Whingeing with the stars.

bushfirebill Uncategorized

Whingeing Australian2

Mandy Vanstone is off and running in the New Year with a whinge about… whingeing.

“Australians used to joke about whingeing Poms but I fear we have adopted that rather unattractive trait as our own. True enough the federal Parliament, indeed most of the parliaments, did not cover themselves in glory in 2012. I am not defending that.

It is just interesting that so many people who are happy to put the boot into parliamentarians do not appear to have tried to excel in their own work. We have a new class of people who appear quite happy to just be critical of others for not meeting the excellence bar.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/stop-whingeing-and-get-up-early-to-beat-the-january-blues-20130106-2cb3k.html#ixzz2HESSRlyr “

Yes, it’s the old “Parliament is a disgrace” gambit, and no, Mandy doesn’t ascribe blame. She just has a whinge that the parliament is a joke. By parliament” she means Question Time.

But the truth comes out in her statement: “I am not defending that.”

Why would Mandy feel she owns some of the responsibility for the goings on in QT? She’s not a parliamentarian anymore, so it can’t be that.

But Mandy is still a Liberal, and it’s the Liberals who have gone out of their way to wreck QT and this parliament. No wonder she feels it necessary to – almost – apologize.

Pointless points of order (most of which are struck down); defiance of the Speaker resulting in record numbers of ejected members; heckling and all the rest of it are all played out to a bored Press Gallery, sitting in their reserved box seats like so many indolent Roman patricians, who maintain the fiction that QT is the most important gauge of governance… why?

Because they can. They have the privilege of the ringside seat, so they flog it for all it’s worth. What’s important – and pointedly, exclusive – to them, is what rates in parliamentary and political coverage.

So it’s all QT’s fault that the nation has turned into one whingeing, seething mass of dummy-spitters, says Mandy.

Wrong. It’s the trash-talk about everything – the economy, industrial relations, retail sales, and yes, parliament – that does it.

It is self-evident that a government concerned with re-election, running the country, keeping the economy on an even keel and passing its legislation through the parliament, would NOT wish to trash-talk its own efforts to maintain peace, order and good government (Can-Do Campbell, with his notable “Queensland is the new Greece” ejaculation, being the exception that proves the rule).

So who is doing all the wrecking?

It’s the side of politics that never has anything good to say, that puts out the message to do nothing – sit on your money – until they get into power, that makes up outright lies about the effect of the Carbon Tax, that threatens continuous elections just to restore us back to “Australia, circa 2007”, that says interest rates are always too low or too high, that tells us no matter how good this month’s figures are that next month’s will be the worst on record, that introduces scandal, smear and outright abuse of the Courts in shady efforts to alter the numbers in their favour, that plays with the lives of boat people just to score political points… in short, the side of politics that never stops whingeing and moaning… they are the ones to blame for the depths to which our nation has sunk.

Once upon a time there may have been a point to it. There was a chance that if they could king hit the government early, convince the independent members to switch sides or express “No Confidence” in the government, we might have had to go back to the people (who elected the hung parliament, after all) and sort it all out. That option expired by about mid 2011.

After that it was just a mindless pursuit of bad polls for the government so that their captive journo mates could write up the next election as a lay-down misere. If the result was so certain then there’s no need to talk about government policy because the government won’t be around long enough to carry it out. There would be no need to talk about Opposition policy because Oppositions don’t “do” policy until the campaign. With no need to consider either government or Opposition policy, we could get down to The Vibe, such an easy ride for all concerned.

  • Writing about The Vibe means you can just spew out whatever comes first into your empty head and pass it off as critical analysis.

  • Writing about The Vibe means you can run the next election endlessly, day after day, week after week, quoting the same polling numbers each time, saying there’s no hope for the Prime Minister.

  • Writing about The Vibe means you can fill columns with you personal political biases, your likes and dislikes, and get it into the newspapers.

  • Writing about The Vibe permits you to dismiss the government and to treat the Opposition as the government-in-waiting, or even the co-government, even though the Opposition has never won a substantive vote or passed a serious motion in the House for the entire time since 2010.

  • Writing about the vibe means you can then blame the government for all this, or at worst, not have to blame the Opposition.

Unfortunately, writing about The Vibe has a downside for it purveyors. Your readers lose faith in you, they stop buying your newspaper, you go broke. As for the wrecker-politicians, their approval ratings tank to almost unprecedented levels. The Economy sags due to low confidence levels. The nation stagnates.

The critical 5% of punters who make up the difference between a vibrant economy and one in the doldrums are too miserable to get out of bed in the morning – Mandy uses this exact “Get out of bed scenario”. They don’t go shopping, or get to work. What should have been an optimistic, energetic place to live becomes a dull ache somewhere in the backs of people’s minds.

Funnily enough, I agree with Mandy, at least half agree with her.

There does need to be a resurgence of confidence and a cessation of whingeing. But it has to come from a recognition of the causes of the nation’s ennui. Australia needs to get a grip on itself and recognize that its salvation is in its own hands.

Confidence is highly under-rated as an economic output. We talk of prices and supply, taxation and industrial relations, market forces and government stimulus, but rarely do we consider confidence as anything more than some kind of waffly feel-good/feel-bad indicator, a product of an economy.

Confidence is not just a product of an economy, it is also equally its driving force. None of the other indicators matter unless the punters have enough confidence to literally get out of bed in the morning and believe their efforts will make a difference, and that their participation in the economy and society will benefit them, their families and ultimately, their society.

When conservative politicians continually trash-talk the economy for no good reason other than political advantage, a spike in the polls, a quip they can make about Pink Batts on Q&A, and when this results in too many people taking them at their word and staying in bed, the consequences can be serious indeed. We’re seeing that now.

A media that’s suffering decline seeks to spread its own misery to the rest of the country. Conservative – Liberal and National in particular – politicians continue a bad habit of negativity whose chance of success expired years ago. Economists, congenitally conditioned to never saying “Bet the house on this” take the easy option and tell their clients and readers, “Put you money under the bed, and then lie in that bed and stay put.” Here’s why: no economist ever got sued for advising their client to be cautious, even stupidly cautious.

Sound familiar?

Our economy is among the best in the world, our dollar is a reserve currency, our life style is rated No. 1, our debt is low, interest rates, taxes and unemployment ditto, we are on the Security Council doing good work around the world, our Treasurer wins prizes for his accomplishments, our Prime Minister is lauded all over as a Boadecia-like figure in the cause of women’s rights, big initiatives – the NDIS, Health and Education reforms, the NBN, anti-tobacco measures and many more – are either in train, or planned in a professional manner with proper consultation and hard bargaining… yet we are told we may as well stay in bed because Craig Thomson looks like he may have used hookers ten years ago, or the PM had a shoe malfunction, or her arse is too big.

Sound familiar?

The commentators are continually wrong about almost everything. Their predictions are laughable, and their errors are grievous. The government will fall, Rudd will come back, the states will never agree, the money can’t be found.

Sound familiar?

It’s not just Question Time or the parliament. It’s a national malaise, infectious and malignant, spread by political and business forces that have a vested political interest in maintaining their cosy pasts, to the detriment of their own present and future self-interests.

Working an extra hour and a half a day – Mandy’s suggestion – should not be the cause of recovery from this illness, it should be the result of it. But it can only become a reality if the conservative political forces that have so far been spreading it start helping to clean it up.

And to do that we first have to face the reality of where this disease is coming from, keep the carriers and spreaders of it from office, and drive a stake through the cesspits they have in place of human hearts.

663 thoughts on “Whingeing with the stars.”

  1. Paul,

    MSM “Context” these days means “whatever paints the government in the worst possible light”.

    You would need a few tons of blogs like this one to get close to offsetting the MSM.

  2. “This latest bizzo of him thanking her for visiting the Tas. fire damaged regions is just ridiculous.”

    I also found him outrageous when he makes such statements but is it possible that he may actually be quite clever. Could he be seen as Prime Ministerial? (Obviously not by us Laborites, but by the swinging voters.)

  3. paul sakkai……there being many variables to any reply on any subject…coupled to the many variabled opinions and tangents to opinions just may explain the many routes taken by the posters on this site!……like the curious stranger, we like to touch on every aspect of interest that catches our attention.
    BB. throws out many threads of colour and texture in his pieces and we respond in kind…….personally, I like it that way!….go on, bait your hook and fish!

  5. paul sakkal,
    Thank you for your input! I’ll keep it in mind when I write my next post. 😀

    However, may I point out, wrt your criticism about not presenting a balanced view, that I did, earlier today, include a link to an article from Delimiter which exonerated Tony Abbott over his document timestamp issues to do with his James Ashby Press Release.
    So we are not all completely one-eyed here.

  8. Joe6Pack,

    Great work with the formatting! After that, running a trucking business must be a mere doddle 😉

  9. Happy new year everybody. Can I ask if you’re all intending to return to PB or stay away?

  10. BB,

    Okay, mate, no more chandelier-swinging for you.

    But seriously, I do hope that you find an appropriate blend of remedies soon. OH has had back problems for 50 years and I fully appreciate how bloody exhausting they are.

  12. kezza2,
    Wrt Malcolm Turnbull’s travel, I think I remember that he said he is one of a number of pollies who still likes to drive down to Canberra in his own car sometimes. By ‘his own car’ I am assuming that is his government-supplied car but not a Comm Car.

  13. BB
    Hope you have a good rest, and a bit of magic to help the pain go away. If all our good wishes can help, here’s some more from me.
    Doyleym
    Is that you from PB?

  14. While on matters medical/surgical:

    1. I’m out of my zimmer cast.
    2. I’m allowed to shower!!!
    3. I’m allowed to bend my knee gently.
    4. I can put my left foot on the ground to balance – but not weight-bear.
    5. I’ve been ordered to stop using the walking/hopping frame.
    6. I’ve tried the elbow crutches and yes, they will be fine with practice.
    7. Physio starts tomorrow.

    Moi is a happy kitten just now.

  15. gigilene @ 4.16pm,
    That’s why I’m interested in what the next few polls say about his sat/dissat.. I’m sticking my neck out in saying I suspect they won’t move, or not much, for two reasons.
    Firstly, he’s a known quantity, a very well known quantity. He’s been all over the MSM for the last 2 years. He’s a weathervane and a flake. I think that no amount of smearing lipstick on him is going to change that perception very much.
    Secondly, he may be trying to act Prime Ministerial, but it just looks like bulls**t, and people do have the capacity to detect bulls**t, swinging voters included. From all the reporting from late 2012 on voter perception of him from both Labor (well, you’d expect it) and Lib. types was in the pits and bouncing along the bottom. Or he was seen as a joke, which is even more disastrous politically.

  16. HarrySnapperOrgans,
    It’s all a bit coincidental, Tony Abbott becomes ‘Mr Nice Guy’ to the PM in an election year.

    My god that man is as transparent as water.

    This is so obviously a strategy that the Opposition have cooked up over the break from parliament.

    I reckon Kate Ellis should just blow them out of the water with her Wedding to David Penberthy, followed by a bun in the oven, all from the perspective a Working Woman Minister. 😀

  17. Re the car, a pollie I know kept a car, which he purchased himself, in Canberra to use when he was there instead of using comcars. He only got the comcar to and from the airport, I am sure he is not the only MP to do so.

  18. fiona,
    Huzzah! Now don’t over exert yourself dancing around with joy in the shower! Look what happened to Bushfire Bill when he swung from a chandelier. 😉

  20. MsAdventure,
    I thought all the pollies could order their own 4WD or sedan and the government paid for it? Of course it came from a list of choices OKed by the government, but they even had a Prius as I remember.

  21. C@tmomma,
    I just can’t see it working, or at least not as much as is needed.
    Good news, Fiona, glad to hear it.

  23. J6P,
    happy with the time/date format or would you prefer just dd/mm/yy?

    I’m a traditionalist in that respect, so I like it as it is now. 🙂

  24. Apparently if we want comments numbered I have to upgrade and pay a premium.
    IF you all think it’s needed I wil,l or will we see how this goes for a bit

  27. Hellooooooooo…? BB, C@t, Joe? What’s going on… is this a permanent breakaway from PB? I’m confused.

  28. We’ll leave the timestamps as they are if you promise to drag the MSM into line. Is tomorrow too early? After lunch?

  29. gecko,
    Some of us are enjoying this site but also drop in to PB. I won’t be able to do so as much when I go back to work next week, but it’s most enjoyable being able to read longer posts from the moderators without the argy bargythat can happen on PB.

  30. sprocket,
    What do The Greens hope to gain by congratulating an anarchic action which could have severely impacted upon a business, and the economy in general?

    I read the report in Crikey today about these guerilla ambushes by Left Protesters, and whilst I agree with some of their tactics, like the fake New York Post website front page, I, personally, draw the line when it comes to a company being materially affected.

    However, you could always make the case, and I guess they would, that some companies, say child labour employers, deserve to be taken down.

    Then on the other hand, aaarrrggghhh!!! I’m beginning to sound like Michelle Grattan 😀 sometimes those children bring in much-appreciated cash for their families that they would otherwise not get.

  31. 12gecko,

    I think it’s a long overdue rest from the bores (not all of those at PB fit that description) that I think everyone knows about. You can say something once, twice, even half a dozen times. But when it gets up into the thousands, it gets tedious. There has been a noticeable drop in traffic and if the powers that be there are happy, then so be it. If not, they will do something about it. They could start with a certain pompous know-all whose links to Tony Abbott are a little bit closer than the standard six degrees of separation than waht should be comfortable.

    Psephos = David Feeney = Kathy Jackson = Michael Lawler = Tony Abbott

    There. I’ve said it twice. Once there and once here. Hopefully, peoply will make the connection but I won’t be repeating it ad nauseam.

  32. sprocket_

    Thanks for that: I cant imagine why Lee Rhiannon is considered a communist!

  33. cat@momma @4.41pm,

    You have discovered my secret identity !

    2gravel @4.45pm,

    Yes it is.

    Thought i would pop over and join the party.

    cheers.

  34. C@tmomma, I agree with the date as is now, it looks classy.

    Yes the pollies get a car provided to them to use within their electorate but when they fly to Canberra they don’t have the supplied car they can use the comcars to and from the House. Their staff get paid for travel to Canberra and a taxi to their accommodation and return to airport.

  35. ,That’s why I’m interested in what the next few polls say about his sat/dissat..

    The guy is entirely distasteful and we should be totally confident that his sat/dissat will remain low. And if we are not, why not?

  36. Hey Joe,

    Save your time and money. User ID and Timestamp are a good enough reference. Numbers might also get tricky with stuff that goes into and out of moderation.

  37. gigilene,
    That’s why I also raised the question of what on earth they’re going to try next, when the sat/dissat remains pretty much where it has been for some time.
    And posed the entirely silly idea of Abbott moving motions of appreciation to JG in the House for turning up to work.

  39. joe6p,
    Also agree with Tobe that User ID and date stamp is fine at his stage.

  40. Thanks Harry, thanks Roy… understood. Seems a bit of slap in the face to William after so long but I guess you all know what you’re doing. Just thought I’d let you know you’re missed. Good luck with it.

  41. geko dont be confused

    its
    permanent.

    thanks to much lobbying, and down on bended knee to joe and bill

  44. Gecko,

    I think most of us are posting on both. I’ve been a bit busy today (and will be more so once semester starts), but I think that both sites have their excellent points.

  45. gecko,
    I’ve been following/reading Poll Bludger since Bryan Palmer’s blogging days. William’s blog took up when Bryan Palmer closed his due to the incredible flame wars that used to erupt.
    I don’t intend to quit Poll Bludger, though I don’t post much anyway.

  46. C@t & MsAdventure

    Thanks for the info re Turnbull in particular and comm car/taxis whatever in general. Saves me getting back into Turnbull’s financials. I must have been confusing private car costs with comm cars.

  47. joe6pack – if you need a donation towards site costs I’m sure others like me would be happy to help.

    fiona – don’t over-do things. You’ve already made a big contribution here while very much still in trauma recovery phase.

    bushfirebill – I am amazed at your capacity to think and write as you do through the acute and chronic pain you described earlier.

    Victoria – my only excuse for my idiotic failure to recognise that scam has been my own comparatively new experience of prolonged pain with this wrist. I can’t seem to think straight – and this horrible humid heat isn’t helping either. One’s heart goes out to people experiencing probably far worse physical discomfort in much poorer living conditions than my own.

  49. Doyley
    It’s so nice to see you here. I was a lurker on PB from time of inception. This is a comfortable blog here for me to blog, so you are another blogger that I was unable say well done, on a lot of your posts. I can now do that. Thanks 🙂

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