=== Todays Toon ===
Henry William Forster, 1st Baron Forster, GCMG, PC, DL (31 January 1866 – 15 January 1936), was a British Conservative Party politician who became the seventh Governor-General of Australia
=== Bible Quote ===
“Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.”- Psalm 119:165=== Headlines ===
The One Who Got Away: Survivor Details Drug War Massacre
Wounded migrant stumbles into military checkpoint and leads Mexican marines to what may be the biggest massacre so far in the country's bloody drug war: a room with the dead bodies of 72 fellow travelers 100 miles from the U.S. border.Wiki's Latest Leak No 'Blockbuster'
WikiLeaks releases what it calls a secret CIA memo, examining the risks of terrorists operating from within the United States, but this time, rather than rattle the intelligence community, the publication was met by a collective yawn and a sigh of relief
States Seek Exemption to Military Voting Law
Ten states are seeking waivers exempting them from complying with law that requires all states to mail absentee ballots to overseas military voters 45 days before Election Day
GOP Alaska Senator Vows 'It Ain't Over'
As vote count continues, Sen. Murkowski remains confident that she will overcome a narrow deficit and prevail over Palin-backed Joe Miller in surprisingly tight primary election
Does Universe Exist Inside Black Hole?
Scientist: Hidden universe could exist inside every black hole
Breaking News
Dollar steady after dip on Capex figuresTHE dollar was steady at noon after losing some ground on weaker than expected capital expenditure figures.
Noon shares up on bank gains
THE share market was in positive territory at noon today, with gains in the banking sector balancing losses in the mining sector.
Mining tax debate 'delayed investments'
GLOBAL concern over proposed mining tax led businesses to delay investments, say exonomists.
Fortescue profit rises to $657m
FORTESCUE Metals Group has posted a 14 per cent rise in annual net profit and a surge in shipments of the steelmaking commodity.
Now THAT'S a departure prohibition order
ACTOR Paul Hogan could potentially be stuck in Australia for years, his lawyer says.
Chaouk brothers face firearms offences
TWO members of an alleged crime family have each been charged with a raft of firearms offences.
Crown doubles profit, shares up 2pc
CROWN says annual profit is up 129 per cent and trading in both Australian casinos has lifted in the early part of the new year.
Baby in box may not have been stillborn
A NEWBORN baby found dead in a box in Sydney's inner west a week ago may have been alive for 24 hours.
Bodies found in Mexico are 'migrants'
THE bodies of 72 people found after a shootout on a ranch in northeast Mexico are believed to be those of US-bound migrants.
Kim Jong-Il 'on visit to China'
NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong-Il may have left for China on Thursday in what would be his second trip there this year.
NSW/ACT
Men sought over fatal home invasionA FURTHER two men are wanted over the fatal home invasion in Sydney's west on Monday night.
Dumped baby Bridget's mum: New hunt
FRESH appeal launched to find mother of baby girl found dead in a cardboard box.
Time for the real Kristina
KRISTINA Keneally has come out with her own "real Julia" speech, saying she'll ignore focus groups and advice she has been getting.
Traffic chaos as water runs wild
A BUSY Eastern Suburbs intersection became a raging river when a giant water main burst, flooding the road and a carpark.
Larrikin cockatoos are doomed
A FLOCK of sulphur-crested cockatoos is doomed after causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to Sydney buildings.
'I thought Keli was pregnant'
ONE of Keli Lane's water polo teammates yesterday admitted to "spying" on her friend's figure.
Brother's regret as charge laid
THE brother of a teenager allegedly gunned down in a home invasion spoke out for the first time about the ordeal.
Superweed plague on the rampage
SUPERWEEDS that can swallow valleys, farms and factories are creeping over Sydney's west, experts have warned.
The mass costs of Mascot
THE world's leading airline body has accused Sydney Airport of abusing its power and failing to support an ailing aviation industry.
Drunk at 180km/h, free to go
DESPITE a magistrate finding this woman's dangerous driving was "one of the worst cases" he had seen, she has escaped jail.
Queensland
Man on illegal suicide chargeA MAN accused of helping a Brisbane senior to commit suicide by buying him illegal euthanasia drugs will have to stand trial in the Supreme Court.
Sentences raised for meter thieves
TWO brothers, part of a gang which stole thousands of dollars in coins from Brisbane parking meters, had their sentences increased on appeal today.
Gold Coast police in for shake-up
A SHAKE-up of Gold Coast policing is expected to be announced today by Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson.
Teacher sackings spark talks
TEACHERS' union in urgent talks with private school after 22 teachers sacked.
Man falls off unfinished house
MAN injured after falling off an unfinished house at a building site in Brisbane.
Suitcase hazard on motorway
TWO large suitcases are creating a hazard on the Gateway Motorway at Nudgee on Brisbane's northside.
Diver's air hose pumps poison
A DIVER is lucky to be alive after his air hose line started pumping out carbon monoxide instead of oxygen.
Child sex fiend jailed
A FAR Northern woman has confronted the sex predator who robbed her and her sister of their childhoods more than 30 years ago.
Boy, 5, almost chokes to death
A FIVE-year-old boy is lucky to be alive after he choked on a plastic block. He is in a critical condition in hospital.
Spence may desert Bligh's ship
VETERAN state Labor MP Judy Spence is considering a shock mid-term retirement that would deliver another blow to Anna Bligh's embattled leadership.
Victoria
Eleven face Bob Jane riot chargesELEVEN men appeared in court today charged over the Bob Jane riot in March this year.
Police car stolen in pursuit
A POLICE car was stolen during a dramatic pursuit that involved an attempted break-in and capsicum spray in Corio last night.
Cops sacked over email scandal
TWO police officers have been sacked, one has been demoted and another two fined over Victoria Police’s email scandal.
Police hit the street in murder probe
POLICE will take the unusual step of doing a leaflet drop as they try to solve the shooting death of a man earlier this year.
Beanbag gun stops knifeman
A BEAN bag shotgun was used to disarm a man threatening police with a knife in Melbourne's west yesterday.
Thief steals disabled man's scooter
UPDATE 12.55pm: A HEARTLESS thief has stolen a disabled man's motorised scooter in Ballarat.
Ski fields record huge snow dumps
UPDATE 8.10am: HUGE overnight snowfalls have delivered Victoria’s best skiing conditions in years, as the state's icy winter continues.
Mummies opt for belly cast
Mothers-to-be, particularly those who have gone through an arduous journey with IVF, are the latest fans of belly casting.
Every parent should watch it
I WON'T beat around the bush - the Ben Cousins documentary is confronting and intense.
Fears held for missing mother
POLICE fear for the wellbeing of a woman who went missing from a Glen Iris address on August 11.
Northern Territory
Boy jumps from car, run over, driven awayPOLICE fear for the safety of a boy who was carried away after being run down by a car.
Lone mozzie blamed for dengue fever
A LONE mosquito could be responsible for the first case of dengue fever contracted in the Northern Territory for more than 70 years.
South Australia
Wild weather causes havocFALLEN trees from rough weather have cut power throughout the Adelaide Hills, while flooding and landslips also have caused problems.
We'll make Chelsea national treasure
A FRONTRUNNER to buy the Chelsea Cinema has unveiled plans to keep the historic building, speaking out over its frustration with the sale process.
10 cancer deaths in the state every day
CANCER rates are on the rise across the state, with an average 10 South Australians dying from the disease every day.
Drivers flout phone law
MORE than 1000 motorists a month are being caught using mobile phones while driving but harsh penalties and new laws are only getting through to young drivers, police say.
Katter to inspect ravaged Murray
INDEPENDENT Federal MP Bob Katter has accepted an invitation to tour the River Murray from the Riverland to the Lower Lakes and Coorong.
Driver airlifted to hospital after hitting truck
A MAN has been airlifted to the Flinders Medical Centre after colliding with a truck yesterday evening.
Salisbury's hoon spy-cam plan
CAMERAS hidden in hedges, on carports and on stobie poles are part of a Salisbury Council plan to cut hoon driving and rubbish dumping.
Jamie's ministry may head south
JAMIE Oliver’s Ministry of Food project - designed to tackle obesity and promote healthy eating - could be on its way to the southern suburbs.
Call for GPs to end emergency dept jam
WAITING times in Modbury Hospital’s emergency department could be slashed and millions of dollars saved by involving GPs, an ED doctor says.
Pitched battle at reserve
A TURF war is brewing at Kensington Gardens Reserve, pitting Burnside Hockey Club against local cricket, rugby and tennis clubs.
Western Australia
Mercanti's five-year pub banNOTORIOUS bikie Troy Mercanti has been banned from pubs and clubs for five years after a ruling by the WA Liquor Commission - despite being in jail.
Cousins says arrest was 'payback'
CONTROVERSIAL AFL star and drug addict Ben Cousins claims his notorious 2007 arrest in Perth was ``payback'' from WA police.
'Community service, not detention'
THE state's juvenile justice system will continue to be over-represented with indigenous people until their core social issues are addressed, Chief Justice Wayne Martin said.
Trust fund for shark victim's family
THE South-West community has rallied to support the family of shark attack victim Nicholas Edwards.
Man, 21, charged over glass attack
DETECTIVES charge a 21-year-old man over the glassing at a Perth nightclub which left a man with extensive facial and neck injuries.
Cop defends high-speed pursuit policy
ONE of Western Australia's top police officers has appeared before the state's coroner to defend the force's high-speed pursuit policy.
'The allegations are inaccurate'
A PERTH man who was pursued by a high-profile Dutch crime reporter over the violent death of a woman in Honduras has denied any wrongdoing.
'Barnett puts $30b gas hub at risk'
WA Premier Colin Barnett's determination to compulsorily acquire land under native title claim for a gas hub puts the project at risk, the Kimberley Land Council says.
Murder hearing sparks court uproar
RELATIVES of a man stabbed to death in Perth's entertainment district hurled abuse at a man charged with his murder when he appeared in court via a video link today.
Terror test was 'poor judgment'
WA'S Education Department chief apologises after a high school teacher set students an assignment to plan a terrorist attack to kill innocent people.
Tasmania
Babysitter walks free after child deathA WOMAN has walked free from a court after pleading guilty to assaulting a four-year-old boy who died in her care.
Labor ready to concede Denison
LABOR'S candidate for Denison, Jonathan Jackson, has all but conceded defeat to Independent Andrew Wilkie.
Dog saves family from burning home
A FAMILY pet has been credited with saving his owners from their burning home.
=== Journalists Corner ===
The "Obama Effect"With weak poll numbers and the Dems in disarray, is the party in peril come November? Karl Rove previews the election.
===
Guest: Mike Huckabee
Americans say we lost our economic direction - How do we find our way back? Mike Huckabee has answers.
===
On Fox News Insider
A Humanitarian Mission to North KoreaBobby Bowden Chats About "Life, Faith & Football"
Fox News Channel is Very Happy to Welcome Back Jennifer Griffin
=== Comments ===
Muslim Employee Claims Disneyland Won't Allow Her to Wear HeadscarfTHIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT FROM "THE O'REILLY FACTOR," AUGUST 24, 2010. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LAURA INGRAHAM, GUEST HOST: In the "Back of the Book" segment tonight: Disneyland gets accused of discrimination.
Imane Boudlal, a 26-year-old Muslim woman, has filed a complaint against Disneyland. She says the management won't let her wear her headscarf while she's in front of customers at the Magic Kingdom. Here is how she defines the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IMANE BOUDLAL, FILED COMPLAINT AGAINST DISNEYLAND: I'm not here to scare anybody. I want to keep my job. I'm a human being, and I have feelings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Joining us now from Orange County, California, is Ms. Boudlal's attorney, Ameena Qazi.
Ameena, a lot of folks are watching this across the country and they're trying to get their minds wrapped around this. This employee of Disneyland, they're called cast members -- they're all called cast members at Disney. She, for two years, did not ask to wear a headscarf, as I -- as I understand it, and then during Ramadan, as a hostess in one of the restaurants or one of the attractions at Disney, she decided she wanted to wear the headscarf. And so what was the, you know -- what was the impetus for the change in the way she wanted to conduct herself at Disney?
AMEENA QAZI, IMANE BOUDLAL'S ATTORNEY: You know, Imane, like many people out there, go through spiritual changes. Some people become born again; some people's religious practices changes. Imane is no different. She wanted to wear the headscarf in public and at work, and she requested to do so at her job as a hostess server, which is essentially like a waitress, at the California -- Grand Californian Hotel, which is owned and operated by Disney Company. She made the request in June, waited and waited, and finally she decided that she needed to start wearing it by Ramadan because of her religious practices.
INGRAHAM: So -- so as I understand it, Disney made two efforts to try to accommodate her. One effort was you could wear the head scarf but you also had to wear, I guess, the hat that -- one of the hats that other people wear, cast members. The other was, OK, if you want to wear your headscarf, you can work backstage or in the back where, you know, you won't be out of uniform -- the uniform that all the other Disney cast members are wearing.
What was wrong with either of those two options, given the fact that she signed an agreement when she went to work for Disney that she agreed to all these strict, very strict rules for dress, conduct -- I think no tattoos; men can't have facial hair. I mean, she knew what those rules are when she signed on.
QAZI: Right. Well, first of all in Disney's policies there actually is a paragraph that says that any exceptions for religious purposes can be made and requested to the casting director or to HR. So Disney's obligations to religiously accommodate her, I think is fairly dispositive.
As far as the actual attempts that they have made, you know, they weren't bona fide attempts to our understanding. They weren't reasonable. Wearing the hat -- there's not a single other hostess server in the restaurant who has to wear that hat.
INGRAHAM: Because they're not wanting to wear a headscarf though. I mean, other people aren't asking to wear a headscarf. Other people signed onto a set of rules that no one forced them to sign. She wanted to work at Disney, happiest place on Earth. I go to Disney, and everybody signs on to project an image.
And what I see is that private companies are now not allowed to brand themselves in a certain way, because if they do, someone is going to come along -- it doesn't have to be a Muslim, could be someone else -- says, "No, this doesn't work for me. I demand the terms of my employment to be changed."
QAZI: Well, Imane is not demanding anything but equal treatment under the law, and the law is fairly clear. It's not a new law; it's an old law. It's the Civil Rights Act of 1964, specifically Title 7, which guarantees her the right to religious accommodation for her sincerely held religious beliefs. So she's just made that simple request to Disney, and we're really hard-pressed to see why this simple request to wear a headscarf -- you can see I'm wearing a headscarf. I've been wearing it for 14 years.
INGRAHAM: But you don't work for Disney.
QAZI: ...high school. No, but I've worked for many institutions, many organizations.
INGRAHAM: Disney is Disney. It's Disney. It's a small world. It's Epcot Center. You know, it's all -- you know, the Disney stuff. That's what Disney does. If you don't want to do it, don't like Disney or you don't like the rules, work somewhere else. I mean, work somewhere where, you know, it's fine. The idea that Disney is discriminating -- I was just at Disney World last month on my book tour and, you know, I saw plenty of Muslims at Disney. You know, customers, they were going on rides. I mean, full burkas, the whole deal. I mean, I thought -- didn't seem like people were discriminating against anyone. It's just a look of the people who, you know, who work there. I just -- I don't know. I just think it's building distrust.
QAZI: I see your point, right. Right, and I hear your point. I mean, I myself went to Disney not too long ago -- Disneyland a month or so ago. I mean, we're not complaining of patrons as how we're treated. It's the exact irony of the situation that, as an employee...
INGRAHAM: All right. I appreciate it.
QAZI: ...she doesn't have the right to wear the hijab.
INGRAHAM: All right, Ameena. Thanks so much.
===
RUSSIA BEFORE THE REVOLUTION
Tim Blair
Kirill Pogorelov emails:
I noticed on your blog that you’re a bit of a fan of the historic photos.
Hope you can publish these on the blog – they are amazing!
===
POST-ELECTION EGO SCRAMBLE
Tim Blair
Treasurer Wayne Swan meets his new leader:
Swan’s scraping to Bob Katter is his worst moment since last Saturday night. Katter also appeared yesterday at a Canberra GetUp! fest (Canberra is the GetUp! capital) with other independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor, where Oakeshott – delighted at his sudden high profile – thrilled at the possibility that politicians would now have “more power … in representing their electorates”.If representing electorates is important, the three amigos should shun Labor, as their electorates demand:
Fifty five per cent said they favoured their local independent Member of Parliament supporting Mr Abbott to enable the Coalition to have a majority in the new house … only 37 per cent favoured support for a Gillard-led minority government.Right now, the indy trio seem likely to go with Labor – despite their parliamentary record, which reveals that only tilty Oakeshott is inclined to vote with Labor more often than not. Even councillors in his region pay less attention to Katter than he’s currently receiving from Swan, Julia Gillard, and Tony Abbott:
Local cattle grazier Ben Kalcott has been a councillor for 29 years and mayor for the past six …Sensible council. At a federal level, however, Katter and his hombres are asking for everything. And they’re mostly getting it, although Tony Abbott – whose party received slightly more support than is behind the independents – found a limit to his accommodation.
Mr Kalcott, who has never been a member of any political party, said Mr Katter “carries on, but just frightens industries away rather than attracting them here”.
“As a council, we don’t approach him for anything,” he said.
Counting continues. Several seats remain in play. We have no idea when this will end, much less how. Points of interest:
• The most cynical demand from the indy trinity is for a guaranteed three-year term from whichever party forms government – thereby locking in the power of these three flukers.
• Several months before the election, Guy Rundle observed that “vanquishing Abbott shouldn’t be too hard”. We’re nearly one week after the election. Abbott still not vanquished. Rundle, as usual, wrong.
• All in the action is in Canberra, so guess who flies in – eager to deliver another dose of the Kevni Kurse. He just can’t live outside of the spotlight, as Jayne Azzopardi revealed during the campaign:
Kevin Rudd loves having the cameras follow his every move, he loves it when journalists ask him questions …• The view from Canada – surprisingly well-informed, considering the record of North American reporting on local issues: “Think Canadian politics is rough? Try Australia’s … If you like intrigue and blood-on-the-floor politics, nothing beats the Australian system.”
He ramps up the Kev-Cam show when Julia Gillard is in Brisbane (which so far has been the equivalent of every second day of this campaign). On Tuesday she made her suicide prevention announcement in his electorate. At that very same time, Kevin was touring Princess Alexandra Hospital.
• Ben Eltham offers the stupidest summary yet of Election 2010: “Australian voters decided they didn’t much like either major party, so they voted for neither.” Except for the millions who did.
• During yesterday’s GetUp! show in Canberra, Oakeshott congratulated “all the orange people in the room”. Yes – all the GetUppers wore identical orange garb, in accepted cult tradition.
• Miranda Devine identifies the election’s twelve delusions.
===
Labor most likely
Andrew Bolt
Hasluck seems the Coalitions’ now, which leaves just two seats in play:
In Corangamite, the Liberals’ Sarah Henderson is 573 votes behind and her momentum has stalled. Likely to stay with Labor.If both fall to Labor, it will have 75 seats - if we count on its side the Greens’ Adam Bandt and the former Greens independent Andrew Wilkie. Then the only options are a Labor Government (with the backing of at least one rural independent) or new elections.
In Brisbane, the Liberal National Party’s Teresa Gambaro is now just 382 votes ahead, and being caught up, Could go either way.
Of course, Wilkie may yet surprise. And if the Coalition grabs Brisbane, the independents play king-maker.
(UPDATE: Oops. Bad maths corrected.)
UPDATE
Corangamite nearly safe for Labor - the margin going from 573 this morning to 718 at lunch.
No update in Brisbane yet.
UPDATE 2
Brisbane moves back to the Liberals - 684 in front now. If the seats stay as they now seem, Labor (with the Greens Adam Bandt and the ex-Greens independent Andrew Wilkie) would muster 74 seats, and the Coalition (with the WA Nationals’ Tony Crook) would have 73. Just two of the three rural independents would give Labor a majority. The Coalition would need all three to form government.
Abbott now needs to make a calculation. Is such a narrow win, with two Left-leaning independents likely to help Labor frustrate him even in the Lower House, really worth it? Won’t years of argument and impotence just damage his brand?
Indeed, is the dance the independents are leading him really just for show? Two - Windsor and Oakeshott - seem inclined to prefer Labor anyway.
If that’s the calculation, then Abbott needs to bid up those bits of the independents’ log of claims that suit an Opposition best, and get Labor to agree on an Independent Speaker and a crackdown on Government filibustering in Question Time. He also needs to reject the demands which will be used to hurt him - not just Treasury scrutiny of his costings, but also the no-election-for-three-years deal he’s already agreed to. Far better to be able to demand fresh elections if a Gillard Government lurches from one setback to another.
UPDATE 3
Liberals ahead in Brisbane by 796.
Corangamite almost certainly Labor - 906 ahead.
The Coalition, with the lone WA Nationals, would have 73 seats, needing all three rural independents to get to a majority of 76.
UPDATE 4
Reader Samuel:
AEC has called it. No more close seats. It’s at Coalition 73, ALP 72, Greens 1, Independents 4.
===
Keeping it in the Labor family
Andrew Bolt
Well, well, Guess who the Three Amigos have asked Labor to send them as a ”wise elder”:
The independents asked Julia Gillard if Labor strategist Bruce Hawker would do the same and she agreed. Mr Hawker, who is a cousin of one of the independents, Tony Windsor, has accepted the role and already floated the idea of non-elected luminaries being included in cabinet.(Thanks to reader June.)
===
Where’s the big dry their models kept predicting?
Andrew Bolt
May 25:
The Bureau of Meteorology says the chances of Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and southwest NSW and Western Australia getting more than average rainfall are less than 40 per cent from June to August.August 26:
Melbourne’s water supply is making major gains thanks to good recent rainfall…Perhaps the BOM is still working off the alarmist climate models of the CSIRO:
(Senior BOM forecaster Terry) Ryan said a soggy June had been followed by a rain-drenched August. With long-range forecasts predicting a damp spring, Victoria is on target to record its wettest year since 1996.
A 2003 CSIRO report, part-funded by the ski industry, found that the resorts could lose a quarter of their snow in 15 years, and half by 2050. The worst case was a 96 per cent loss of snow by mid-century.So, half way to that CSIRO prediction, any update on the snows that have stubbornly refused to vanish? Today’s news:
RECORD snowfalls in Victoria’s alps have set the scene for some magnificent spring skiing. In Victoria’s largest ski resort, Falls Creek, 54cm of snow has fallen in the past 24 hours, taking accumulated snowfall to 226cm this month - the best since 1992.(Thanks to reader Bernie Slattery.)
===
If they spent less on bombs and more on levees…
Andrew Bolt
And Pakistan wonders why donations from the West are slow:
Australian aid to Pakistani flood victims is being distributed at a camp funded by the banned Pakistani group Jamaat ud Dawa. The group was linked to the Mumbai terrorist attacks and has been black listed by the US, Pakistan and the United Nations.More proof that the UN can’t be trusted with our cash, either.
But, the UN World Food Programme is distributing aid, including some donated from Australia, at a camp which receives funding from Jamaat ud-Dawa.
===
Sikhs swap
Andrew Bolt
A Sikh candidate demonstrates which way most Sikhs of his strong community in Cowper normally vote.(Thanks to reader Andy.)
===
Men without a majority choose a government without a majority
Andrew Bolt
How representative of their electorates are the three independents now choosing our Prime Minister?
We’ve already noted below that the three rural independents now toying with backing Labor actually come from strongly conservative electorates. But former Queensland Labor MP Ken Davies tells me that only one of the kingmakers even got a majority of primary votes themselves:
1. Out of the six “Independents” only Tony Windsor (New England) from NSW received an absolute majority and will not have to rely on preferences. He received a 62.28% primary vote.The preferences make the independents more vulnerble to accountability for their choice.
2. The following four “Independents” will either be elected with National or Liberal preferences:. Bob Katter, Kennedy (Qld) – his primary vote currently is 47.28% and will be elected with National (25.93%) preferences – currently 69.00% two party preferred.3. The other “Independent” is Tony Crook, O’Connor (WA) – his primary vote currently is 29.67% and will be elected with Labor (17.18%) and Green (8.56%) preferences – currently 54.21% two party preferred.
· Rob Oakeshott, Lyne (NSW) - his primary vote currently is 47.14% and will be elected with National (35.00%) preferences – currently 62.38% two party preferred.
· Adam Bandt (Greens) Melbourne (Vic) – his primary vote currently is 35.90% and will be elected with Liberal (20.46%) preferences – currently 55.47% two party preferred
· Andrew Wilkie, Denison (TAS) – his primary vote currently is 21.46% and will be elected with Liberal (22.51%) and Green (18.46%) preferences – currently 51.09% two party preferred
It is also interesting that:· The 177,440 people (see below) who voted for these six people will probably determine who governs Australia. It is difficult to see that as true democracy. And it is certainly not inconsistent with the much touted notion of one vote one value and it is hardly democracy.· only SA, NT and ACT are missing from the mix of “Independents” who will decide who governs Australia.
Tony Windsor
50320
Bob Katter
31806
Rob Oakeshott
35006
Adam Bandt
26416
Andrew Wilkie
12754
Tony Crook
20738
177040
UPDATE
Reader Greg says the real trouble would come if these rural independents backed a party wanting a big new mining tax:
You would think they would be against it, but Gillard desperately needs it to deliver her ‘surplus’. Therefore she will put maximum pressure on the independents to pass it ‘in the interests of the country’. She will liken it to a supply bill. She may even include it in the budget.UPDATE 2
If the independents support it, they will be cactus come the next election. If they don’t, they will be vilified as economy destroyers, and will be cactus at the next election anyway.
This will make the carbon tax look like a sideshow.
Labor have offered Bruce Hawker, its king of spin, as a ”wise elder” to guide the independents. Here he explains how they could both help Labor and help thems.... Oh. Wait:
KERRY O’BRIEN: .... Now, you also quoted the South Australian example with Labor Premier Mike Rann, where he had not only the - a National Party member as a minister, but two independents as ministers - well, one as speaker and one as a minister in his cabinet. How well did that work?A word of advice to Labor: while it allows Hawker, an unelected PR flunky, to act as the one of the chief spokesmen for a once-proud part, voters can only conclude the following:
BRUCE HAWKER: It worked remarkably well. That government was very much in the minority when it was elected in 2002, but Rann managed to put together a cabinet and a government which had a National Party member in a senior position, an independent in a senior position, and they were given leave, if they gave him notice in advance, to actually vote against Cabinet decisions in the Parliament if it went against their constituencies… And that’s a big departure from what we’ve expected of cabinet solidarity in the past, but it worked and worked very well. When he came up for re-election in 2006, he got a landslide victory and kept members of that cabinet from outside the Labor Party in his cabinet when it was re-elected in 2006. So, Karlene Maywald, for example, the leader of the National Party, was a member from his cabinet from - I think from 2002 right through to her ...
KERRY O’BRIEN: Until she lost the seat.
BRUCE HAWKER: ... defeat in 2010.
KERRY O’BRIEN: And her association with that Cabinet was what cost her the defeat in the end.
BRUCE HAWKER: Ironically, it probably was...
- its elected MPs are too clueless to argue their own case.
- its elected MPs have put themselves in the hands of the faceless machine men and their hired help
- its MPs rely on spin to sell whatever it is they believe - if, indeed, they believe in anything other than winning.
Would a Hawker have ever been allowed to represent Labor like this when it comprised politicians of the calibre of John Button, Bob Hawke, Ralph Willis, Peter Walsh, John Kerin, Paul Keating and so many others? While Hawker represents Labor as its “wise elder”, you know the party is bankrupt of talent, and a slave to mere spin.
===
How cash for clunkers has hurt the poor
Andrew Bolt
If the Three Amigos are demanding concessions from Labor, they might well start by asking Julia Gillard to scrap her absurd $400 million “cash for clunkers” scheme before it hurts us as Barack Obama’s has hurt America:
Car buyers on average paid $1,800 more for a used vehicle in July than they paid a year ago at this time, according to Edmunds.com data. That’s a 10.3 percent increase, bringing the average cost of a 3-year-old vehicle to $19,248....(Thanks to reader Steve.)
As predicted last year, the people most hurt by the price increases are those who can least afford them. The used-car market usually attracts people who need transportation on a budget, who cannot afford to buy new. By destroying a quarter’s worth of trade-ins in three weeks and permanently taking them off the market, the Obama administration has forced an artificial inflation by supply restriction. Moreover, they did so by subsidizing new-car sales that would have occurred anyway, eating up three billion dollars in taxpayer money.
In other words, the White House spent $3 billion to make used cars more expensive for working-class families. Nice work.
===
Hogan meets a crocodile he can’t tame
Andrew Bolt
The Tax Office does seem over-mighty, when you consider that this is a fight that could take another year or two to resolve - and when Hogan is hardly someone likely to vanish:
CROCODILE Dundee star Paul Hogan has been stopped from leaving Australia until he pays a multi-million-dollar tax bill. The Australian Taxation Office has issued a Departure Prohibition Order barring the screen legend from leaving the country.
Hogan, 70, lives in Los Angeles but returned to Sydney for the funeral of his 101-year-old mother, Flo, last Friday. The larrikin is now virtually a prisoner in Australia - stuck here without his American wife, Linda Kozlowski, and their 12-year-old son, Chance.
The DPO is a court order used to prevent the departure of anyone believed to owe money to the tax office without clearing the debt or making arrangements for the debt to be paid…
The order is the latest step in the five-year legal battle over $37.6 million of allegedly undeclared income involving Hogan and his business mate John Cornell on one side, and the ATO and Australian Crime Commission on the other.
===
Keating demands to own words he should reject
Andrew Bolt
Paul Keating is actually right - a speechmaker may take credit for the pretty words, but the speaker takes responsibility for the sentiment. But why Keating wants to own his overblown and damaging Redfern speech is a mystery to me:
Mr Keating has branded remarks by Mr Watson - in which he said credit belonged to Mr Keating for reading the speech, unedited - as condescending. In The Age’s opinion page today, he writes: ‘’If I could paraphrase Watson, he is saying, ‘I authored the speech but I acknowledge Keating for having the courage to deliver it.’ ‘’
In the speech, delivered at Redfern in December 1992, Mr Keating asserted that ‘’we did the dispossessing … we brought the diseases, the alcohol, that we committed the murders and took the children from their mothers’’.
In his opinion piece today, he says these were his sentiments - ‘’PJ Keating’s sentiments’’ - adding: ‘’They may have been Watson’s sentiments also. But they were sentiments provided to a speechwriter as a remit, as an instruction, as guidance as to how this subject should be dealt with in a literary way.’’
Mr Keating recalls how he had discussed with Mr Watson ‘’on dozens of occasions’’ how non-indigenous Australia could never make good its relationship with indigenous people until ‘’we came clean about the history’’.
Mr Keating concedes that he and Mr Watson write in similar ways - ‘’he is a prettier writer than I am, but not a more pungent one’’ - and insists ownership of a speech only becomes an issue when the speech writer steps from anonymity to ‘’claim particular speeches or words given to a leader or prime minister in the privacy of the workspace’’.
===
Three years of Katter as king?
Andrew Bolt
We are at a dangerous point when the Deputy Prime Minister will grovel to Bob Katter and the other two rural independents who have the power of deciding who governs.If a member’s first duty is to represent their electorate, then these independents should side with the Coalition over Labor, given the strong preference their electorates have for the Coalition in the Senate.
Buf one independent is at heart of the Left:
Rob Oakeshott has been the biggest backer of the ALP, voting with the Rudd and Gillard governments in 55 per cent of all the divisions he has participated in since becoming an MP after a September 2008 by-election. His crossbench colleagues have tended to side more with the Coalition.One independent is more passionate than practical:
Tony Windsor voted with Labor 41 per cent of the time, while Bob Katter backed the government in just 30 per cent of the divisions he attended.
The figures reflect the range of parliamentary votes, covering procedural matters as well as divisions on bills and amendments, censure motions, dissents from the Speaker’s ruling, shutting down debates and suspensions of MPs.
But Mr Katter’s claims to having spent a lifetime providing for the needs of north Queenslanders received a setback yesterday when the Mayor of the Charters Towers Regional Council accused him of being “big talk and no delivery"…And even just the three together cannot agree on a position on something as big as emissions trading,
“As a council, we don’t approach him for anything.” he said.
Among the dangers as the Three Amigos start demanding:
Future Fund chairman David Murray yesterday warned both parties that any compromises made to win over the independents could undermine their ability to return the budget to surplus and reduce debt.And how can Gillard in particular meet their demand for no elections for three years, when she could even guarantee that Kevin Rudd would serve out three years as Prime Minister?
Tony Windsor, Bob Katter and Rob Oakeshott have demanded the major parties offer iron-clad commitments, possibly backed by legislation, to serve a full three-year term as a precondition to their support....Both sides are promising trouble here. What if Parliament over the next three years proves to be hopelessly divided and paralysed, with the Government unable to get significant decisions through a House of Representatives in which the balance of power rests with independents who remain free to vote as they choose, a Greens MP as unbending as Greens are, and a Greens-leaning MP in Andrew Wilkie who has a record of kicking against the traces? And then there’s still a hostile Senate to deal with....
(Gillard) promised to serve a full term and even offered to name an election date between August and October 2013, a promise Mr Abbott matched, saying that, as prime minister, he would not go to the polls before August 2013.
What if the national interest actually demands fresh elections before three years are up?
The showboating, inflated claims, arrogant demands and internal divisions of the Three Amigos - and the Greens Adam Bandt - have Dennis Shanahan wisely suggesting another election before damage is done:
IT’S getting to the stage where Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott and the nation would actually be better off if we just went back to the polls.It may well be that Abbott is better off in the long run defying the independents rather than surrender anything of value. Let them install - and own the consequences of - a dysfunctional Labor propped up by a Green. I suspect voters will come to regret the results, and none more so than in the seats of the some of the independents. It could be a little like the Whitlam victory of 1974 - merely the prelude to a devastating defeat.
The early promise of stability for a minority government is dissipating as the independents threaten to force a new election, refuse to guarantee a bloc vote for either side and declare diametrically opposed positions on key policies that have split the Coalition and paralysed Labor.
Using spurious logic, obscure language and blackmail, three MPs accidentally thrust into the balance of power are claiming a “new paradigm” in politics where none exists as justification for unprecedented treatment and control. More than 90 per cent of Australians voted for Labor, the Coalition or the Greens—the old-paradigm parties…
The three incumbent independents are seeking the same treatment as new prime ministers in demanding briefings from Treasury, Finance and Defence and half a dozen other key portfolios—ahead of the final count and before the incoming prime minister and opposition leader themselves receive such a briefing. They are also demanding both sides guarantee a full three-year term, keeping them as the centre of attention and balance of power in the House of Representatives while using their own threat of an immediate election to extract such a guarantee.
Already Abbott is digging in:
TONY Abbott has rejected demands from three independent MPs who will anoint the next government by refusing to submit his policies to the Treasury...And even here, one of the Three Amigos isn’t sure whether to agree with Abbott or stick by his demand:
Mr Abbott said he would instead give them access to a costing of his policies conducted by Liberal Party-linked accountancy firm WHK Howarth. “It’s very difficult for public service to understand Coalition policy, opposition policy, with the same degree of insight and depth that it has of government policy,” he said.
Mr Katter last night said Mr Abbott’s refusal to submit the policies prompted the question: “What’s Tony got to hide.”AND A TIP:
But Mr Katter told the ABC’s Lateline that Mr Abbott was right to be wary of Treasury secretary Ken Henry’s “prejudices”. ”This is the bloke that brought you the mining tax; I wouldn’t be very impressed with his abilities at all.”
Watch out for Andrew Wilkie. Yes, he was a Greens candidate until he fell out with them, and was at war with the Howard Government over Iraq. But being taken for granted as one more critical vote for Gillard might just offend him enough… Already he’s steering clear of the other independents, and seems to be angling to get the most powerful vote of all - that of the last person to decide, and the one on whose decision the who thing now rests.
UPDATE
Greg Sheridan warns that leadership on foreign affairs - especially on free trade and our Afghanistan commitment - will be almost frozen by an inability to agree.
UPDATE 2
The Three Amigos have been doing a lot of lecturing about the need for other politicians to listen more to the voters. Take Oakeshott:And I think that was a strong message from Saturday that we need to listen to.But will Oakeshott, Katter and Windsor listen to the very voters they represent?
THE people who voted for the three men who will determine the next prime minister have urged them to choose Tony Abbott. An exclusive Galaxy poll of electors in the three rural seats held respectively by Tony Windsor (New England, NSW), Rob Oakeshott (Lyne, NSW), and Bob Katter (Kennedy, Qld) conducted for The Advertiser, has found the majority want their representatives to back the Coalition…UPDATE 3
In all, the Opposition Leader won the approval of 52 per cent of those polled, compared with 36 per cent for Ms Gillard and 12 per cent undecided.
Phil Coorey nails the essential irresponsibility and selfishness in the kind of politics now preached by the Three Amigos and the Greens - a selfishness which threatens paralysis:
The Sydney Morning Herald’s Phil Coorey: Do you accept that a two-party system with an enforced majority actually does get things done? Would you be prepared if you were sitting in one of those parties to accept the majority view even if it went against your own view?
Oakeshott: We’re not saying it’s going to be holding hands and skipping down streets.
Tony Windsor: Not the best question, Phil.
Bandt: The majority of our people in each of our electorates voted for us and answered no to that question.
No comments:
Post a Comment