To all Pubsters, their family and friends, and to all people in Australia in lockdown, or dealing with any effects of the Covid19 Pandemic, we send our best wishes for the best in these times.
Please stick to the rules of your Lockdown, follow medical advice. Wear your masks, do your social distancing, your handwashing and sanitising.
Stay home as directed. It is better to be bored than sick. Use your common sense: if in doubt stay home.
I have some suggestions to help spark ideas to pass the time at home. Do you have other ideas to share?
With the internet you can learn a new hobby, or a language, or listen to podcasts, music, jokes, explore art or sport or anything. You can go online to Berkeley College, USA, for example. Every lecture in every course is available to watch, for free. Play online (non gambling) games. Talk to others in your household.
Live cams from all over the world let you see other places from home. My favourite is Africacam at the waterholes to see wild animals gather to drink.
Get the kids to make their own board-games or invent new or rediscover old playroom games.
You could start to gather your family history from your elders, by phone.
Use the phone instead of a visit.
Lockdown gives you time to do such home-based projects that you wanted to do, but could not fit into your schedules. Protecting mental health is very important. Phone friends!
Think back to WW2, when restrictions were drastic in many countries. If they could do it, you can.
Maybe keep a diary, and/or a family scrapbook, so future generations can read about your experiences of these times.
If you have been ill, or know someone affected by Covid19, we wish for a rapid recovery.
For all who have suffered grief from Covid19, we give you our sincere sympathy.
We hope we can keep ourselves and each other safe.
Remember, consult your doctor, follow medical advice on vaccinations (not internet rumours or human gossip) and other health issues, follow Lockdown restrictions (including mask-wearing and staying home), and err on the side of caution.
Our leaders are limited in dealing with this pandemic by their abilities and beliefs. Some do well, others less so, as is clear from the data.
We can only try to influence our leaders, but we have control over ourselves.
So what are our areas of direct control?
- Our conduct.
- Our choices.
- Our decisions.
- Our understanding and patience with ourselves and others.
- Our words.
It is up to each one of us to act for the good of all, because what is good for us all is good for each of us.
Thank you to all you front line workers, volunteers, health staff, welfare staff and others keeping vital services running, often at risk to yourselves.
For example, my friend received free delivered meals from a group of volunteers from the Indian community. Thank you to that group.
Thank you to everyone doing the right thing to keep us safe.
Drop into The Pub, if you want!
THE PUB 
Little-to-be-proud-of lying his arse off.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
Niki Savva says Scott Morrison is a cranky man in need of a plan. She has ways of getting the best of inside information.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/prime-minister-scott-morrison-a-cranky-man-in-need-of-a-plan-20210811-p58hpr.html
“Gladys Berejiklian has started laying the groundwork for the inevitable. As COVID-19 case numbers refuse to budge, and the virus bleeds into the regions, the Premier’s goalposts are shifting”, writes Alexandra Smith who says Berejiklian may not be able to provide us with a pathway out of lockdown, but she at least needs to give students, parents and teachers some certainty about the final months of the school year, even if that news is bad.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/the-generation-of-kids-whose-time-has-stood-still-they-need-your-direction-premier-20210811-p58hur.html
Frustration is building in the Morrison government over the slow distribution of business assistance in Greater Sydney, as it finds itself bearing the brunt of the blame for a problem that is of the NSW government’s making, explains Phil Coorey.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/morrison-blamed-for-nsw-s-slow-jobsaver-rollout-20210811-p58hpj
The SMH editorial says that Berejiklian must stop the spin about a quick exit from lockdown.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/premier-must-stop-the-spin-about-a-quick-exit-from-lockdown-20210811-p58hwm.html
Another eight communities of regional NSW were plunged into lockdown late last night after a positive case in Walgett and fears of potential spread in the region’s vulnerable Indigenous population. Berejiklian’s “Whack a Mole” response continues.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/coronavirus/2021/08/12/coronavirus-regional-nsw-spread/
Gladys Berejiklian is playing high-risk politics as she promises an easing of some restrictions for the vaccinated despite no end to the lockdown, says Jennifer Hewett.
https://www.afr.com/policy/health-and-education/nsw-charts-a-radically-different-covid-course-20210811-p58hwh
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller will take the reins managing waning compliance at the centre of Sydney’s worsening Delta outbreak, as the inner west and surrounds brace for a potentially harsher lockdown.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/top-cop-takes-control-of-worsening-outbreak-as-inner-sydney-warned-of-more-restrictions-20210811-p58hvc.html
This is bloody disgraceful! A fake check-in app is being used by Covid-19 conspiracy theorists and anti-lockdown groups to dupe business owners and keep location data out of the hands of contact tracers in at least three states.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/12/australian-conspiracy-theorists-and-anti-lockdown-groups-share-fake-covid-check-in-apps
Paul Sakkal reports that Gladys Berejiklian has been told by other state leaders that she must consult national cabinet about any plan to deviate from an agreed strategy to contain COVID-19.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/states-demand-nsw-consults-before-going-it-alone-on-eased-restrictions-20210810-p58hf7.html
David Tyler writes about the mystery of Morrison’s moving vaccination goalposts.
https://theaimn.com/bronte-pythons-flying-circus-and-the-mystery-of-morrisons-moving-vaccination-goalposts/
I couldn’t get too far into this article from Peter Credlin before bailing. You have a shot at it.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/memo-to-leaders-we-want-our-lives-back/news-story/3d3cb80ccb36b77a7bf732c7ebd0c5e5
A major staffing crisis is looming at a western Sydney hospital after a COVID-19 cluster in a mental health unit grew to nine cases yesterday.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/hundreds-of-health-workers-isolating-as-crisis-at-sydney-hospital-deepens-20210811-p58hvh.html
Melissa Cunningham reports that hospital emergency departments across Victoria are in danger of being repeatedly shut down whenever coronavirus outbreaks take hold, as doctors warn a disaster plan is urgently needed to cope with severe staffing shortages putting lives at risk.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/there-are-no-reserves-doctors-demand-disaster-plan-amid-severe-staffing-shortages-20210811-p58hu7.html
Less than a third of staff at a Newcastle aged care facility hit with a Covid-19 outbreak have been vaccinated, just over a month before the entire workforce will be required to have received at least one dose.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/12/newcastle-aged-care-facility-with-14-covid-cases-has-less-than-a-third-of-staff-vaccinated
The Australian tells us that Scott Morrison and the national cabinet are facing urgent demands from business and unions to take control of workplace vaccinations, with ACTU secretary Sally McManus warning the shifting of responsibility for mandatory jabs to employers is a “recipe for division, resentment and confusion”.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/unions-and-businesses-push-pm-to-make-call-on-mandatory-jabs/news-story/9d71a306a5b1c057e673ab065ba9d8d1
The chair of Safe Work Australia has said employers in industries such as supermarkets and hospitality have the right to demand their staff be vaccinated.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/safe-work-chair-backs-mandatory-vaccinations-for-some-workers-20210811-p58hvg.html
Greg Barns mounts an argument that we shouldn’t race to mandate vaccination.
https://johnmenadue.com/why-we-shouldnt-race-to-mandate-vaccination/
Trade union lawyer Alistair Sage argues that if workers isolate to get a COVID test, they shouldn’t pay in lost wages.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/if-workers-isolate-to-get-a-covid-test-they-shouldn-t-pay-in-lost-wages-20210810-p58hn5.html
Michelle Grattan writes that Barnaby Joyce has dissociated himself from the views of his maverick backbencher George Christensen, who on Tuesday flatly rejected measures to contain COVID-19 and played down the seriousness of the disease.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2021/08/10/barnaby-joyce-repudiates-george-christensen/
Australia was a model for protecting people from COVID-19 — and then we dumped half a million people back into poverty, says Professor Sharon Bessell.
https://theconversation.com/australia-was-a-model-for-protecting-people-from-covid-19-and-then-we-dumped-half-a-million-people-back-into-poverty-165813
Nothing says “we are the government for big business only” like doling out money for nothing to multinationals with one hand, while simultaneously clawing back cash from the impoverished with the other, writes Michelle Pini.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/corporate-welfare-for-the-greedy–robodebt-20-for-the-needy,15394
Chip Le Grand shows his true colours in this article in which he criticises South Australia over its stance on Olympic athletes who quarantined in NSW on their return. (Apparently the SA government advised the Olympic organising committee of this probability before the athletes left for the Games)
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/olympian-quarantine-a-cruel-decision-by-a-covidiot-state-20210811-p58hxx.html
Over budget and over time, over and over again. That’s the iron law of mega transport projects, and it’s playing out in real time in Melbourne yet again this week, writes Marlon Terrill who uses the West Gate Tunnel as an example.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/billion-dollar-blowouts-in-major-projects-predictable-and-avoidable-20210811-p58hsa.html
Another example of shoddy question structure in the census. The one on ancestry was one, too.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/gay-parents-frustrated-by-biased-father-and-mother-question-in-census-20210811-p58hsj.html
The Age tells us that the federal government’s car park fund is facing new criticism from a Melbourne council that was given ‘unsolicited’ money to build parking at two train stations.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/wilson-s-council-claims-car-park-money-tainted-goes-back-to-consultation-20210811-p58hrv.html
The Nationals have the whip hand over the federal government’s ability to sign up to international climate goals. The question is, what’s their price, asks Mike Foley in this article where he says the farmers actually want action on climate change.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/farmers-already-want-it-so-what-price-will-the-nationals-put-on-a-climate-deal-20210811-p58huw.html
Alan Kohler declares that the money for dealing with climate change will have to be printed.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2021/08/12/climate-change-money-printing/?breaking_live_scroll=1
The Coalition’s track record shows why its opposition to a Covid vaccine cash incentive is inconsistent, argues Richard Denniss.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/11/the-coalitions-track-record-shows-why-its-opposition-to-a-covid-vaccine-cash-incentive-is-inconsistent
Barnaby maggoted in Parliament, billionaires schmoozed, JobKeeper for Royal Sydney Golf Club. Unprecedented rorting of public money, abject failure on the Covid vaccinations and climate change. Michael West investigates how a government so corrupt and so incompetent manages to survive.
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/survival-of-the-witless-how-a-government-so-corrupt-and-incompetent-clings-to-power/
Isabelle Lane tells us that the firm behind Australia’s national broadband network has promised to upgrade thousands of under-performing connections to full fibre this year, with up to two million upgrades possible by the end of 2023. NBN Co has set a target of upgrading 10,000 homes and businesses with fibre-to-the-node connections to fibre-to-the-premises by the end of 2021. She says the premises will be the first of what could be up to two million FTTN to FTTP upgrades by the end of 2023 as part of NBN Co’s $4.5 billion ‘Network Investment Plan’.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/tech/2021/08/11/nbn-co-fibre-upgrades/
Hydrocarbons, including gas, still supplied 83 per cent of all global energy last year. The oil and gas industry will be a critical player in the transition to net zero, explains Andrew McConville.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/chasing-net-zero-the-oil-and-gas-industry-is-not-the-enemy-but-part-of-the-solution-20210811-p58hqr.html
The selfishness of the Australian government is as alarming as the conclusions of the IPCC Report, writes Stuart Rees.
https://johnmenadue.com/climate-urgency-australias-selfishness/
Angela Macdonald-Smith reports that electricity distributors will be allowed to charge customers for exporting surplus solar power to the grid but they will also have to offer a basic free solar export plan.
https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/tariff-reforms-to-end-bans-on-solar-exports-20210811-p58htk
The Joint Standing Committee on Migration’s (JSCM) final report on skilled migration proposes the Government undo some of Peter Dutton’s worst skilled migration policy mistakes. That is good but it is a long way from being good enough, argues Abul Rizvi.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/undoing-duttons-worst-skilled-migration-policy-mistakes-is-not-enough-,15392
How does Australia’s health system rate internationally? This year it wins bronze, says Stephen Duckett.
https://theconversation.com/how-does-australias-health-system-rate-internationally-this-year-it-wins-bronze-165805
Adam Carey reports that Catholic boys’ school St Kevin’s College has pulled out of a respectful relationships project after parents and students objected to a survey that quizzed boys on issues including sexuality, how they treat girls, and what it takes to be a man.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/backlash-prompts-st-kevin-s-to-ditch-respectful-relationships-project-20210811-p58hrx.html
With Labor’s reversal of policy regarding negative gearing, it has aligned itself with the ranks of the most powerful property rights lobby group in Australia and with the religious ideas of John Howard and Scott Morrison, writes David Paull.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/labors-backflip-on-negative-gearing-policy-a-benefit-to-the-wealthy,15391
How the world’s second-largest economy and Australia’s major trading partner fares in dealing with the Delta outbreak may be of, not just great interest, but real consequence for the rest of us, explains Stephen Bartholomeusz.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-world-is-watching-at-china-s-delta-outbreak-hits-an-already-vulnerable-economy-20210811-p58hss.html
Bevan Shields reckons the royals won’t save Prince Andrew from his fate.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/no-options-look-great-for-prince-andrew-amid-epstein-linked-lawsuit-20210811-p58ho2.html
Matthew Knott writes that yesterday a funny thing happened in the US Capitol: Republican and Democratic senators came together to approve a massive infrastructure spending plan championed by Biden. He says it was a victory for Biden and loss for Trump as bipartisanship prevailed.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/joe-biden-wins-donald-trump-loses-as-bipartisanship-emerges-in-us-20210811-p58hog.html
As school districts in Florida resist efforts to ban masks in schools amid a surge in Covid cases, the Biden administration has said it will consider supporting education leaders who are financially penalised for taking such action by the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/11/florida-texas-schools-mask-mandates-covid
It was a no-brainer to nominate this Rose Bay idiot for “Arsehole of the Week”.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-man-who-travelled-to-byron-to-be-charged-with-public-health-order-breach-20210811-p58htv.html
Cartoon Corner
David Pope – wow!
John Shakespeare
David Rowe
Andrew Dyson
Alan Moir
Matt Golding
Cathy Wilcox
Mark Knight
John Spooner
From the US
NZ goes in a different direction re vaccine targets. They also still give the ‘E’ word the thumbs up, ‘Living with covid’ not the way to go
.
…. independent panel of experts who yesterday provided advice to the Government on its ongoing Covid response strategy.The group did not favour setting a vaccination target, rather aiming for getting everybody vaccinated.
.
“Many people had said elimination was impossible. Well they were wrong,” Skegg said.
He compared the New Zealand situation with that of Scotland, which had a similar population. Here 26 people had died; there more than 10,000.
“We dodged a bullet,” Skegg said.
But reopening borders and new variants raised further questions. The experts concluded that at this stage elimination was not only viable but the best option.
“It allows us to enjoy a lifestyle relatively unaffected by the ravages of Covid-19 and protect our health service and economy.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/covid-19-coronavirus-new-zealands-elimination-plan-let-down-by-allies/LCZF5AZYNXLVNGIOKUVEFD25UY/
Cracking good piece by Nike Savva, she confirms what we had already worked out – Scovid has a foul temper which he cannot control, is extremely aggressive and totally lacks the ability to lead.
What a poisonous personality he has!
Charlie Sheen’s Trump tale
This story encapsulates Donald Trump in the best possible way. And who else would have a Trump story like this except someone like Charlie Sheen.
Source
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/aug/12/jan-fran-the-funniest-things-i-have-ever-seen-on-the-internet
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2021/aug/12/australia-covid-sydney-melbourne-gladys-berejiklian-chant-andrews-melbourne-victoria-dubbo-walgett-hunter-bourke-queensland-brisbane-morrison-politics-canberra
Alex Hawke will not help this family. This foul government is determined to deport them no matter what.
The only thing that might save them is fear of a backlash in the next election.
Alex Hawke has responded to the high court’s decision not to hear the Murugappan family case:
Same link as above.
https://www.betootaadvocate.com/headlines/government-told-to-get-fucked-25-million-times-as-nation-mistakes-census-for-performance-review/
Here we go. It was bound to come.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2021/aug/12/australia-covid-sydney-melbourne-gladys-berejiklian-chant-andrews-melbourne-victoria-dubbo-walgett-hunter-bourke-queensland-brisbane-morrison-politics-canberra#comment-151215743
Hmmmm –
😆 😆 😆
Jonathan Pie –
Seth Meyers –
Stephen Colbert –
Rachel Maddow – (sorry can’t find one that starts at the beginning of the show)
Brian Tyler Cohen –
Penny Wong rips into Senator Canavan.
Here kitty, kitty, kitty…….
Julian Hill – (getting a bit cranky)
“nasty, angry fake. He (Morrison) is not up to the job.”
“shapeshifter”
https://theshot.net.au/opinion-news/shamelessness-is-the-only-currency-this-government-knows/
Brilliant! One of their best.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
With mandatory Covid vaccines or a passport, this week Morrison has been handed a hot potato he really doesn’t want, writes Michelle Grattan.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-13/mandatory-covid-vaccines-or-passport/100373454
And David Crowe says Morrison has handed the wheel to the states on the road to workplace vaccination.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/vacillation-rollout-morrison-hands-the-wheel-to-the-states-on-the-road-to-workplace-vaccination-20210812-p58i99.html
“If we don’t have a climate policy, the world will give us one”, declares Waleed Aly who takes it right up to Barnaby Joyce.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/if-we-don-t-have-a-climate-policy-the-world-will-give-us-one-20210812-p58i0z.html
Barnaby Joyce says Labor has to speak to two different constituencies on climate policy. But his party’s stubbornness is creating the same problem for the government, writes Phil Coorey.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/nationals-tail-wags-coalition-dog-on-net-zero-target-20210810-p58hi9
Pandemic lockdowns over the past nine weeks have already dealt a $17b hit to the economy and Australians are becoming increasingly reliant on government support, explains Shane Wright.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/cost-of-lockdowns-is-17-billion-and-counting-20210812-p58i58.html
Phil Coorey and Andrew Tillett tell us that Scott Morrison, senior ministers and diplomats are all involved in ‘a mad scramble’ for extra supplies of Pfizer and other vaccine doses.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/australia-scours-the-globe-for-surplus-vaccines-20210812-p58i20
Catherine Bennet goes into detail of how contact tracing and associated actions are used to eliminate Covid from the community. Says that now, more than ever, “go early, go hard” has never been a more appropriate strategy.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/delta-danger-means-lockdown-extension-crucial-to-contain-spread-20210812-p58i3p.html
Leading epidemiologists say countries including Israel demonstrate the need for tough suppression strategies alongside a high vaccination rate, writes Tom McIlroy. Ponting at Gladys Berejiklian, he says that relying on vaccinations alone to reopen would be ‘foolish’.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/relying-on-vaccinations-alone-to-reopen-would-be-foolish-20210812-p58i4d
Anne Davies is concerned that Gladys Berejiklian is offering slogans in place of solutions as the NSW Covid crisis deepens.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/12/gladys-berejiklian-offers-slogans-in-place-of-solutions-as-nsw-covid-crisis-deepens
Michelle Grattan reckons passports would be a better tool than mandating jabs for all jobs.
https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-vaccine-passports-are-a-better-tool-than-mandating-jabs-for-all-jobs-166045
“The NSW government is suffering an outbreak of gross incompetence or has simply lost the plot, parting ways with reality as most of us know it. Or both.” Is a good summary of this criticism from Michael Pascoe who says the Premier keeps putting on a daily media show where she paints pandemic pictures everyone knows are fake.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/nsw/2021/08/13/michael-pascoe-covid-casinos-nsw/
Professor Garry Jennings explains how Covid-19 affects the heart. He also touches on “long Covid”.
https://theconversation.com/how-covid-affects-the-heart-according-to-a-cardiologist-165446
More than 560 public transport workers are currently in COVID isolation across NSW, with the state government warning Sydneysiders to prepare for the risk of widespread disruptions.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/hundreds-of-transport-workers-thrust-into-covid-isolation-sparking-major-disruption-warnings-20210812-p58ia0.html
State and federal health departments have been accused of leaving Aboriginal communities of western NSW as “sitting ducks” for a major Covid outbreak with vaccination rates in the region among the lowest in the nation, writes Larena Allam.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/12/anger-as-slow-vaccine-rollout-leaves-western-nsw-aboriginal-communities-exposed-to-covid
Victorian health authorities are scrambling to find the source of six separate chains of COVID-19 transmissions as the number of mystery cases in the state grew by another four on Thursday.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/glenroy-puzzle-gives-tracing-team-a-headache-as-mystery-cases-grow-20210812-p58i8s.html
Josh Butler tells us why the government won’t (and can’t) take more action on George Christensen.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/2021/08/13/george-christensen-misinformation-covid/?breaking_live_scroll=1
A growing COVID-19 outbreak has forced a Sydney school for children with autism spectrum disorder to shut its doors, with 18 cases linked to the cluster. Health authorities say three staff members and seven students at Giant Steps special education school in Gladesville have tested positive to COVID-19, as well as eight family members.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/desperately-worried-outbreak-at-sydney-school-for-children-with-autism-20210812-p58ic3.html
Hospitals across Sydney are under “significant strain” with growing Covid case numbers likely to worsen the burden for healthcare workers, the nurses’ union has warned, as the New South Wales health minister, Brad Hazzard, acknowledged virus exposure continued to place hospitals under “substantial pressure”.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/13/sydney-hospitals-under-significant-strain-with-staff-shortages-as-covid-outbreak-grows
Ninoy Kampmark explores the role of Australian Defence Force with respect to the COVID-19 response.
https://theaimn.com/call-in-the-khaki-the-australian-defence-force-and-covid-19/
David Penberthy writes that the impact of Beijing’s trade war has been grossly understated and exporters must work harder to find new markets and stem a potential $23bn economic hit, a new study authored by three former Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials has found.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/beijing-trade-war-far-worse-than-we-think/news-story/5da5d185634b031ea5db22b5cc83b6d1
Peter Hannam reports that a coal mine in the NSW Hunter Valley has leaked the equivalent of more than a million tonnes of carbon dioxide since it was mothballed in 2014 without any penalty or restriction.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/defunct-nsw-coal-mine-belches-1-million-tonnes-of-co2-without-penalty-20210811-p58huv.html
More from Hannam who tells us that Australia’s charge into large-scale wind and solar is faltering, with investment in new projects drying up and construction jobs in the industry diving.
https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/energy-chaos-wind-and-solar-industry-facing-roadblocks-in-australia-20210812-p58i6j.html
The IPCC report is a massive alert that the time for climate action is nearly gone, but crucially not gone yet, writes Greg Jericho.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2021/aug/12/the-ipcc-report-is-a-massive-alert-that-the-time-for-climate-action-is-nearly-gone-but-crucially-not-gone-yet
The technology roadmap sketched by Morrison and Taylor is a con. It is in fact a statement of support for the fossil fuel industry which is heavily subsidised by and a significant donor to the Liberal and National Parties, writes Richard Hil.
https://johnmenadue.com/political-and-media-failure-on-climate-in-australia/
At a critical time for the climate and environment, the Young Liberals in the Australian Capital Territory saw fit to auction off a piece of coal as part of a fundraiser, writes Michael Mazengarb.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/amid-ipcc-report-young-liberals-auction-off-lump-of-adani-coal,15396
Shareholders in AGL Energy have little choice but to support the costly, drawn-out process of splitting into a green retail operation and a coal-fired power rump. The alternative is too awful to contemplate, explains the AFR.
https://www.afr.com/chanticleer/agl-s-desperate-salvage-operation-20210812-p58i8o
Just when we thought there were no Crown Resorts’ associates left to implicate in the casino group’s wide-ranging probes, counsel assisting Ray Finkelstein in his Victorian royal commission have in recent weeks opened the door to making findings against Crown’s external lawyers, MinterEllison reports The Australian.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/margin-call/crowns-lawyers-minterellison-and-richard-murphy-feel-heat-from-victoria-royal-commission/news-story/17dc0a1e8f20a75e76fa02f78510f7c5
Telstra boss Andy Penn should be congratulated for publicly inking his profit aspirations for 2023. Most CEOs are reluctant to provide profit forecasts for the next financial year, let alone the year after that, says Elizabeth Knight in her evaluation of Telstra’s report from yesterday.
https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/headwinds-become-tailwinds-as-andy-penn-turns-around-the-telstra-titanic-20210812-p58i8r.html
The ATO Commissioner Chirs Jordan has refused to provide the Senate with its requested list of companies that received eventually unjustified JobKeeper payments and did not return them. The ABC’s Nassim Khadem tells us about the Senate’s next moves.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-13/jobkeeper-ato-chris-jordan-rex-patrick-overpayments-centrelink/100370626
As a background to this, Luke Henriques-Gomes writes that an age pensioner slugged $1,000 by Centrelink over jobkeeper payments has accused the Morrison government of double standards for its failure to clamp down on businesses who got the subsidy and then turned a profit.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/13/pensioner-slugged-with-jobkeeper-debt-accuses-coalition-of-double-standards
Nothing says “we are the government for big business only” like doling out money for nothing to multinationals with one hand, while simultaneously clawing back cash from the impoverished with the other, writes Michelle Pini.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/corporate-welfare-for-the-greedy–robodebt-20-for-the-needy,15394
Voters will have no more than 12 days to cast their ballot ahead of the next election as part of a suite of new measures to modernise electoral processes, improve services and grow confidence in the democratic system. Rob Harris takes us through the many changes to the electoral rules being introduced to parliament.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/early-voting-to-be-cut-back-under-proposed-electoral-reforms-20210812-p58i7t.html
Paul Karp reports that these electoral reform bills are being criticised by small parties, green groups and charities.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/aug/13/federal-electoral-reform-bills-criticised-by-small-parties-green-groups-and-charities
Mark Buckly looks at the current applicability of Donald Horne’s “Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck. It lives on other people’s ideas, and, although its ordinary people are adaptable, most of its leaders (in all fields) so lack curiosity about the events that surround them that they are often taken by surprise.”
https://johnmenadue.com/australia-a-lucky-country-run-by-second-rate-people/
ABC News is showing its extensive audience that growth in gross domestic product (GDP) currently ranks third in the world. The ABC knows this is false. Yet this “news” is still visible on the ABC’s website. Alan Austin reports on another case of politically compromised data.
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/third-oh-really-abc-news-swallows-coalition-data-spin/
Nick Bonyhady tells us that the building watchdog has defended its decision to spend more than half a million dollars unsuccessfully pursuing the CFMEU to the High Court over a dispute where union organisers demanded a women’s toilet on a Melbourne worksite.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/construction-watchdog-spent-half-a-million-dollars-fighting-cfmeu-on-toilet-case-20210811-p58hsk.html
“Why is the Queen still interfering in our history and why is the National Archives allowing this?”, asks historian Jenny Hocking.
https://johnmenadue.com/why-is-the-queen-still-interfering-in-our-history-and-why-is-the-national-archives-allowing-this/
America had a chance to crush COVID but they blew it, opines Matthew Knott. He says, “Forget so-called vaccine hesitancy; America is now in the grip of outright vaccine refusal.”
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/america-had-a-chance-to-crush-covid-but-blew-it-20210812-p58i0v.html
London’s Telegraph reports that a lawyer has claimed new evidence that links Prince Andrew with his alleged victim is set to emerge after other women indicated that they were prepared to testify against him.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/additional-evidence-other-women-to-testify-against-prince-andrew-says-lawyer-20210812-p58i4y.html
Cartoon Corner
Cathy Wilcox
David Rowe
David Pope
John Shakespeare
Andrew Dyson
Matt Golding
Mark David
Glen Le Lievre
Jim Pavlidis
Simon Letch
Mark Knight
John Spooner
From the US
I usual LOL looking at some of the alternative medicine ‘qualifications’ and titles but I came across one that really is a blood boiler. When he is not telling people how dangerous covid vaccines are this Mercan chap, Dr. Greg Nigh, calls himself a Naturopathic Oncologist. FMD!!!!!!!!!! How many people has he killed because they only used his ‘treatment’ and or bank accounts drained when desperate people turn to him after all else has failed ?
.
Goodness!
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7384130/
Oh to be a 20 something at nightclubs every night
Whoever would have thought Canberra was more alive than Melbourne. Must be 2021
Canberra must now be the toilet-paper-eating capital of Australia.
Long, long ago I once used Byron Bay as a convenient place to stop on the way to Brisbane. This was so many moons ago that Byron Bay had not yet been taken over by hippies let alone “celebrities”. It was solid working class, the main employer was the abattoir.
In those days the main road into the place featured that abattoir and animal yards, set in a swamp. Apparently the stench from the abattoir tended to drift over the main beach, although I didn’t notice any pong in my very brief time there. The abattoir was pulled down in the early 1980s and has been replaced by luxury beachfront housing. I hope the stench also vanished.
The beach was nothing special and seemed grubby. The whole place was grotty. I really didn’t want to eat any food there. I left and never went back. On future trips to Brisbane I stopped in better places..
So, as you might understand, I have always thought of Byron Bay as a filthy hole and am very much enjoying the comedians who are now taking aim at this over-hyped, over-priced, pretentious tourist trap.
First The Shovel had a go –
Lockdown Announced In Byron Bay, Healing Crystals Already Sold Out
https://www.theshovel.com.au/2021/08/09/lockdown-announced-in-byron-bay-healing-crystals-already-sold-out/
Yesterday Sammy J and Jimmy Rees added their thoughts.
Seth Meyers –
Stephen Colbert –
Rachel Maddow –
From Dave Milner: What is the point of Prime Ministers if they’re like this?
And from John Birmingham:
Fiona
Loved the article 🙂 and had a ‘Kiwi Pride” moment. Birmingham slipped in a bit of Kiwi slang. Is it spreading I wonder ……………and hope 🙂 He used the word catastro-fucking-muntedly . Come on down ‘Munted’ *.
.
munted
in British English(ˈmʌntɪd)
ADJECTIVE
1. New Zealand slang
(of an object) destroyed or ruined
2. New Zealand slang (of a person) abnormal or peculiar
3. slang drunk or intoxicated
Word origin
C20 origin unknown
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/munted
Back ‘in my day’ the word ‘munter’ was far more commonly used. A munter being a bloody idiot.
.
* Although I wonder if, as with several Kiwi slang words and phrases, it originated in Australia, spread to NZ and then became ‘extinct’ in its homeland.
I wonder how long it will be until Scovid refuses to do any more pressers. The easiest way to avoid difficult questions is not to appear at all.
This seems a bit bizarre or perhaps not ‘these days’ . I saw a short clip from some Afghan city recently taken over . Swimming ‘upstream’ a little I found that the clip was originally posted by this guy ! Obviously he has not been breaking the rules, unlike that Trump chappie ! 😆
.
Zabihullah (..ذبـــــیح الله م )
@Zabehulah_M33
Official Twitter Account of the Spokesman of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Zabihullah Mujahid
Oh gawd. I hope teh Pub doesn’t get flagged for posting that ‘Mr Taliban’ tweet .
🙂 and 😦 at feeling the need to write that.
F.M –
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/13/cassandra-the-information-technology-wobbegong-on-real-and-pretend-covid-apps
You ordered what??!!!
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
George Megalogenis declares that the old politics of bluff will leave PM and Berejiklian isolated. George looks at climate change and the pandemic in this excellent essay.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-old-politics-of-bluff-will-leave-pm-and-berejiklian-isolated-20210812-p58ico.html
We now have governing hesitancy, with Scott Morrison focused on managing the appearance of his own logical contradictions, states Katherine Murphy.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/13/we-now-have-governing-hesitancy-with-scott-morrison-focused-on-managing-the-appearance-of-his-own-logical-contradictions
In this examination of the Deputy PM, Peter Hartcher writes, “Barnaby the obscurantist denialist is now Barnaby the negotiator. He wants a deal for his constituents that helps soften the burden of climate change action – and the ball is in Scott Morrison’s court before he faces global leaders in November.” He says that before Barnaby, Australia had a bipartisan consensus on climate change.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/the-cunning-in-barnaby-joyce-s-climate-shuffle-20210812-p58icr.html
Paul Bongiorno looks at the madness of “King George Christensen” and the government is handling it.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2021/08/14/the-madness-kinggee-george/162886320012273
Leading Australian industry groups have warned that the government has failed to consult them on a promised long-term emissions reduction strategy, despite it planning to present it at pivotal climate talks in Glasgow in just 80 days, reports Graham Readfearn.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/14/industry-and-climate-groups-remain-in-the-dark-when-it-comes-to-australias-emissions-reduction-strategy
John Lord writes that Scott Morrison will never admit that he was wrong and Labor was right about climate change action.
https://theaimn.com/climate-change-action-scott-morrison-will-never-admit-that-he-was-wrong-and-labor-was-right/
Dennis Atkins predicts that Scott Morrison will weaponise the climate crisis in his pursuit of re-election. He reckons Morrison is oozing snake oil from every pore.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2021/08/14/dennis-atkins-ipcc-morrison/
In this harsh examination Mike Seccombe says, “All through the worsening Covid-19 crisis in New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian has insisted her government’s response accorded with medical advice. Except that’s not true.” He says we need straight answers from government, ones that don’t raise false hope about the next few months. Answers such as the ones Kerry Chant gave on Tuesday.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2021/08/14/inside-the-nsw-plan-now-live-with-the-virus/162886320012267
High vaccination rates – the pathway to Australia’s relief – now come with fresh political and philosophical challenges for Scott Morrison as conservative values rub against public health responsibility, triggering another test of his leadership, writes Paul Kelly.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/pm-is-under-attack-from-left-and-right/news-story/9d536ba0530a6c9a8135e757bc6708a9
Ross Gittins reckons PM can’t see the emissions truth for the trees.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/pm-can-t-see-the-emissions-truth-for-the-trees-20210812-p58ibc.html
David Crowe reports that Australia could make enough mRNA vaccines to protect the entire population at short notice under plans by biotech giant CSL to build two new facilities to fight future waves of coronavirus.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/csl-s-planned-mrna-factories-would-produce-50-million-doses-in-four-months-20210813-p58ijz.html
The editorial in The Age says that Morrison’s leadership weaknesses are all too clear.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/morrison-s-leadership-weaknesses-all-too-clear-20210812-p58i31.html
A scathing rebuke in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal could have far-reaching consequences for Scott Morrison’s secret committees, explains Karen Middleton. She describes it as a blow to Morrison’s secrecy.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2021/08/14/legal-loss-blow-morrison-secrecy/162886320012269
If you think trying plan a holiday is a fraught exercise, try a five-week election campaign, writes Phil Coorey.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/nsw-debacle-makes-election-timing-a-crap-shoot-20210813-p58if1
The AFR’s Aaron Patrick wonders if NSW’s gamble can lead us out of the pandemic.
https://www.afr.com/policy/health-and-education/can-nsw-s-gamble-lead-us-out-of-the-pandemic-20210812-p58i1z
Michael McGowan looks at the missing ten days when NSW might have squandered the chance to head off its Delta nightmare.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/14/the-missing-10-days-did-nsw-squander-the-chance-to-head-off-its-delta-nightmare
The SMH tells us that people caught breaching the public health orders will face fines of $5000 and a $320 stay-at-home payment will be introduced for residents in Sydney’s hotspot areas who need to isolate while waiting for COVID-19 test results.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/covid-test-payments-and-bigger-fines-as-nsw-toughens-lockdown-laws-20210813-p58ikw.html
As New South Wales continues to record ever-increasing infection numbers, some epidemiologists warn the state could reach as many as 800 to 1000 daily cases within weeks, reports Cait Kelly.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/coronavirus/2021/08/14/sydney-covid-cases-epidemiologists/
A century after it became a quarantine camp during the Spanish flu, Albury Showgrounds is hosting dozens of people in caravans and tents who want to return home.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/victoria/pop-up-camp-of-displaced-victorians-emerges-just-north-of-the-murray-20210812-p58ib1.html
Every story needs villains, and 6 million NSW residents under lockdown have theirs: 52-year-old Zoran Radovanovic and his 19-year-old son, Kristian. The pair were accused of sneaking out of Sydney’s eastern suburbs for the unusually quiet beaches and bars of Byron Bay late last month.
https://www.afr.com/policy/health-and-education/berejiklian-has-failed-to-contain-delta-to-greater-sydney-20210813-p58il9
Rachel Clun examines the complicated equation of COVID vaccines for kids.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-complicated-equation-for-covid-vaccines-for-kids-20210813-p58ift.html
Employers want to make vaccination compulsory for workers. States want to close their borders to the unvaccinated. It might seem harsh but public health must outweigh civil liberties in this emergency, argues the SMH editorial.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/sticks-as-well-as-carrots-needed-to-encourage-vaccination-20210813-p58imk.html
Understanding the maths behind how a pandemic works makes it clear how to control and eventually eliminate the COVID-19 virus, writes Craig Minns who looks at the logistics of the response.
https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/key-to-pandemic-management-is-in-the-logistics,15401
In these COVID times, our civil liberties are being restricted like never before, causing confusion over which of our human rights should be protected and which should be sacrificed to keep us safe from the pandemic, writes Amnesty International’s Tim Connor.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/covid-controls-highlight-need-for-national-human-rights-laws-20210812-p58i4b.html
Here come the nutters! Nick Bonyhady writes that police are investigating social media threats to contaminate SPC food products after the manufacturer behind brands including Ardmona and Goulburn Valley announced it would require its staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/spc-vaccine-requirement-for-workers-sparks-social-media-threats-20210813-p58ikb.html
Tony Wright is sick to death of the covid crackpots.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/freedom-s-just-another-word-to-the-crackpots-of-the-pandemic-20210811-p58hy9.html
The Australian’s John Ferguson tracks the resurrection of Dan Andres since the first big pandemic wave.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/the-daily-dan-is-gone-for-good-in-bid-to-stick-around/news-story/2bdb00b1e31ddbc8cf73fa9295aaeb87
Political apparatchiks in virtually every public service department and a radical centralising of power around the Victorian Premier’s office is challenging traditional notions of Westminster government, write Chip Le Grand and Paul Sakkal.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/the-chosen-few-how-victoria-is-really-governed-20210803-p58fk4.html
The National Disability Insurance Scheme is cutting services without consultation, leaving those with disabilities in a continued fight for funding, while fraudulent providers face little scrutiny, explains Rick Morton.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2021/08/14/brutal-cuts-ndis-see-some-plans-halved-without-consultation/162886320012270
Dear old Gerard with yet another outburst at the ABC.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/costly-errors-by-abc-journalists-spark-staff-policy-changes/news-story/64f7902321283d319b0ecf60140c1186
The government’s new security powers have been harshly criticised for overreach and the vagueness of their drafting, writes Karen Middleton.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2021/08/14/new-powers-spy-australian-citizens-criticised-overreach/162886320012271
Kevin Rudd lays out the four stages of Sky News. It’s a cracker!
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2021/08/14/the-four-stages-sky-news/162886320012272
Michaela Whitbourne reports that Christian Porter has launched a court bid to stop Nine and News Corp reporting on secret parts of the ABC’s written defence to his defamation claim, which is in the possession of the media outlets’ lawyers but is not in the public domain.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/porter-seeks-court-orders-to-stop-nine-news-corp-revealing-abc-defence-20210813-p58iiq.html
This weekend marks six months since the Brittany Higgins allegations broke. How much political capital has Scott Morrison expended on issues of concern to women, particularly their safety and economic security wonders Kristine Ziwica.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2021/08/14/scott-morrison-and-the-womens-movement/162886320012276
According to Peter Hannam, Coal miner Whitehaven has been fined more than $350,000 for breaches of its licence at one of its underground mines, far short of the maximum penalties for the 19 charges it faced.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/whitehaven-slapped-with-372-500-in-fines-for-breaches-of-licence-20210813-p58ile.html
Australia’s coal mining industry is considering setting up a self-insurance scheme as major financial institutions abandon the sector because of concerns about global warming, explain Nick Toscano and Mike Foley.
https://www.theage.com.au/business/the-economy/coal-miners-in-talks-to-self-insure-as-climate-pressure-heats-up-20210806-p58gje.html
The problem isn’t ‘inflation’. It’s that most Americans aren’t paid enough, says Robert Reich.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/13/joe-biden-spending-plans-inflation-debt-fears-misplaced
Cartoon Corner
Alan Moir
Andrew Dyson
David Pope
Mark Knight
David Rowe
Peter Broelman
Mark David
Matt Golding
Jon Kudelka
John Shakespeare
Glen Le Lievre
Matt Davidson
Simon Letch
Jim Pavlidis
Judith Green
Ned Toons
Where does Leak get off?
From the US
“In this harsh examination Mike Seccombe says, “All through the worsening Covid-19 crisis in New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian has insisted her government’s response accorded with medical advice. Except that’s not true.” He says we need straight answers from government, ones that don’t raise false hope about the next few months. Answers such as the ones Kerry Chant gave on Tuesday.”
No surprise that Gladys was NOT following medical advice.
Scrott’s crew will be looking at how to make it a 5 day campaign.
I agree.
He thinks a pie chart is a recipe for pies.
I’m waiting for him to discover PowerPoint and slideshows with varying transitions.
I see there is actually a bit of truthful reporting in the age today, but somehow the typesetters replaced the Fed Gov and PM with Vic Gov and Premier.
TGA has discovered Sammy J
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2021/aug/14/australia-covid-live-news-update-nsw-braces-for-record-cases-as-crisis-looms-in-regions#comment-151251120
The large mining companies I have worked for Alcoa and Hamersley Iron were self insurers so I wonder about the following . . . .
Australia’s coal mining industry is considering setting up a self-insurance scheme as major financial institutions abandon the sector because of concerns about global warming, explain Nick Toscano and Mike Foley.
https://www.theage.com.au/business/the-economy/coal-miners-in-talks-to-self-insure-as-climate-pressure-heats-up-20210806-p58gje.html
I had a bet on Twitter that Sydney would have 500 cases by 15 August. I think I will win
In a canter, to coin a phrase.
More attacks on the most vulnerable and the NDIS. An act of sheer bastardry.
Most of the disabled people attending the disability service I used to work with lived at home. Their parents provided care at home for them, and still do. They and all the other parents of disabled children and adults will continue to do this until they can arrange decent residential care for their adult children or can pass their carer duties on to another family member, usually another of their children. Good residential care is hard to find, few siblings want to take over caring for a disabled adult. Parents worry constantly about what will happen to their children should they die before setting up ongoing care. They depend on the NDIS to fund so much, from mobility aids and wheelchairs to the services they use. Most of those parents are not only single parents (nothing destroys a marriage like looking after a child or an adult with a challenging disability) but receive a carer’s payment as their only income.
Now this bastard government has decided to take away their NDIS support. Parents will now have to choose between maintaining NDIS support or giving up their carer payment, which for most will mean being forced onto JobSeeker. This government is determined to get rid of the NDIS because it is costly, no doubt they believe that money should be spent on rorts intended to win marginal electorates from Labor.
By caring for their children or adult offspring at home rather than putting them into care, which is often inadequate to say the least, they actually save the government a lot of money every year.
Should this government win the next election all those parents will be forced onto the CDC.
what absolute scumbag bar-steds. This makes my blood boil. This will affect the client on NDIS I have in my job as a Disability Support Worker.
His Dad cannot go to work because NDIS does not replace his 24/7/52 care, (less respite). I give him 3 hrs respite a week.