Lie of the land easily exposed
Piers Akerman – Thursday, March 24, 11 (07:21 pm)
AUSTRALIA’S political culture is so debauched that the public is no longer shocked when the incumbent Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, is called a liar.
Gillard as an honest broker is a fraud, but the media have not lost their voice. They are silent because they won’t criticise the left wing or the ALP. The same outrageous slur that was peddled over ‘honest John’ is still sharp for Mr Abbott. The same people who missed the changeover from Rudd to Gillard, and failed to give a reason for it to Australian peoples, also don’t see anything wrong with Gillard’s failures and lies and venom.
Thu 24 Mar 11 (08:47pm)
Thu 24 Mar 11 (11:02pm)
I am expecting that after the election the way will be clear so that the issue of Hamidur Rahman will be examined by the press. There is a lot to be done. I have been told through third parties that Channel 9 are holding off until after the election so as to not unduly influence things. As I expect the ALP to lose soundly I am willing to accept that. But I am not happy with that either. Hamidur might not have died had my issue with the Department of Education and the ALP been examined properly back in 1995, or 2001.
Even now, as a candidate, I can have my issue mentioned as part of my campaign by the Fairfield Advance (article not online) and (I believe but haven’t seen) from the Fairfield Champion. Bankstown Torch have their article online on page 5. But the Torch don’t mention Hamidur’s name.
Had my issue been examined in a timely fashion Hamidur might be alive today. Milton Orkopolous might have been found out sooner. Children might have been safer in schools.
It is possible that I will be crucified by the press. But if I can have Hamidur’s parents exonerated I will accept that too.
Thu 24 Mar 11 (11:08pm)
Dracula do you think they’ll drop the bomb?
Dracula do you think they’ll like this song?
Dracula do you think they’ll try and break my balls?
Dracula, should I build the wall?
====
There is no scare campaign they won’t embrace as they embrace their pork barrels. It is misleading to say that it is accidental or a result of no beliefs. I met with some Greens today. They told me they weren’t communist. They weren’t part of the Sea Shepherd. They aren’t part of the political party the Greens. That is the problem with Greenpeace .. they don’t stand for anything anymore. They deny everything even as they embrace it .. that is corruption.
BRIGHT NIGHT
Tim Blair – Friday, March 25, 11 (11:51 am)
Earth Hour enthusiast Ben Cubby asks:
Where will you be when lights go out?
Well, I was planning to be in a pair of fetching polar bear pants, but I couldn’t find any for less than $5000. So I guess I’ll just be lighting up the place and trying to kill the environment as usual. Readers are invited to list their own plans for tomorrow night’s annual Hour of Power.
PRIVATE HARDY
Tim Blair – Friday, March 25, 11 (04:39 am)
Terrible online offensiveness from Australian soldiers:
The Acting Chief of Army, Paul Symon, was shocked by the messages, some of which appeared to refer to Ms Gillard as a ‘’f---ing ranga’’ and mocked the Foreign Affairs Minister, Kevin Rudd …
Under a picture posted of a soldier with Mr Rudd, another soldier writes: ‘’You should have punched the dick out of him … did he wave to a couple of camera crews and no crowd? I’ve seen him do that before … what a tool.’’
No wonder Symon is shocked. Not only has Marieke Hardy apparently joined the army, but she’s now abusingLabor politicians.
UPDATE:
Defence has registered to participate in Earth Hour 2011 to demonstrate Defence’s commitment to reduce global warming and Combat Climate Change …
CARBONPALOOZA
Tim Blair – Friday, March 25, 11 (04:15 am)
Tim Flannery, Will Steffen and Gerry Hueston launch Carbon Tax Tour 2011:
Today in Geelong we are holding the first in a number of public forums that we will be holding around Australia. We look forward to listening and, no doubt, learning a lot from those attending.
Patronising, much? But let’s hear them out:
On radio, television and in our press, largely self-serving arguments often based on scant evidence have been thrown back and forth.
Scant evidence, you say? Flannery would know all about it.
It’s important for all Australians to have access to clear information on climate change that is independent of government and the political process. As members of the Australian Climate Commission, we want to help provide it.
Whoa. Hang on just a second. “Independent of government and the political process”? Millionaire Flannery is being paid $720,000 by the government to sell its carbon dioxide tax. Presumably Stills and Nash are hauling in similar government rewards. How is this “independent of government”?
Per person we are one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases, one of the top 20 highest-emitting countries, and well-placed to demonstrate how we can reduce emissions and maintain our prosperity.
Speak for yourselves, tax feasters. The rest of us are paying you.
Australia’s emissions in 2020 are still projected to grow by more than 20 per cent above their levels in 2000.
So, if we manage to achieve even a 5 per cent reduction by 2020, that is 25 per cent less than it would have been. That is a big number.
Here’s a small number: 1.4 per cent. That is Australia’s contribution to global alleged greenhouse gases. It’s a number you won’t hear very often from the Three Carbinos.
A carbon price is a core element of effective climate policy.
Sell it, ad men. Dance.
DILIGENT EFFICIENCY
Tim Blair – Friday, March 25, 11 (03:24 am)
The first before and after shots out of post-tsunami Japan were devastating. The latest before and after shots are inspiring.
LET’S BORROW THE MONEY FROM CHINA
Tim Blair – Friday, March 25, 11 (03:11 am)
Behold! It’s the best plan yet:
The Parramatta Climate Action Network presented a new plan that will “save the planet” in seminars at Parramatta Town Hall and Merrylands Community Centre over the last week …
At the meetings they presented a plan, by Melbourne University’s Energy Research Institute and the research group Beyond Zero Emissions, which outlined a way for the country to move from greenhouse gas-emitting coal plants to solar power by 2020 …
Parramatta resident Nick Neenan who attended one of the meetings was impressed with the ideas put forward.
Sounds great. How much?
The cost of implementing the The Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan was estimated at $37 billion every year for the next decade.
466 DAYS UNTIL LABOR’S CASH FOR NOTHING TAX
Tim Blair – Thursday, March 24, 11 (11:26 pm)
This latest element of the government’s carbon-dodging economy doesn’t sound pointless at all:
Labor’s proposed carbon farming initiative, introduced into parliament on Thursday, will see farmers paid for storing carbon in trees and soil or reducing their own emissions.
Under the voluntary scheme, farmers would sell carbon credits direct to businesses which wanted to offset their emissions or become carbon neutral …
It’s a win-win for landowners.
Agriculture is excluded from Labor’s carbon pricing regime so they won’t be slugged for their emissions yet they’ll be paid for any abatement.
The sector accounts for 23 per cent of Australia’s total emissions.
Some conditions apply:
Trees would have to remain in the ground for 100 years. The same timeframe applies to carbon stored in the ground.
So it’s not really farming, is it? Still, the plan has support:
Prof Garnaut believes that once carbon farming is part of an ETS it could be worth $2.25 billion a year - the equivalent of another wool industry.
With one difference: the wool industry actually does something.
DODDERY IRRELEVANT OLD BILLIONAIRE REDNECK RACISTS
Tim Blair – Thursday, March 24, 11 (12:44 pm)
A spot study of the Twitter response to yesterday’s anti-tax rally in Canberra.
A sign of Brown’s hypocrisy
Andrew Bolt – Friday, March 25, 11 (10:50 am)
Bob Brown demands that Tony Abbott apologise for standing in front of this banner:
Professor Sinclair Davidson wants to know if Bob Brown will apologise for standing in front of this banner, promoting a sick theory that the September 11 terrorism attacks were actually an inside job:
The footage here:
Never again! The UN acts on Rwanda
Andrew Bolt – Friday, March 25, 11 (10:47 am)
Sure, the United Nations didn’t intervene in Rwanda when it should have:
The United Nations Security Council has explicitly accepted responsibility for failing to prevent the 1994 genocide in Rwanda in which an estimated 800,000 people were killed.
But it’s learned that lesson and is intervening now:
The head of the UN environment agency Achim Steiner praised the Rwandan authorities Thursday for their success in banning plastic bags.
(Thanks to reader John.)
Coal wins
Andrew Bolt – Friday, March 25, 11 (10:13 am)
The Newcastle wind tower was already a joke, being lit up at night - which allowed us all to see when it wasn’t working.
I thought windmills were all about generating electricity, not using it. So why put torches on it that run all night? Want to bet the lighting power is coming from coal?
Now it’s not just a bigger joke, but a wake-up:
NEWCASTLE’S renewable energy beacon, the Kooragang Island wind turbine, could be removed to make way for the expansion of the port’s coal-loading infrastructure.
If the future really was wind, not coal....
(Thanks to reader Nicholas.)
UPDATE
Reader Banga, who’s in the business:
The Kooragang wind turbine is a 600kW system with a capacity factor of no more than 5%. It produces less than 300MWh a year. Total NSW annual demand is about 78,000,000MWhs. This means it supplies less than 0.000004% of NSW demand.
It is not a beacon, it is a symbol of the futility of renewable energy.
Greens are right: green bishops shouldn’t play politics
Andrew Bolt – Friday, March 25, 11 (09:49 am)
Bishop of Lismore, Geoffrey Jarrett has rejected criticism sparked by the distribution of a letter against the policies of The Greens, which was issued by the NSW bishops…
Bishop Jarrett said if some Greens considered themselves Christians, he wondered how they would square the policies of their party with mainstream Christian belief on the meaning, dignity and destiny of human life, according to the paper.... “Their policies on euthanasia, abortion, same-sex marriage and school funding show them on the dark side when it comes to a healthy human environment.”
The Greens candidate for Clarence, Janet Cavanaugh, saaid church meddling in state affairs backfired in the 1950s with many turning away from the church due to its political opinions.
Maybe Cavanaugh is right. I know of many Christians who are furious with their churches for meddling in politics like this:
The Uniting Church in Australia believes that it is important for the Australian Government to set and commit to meeting serious targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions primarily through the promotion of renewable energy sources, measures to reduce energy demand and promotion of energy efficiency measures.
And this:
Canberra Bishop George Browning, the Anglican Church’s global environmental chief … criticised the Federal Government for its “utter obsession” with growth and warned that climate change refugees would be a bigger problem than terrorists in a century of desperate struggle.... Meanwhile, Rosie Catt, of the Australian Anglican Environmental Network, said inaction on climate change amounted to genocide according to the United Nations definition.
(Thanks to reader John.)
Not even a pity vote for NSW Labor
Andrew Bolt – Friday, March 25, 11 (06:50 am)
We all thought NSW Labor must surely bounce back a little in tomorrow’s election, but Newspoll says no chance:
The Coalition is ahead by 64 per cent to 36 per cent in two-party-preferred terms, also the largest lead recorded.
Or maybe Byrne is now ashamed she could have been so bigoted
Andrew Bolt – Friday, March 25, 11 (06:41 am)
Personally, I consider the bigotry even worse than the deceit - but I’m open to alternative arguments:
A GREENS candidate in the NSW election who denied she had ever “pushed” for a boycott of Israel was slated to speak at a public rally next week in support of such a boycott, and in protest against “Israeli apartheid”.
Fiona Byrne, the Greens candidate in the inner-western Sydney seat of Marrickville, initially denied to The Australian she had agreed to address the “Sing Out Against Apartheid: Boycott Divestment and Sanctions” rally outside Sydney’s Town Hall next Wednesday.
“Fiona has not agreed to speak at any events next week,” a Greens spokesman responded to inquiries. However, after being shown a flyer for the event, a Greens spokeswoman said: “I can confirm that earlier this month Fiona accepted an invitation to speak at the event as the (Marrickville) Mayor. This week Fiona decided to clear her diary to take a break after the election, and she extended her apologies to the event organiser that she could no longer speak at the event.”
It is the second time this week that Ms Byrne has been caught playing fast and loose with the facts about the extent of her involvement in the global movement to isolate Israel economically and culturally.
After she denied ever expressing an intention to introduce an Israel boycott into state parliament, The Australian revealed a tape of a press conference last month where she did so.
When I say “bigotry”, I mean something very close to old-fashioned anti-Semitism in new green clothes, where the presumption is that the Jews must be to blame, whatever the facts turn out to be:
Ms Byrne admitted in an interview with The Australian Jewish News in December that she was no expert on Middle East policy. ”I don’t know the full ins and outs of the situation, because I’m not an expert, but I support a peaceful solution, two states or otherwise,” she said.
The new boat people policy: stand them on a reef for an hour
Andrew Bolt – Friday, March 25, 11 (06:33 am)
It’s becoming quite comic:
A LARGE group of asylum-seekers who were taken to the Australian mainland for processing rather than strife-torn Christmas Island briefly disembarked on a remote beach on Ashmore Reef, a move that ensured they could still be processed as “offshore” asylum-seekers.
In what the opposition labelled a cover-up, the asylum-seekers, who were intercepted by Customs last week, now have fewer appeal rights after they were forced to get off the Customs vessel Triton at West Island, on Ashmore Reef…
In a joint statement issued by the Immigration Department and Customs and Border Security, the government last night confirmed asylum-seekers had been let off at West Island, but indicated it had been for operational reasons.
“We can confirm that the ACV Triton went to Ashmore Islands and the passengers were given the opportunity to disembark on to West Island,” a Customs spokeswoman said. “They were then re-embarked on to two Border Protection Command assigned vessels for the remainder of the journey to Broome ... The use of two vessels ensured the passengers had more comfort and provided them with additional facilities.”
Mary Crock, a professor of refugee law at the University of Sydney, said she had no doubt the asylum-seekers would have been taken off the Customs vessel at West Island for legal reasons…
Customs would not say how many asylum-seekers were taken to West Island, nor how long they were there. However, one unconfirmed report received by The Australian said it had been for about an hour.
Don’t you love the phrase “given the opportunity to disembark on to West Island”. Like it was an exciting option on some cruise.
(Thanks to reader Grand Wizard.)
We’ll get a carbon tax we weren’t promised, but not a mining tax we were
Andrew Bolt – Friday, March 25, 11 (06:14 am)
That’a a lot of money the Gillard Government won’t be getting, after all:
JULIA Gillard’s peace deal with the mining industry was in jeopardy last night after the Coalition and the Greens flatly rejected a demand by Wayne Swan that they back the finalised mineral resources rent tax.
And as Labor contemplated the prospect of parliamentary defeat over the $7.4 billion tax, West Australian Premier Colin Barnett attacked it as unconstitutional and thumbed his nose at the Treasurer’s call for a freeze on state mining royalties…
(Treasurer) Swan announced yesterday that he had… (agreed) to cover all existing and future state royalties by crediting mining companies the value of their royalty payments against their MRRT exposure.
Mr Swan said he had accepted the Argus advice but cautioned that the decision was not a green light for increased state royalties.
If rates were lifted, the Treasurer said, he would examine “all of the usual mechanisms”, including possible docking of state funding in other areas, to claw back the money....
The Greens rejected the deal, meaning Labor has little prospect of legislating for the new tax. Greens leader Bob Brown said his party favoured the original Rudd tax proposal, which would have raised $12bn in its first two years....
In Perth, Mr Barnett said he would not be bullied by Canberra, reserving the right in coming years to raise royalties for iron ore “fines”, currently at 5.625 per cent, closer to “lump” iron ore, at 7.5 per cent. “This is just bullying out of Canberra,” he said. “The whole rationale for this tax is flawed. It’s the most clumsy, inept exercise in public policy I have seen in 20 years...”
There were three big promises Julia Gillard made upon becoming prime minister - to get a mining tax compromise, to not impose a carbon dioxide tax and to stop the boats, primarily by builidng a detention centre in East Timor.
That’s zero from three so far.
Labor tells you not to believe your lying eyes
Andrew Bolt – Friday, March 25, 11 (12:11 am)
You can believe what they say:
JULIA Gillard has ordered MPs to explicitly deny the government is in a power-sharing deal with the Australian Greens, as she tries to sell her carbon tax plan.
A talking points document distributed to Labor MPs also suggests they are being asked to soften up voters for a taxpayer-funded advertising campaign about the proposed carbon tax.
Under a section of the document suggesting how MPs should answer any question about whether Senator Milne was correct about power-sharing, MPs were told to say: “That’s like suggesting (former Democrats leader) Meg Lees was prime minister because John Howard negotiated with her on the shape of the GST, or (former Tasmanian independent) Brian Harradine was in a power-sharing arrangement because he won concessions from John Howard in order to pass the sale of Telstra.”
Or you can believe what you saw:
Two hypocrites faint at a rally far more peaceful than their own
Andrew Bolt – Thursday, March 24, 11 (12:55 pm)
Climate Change Minister Greg Combet, once ACTU secretary, is horrified by this peaceful protest:
In fact, he’s so shocked that he demands Opposition leader Tony Abbott apologise:
I really think he needs to do that in a decisive way ... He needs to apologise for being associated with it.
Greg Combet in 1996 attended this ACTU rally, also outside our Parliament, and also attended by an Opposition leader - Labor’s Kim Beazley:
Unfortunately, it was apparent that some of the demonstrators were affected by alcohol. This group was supported by participants from the more general demonstration who were incited to join those involved in riotous behaviour by a speaker from the official platform.
Police formed a protective line along the perimeter of the Great Verandah, which was subsequently were forced back to the main doors. The police line was withdrawn from this area due to the level of violence being experienced by officers and then redeployed to an area inside the front doors in support of parliamentary security personnel. This deployment stabilised for a short period. However, demonstrators using increasing force broke through the first line of doors…
Once inside the area, demonstrators used weapons including a large hammer, wheel brace, steel trolley and stanchion torn from the internal doors to break open the internal doors. Simultaneously, a second group of demonstrators used other weapons to break into the Parliament House shop but were held at the internal doors. The shop was ransacked and major damage occurred by persons who subsequently occupied the area.
Watch footage of the riot here, and see Combet bob up alongside ACTU president Jennie George.
But did the ACTU apologise for its involvement in a rally infinitely more extreme and dangerous than anything we saw yesterday? Did Beazley apologise for his? Hell, no:
GREG COMBET: No, we won’t accept responsibility for the actions of a small renegade group that broke away and had no authority to carry out-or any relationship to the main rally-and carried out in the way that they did at the doors of Parliament House. We certainly regret what occurred and I think what needs to be appreciated is that it caused the whole of the union movement considerable concern. We certainly condemned the type of violence that occurred.
(No link to ABC PM interview.)
Second hypcrite:
Greens leader Bob Brown was yesterday so shocked by one sign at a peaceful rally that he demanded Opposition Leader Tony Abbott say sorry for even being near the 3000 peaceful protesteres:
Bob Brown in 2000 attended this protest (above), outside Melbourne’s Crown Casino, against the World Economic Forum and even gave a speech:
SO this is what a “non-violent protest’’—as promised by the totalitarians behind the S11 campaign—looks like.
It means sending two police to hospital.
It means roughing up a medic who tries to help one, and stealing the keys to his ambulance.
It means keeping West Australian Premier Richard Court prisoner for an hour in his car, which you jump on, paint on, menace with a butane aerosol and cigarette lighter, and disable by slashing its tyres.
It means trapping Opposition Leader Denis Napthine in his car, too, and vandalising it.
It means damaging hire cars and terrorising their drivers. It means putting in hospital a Crown casino officer.
And let’s not forget the ``non-violent’’ slogans, either. Scrawled on the barriers around the casino, which is holding the World Economic Forum, I saw ``Die Pig Die’’, ``F--- the Pigs’’ and ``F--- off Pigs’’.
(No link to my 12 September 2000 column.)
Did Bob Brown apologise for being associated with such violence and intimidation? Hell, no:
“Premier Court gets the title of spoiler/bully of the day”, Senator Brown said… Today’s S11 protest has sent the world a positive message, Greens Senator Bob Brown said today.
UPDATE Senator Eric Abetz calls out Bob Brown for this hypocrisy, too:
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