Cory Bernardi - the attack dog is officially off the leash.
Is this guy Abbott's consigliere ?
The Politics Thread.
Re: The Politics Thread.
Menzie!!
Things go awry without Jye!!
Regards
MH_Bomber
Re: The Politics Thread.
No MH ...... he is not the consigliere.....he is a very naughty boy!!!MH_Bomber wrote:Cory Bernardi - the attack dog is officially off the leash.
Is this guy Abbott's consigliere ?
Re: The Politics Thread.
You go girl.
And reviews from Amazon; hilarious. http://www.amazon.com/THE-CONSERVATIVE- ... Descending
And reviews from Amazon; hilarious. http://www.amazon.com/THE-CONSERVATIVE- ... Descending
Re: The Politics Thread.
Reviews of Bernadi's book on Amazon. Some funny shit!
http://www.amazon.com/THE-CONSERVATIVE- ... =ohmy0c-20
http://www.amazon.com/THE-CONSERVATIVE- ... =ohmy0c-20
Re: The Politics Thread.
100 days of chaos.....another 2.6 years to go. OMG 
http://www.independentaustralia.net/pol ... ckage,6044
Each separate item below has a link to a source. Broken promises appear in bold, as well as in a separate list at the end.
The List
74. Fails to contradict or take any action against a member of his government, Senator Cory Bernardi, who makes divisive statements about: abortion, “non-traditional" families and their children, same sex couples, couples who use IVF and calls for parts of WorkChoices to be reintroduced — 6 January 2014.
73. Devastates Australia’s contribution to overseas aid by cutting $4.5 billion from the budget, causing vital programs supporting those in extreme poverty in our region to collapse — 1 January 2014.
72. Drastically reduces tax breaks for small business and fails to publicise the move — 1 January 2014.
71. Refuses to support jobs at SPC at the cost of hundreds of jobs — 27 December 2013.
70. Appoints Tim Wilson, a Liberal Party member and policy director of right-wing “think tank” the Institute of Public Affairs to the position of commissioner at the Human Rights Commission, even though the IPA had been arguing for the Commission to be abolished — 23 December 2013.
69. Approves private health fund premium increases of an average 6.2 per cent a year — 23 December 2013.
68. Fails to provide the promised customs vessel to monitor whaling operations in the Southern Ocean — 23 December 2013.
67. Requests the delisting of World Heritage status for Tasmanian forests — 21 December 2013.
66. Scraps the Home Energy Saver Scheme which helps struggling low income households cut their electricity bills — 17 December 2013.
65. Defunds the Public Interest Advocacy Centre whose objectives are to work for a fair, just and democratic society by taking up legal cases public interest issues — 17 December 2013.
64. Defunds the Environmental Defenders Office, which is a network of community legal centres providing free advice on environmental law — 17 December 2013.
63. Axes funding for animal welfare — 17 December 2013.
62. Abolishes the AusAID graduate program costing 38 jobs — 17 December 2013.
61. Cuts Indigenous legal services by $13.4 million. This includes $3.5 million from front line domestic violence support services, defunding the National legal service and abolishing all policy and law reform positions across the country — 17 December 2013.
60. Abolishes the position of co-ordinator-general for remote indigenous services — 17 December 2013.
59. Changes name of NDIS “launch sites” to “trial sites” and flags cuts to funding — 17 December 2013.
58. Abolishes the National Office for Live Music along with the live music ambassadors — 17 December 2013.
57. Weakened the ministerial code of conduct to let ministers keep shares in companies — 16 December 2013.
56. Disbands the independent Immigration Health Advisory Group for asylum seekers — 16 December 2013.
55. Starts dismantling Australia’s world leading marine protection system — 13 December 2013.
54. Scraps the COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water — 13 December 2013.
53. Breaks its NBN election promise of giving all Australians access to 25 megabits per second download speeds by 2016 — 12 December 2013.
52. Overturns the “critically endangered” listing of the Murray Darling Basin — 11 December 2013.
51. Dares Holden to leave Australia, leading to Holden announcing closure of Australian manufacturing operations, which will cost Australian workers 50,000 jobs — 11 December 2013.
50. Approves Clive Palmer’s mega coal mine in the Galilee Basin, which opponents say will severely damage the Great Barrier Reef — 11 December 2013.
49. Demands that the few childcare workers who got pay rises “hand them back” — 10 December 2013.
48. Approves the largest coal port in the world in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area — 10 December 2013.
47. Removes the community’s right to challenge decisions where the government has ignored expert advice on threatened species impacts — 9 December 2013.
46. Downgrades national environment laws by giving approval powers to state premiers — 9 December 2013.
45. Undermines Australia’s democracy by signing a free trade agreement with South Korea allowing corporations to sue the Australian Government — 6 December 2013.
44. Damages our diplomatic relationship with our nearest neighbour East Timor — 5 December 2013.
43. Repeals the pokie reform legislation achieved in the last parliament to combat problem gambling — 4 December 2013.
42. Suspends the Wage Connect program, despite it being proven to deliver good outcomes for unemployed people — 3 December 2013.
41. Axes funding to the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia, forcing the 46 year old organisation to close — 27 November 2013.
40. Back-flips twice on the ‘Gonski’ education reforms, reversing a commitment to a ‘unity ticket’ and failing to deliver equitable education funding — 25 November 2013.
39. Shifts Australia’s position at the UN on Israeli settlements — 25 November 2013.
38. Damages our diplomatic relationship with the Indonesian Government by refusing to apologise for tapping the phones of their President, his wife and senior Government officials — 23 November 2013.
37. Converts crucial Start-Up Scholarships into loans, increasing the debt of 80,000 higher education students by $1.2 billion — 21 November 2013.
36. Gifts two navy patrol boats to the Sri Lankan government to stop asylum seekers fleeing the Sri Lankan government — 17 November 2013.
35. Introduces a Bill to impose on workers who are elected onto unpaid union committees huge financial penalties and jail terms for breaches of new compliance obligations — 14 November 2013
34. Expressly condones torture by foreign governments by saying “sometimes in difficult circumstances, difficult things happen” — 14 November 2013.
33. Hides information from the Parliament and the people about the government’s treatment of asylum seekers — 13 November 2013.
32. Separates a refugee mother from her newborn baby — 10 November 2013.
31. Cuts 600 jobs at the CSIRO — 8 November 2013.
30. Abolishes Insurance Reform Advisory Group, which provided a forum for industry and consumer bodies to discuss insurance industry reform — 8 November 2013.
29. Abolishes the Maritime Workforce Development Forum, which was an industry body working to build a sustainable skills base for the maritime industry — 8 November 2013.
28. Abolishes the High Speed Rail Advisory Group, whose job it was to advise Governments on the next steps on implementing high speed rail for eastern Australia — 8 November 2013.
27. Abolishes the Advisory Panel on the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formula, which for 21 years monitored compliance of industry to agreements on marketing infant formula — 8 November 2013.
26. Abolishes the Antarctic Animal Ethics Committee, who ensured research on animals in the Antarctic complies with Australian standards — 8 November 2013.
25. Abolished the National Steering Committee on Corporate Wrongdoing, that for 21 years worked to make sure the law was effectively enforced on corporate criminals — 8 November 2013.
24. Abolishes the National Inter-country Adoption Advisory Council, which provided expert advice on overseas adoption — 8 November 2013.
23. Abolishes International Legal Services Advisory Council, which was responsible for working to improve the international performance of Australia’s legal services — 8 November 2013.
22. Abolishes the Commonwealth Firearms Advisory Council, a group of experts in gun crime and firearms which was set up after the Port Arthur massacre — 8 November 2013.
21. Abolishes Australian Animals Welfare Advisory Committee, a diverse group of experts advising the Agriculture Minister on animal welfare issues — 8 November 2013.
20. Abolishes the National Housing Supply Council, which provided data and expert advice on housing demand, supply and affordability — 8 November 2013.
(Image by David Olive via sallymcmanus.net)
19. Abolishes the Advisory Panel on Positive Ageing, established to help address the challenges the country faces as the number of older Australians grows — 8 November 2013.
18. Refuses to offer support to manufacturing in Tasmania, despite requests and warnings. Caterpillar announces the move of 200 jobs from Burnie to Thailand, costing about 1,000 local jobs — 5 November 2013.
17. Provides $2.2 million legal aid for farmers and miners to fight native title claims — 1 November 2013.
16. Abolishes the 40 year old AusAID costing hundreds of jobs — 1 November 2013.
15. Launches a successful High Court challenge, which strikes down the ACT Marriage Equality laws, invalidating the marriages of many people and ensuring discrimination against same-sex couples continues — 23 October 2013.
14. Denies there is a link between climate change and more severe bush fires and accuses a senior UN official was “talking through their hat” — 23 October 2013.
13. Appoints the head of the Business Council of Australia to a “Commission of Audit” to recommend cuts to public spending — 22 October 2013.
12. Instructs public servants and detention centre staff to call asylum seekers “illegals” — 20 October 2013.
11. Appoints Howard era Australian Building & Construction Commission (ABCC) Director to help reinstate the ABCC with all its previous oppressive powers over construction workers — 17 October 2013.
10. Axes the Major Cities Unit, a Government agency with 10 staff set-up to provide expert advice on urban issues in our 18 biggest cities — 24 September 2013.
9. Fails to “stop the boats”. Hides the boats instead — 23 September 2013.
8. Scraps the Social Inclusion Board, which had been established to guide policy on the reduction of poverty in Australia — 19 September 2013.
7. Abolishes the Climate Commission — 19 September 2013.
6. Appoints himself Minister for Women — 16 September 2013.
5. Appoints only one woman to his cabinet and blames the women for the decision, saying he appoints “on merit” — 16 September 2013.
4. Abolishes key ministerial positions of climate change and science — 16 September 2013.
3. Breaks his promise to spend his first week with an Aboriginal community — 14 September 2013.
2. Takes away pay rises for childcare workers — 13 September 2013.
1. Takes away pay rises from aged care workers — 13 September 2013.
The Broken Promise Count
1. Does not spend his first week as Prime Minister with an Aboriginal community — 14 September 2013. This promise was made in front of indigenous elders and participants at the Garma Festival on 10 August 2013:
You can watch the full speech here (the promise is made at 21:30).
2. Fails to “stop the boats”. Hides the boats instead — 23 September 2013. This promise was repeated many, many times. For instance, here’s Abbott’s 2013 campaign launch speech.
3. Back-flips twice on Gonski, reversing a commitment to a ‘unity ticket’ and failing to deliver equitable education funding — 25 November 2013 See paragraph two from Christopher Pyne on 29 August 2013.
4. Breaks NBN election promise of giving all Australians access to 25 megabits per second download speeds by 2016 — 12 December 2013. This was the Coalition’s policy they took to the election, first announced 9 April 2013.
5. Changes name of NDIS “launch sites” to “trial sites” and flags cuts to funding — 17 December 2013. The promise to deliver the NDIS in full was made 20 August 2013 and is in the policies they took to the election.
6. Fails to provide the promised customs vessel to monitor whaling operations in the Southern Ocean — 23 December 2013. Promise made by Greg Hunt 9 April 2013.
Thanks to The Greens whose research in 100 days, 40 failures: A Preview of secretive, cruel and chaotic Government provided the initial material for this project.
http://www.independentaustralia.net/pol ... ckage,6044
Each separate item below has a link to a source. Broken promises appear in bold, as well as in a separate list at the end.
The List
74. Fails to contradict or take any action against a member of his government, Senator Cory Bernardi, who makes divisive statements about: abortion, “non-traditional" families and their children, same sex couples, couples who use IVF and calls for parts of WorkChoices to be reintroduced — 6 January 2014.
73. Devastates Australia’s contribution to overseas aid by cutting $4.5 billion from the budget, causing vital programs supporting those in extreme poverty in our region to collapse — 1 January 2014.
72. Drastically reduces tax breaks for small business and fails to publicise the move — 1 January 2014.
71. Refuses to support jobs at SPC at the cost of hundreds of jobs — 27 December 2013.
70. Appoints Tim Wilson, a Liberal Party member and policy director of right-wing “think tank” the Institute of Public Affairs to the position of commissioner at the Human Rights Commission, even though the IPA had been arguing for the Commission to be abolished — 23 December 2013.
69. Approves private health fund premium increases of an average 6.2 per cent a year — 23 December 2013.
68. Fails to provide the promised customs vessel to monitor whaling operations in the Southern Ocean — 23 December 2013.
67. Requests the delisting of World Heritage status for Tasmanian forests — 21 December 2013.
66. Scraps the Home Energy Saver Scheme which helps struggling low income households cut their electricity bills — 17 December 2013.
65. Defunds the Public Interest Advocacy Centre whose objectives are to work for a fair, just and democratic society by taking up legal cases public interest issues — 17 December 2013.
64. Defunds the Environmental Defenders Office, which is a network of community legal centres providing free advice on environmental law — 17 December 2013.
63. Axes funding for animal welfare — 17 December 2013.
62. Abolishes the AusAID graduate program costing 38 jobs — 17 December 2013.
61. Cuts Indigenous legal services by $13.4 million. This includes $3.5 million from front line domestic violence support services, defunding the National legal service and abolishing all policy and law reform positions across the country — 17 December 2013.
60. Abolishes the position of co-ordinator-general for remote indigenous services — 17 December 2013.
59. Changes name of NDIS “launch sites” to “trial sites” and flags cuts to funding — 17 December 2013.
58. Abolishes the National Office for Live Music along with the live music ambassadors — 17 December 2013.
57. Weakened the ministerial code of conduct to let ministers keep shares in companies — 16 December 2013.
56. Disbands the independent Immigration Health Advisory Group for asylum seekers — 16 December 2013.
55. Starts dismantling Australia’s world leading marine protection system — 13 December 2013.
54. Scraps the COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water — 13 December 2013.
53. Breaks its NBN election promise of giving all Australians access to 25 megabits per second download speeds by 2016 — 12 December 2013.
52. Overturns the “critically endangered” listing of the Murray Darling Basin — 11 December 2013.
51. Dares Holden to leave Australia, leading to Holden announcing closure of Australian manufacturing operations, which will cost Australian workers 50,000 jobs — 11 December 2013.
50. Approves Clive Palmer’s mega coal mine in the Galilee Basin, which opponents say will severely damage the Great Barrier Reef — 11 December 2013.
49. Demands that the few childcare workers who got pay rises “hand them back” — 10 December 2013.
48. Approves the largest coal port in the world in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area — 10 December 2013.
47. Removes the community’s right to challenge decisions where the government has ignored expert advice on threatened species impacts — 9 December 2013.
46. Downgrades national environment laws by giving approval powers to state premiers — 9 December 2013.
45. Undermines Australia’s democracy by signing a free trade agreement with South Korea allowing corporations to sue the Australian Government — 6 December 2013.
44. Damages our diplomatic relationship with our nearest neighbour East Timor — 5 December 2013.
43. Repeals the pokie reform legislation achieved in the last parliament to combat problem gambling — 4 December 2013.
42. Suspends the Wage Connect program, despite it being proven to deliver good outcomes for unemployed people — 3 December 2013.
41. Axes funding to the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia, forcing the 46 year old organisation to close — 27 November 2013.
40. Back-flips twice on the ‘Gonski’ education reforms, reversing a commitment to a ‘unity ticket’ and failing to deliver equitable education funding — 25 November 2013.
39. Shifts Australia’s position at the UN on Israeli settlements — 25 November 2013.
38. Damages our diplomatic relationship with the Indonesian Government by refusing to apologise for tapping the phones of their President, his wife and senior Government officials — 23 November 2013.
37. Converts crucial Start-Up Scholarships into loans, increasing the debt of 80,000 higher education students by $1.2 billion — 21 November 2013.
36. Gifts two navy patrol boats to the Sri Lankan government to stop asylum seekers fleeing the Sri Lankan government — 17 November 2013.
35. Introduces a Bill to impose on workers who are elected onto unpaid union committees huge financial penalties and jail terms for breaches of new compliance obligations — 14 November 2013
34. Expressly condones torture by foreign governments by saying “sometimes in difficult circumstances, difficult things happen” — 14 November 2013.
33. Hides information from the Parliament and the people about the government’s treatment of asylum seekers — 13 November 2013.
32. Separates a refugee mother from her newborn baby — 10 November 2013.
31. Cuts 600 jobs at the CSIRO — 8 November 2013.
30. Abolishes Insurance Reform Advisory Group, which provided a forum for industry and consumer bodies to discuss insurance industry reform — 8 November 2013.
29. Abolishes the Maritime Workforce Development Forum, which was an industry body working to build a sustainable skills base for the maritime industry — 8 November 2013.
28. Abolishes the High Speed Rail Advisory Group, whose job it was to advise Governments on the next steps on implementing high speed rail for eastern Australia — 8 November 2013.
27. Abolishes the Advisory Panel on the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formula, which for 21 years monitored compliance of industry to agreements on marketing infant formula — 8 November 2013.
26. Abolishes the Antarctic Animal Ethics Committee, who ensured research on animals in the Antarctic complies with Australian standards — 8 November 2013.
25. Abolished the National Steering Committee on Corporate Wrongdoing, that for 21 years worked to make sure the law was effectively enforced on corporate criminals — 8 November 2013.
24. Abolishes the National Inter-country Adoption Advisory Council, which provided expert advice on overseas adoption — 8 November 2013.
23. Abolishes International Legal Services Advisory Council, which was responsible for working to improve the international performance of Australia’s legal services — 8 November 2013.
22. Abolishes the Commonwealth Firearms Advisory Council, a group of experts in gun crime and firearms which was set up after the Port Arthur massacre — 8 November 2013.
21. Abolishes Australian Animals Welfare Advisory Committee, a diverse group of experts advising the Agriculture Minister on animal welfare issues — 8 November 2013.
20. Abolishes the National Housing Supply Council, which provided data and expert advice on housing demand, supply and affordability — 8 November 2013.
(Image by David Olive via sallymcmanus.net)
19. Abolishes the Advisory Panel on Positive Ageing, established to help address the challenges the country faces as the number of older Australians grows — 8 November 2013.
18. Refuses to offer support to manufacturing in Tasmania, despite requests and warnings. Caterpillar announces the move of 200 jobs from Burnie to Thailand, costing about 1,000 local jobs — 5 November 2013.
17. Provides $2.2 million legal aid for farmers and miners to fight native title claims — 1 November 2013.
16. Abolishes the 40 year old AusAID costing hundreds of jobs — 1 November 2013.
15. Launches a successful High Court challenge, which strikes down the ACT Marriage Equality laws, invalidating the marriages of many people and ensuring discrimination against same-sex couples continues — 23 October 2013.
14. Denies there is a link between climate change and more severe bush fires and accuses a senior UN official was “talking through their hat” — 23 October 2013.
13. Appoints the head of the Business Council of Australia to a “Commission of Audit” to recommend cuts to public spending — 22 October 2013.
12. Instructs public servants and detention centre staff to call asylum seekers “illegals” — 20 October 2013.
11. Appoints Howard era Australian Building & Construction Commission (ABCC) Director to help reinstate the ABCC with all its previous oppressive powers over construction workers — 17 October 2013.
10. Axes the Major Cities Unit, a Government agency with 10 staff set-up to provide expert advice on urban issues in our 18 biggest cities — 24 September 2013.
9. Fails to “stop the boats”. Hides the boats instead — 23 September 2013.
8. Scraps the Social Inclusion Board, which had been established to guide policy on the reduction of poverty in Australia — 19 September 2013.
7. Abolishes the Climate Commission — 19 September 2013.
6. Appoints himself Minister for Women — 16 September 2013.
5. Appoints only one woman to his cabinet and blames the women for the decision, saying he appoints “on merit” — 16 September 2013.
4. Abolishes key ministerial positions of climate change and science — 16 September 2013.
3. Breaks his promise to spend his first week with an Aboriginal community — 14 September 2013.
2. Takes away pay rises for childcare workers — 13 September 2013.
1. Takes away pay rises from aged care workers — 13 September 2013.
The Broken Promise Count
1. Does not spend his first week as Prime Minister with an Aboriginal community — 14 September 2013. This promise was made in front of indigenous elders and participants at the Garma Festival on 10 August 2013:
You can watch the full speech here (the promise is made at 21:30).
2. Fails to “stop the boats”. Hides the boats instead — 23 September 2013. This promise was repeated many, many times. For instance, here’s Abbott’s 2013 campaign launch speech.
3. Back-flips twice on Gonski, reversing a commitment to a ‘unity ticket’ and failing to deliver equitable education funding — 25 November 2013 See paragraph two from Christopher Pyne on 29 August 2013.
4. Breaks NBN election promise of giving all Australians access to 25 megabits per second download speeds by 2016 — 12 December 2013. This was the Coalition’s policy they took to the election, first announced 9 April 2013.
5. Changes name of NDIS “launch sites” to “trial sites” and flags cuts to funding — 17 December 2013. The promise to deliver the NDIS in full was made 20 August 2013 and is in the policies they took to the election.
6. Fails to provide the promised customs vessel to monitor whaling operations in the Southern Ocean — 23 December 2013. Promise made by Greg Hunt 9 April 2013.
Thanks to The Greens whose research in 100 days, 40 failures: A Preview of secretive, cruel and chaotic Government provided the initial material for this project.
Re: The Politics Thread.
Haha. I finally think you have totally lost the plot.
It'll be a lot longer than 2.6 years to go as well.
It'll be a lot longer than 2.6 years to go as well.
-
j-mac31
- Essendon Legend
- Posts: 15233
- Joined: Thu Aug 31, 2006 2:13 pm
- Location: The city of brotherly love (Detroit)
Re: The Politics Thread.
I know I throw the word 'c***' around too much, but my god Cory Bernardi is a c***.
And Abbott can "distance" himself from Bernardi as much as he likes, but if Bernardi still gets the number 1 SA spot on the ballot (or any spot that gives him a chance at a seat) the next time he's up for election that counts as support.
And Abbott can "distance" himself from Bernardi as much as he likes, but if Bernardi still gets the number 1 SA spot on the ballot (or any spot that gives him a chance at a seat) the next time he's up for election that counts as support.
Aaron Francis is the Messiah.
Re: The Politics Thread.
Damn...
Why do I have to be a receiver.....again..... at these Party Sauna Oxford St Meetings?
Why do I have to be a receiver.....again..... at these Party Sauna Oxford St Meetings?
Re: The Politics Thread.
Its a pity you don't hold yourself to the ethics that you expect everyone else to hold.Flip wrote:Damn...
Why do I have to be a receiver.....again..... at these Party Sauna Oxford St Meetings?
I could just imagine the outrage you would have had if someone had posted something similar about your beloved Julia.
No wonder no one takes you seriously anymore.
Re: The Politics Thread.
Pity Bert, that you have lost your sense of humour....... shame that.
Julia copped everything except the kitchen sink and I wasn't around when it was happening so I could hardly have been making comments of "confected outrage" when she was copping it sunshine.
Always run to the high moral ground you Tories to deflect from Bernardi's incredibly offensive and actually scary book......with no sanction from Phoney of course.
Julia copped everything except the kitchen sink and I wasn't around when it was happening so I could hardly have been making comments of "confected outrage" when she was copping it sunshine.
Always run to the high moral ground you Tories to deflect from Bernardi's incredibly offensive and actually scary book......with no sanction from Phoney of course.
Re: The Politics Thread.
False conservatives mask right-wing misfits
DateJanuary 10, 2014
Nick Dyrenfurth
Cory Bernardi is inspired more by America's Tea Party than Britain's Tories.
On October 18, 1906, The Age reported comments by prime minister Alfred Deakin mocking his rival, opposition leader George Reid, then in the midst of an obsessive anti-socialist scare campaign. ''Mr Reid has got this panic so badly,'' Deakin joked, ''that if a cow chased him out of a paddock he would accuse it of socialism.''
I was reminded of Deakin's put-down by this week's coverage of South Australian Liberal senator Cory Bernardi's provocative new book, The Conservative Revolution.
In Cory Bernardi's fantasy world a Green-left-feminist-homosexual-Muslim spectre stalks the suburbs of Australia.
According to Bernardi, abortion is a ''death industry''. ''Non-traditional families'' produce higher levels of ''criminality amongst boys and promiscuity among girls''. Workplace laws need to be liberalised. The only thing missing was a denunciation of the moral turpitude of certain breeds of red-ragging, single-parent-child cattle.
Perhaps channelling Deakin, Bernardi's colleague, Warren Entsch, queried his ''obsession'' with gay people. He echoed fellow step-father, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, in denouncing the senator's incendiary observations of single mothers and same-sex couples. If a member of Bernardi's family turned out to be gay, Entsch mischievously wondered, would the good senator ''advocate sterilisation?'' =D>
Bernardi is a master in the art of what has come to be known as ''trolling''. The senator appears to be more interested in getting a rise out of his ideological opponents than formulating public policy or meaningfully contributing to public debate.
As a reminder, this is a man who believes homosexuality is but a mere hop, skip and a jump away from bestiality. Islam - not merely radical Islam - is a ''totalitarian political and religious ideology''. Climate science is bunkum too - an invention of pesky left-wing elites. In Bernardi's fantasy world a Green-left-feminist-homosexual-Muslim spectre stalks the suburbs of Australia, hell-bent on destroying everything in its reach, from the institution of the family, to the church and Western civilisation itself.
Sacked from the frontbench twice but still wielding power within the Liberal Party, Bernardi's attention-seeking ways were rewarded in predictable spades.
The Twitterverse and Facebook erupted in righteous denunciation. The online bookseller Amazon was flooded with scathing, if humorous ''reviews''. Some charged that Prime Minister Tony Abbott's muted response indicated tacit support or signalled a machiavellian plan to distract the electorate from the government's political woes. Journalist Lenore Taylor spoke for many when she described him as a ''conviction conservative'' and standard-bearer of the Coalition's conservative wing seeking to shift the political centre.
But here's the rub. Bernardi is no conservative. Rather, he is the ringleader of a set of political misfits inspired by a discredited American-style, muscular Christian, radical right-wing politics ill at ease with the mainstream sensibilities of Australian politics. For example, the Australian sense of the ''fair go'', enshrined in our workplace laws, would seem to embody Bernardi's plea not to ''tamper with tradition''.
The title of Bernardi's screed gives the game away. And since when did constitution-worshipping, incremental-change-loving conservatives openly talk of revolution? The short answer is since they took their cues less from the British Tories and more from the increasingly Tea Party-influenced US Republicans.
A similar lesson applies to his fellow-travellers in the ''conservative'' commentariat. Whether it is Andrew Bolt, Tim Blair or Piers Akerman (who lies awake at night worrying about the left-wing bias of the ABC TV children's program Peppa Pig), or think tanks such as the Institute of Public Affairs, few qualify as genuine conservatives. Many are better described as libertarians.
Tellingly, like their US compadres quite a few boast left-wing backgrounds. Bolt was once a moderate social democrat. In Akerman's (and the late Christopher Pearson's - a one-time Maoist) case, he traversed the left's radical fringes. Despite having crossed the political divide, some remain wedded to a Manichean politics of good and evil.
No doubt some irredentist elements of the Coalition and their media cheerleaders think Bernardi's interventions are smart politics. On the contrary, it can only alienate voters. Take the Islamic vote. We should be careful not to stereotype a diverse ethno-religious grouping. Nonetheless, many Muslims whom Bernardi identifies with totalitarianism are instinctive social conservatives.
Yet why would they vote for a party that tolerates such bigotry? Here history repeats. It was a very similar form of Protestant sectarianism which made the Roman Catholic forefathers of Bernardi and Abbott baulk at voting for, let alone join, the incarnations of the Liberal Party across much of the 20th century.
Another counter-intuitive reading is that Bernardi's antics provide Labor, a party seeking to re-engage with mainstream Australia, a new way forward.
As I argued in The Age a few weeks ago, an opportunity exists for Labor to covet not only socially progressive voters but also dominate the terrain of small ''c'' conservatism - to become the party of meaningful family life in all its ''gold standard'' (to quote Bernardi) manifestations, the champion of tight-knit, multicultural communities and advocate for a renewed sense of mutualism and voluntary organisation including faith-based forms.
The environment, specifically climate change, is an issue that is calling out for a canny strategic approach stressing its progressive and conservative dimensions. After all, a genuine conservative cares deeply about the world they pass onto their children. That person is not Cory Bernardi.
Nick Dyrenfurth is the author of several books on Australian politics and history, and recently worked as a Labor adviser and speechwriter.
Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment ... z2pxfvEtUN
DateJanuary 10, 2014
Nick Dyrenfurth
Cory Bernardi is inspired more by America's Tea Party than Britain's Tories.
On October 18, 1906, The Age reported comments by prime minister Alfred Deakin mocking his rival, opposition leader George Reid, then in the midst of an obsessive anti-socialist scare campaign. ''Mr Reid has got this panic so badly,'' Deakin joked, ''that if a cow chased him out of a paddock he would accuse it of socialism.''
I was reminded of Deakin's put-down by this week's coverage of South Australian Liberal senator Cory Bernardi's provocative new book, The Conservative Revolution.
In Cory Bernardi's fantasy world a Green-left-feminist-homosexual-Muslim spectre stalks the suburbs of Australia.
According to Bernardi, abortion is a ''death industry''. ''Non-traditional families'' produce higher levels of ''criminality amongst boys and promiscuity among girls''. Workplace laws need to be liberalised. The only thing missing was a denunciation of the moral turpitude of certain breeds of red-ragging, single-parent-child cattle.
Perhaps channelling Deakin, Bernardi's colleague, Warren Entsch, queried his ''obsession'' with gay people. He echoed fellow step-father, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, in denouncing the senator's incendiary observations of single mothers and same-sex couples. If a member of Bernardi's family turned out to be gay, Entsch mischievously wondered, would the good senator ''advocate sterilisation?'' =D>
Bernardi is a master in the art of what has come to be known as ''trolling''. The senator appears to be more interested in getting a rise out of his ideological opponents than formulating public policy or meaningfully contributing to public debate.
As a reminder, this is a man who believes homosexuality is but a mere hop, skip and a jump away from bestiality. Islam - not merely radical Islam - is a ''totalitarian political and religious ideology''. Climate science is bunkum too - an invention of pesky left-wing elites. In Bernardi's fantasy world a Green-left-feminist-homosexual-Muslim spectre stalks the suburbs of Australia, hell-bent on destroying everything in its reach, from the institution of the family, to the church and Western civilisation itself.
Sacked from the frontbench twice but still wielding power within the Liberal Party, Bernardi's attention-seeking ways were rewarded in predictable spades.
The Twitterverse and Facebook erupted in righteous denunciation. The online bookseller Amazon was flooded with scathing, if humorous ''reviews''. Some charged that Prime Minister Tony Abbott's muted response indicated tacit support or signalled a machiavellian plan to distract the electorate from the government's political woes. Journalist Lenore Taylor spoke for many when she described him as a ''conviction conservative'' and standard-bearer of the Coalition's conservative wing seeking to shift the political centre.
But here's the rub. Bernardi is no conservative. Rather, he is the ringleader of a set of political misfits inspired by a discredited American-style, muscular Christian, radical right-wing politics ill at ease with the mainstream sensibilities of Australian politics. For example, the Australian sense of the ''fair go'', enshrined in our workplace laws, would seem to embody Bernardi's plea not to ''tamper with tradition''.
The title of Bernardi's screed gives the game away. And since when did constitution-worshipping, incremental-change-loving conservatives openly talk of revolution? The short answer is since they took their cues less from the British Tories and more from the increasingly Tea Party-influenced US Republicans.
A similar lesson applies to his fellow-travellers in the ''conservative'' commentariat. Whether it is Andrew Bolt, Tim Blair or Piers Akerman (who lies awake at night worrying about the left-wing bias of the ABC TV children's program Peppa Pig), or think tanks such as the Institute of Public Affairs, few qualify as genuine conservatives. Many are better described as libertarians.
Tellingly, like their US compadres quite a few boast left-wing backgrounds. Bolt was once a moderate social democrat. In Akerman's (and the late Christopher Pearson's - a one-time Maoist) case, he traversed the left's radical fringes. Despite having crossed the political divide, some remain wedded to a Manichean politics of good and evil.
No doubt some irredentist elements of the Coalition and their media cheerleaders think Bernardi's interventions are smart politics. On the contrary, it can only alienate voters. Take the Islamic vote. We should be careful not to stereotype a diverse ethno-religious grouping. Nonetheless, many Muslims whom Bernardi identifies with totalitarianism are instinctive social conservatives.
Yet why would they vote for a party that tolerates such bigotry? Here history repeats. It was a very similar form of Protestant sectarianism which made the Roman Catholic forefathers of Bernardi and Abbott baulk at voting for, let alone join, the incarnations of the Liberal Party across much of the 20th century.
Another counter-intuitive reading is that Bernardi's antics provide Labor, a party seeking to re-engage with mainstream Australia, a new way forward.
As I argued in The Age a few weeks ago, an opportunity exists for Labor to covet not only socially progressive voters but also dominate the terrain of small ''c'' conservatism - to become the party of meaningful family life in all its ''gold standard'' (to quote Bernardi) manifestations, the champion of tight-knit, multicultural communities and advocate for a renewed sense of mutualism and voluntary organisation including faith-based forms.
The environment, specifically climate change, is an issue that is calling out for a canny strategic approach stressing its progressive and conservative dimensions. After all, a genuine conservative cares deeply about the world they pass onto their children. That person is not Cory Bernardi.
Nick Dyrenfurth is the author of several books on Australian politics and history, and recently worked as a Labor adviser and speechwriter.
Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment ... z2pxfvEtUN
Re: The Politics Thread.
Flip wrote: Always run to the high moral ground
Essendon Football Club- We arent arrogant, just deluded.
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tonysoprano
- Club Captain
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Re: The Politics Thread.
ditto double lolboncer34 wrote:Flip wrote: Always run to the high moral ground
Re: The Politics Thread.
Hard as it may be, Filthy's opinions make Andrew Bolt's look attractive.
Dead set, how can a human being be any less self aware?
Dead set, how can a human being be any less self aware?
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j-mac31
- Essendon Legend
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Re: The Politics Thread.
At least Bolt is worth an occasional read for a laugh.
Aaron Francis is the Messiah.
Re: The Politics Thread.
Flip critics, can you explain why the culture wars have been restarted by the coalition zealots ?
We had to endure Howard's culture wars describing the acknowledgement of Aboriginal Land Rights as adhering to the black arm band view of history. Now what ! The Liberal pr-cks just cant help themselves. Why cant they just run the country and not try to rewrite history and impose their small minded view of the world onto the population at large.
I, for one, don't want some Opus Dei style clap trap being shoved down my daughter's throat paid for with tax payer money. If these sea hunts want to start shoving right wing religious agendas into high school curriculum then they should do it in their own f-ing schools.
New curriculum reviewer was an education consultant to tobacco giant Phillip Morris
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/educatio ... z2q9L13IQt
We had to endure Howard's culture wars describing the acknowledgement of Aboriginal Land Rights as adhering to the black arm band view of history. Now what ! The Liberal pr-cks just cant help themselves. Why cant they just run the country and not try to rewrite history and impose their small minded view of the world onto the population at large.
I, for one, don't want some Opus Dei style clap trap being shoved down my daughter's throat paid for with tax payer money. If these sea hunts want to start shoving right wing religious agendas into high school curriculum then they should do it in their own f-ing schools.
New curriculum reviewer was an education consultant to tobacco giant Phillip Morris
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/educatio ... z2q9L13IQt
Every day in every way these idiots have got it wrong, wrong and wrong !!!
The education guru tasked with reforming Australia's national curriculum by the federal government was previously employed by tobacco firm Phillip Morris to design a school program teaching children about peer pressure and decision making that did not discuss the health dangers of smoking.
The material, which was given to more than 1500 children in Australia and New Zealand, instead encouraged students to make their own decisions about doing ''something wrong'' including smoking (later versions of the guide, including an Aboriginal version, included discussion of the harmful impacts of smoking).
On Friday, the material's author, Kevin Donnelly, was announced by Education Minister Christopher Pyne as one of two men to review Australia's national schools curriculum.
The other is University of Queensland Professor Ken Wiltshire.
Internal Phillip Morris emails from the time show the company was concerned acknowledging it was behind the 1999 ''I've Got the Power'' education packs would be counterproductive because of ''anti-smoking fervour'' in Australia.
Dr Donnelly said on Saturday he had never hidden his work for Phillip Morris and had taken the project on condition he would have full editorial control over the content.
''It was more a resilience program,'' he said of the fact the material did not mention the health risks of smoking. ''A lot of the health impacts had been, and were being, covered very well.''
Announcing the curriculum review, Mr Pyne said the pair's appointment was ''an important step on the path to a world class national curriculum''. He did not mention that Dr Donnelly had worked as Liberal frontbencher Kevin Andrews' chief of staff in 2004 and 2005.
Dr Donnelly has a long association with the Coalition. At the time he produced the Phillip Morris-funded education material, Dr Donnelly's firm was being paid by the Howard government to provide independent advice on the Discovering Democracy civics curriculum, instigated by former Prime Minister Paul Keating and rolled out by then-education minister David Kemp.
Dr Donnelly is the director of the Education Standards Institute, which his website states is the trading name for Impetus Consultants Pty Ltd, a business registered to the K Donnelly Family Trust.
In 2005, Amanda Vanstone told Parliament the Education Department had engaged Impetus Consultants to provide advice and services since 1996.
Ms Vanstone said Dr Donnelly had been paid $165,997 between 1997-2005 by the Howard government for consultant work.
An outspoken critic of the school curriculum, Dr Donnelly argued in November that, ''the cultural left has taken the long march through the education system and enforced its biased, ideological world view on schools''.
Dr Donnelly wrote in 2011 for the ABC: ''Multiculturalism is based on the mistaken belief that all cultures are of equal worth and that it is unfair to discriminate and argue that some practices are wrong''.
In 2004, he wrote that ''many parents'' would consider homosexuality ''abnormal behaviour'', arguing: ''the reality is that gays, lesbians and same-sex couples with children are a very small minority and such groups do not represent the mainstream.''
He has also called for the Bible to be taught in state schools.
But Dr Donnelly said his work would be independent.
''I've written a lot for the popular media but, really, I think people need to distinguish between the day-to-day political debates and what is a significant challenging, but sensitive, review of the curriculum,'' he said.
''The Commonwealth government doesn't employ any teachers or manage any schools, education is a state responsibility, so it has to be collaborative and it has to be consultative.''
Dr Donnelly and Professor Wiltshire will focus their review on the robustness, independence and balance of the English, mathematics, science, history and geography curriculum.
Menzie!!
Things go awry without Jye!!
Regards
MH_Bomber
Re: The Politics Thread.
Also boys and girls have a listen to the new thought policeman, Dr Kevin Donnelly, with one of his right wing mates, Alan Jones. If you have children in primary or secondary be afraid be very afraid.
http://www.2gb.com/audioplayer/5341#.UtIIorSrFyM
99% of that discussion was absolute crap. Aaah, what more would I expect an Abbott government appointee to say and think.
http://www.2gb.com/audioplayer/5341#.UtIIorSrFyM
99% of that discussion was absolute crap. Aaah, what more would I expect an Abbott government appointee to say and think.
Menzie!!
Things go awry without Jye!!
Regards
MH_Bomber
Re: The Politics Thread.
So MH what changes in particular to the curriculum are you against or are you against it before knowing what if anything they are going to change because there is a review by a government you dislike?
Re: The Politics Thread.
Probably something to do with the massive amount of work that was done to put the previous curriculum together with consultancy with many stakeholders Australia wide. Then the Liberals option is to appoint 2 political hacks both with a unashamed conservative bias.
Re: The Politics Thread.
So what part of the policy do you disagree with or as like MH it's from the Libs so it's bad.Sismis wrote:Probably something to do with the massive amount of work that was done to put the previous curriculum together with consultancy with many stakeholders Australia wide. Then the Liberals option is to appoint 2 political hacks both with a unashamed conservative bias.