1. Should Mal Brough stand aside, or just go?
Labor’s charge is twofold. One is that Mal Brough misled parliament, the other that Turnbull showed poor judgement in putting him in charge of integrity within the parliament as Special Minister of State, that he is unsuitable and should go.
At first Brough claimed he didn’t say he asked James Ashby to procure copies of Peter Slipper’s diary for him. When the Channel 9 transcript was produced, he said that what was put to air was not the full question. So Channel 9 published the transcript of the unedited recording:
- It shows journalist Liz Hayes fumbling for words at the start of the question.
“Um why then also did you um assist, seek well, did you ask James Ashby to procure um copies of Peter Slipper’s diary for for you?” Hayes said.
“Yes I did,” Mr Brough replied.
“Why did you do that?” Hayes responded.
“Because I believed Peter Slipper had committed a crime. I believed he was defrauding the Commonwealth,” Mr Brough said.
To any normal person, in Parliament he said the exact opposite.
Now he has apologised to parliament for any action which “unwittingly added to the confusion”.
Turnbull is unmoved, so there it seems the matter will rest, unless the police decide he actually did commit a crime.
2. Tony Abbott lashes out at Julie Bishop
I’m not sure anyone cares except journalists, but Tony Abbott has launched a very public attack on Julie Bishop, accusing her of telling lies about her role in doing him in.
She defended herself, saying Abbott was a victim of his own performance rather than of white-anting.
Now she has clammed up, just saying that people obviously have different memories.
Time for Abbott to button it too!
3. Ian Macfarlane says “up yours” and heads to the Nats
Malcolm Turnbull’s Christmas didn’t get any better as his good friend and former numbers man, Ian Macfarlane, defected from the Liberals and joined the Nationals in Canberra.
Many saw it as a grubby move, based on a feeling of entitlement by people like Mal Brough, Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott, who have forgotten how to behave in the real world.
People in other states may not realise that since 2008 there has been only one party in Queensland, the Liberal-National Party. Federal members have to nominate which party room they will join. So Macfarlane is not strictly changing parties.
People possibly also don’t know that Macfarlane was a farmer and president of the Queensland Grain Growers Association before entering parliament in 1998 via the Toowoomba-based seat of Groom. He says he already owns five Akubra hats and seven pairs of RM Williams boots. Many Nationals in Queensland thought he ratted on them in 1998 when joined the Libs.
I suspect he found the Liberals’ trade and industry policies not to his liking. He seemed highly discomfited when Industry minister with the attitude they took to the car industry.
The Nats will be arguing that they are now entitled to one more minister, indeed a cabinet minister. It also has implications for leadership transition amongst the Nats. Apparently Macfarlane is not a supporter of Barnaby Joyce, but may end up as his deputy when Warren Truss moves on.
4. Japanese whaling boats head south
Japanese whaling boats are heading for the Antarctic again “to resume its hunt after a year-long hiatus, prompting criticism from Australia as well as key ally, the United States.”
- The International Court of Justice ruled last year that Japan’s whaling in the Southern Ocean should stop and an International Whaling Commission panel said in April that Japan had yet to demonstrate a need for killing whales.
But the Japanese say they like to eat them, so they need to resume their research.
Or something.
It looks like the Sea Shepherd organisation will be there too.
5. Greens tax deal enrages Labor
This one had me flummoxed. I couldn’t see what Labor was complaining about.
In short, Labor was working the cross bench for an even better deal on taxing multinationals when they were gazzumpted by The Greens doing an inferior deal with the LNP. Labor became irrelevant, and they didn’t like that at all!
Introduction to Saturday salon
Because of the way the blog currently presents posts on the home page I think it’s better to remove the introductory material to a different place. For new readers, here’s the rationale for this space.
An open thread where, at your leisure, you can discuss anything you like, well, within reason and the Comments Policy. Include here news and views, plus any notable personal experiences from the week and the weekend.
For climate topics please use the most recent Climate clippings.
The gentleman in the image is Voltaire, who for a time graced the court of Frederick II of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great. King Fred loved to talk about the universe and everything at the end of a day’s work. He also used the salons of Berlin to get feedback in the development of public policy.
Fred would only talk in French; he regarded German as barbaric. Here we’ll use English.
The thread will be a stoush-free zone. The Comments Policy says:
The aim [of this site] is to provide a venue for people to contribute and to engage in a civil and respectful manner.
Mal Brough should resign saying it is on the grounds that the case has become a distraction from things that really matter. He can always come back into the ministry at a later date.
It used to be that the Greens were the ones to hold out for the perfect even though it meant nothing would good would happen. People still say to me that they won’t vote Greens because they voted against Rudd’s ETS.
Now it looks as though Labor have become the nit picky perfectionists.
Does the ABC even know there is a Federal by-election on today?
The AEC coverage if folks are interested.
http://vtr.aec.gov.au/HouseDivisionFirstPrefs-19402-137.htm
Well Jumpy, the ABC tells us that Trent Zimmerman has won the Federal for the Liberals despite an almost 14 per cent swing.
I wonder why the swing!
Barrie Cassidy thinks Turnbull will pay a high price if he sticks with Brough.
It’s surprising to me that the greens got only a 1% swing.
Despite ALP not even running this time.
And he has a double-barrel hyphenated surname!
The greens must be very disappointed.
Jumpy
I think the residents of North Sydney are well aware that the Liberal Party is the one that best allows parasites to feed on the host.
All parties have their own brand of parasites Karen, as we all well know.
The Seats of Grayndler, Kennedy and Melbourne, for example.
How to reduce the amount of blood they suck is the major problem, as the host ( taxpayers ) have only so much to give.
I must say that your revulsion toward parasites is one I share, all of them, not just a select few.
Fixed now.
Wasn’t broken.
Jumpy
That’s because you feast on the host.
Hahaha, Karen, employers are workers too silly.
Jumpy
I bet you haven’t done an honest day’s work in your life. How does spewing out thousands of comments here, at Catallaxy etc during business hours constitute work? As I said, you feast on the host, that is to say, you confiscate the value of your employees to feather your own nest.
I’ll take that bet. Set it up.
Is there a way to post photos of each others hands?
Just to compare, I find that an quick, easy, accurate way.
As an aside, would you like to rid the Country of Employers to fix the Budget ?
And also the area of ” work ” that you are involved in would be helpful.
I have 3 trades.
You will find them here at 26,28 and 37.
Pretty handy at 46 and, back in the day, professional fisherman on the GBR.
Your turn….GO!…..
opps, HERE.