The NSW Election – Gladys versus Michael.

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Demolition work on Allianz Stadium has been going ahead just days before this Saturday’s election.

I’m hoping this photo is predictive of the Coalition vote crashing across NSW.

444 thoughts on “The NSW Election – Gladys versus Michael.”

  2. Just a reminder –

    Like Oldfield, Latham will eventually have a fight with Hanson and leave the party.

  5. The lead up to the Iraq War was when I lost forever any faith in ‘the media’ . Lies that were exposed as such,sometimes within hours, would ,after a pause, be repeated again and again. Not just by the usual shit outlets of Fox news etc but the supposed setters of standards the claimers to the ‘paper of record” throne . The NYTs the Washington Posts etc. All revealed to be no more than propaganda outfits. Matt Tabibi with an article in The Rolling Stone looks back…………

    Anyway schadenfreunde overload at the Mueller report and the laughing stock they have made of themselves during 2 years of fevered RUSSIA COLLUSION TREASON claims. A pity someone like Trump was the beneficiary of the exposure of their stupidity.

    16 Years Later, How the Press That Sold the Iraq War Got Away With It
    In an excerpt from his new book Hate Inc., Matt Taibbi looks back at how the media built new lies to cover their early ones

    ……………………………….A lot of the people who made those mistakes are still occupying prominent positions, their credibility undamaged thanks to a new legend best articulated by New Yorker editor David Remnick, who later scoffed, “Nobody got that story completely right.”

    ’Nobody except the record number of people who marched against the war on February 15, 2003 — conservative estimates placed it between six and ten million worldwide (I marched in D.C.). Every one of those people was way ahead of Remnick.

    ………………………………………….The Washington Post and New York Times were key editorial-page drivers of the conflict; MSNBC unhired Phil Donahue and Jesse Ventura over their war skepticism; CNN flooded the airwaves with generals and ex-Pentagon stoolies, and broadcast outlets ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS stacked the deck even worse: In a two-week period before the invasion, the networks had just one American guest out of 267 who questioned the war, according to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting.

    https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/iraq-war-media-fail-matt-taibbi-812230/

    • What p*sses me off about US journalists, publications and the mass media in the West is their hypocrisy and their propensity to regurgitate government spin as fact, e.g. from The Atlantic article above:

      he (Trump) displayed one habit that I found beyond perplexing: He couldn’t stop praising Vladimir Putin. What made his obsequiousness so galling was that it often came in response to questions that warranted moral disdain: What about the assassination of journalists critical of the Russian government? Are you bothered by the invasion of Crimea?

      Not a word about the journalists deliberately assassinated reporting on the protests at the Gaza Apartheid Wall or the handover of the Golan Heights by Trump to Israel when the land is not Trumps or the USA to give away?

      kaffeeklatscher is right to debunk the lies ad deceit of the Western media.

  8. NSW Nats deputy leader and minister for regional water, primary industries and trade has resigned from the Berejiklian cabinet .

    https://www.smh.com.au/nsw-election-2019/angst-aggression-takes-toll-as-water-minister-niall-blair-bows-out-20190325-p517d8.html

    Blair will be siting on the back bench in the NSW Upper House, will not be putting his hand up for another ministry and apparently will not be serving all of his newly won eight year term. Why on earth didn’t he just quit ahead of the election?

  9. Q&A
    Monday 25th March at 9:35 pm (67 minutes)
    Roxane Gay, Craig Laundy, Tony Burke, Mehreen Faruqi And Teena Mcqueen: Tony Jones joins feminist writer Roxane Gay, retiring Government MP Craig Laundy, Shadow Minister for Environment, Water and Citizenship Tony Burke, Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi and Liberal Vice President Teena McQueen.

  11. How did this slip through at The Daily Telegraph ? 🙂

    Australia singled out for ‘resistance’ to move from coal at World Economic Forum
    MARCH 25, 2019
    Foreign economists for one the world’s largest think-tanks have turned to activism by publicly shaming Australia for not “abandoning coal”.

    The World Economic Forum released its energy transition index on Monday which singled out Australia for its “resistance” to moving away from coal
    World Economic Forum head of future energy Roberto Bocca targeted Australia saying it was one of only three large economies to lose marks “primarily due to their low scores on environmental sustainability”.
    https://outline.com/UX42tU

  14. Looks like May is gone and a GE is on

  17. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Gee that Teena MsQueen woman on Q and A last was a nasty, severely limited piece of work! Neil McMahon agrees with me, saying that she was the worst panellist in the show’s history.
    https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/train-wreck-tv-q-and-a-features-worst-panellist-in-show-s-history-20190326-p517i9.html
    Here’s The Guardian’s take on her extraordinary appearance.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/26/qa-train-wreck-liberal-teena-mcqueens-debut-goes-from-bad-to-worse
    Oh dear! Peter Hartcher drops a big truth bomb on Morrison. And there’s more to come tomorrow.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/he-was-in-it-right-up-to-his-neck-how-scott-morrison-deposed-a-prime-minister-20190312-p513jl.html
    And he follows through with this! Morrison as immigration minister proposed a multibillion-dollar program to build new mass detention facilities in Australia for asylum seekers who were living in the community on bridging visas, according to multiple informed sources.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/scott-morrison-s-9-billion-mass-detention-plan-20190325-p517dr.html
    The ABC is about to air two programs that will show that One Nation wanted millions from the NRA while planning to soften Australia’s gun laws. Nice mob, One Nation!
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-26/secret-recordings-show-one-nation-staffers-seeking-nra-donations/10936052
    Katharine Murphy looks at some of the latest Essential polling.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/26/coalition-trails-but-labors-vote-softens-slightly-in-nsw-guardian-essential-poll
    The SMH editorial says that Morrison’s economic woes have increased the risk of pork-barrelling.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/pm-s-economic-woes-increase-risk-of-pork-barrelling-20190325-p517f3.html
    David Crowe writes about how Shorten is picking a fight with employers and risking a clash with the unions over his plan to lift wages. His change to the Fair Work Act will frustrate business because it makes bigger wage increases more likely, but it may disappoint unions because it does not mandate the rate
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/support-for-bill-shorten-s-living-wage-plan-depends-on-trust-20190325-p517e2.html
    Peter van Onselen declares that the Liberals’ optimism after the NSW result is laughable.
    https://www.outline.com/RgnyKg
    Ben Grubb takes us through the Waleed Aly interview of Ardern,
    https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/i-m-deeply-sad-jacinda-ardern-opens-up-about-christchurch-attack-20190325-p517hk.html
    Labor will use legislation to direct the Fair Work Commission to take things such as inflation into its determinations, reports David Crowe.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-promises-to-introduce-new-minimum-living-wage-20190325-p517e5.html
    The Australian says that significant wage rises would begin flowing to 1.2m low-paid workers from next July under Bill Shorten’s ‘living wage’ policy.
    https://www.outline.com/StYU9D
    Here’s what one of our favourites Judith Sloan has to say about it.
    https://www.outline.com/93Ckss
    Shane Wright explains how tumbling interest rates on government debt will deliver Josh Frydenberg up to $2 billion in budget savings just in time for the federal election campaign but the fall is also pointing to growing major economic risks.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/falling-rates-expose-economic-dangers-while-delivering-josh-frydenberg-up-to-2b-20190325-p51784.html
    According to The Age Victoria’s pokies-owning pubs poured their biggest-ever political donation into the Daniel Andrews-led ALP as part of a $1 million campaign to deny the Greens the balance of power at the state election last November.
    https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/labor-big-winner-from-1m-pokies-donation-jackpot-20190325-p517ed.html
    Alexandra Smith reports that Liberal sources have said Berejiklian would be “much more assertive” when making decisions about who is in her new cabinet, as well as her priorities.
    https://www.smh.com.au/nsw-election-2019/environment-set-to-be-a-key-priority-as-berejiklian-secures-majority-government-20190325-p517gy.html
    Esther Han says that two contenders have emerged as potential leaders of the NSW Labor party.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/meet-the-likely-labor-contenders-chris-minns-and-jodi-mckay-20190325-p517c2.html
    The once-safe National Party seat of Barwon has fallen in the NSW election. Barwon encompasses approximately 44 per cent of the state and has been held by the party for more than 65 years. Watching the news on Sunday night, Coonamble farmer Rowena Macrae heard returning Premier Gladys Berejiklian say that losing Barwon was “in some ways a cry for help from Western NSW”. She disagrees.
    https://www.smh.com.au/nsw-election-2019/premier-we-cried-for-help-and-you-didn-t-listen-20190325-p517d6.html
    The State Election has catapulted NSW to the dubious honour of redneck capital of Australia, writes Dave Donovan.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/berejiklian-returned-in-nsw–the-new-redneck-capital-of-australia,12508
    Jenna Price believes and hope, no longer possible to have an openly racist leader in this country, except for the leader of a party like One Nation, which so far has garnered around 6 per cent of the vote in the Legislative Council and provided a public platform for failed and furious former Labor leader Mark Latham for the next eight years.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/a-premier-called-jihad-and-other-options-for-nsw-labor-20190325-p517ce.html
    Stephen Bartholomeusz says that the economic downturn that seems to be developing might well force a fresh burst of those unconventional policies inspired by the GFC.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/the-world-is-slowing-down-at-an-alarming-speed-20190325-p517ag.html
    Peter Martin writes that right now, the Coalition has a tiny opportunity to fix superannuation.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/right-now-the-coalition-has-a-tiny-opportunity-to-fix-superannuation-20190325-p5179b.html
    Superannuation supremo Garry Weaven says industry funds are the great disrupters of financial services, an “upstart army” that in 2018 outgrew funds owned by banks.
    https://www.outline.com/KqHm24
    Stephen Koukoulas says we should get ready for a cash rate cut in April.
    https://thekouk.com/item/673-get-ready-for-a-cash-rate-cut-in-april.html
    Australia has been known around the world for many years now as the rich, empty, selfish country that turns away boatloads of asylum seekers, pays people smugglers to take their human cargo elsewhere, incarcerates children and enacts other appalling human rights abuses. Alan Austin explores how it has come to this.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/australias-racist-image-and-the-communities-of-faith,12504
    Industry professor Warren Hogan writes that we should expect tax cuts and an emptying of the cupboards in a budget cleanout as the billions roll in.
    https://theconversation.com/expect-tax-cuts-and-an-emptying-of-the-cupboards-in-a-budget-cleanout-as-the-billions-roll-in-113727
    Supporters of the Coalition government’s plans to move public service jobs from Canberra have sounded a note of caution in backing the next decentralisation project. The relocation of 76 Murray-Darling Basin Authority positions to the bush should not drain its ACT office of policy expertise and disrupt its work managing Australia’s largest river system, farming and irrigation peak bodies have said.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/politics/federal/murray-darling-authority-can-t-afford-turbulence-in-relocation-advocates-20190325-p517cy.html
    The AFR says that the hard-edged legalistic approach adopted by ASIC is already having consequences for banks and individuals.
    https://www.outline.com/SZNnua
    Greg Jericho tells us why cost is the scariest part of going to the dentist in Australia.
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2019/mar/26/fear-factor-why-cost-is-the-scariest-part-of-going-to-the-dentist-in-australia
    Two new multimillion-dollar disputes over flammable cladding have hit the courts, the latest in a slew of litigation over who is to blame for incorporating the deadly materials into apartment buildings. It comes as a sprawling high-rise in Coburg built by the Victorian government and now partly managed for social housing was found to have flammable cladding.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/fresh-round-of-legal-challenges-over-apartments-with-flammable-cladding-20190325-p5179s.html
    John Fitzgerald writes that the role of China’s Confucius Institutes appears to be a form of political interference on behalf of a foreign government, directly funded by a foreign government. He says it belongs on the foreign interests register.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/china-funded-confucius-institutes-belong-on-foreign-influence-register-20190325-p517bg.html
    The ABC has reported that our bank regulator, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, has contracted NIDA to teach its staff “presentation skills” – effectively acting lessons – to the tune of $430,000. Theatre patrons and merchant bankers are up in arms.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/apra-goes-to-nida-send-in-the-clowns-20190324-p5174m.html
    Peter Wells declares that Facebook could limit hate if it was profitable to do so.
    https://www.smh.com.au/technology/facebook-could-limit-hate-if-it-was-profitable-to-do-so-20190325-p517ab.html
    Emma Koehn reports that financial advisers are being hit with thousands of dollars of course fees as they hit the books to comply with Australia’s new minimum study standards.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/small-business/financial-advisers-face-20-000-cost-as-new-standards-kick-in-20190325-p5177i.html
    Morrison has confirmed a report by The Australian Financial Review that he had been in talks with Nationals leader Michael McCormack to reach a peace deal on coal.
    https://www.outline.com/wwaDkG
    Elizabeth Knight reports that National Australia Bank will ditch its controversial “introducer” home loan referral program in an effort to clean up its reputation and practices in the wake of the royal commission as big banks compete on the speed with which they can improve their image.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/nab-to-ditch-controversial-home-loan-spotters-fees-20190325-p51796.html
    Older people are more digitally savvy, but aged care providers need to keep up, writes this reaearcher.
    https://theconversation.com/older-people-are-more-digitally-savvy-but-aged-care-providers-need-to-keep-up-113471
    Peter Hannam reveals that AGL’s dominance of the electricity sector after it bought up two former NSW government coal-fired power plants allowed it to lift market-wide wholesale prices to the tune of $3 billion a year when another rival producer closed.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/agl-s-use-of-huge-market-clout-costs-consumers-3b-a-year-report-20190325-p517a5.html
    Patrick Hatch tells us that Virgin Australia will send two senior managers to meet Boeing in the United States this week to hear the plane maker’s plans to return its troubled 737 MAX aircraft to the skies.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/virgin-australia-to-learn-boeing-s-737-max-flight-plans-20190325-p517di.html
    Major Australian telcos led by TPG Telecom’s David Teoh are demanding NBN Co stop targeting their business customers.
    https://www.outline.com/dm6Pvj
    Privatising SA Pathology would be a “weird experiment” reducing research and leading to medical test delays, says the state president of the AMA, Associate Professor William Tam.
    https://www.outline.com/LKEkwA
    It’s on again in the Middle East as the Israeli military says it has started bombing Gaza after rocket strike.
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/25/israeli-military-bombing-gaza-after-rocket-strike
    Bruce Wolpe writes that Trump is now unplugged. In his mind, he has won. He will resist any further constraints on what he does because he has beaten his enemies. His base will love him more for it.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/the-impeachment-of-donald-trump-is-dead-20190325-p517dh.html
    But now Democrats will zero in on a ‘obstruction’ to plot campaign against Trump.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/democrats-zero-in-on-obstruction-to-plot-campaign-against-trump-20190325-p517ax.html
    Here is The Guardian’s editorial view of the Mueller report. It says the report should be released in its entirety.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/25/the-guardian-view-on-the-mueller-report-release-it-in-full
    Outspoken California lawyer Michael Avenatti, whose profile rose rapidly when he represented a porn star who unsuccessfully sued Donald Trump, has been charged by federal prosecutors in New York with attempting to extort millions of dollars out of Nike.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/outspoken-lawyer-michael-avenatti-charged-with-trying-to-extort-nike-20190326-p517ic.html
    A clearly worthy nomination here for “Arsehole of the Week”.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/victim-raped-at-12-tells-court-of-pain-ex-priest-s-evil-acts-caused-20190325-p517fc.html

    Cartoon Corner

    David Rowe at bed time in the White House.

    David Pope channels My Fair Lady for Morrison. And have a look on his lap!

    John Shakespeare sees off Daley.


    Cathy Wilcox looks at the NSW election result.

    Matt Golding and Trump’s “exoneration”.

    Zanetti gets this one right.

    Good stuff from Alan Moir.

    Jon Kudelka with the interpretation of the Mueller findings.
    https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/d54615725628a3d0327ea171592525d0

    From the US






  18. I think the good people of Australia has lost the fight against the radicalisation, bigotry and hate people. All that should be reported by the abc today is not being mentioned, except for the focus on phon, who are just doing what they’ve always done.

    I will be extremely surprised if Labor win the upcoming Federal election.

  19. Hartcher’s “truth bomb” on FauxMo isn’t exactly news.

    There was this from Karen Middleton last year, just after FauxMo became PM –

    How Morrison played everyone
    https://outline.com/hAtnJH

    Hartcher names more names and gives extra detail. Both are well worth reading. I hope he really lets fly in his second installment.

  20. If you want to get a headstart on the ABC’s story about Hanson and the NRA then the original Al Jazeera videos are in here –

    How to sell a massacre: NRA’s playbook, revealed
    Three-year undercover sting reveals how US’s National Rifle Association handles public opinion after deadly gun attacks.
    by Peter Charley
    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/sell-massacre-nra-playbook-revealed-190325111828105.html

    And here, from the journalist who went undercover for the sting –

    I went undercover to expose the US, Australia gun lobby
    Al Jazeera reporter goes undercover in a three-year investigation of the US’ powerful gun lobby’s strategies to promote firearms ownership.
    by Rodger Muller
    https://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/americas/2019/03/undercover-expose-australia-gun-lobby-190325120818734.html

  21. We have all had a song that became an ‘ear worm’ at some stage but bloody First Dog on the Moon has given me a ‘word worm’ . The bloody thing won’t get out of my head. A couple of days back he had a cartoon where in one panel he was berating ‘grammar nazis’. In it one of the grammar nazis was looking outraged at a sign in a vege shop. They were selling ‘Asparagu’s’ . Ever since then ‘asparagoos’ keeps popping into my head. Bloody cartoonists 😆

  22. A NYT journo ‘gets it’.

    We’ve All Just Made Fools of Ourselves — Again
    The awful corruption of scandal politics.

    …………The sad fact is that Watergate introduced a poison into the American body politic. Richard Nixon’s downfall was just and important, but it opened up the mouthwatering possibility that you don’t need to do the hard work of persuading people to join your side. Instead, you can destroy your foes all at once through scandal.
    Politics since Watergate has been defined by a long string of scandals and pseudo-scandals — Iran-contra, Whitewater, Valerie Plame, Benghazi, Solyndra, swift-boating. Politico last year compiled a list of 46 scandals that were at one time or another deemed “worse than Watergate.”

    Will they apologise I wonder ? Nah.

    You have a president who, in my opinion, beyond a shadow of a doubt, sought to, however ham-handedly, collude with the Russian government, a foreign power, to undermine and influence our elections.” — Beto O’Rourke, presidential candidate

    “I think there’s plenty of evidence of collusion and conspiracy in plain sight.” — Adam Schiff, chairman of House Intelligence Committee

    “I called [Trump’s] behavior treasonous, which is to betray one’s trust and aid and abet the enemy, and I stand very much by that claim.” — John Brennan, former C.I.A. director

    “The biggest scandal in U.S. history is coming into focus. On Friday Rachel Maddow made it clear. Donald Trump conspired with the enemy.” — Rob Reiner, film director

  23. When will she resign?

    Theresa May has lost more ministers to Brexit, and more importantly perhaps, has lost even more control of the process at a time when her government is only just about holding on.

    Sir Oliver Letwin’s plan passed through the Commons tonight by a clearer margin than expected, a big win for the cross-party group of senior MPs who have been pushing plans of different flavours for a while that would allow Parliament to have more say over what’s next.

    Officially, what the proposal that won tonight does is give MPs control of the debates in the Commons for a day on Wednesday. They will use that to have a series of votes on different options.

    This is exactly what some government ministers wanted and have been arguing for for ages.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47701532

  25. The Al Jazeera is a must see. The sad part is there are people that have voted for phon and will continue to do so no matter what is presented to them. Poor fellow my country.

  27. Must be very uncomfortable straddling that barbed-wire fence

    Scott Morrison has attempted to mollify rebel Queenslanders by promising to examine whether a new coal plant is needed in north Queensland, and by signing off on a shortlist for new power generation that includes “one very small” coal project in New South Wales proposed by coal baron and LNP donor, Trevor St Baker.

    Cabinet on Tuesday signed off on a shortlist of 12 generation projects that could attract taxpayer underwriting, and allocated $10m for a feasibility study that will examine whether it is desirable to revive the decommissioned coal plant at Collinsville, south of Townsville.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/26/one-very-small-coal-plant-scott-morrison-list-12-energy-projects

  30. Journalists could face jail over Pell sex abuse case

    Some of the most prominent figures in the Australian media are facing jail time over allegations they prejudiced the trial of Cardinal George Pell.

    The Director of Public Prosecutions has named 36 organisations and individuals in a motion before the Victorian Supreme Court, asking they be found guilty of contempt of court.

    The list includes Today show host Deborah Knight, Sydney radio shock-jock Ray Hadley, Herald Sun editor Damon Johnston and The Age editor Alex Lavelle.

    Prosecutors have also named organisations, including the Nine Network, Fairfax (publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian Financial Review and The Age), The Herald and Weekly Times (publisher of the Herald Sun), the Mamamia website, and Macquarie Media (owner of 3AW and 2GB radio stations

    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/vic/2019/03/26/cardinal-pell-journalists-jail/

  31. Well done that chap.

    Veteran, 95, takes four buses to join Auckland anti-racism rally – ‘We’re all one’

    John Sato (C) 95, one of only two Japanese servicemen in the New Zealand army in WWII,

    He said the war claimed innocent lives and it was a waste of time. Life, he said, was too short to be wasted on meaningless things such as hatred.

    The Christchurch incident was more than just a tragedy for us, Mr Sato said.

    “We all go through our furnace in certain ways and some of the things that happen to us will make you more understanding, I hope.”
    https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/veteran-95-takes-four-buses-join-auckland-anti-racism-rally-were-all-one

  33. I will hold any judgement of the Mueller report until I see more of it. At the moment we are privy to a letter that points out the good bits for Donald Trump. What does the rest of the document say?

    By revealing just the good bits, the Trumpies have got the narrative going that Donny is squeaky clean. It won’t matter that further revelations might be less than complimentary for the President. His knuckle-headed voters will just cry ‘Fake’, ‘Witch-Hunt’, and the rest of their usual drivel. They feel vindicated now, and nothing will erase it.

    That said, I have always reckoned that Trump would get two terms as Prez. It is the way with the good old U S of A. Just like we keep voting in a mob of crooks like the Liebs and Natters.

  37. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Here’s part 2 of Peter Hartcher’s truth bomb. This time it’s about what Turnbull had to give up to the Nats to become PM.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/he-sold-everything-he-believed-in-the-price-turnbull-paid-to-become-pm-20190321-p516ad.html
    Michael Koziol tells us that Morrison is facing a damaging split in the Coalition over whether to deny preferences to One Nation at the May election – a debate turbocharged on Tuesday after explosive reports that the minor party sought to weaken Australia’s gun laws in exchange for cash.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/scott-morrison-pitches-for-one-nation-votes-after-hanson-s-operatives-caught-out-in-gun-sting-20190326-p517pj.html
    So that it for Michael Daley.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/he-s-done-the-right-thing-contenders-jockey-for-nsw-labor-leadership-20190326-p517ti.html
    Chris Uhlmann says that maybe the starting point to fixing our broken political system it trying to find the list of things we all agree on, if that is still possible. Things like parliamentary democracy, the rule of secular law and equality of opportunity for all.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/every-one-knows-something-is-broken-but-no-one-knows-how-to-fix-it-20190326-p517le.html
    The Australian says that Morrison has moved to stop the flow of Coalition votes to One Nation, attacking the party as ­“abhorrent” and urging dis­affected conservatives to support the government ahead of Pauline Hanson at the upcoming election.
    https://www.outline.com/vhe5Zt
    And its Simon Benson wonders how Morrison will handle Hanson.
    https://www.outline.com/7RWRpf
    Amy Remeikis says that Morrison still won’t say though that he will put ON last on the HTV preferences.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/26/one-nation-guns-scott-morrison-national-rifle-association-labor-bill-shorten
    Only from One Nation could we expect this crap! Of course they have done nothing wrong at ll.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/we-were-on-the-sauce-one-nation-staffers-blame-booze-and-skulduggery
    Michelle Grattan says James Ashby has rocked a few boats, including his own.
    https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-james-ashby-rocks-a-few-boats-including-his-own-114324
    Sam Maiden tells us how One Nation blamed the gun control scandal on booze and a ‘Middle East spy’,
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2019/03/26/one-nation-nra-al-jazeera/
    And The New Daily explains how a gun-hating Aussie fooled One Nation and the NRA.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/queensland/2019/03/26/rodger-muller-one-nation-nra/
    Journalism academic James Dodd asks, “Did Al Jazeera’s undercover investigation into One Nation overstep the mark?” He thinks not.
    https://theconversation.com/did-al-jazeeras-undercover-investigation-into-one-nation-overstep-the-mark-114288
    Tony Wright with one o his trademark piss takes has a crack at Ashby.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/no-fair-one-nation-s-james-ashby-makes-a-complaint-to-sergeant-al-20190326-p517sk.html
    Austria’s leader has called for authorities to “ruthlessly” investigate possible ties between an Austrian nationalist group and the alleged Christchurch mosque shooter, after it emerged that a prominent far-right activist in the Alpine nation had received a donation in the suspected shooter’s name.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/austrian-far-right-activist-probed-over-donation-from-christchurch-suspect-20190327-p517va.html
    Paul Kelly cries fouls over what he sees as some of the media’s portrayal of the Coalition being racist.
    https://www.outline.com/96F8zu
    Jess Irvine reports that ASIC is considering legal action against more than 30 underperforming superannuation funds and predicted “close to 100” super funds could cease to exist.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/we-are-looking-to-litigate-asic-puts-30-dud-super-funds-on-notice-20190326-p517qr.html
    Former competition watchdog chairman Graeme Samuel has lashed out at the quality of directors in corporate Australia, taking particular aim at the “impenetrable wall” around the club of women who sit on company boards.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/needs-a-nuclear-bomb-graeme-samuel-slams-australian-directors-20190326-p517tf.html
    And he pours scorn on the Productivity Commission by writing that its public hearings on airport regulation under way, there seems a consistent view — from everyone but the airports, that is — that there are two glaring omissions from the PC’s draft report: logic and common sense.
    https://www.outline.com/Lxzdgk
    Adele Ferguson writes that our political and financial systems have become so addicted to short-termism that switching to a different gear seems virtually impossible.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/giving-up-a-serious-addiction-to-short-termism-is-hard-to-kick-20190326-p517rv.html
    Dana McCauley reports that Shorten’s promise to deliver a “living wage” is a risky political play that aims to capture swinging voters and fails to address poverty, a leading economist has warned.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/economist-warns-bill-shorten-against-overpromising-on-wages-20190326-p517lh.html
    Ross Gittins has a look at how the younger generation is engaging politically. It’s quite an interesting contribution.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/generational-conflict-comes-to-a-polling-place-near-you-20190326-p517la.html
    The Nationals’ Clare Taylor says that eventually, the Shooters, Fishes and Farmers will be forced to pick sides on key issues, and voters will abandon them in droves. She says the Nats are not yet down and out in NSW.
    https://www.smh.com.au/nsw-election-2019/nationals-not-down-and-out-in-nsw-20190326-p517rd.html
    The massive transition of the disability sector is occurring with little systematic planning to provide adequate investment to support the transition. Indeed, there appears to be little knowledge, or understanding, of just how extensive the change is — and the risks associated with it.
    https://www.outline.com/2ERByH
    British MPs have passed an unprecedented vote to take control of Brexit from Prime Minister Theresa May in a bid to find their own solution to the chaotic process.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/2019/03/26/brexit-letwin-vote/
    Michael West Writes, “The Big Four, the relentless architects of global tax avoidance, have returned to the insolvency business, despite selling out of it 15 years ago because of overweening conflicts of interests.”
    https://www.michaelwest.com.au/conflicts-of-interestrus-kpmg-pursues-pwc-back-into-insolvency/
    Dozens of Australia’s leading media editors and journalists, including staff at The Age, could face prison for contempt of court over allegations they breached a suppression order in reports published after George Pell’s conviction on child sex abuse charges.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/dpp-moves-to-jail-dozens-of-editors-journalists-over-reports-after-pell-verdict-20190326-p517qf.html
    A police media adviser was one of dozens of professionals referred to prosecutors over criticisms of a suppression order banning the reporting of the conviction of Pell.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/vic/2019/03/26/cardinal-pell-journalists-jail/
    You can’t copy love: why other politicians fall short of Jacinda Ardern.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/26/the-difficult-love-of-jacinda-ardern-cannot-be-easily-emulated-not-by-white-australian-culture-loving-itself
    In the wake of the Christchurch massacre, Morrison has called for an end to “toxic tribalism” but this doesn’t mean he won’t exploit it in the federal election, writes Dr Martin Hirst.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/morrison-changes-tack-on-tribalism-but-stays-on-message,12509’
    Paul Bongiorno begins this contribution with, “Not for the first time, racial prejudice and bigotry will play a significant role in the looming federal election. Indeed, elements of the embattled Coalition government in Canberra see it as their only chance of survival.”
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2019/03/25/lessons-federal-coalition-nsw-win/
    Ministers’ advisers should come under greater scrutiny and public service leaders should be re-empowered to give frank advice as the nation pursues a new reform agenda, ex-Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Terry Moran has said.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/politics/federal/bring-ministers-advisers-under-greater-scrutiny-ex-pm-and-c-chief-20190325-p517d1.html
    Nicole Hasham reports that the upgrade of a NSW coal-fired power station is among a dozen energy projects the Morrison government will consider underwriting to deliver on its pledge to deliver more reliable affordable power.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/very-small-coal-project-on-government-funding-shortlist-20190326-p517pg.html
    Meanwhile Queensland is also the last place the government needs to underwrite a new power station: AEMO says in its Electricity Statement of Opportunities 2018 that the northern state has a negligible risk of “unserved energy” – supply shortfalls – over the next decade.
    https://www.outline.com/wpFFtW
    Michelle Grattan writes that Morrison has kicked the decision on Queensland coal plant well down the road.
    https://theconversation.com/morrison-kicks-decision-on-queensland-coal-plant-well-down-the-road-114307
    Four energy projects across South Australia have been short-listed for underwriting by the federal Government. Three of the four proposals are for pumped hydro — at Lincoln Gap and Middleback Ranges on the Eyre Peninsula, and Baroota on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf.
    https://www.outline.com/wLhBJx
    Emma Koehn tells us that the new tax targeting e-commerce giants such as Amazon and eBay is set to deliver more than 300 per cent above the revenue predicted when the government introduced the policy.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/small-business/tax-targeting-giants-amazon-and-ebay-set-to-blitz-revenue-predictions-20190326-p517nu.html
    A far-right group accused of engaging in “public acts of hate speech” against LGBTI people has failed to appear in the Queensland anti-discrimination tribunal to respond to a landmark complaint.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/26/far-right-group-accused-of-hate-speech-fails-to-appear-at-queensland-tribunal
    Someone with direct experience tells us all about crime within prison.
    https://theconversation.com/the-inside-story-on-crime-within-prison-114075
    Global social media behemoth Facebook has been reprimanded by Morrison government ministers for failing to properly address concerns about its platforms in a heated meeting convened in the wake of the Christchurch terrorist attack.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/facebook-censured-by-government-for-failure-to-act-on-livestreaming-concerns-20190326-p517sb.html
    Researcher Abigail Lewis says that the Coalition’s proposed new system may well be as burdensome and ultimately unhelpful as applying for 20 jobs each month. More detail is needed before it’s clear if this will improve the system. She contrasts Labor’s policy.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/digital-first-approach-to-job-hunting-looks-good-on-paper-but-20190326-p517jl.html
    Nicholas Stuart is very wary about the plans for the National War Memorial in Canberra.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/thinking-clearly-whose-story-is-being-told-20190326-p517q9.html
    The AFR says that Trump won’t die wondering about the US economy and will do whatever it takes to juice growth – even if it means dismantling decades of Federal Reserve independence.
    https://www.outline.com/AE4eHX
    Elizabeth Knight explains how Coles is about to catapult itself into a digital cutting edge retailer and leapfrog other Australian supermarket chains on online sales technology. Robotics, artificial intelligence, dark stores and state of the art software will soon sit behind the online offer.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/welcome-to-supermarkets-3-0-robots-ai-and-dark-stores-20190326-p517pq.html
    ASIC has advised that it found no evidence of illegal insider trading involving the banking royal commission final report, in response to Labor calls for an investigation.
    https://www.outline.com/rsVGcf
    Queensland will end its experiment with privately run jails after a scathing report found it was hard to know what was really going on inside them. The government will retake control of the state’s two privately run prisons, costing taxpayers an extra $111m over four years.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/26/queensland-to-end-private-jails-experiment-after-scathing-report
    The detailed personal information of more than 60,000 Australians was exposed in a massive cyber-attack on Facebook last year, giving hackers the ability to access their movements, hometown, search history, email and phone number.
    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/mar/27/more-than-110000-australians-caught-up-in-septembers-facebook-cyber-attack
    The SMH editorial says that the report by special prosecutor Robert Mueller on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election has turned out to be an anticlimax but that should help US politics return to something like normal.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/clarity-on-russia-gate-should-help-us-politics-heal-20190326-p517nx.html
    The Washington Post examines what is known of the Mueller report and what might come next.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/dispute-erupts-over-mueller-s-findings-on-trump-russia-and-obstruction-of-justice-20190326-p517v2.html
    Bloomberg says that Boeing still owes the world some answers.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/boeing-still-owes-the-world-some-answers-20190325-p5175v.html
    During flight simulations recreating the problems with the doomed Lion Air plane, pilots discovered they had less than 40 seconds to override an automated system on Boeing’s new jets and avert disaster.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/2019/03/26/boeing-jet-tests-lion-air/
    And the US aviation watchdog will significantly change its approach to air safety in the wake of the two deadly Boeing 737 Max plane crashes.
    https://www.outline.com/feN9Ey

    Cartoon Corner – quite substantial today.

    David Rowe has been busy!



    David Pope piles into One Nation.

    As does Cathy Wilcox.

    And Peter Broelman.

    As does Sean Leahy.

    Leahy shows us Trump’s reaction to the Mueller report.

    Cathy reminds us of Turnbull.

    Mark David gets some reaction from the bush over the NSW election result.

    Michael Leunig and chook fame.

    Fiona Katauskas gives us the “Far White”.

    Simon Letch and voting demographics.

    From Matt Golding.







    Glen Le Lievre gives us Sky News.

    Great stuff from John Shakespeare here!

    Zanetti rejoices.

    From the US.





  38. It’s wonderful watching FauxMo and his rabble of a government tying themselves in knots over ON preferences.

    I understand their problem – how can they put ON last when that party is the policy arm of the Coalition, and when in past elections ON preferences have seen so many Coalition politicians elected?

    After all those years of pinching Hanson’s racist policies, pandering to ON, having Coalition politicians appearing with Hanson etc etc the government is now, at last, discovering the real cost of supporting xenophobic, hate-spewing morons.

    Karma by the truckload maybe? Chickens coming home to roost? Just deserts? Whatever it is, it’s good to see.

    I’m afraid though that all this attention is just going to win more supporters for ON from the gun lobby and the extreme right.I hope I’m wrong.

    • Morrison is full of contradictions. Not a leader. Not decisive. Karma indeed. Still, a long way to go before Labor takes over. There will be some contradictions there too. Fewer though, I hope.

    • Your last para assures me I’m not the only one thinking that. And the msm media are missing the point that this investigation was into how the nra operates, and that these fools just happen to be caught up in it.

    • I still think that PHON will just get their base, as the Greens will. Sure, they create obstacles, but why worry so much about them. It’s about the Indies now that we should perhaps worry more.

  39. All this PHON stuff. Oldfield (sp) is on Faine this morning saying what I have been thinking. This will do nothing to turn people off them in fact it will probably enhance their support.

    • Enhance their support at the expense of the Coalition, because those who might have put ON second to the Coalition will now reverse those votes.

      That said, I am very much aware ON steals a lot of Labor votes, especially in Queensland.

      I would hope the gun nuts are already voting ON.

      Hanson certainly loves hanging around them.

      This photo was taken on 13 or 14 October last year in Perth at the SSAA (Sporting Shooters of Australia Association) Shot Expo at the Claremont Showgrounds. This event was advertised as “Australia’s BIGGEST public event showcasing the shooting sports, hunting & outdoors” and Hanson travelled to WA just to attend.

      Note the date.

      This photo was taken just a few weeks after Ashby and Dickson’s trip to the US in September last year to seek funding from the NRA. A month after the photo was taken, on 15 November, the Senate passed legislation banning foreign donations to political parties.

      Hanson supported the bill, she had this to say –

      Smaller parties like One Nation rely on membership fees or small donations from people that help us because they believe in our policies. So I can assure you that no big organisations donate to One Nation. It has been through hard work—having fish and chips at meetings or sausage sizzles.
      …………………………………………………………
      I also think that overseas money should not have an influence on our political scene, so I believe that foreign donations should be totally stopped. I do agree with that

      https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=chamber/hansards/180e57a2-f846-48db-9314-0022ab9c4706/&sid=0000

      What a bleeping hypocrite!

    • Just listening to Tim Costello. Compared to NRA the Pokies donate a lot more. He bashed Andrews of course. It’s the Pokies we should be worried about, he says. I wonder if they are starting to protect that Hanson/NRA episode. I don’t trust the Libs.

  41. Today’s video –

    Live earlier this morning from Holmesgen TAFE. “Not every kid wants to go to university, so we’ll invest in TAFEs like this one, and while we’re at it, we’ll waive the upfront fees for 100,000 TAFE students”

  42. How very, very convenient for Hanson. First we are expected to believe her two top staffers were drunk during a fundraising mission to the US, now we are supposed to believe Hanson can’t front the cameras because she was bitten by a tick.

    FFS! How dumb does she think we are?

    Just a tick, ‘unrecognisable’ Hanson will be back soon

    Pauline Hanson is “unrecognisable” after being bitten on the face by a tick as she fights claims her party sought to water down Australia’s gun laws for foreign donations.

    As One Nation officials sought to explain Ms Hanson’s failure to front the cameras over shock revelations her key lieutenants sought a $20 million donation from US pro gun lobbyists, the real cause of Ms Hanson’s absence has been revealed.

    Ms Hanson was bitten on the face last Thursday and remains under medical care for the tick bite which can cause neurological symptoms including facial paralysis.

    “She’s waiting until the final episode airs and her face goes down,” a One Nation source said

    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2019/03/27/tick-bite-pauline-hanson/

    i hope that poor little tick was able to get medical treatment, Hanson’s blood would be 99% venom.

    ON staff are rumoured to be scouring Brisbane for makeup artists skilled in applying fake insect bites.

  43. Good luck with getting anything but lies and denials

    Australia’s onshore detention centres will be a focus of the Senate’s budget estimates hearings next month, following revelations of alleged mistreatment and complaint coverups within the facilities.

    The federal opposition has called for the immigration minister to take seriously his duty of care for people in onshore detention centres.

    Meanwhile, the Australian Greens have reiterated calls for a royal commission into Australia’s entire immigration detention system.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/27/detention-centres-set-for-senate-scrutiny-after-video-revelations

  44. Wrong. It’s the Dutch flag

    Quick! Someone on the internet is wrong!

  46. Yeah, yeah.

    Pauline Hanson has declared she will take “all appropriate action” after her One Nation associates James Ashby and Steve Dickson were caught on video seeking a $20m donation from the National Rifle Association – but the appropriate action will have to wait until later in the week.

    The One Nation leader, who is reportedly unwell and has not appeared in public since the scandal broke, did not rebuke her errant colleagues explicitly when she issued a statement via social media on Wednesday.

    She instead attempted the same defensive strategy as Ashby and Dickson. Appealing to One Nation’s base in an obvious effort in damage control, Hanson accused al-Jazeera, the state-funded broadcaster of Qatar, of producing a “hit piece” on One Nation.

    “A Qatari government organisation should not be targeting Australian political parties,” Hanson said. The One Nation leader said she would have more to say “after the full hit piece has been released”.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/27/pauline-hanson-to-take-action-over-james-ashby-and-steve-dickson-but-not-yet

  49. If you believe the Hun

    Malcolm Turnbull and Peter Dutton hatched plans to dump frequent flyer George Christensen as the LNP-­endorsed candidate for his seat of Dawson at the height of their concerns over his constant travel.

    The former prime minister and Home Affairs Minister — who were both briefed by the Australian Federal Police over Mr Christensen’s large number of trips to the Philippines — are understood to have agreed the marginal seat MP should not be the party’s candidate at the next election.

    https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/malcolm-turnbull-peter-dutton-planned-to-dump-george-christensen-over-frequent-manila-travel/news-story/1944e90f1fbc1c736c4d886b9751ff47

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