“Steady, Eth ” . . .

Fiona Uncategorized

(Image Credit: BBC: Take It From Here – The Glums)

So many Captain’s Nose Picks bleeding – haemorrhaging even – in such a short time:

The Elder Bishop and her sudden relegation to cattle class

Marriage Equality over abbott’s decaying corpse (okay, that may alter come Wednesday – but I suspect too little too late)

Dyson Heydon and cognitive ease (failing to be cognizant of bias when it’s in your comfort zone)

A brand-new Speaker who wasn’t Captain Nose-Pick’s choice – much to Captain Nose-Pick’s wattle-wobbling fury

That brave whistle-blower, Kathy Jackson, and the missing $million plus (“Whaddaya mean, that $1.4mill was supposed to go to the *sharply indrawn breath* plebs?”)

The ABC will be Killing Bill next Monday (Typical lefty ABC – too little too late)

Not to mention ongoing security warnings about DEF KULTS in front of a gazillion or three Union Jacks Australian flags (Who the hell do these uppity colonials think they are, pretending to have their own flag?)

Oh, and who let the cat out of the bag about that thoroughly dee bloke Heydon being on the selection panel to choose the only possible candidate for the Rhodes Scholarship? Heads will roll.

* * * * * * *

Oops, someone seems to have gatecrashed the séance through the Ouija board’s back gate. Sorry about that . . .

I keep telling myself to calm down; it’s too early to order nonstop popcorn; almost anything could happen – but we might, just possibly might be on the cusp of viewing the Great Unhingement.

Or not.

Whateves.

Sit back, folks (fasten your seatbelts – it could well be rough) and enjoy.

(Though I still and really want him to stay until we hear those words that will be ripped from his guts – when he finally gives his post-election concession speech . . .)

462 thoughts on ““Steady, Eth ” . . .”

  1. SNAFU

    By way of the gutless, the government’s talking points leaked into the public domain via Fairfax. We learned that the prime minister stuck to the script well but there were a few points that were too silly. I am paraphrasing here but the message ran along the lines of “we may be bad but Labor were worse”. The document arrived shortly after Eric Abetz described leakers as gutless.

    http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2015/aug/19/philip-ruddock-critical-of-tony-abbotts-green-laws-politics-live#comment-57775471

  2. The laughs keep coming and even the journos are having a giggle. This time the PMO’s talking points for the day. Leaked of course.

    Repeat after me: our cabinet is functioning exceptionally well.

    James Massola of Fairfax has one of those gutless leaks from the government. It is the talking points from PMO this morning.

    1)We don’t comment on cabinet discussions

    2)The government is focused on delivering jobs and growth. Just yesterday the government announced its decision on lawfare

    3)In contrast to the experiences of Rudd and Gillard governments, our cabinet is functioning exceptionally well. Everyone knows that under Labor, cabinet submissions were almost never lodged on time and would instead more often arrive on the day or weekend before a cabinet meeting. Julia Gillard sent her bodyguard to NSC meetings. Our cabinet processes are far more effective and productive than Labor’s chaos.

    Having followed the government interviews all day, I can report that no one has delivered the Julia-Gillard-sent-her-bodyguard talking point.Perhaps today’s competition should be around the theme of “talking points too stupid to mention”.

    http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2015/aug/19/philip-ruddock-critical-of-tony-abbotts-green-laws-politics-live

  3. Craig Thomson has been bankrupted by the HSU saga and his reputation is in tatters – now perhaps mad Micheal Smith will leave him alone

  6. More on the connections between Heydon and Abbott.

    Abbott and Heydon’s long history. The connections between Prime Minister Tony Abbott and embattled royal commissioner Dyson Heydon continue, with an enterprising scribe digging up this article from 1993. It shows that Heydon was a member of the legal committee for the Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, of which Abbott was the executive director. While it’s not surprising — Heydon’s conservatism is no secret — it’s another straw. Will one break the camel’s back?

    http://www.crikey.com.au/2015/08/19/tips-and-rumours-1436/

    And there’s that word again – ’embattled’…….

  10. He has lost the plot, well and truly

    Abbott says Shorten is:

    silent in the face of racism.

  12. Abbott really going for the flailing about style today. Punching madly in all directions.

  16. From the Guardian’s coverage of QT. Sounds on the mark.

    “The reason the government is focussing on the FTA, by the way, is because I’m told by those who know that union TV ads about labour provisions are biting.”

  17. Nothing new there

    In a not entirely comprehensible answer, Joyce says …

  20. Madam Asbestos joins the OTT today. Treason she cries.

    “The leader of the opposition is in lock step with Labor’s union masters who are running a campaign of economic treason against our nation’s interests…”

  21. Abbott’s hysteria dial turned to 11 with his “It’s actually a criminal offence to attack a serving commissioner”.

  22. The noddies should make the most of the time they have left. The lot of them are likely to get the boot in the next election. If they nod hard enough their empty heads might well fall off.

  24. Shorten’s giving another great speech. Ripping strips off the Abbott government, with ridicule.

    Great riposte to Christensen’s heckling too – “You’ve been to Reclaim Australia, we’ve heard enough from you.”

  25. Abbott is resorting to making ‘That’s iilegal!’ accusations. Really, really desperate now.

    I’d like to see him take someone from a union to court on this. Yes, it could be taken as an offence –

    ROYAL COMMISSIONS ACT 1902 – SECT 6O

    Contempt of Royal Commission
    (1) Any person who intentionally insults or disturbs a Royal Commission, or interrupts the proceedings of a Royal Commission, or uses any insulting language towards a Royal Commission, or by writing or speech uses words false and defamatory of a Royal Commission, or is in any manner guilty of any intentional contempt of a Royal Commission, shall be guilty of an offence.

    Penalty: Two hundred dollars, or imprisonment for three months.

    (2) If the President or Chair of a Royal Commission or the sole Commissioner is a Justice of the High Court, or a Judge of any other Federal Court, of the Supreme Court of a Territory or of the Supreme Court or County Court or District Court of a State, he or she shall, in relation to any offence against subsection (1) of this section committed in the face of the Commission, have all the powers of a Justice of the High Court sitting in open Court in relation to a contempt committed in face of the Court, except that any punishment inflicted shall not exceed the punishment provided by subsection (1) of this section

    http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/rca1902224/s6o.html

    But a good lawyer could deal with that and have it all dismissed. There is no mention in the legislation of what can be done when a commissioner acts corruptly, or shows bias, nor is there any mention of pointing out such behaviour being considered an offence. The legislation assumes all commissioners are squeaky clean and unbiased.

    It would be worth paying a $200 fine to stand up during the TURC proceedings and yell ‘Heydon is a biased wanker’.

  27. Oh what the heck. Let’s have the full catastrophe. I did post the link yesterday, but pictures are much more fun. More on which Coaliton MPs would lose their seats if an election could be held now.

    Coalition MPs who could have lost their seats based on uniform 7.5 per cent swing
    Nickolas Varvaris
    Luke Howarth
    Peter Hendy
    Karen McNamara
    Michelle Landry
    Craig Laundy
    Rick Wilson
    Eric Hutchinson
    Nathasha Griggs
    David Coleman
    Matt Williams
    Kevin Hogan
    Brett Whiteley
    Ann Sudmalis
    Fiona Scott
    Lucy Wicks
    Michael Sukkar
    Ross Vasta
    Sarah Henderson
    Andrew Nikolic
    Jason Wood
    Teresa Gambaro
    Bert van Manen
    Louise Markus
    Ken Wyatt
    Bruce Billson
    Warren Entsch
    Ewen Jones
    Ken O’Dowd
    Steve Irons
    Peter Dutton
    Wyatt Roy
    Andrew Southcott
    Tony Smith
    Luke Simpkins
    George Christensen
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/the-sea-of-coalition-mps-who-would-have-lost-their-seats-had-an-election-been-held-at-the-weekend-20150817-gj123w.html

  28. Aguirre

    He did sound good . There was something different about the delivery which whatever it was I hope he keeps.

  32. Another blow to the credibility of TURC. Written last December but ignored, of course, because Mrs Jackson was supposedly a star witness.

    Failure to deal with Kathy Jackson undermines credibility of Royal Commission

    The credibility of the Royal Commission into trade union governance and corruption should suffer a serious blow from its glaring omissions on the allegedly corrupt behaviour of Kathy Jackson and how it has treated her throughout these hearings.
    The inquiry has always appeared politically motivated but the question was, despite this, was it a worthwhile process to root out corruption in the union movement and lead to a well-needed overhaul of questionable governance practices around slush funds and the like. The jury has been out on that.
    Yet the 1817-page interim report by Commissioner Dyson Heydon dealt with a range of issues both serious and trivial but ignored Jackson. There was an oblique reference, without naming her, that other issues to do with the Health Services Union would be dealt with in a future report.
    This inquiry, as the union movement has claimed, is a witchhunt and a waste of money if it is prepared to recommend charges against some other union officials for relatively minor transgressions but ignore the conduct of Jackson, a Coalition hero for exposing corruption in her union

    http://www.smh.com.au/national/failure-to-deal-with-kathy-jackson-undermines-credibility-of-royal-commission-20141219-12aof9.html

  33. Fiona

    You know those ignorant towel-heads won’t mind.

    Aircraft have proved time and time again not to be decisive.

    Useful in defence but not much in offence if there is no real co-ordinated ground attack.

  34. Fiona

    Towel heads

    Was it Nikita Khrushchev who asked his interpreter at an international conference ‘who is the guy with a dish cloth on his head? (= Arafat!)

  35. Moving on to Syria ? Does that mean Abbott’s Airborne Armada “mission accomplished” in Iraq ?

  38. I will give Abbott marks for one thing. He wore his usual suit. The Rodent used to crack me up when he “went bush” . There he’d be in Akubra (not always) ,blue plaid country road shirt, moleskin trews and RM Williams boots. All crispy new with the creases still left from the packet as he tried to look’ rural’. He always looked so natural 😆

  41. Fwark Abbott, Fwark ’em all, these b’tards starving the states of funds and trying to destroy TAFE by doing so.

    I loathe and despise that stinking toe-rag, that destroyer of human ambition and well-being, that rotten ugly bully we have for a PM.

    I have to withdraw from my woodworking course because I have already done one, and am doing a writing course at TAFE. They have cut the subsidised courses to one person person, total. So if you have done a subsidised course you cannot do another. Someone like me, who wants to build on my certificate 2 in Woodwork, cannot do a Certificate 3, unless they pay the full cost. Well, I would pay the full cost if it was at all BLOODY AFFORDABLE. I cannot even get a pension card discount. The full cost of the course is $1500 a subject. FIFTEEN HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!

    If I do one subject per semester, that is $3000 a year. Where the hell does someone on a pension or the dole get three bloody grand a year?

    And this is an ALP state which is trying to keep its TAFE system viable. However Abbott dudded us out of $80 million (at least) and TAFE courses will be subsidised for retrenched Holdens workers, out of work because of that incompentent fool Hockey who is not a Treasurer’s bootlace,

    So the rest of us just trying to improve their lives have to step aside and go without.

    I hope a colony of fire-ants nests in your stinking arske, Tony fawkwit Abbott.

  42. Abbott’s idea of suitable attire for the bush is a pale blue shirt instead of a white one, and no tie. He always looks so out of place…..

  44. puffytmd

    “I hope a colony of fire-ants nests in your stinking arske, Tony fawkwit Abbott”

    I hope your wish comes true. Looked at some TAFE course prices earlier in the year and was horrified to see how high the fees had got up to. Some were double or near triple your costs. BASTARDS !!!

    May I suggest and upgrade from Fire ants to Bullet ants. Rated world’s most painful insect sting.

  46. Puffy

    That is disgusting. We were all so pleased and excited for you. Would love to win Lotto, but don’t buy tickets, to help you out. 😦

  47. Thanks everyone.

    I am casting about for some woodworking groups, but they won’t have the large machines I like to use. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR bloody Abbott.

    Fire ants AND bull ants.

  49. puffy
    The destruction of TAFE across the country SHOULD be a huge election issue, but it won’t be. Not unless those affected by the funding cuts make a lot of noise.

    We tried to make it an election issue in NSW, but no-one much cared. Now the cuts are really starting to bite and those who are finding their jobs threatened are starting to get anxious. They should have listened instead of acting like sheep and voting National.

    At my local TAFE the job losses roll on. first they ‘restructured’ the IT department, now the admin staff are being put through the ‘spill and fill’ process and many of them will lose their jobs. Next it will be teachers. The place is already looking like a ghost town, according to No 1 son, who works there and should know. Students just can’t afford the incredibly high fees. He expects tumble weeds blowing through the campus any day now.

    The institute director, promoted way beyond her capabilities (she should be wiping down tables in the canteen, which might also be beyond her) is assuring teaching staff their jobs are safe. Our useless state MP agrees with her. Pfffft. The federal idiot, over-privileged git that he is, doesn’t even seem to know we have a TAFE campus here.

    Yeah. Sure those teaching jobs are safe, until next week, or next month……

    http://www.portnews.com.au/story/3287899/job-cuts-likely-for-tafe/?cs=257

  50. It’s destroy TAFE so all the LNP hucksters providing bullshit courses can suck on the gubbermint’s teat.

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