/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1381/categoryId/2/100-Days-to-Go-Carbon-Tax-and-Means-Test-of-Private-Health-Insurance-Rebate.aspx
Oh where to start on the lies …
Mr. Robb does not want comments on his blog -shame.
Yesterday we had a policeman sentenced. He was thrown out of the police force seven years ago.
It has taken seven years to reach this stage.
Methinks that the allegations of the time taken by FWA is rare, sis suspect.
Maybe if we looked closer, we would find many more examples.
The demand that the PM not take support from the HSU is a little puzzling,
it is my belief that the HSU has already disassociate itself from Labor.
Much of what is being said does not make sense at all.
Pip, there was book written about his attempt to get into China.
He failed but did snare a wife.
I read it years ago, but cannot recall the title.
Sue, Mr. Robb has now ducked for cover as Cu pointed out.
Brandis and Abetz are Abbott's only supporters 😆
Just browsing …
CSIRO buries Coalition climate plan
Greg Combet posted Tuesday, 13 March 2012
http://www.alp.org.au:6020/blogs/alp-blog/march-2012/csiro-buries-coalition-climate-plan/
Pip, of course Abbott’s Direct Action Plan can achieve only sweet bugger all. Abbott’s plan would be lucky to achieve even minimal impact on coastal erosion and saltification much less an impact on climate change.
There is not one hour in any day when the carbon tax ‘lie’ is not mentioned.
and I noticed it rated bold lettering in Mr. Robb’s blog.
It should not be allowed to go unchallenged.
Speech: Julia Gillard, “Moving forward together on Climate Change”
Julia Gillard posted Friday, b><b23 July 2010
http://www.alp.org.au/federal-government/news/speech–julia-gillard,–moving-forward-together-on/
Pip @1.00pm, I agree. The sooner people realise that Sneerleader is the one who’s shit in his own nest and is too crooked or stupid to know it, the better.
@1.34pm, it’d take a week to get around Slagabella and Joe doesn’t just look like a buffoon. 😯
CU, I can’t believe you’d think I’d take the mick wrt that vast untapped pool of talent which is the Parliamentary Liars Party. 😯
Just look at the Shadow Ministry-absolutely crammed with the stuff.
I mean just look at the short list: there’s Prissy whose bulging eyed, scarlett faced tantrums are second only to his fearless leader’s, Sloppy Joe, renowned for his iron grip on all things economic, Barnyard, who admittedly has a slight problem driving through puddles, Eyes Bishop who has scored so many telling points against the government, Bronnie, a lover of kero baths for the elderly and bringing up the rear we’ve got the lovely Vampirella Slagabella, who has a penchant for elderly, wealthy lawyers with Alzheimer’s.
Seriously, how could you go past any of these talent laden pretenders to the throne.
I invite everyone to feel free to add their personal favourites.
Jane, Ruddock, the Amnesty member…still there after entering the Parliament in 1973
How he can continue to wear that badge is beyond belief.
Did not one of his daughters leave the country because of shame in how he dealt with refugees.
He kept saying the boats had to be stopped so we could take more from Africa.
Cu, @ 2.13pm, still looking for that book…
Murdoch’s China dream shatteredPaul Sheehan
January 25, 2008.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/murdochs-china-dream-shattered-20080125-1o77.html
Murdoch’s Chinese Adventure
Jonathan Mirsky
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2011/jul/26/truth-about-murdoch-china/
20 July 2011
Rupert Murdoch’s Chinese dreams never became a reality
By Juliana Liu
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14214309
Abbott spending three years waiting for the FWA to do something that he, as Minister, legislated that it couldn’t do.
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2012/04/05/morgan-face-to-face-57-5-42-5-to-coalition/comment-page-11/#comment-1210992
Funny, I thought Labor was having a good week. It is Mr. Abbott that does not seem to be getting his own way.
We have Mr. Albanese out again today pushing for the second Sydney Airport which cannot be put off much longer.
The PM has been out all over the country, looking relaxed and confident. The states have been dealt with. Her ministers are seen all over the place with important announcement.
Mr. Thompson’s plight has occupied little of her time.
What have seen of Mr. Abbott. Either on a bike or fronting the media with lies and attempts to bully independent bodies, including the DPP and police in two states.
The hysteria from the man is increasing every day, until he now sounds shrill. The noise and mis-reporting from the media is not far behind.
Time is fast running out for the man.
The government has already moved on to new pastures, which I believe will and are being well received by the public.
Mr. Abbott is being left behind and is fast becoming irrelevant.
Cu, that’s typical ‘fair and balanced’ from Murdoch’s Courier Mail.
Will these dickheads continue with their fiction or will they make public corrections on the front page??
A new facet to our PM, who many claim as a barren, unmarried woman, living in sin that has no life experiences. The story sounds very genuine. In a way it was the way I managed my own children at times. Not Sallies though.
More Murdoch garbage running interference to deflect from Abbott’s self-inflicted disaster.
FOREIGN Minister Bob Carr has ruled out making a tilt for the prime ministership
.
A change of pace.
Cu, and isn’t about time that we, the people learned about our Prime Minister’s real life. When you think about it, we know very little about this little redheaded Welsh immigrant girl.
Cu, O’Farrell’s behaviour is baffling, or is it cynical manipulation of the media for his own interests?
It should be called by it’s proper name.. a lie.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/barry-ofarrell-hes-the-premier-who-speaks-bs/story-e6frezz0-1226315410071
“It should be called by it’s proper name.. a lie.”
That could not be true. Only Labor and in in particular, the PM lies.
Even the word “lies” is wrong. It is one “lie”, that wipes out all the good that is done.
Time to repost the story of Tony the Hapless
Abbott’s own act to blame for the lack of criminal charges
April 6, 2012.
Phillip Coorey
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/politics/abbotts-own-act-to-blame-for-the-lack-of-criminal-charges-20120405-1wfkr.html
Min,
Min
Cu, and isn’t about time that we, the people learned about our Prime Minister’s real life. When you think about it, we know very little about this little redheaded Welsh immigrant girl.
Well, we know our Prime Minister is single, childless, sorry, “deliberately barren”, she’s an atheist, she was found to have an empty fruit bowl in her kitchen immediately after returning from a trip away, AND she’s a red-head.
What more could we possibly need to know? 😯
Pip and Min, when they run out of something to say, they are once again bringing up the relationship the PM had with an union official that turned out to be unfortunate.
Our PM also has a sister and a niece and nephew she is close to. She does have family, a retired mother and father, that have worked hard all their life.
The PM does not live the life of a nun. The only thing she has not done is have a child.
A pretty normal life if one asks me.
I’m shocked Cu, the msm are usually so quick to report what Tony Abbott has said or done,…. well ar least they report what he says, so I suppose we should only be half angry!
Just thinking..why is the msm so coy about the real private lives of the leaders..might it be that Julia’s is so more positive than Tony’s?
Stable relationship, spends as much time at home as possible..meanwhile, there is Tony..
Cu, any reporter, [read gossip columnist], or politician suggesting to a reporter that they should write about a relationship that the Prime Minister had about 15 years ago, is treading on thin ice.
It would be an interesting exercise to check out the private lives of all the Prime Minister’s detractors!
Who knows what we mght turn up?
We already know about one unfortunate relationship that Mr. Abbott walked/ran away from when the going got tough!!
Min, that question bears repeating…
Min
Just thinking..why is the msm so coy about the real private lives of the leaders..might it be that Julia’s is so more positive than Tony’s?
Stable relationship, spends as much time at home as possible..meanwhile, there is Tony..
Pip, it is only in comments that I have seen it so far.
Ruddock, I’d forgotten all about that apology for a human. He was a wet and apparently not a bad sort of a bloke before the Rodent got hold of him, apparently.
Having all sorts of trouble with firefox tonight.
Hi Jane, re Ruddock, we’ll probably never know who the ‘real Philip’ really is.
Was nice Philip for real way back then, or was that just an image, or was he corrupted under the Rodent’s regime?
He rarely speaks out these days, and I can’t help hoping that he’s full of regrets.
Min I am assuming your reference to Ruddock comes from having read this http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/politics-of-the-personal-why-tony-abbotts-opposition-to-gay-marriage-really-hits-home/story-e6frg8h6-1226317674757
If so, and I have missed your reference to it elsewhere forgive me. I have to go to bed or I’ll fall asleep on this bloody keyboard!
Why does that apologia for Abbott’s stance on gay marriage fail to convince me?
The last time I read of a comment from one of Tony Abbott’s sisters was many years ago during the ‘lost son’ saga, when one of his sisters referred to the ‘lost son’s’ mother as ‘that woman’. I cannot find the article now.
Now another sister is in the spotlight at a most opportune time for her brother.
On the same weekend as one lonely article appeared which uncovered Abbott’s incompetence and deceit, his sister comes to the rescue.
Abbott’s own act to blame for the lack of criminal charges
April 6, 2012.
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/abbotts-own-act-to-blame-for-the-lack-of-criminal-charges-20120405-1wfkr.html
————————
Close to home: what Tony Abbott’s family taught him about gay relationships by: KATE LEGGE
From: The Australian
April 07, 2012
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/close-to-home-what-tony-abbotts-family-taught-him-about-gay-relationships/story-fn59niix-1226320790650
So far so good.
Has there really been “media interest”?
Now for the punchline, or should that be another bit of Julia bashing?
The “headlines around the country” are easily explained. they were not the result of government spin, rather, the dinner with the Prime Minister was organised by GetUp who saw to it that it received publicity in aid of the same sex marriage campaign.
patricia @ 1.05am I’m sorry, I should have put my comment on your post.
It’s very hard to be convinced with this puff piece; the timing is too pat after Phil Coorey’s article which revealed the news that Abbott legislated in part the FWA rules which prevent the over the top demands Abbott has made about the FWA.
Besides, I haven’t been able to find any sign of “media interest” anywhere!
The whole article looks like a cynical, considered piece of SPIN.
….
Pip, warning bells for me also..the phrase “lifestyle choice” is often seen as a put down by many in the gay community.
Min, it is a put-down, whether intentional or whether it’s ignorance..
We don’t say we choose to be heterosexual – it’s not a choice, it’s just the way we are, and it’s exactly the same for anyone whatever their persuasion.
Pip, exactly. Which is why it sounded odd coming from Ms Forster.
Min, I’ve had a look at tomorrow/today’s headlines and there is nothing in ltd news about Phil coorey’s topic, but there is another Abbott puff piece by the same author.
Politics of the personal: why Tony Abbott’s opposition to gay marriage really hits home
by: Kate Legge
From: The Australian April 07, 2012
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/politics-of-the-personal-why-tony-abbotts-opposition-to-gay-marriage-really-hits-home/story-e6frg8h6-1226317674757
I can’t be bothered with it right now. Too much propaganda in one sitting
will not promote sleep!
Sorry does not ring true
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/abbotts-own-act-to-blame-for-the-lack-of-criminal-charges-20120405-1wfkr.html#ixzz1rIdgTKzy
Mr. Dutton, I am afraid your tears will fall on barren ground. Hot rage because they will have to wait for something they do not need or want.
Mr. Dutton, one cannot have it both ways.
The rage, if is it there, is because they know if your lot get into power, they will not get it at ALL.
I would like to remind Mr. Dutton, Labor tried to bring your, I believe 17th scheme into being. It was not possible. Telstra’s copper wire got in the way.
If Mr. Howard had separated Telstra’s two arms, you might have had success while in power.
Cu, the Coalition have changed tack – it’s not just about cost now, but complaints that their electorates aren’t on the first ‘to do’ list!
Several articles full of nonsense but this one cuts through.
Rollout Times Will Be The New NBN Battlefield
Alex Kidman Gizmodo AU April 3, 2012
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2012/04/rollout-times-will-be-the-new-nbn-battlefield/
Not the Limited News
What Happened With The NBN This Week?
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2012/04/what-happened-with-the-nbn-this-week-57/
Ouch! “lazy, disloyal, no balls, unelectable…”
You missed your chance, Peter
John Hewson
February 22, 2009.
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/you-missed-your-chance-peter-20090221-8e70.html
Mr. Hewson was also mistaken back in 2009 in his predictions about the economy!
As we are now up to 469 comments on this topic, it’s time for a new Open Thread. I’ve placed a link to Open Thread XIX at the top of the page..or at least attempted to. Mucked it up slightly but it will do until Migs is back to fix it up. 🙂
Federal Libs fight O’Farrell on airport
April 7, 2012.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/federal-libs-fight-ofarrell-on-airport-20120406-1wgva.html
Is this what the Liberal party is based on today. HATE and little more.
In what may be the last comment on this page, I have been a little pessimistic in my political post of the week. http://archiearchive.wordpress.com/2012/04/08/decline-and-fall-of-the-alp/ Perhaps if we look closely at the causes of ALP unpopularity and not the symptoms, we may find an answer.
Archie, interesting indeed. We had the now elderly of the Great Depression, followed by the Boomers. As a late Boomer, I wouldn’t say that we were spoilt..in that everything was very frugal in the ’50’s, nothing wasted..shoes were resoled, newspaper used to wrap garbage, the tough end of the lamb went to make soup as did left over vegies.
I rather think that it all happened with the advent of the credit card where people no longer had to save in order to buy what they wanted. Then came the fall.
ps. Our Open Threads go over to the next Open Thread. This is purely house keeping as people with mobile devices and old computers have problems downloading when the topic extends to over 400 comments. Hence the reason for putting up a new Open Thread or Media Watch thread.