Another new PM!

The Garage
#21

I’m running a high fever here and a little hazy on details, so this may sound a little unusual…

Somewhat saddened to see Malcolm Turnbull go. Perhaps some believe he was more interested in securing his own job, or that he never stood for anything, constantly backtracking on policy to satisfy the demands of the various party factions. But he was appointed to lead a party already divided, torn between the centre-right politics the Liberal party has traditionally stood for, and the far-right conservative politics championed by the likes of Tony Abbott and practiced by a small but growing number of party members.

It wasn’t exactly the easiest position to be in, leading a nation and considering the needs of the public, rebuilding trust in the party amongst an electorate so thoroughly disillusioned with the conservative policies of the outgoing ministry, through maintaining a moderate political stance while at the same time maintaining support from the increasingly divided members and factions within your own party to, you know, govern. Someone had to do it.

Looking back now, that seems almost impossible, and if anything, it’s amazing he lasted as long as he did. (And if opinion polls are even somewhat accurate, I don’t believe he did such a bad job of it either. The Libs collectively trailed constantly on two-party preferred, yet Turnbull remained preferred prime minister, so it could seem unfair to attribute their bad fortunes solely to him as the party seemed hell-bent on doing.)

Sure, the Libs arguably delivered some dreadful policies under his leadership, not to mention the numerous issues surrounding the NBN when he served as communications minister under the Abbott government. But to call out Malcolm Turnbull, as some have suggested, as “the worst prime minister Australia has ever had”, is absurd, especially considering who he succeeded. He leveraged the voice of the Australian people to force the hand of traditional conservative MPs in legalising same-sex marriage, and he’s criticised for it because it “should never have needed a survey”, when the alternative, given the position of the party, was likely not legalising it at all. And the NBN, while mishandled, was at least continued, as opposed to abandoned entirely as Tony Abbott proposed in April 2010. (Almost five months before Turnbull was ever appointed as Shadow Minister for Communications.)

My political views and those of the Liberal party have never completely aligned, and they have never received my vote. (That said, my first election in which I was eligible to vote was between Gillard and Abbott in 2010, so I’m still rather new at this.)

But Malcolm Turnbull, as a leader - a calm, rational, well-spoken figurehead of the nation - had my respect.

(And before anyone asks, I’m a registered member of the ALP, and supported Anthony Albanese for the leadership in 2013 - ultimately it went to Bill Shorten.)

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#22

Yep ScoMo sorry!

I agree as a leader I respected him.

On policy I didn’t and also on selling out I didn’t, however, I agree he didn’t have too much choice on that.

#23

It saddens me that this country is only concerned with themselves.

Everyone is happy to look past the massive corruption that the LNP is embroiled in - half a billion dollars to their mates in the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and it barely got a mention anywhere. Dutton getting government handouts through his wife’s childcare centres. It goes on an on, but hey - as long as my tax rate is lower none of it matters does it?

As a fiancé to a Vietnamese who is waiting to get her permanent marriage visa, their immigration policies stink as well. We’ve been together for 4 years, yet she couldn’t get a visitor visa to come and see me in Australia because the immigration department was worried she would overstay. Despite having almost my whole life story on the application. Not that Labor’s policies would be any better.

Morrison is just more of the same. They’re only in it for themselves and big business. “Jobs and growth” is their mantra when wages have been stagnant for years. Jobs for the boys and growth for the banks.

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#24

Morrison is just more of the same. They’re only in it for themselves and big business. “Jobs and growth” is their mantra when wages have been stagnant for years. Jobs for the boys and growth for the banks.

BREAKING: WHITE WEALTHY MIDLIFE CONSERVATIVE MALE SELECTED TO LEAD THE LIBERAL PARTY.

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#25

Incidentally, I saw this on social media and thought it was a joke, like The Chaser, or something else.

Not a joke.

#26

Uh, what the hell did I just watch?

#27

This is a real ad from a well-funded “community group” (Institute for Public Affairs) that is really just rich, white, conservative people wanting government to keep rich, white, conservative people on top (at the expense of literally everyone else). Look up John Oliver’s recent piece on Astroturfing.

#28

LNP governs for the Male, Pale and Stale.

#29

Race baiting former immigration ministers that can be said to be responsible for the global spread of fascism, look at what’s going on off the coast of Italy right now, look at what’s going on in Europe right now where people think we’re doing a “good thing.”

People have decided to say that in the bush since the sheep sheerers strike when all they wanted was a fair days pay. I have to ask the question with as to why people don’t like unionism other than the “because I am told to not like them factor…” When 40% of employment (according to the ABS) is now employment without leave or entitlements I would say we have a significant problem with work that does not fall under the benefits of collective agreements and awards.

But you keep believing you can get a better deal yourself ya hear? You know… I understand where you come from I’ve lived in two federal electorates for the majority of my life in Wide Bay and Fairfax. One of those electorates has NEVER elected a Labor sitting minister at a federal level and the other one hasn’t elected a Labor minister since the 1960s. Its hard to believe that Australia’s second Labor Prime Minister came from this region sometimes.

I live in traditional meat, sugar, dairy, and agriculture farming land, on the edge of the food basin that is the Cooloola Shire… But where statistically there is no benefit for me from voting for the Lib/Nats (I am not a business owner) and there never has been I don’t see it as a very smart reason to vote for Liberals based on the facts. We’re livin in strange and anxiety creating times where people live by “dun give a f*ck about anyone but myself…” rules the roost though.

Don’t get me wrong I’m a traditional Labor right voter and fully believe in the nescessary evils of the mixed market economy in full disclosure. I am also a centrist… but when it comes to being socially progressive… I don’t believe in screwing the pooch by making other people’s lives more difficult whether that be with migrants or with workers rights to make a better deal for myself.

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#30

LNP governs for the Male, Pale and Stale.

Related image

10 points to Gryffindor.

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#31

I’m only slightly happy that Dutton didn’t get in because he engineered the SSM postal survey. That was unnecessary and really brought on a lot of strife for the LGBTQ community as every singe homophobe had their views legitimised.

As a young gay (closeted) man, it was very damaging.

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#32

Very queer here, definitely not closeted. The postal survey was horrendous. Nothing quite like the government handing out pieces of paper where people can check a box if they think you deserve basic human rights or not.

#33

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#34

Q and A is a bad tonight. Really bad. Horrendously horrible.

#35

It was bad. So bad that Pauline Hanson seemed to be one of the more ‘reasonable’ people compared to Katter & Christensen.

#36

Bob was a total nutter as usual, but the whole thing seemed like “This horribly inept government full of bigots, racists, and xenophobes is crashing–let’s ask these other bigotted, racist, xenophobes how they would fix it!” I tried not to watch, but my social media feeds were full of people hate-watching.

#37

I wonder if/when the government of the day changes tack, and actually stops using terms like “illegal immigrant” etc, if the mood of the people will also change. Will we be left with just a minority of scared white people in a sea of happy to accept people.

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#38

Humans are not illegal. Specific acts can be illegal. Seeking asylum or refugee status is not even an illegal act at all. And depending on the country, the act, if illegal, may be a civil offense (it is in the States, despite what way the hell too many Americans think) and not a criminal offense.

Let’s just say that one of the issues Aus and the US seem to have in common is that the loudest voices opposing certain types of immigrants (read brown people) and using dehumanising language about them are also the ones constantly crowing about how Christian they are and how worried they are about religious freedom and persecution of Christians. Which is just a dog whistle, much like the IPA’s “we should focus on western civilisation and values” nonsense.

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#39

Lets be clear here… Humans are not illegal… Greek people such as the community members I happened to be working with during my thesis program last year have been coming “under the fence” (as it was known then) since as far back as the Greek war of independence in the early part of the 20th century. I thought we did away with the term when we did away with the “white Australia policy.”

Prior to 1973 with the abolition of the white Australia policy I would not have been considered a white man in this country… It’s tragic and it reminds me of what still goes on in Southern Italy and beyond where people are still considered “black people” in the eyes of many in Europe particularly in Italy.

All of this nonsense about “illegals” in relation to people makes me sick because it reminds me of those times I’ve heard about when Southern Europeans were labelled as “wogs” and “scabs” who only came here to take our jobs… People such as my grandparents on my dads side of the family.

Australia has a very real race problem, the only issue is that the target shifts… From Southern Europeans, to Vietnamese and Chinese, to Lebanese, to Muslims, to Africans and Muslims and of course Muslim Africans that do not integrate…

Its all a game of scapegoating so that we can run away from the fact that this is not our country anyway and so that people have something to be “offended by” though however. I accept the facts, It does not make living them any easier.

There is no such thing as an Illegal human being… My Grandparents left Greece like many others during the Greek Civil War for Austria and Germany to become :“outside workers…” They came here to Australia in the 1960s under the assisted passage program. They were refugees none the less.

I see no differentiation today. if a person wants to escape living in a failed state that has been hobbled by strife and war then their status is not considered illegal under the UNHCR. They are also entitled to seek refuge in any state of their choosing.

As a “brown person” I find this whole issue abhorrent.

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#40

I like the concept of unionism but the micro details of how it’s practised concerns me.

I say that as a economically moderate, socially left leaning, former small business owner (12 full time staff and 13 part time staff) who went for years with a staff retention average of in excess of 15 years and a union membership of about 25% (which I were happy to engage with honestly when there were issues) to someone who was all of a sudden hit with unilateral demands that all staff had to become union members despite over 50% of the staff saying they would not pay dues (I was expected to make up the shortfall) and threats that part time jobs had to be converted to full time jobs (despite the work not being there and despite the fact that it would have made the business almost unviable).

This to a small business that only a few years earlier had been invited to talk about their brand new depot and state of the art tooling and staff facilities at a state union conference as an example of how unions and small business could work together constructively.

I still have no idea to this day why these sudden (very aggressive) demands came to us but stress, lack of sleep, loss of existing staff members and a large drop in profit were the direct result.

Which lead indirectly to the sale of all shares to a larger company who then proceeded to force a significant number of full time staff out of enployment and replace them with more casuals (who were on worse pay than the casuals I’d been employing were).

Now after all that (and some transition time) I’m retired… and much less stressed but several people are without work, and several remaining staff have commented that they never realized how good they had it before.

I guess a small business was ‘safe’ to make an example of for political points scoring but a larger one was too much trouble… so yeah, that’d be why.