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”

    1. http://www.news.com.au/national/meet-australias-most-powerful-public-servants/story-fncynjr2-1226750321988
      Meet Australia’s most powerful public servants
      October 31, 2013
      Malcolm Farr National Political Editor

      They can earn as much as the Prime Minister and are vital to keeping him in power.

      They earn a lot less than high powered business executives, but their advice can make or break industries.

      They are the senior ranks of the public service, the inheritors of the old tradition of Canberra mandarins who were the real authority and power in the management of the Commonwealth.

      None are household names across Australia, but nobody who wants to understand how the Abbott Government will operate can afford to ignore them.

    4. gorgeousdunny1
      It’s scarey stuff, the TPP, and yet hardly anyone is talking about it. A couple of weeks ago I came across this article which was linked to a TPP discussion on what might happen to our PBS and the price of prescription medication if we sign up to this thing.
      http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/us/the-soaring-cost-of-a-simple-breath.html?_r=0

      it really caught my attention because from time to time I need to use Symicort, one of the asthma drugs mentioned. I pay $5.90 for it because I’m a pensioner. Last time I bought it the ‘full cost’ on the chemist’s label was around $60. That’s a big difference to the $300 or more someone in the US has to pay. When you look at the comments under the article you find people are paying up to $1000 a month for their medication. Sign this TPP and we could be looking at the same thing here and that’s just one small aspect of the whole horrible picture.

      Abbott will sign the TPP of course, whoever is runnng the government will make sure he does. He’ll have no idea what he’s doing, he won’t have read anything, he’ll just do what he’s told. Whatever exemptions and amendments Labor wanted will be thrown out and our lousy, corrupt, useless sham of a government will agree to everything.

    7. Scary stuff.

      Also, the SSM bill has been introduced to the NSW parliament.

      http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-31/same-sex-marriage-laws-introduced-to-nsw-parliament/5060260

      I really don’t know how successful that will be. The NSW state coalition doesn’t seem to be as right wing as Queensland where one of the first things they did was remove civil unions for same sex couples as their opening shot against everything progressive, or the federal party.

      Assuming all of Labor and the Crossbenchers vote for it, there need to be at least 23 Coalition MP’s in the lower house to vote in favour for it to pass, and at least 3 in the upper house in addition to the 19 Labor/Greens MLC’s.

    11. This reaction by Labor supporters to Shorten is quite startling.

      Many, including myself at first, I’ll admit, were prepared to think that Shorten would do such a thing as just abandon carbon pricing to make electoral woes go away.

      There is an issue of trust with him, and he’ll need to work hard to rebuild it or he’ll never be PM.

    12. I’m getting fed up with stupid Labor members and supporters demanding Bill Shorten sticks with the carbon price because he’s not going to do that. I’m also sick of journalists waffling on with rubbish and rumour about what Labor should or should not do. Sean Kelly, whoever he is, hasn’t been paying attention. He makes this helpful suggestion –
      “There is an option for Labor: abandoning the “tax” but refusing to support a repeal unless it is replaced with an emissions trading scheme. ”

      That is exactly what Labor has been saying it will do. Labor’s policy going into the election was to do away with the carbon price and bring forward the transition to an ETS by one year. Had Labor been elected the ETS would have come in next July. Labor has been saying they will support the repeal of the carbon price IF the govenment has plans to move to an ETS, because that was their policy anyway. The government has no such plans and doesn’t want an ETS at all, so Labor won’t be supporting the repeal legislation. BUT – there’s always a ‘but’ – they say they want to look at the final form of the repeal bill before making any committment. They are messing with Abbott’s mind a bit by doing that.

      What’s so hard to understand about all that?

      I’m not a member of the Labor Party but I keep finding myself explaining Labor policy to members. Surely if you join a party you’d want to get bit of a grasp on what policy you are supposed to be supporting, but no, it seems not.

    13. Stephen Jones said exactly that on Lateline. My impression was that caucus would have to discuss it first. That’s why the perception is that Labor hasn’t decided yet.

    14. The media has given that impression. That is why many have become alarmed. Andrew Leigh has made it clear the position is as Leone mentioned.

    15. I’m not a member of the Labor Party but I keep finding myself explaining Labor policy to members. Surely if you join a party you’d want to get bit of a grasp on what policy you are supposed to be supporting, but no, it seems not.

      We’re all bit nervous at the moment, Leone.

      Too many confident predictions have been dashed against the rocks at the bottom of the political cliff.

      Ironically, we’ve seen quite a large proportion of the alternative case predictions come true, especially about Abbott and his deliberate muddying of the policy waters, leading to an effectively blank policy canvas for the Coalition. We all knew he was doing it, but the punters who voted for him thought his nasty measures would only apply to other people, not themselves.

      That’s the only bit that’s kept me sane. I saw through Abbott OK, but I was grossly wrong about the common sense of Labor. We’re just fragile from being too disappointed, too often.

    16. Last night I read ” The Stalking of Julia Gillard “.

      This morning I read the slop produced by Bruce Hawker.

      I am of the mind to do severe physical harm to some Labor politicians.

    17. I haven’t yet caught up with it, Ian. I think Andrew Elder did a review of it, but didn’t add much detail. Any startling revelations? I might even join you as far as The Cardinals go.

      I don’t think Shorten made the greatest start to his leadership by allowing Fitzgibbon a guernsey, but he might not have had a choice, needing the NSW Right onside in the contest.

    18. Has J Fitzgibbon all the attributes to come out strongly against animal cruelty? I hope so. Or will the recent event also be buried?

    19. That’s the only bit that’s kept me sane. I saw through Abbott OK, but I was grossly wrong about the common sense of Labor. We’re just fragile from being too disappointed, too often.

      Exactly, and the rotten media know we’re fragile. Why else do you think Mark Kenny (and others of his ilk) continues twisting words and writing crap ? To keep us fragile so that the abbott and his mob can get on with knocking the stuffing out of us.

      Dunno if anyone happened to tune into Kim Carr’s presser awhile ago about the car industry. The media showed they weren’t terribly interested and after a couple of questions they had a go at changing the subject and asked a question about the WA Senate Seat recount. Carr, actually raised his voice to anger mode and asked if the car industry meant nothing to them and if they had no questions about it then he was wasting his time. When he (Carr) was satisfied he’d got the attention of the journos, only then did he take a question or two about the senate recount matter.

    20. I’ve been reading about Hawker’s slop too. The Guardian seems obsessed with it. I was wondering why Rudd had no policies planned for when he regained the leadership, but for some reason he hadn’t bothered. He must have been too busy lolling on the back bench gazing at his navel fluff to have had the time. Then I read Katherine Murphy’s pice on Hawker’s slop and she said exactly the same thing.
      http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/31/bruce-hawkers-diary-a-memoir-deeply-fascinating-for-all-the-wrong-reasons?CMP=twt_gu

      So the great leader, the shining hope of the party hadn’t even bothered to plan one single policy, just in case.
      Instead he and Brucie-Baby made stuff up on the camapign plane. Saved the furniture my arse. He bleeding well piled it into a bonfire, doused it with petrol and lit a few matches.

    21. My thoughts as well Leone. I’ve been busy sending the same message to the ALP ever since the election. Rudd, Brucie-baby and the handful of stupid MPs backing them, all but destroyed the Party and now they have the bloody hide to say they saved the furniture.

    22. ian

      I am of the mind to do severe physical harm to some Labor politicians.

      I understand this.

    24. GD,
      I didn’t read anything that we probably didn’t already know.

      It was just very sobering seeing all the scheming and plotting as written word staring back at me. Though it did reinforce my contention that Murdoch didn’t want Rudd in as much as he needed JGPM out. Murdochs toadies played Rudd and his cardinals the way an overly arrogant, yet under performing sports team condescends to give the ” water boy ” his moment of fame. The water boy, dazzled by the spotlight, yet blinded by it, fails to see the reality lurking in the shadows beyond. Those of us in the cheap seats could. His real team knew all about the shadows. They even tried, on many an occasion, to warn him. Even though others encouraged him. When the full blast of the spotlight hit Rudd he melted….and we all pay for his folly. The first fifty days of conservative corruption have proven that.

      The positives I took from the book?

      If, by using rule of thumb, you add up the opposition in both houses, 30 or so Rudd acolytes, the editorial, journalistic and top office staff of both tv and print media, assorted lobbyists and their shopfront operations and the general run of the mill spivs and wankers, I reckon it to be around 3000 people. Their combined, at times manic, efforts took over 3 years to bring down JGPM.

      I’ve always admired Julia Gillard. After reading the book I am more in awe of her strength than ever before. We are much diminished as a country.

      I think the bitter fruit of the first fifty days of conservative corruption will testify to that.

    25. Children: One of my Nephew’s decided she didn’t feel well during the afternoon.

      So I went and picked two of them up at the end of school.

      They immediately wanted to walk to my place rather than drive …

      Now stuffing themselves with banana paddle-pops.

      Very sick.

    28. Rudd saved the furniture? My arse he did! He is co responsible (with Ole Rupe) for the loss of the majority in the 2010 election and for the loss of government this time around. If he had of done the honourable and right thing by the party he either would have 1. accepted the result in 2010 and become one of the team or 2. shut the fuck up and piss off out of parliament. 3 years of white anting COST Labor seats at 2 elections. And watch him do the same to Shorten. Kev, just go away, live comfortably on your pension and wife’s millions and take Hawker with you.

    30. Even George Wright seems to think KR saved around 20 seats …

      Don’t agree with you there, Gigilene. George Wright said what he was expected to say but, if you read between the lines a bit, it is evident that he really thinks Rudd stuffed up bigtime.

      I think that the leadershit issue had reached the stage where people in the party who had fought so long and hard to unite the party realised the termites were not going to give an inch, so that the election campaign would have been undermined from within unless Rudd was in charge. The excuse for bringing him back was ‘to save some furniture’ and as George Wright said, the Labor campaign was all worked out and ready to go but 110 campaign personnel walked out and they were scrambling to find enough helpers to replace them. Rudd, of course, had the idiot Hawker to run his campaign so that he was, in effect, in opposition to Campaign Headquarters under George Wright.

      Most of those who survived the election, including Shorten, were Gillard supporters and though gutted they had no alternative but to go with the meme that Rudd ‘saved some furniture’. You can bet that, apart from the Rudd Cardinals like Griffin, Bowen et al, they know full well that Rudd saved nothing and left the Party bruised and broken as he slunk away overseas to gloat over his success to extract revenge.

    31. Janice,
      You have expressed much better than I could just what I have been thinking. I also suspect that, for some of them, they are not psychologically ready yet to abandon the “saved some furniture” meme.

    33. In one of today’s pieces about Hartcher’s drivel there was a comment that for a while on election night Rudd intended staying on as leader. I think that tells us all we need to know about his plans for the next few years – stick around and keep on being a whiteant.

      This is a nasty thing to say, but as it’s Rudd I don’t care – I hope his already not-so-good health takes a severe turn for the worst sometime in the next year and he is forced to retire. It’s the only way the party will get him out of that seat. Therese and Jessica can spend their time looking after him instead of interfering with Labor.

    34. Ctar1.
      Maybe you ought to give those kids violins – seems to me they play you like one! I know, I’m just jealous that I didn’t have a doting adult around when I was young enough to appreciate one.

    35. 2gravel – Four of my nephews children are ‘them’.

      It’s a challenge as he lives very near by and they are used to trying to wrap me around their very little fingers.

    37. janice – 😆 My indulgence silver Merc is the only one around with child seating on the black leather!

    40. Fiona,
      I think Shorten is still struggling psychologically more so than the others. He took longer than the others to succumb to the pressure and I have no doubt he is still grappling with the ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybes’. Probably is still having nightmares about the whole bloody mess.

    42. 2gravel – They are fun. I got ’rounded up’ comprehensibility by an almost 3 year old for going outside into the courtyard in my socks a while ago.

      I found some shoes and returned. 😀

    43. Time will tell how long Clive Palmer enjoys the support of the nongs who voted for him. I guess if he manages to give the abbott a headache or two his success in entering parliament might not be such a bad thing. It will be interesting to watch how the old bishop handles him in QT.

    45. Two points:
      1) I’ve always thought Palmer was there to drag votes away from ALP
      2) During the NPC address by George Wright , he answered a question with an unusual reply.
      The question was basically “…who was running the show in the campaign…?”
      His reply was ” …Kevin had earned the right to run the campaign…” or wtte.
      This was met by some laughter from the audience and afterwards I thought it was an answer that allowed someone to take whatever they wanted from it.
      To me, I thought he was saying that Rudd took over and the success or failure clearly rests on his shoulders

    46. I think foreverjanice is on the money.

      I’m starting to come around to Shorten, perhaps because he hasn’t said all that much. Realisticly…. Shorten does understand the depth and scope of the power that big money has. To take them on? A well planned, properly executed and extremely disciplined campaign is essential. Just like the one they used against Labor. Though Shorten isn’t going to have the luxury of journalists malleable to the point of self fellatio and anal hygiene. Not to mention the exploding egos’ of the treacherous.

      Listening to Palmer banging his gums about lost votes, Cambell Newman and every other thing that vexs him. It could be the case that there is enough noise anyway…why add to it?

    47. All the Press Gallery failed their readers and their country in the way they reported the three years of the Gillard Prime Ministership. No exceptions – not Oakes just because he occasionally dissed Abbott. Not Laura nor Lenore despite their being relatively fair to Labor on Insiders. All missed the impact of the misogyny speech and all went along with the pathetic alibi for missing of ‘context’. Murphy was worse for her banality and even for defending the way the Gallery decided what was news. In this article she has rediscovered her thinking:
      http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/31/bruce-hawkers-diary-a-memven woir-deeply-fascinating-for-all-the-wrong-reasons?CMP=twt_gu (thanks Leone)

      I liked this bit
      …and the truth Labor effectively trapped itself inside when it decided enduring values could take a backseat to a collective, deeply desperate instinct to save the furniture; when it decided its only workable resort was tricks and various appeasements to cling on to power.

      The pompous fool had no plan for governing after knocking over the leader actually delivering government!

    48. rnm1953.
      Exactly. George Wright made a couple of roundabout comments like that. IMO the whole Party has to eat the Rudd shit sandwich and if you read their body language, you know for sure how unpleasant it is for them. For instance, after Mike Kelly conceded defeat he said that people told him his support of Rudd and because Labor switched back to Rudd cost him a swag of votes. Mike Kelly said many voters in his electorate thanked him for giving them excellent representation but said they couldn’t vote for him with Rudd as leader. So, one wonders how much furniture Rudd saved – I firmly believe he didn’t save so much as a small wonky coffee table.

    49. I firmly believe he didn’t save so much as a small wonky coffee table.

      Given that I’ve heard that Western Sydney Labor candidates removed Rudd from their advertising you’re most likely right. I wonder if this also happened anywhere else?

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