802 thoughts on “F#ck Off Putin! Zelensky is the Real Leader.”

1. At least three women were killed in their own homes by former partners just in the the past week.. When is this country going to take this ever-increasing problem seriously?

   FFS ‘A three-year-old child was also present and was found "covered in blood", he said.

   The child is now in the care of relatives.

   "It would appear, thankfully, that child is not injured," Superintendent Humphrey said.’ https://t.co/nI66CwB8At

   — Emily Mayo (@iamemilymayo) March 26, 2022

   The police have absolutely no idea. This little child was traumatised and will live with that trauma for life. How can police say it was “not injured” when it was covered in its mother’s blood?

2. I’m really, really sick of the ongoing vilification by the MSM of certain Labor women.

   If anyone should be vilified it is Kimberley Kitching – the more I read the more I am beginning to believe she was a Liberal plant, as Bruce Haigh claimed. .

   This article by Shane Dowling of Kangaroo Court is not at all flattering to Shorten and Landeryou –
   Bill Shorten and Andrew Landeryou weaponize the death of Kimberley Kitching to blackmail Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party
   https://kangaroocourtofaustralia.com/2022/03/27/bill-shorten-and-andrew-landeryou-weaponize-the-death-of-kimberley-kitching-to-blackmail-anthony-albanese-and-the-labor-party/

   Admittedly Shane Dowling has had a bee in his bonnet about Kitching and her husband for years, but there are enough verified facts to make this piece believable.

   Then there are articles in Crikey, some free, some paywalled.

   This, by Bernard Keane, completely destroys the myth about Kitching as a brave human rights campaigner. In actual fact she was very selective in who she would support. It also destroys the MSM-promoted image of her as some sort of saint.

   The other Kitching truth the press gallery won’t talk about: she was a product of our hollowed-out democracy
   The sordid truth is that political parties are prey to small-time powerbrokers more focused on their interests than the public interest.
   https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/03/22/kimberley-kitching-truth-press-gallery-wont-talk-about/

   Then there’s this, by Guy Rundle (also free) describing Kitching’s funeral and more. It’s worth reading for his description of the outfit worn by Michaelia Cash, and the hat chosen by former Labor senator Jacinta Collins.

   https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/03/22/kimberley-kitching-funeral-senator-daughter-wife-more/

   Kimberley Kitching was not the heroine we are constantly told about in the MSM.

3. Honestly, it’s descended into such a farce that I wonder what would happen if the next time a Labor aligned person was interrogated by a media courtier to the government (I refuse to think of them as journalists anymore) replied to the question sarcastically “So, yes, what happened is that Kimberly Kitching was confronted by Penny Wong in the dead of night and was stunned by her lesbian succubus powers, which allowed Kristina Kenneally and Katie Gallagher to stab her in the heart in a socialist satanic ritual to help us win the election”.

   Probably would be reported straight-faced, really.

   (Ridiculous scenario inspired by Jordan Shanks’ sarcastic answer to David Penberthy’s 4th question here).

   My answers for @penbo's upcoming exposé in the @australian. pic.twitter.com/P59qQDAss5

   — 💧friendlyjordies (@friendlyjordies) December 9, 2021

   • Clearly Penberthy had not seen any of Jordan’s videos and was basing his incredibly dumb questions on what he had been told to ask. Not surprising he was given a totally ridiculous reply to Q4.

     I have never understood what Kate Ellis saw in him to convince her he was worth marrying.

4. This is from Poll Bludger, posted by Tom.

   The Pope and Scott Morrison were on the stage together outside parliament house in front of a huge crowd.

   The Pope leans towards Morrison and says, “Do you know that with one little wave of my hand I can make every person in this crowd go wild with joy? This joy will not be a momentary display, but will go deep into their hearts and they’ll forever speak of this day and rejoice!”
   Morrison replied, “I seriously doubt that! With one little wave of your hand? …. Show me!”

   So the Pope backhanded him and knocked him off the stage!
   AND THE CROWD ROARED & CHEERED WILDLY, there was dancing in the streets & joy and happiness spread throughout all of Australia

   • Love it!

   • Brilliant, thanks for that, Puffy.

   • Brilliant!!! 😀

5. Stuff from Facebook – again

   This time it’s by Michael Springer, a bloke I don’t know and don’t follow. It is very well written and a good summary of how the current government is dismantling Medicare. “Mediscare” was not a lie, it was the truth.

   Brick by Brick We Say Goodbye to Medicare
   One of the great moments of social accomplishment which arose out of the election night in 1983 when Bob Hawke and the Australian Labor Party (‘Labor”) were so emphatically elected to power was the knowledge we had Gough Whitlam’s important social reform of free universal health care would be restored, after the Fraser Government had privatised Gough’s Medibank. That enthralling night in 1983 heralded the introduction of Medicare in 1984, a social initiative which meant as much to Bob Hawke as it did Gough Whitlam.

   Turn the hands of time forward 39 years later and what we now have regarding universal health care is a shadow of what used to be the socially responsible policy of universal health care under the umbrella of Medicare. Before I take you to the evidence I have received from Australians who assert the Liberal Party is pulling apart the structure of Medicare brick by brick (the identity of these witnesses has been protected to ensure they are not subjected to febrile reactive commentary of trolls whom may wish these people harm), there are issues in relation to our universal health care system in which I am either personally subjected to, or which impoverished Australians are now experiencing reduced funding under the Morrison Government. My personal experience shall be addressed in the paragraph immediately below, followed by the Australians who have reached out to me about the insufficient Medicare rebates. There was also an announcement made by Mr Morrison on Friday, 25 March 2022 regarding endometriosis and pregnancy funding, an announcement which generated criticism online by women as being a product of cynical political motivations of an unpopular Prime Minister in the last weeks of an electoral cycle. Now before anyone begins to type the words of scorn directed at me regarding Mr Morrison’s announcement, may I say I have deep sympathy for any woman who has suffered endometriosis or pregnancy problems, as my wife and I suffered a harrowing 5 years of trying to fall pregnant until our bundle of joy being our daughter was born in December 2012. I recorded our harrowing journey, including the mental health aspects of it, in an article I published on LinkedIn during 2015, the link to which is set out below:

   https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/hold-tight-your-dreams-come-true-michael-springer?fbclid=IwAR2w7syj3aqCPRytzJNh5K6iOGguC_I_h1SRwrrD3yH1Whhz1umHKMnzfAs

   As many of you are aware, I suffer from a Major Depressive Disorder, various anxieties, and post-traumatic stress (‘PTS’). Some of my mental health problems stretch all the way back to 1979. Indeed, you may say my mind has been a torture chamber since I was 9 years of age, as I endured either the mental health problems themselves, or alternatively battled very low self-esteem or self-confidence which was a product of the torture of my mind, and the mental concerns I held about my body. When I had my mental health breakdown at about this time last year, I was fortunate to have private health insurance to ensure I could be treated by a psychiatrist at a private hospital immediately. Many Australians are not so lucky to be insured to this level of medical protection, or they don’t have any insurance at all. Nevertheless, notwithstanding my private medical insurance protecting me financially in relation to my treatment at the hospital of my choice by my psychiatrist, it does not provide sufficient coverage for me regarding the extremely necessary psychological counselling I must participate in if I wish to become healthy again. Now, once again, before the Liberal Party screaming trolls embark on a journey of criticising me again, I acknowledge psychological counselling was first added as part of item 80110 to the Medical Benefits Schedule (‘MBS’) in November 2006. However, 16 years later, 10 of which years have been under the rule of Liberal and National Party Federal Governments, there is a significant financial and social inequity which now arises regarding psychological/ psychiatric treatment. I must incur over $2,000.00 of psychological counselling costs, in which I am only partially rebated at about 50% of the cost of the therapy, before Medicare increases to absorb approximately 80% of the psychologist’s fee. I have not worked since early March 2021, so every dollar counts on my budget. However, I am fortunate to live in a highly advantaged area of a major city, because for every Medicare dollar spent in my area on psychological counselling, the least fortunate areas only receive 76 cents. The inequity of the rebate system regarding psychiatric treatment is even more extreme, as for every dollar of our public money we disburse for psychiatric treatment under Medicare, disadvantaged Australians only receive $3.45 compared to the highly advantaged areas of the nation receiving $7.70. This inequitable disbursement of funds under the present Medicare system of psychiatric/ psychological care has been previously reported by the ABC in December 2020, yet the Morrison Government has not seen fit to ameliorating the inequity in the system since that ABC report. Medicare was established in the interests of equity, not inequity.

   Nevertheless, the disassembling of the Whitlam/ Hawke social initiative of Medicare extends beyond psychiatric/ psychological care, as we are now witnessing an entrenched system under Liberal governments of disassembling Medicare brick by brick regarding the payments or rebates made under the MBS, as is evident from the experiences of the people I have been contacted by (for the sake of their privacy they shall remain anonymous) requiring public health care:

   1. DW has suffered from a variety of health problems during her lifetime. She has told me she now has to pay over $300.00 for her Shingles vaccination, which used to be on the PBS and is still free for people aged over 70. DW is not 70, but she suffers from bouts of shingles about once every 18 months, therefore she needs the vaccination. Her blood tests are only authorised once a year by the Medicare rebate. In 2003 DW also paid $2295.00 to have 5kg of angiolipoma removed from her body, a cost which she paid upfront and then discovered Medicare would not rebate her because a plastic surgeon performed the operation, which Medicare deemed as ‘cosmetic’. DW appealed the decision and was successful. She is very concerned with the way the current government and the Howard Government have approached medical rebates under Medicare. She has also told me about the uncertainty and worry amongst the aged community in relation to hip, knee, and shoulder replacement rebates, because they may have to pay large out of pocket fees.

   2. Cat needed an MRI of her knee, but it’s no longer subsidised for over 60s according to her GP. She had to settle for a less comprehensive x-ray. Cat informs me it is painful for her to stand for more than an hour or to use public transport. She has also told me the job agency she is using can only offer her unsuitable jobs, in that they are unsuitable because of her medical condition.

   3. GRF is a breast cancer survivor. GRF told me since being diagnosed and treated for breast cancer in 2017, there are now no more free mammograms for her, and from now on she will have to pay for her mammograms. GRF has also told me it’s her opinion the defunding of Medicare by the current Federal Government is real, and it is worse for people with more invasive cancers as they don’t receive Medicare rebates.

   4. RW is a disabled and impoverished woman. She says most people on benefits can’t afford to pay for pathology, and if you get a knee scan only one a day is covered under a Medicare rebate. RW says the same rebate policy applies to shoulders scans. She also told me if she needs an ultrasound, it’s just too much money for her to afford as an upfront cost. Finally, RW told me obtaining free mental health services for a person in her physical and financial position is very difficult, and there are no free psychiatric treatments available to her.

   5. DMP is under 65, so free eye checks are now only available every 3 years whereas once they were free every 2 years.

   6. TFC receives a Disability Support Pension (‘DSP’) because she suffers from a physical disability and autism. She told me she is currently being investigated for endometriosis. TFC couldn’t get an abdominal and pelvic scan bulk billed together, nor can she afford an MRI. TFC told me she is now stuck on a waiting list for a laparoscopy while elective surgeries are postponed because of Covid. She also told me the increased cost of pharmaceutical supplies means she now can’t afford melatonin to assist her with her sleep. In addition, TFC also can’t afford some of the blood tests she needs performed, and she even must pay in full for the vaccine boosters she needs due to one of her conditions causing her to experience complications with her immunity. The medical costs TFC must pay has made it impossible for her to survive on the DSP and to access the medical help she needs to keep her medical conditions stable.

   7. SLJ has told me because of her age it will cost her close to $500.00 for a mammogram and ultrasound, to ensure the lump she has in her breast isn’t malignant. SLJ quite rightly asserts early detection of breast cancer is crucial for survival, but the system makes it financially difficult for her to have regular mammograms and ultrasounds. SLJ also queries how young women can afford these medical treatments.

   8. ME suffers from an illness which requires medical intervention by a rheumatologist. She informs me her specialist, which ME must consult with regularly, costs her personally after the Medicare rebate $150.00 per consultation. It is a long-term illness which ME suffers from, and the Medicare rebate is insufficient to pay for consultations and then pay for her other costs of living.

   9. CK agrees endometriosis is debilitating and painful, but she told me women who are facing life or death breast cancer diagnosis now must pay up to $800 for an MRI, due to Morrison’s cuts to Medicare.

   10. JP told me she was recently informed she may have to pay $1,200.00 for a Familial Hypercholesterolemia blood test, which will be an out-of-pocket cost.

   As you can see from the evidence provided to me by the above-mentioned people regarding their own personal experiences in the public health system, there are significant inequities in Medicare rebates which arise from conservative governments slowly dismantling the universal health care system which Mr Whitlam and then Mr Hawke enacted for every Australian to benefit from. During the Howard years we witnessed the emphasis shifting from public health to encouraging (for use of a better word) Australians to pay for treatment in the private health system, to move away from a universal health care system paid for by our public money. The costs of private health insurance have increased significantly since Mr Howard first came to power, and it is now a system in which only the advantaged can afford top healthcare cover. Indeed, the current Leader of the Opposition, Mr Albanese wrote about the Howard Government’s broken promises in an article he published online on 15 April 2005(https://anthonyalbanese.com.au/howard-government-cuts-funding-to-medicare). The disadvantaged people, such as the people who contacted me above, rely upon Medicare. It is a system of public health care cover which has suffered from the previous cuts made by the Howard Government, including locking the bulk billing rate into 66.5% of the GP’s costs. Upon Labor returning to power Medicare was reconstituted by Mr Rudd’s proposed reforms in 2010 which were implemented by Ms Gillard’s reforms during 2011. Sadly, 1,000 further changes to the MBS have been made by the Morrison Government during 2021, which the Australian Medical Association described as ‘chaos’, including the costs of GP’s leaving a gap of up to 34% under the rebate scheme. The Howard and Morrison Government’s have destroyed what was the great social medical scheme of Medicare introduced by Mr Hawke in 1984.

   Finally, I shall briefly return to Mr Morrison’s endometriosis funding announcement on Friday, 25 March 2022. As I stated earlier, I have only the deepest sympathy for women who have experienced problems with pregnancy and endometriosis, particularly as my wife and I experienced so many difficulties for approximately 5 years before we were fortunate to fall pregnant. As I also explained above, many women on social media on 25 March 2022 found this announcement to be a cynical announcement, given Mr Morrison’s political misfortunes now. Mr Morrison made the announcement in circumstances where the Newspoll published the previous day recorded his personal standing to be further diminishing, and the Roy Morgan poll published on 23 March 2022 listed him as the most untrustworthy politician in the country (it was quite an extensive poll conducted by Roy Morgan, with over 12,000 people being interviewed and the top 10 most untrustworthy politicians are Liberal and National Party and other politicians; no Labor politicians featured in the untrustworthy list). Channel 9 also interviewed Mrs Morrison on 25 March 2022. The very resourceful online journalist Ronni Salt has previously examined on 13 March 2021 Media Cloud (https://twitter.com/ronnisalt/status/1370665371846381569?s=21&fbclid=IwAR1IxzGWufASH7linr8104Fs6Zofgfk2CBzzdVi_4gIGfRNxgIyH16cXjHU), and she discovered either Mr Morrison’s communications team, or some partisan elements of the media, referring to Mrs Morrison’s personal health problems on the following occasions:
   1. July/ August 2018 when Mr Morrison was vying to become leader of the Liberal Party (don’t be fooled by that hand on Mr Turnbull’s shoulder).
   2. April/May 2019 when Mr Morrison was campaigning for re-election.
   3. September 2019 when the story broke about Mr Morrison trying to obtain an invite for Mr Houston to attend a dinner at the White House with former President Trump.
   4. February/ March 2021 when questions were raised about the alleged conduct of some Liberal members or staffers.

   Now I can’t say definitively what motivated Mr Morrison’s announcement on 25 March 2022 regarding some funding for endometriosis and pregnancy treatment, but the announcement has been made right before an election will be called, and if it wasn’t a politically motivated initiative of announcements and personal revelations of a medical health problem suffered by women, then why didn’t Mr Morrison introduce the proposed medical funding during June or July of 2019? Notwithstanding what opinions you may form about Mr Morrison’s announcement on 25 March 2022, or Ms Salt’s previous investigations, one fact is certain; Medicare is slowly but surely being pulled apart brick by brick, particularly by the Morrison Government

   https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009628652333

   • Shingles vax for under 70s is 2 doses of a dead virus, as opposed to single dose live virus given to over 70s

     My shingles shots in October/December 2021 were
     $105 for script
     ~ $300 for vaccine X 2
     $95 for nurse X 2
     ~ $900 for shingles vaccination – health care in Australia is becoming as expensive as USA

     I am not impressed that Medicare rebate has been withdrawn for conditions associated with ageing

   • Should add that in 2023 there will be NO FREE shingles vax

6. Something that will cheer up Jim Molan.The Rupertarium ensuring the voice of the looniest of loons is heard. I’d laugh but ‘these days’ with ‘this government’ the odds are not zero.
   .
   .
   Australia must be willing to invade the Solomon Islands and topple its government if that’s what is necessary to stop a proposed security pact between China and the Pacific nation going ahead, one commentator has argued.

   David Llewellyn-Smith, founding publisher of MacroBusiness and former owner of leading Asia Pacific foreign affairs journal The Diplomat, says this is “Australia’s Cuban missile crisis” and chillingly warns a Chinese naval base in the Solomons would be “the effective end of our sovereignty and democracy”.
   https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/australia-must-ready-solomon-islands-invasion-to-stop-china-security-deal/news-story/d53d32a38e000a45a736df4fc7f8f38f

   • Australia would not be able to invade Fort Denison and win, let alone invade the Solomons.

     Last time we ventured to the Pacific islands (Tonga) one of our ships – HMAS Adelaide – had a major electrical breakdown AND a Covid outbreak.

7. Good morning Dawn Patrollers

   Sean Kelly reckons real test of seriousness this week is one neither Albanese nor the PM is likely to pass.
   https://www.smh.com.au/national/real-test-of-seriousness-this-week-is-one-neither-albanese-nor-the-pm-is-likely-to-pass-20220326-p5a872.html
   The editorial in The Age declares that the Treasurer must boost productivity to help deal with cost of living problems.
   https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/treasurer-must-boost-productivity-to-help-deal-with-cost-of-living-20220326-p5a86a.html
   The Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison does not have qualities of leadership. He is unable to act in a crisis, he fades in the face of fire and flood, he demonstrates poor judgement and when challenged he bullies, writes Bruce Haigh who says the rot began with John Howard. This is a hell of a spit!
   https://johnmenadue.com/wake-up-australia-the-rot-began-with-john-howard/
   David Crowe tells us that a faster rail line between Sydney and Newcastle will be a key commitment to NSW voters in the federal budget on Tuesday.
   https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/feds-to-pledge-1-billion-for-faster-rail-from-sydney-to-newcastle-20220327-p5a8cz.html
   He also reports that Victorians will be promised a $3.3b federal government plan to expand road and rail networks across the state, including new freight projects meant to take 5500 trucks off the roads around Melbourne every day.
   https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/budget-to-include-3-3-billion-for-vic-road-and-rail-networks-20220327-p5a8bu.html
   And Crowe says there will be a household handout on Tuesday night – call it the Cost of Living Package – regardless of the economic outlook. Why? Because the election outlook counts more. The COLP means HELP for Scott Morrison when the Prime Minister has to throw everything at his attempt to survive in May.
   https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/never-mind-the-economy-the-election-outlook-counts-more-20220327-p5a8bt.html
   It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that road spending is way too high, priorities are wrong, and there is a roads empire which is out of control, declares John Austen, formerly of Infrastructure Australia.
   https://johnmenadue.com/dont-believe-what-you-hear-about-fuel-excise-and-road-funding-in-the-forthcoming-election-campaign/
   “What can the under-privileged hope for in the budget…not much?”, says Francis Sullivan.
   https://johnmenadue.com/what-can-the-under-privileged-hope-fo-in-the-budget-not-much/
   Train station car parks promised to key seats at the 2019 election are getting a fresh funding boost ahead of this year’s poll under an infrastructure package to be confirmed in Tuesday’s budget, says Shane Wright.
   https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/coalition-earmarks-more-cash-for-commuter-car-parks-in-marginal-seats-20220327-p5a8c7.html
   “What if the 2022 federal election gives us a hung parliament, but those with the balance of power want Morrison gone?”, ask Frank Bongiorno and David Lee.
   https://theconversation.com/what-if-the-2022-federal-election-gives-us-a-hung-parliament-but-those-with-the-balance-of-power-want-morrison-gone-180097
   When we look at the individual Morrison Government members, we see very few who distinguish themselves from their peers. What we see is a collection of odd, socially awkward people, thrown together by a strange ideology which really sets them apart from our society. Birds of a feather really do flock together, writes Mark Buckley about what he describes as the party of greed.
   https://johnmenadue.com/time-to-end-the-party-of-greed/
   Clancy Yeates tells us that ANZ Bank chief executive Shayne Elliott has warned high inflation is not a temporary blip for the economy and rising prices are starting to affect consumer behaviour as the government prepares to deliver a pre-election budget aimed at cost of living pressures.
   https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/inflation-pressure-not-a-blip-warns-anz-boss-20220327-p5a8a0.html
   According to Michael Koziol, Scott Morrison will steer clear of the Liberal Party’s most marginal Sydney seat during the election campaign, leaving it to his more popular Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, to help first-term MP Dave Sharma in the battle for Wentworth. Apparently, Morrison is on the nose in the area.
   https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/unpopular-morrison-to-avoid-sydney-s-most-marginal-liberal-held-seat-20220325-p5a81k.html
   Sharri Markson continues to beat the drum, saying senior Labor figures warned Kimberley Kitching that Penny Wong wanted to remove her from the party’s tactics committee 18 months before she was dumped on accusations of leaking to the Morrison government.
   https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/nation/kimberley-kitching-was-warned-penny-wong-wanted-to-boot-her-from-key-alp-committee/news-story/46d3028435a6221cbae08829b5728990
   And she proclaims that justice for Kitching was lost to Albanese’s ambition.
   https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/justice-for-kitching-lost-to-albaneses-ambition/news-story/dc2f94eadecc2f1dbb437a16b6abd369
   Residents of Melbourne’s genteel eastern suburbs of Hawthorn, Kew and Balwyn would have been forgiven for thinking the federal election is mere days away, writes Paul Sakkal.
   https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/battle-lines-drawn-as-kooyong-voters-put-on-notice-20220310-p5a3ex.html
   Matthew Knott writes that departing Liberal MP John Alexander has said Australian politicians are so addicted to using infrastructure spending to buy votes that responsibility for nation-building projects should be taken out of their hands and assigned to an independent authority.
   https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/liberal-mp-politicians-addicted-to-buying-votes-take-spending-out-of-their-hands-20220325-p5a7wc.html
   Alan Kohler exposes the ‘dodgy schemes’ hiding the real cost of climate action. He says the government needs to stop pretending it will cost nothing to stop global warming.
   https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2022/03/28/carbon-offsets-climate-alan-kohler/
   The controversy surrounding NSW MP Gareth Ward cast light on the difficulty parliaments face in disciplining their members, writes George Williams who says he deserved a presumption of innocence.
   https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/house-rules-in-favour-of-nsw-mp-gareth-ward-until-court-decides-fate/news-story/b710aaddc0272c69c0f1bf3b69d9c816
   The NSW government is preparing to delay several multi-billion dollar mega projects due to rapidly escalating costs and labour shortages, leaving commuters on Sydney’s northern beaches and in fast-growing suburbs around Olympic Park facing slower journeys for years longer than originally promised, report Tom Rabe and Matt O’Sullivan.
   https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/nsw-government-set-to-delay-mega-projects-amid-covid-19-pressures-20220327-p5a8bq.html
   Scott Morrison and Dominic Perrottet will hand-pick candidates for key federal seats in a last-minute intervention which will further inflame tensions in the troubled NSW division of the Liberals. The move could pave the way for Transport Minister David Elliott to contest the federal seat of Parramatta, with many of his ministerial colleagues convinced he will quit state politics, writes Alexandra Smith.
   https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/morrison-perrottet-to-handpick-candidates-in-must-win-nsw-seats-20220327-p5a8cf.html
   An order cancelling democratic votes for Liberal Party candidates in favour of having them picked by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and other party bosses is causing uproar among grassroots party members, writes James Robertson.
   https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2022/03/27/morrison-preselection-shutdown/
   The SMH editorial says that government should embrace a target on reducing self-harm.
   https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/government-should-embrace-target-on-reducing-self-harm-20220327-p5a8b3.html
   Dale Webster exposes the “big four” retreat from regional Australia, leaving cashed-up and bankless towns watching their money go round and round.
   https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/big-four-banks-casting-a-dangerous-shadow,16189
   Hillsong is facing catastrophe, but the Houstons will be loath to give up control, writes Elle Hardy in The Guardian.
   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/27/hillsong-is-facing-catastrophe-but-the-houstons-will-be-loath-to-give-up-control
   It’s not every day a judgment is so scathing that it puts an entire industry into turmoil, writes Adele Ferguson, but a judgment from the Supreme Court of Victoria into mortgage broking giant Connective has put a cloud over its reputation and ownership structure.
   https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/chairman-dishonest-md-lied-scathing-connective-decision-20220327-p5a8b2
   The NSW government will pursue The Star for any unpaid tax it is found to be owing, Treasurer Matt Kean has warned, as the casino giant braces for a fresh grilling this week over allegations of money laundering and criminal infiltration.
   https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/nsw-treasurer-warns-that-government-will-chase-star-for-any-unpaid-tax-20220327-p5a8d7.html
   A Russian billionaire’s links to a gas exploration venture involving Origin Energy has triggered calls from the head of a federal parliamentary inquiry for a freeze on taxpayer funding flowing to fossil fuel projects in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin, report Mike Foley and Nick Toscano.
   https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/government-must-guarantee-gas-funds-won-t-benefit-russian-oligarch-20220325-p5a82j.html
   Russia wants to split Ukraine into two, as happened with North and South Korea, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief says.
   https://www.theage.com.au/world/europe/ukraine-says-russia-wants-to-split-nation-calls-for-more-arms-20220328-p5a8f4.html
   The former bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Albany, New York, has acknowledged covering up allegations of sexual abuse against children by priests in part to avoid scandal and protect the reputation of the diocese. Another one!
   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/27/former-bishop-new-york-sexual-abuse-allegations-cover-up

   Cartoon Corner

   Peter Broelman
   
   Jim Pavlidis
   
   Matt Golding
   
   
   David Rowe
   
   Alan Moir
   
   Badiucao
   
   Mark Knight
   
   Leak
   

   From the US
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

8. Leaving aside the constant reference to his wife, does he realize that what he is doing will just inflate house prices?

   A reporter asked Morrison, where in Sydney can someone buy a home for $750,000

   We know that the hardest thing to do when you are buying your first home, and I remember this when Jenny and I were buying our first home, it was hard back then and it’s harder now, was bringing together your deposit. It was a 20% deposit. Now with the government underwriting that deposit, it’s a 5% deposit.

   Calla has a neat follow-up

   People will be able to save 5% much sooner than they could save 20%, Morrison says.

   Which is true. But, let’s play a bit of a game. I don’t know how old the Morrisons were when they bought their first home, but let’s be conservative and assume that Morrison was 30 years old. That would be 1989.

   The median house price in Sydney in 1989 was $170,850. A 20% deposit would be $34,170.

   The median house price in Sydney now is $1,601,467, according to the Domain House Price Report released in January. A 5% deposit would be $80,073.

   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2022/mar/28/australia-news-live-updates-weather-nsw-queensland-floods-scott-morrison-budget-frydenberg-politics-election-parliament-covid-coronavirus-omicron

9. Scovid must be really, really desperate!

   It’s Monday and he has already given a presser. Monday! He usually takes a long weekend until Tuesday – or later if parliament isn’t sitting.

10. Polling for Climate 200 shows Josh Frydenberg’s primary vote in Kooyong has dropped from 49.5 per cent at the last election to below 40 per cent.

    There's a long way to go yet, but poor old Joshie is in for the fight of his life.#kooyongvotes https://t.co/1x5r743Iuw

    — RonniSalt (@RonniSalt) March 27, 2022

11. The lengths they went to to stop the reasons for Scovid’s sacking becoming public

    https://www.michaelwest.com.au/the-first-time-morrison-lost-the-nations-confidence-the-story-they-dont-want-you-to-know/

    • Scovid has failed at or been sacked from every job he has had since he finished uni.

      Crikey explains in this piece from February 2019 –
      A closer look at Scott Morrison’s CV
      Morrison’s pre-parliament career casts doubt over his strategic campaigning abilities, his management skills and an apparent tendency towards a lack of transparency.
      https://www.crikey.com.au/2019/02/11/scott-morrison-career/

      If we are lucky he will soon be sacked as PM, although we will keep on paying him until he dies.

12. NEW POST:

    Ukraine …

13. Morrison’s response to Houston revelations shows more truths about the PM’s character — but where’s the media?

    Australia’s political commentariat has all but ignored the ugly truths the Hillsong scandal has revealed of the prime minister’s character.

    …

    https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/03/28/houston-revelations-show-more-truths-about-pms-character/