Nacht und Nebel

Fiona Uncategorized

(Image credit: Wikipedia)

Fifty days ago, the Australian electorate blinked, and chose a Coalition government led by Mr Abbott – devout Catholic, Rhodes Scholar, Oxford Blue, sometime journalist, advisor to former LOTO Dr Hewson, exercise junkie, father of “not bad-looking daughters”, self-proclaimed political offspring of Mrs Bronwyn Bishop and Mr John Howard – a man who counts among his political and spiritual mentors B. A. Santamaria and Cardinal Pell.

The government as a whole, and Mr Abbott in particular, are deeply indebted to two powerful individuals, Mr Rupert Murdoch, and Mrs Gina Rinehart. The debt owed by the new Federal government and prime minister to Mr Murdoch in particular is extraordinary, and is most likely to be paid through the sale hand-over of the NBN and, possibly, the privatisation or abolition of the ABC. Mrs Rinehart’s rewards are the repeal of the MRRT, the “liberalisation” of 457 visas to enable the employment of ever-cheaper labour in her mines, and an open-slather approach to exploration and mining, maybe even in national parks, and to coal seam gas fracking. After all, what else is the environment for?

So, what has the new government achieved over the past 50 days?

  • Abolished the Climate Commission.
  • Sacked three departmental heads.
  • Sacked the NBN Board.
  • Announced the privatisation of Medibank Private.
  • Appointed the head of a major business union to chair the Commission of Audit which also includes (gaia help us) Ms Amanda Vanstone. Mr Tony Shepherd also chairs a company that has substantial contracts with the Commonwealth.
  • Announced a witch-hunt judicial enquiry into the Rudd Government’s home insulation scheme.
  • Cut disaster relief payments in the middle of major bushfires in New South Wales.
  • Denied any possible connexion between bushfires and climate change.
  • Released draft legislation to repeal the MRRT, which also (among other things) repeals
      • – the schoolkids’ bonus
      – the low-income tax superannuation contribution
      – geothermal exploration provisions.

    Then, and worryingly, are

    1. The increased demonisation of asylum seekers arriving by boat by requiring the Immigration Department and detention centre staff to call them “illegal arrivals” and “detainees”,
    2. The militarisation of border protection, which is the excuse for
    3. Attempts to restrict information about the arrival of asylum seekers, and their movement to and from various places of detention.

    What we are witnessing is an attempt – by shutting down sources of information, whether they are bodies like the Climate Commission, or reports in real time of boat arrivals – to keep Australians ignorant of the real state of affairs, and ultimately and as soon as possible to silence dissent. How long will it be before there is federal legislation of the type Queensland Attorney-General, Mr Bleijie, released two weeks ago – legislation that has the potential to control what people wear, what music they listen to, maybe even what books they read and films they see? How long will it be before all Australian courts are effectively instructed to do as they are told by the government that – in Mr Newman’s words – they should come down from their ivory towers and make decisions in line with community expectations?

    Silencing dissent sounds to me very like Mussolini’s third principle of fascism:

    1. “Everything in the state”. The Government is supreme and the country is all-encompasing, and all within it must conform to the ruling body, often a dictator.
    2. “Nothing outside the state”. The country must grow and the implied goal of any fascist nation is to rule the world, and have every human submit to the government.
    3. “Nothing against the state”. Any type of questioning the government is not to be tolerated. If you do not see things our way, you are wrong. If you do not agree with the government, you cannot be allowed to live and taint the minds of the rest of the good citizens.

    Prime Minister Abbott has made it clear time and time again that he will not brook questions, he will not brook debate, he will not brook dissent. He is, as Jeff Sparrow points out, a cultural warrior par excellence. He has no compunction about establishing the slush fund, ”Australians for Honest Politics”, that resulted in the jailing of Pauline Hanson. Is it beyond the bounds of possibility that he might act in a similar way to anyone who dissents, disagrees, or differs? It may seem ridiculous in 21st century Australia even to ask such a question. However …

    … remember,

    Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

    Remember Argentina in 1966, Chile in 1973, Germany in 1933.

    Nacht und Nebel has happened before, and will again unless we heed Martin Niemöller’s words:

    First they came for the communists,
    and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.

    Then they came for the socialists,
    and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a socialist.

    Then they came for the trade unionists,
    and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

    Then they came for me,
    and there was no one left to speak for me.

    883 thoughts on “Nacht und Nebel”

    5. kaffee

      Speaking of ‘with-out’: That’s where the birds went the other Night. St Giles With-out was the only survivor on the block of the German Landscapers.

      Smart buggers – sheltering behind it.

    6. Eva Bloody Cox is at it again, weeping and wailing about Abbott’s superannuation tax slug for low income earners. Low income earners who are mostly women, as so many people tried to point out well before the election. But not Eva Fracking Cox, she was so busy praising Abbott’s shonky PPL brainfart and drooling at the mere mention of his name that she didn’t notice what other nasties he had planned. Too late now Eva. You wanted him, you have him. Suck it up and shut up.
      https://newmatilda.com/2013/10/30/low-income-earners-cough-coalition

    7. Sloppy has borrowed another $800 million today.

      The govt just borrowed $800 million, 11 years. Yield 4.08%. Total gross borrowing since 9 Sept is $18.0 billion.— Stephen Koukoulas (@TheKouk) October 30, 2013

    8. leone

      Too late indeed. They’re all coming too late. Did their dislike for Julia Gillard blind them? As for Germaine Greer, I believe she’s on q&a next Monday. Will she criticise TA’s appearance in the same way she criticised JG’s?

    9. If staff in the banks gamble on forex they get sacked and jailed. Let’s see the Auditor-General get stuck into HoJo.

    12. gigilene
      Germaine Greer came out in support of Julia Gillard eventually, but she didn’t seem to notice how her own comments had fed the very attitude she complains about here –

      The sheer nastiness of the campaign against Gillard is a spectacular outgrowth of the misogyny that finds expression at all levels of Australian society. Too much of the opposition campaign against Gillard is based on the simple and obvious fact that she is a woman.

      http://thehoopla.com.au/germaine-greer-vote-julia/

      Of course she won’t say anything about Abbott’s appeaarance. Ms Greer won’t mention the bald spot he tries to hide with a ludicrous comb-over, the too-heavy makeup he wears for the cameras or the stupid blue ties. Someone should send in a question for her on this.

    14. Kaffee

      The “racial memory” is strong amongst them.

      The RM deliverer who also has an interest in them told me they looked funny on the grass with their claws hooked in.

      A bit of breeze.

      They have retired back to the top of the Cromwell. No one in Belgium and all accounted for.

      😀

    15. leone
      Not good enough for me. She had the whole audience laughing at our then PM. She can’t then later on try to redeem herself. As with TA, there is so much to talk about his silly looks, but she’ll just turn a blind eye. We have been so poorly served all around. Big sigh.

    16. From Crikey’s tips and Rumours today – I bet Abbott wanted this kept short because he doesn’t read anything longer than one page.

      Just a one-pager, then? Interesting tip about the alleged curbing of enthusiasm at the office of Environment Minister Greg Hunt:
      “Hunt had planned to release an ‘Issues Paper’ on Direct Action within 30 days of the Liberal government being elected. A draft issues paper was prepared and it was about 20 pages long. However, Tony Abbott’s office prevented it from being released, and insisted that the Terms of Reference for consultations on Direct Action were to be no longer than a page. These terms of reference were quietly released on 16 October, a day after the draft carbon tax repeal legislation was published.”

      We’ve checked that one out, and the finished product was a document five pages long, of which the terms of reference are one page (the cover page is one, and another page is blank). We put the tip to Hunt’s office, and a spokesperson said this:

      “Those claims are incorrect. The Terms of Reference were publicly released following the release of the repeal legislation, and were also provided to business groups and NGOs.”

      So there you have it — our tipster reckons the document started life at about 20 pages, Hunt’s office says that’s not correct.

      http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/10/30/tips-and-rumours-997/

      Here’s the link to Hunt’s Terms of Reference.

      Click to access erf-tor.pdf

    18. The other night on Q&A Chirstopher Pyne said “‘Britain have sold their HECS debt as an asset and we should investigate whether that is a sensible move for us to do so.”

      Well, he got that wrong and the Parliamentary Libary has come up with the facts.
      http://parliamentflagpost.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/has-united-kingdom-sold-their-student.html

      In the interests of government secrecy and protecting The Poodle from further humiliation I expect the Parliamentary Library will soon be forced to shut down their blog.

    19. I used to know a darling little black poodle called Peppie …. He was a very smart individual. Consequently, I’ll never call C Pyne by that name …

    21. The UK student loan debt is estimated at £40 billion. To date only £2 billion has been sold.

    22. My reply to Eva Cox;

      On the 13th, May, 2011. You wrote, in a critique of Julia Gillard and Wayne Swans’ budget;

      ” There is no mention of a good society, based on principles of equity and ethics or interest in the social cohesion that makes democracies resilient. ”

      I am curious as to whether you believe that taking away super benefits for those who will need them the most fits that criteria?

      I’m also interested to know if you believe your incessant, shrill and hatefilled bashing of Julia Gillard was worth the effort? Is an Abbott government, and what they are going to do to the poor and disadvantaged what you wanted all along?

      Was venting all that hate worth it Eva? Are we more resilient? More cohesive? Will we be?

    25. This is a hoot –
      17 things that are banned in central Brisbane during the G20 Summit
      http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-30/17-objects-banned-from-brisbanes-g20-summit/5057354

      And – the really scarey part. Everyone living a a security area will have to undergo a criminal history check. Persons who do not pass the checks will be given accommodation somewhere else for a few days at taxpayers expense. That’s a worry. Given the current Fascist state mindset in the Queensland government that may well mean being taken to an undisclosed location and locked up at Newman’s pleasure until he decides to let them out or maybe just ‘disappear’ them.
      http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-30/qld-parliament-passes-g20-security-laws/5056952

    28. 2GB is doing Shock Jock Outrage at volume setting #11 about Joe Hockey being heckled in Melbourne.

      * They threw shoes at Liberal Party HQ;
      * They heckled Joe Hockey;
      * They rushed at police;

      and then…

      * They burned an effigy of [gulp] Tony Abbott!

      Call out the Riot Squad! Ready the water cannons! Marshall the mounted police! Just bloody-well ARREST SOMEONE!

    29. Spacey and BB,
      ABC24 just reported that Hojo had to be rescued by Police. What has happened that there is such civil disobedience so early in a new govt’s term? I mean, according to the abbott et al they just had a whopping election victory and have a mandate, for goodness sake.

    31. So no-one threw a sandwich at Joe? Because that would have been so funny, seeing as it was such a huge joke when someone did it to Julia Gillard, and even funnier the second time it happened.

      I’m hoping some impoverished student decides to chuck a cream bun at Mr Eleventy, or a sausage roll, or maybe even a custard tart. I want to see what Shockjockland has to say about that.

    32. Well done students. Give them a taste of what they did to Julia with their Convoy of Incontinence. The media seemed to think that was okay, so it must be okay for students to burn effigy’s now.

    33. I’m hoping some impoverished student decides to chuck a cream bun at Mr Eleventy, or a sausage roll, or maybe even a custard tart. I want to see what Shockjockland has to say about that.

      Nah… He’ll probably catch it, and eat it.

    38. “We don’t negotiate with taxpayer money”

      We just gamble it on foreign exchange markets.

    40. But see…if Joe caught that sausage roll or rye bread sandwich (“Catcher of the Rye”, snort, giggle, guffaw) he wouldn’t be able to eat more than a couple of bites of it. His stomach after the gastric sleeve surgery is now about 75% smaller than it once was. (Look it up, it’s drastic stuff he’s had done.) It’s an exquisite form of torture, pelt the bloke with delicious junk food he can’t eat no matter how much he wants to, and watch him sweat.

    43. The GG has a headline that produces an amusing mental image. “Hockey flees Vic uni protest”.

    48. kaffeeklatscher
      You got that right. The little cub expresses my feelings perfectly. I loathe Halloween. I like pumpkins though, as long as they haven’t been wasted to make stupid Halloween decorations.

    49. Tony Fitzgerald:

      It is extremely arrogant and socially destructive for politicians to slander citizens who disagree with their “political solution” or to denigrate the judicial branch of government and its generally conservative judges who must make sometimes unpopular decisions in accordance with the law and available evidence and their oath of office.

      And it is incomprehensible that any rational Queenslander who is even remotely aware of the state’s recent history could for a moment consider reintroducing political interference into the administration of criminal justice, even to the point of making decisions about incarceration.

      Yet another article pdf’d.

    50. The PM’s science prize winners are not too happy aboout the lack of a Science Mnister.
      http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-30/pms-science-prize-awarded-terry-speed/5058200?section=act

      PMBO has to make a speech tonight when he presents the awards. That should be entertaining. He will have to say things like ‘silicone quantum computer’ and ‘bioinformatics’. That’s quite a challenge when just one word contains more syllables than any of Abbott’s usual slogans.

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