The NEXT coming Oz election thread!

Ah, Gough.
(I subscribe to the CIA theory. Lots of other Oz folk don't, refusing to believe that our ally, the US, could do such a thing!)

Anyway, having a majority in both houses is not the usual thing, Setanta. Which explains why the Howard government is so cocky in so many policy areas at the moment. IR, removal of compulsory university fees, the complete privatization of Telstra, to name a few. The uranium issue is a new one. The Federal government has muscled in on the Northern Territory government (where the uranium mostly is) & looks like negotiating sales with China. Watch this one. It's going to become a hot issue!
Strangely enough (or perhaps not) Howard is facing opposition to a number of his "reforms" from his own backbenchers. (As happened over the asylum seekers in detention issue a couple of months ago.) Sadly, the Labor Party is looking pretty ineffectual, with it's current, diminished representation in both houses. The anti-IR campaign is being led by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). There is also significant & vocal support in the senate from unlikely sources like the newly elected Family First (Christian values) senator, some Nationals (the partners in the coalition) senators ... It's a very strange ballgame at the moment. Even the churches are becoming vocal, about the proposed IR "reforms".

Parliament's back!



Crusaders with a mission. In case you're interested, they're: Alexander Downer (foreign affairs), Robert Hill (Libs senate leader), Brendan Nelson (Education), Tony Abbott (trouble! ), Peter Costello (Treasurer) & JH, esteemed reformist leader! What'll they cook up next?

Edit: Alexander Downer is the foreign affairs minister, not "external affairs".

I'm posting this only to show how ugly the Senate is becoming. Numbers are tight & theoretically the Coalition should be winning most Senate debates, considering it has "the numbers" to do so. But things aren't going so smoothly, it seems. Looks like we're in for more ugly episodes as the pressure builds.

Senator ticked off for 'unseemly' gesture
August 11, 2005 - 6:45PM/the AGE

A senior Nationals senator who made a rude finger gesture in the Senate today while children were in the public gallery has been forced to apologise.

Victorian Julian McGauran, the Nationals' whip in the Senate, was caught on parliament's video cameras flipping his index finger at the Opposition side of the Senate, following a narrow vote.

A number of school children were in the public gallery when Senator McGauran made the gesture.

Senate President Paul Calvert told parliament he had viewed the footage but did not believe the incident breached parliament's official rules of behaviour.

"I had the opportunity prior to Question Time to view the tape and in my judgment the gesture was not obscene as was alleged, but I believe the gesture was certainly unseemly," Senator Calvert said.

"I remind the Senate that I require all senators to behave with decorum and courtesy in the chamber - that is what the Australian people expect.

"And as Senator McGauran is not here to hear this I will take the matter up with him personally."... <cont>

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/senator-ticked-off-for-unseemly-gesture/2005/08/11/1123353429523.html?oneclick=true

... & today's AGE Editorial. That ugly Senate again. The trials & tribulations (& a bit of bullying) of new National Party senator, Barnaby Joyce, at the hands of his Coalition allies. How DARE he deviate from the strict Howard line!:

Senate still has to pay heed to common sense
August 11, 2005/AGE editorial

Where should the first loyalty of an elected representative of the people lie?

To voters, the answer may seem obvious. But this question stirred up the Coalition in Canberra, as new senator Barnaby Joyce clashed with MPs who share Prime Minister John Howard's view that "your first loyalty is to this party room". Senator Joyce insists it is to the Queensland National Party and its voters. He recalls the Prime Minister urging Queenslanders during last year's federal election to choose the Liberal and not the National candidate after the Liberals rejected a joint Senate ticket. Yet, as Mr Howard notes, Australians gave the Coalition its Senate majority; this was a significant expression of political will. Now, having unexpectedly won the last seat that secured a majority, Senator Joyce is intent on using his position to represent his constituents' concerns over issues such as the sale of Telstra and the abolition of university student union fees. The attention he has attracted with his threat to cross the floor highlights the junior Coalition partner's difficulties in representing its voters' views and in halting the erosion of its political base... <cont>

http://www.theage.com.au/news/editorial/senate-still-has-to-pay-heed-to-common-sense/2005/08/10/1123353381941.html

Mr Deeds Goes to Washington remade as Senator Joyce Goes to Canberra

I just hope he continues to understand what he's there for. That the
Constitution (as lacklustre and uninspiring a document as it is) requires that Senators represent their State and not their political party.

But judging by the cartoon with its characterisation of Howard and Hit Man Heffernan, perhaps the game is up sooner than I thought.

Our PM has a Napoleonic streak in him - but without Bonaparte's better qualities.

Yep, it's certainly been interesting to observe alright! A wee bit of an overreaction from the Coalition heavies in the Senate, I would have thought. What is it about Barnaby Joyce (fabulous name! ) that's so frightening? Is Howard worried that dissent could run rampant through the coalition ranks? Even more than it already has?

Me, I'm just fascinated watching the emergence of the unofficial opposition movement that is emerging in the absence of a viable Labor opposition. Is there some sort of law (like Newton's)
that applies when an opposition appears to be incapable of doing it's job? Into the vacuum rush the most unlikely bunch: Senator Moylan & other liberal Liberals, Senator Fielding, Barnaby Joyce, the ACTU & even church heavies like Pell! What a strange array of bedfellows! Things are going to become seriously weird when the IR "reforms" & other key policies hit the Senate!

And I was listening to Harry Quick from Tasmania, he's quitting. He gave the ALP a bit of a dig. If they're not really careful they'll end up being irrelevant at least in this parliament.

Somehow I've missed out on Harry Quick, gf. What's the story? (Excuse my ignorance.)

Ah. I just found it. Not good news, but he's probably right.

Leunig seems rather disenchanted with JH this morning.

.. & Moir at the SMH:

.. & Leake, at the Australian:



Well BJ seems to have everyone's complete attention! The trifecta! What an spectacular entry into parliament. And to have exposed the worst of JH to us all in just couple of days, too! What an achievement! (I'm wondering if there's a media/spin doctoring history somewhere in Joyce's story?)

Well, whatever his story & motives, he's doing a great job of exposing JH's lack of principles! GO BARNABY!

Howard's vital endgame
August 13, 2005/the AGE


Illustration: Spooner

Dissent within the ranks is disturbing for John Howard and it's not clear how much he is willing to concede, writes Shaun Carney.

Do you remember the highway billboards erected during summers by fire-fighting authorities that described fire as a useful servant but a dangerous master? As a kid, I was confounded and not a little terrified by this message and had to ask my father what it meant. His back welded to the Holden's vinyl-covered bench seat, he explained that, no, a comic book-style Fire Overlord creature was not at large; a form of symbolism was at work - you had to keep fire under control, lest it control you.

That slogan has seemed fitting as the Howard Government's first week of controlling both houses of Parliament has unfolded. The Prime Minister has made tremendous political capital during the past 10 years as he has deployed "values" to blindside his opponents and stake out new philosophical territory. Fairness, patriotism, the preservation of Australian ideals and our borders, mateship, the selflessness of the diggers, old-fashioned discipline in schools, the qualities of the stay-at-home mum - these subjects and more have served him well.

But ....... <cont>

http://www.theage.com.au/news/shaun-carney/howards-vital-endgame/2005/08/12/1123353495445.html

That cartoon is sublime brilliance.

Which one? There were a few.

(Former NZ Prime Minister) David Lange has died. How very sad.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200508/s1437083.htm