Scott Morrison - How Long? Part 3

[Chief]

Next thread:

Scott Morrison - How Long? Part 4

This is part 4. Part 5 is here: https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/scott-morrison-how-long-part-5-the-stroll-out.1275975/

www.bigfooty.com

 

[Johnny Bananas]

My local ballot paper has about 8 options, which seems like plenty to me. RWNJs, Left wing anarchists, socialists, Christians, Animal Liberationists, everyone gets a run.

Yes, you can indeed find all manner of fringe groups. But I think it's a real problem with our electoral system, media and campaign financing laws (as you mentioned) when other parties covering similar political ground to the majors can't get any traction whatsoever, they're simply crowded out. I've pointed out before how in Ireland, several parties can cover mostly the same part of the political spectrum and all find some parliamentary representation and media attention, even if they won't be forming government in their own right anytime soon. Most of these parties are on what we would regard as the left, but a similar situation could be had with what we would regard as the centre. But then Ireland has a very different electoral system and media landscape to us.

 

[Saint]

I agree there's no room at present for another progressive party, and I said as much in this thread. But who said any new party or candidates must be progressive in order to be beneficial for reducing corruption? If SFF or local independents can mount serious challenges to Joyce and Taylor, that would be a win for the Australian public. If some centrist party akin to a modern day version of the Democrats can gain traction, that would be a good thing for the public too.

Quite right. If any voting bloc is being duped by their representatives, it's the Nats. Their elected officials are bought and paid for by the mining lobby. The Nats actively vote in favour of miners over farmers all the time. The need for a corrupt-free political party is much more evident on the right than amongst progressives. Most farmers believe climate change is affecting their future, but the Nats always vote against action based on their donor interests.

Centrist parties don't work/exist because "why would you bother going in to battle if you kind of agree with both sides?". To start a party, you need a conviction. As a centrist, if you watch the voters bounce between right and left, you probably end up with roughly what you would have been proposing anyway.

 

[Saint]

Yes, you can indeed find all manner of fringe groups. But I think it's a real problem with our electoral system, media and campaign financing laws (as you mentioned) when other parties covering similar political ground to the majors can't get any traction whatsoever, they're simply crowded out. I've pointed out before how in Ireland, several parties can cover mostly the same part of the political spectrum and all find some parliamentary representation and media attention, even if they won't be forming government in their own right anytime soon. Most of these parties are on what we would regard as the left, but a similar situation could be had with what we would regard as the centre. But then Ireland has a very different electoral system and media landscape to us.

I think all that ends up happening with these smaller parties, including One Nation, is that they're corrupted by the leading party in a quid-pro-quo arrangement.

For example, Hanson votes for Industrial Relations changes in exchange for abolition of the family court because Hanson thinks they treated her son badly. It's a poor result all round.

The Centre Alliance has been almost as bad.

 

[Heisenberg_]

This is like the bushfires all over again, when called upon to show leadership Morrison goes missing.

Fairs fair, he worked last Sunday so gets a 3 day weekend this week

 

[cartwright]

Whilst I agree, it won't solve the fundamental structural issue whereby staff don't take advantage of their rights for fear of ruining their careers with a monopoly employer. Like a reporter I heard yesterday said - you can't just walk down the street and get a job with the other Liberal Party.

The ALP is a slightly less toxic employment environment for women than the Liberals, so I personally think it is less likely that something like the Brittany Higgins incident would have occurred in that party. But I think if it occurred, management would probably have reacted in a similar way. There are just so many incentives in politics to protect the party and individual peoples' careers.

The more stuff like this comes out, the more I think it can only be solved by fully ventilating the 'Canberra bubble'. I have no faith in politicians to regulate themselves. Unless the media stops turning a blind eye to stuff that would be unacceptable in any other workplace, nothing will change.

Right, except people have for a few years have been raising the issue of the Members of Parliament (MOPs) Act.

The Act that governs the employment of ministerial staff - but includes the MP, the staff & the Dept of Finance. while employment is managed thru dept of finance, the MP actually hires the staff and allows for staff to be sacked at any time without any reason given. On top of that, the only person who can intervene in such a scenario is the PM.

As in this article:

That brings us to what is known as the Star Chamber. Officially it is called the Government Staffing Committee.

Many people in the Coalition charge that, since the Abbott era, the Star Chamber has been increasingly "weaponised". That is, the Star Chamber has increasingly dictated who will, or will not, work for individual ministers, rather than letting the ministers decide their own staff.

"The Government Staffing Committee is quite a mysterious body," said Dr Maria Maley, senior lecturer in politics at the Australian National University.


"It's internal to the government. It's chaired — I understand — by the Prime Minister's chief of staff. But it's very unclear what responsibilities that body has.

"They are generally in charge of administering the statement of standards for ministerial staff. So that body could impose some action if staff were found to breach the code of conduct.

"But it's all very mysterious. We really don't even know who's on that committee. We don't know when they meet, and we don't know what they do."

and

In the Brittany Higgins case, for example, there is no capacity to call Linda Reynolds' chief of staff before a Senate inquiry to find out what she said and did

The workplace system in Parliament House that helps feed unhealthy power relationships

Brittany Higgins is not the first to describe a perilous workplace culture in Parliament House. It is a rather feudal system that can leave political staff — particularly women — vulnerable to bad treatment.

www.abc.net.au

so while the conversation swings around a whole range of issues - including "what could the government possibly do" it sounds like they could actually do something.

 

[BFew]

Totally aimed at the politically disengaged so that a year from now when there’s an election on, they go “Labor are just as bad as these guys so I’ll vote for the status quo.”

That, and sowing the seed that this was and still is normal behavior for Private schoolboys and young Tertiary/Uni students.
Combined with it's not his fault that he did not adequate consent and sex education back then.

 

[QuietB]

So when does the Prime Minister front up?

I know - never. Still thought I should ask.

 

[NSWCROW]

IMAGINE MUH SHOCK



They're not a lib protection racket though !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Burn it to the ground

 

[NSWCROW]

PURELY COINCIDENTALLY, i mouthed off to smith on twitter the other night about this...

 

[campbell]

So when does the Prime Minister front up?

I know - never. Still thought I should ask.

The smiling assassin is on an RDO maybe?

 

[Saint]

The smiling assassin is on an RDO maybe?

He's become the face of sexual assault denial. His PR guy probably told him to let some others in Cabinet take the heat. As Prime Minister, Appearance comes before leadership, don't-you-know.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

It's hardly a new tactic. The LNP have been letting One Nation do it for two decades. And the Greens do the same thing for the ALP.

Palmer is just doing what the electoral laws allow, and will always allow. He had an ideology and he pursued it. Money will always influence politics.

It's not that everything here is half-arsed, it's that our politicians and many officials are well out of their depth and earn less than people digging stuff out of the ground. They're doing the best they can, they're just objectively inept. Morrison being the prime example of this.

The Greens and ON didn't (and couldn't) tip $60 million (the biggest advertising spend in Oz election history) into an ad campaign that was predominantly attacking the opponents of only one of the major parties.

 

[tangolikelama]

Holding a presser at 1:30pm

 

[QuietB]

IMAGINE MUH SHOCK



They're not a lib protection racket though !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Burn it to the ground

It is outright DISGUSTING

 

[QuietB]

The smirking assassin is on an RDO maybe?

efa

 

[Christopher Buttersnip]

 

[Christopher Buttersnip]

Dishonest is being charitable, Michele. She's a douche.

AND

Why indeed. Note the difference in approach. Says so much.

 

[Christopher Buttersnip]

Bingo!

 

[BFew]

Holding a presser at 1:30pm

Aged Care Royal Commission findings focused no doubt.

 

[NSWCROW]

markson tweets at 5.53

henderson at 5.58........

 

[Baltimore Jack]

So when does the Prime Minister front up?

I know - never. Still thought I should ask.

There's a Rabbit Hutch to build, then a few photo ops around the house, then a quick meeting with Jen to get the story straight

So.....I'm guessing tomorrow some time