Beautifully put Yale, you have saved me the trouble of writing essentially the same argument.
Cheers Comrades
Home » Australian Politics » The Final Coming Of Peter Slipper
The Final Coming Of Peter Slipper
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Yale comes across as yet another “ELECTION NOW” Liberal Party member, Iain. Pretty amazing that he puts all the blame for Slipper at Gillard’s feet. Why did the Libs keep endorsing him if, as Yale says, Slipper was known as “slippery” 20 years ago?
Anyway, I think Slipper will most likely be cleared of any criminal charges prior to Parliament resuming on May 8th meaning he can (and will) resume as Speaker. As for the civil case, well the bloke who has made the sexual harassment accusations (and who made the CabCharge allegations too) doesn’t exactly come across as a ‘clean skin’ himself either:
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/slippers-accuser-was-fined-over-phone-threat-20120422-1xf6v.html
Ashby sounds like a “silly joke” himself.
Ray
Its extremely unlikely that Slipper will be out of the woods any time before the Budget session of parliament and he has said that he will stand down until all of these matters have been dealt with. what it boils down to is that Slipper won’t be back as speaker before the end of the year if at all So at best Gillard is back to being just one heart attack away form losing the lodge, at worst and more likely she faces further declines in her approval ratings and more despair among her caucus colleges.
As for Ashby having a chequered history I don’t think it matters that much, especially has he seems to have the evidence in the form of texts and emails sent by Slipper.
Iain, the CabCharge allegations will be investigated by the AFP and resolved quickly as to whether he has any case to answer. Usually these things go in a politician’s favour. I’d suggest 2 – 3 weeks tops, maybe earlier. As for the civil case, that by no means requires him to step down, nor should it. It’s not criminal and boils down to a ‘he said – he said’ position (apart from the texts and emails if they exist). It will probably settle out-of-court and we’ll never know the truth. You’re quick to condemn females who make sexual harassment claims so why the exception here? It’s quite possible that Ashby was out to set him up. Big deal on that one. You guys will clutch at whatever straws you can to cry “ELECTION NOW”, even when it means you’re publicly spraying the reputation of a long-serving Lib member. Unbelievable.
While its true that I would like to see an election sooner rather than later I just as happy to see Labor making utter fools of themselves until 2013 and the due date for the next poll, Look even you, a staunch Labor man must wince every time the likes of Gillard, Swan and Co manage to stuff things up still further. I make no apology in taking a certain delight at the nature of the sideshow we are seeing in federal politics at present. Its better than Neighbours or Home and Away!
Is it in anyone’s interest that Labor stays in power for another eighteen months? More ineptitude, more failed programs and a debt that is growing by more than one hundred million dollars a day.
Yeah, Iain & GD, like Abbott, Hockey, Robb, Pyne & co will be any better. Yesterday’s men with no ideas, no vision and no common agreement on how to manage the economy. “Welfare must go”, says Joe. “No it stays, says Tony”. And then Robb throws his 2-bits in. If you guys think you’ve got something to complain about, you ain’t seen nothing yet if your mob gets in.
Well just think of the opportunities that you will have to write blog posts bagging the Abbott government when they get in Ray!
There is not enough bandwidth to do it justice, Iain. The Internet could overload.
Well Ray you won’t be troubled by a lack of material then will you 😉
Oh no, especially if Mirabella gets back in (*) and becomes a Minister. Whoa, and you thought Gillard has problems with Thomson – wait till the dirt hits the fan over Sophie’s, um, indiscretions.
(* It’s almost worth paying Tony Windsor to relocate to N.E. Victoria, because any half decent independent will knock her off)
umm, Tony Windsor is not a half-way decent independent. He was voted in as a conservative independent and sold his electorate out for glory in the Labor Greens minority government.
Rather than list, again, the policy failures and socialist damage Labor Greens are inflicting upon us, simply change the word ‘America’ for ‘Australia’ in this video. This is why we need an election now!
Is that as good as you can do, GD? The US has had unemployment as high as 15%, a total collapse of home values and a corporate wipeout. All you’re doing by comparing Australia is to remind us how well the ALP has managed things. Thank you.
Btw, Tony Windsor has more integrity than Abbott and his entire front bench combined. That’s why he couldn’t support ‘sell-my-arse’ Tony as PM.
I don’t think those in his electorate would agree with that.
You can’t be serious Ray. You’re pulling my leg. The country is travelling well due to the mining boom and the previous good stewardship of the Libs. Without their financial legacy we would have been stuffed. Labor could hardly have splurged with cash if there wasn’t any. Although they could’ve borrowed it, I suppose, as they are now doing every day, not only to run the government but to send more money overseas as foreign aid. Just think of it for a minute. We have the largest deficit in history, and Labor is borrowing money to give to third world dictators.
Labor’s socialist policies have hog-tied business by allowing the union genie out of the bottle. Lefties said Howard wanted to take us back to the fifties. Labor has taken us back to the 70s with their industrial relations ‘reforms’. They’ve even wiped out Hawke’s reforms.
Continuing with borrowing, because that’s what Labor is good at, now they’re borrowing ten billion to subsidise green schemes. These are schemes no private entity will touch, and banks regard as too risky to lend to. Yet Swanny knows better. Shame he hasn’t read overseas reports showing that these schemes are not ready for mainstream take-up. They are not turnkey operations, and in reality Labor is throwing away another ten billion dollars of borrowed money on pie in the sky, pipe dreams. Sometimes there just aren’t enough metaphors.
I could then mention the censorship issue. Labor started with Conroy pushing for an internet filter. They’ve gone quiet on that. Can’t have a filter if you don’t control the broadband network. But once that white elephant NBN is rolled out, it will be back on the table. The Greens pushed for an inquiry into the media. Brownie didn’t appreciate the increased scrutiny by the media that his shanghai of Labor brought. Joolia complained about media bias merely because she was subject to some unfavourable press.
Freedom of speech has further been eroded with the recent decision rendered by leftist Federal Court judge Mordy Bromberg in the Eatock vs Bolt case. To add insult to injury, Labor commissioned a report by former Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, Ray Finkelstein QC. His report unequivocally recommends control of the media by a government appointed board of ‘academics’. Fortunately Abbott has indicated that he’ll repeal the infamous Lavarch Racial Discrimination Act.
And that’s without mentioning Slipper, Thomson or the carbon tax.
Enough is enough.
You’re all over the place, GD. To start with, the NBN is not about curtailing “free speech”. And the Bolt case had nothing to do with the government, in fact he was judged under the same law that existed under Howard. Your economic arguments all fall flat on their face because despite everything you claim is wrong, Australia is still holding up while the rest of the world is not. Face it, GD, it wouldn’t matter how well we were doing, you’d still be saying the same things and barracking for your team.
I’ll answer your individual points later. Just one thing. If everything is as rosy as you say, why is this Labor government being reviled as the worst government in living memory, and about to be turfed out of office after less than two terms?
I didn’t say everything is “rosy”. I said it’s not as bad as YOU paint it. As for being “the worst govt in living memory” that is merely your opinion.
And they are not “about to be turfed out of office after less than two terms”. When’s the election GD?
OK, Ray, let me further expound on my comment.
Ray I raised a number of issues in as many paragraphs. If your ADD can’t deal with that, too bad.
Please excuse me for using hyper-bowl about the NBN. Yet is that far from the truth? The aim of a Labor owned NBN is to roll-out a national network controlled by Labor. While this most likely won’t happen, due to Labor’s inability to gauge both public perception and to actually deliver services, it fits with Conroy’s vision of a supervised internet. Hyperbole, yes, but worthy of thought nonetheless.
Regarding the Bolt case. Yes the law was in place during the Howard years, but no-one had taken it to the ridiculous lengths that Justice Mordy Bromberg did. As a result, Tony Abbott has indicated an overturning of the original legislation.
A snippet from the government’s website:
Humiliated, offended, oh come on, this is sticks and stones stuff, and Abbott is right is in rescinding it.
The economic policies of both Europe and America have seen them go from bad to worse. While conservative policies may have played a part years before, we have to face the fact that current socialist policies in America and Europe have failed.
Swanny is giving billions of our borrowed dollars to the IMF to help prop up Greece.
Obama has borrowed more in his term than all other administrations have borrowed in total in the history of the USA.
http://www.gopusa.com/freshink/2012/01/13/obama-borrows-more-than-all-previous-presidents-combined/
The operative word here is ‘still’. With Labor following the examples of Europe and America, can it be long before we experience similar pain?
Ray, do you really believe that Labor, continuing as it is, will somehow create a sustainable, healthy economy for Australia?
With the media controls being placed upon those with dissenting views, is Labor encouraging a free and open society unafraid to express its opinions?
Or is Labor spending rapaciously in a desperate attempt to stay in power for another term, and inflicting their rampant socialism on what was once a ‘relaxed and comfortable society’?
You talk about vision. I don’t see rampant debt and censorship as being visionary. For my money, ‘relaxed and comfortable’ is a far more desirable vision.
GD,
1. I don’t have ADD or any such affliction (thank you!).
2. Your suggestion that Labor is implementing the NBN to control the media and information is so ridiculous and delusional that it isn’t even worth discussing.
3. Blaming the ALP for the Bolt case shows you have no understanding of the judical process and the separation of powers. It has nothing to do with the government of the day and does not support your conspiracy theory about freedom of speech.
4. As for the economy, the facts speak for themselves: We avoided recession. We have low inflation, low unemployment & low interest rates. As for debt, we have the lowest proportion of debt in the western world.
5. There is no evidence that Abbott and co would do a better job. That’s just your inner-redneck talking to you.
Good to see your out numbered here Ray. No evidence Abbott would do better???? Who you trying to kid, no rort ridden NBN for a start. No tax on the air we breathe out for seconds. How about border protection?
Ray, you’ve put your foot in it again I could go on for hours about the disgraceful, demeaning, cheating band of fools we have running my country at the moment, but I don’t have to, Australia has woken up. Your brand of rhetoric, and left leaning selective criticism is old hat.
You’ll be a paltry opposition for a long, long time after the next election, and deep down you know it.
Moderate that Ray.
Please do. Here.
I actually could if I wanted to, Stuart, but I’m happy to let you run with it. Go on, get it all out mate.
Iain could you “Please Explain”
“I actually could if I wanted to, Stuart, but I’ll let you run with it”
Is this true Iain can Ray Dixon censor or moderate me from this site?
Stuart, Iain allows me to moderate any abuse, but I don’t “censor” anyone – here or on my own blog – just for their opinions. And, as I said to you @ AO, please don’t bring up moderation issues in the threads. You’re not on moderation at either blog so just ‘play nice’ and you won’t have any problems.
Iain your silence is deafening. It appears Ray is your boss, or you’d do your own moderating.
Your at your audacious best Ray “Play nice and you won’t have ant problems” One of them backhanders Ray?
Stuart
I am not at the computer 24/7 mate and in fact I have to compete with both of my children for time on the net today so chill a bit will ya?
As Ray says I let him moderate here at my blog because it gets enough traffic to need more than one moderator. and he is absolutely right that my specific rule here is play nice and you get pretty free reign but give me the shits and I’ll get rid of you double quick smart. Further I won’t discuss moderation decisions in public. I have email for that.
Cheers
Iain is “the boss” around here, Stuart, and the reason I put ‘play nice’ in quote form was precisely because that is Iain’s over-arching rule. I suggest you read his comments policy (*) before you go off like that. Read mine too.
(* Hint: The link is under the banner at the top of the home page. https://iainhall.wordpress.com/comments-policy/)
Stuart
My rules here are simple Play nice and you can say what you like about the topics on offer here. Ray is kind enough to moderate this blog when I am otherwise engaged but I am final arbitrator in all moderation decisions here.