31/03/2017 Friday

joe6pack Uncategorized
The Eiffle Tower opened on this day in 1889
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And many other things occurred on this date
1991
Albania offers a multi-party election for the first time in 50 years.
1980
President Jimmy Carter deregulates the banking industry.
1970
U.S. forces in Vietnam down a MIG-21, the first since September 1968.
1967
President Lyndon Johnson signs the Consular Treaty, the first bi-lateral pact with the Soviet Union since the Bolshevik Revolution.
1966
An estimated 200,000 anti-war demonstrators march in New York City.
1960
The South African government declares a state of emergency after demonstrations lead to the deaths of more than 50 Africans.
1954
The siege of Dien Bien Phu, the last French outpost in Vietnam, begins after the Viet Minh realize it cannot be taken by direct assault.
1949
Winston Churchill declares that the A-bomb was the only thing that kept the Soviet Union from taking over Europe.
1948
The Soviet Union begins controlling the Western trains headed toward Berlin.
1945
The United States and Britain bar a Soviet supported provisional regime in Warsaw from entering the U.N. meeting in San Francisco.
1941
Germany begins a counter offensive in North Africa.
1940
La Guardia airport in New York officially opens to the public.
1939
Britain and France agree to support Poland if Germany threatens to invade.
1933
To relieve rampant unemployment, Congress authorizes the Civilian Conservation Corps .
1921
Great Britain declares a state of emergency because of the thousands of coal miners on strike.
1918
Daylight Savings Time goes into effect throughout the United States for the first time.
1917
The United States purchases the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million.
1916
General John Pershing and his army rout Pancho Villa‘s army in Mexico.
The Eiffel Tower in Paris officially opens on the Left Bank as part of the Exhibition of 1889.
1880
The first electric street lights ever installed by a municipality are turned on in Wabash, Indiana.
1862
Skirmishing between Rebels and Union forces takes place at Island 10 on the Mississippi River.
1836
The first monthly installment of The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens is published in London.
1790
In Paris, France, Maximilien Robespierre is elected president of the Jacobin Club.
Meanwhile in Australia on the 31/03/2017
The 18c  amendment act was defeated in the senate
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/mar/31/coalition-should-seek-fresh-mandate-for-18c-reform-inquiry-chair-says
Tough Titties you smug wanker
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This entitled one is having a bad day
http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/michaelia-cash-grilled-over-the-minimum-wage-by-3aws-neil-mitchell/news-story/621a0c9e4b5ee5e8e194a34b97dc8dba
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And this is certain to lose the Libs more votes
http://www.news.com.au/finance/money/tax/government-considers-goon-tax-proposal/news-story/70834fe037b013e2d3657a5a74860a31
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So I would think it will be remembered as a pretty good day for B. Shorten and the Labor team.
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 What will next Friday look like?

643 thoughts on “31/03/2017 Friday”

  1. Leonetwo

    “Spotlight on China as new Emissions Trading System is set to revamp the global market.”
    .
    Sigh, back in the days of Ruddbot MkI the Chinese boss cocky said that they wanted to study our ETS and design their ETS so as to be compatible with ours so as to allow trade between the two. Then along came the Minchin and Robb scum.

  2. Labor has accused the banking regulator [APRA] of having a “co-dependent” relationship with Australia’s banks, saying it rarely reveals publicly the bad behaviour it has discovered.

    Ed Husic, the shadow minister for the digital economy, says the dysfunctional arrangement is preventing shareholders from taking earlier action against banks doing the wrong thing.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/apr/06/banking-regulator-rarely-reveals-bad-behaviour-says-labor

  5. He’s coming for you, Fizza!

    Peter Dutton has accepted that the government’s continued poor performance in polls affects Malcolm Turnbull’s hold on the leadership, and that the prime minister would also accept the point.

    The immigration minister conceded the link in an interview on 2GB Radio on Thursday in which he criticised the Coalition’s performance in the 2016 election for failing to counter Labor scare campaigns on Medicare.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/apr/06/poor-polling-will-affect-malcolm-turnbulls-hold-on-top-job-peter-dutton

  6. In an exclusive interview with the BBC, the Nobel peace prize winner acknowledged problems in Rakhine state, where most Rohingya people live.
    But she said ethnic cleansing was “too strong” a term to use.
    Instead, Myanmar’s de-facto leader said the country would welcome any returning Rohingya with open arms.
    “I don’t think there is ethnic cleansing going on. I think ethnic cleansing is too strong an expression to use for what is happening,” she told the BBC’s special correspondent Fergal Keane.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39507350

  8. Ms Suu Kyi is not telling the truth. I don’t think she can do anything about the Rohingya. She’s not in charge. She’s just a puppet.

  12. This hi-tech water proofing of NBN nodes is pretty similar to what they do in the copper pits with woolworths shopping bags & insulation tape.

    It doesn’t work there so I can’t see it working to protect nodes from water intrusion destroying the complex, delicate electronics inside them. Especially as they are connected up to 240 volt main line electricity.

    There could potentially be a “fizz”event occur. If there are similar flood events every year, I wonder how the NBN can ever afford to replace hundreds or more of these expensive white elephants every year.

    I expect there will be dozens of them destroyed here in Rockhampton alone but when you consider the northern NSW floods and that in SE Qld & the Gold Coast……………..

    I think Turnbulls sooner, cheaper and faster NBN is going to catch up with him & Abbott before they are too much older.

    One good thing I see for them is lower barber costs as they will not have too much hair to worry about within a year or too. 😉

    • I presume those boxes are sitting on concrete pads. There’s no way you could stop water getting into the base just by using plastic and tape. And there’s always the very likely prospect of someone coming along and ripping the plastic, just because they can.

      Do they turn off the power supply to nodes when there’s flood water around or do they just leave it on and hope no-one gets electrocuted?

  13. Bad polls?

    Terrorists may be targeting the Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey, according to information received by the Australian government.

    At a media conference in Canberra the veterans’ affairs minister, Dan Tehan, said no further information could be provided about the nature of the threat but commemorations would go ahead with a high level of security.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/apr/06/terrorists-may-be-targeting-anzac-day-commemorations-at-gallipoli

  15. Something that has made me laugh ever since I moved to Rockhampton is how they ever decided to call the lowest part of the city “Depot Hill”!

    All the high-set houses in that suburb have water almost lapping their floor boards and any low set ones, have water right through their premises every time there is a flood event larger than 8.00 mtrs.

    They are all smart enough to make sure their motor vehicles are securely parked above any flood level, something I noticed was conspicuously absent in clips from the southern Qld/Northern NSW clips I saw on TV.

    Thousands of motor vehicles covered in flood water that should/ could have been secured above flood level without a great deal of effort.

    Human nature seems to be at its worst when the opportunity presents its self to gain more from an insurance claim on their aging vehicle than if they traded it in on a newer model or tried to sell it privately on the net etc!

    Have a close look at the stuff people are throwing out after the floods have receded. If it’s anything like I have seen since Cylone Althea hit Townsville in 1971 where people virtually had their whole household contents replaced courtesy of gullible insurance assessors.

    Wonderful to have fading curtains, beer stained carpets & rugs, furniture showing the effects of years of use and just about everything else in the house that would be nice to have an insurance claim replace with a new one replaced with no questions asked.

    If people wonder why their house & contents insurance contents have sky-rocketed in the last couple of decades, then what I have just posted is most of the answer.

  18. Who knows!

    He has it right about suburban trains getting priority

    So it’s time for Australia’s favourite annual exercise in transport futility: suggesting a high-speed train link that will almost certainly not happen. Usually these exercises in highly desirable fantasy centre on Sydney-Melbourne connections, but the 2017 version instead looks at Sydney-Canberra.

    Spanish train manufacturer Talgo is proposing using its high-speed trains to provide a service on the existing Sydney-Canberra line. Currently, that’s served by three trains a day in each direction, a trip that takes a little over four hours. Talgo reckons it can use the same network and deliver a two-hour service between the cities, simply by running at higher speeds.

    https://www.finder.com.au/why-that-sydney-canberra-high-speed-train-is-a-pipe-dream

  19. BK,

    We are ok where we are, (about 50 mtrs above maximum flood level)

    Most of the population here are treating this as just a normal event.

    The media though have helicopters flying constantly overhead, cameras are set up to catch the moment a millimeter of flood level varies above or below any predicted level but most of us couldn’t give a damn.

    It happens. Every settlement in this country was built on the banks of a watercourse. There was a good reason for this of course.

    It enabled the inhabitants of these communities to access water easily.

    With modern technology and advanced pump technology, communities could be located much further above flood levels.

    But. The costs of moving inhabitants to levels above that which are subject to flood events are prohibitive and as the great majority of these people are generally found in the lower percentiles of these social groups, naturally, no political movement associated with the LNP are going to express any interest in relieving any distress they might encounter.

  20. https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2017/april/1490965200/richard-cooke/alt-wrong a very good read

    https://onlythesangfroid.wordpress.com/2017/04/06/a-series-of-congratulatory-regrets-a-quick-post-on-richard-cookes-alt-wrong/ a response to the first one

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/05/syria-chemical-gas-attack-donald-trump-nikki-haley-assad

    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/apr/06/fairfax-journalists-condemn-proposed-30m-job-cuts-and-political-positioning

  21. I have run out of any sympathy for any journalist that loses their job. They have bowed down to their employers wishes to save their jobs. Rubbished unions, people who have had to rely on welfare, the safety net that has made Australia a great country. Covering up and hiding stuff about the lnp. Bugger them, let them feel the stress and horror many Aussies are going through because they followed the lnp and their bosses wishes.

  24. Good Lord.

    Not only does Adani get access to as much water as they want, they want to build two dams as well to provide even more. One of the dams was not mentioned in the EIS. They don’t have licences for wither, but I’m sure Premier Anastacia will be only too happy to fix that little hitch.

    What next? Access to convict slave labour perhaps?

    ‘High and dry’: Adani seeks additional surface water to feed giant coal mine
    http://www.canberratimes.com.au/environment/high-and-dry-adani-seeks-additional-surface-water-to-feed-giant-coal-mine-20170405-gve42a.html

  25. Same with those power station workers. they are not getting tossed out on the bones of their bums, unless they only just signed on.

  26. First they came for the teachers, but I said nothing because I was a Journalist.
    Then they came for the car manufacturing workers, but I said nothing because I was a Journalist.
    Then they came for the retail and hospitality staff, but I said nothing because was a Journalist…

    Youse know the rest.

  30. “I think he’s from one of those planets 600 million light years away they have discovered over the last 24 hours”

    The new post-ABC ABC podcast, “Cosmic Vertigo” is okay; light entertainment with a bit of science:
    http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/cosmicvertigo/

    P.S. Any ideas on how to get iTunes to play podcast as a playlist again, instead of stopping after Every. Damn. Episode??
    (It may have started a few updates ago – it’s been a while since I had multiple episodes to catch up on.)

  32. If you are going to watch that Brian Cox thing then you should, really should, check the “back on Earth” segment on ABC2.

    Should all be on iView.

    Very funny to watch Julia Zemiro trying to keep up, much as I think she’s great.

  35. Good morning Dawn Patrollers. Quite a lot to read tiday!

    Bernie Fraser has savaged the Fair Work Commission’s cuts to penalty rates and the Turnbull government’s company tax cuts, saying the measures will further entrench inequality but do little to produce jobs and growth. Cop that Malcolm et al!
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/former-rba-governor-bernie-fraser-says-penalty-rate-cut-will-produce-inequality-not-jobs-20170406-gvezd1.html
    The banking lobby has joined calls for the government to examine tax incentives for property investors as part of efforts to cool surging house price rises in Sydney and Melbourne. Soon there will be nowhere for the government to hide.
    http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/tax-breaks-need-to-be-examined-as-part-of-efforts-to-cool-housing-market-bligh-20170406-gvf5uh.html
    In another good contribution John Hewson writes that the Turnbull government has effectively snookered itself with its own rhetoric and exaggeration. He says it’s time for the government to admit that it needs to change its narrative and, in doing so, start to focus on achieving outcomes of significance to voters in their daily struggles.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-government-has-snookered-itself-with-exaggerated-beltway-wins-20170406-gver6f.html
    Laura Tingle reckons the government’s in a real mess. Google.
    /opinion/columnists/laura-tingle/things-arent-quite-going-to-plan-for-malcolm-turnbulls-government-20170406-gvf5z2
    The ATO just announced that it has slapped tax bills to the value of $2.9b on a number of multinationals. This journo reckons we’ll be lucky to get a half of it back.
    http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/ato-unlikely-to-recoup-the-29b-its-chasing-from-multinationals-20170406-gvewsz.html
    Paul McGough wonders if Trump has done his homework before he meets with China’s President Xi. today. I think we all know the answer to that question.
    http://www.smh.com.au/world/donald-trump-faces-off-against-chinese-president-xi-jinping-but-has-the-us-president-done-his-homework-20170406-gvfjrf.html
    Recriminations over the Liberal Party’s disappointing result at last year’s election have flared ahead of the presentation of a much-anticipated internal review to party powerbrokers today.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/secret-liberal-party-review-to-lay-bare-reasons-for-2016-election-failures-20170406-gvf5ls.html
    Michelle Grattan reckons that The Liberal Party will need a miracle worker to take on the job to replace Nutt.
    https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-liberals-headhunt-for-a-miracle-worker-75871
    Simon Benson writes that the review of the Liberal Party’s 2016 election campaign will lay the blame for the Coalition’s near loss on a collective failure by senior¬ levels of the government over three years, as well as near-fatal mistakes by the party’s ¬campaign machine. Turnbull and Abbott won;t come out of it unscathed he says. Google.
    /national-affairs/election-review-three-years-of-mistakes-dented-liberals/news-story/ab76c6fc7831f315b9ac5985dc48ce0b
    The Liberal front runner for the North Shore byelection has been caught telling porkies. Again.
    http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/north-shore-liberal-candidate-felicity-wilson-backtracks-on-claim-about-her-link-to-the-seat-20170404-gvd2vf.html

  36. Section 2 . . .

    Meanwhile Liberal Party campaign operatives are dismayed that Tony Abbott has taken little part in the defence of two state seats located inside his federal electorate of Warringah, both of which are up for byelections on Saturday.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/no-peddle-power-liberals-critical-of-tony-abbotts-byelections-absence-20170406-gvfdj2.html
    Stephen Koukoulas thinks our economy might have hit the brick wall.
    https://thekouk.com/item/483-was-that-the-sound-of-the-economy-hitting-a-brick-wall.html
    Australia’s pesticides authority is struggling to approve crop protection products on time, as industry leaders blame poor results on staff departures before its move to Armidale. Hardly surprising!
    http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/public-service/rate-of-apvmas-ontime-pesticides-approvals-plummets-ahead-of-move-to-armidale-20170321-gv3jdv.html
    Well-off Australians are slashing their personal tax bills at a cost of billions of dollars a year to other taxpayers through the widening use of secretive family trusts. It’s the ta minimisation tool that nobody wants to talk about.
    http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/investigations/the-tax-minimisation-tool-that-nobody-wants-to-talk-about-20170406-gvet44.html
    The Coalition wasted four years in the fight against ‘transfer pricing’ by multinational tax avoiders only to end up back where Labor started, says former treasurer Wayne Swan.
    http://thenewdaily.com.au/money/finance-news/2017/04/06/wayne-swan-transfer-pricing/
    The courageous Chrissie Foster implores politicians to act upon the criminals protected by the Catholic church. Google.
    /opinion/act-now-against-the-criminals-protected-by-the-catholic-church/news-story/39f9195ef5662d72120d87bcb280df34
    NSW’s Joint Anti Child Exploitation team has been landing one arrest per week. This one is a biggy.
    http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/a-current-affair-reporter-ben-mccormack-charged-over-child-porn-allegations-20170406-gvf2rx.html
    The inefficient largesse of the Coalition’s management of office space, relocation and renewal are exposed.
    http://www.smh.com.au/national/public-service/21000-empty-desks-sit-empty-as-public-service-pushes-ahead-with-new-buildings-20170404-gvd312.html
    Failed builder Watersun Homes could have been trading insolvent for more than a year before its collapse, accepting money from customers while contractors complained about unpaid bills worth tens of thousands of dollars, according to the company’s administrators. Mongrels!
    http://www.theage.com.au/business/property/failed-home-builder-watersun-homes-could-have-been-trading-insolvent-20170406-gvfegn.html
    It looks like Bob Day is down and out. Google.
    /business/exsenator-bob-day-left-with-just-4000-in-the-bank-financial-statement-reveals/news-story/512beb784274d875f8b7dd360a79f954

  37. Section 3 . . .

    Reform of the regulation and administration of health services in Australia is long overdue, writes Dr Don Kane and Dr John Stokes.
    https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/the-conundrum-of-regulation-and-administration-of-health-services-in-australia,10183
    Trump showed what a weak president he is when he was asked by the White House press pool about Syria and removing Assad, “I guess he’s running things, so I guess something should happen there.”Under Donald Trump, American leadership and courage have been replaced by “I guess.”
    http://www.politicususa.com/2017/04/06/trump-gave-weakest-pathetic-answer-hear-syria.html
    Turnbull has vowed to continue cutting taxes.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/apr/06/malcolm-turnbull-says-we-cannot-and-will-not-stop-cutting-taxes
    The Australian’s John Durie writes “When your leadership fails you, cast around for someone to blame — and that’s what Scott Morrison is doing right now.” Google.
    /tablet-t3/tablet-t3/lifestyle/scott-morrison-and-liberals-seek-scapegoat-for-tax-fumbles/news-story/200f20289efe7ed45a50d146b8ddf262
    Richard Raber compares Peter Dutton to Adolf Eichmann.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/the-banality-of-peter-is-dutton-the-new-adolf-eichmann,10182
    Mike Pence will visit Australia later this month for meetings with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. He’ll bring his wife and family with him.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/us-vicepresident-mike-pence-will-meet-malcolm-turnbull-on-visit-to-shore-up-asiapacific-allies-20170406-gvfjyq.html
    NSW Sports Minister and WestConnex Minister Stuart Ayres has been accused of a conflict of interest after accepting GWS Giants corporate hospitality at least 16 times before announcing a major taxpayer-funded sponsorship for the club. How dumb can one get?
    http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/westconnex-minister-stuart-ayres-accused-of-conflict-of-interest-over-gws-giants-sponsorship-20170405-gvec1b.html
    Was Dutton stalking or just being honest when he said that continued poor polling could be affecting Turnbull’s hold on his position? Or both?
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/apr/06/poor-polling-will-affect-malcolm-turnbulls-hold-on-top-job-peter-dutton
    New details have emerged about the role President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, played in convincing the president to remove top political adviser Steve Bannon from the National Security Council.
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/04/06/jared-kushner-helped-push-steve-bannon-out-of-the-nsc_a_22029118/?utm_hp_ref=au-homepage
    Former sycophant and prize motormouth Bruce Bilson in his new position representing the franchise industry is intensely lobbying to water down legislation to prevent future worker exploitation scandals.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/bruce-billson-spearheads-campaign-to-water-down-worker-exploitation-bill-20170404-gvdaiv.html

  38. Section 4 . . .

    Adele Ferguson has her say about Bilson’s appearance on the scene.
    http://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace-relations/the-plot-to-kill-off-tough-new-wage-fraud-laws-20170406-gvf91j.html
    The lovely Michaelia Cash spits back at this week’s op-ed from Tanya Plibersek on the Fair Work Commission decision.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/labors-fair-work-claims-are-demonstrably-false-20170406-gvf6rv.html
    The satirical Tony Wright takes to the air with Hanson and Ashby in THAT plane.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/flying-high-pauline-hanson-james-ashby-and-the-plane-20170406-gvf0ku.html
    The Turnbull government is considering pursuing dumped senators Bob Day and Rod Culleton to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars to taxpayers. Senior government figures are discussing whether to go after the pair for up to $250,000 paid to them in parliamentary salaries and expenses last year.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/bob-day-rod-culleton-could-be-forced-to-repay-their-senate-salaries-allowances-20170406-gveykg.html
    The ACCC is taking Apple to court over its attempts to monopolise the repair of broken products. Could be interesting.
    http://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/iphone-error-53-accc-takes-apple-to-court-over-allegations-of-misleading-and-deceptive-behaviour-20170406-gves8o.html
    Sean Nicholls sees a big gap now NSW’s ICAC purview is confined to big issues.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/were-in-trouble-when-politicians-are-left-to-police-themselves-20170406-gverpv.html
    Richard Wolffe writes that Donald Trump and his dishonesty seep everywhere in Washington, and it is taking a toll on America’s claim to moral leadership – and harming its economy. He is leading the country into having a weak and paranoid government he says.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/06/donald-trump-weak-paranoid-president-government
    A sustainable future is possible if politics get out of the way.
    http://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace-relations/the-plot-to-kill-off-tough-new-wage-fraud-laws-20170406-gvf91j.html
    The SMH editorial looks at the cash economy and its effects.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-editorial/the-hidden-costs-of-cash-in-hand-20170404-gvdu7p.html
    Michael Gordon writes that recognising Aboriginal Australia is still in the too hard basket.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/recognising-aboriginal-australia-is-still-in-the-toohard-basket-20170406-gveygf.html

  39. Section 5 . . . with Cartoon Corner Part 1

    I don’t fancy Labor’s chances with this accusation.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/labor-demands-turnbull-government-investigate-its-own-minister-over-eligibility-cloud-20170406-gvfeld.html
    Duterte goes troppo in another way now, probably provoking China.
    http://www.smh.com.au/world/philippine-president-rodrigo-duterte-orders-troops-to-live-on-islands-in-south-china-sea-20170406-gvfibn.html
    The official portrait of first lady Melania Trump is jarring because her face appears to be heavily retouched, or perhaps just photographed through a lens smeared with Vaseline.
    http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/news-and-views/what-melanias-glamour-shot-official-photo-is-really-telling-us-20170405-gvepar.html

    Ron Tandberg on wealth distribution.

    Alan Moir dismantles the Baird legacy.

    Mark David applies the pub test to the company tax cuts.

  40. Section 6 . . . Cartoon Corner Part 2

    Broelman drops in on the Finance Department in the wake of the High Court decision on Bob Day.

    Glen leFevre at the golf game between Trump and Xi.

    Ron Tandberg and his view on the Pollie Pedal.

    Andrew Dyson has Morrison selecting his budget weapon.

    David Pope on Trump’s handling of foreign policy.

    MUST SEE! Jon Kudelka. “Who’s keeping score?”
    http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/a535adde902bf600784bb9675ea869d0

  41. Just compare this answer by Obama on a question about Syria to that you’d expect to come from Trump.

  42. This tweet is the sort of thing I was ranting about last night. Where were the ‘journalists’ while their mates, the lnp, were taking away all these right to strike etc? As Puffy said…….

  43. In all this blaming and whining about the government’s big losses last year has anyone mentioned the bleeding obvious?

    The voters didn’t like this government, they didn’t like Turnbull and if the polls are to believed they like them even less now. If this government drags on for another 12 months voters will not just dislike the whole sorry pack, they will loathe them.

    The Libs talk about turning the polls around. There’s no chance of that happening, not when this government is intent on squeezing every possible cent from those who can least afford it while the rich boys and girls get more. Turnbull might like to spend Easter reading The Oxford Histroy of the French Revolution, it might help him understand what happens when the rich get too greedy and the plebs get damn angry.

    There might be a chance of the polls improving if Turnbull could manage to grow a spine and could get tough with his right wingers but that’s never going to happen. It’s impossible for a vanilla blancmange to grow a spine.

    And – why is the near-defeat all Labor’s fault for telling the truth about this government’s plans for Medicare?

    • I’m afraid the CPG are currently stuck in their “How Turnbull can turn it around” phase, and there’s nothing we can do about it.

      This will soon be followed by the “Turnbull DID turn it around!” phase, on the back of a 1% swing to the Coalition in some poll, where we hear about how shouting or tram-travelling or some spurious announcement has restored Turnbull to primacy again. To be followed almost immediately by the “Oh, actually he didn’t turn it around” phase, which will see the CPG mired in gloom for a while. And on the cycle goes…

      In some alternate universe an alternate CPG is currently writing articles on the secret of Shorten’s success, what sort of a PM Shorten will be, and why we need an election pronto to break this ‘deadlock’ and fulfil the will of the people. And, you know, what an omnishambles the current government are.

    • I have told the great and good families of Melbourne buy all their properties through discretionary trusts enabling them to use negative gearing to buy their houses in the expensive leafy suburbs and stop ex-in-laws claiming half the assets of the marriage in divorce settlements

  48. Arnie might like to pop over here for a visit and have a blast at our government too.

    Schwarzenegger blasts Trump over kids.

    Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger took President Donald Trump to task for his budget plan, specifically for the cuts to after-school programs. Trump has proposed cutting the $1.2 billion that funds the 21st Century Community Learning Center grant program as part of the 13.5% cut in the education budget.

    “Why would he do that?” Schwarzenegger said. “Why would he want to balance the budget on the backs of those kids? Kids are the most vulnerable citizens. Kids are our future

    http://secondnexus.com/politics-and-economics/schwarzenegger-blasts-trump-kids/

    • ‘Wanker’ doesn’t go anywhere near it. Mindless retaliation isn’t going to do anything except infuriate the Syrians.

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