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Tony puts the media in its place
Its interesting to watch the vision for this incident and to see a confident Tony Abbott deftly put Nicola Berkovic in her place at the press conference yesterday:
After Mr Abbott arrived, the first question of the day was from Nicola Berkovic, a journalist from The Australian newspaper.
‘‘Prime Minister, do you trust this government, the state government, which is proving to be corrupt, to deliver your major infrastructure plans?’’
The question was perhaps poorly worded as no state Liberal has been found corrupt.
But Mr Abbott was not in a forgiving mood as he tried to turn his prime ministerial authority back on Berkovic.
‘‘That, if I may say so, is an entirely unjustified smear,’’ Mr Abbott said.
‘‘Let me not mince my words, madam. An entirely unjustified smear, and frankly I think you should withdraw that. There is no evidence whatsoever for that.’’
He then asked Berkovic, a former press gallery journalist of the year for her coverage of the Rudd government’s home insulation scheme, what her evidence was.
Another journalist tried to restore normal press conference service by asking Mr Abbott if he would remember receiving a bottle of wine from his birth year.
But Mr Abbott would not be deterred. Waving off the interruption, he returned to Berkovic.
‘‘Please, please, I’ve asked what the evidence of that statement was and none has been forthcoming,’’ he said, holding up his hands.
Berkovic replied: ‘‘I think that voters will have questions to ask about a premier who specifically said yesterday that if he was delivered a bottle of that nature he would remember it. Today a thank you note has been uncovered and he has resigned. I think voters would be quite sceptical about the way this has unfolded.’’
Mr Abbott said that was a very different statement from the previous one and called on everybody to lift their game.
The 25% solution and religion of science
It is entirely unsurprising that The Abbott Government will run a tight financial ship, that is what they promised to do when in opposition and clearly its what they are doing now in government. I for one think that if the new way of dealing with parliamentary travel expenses has a great deal of merit:
Ignore the Fairfax crowing, and instead look to the brilliance of the +25% penalty for an incorrect expenses claim
click for source.
Imposing a hefty and proportionate penalty for incorrect expenses claim should make all MPs think twice about making dodgy claims for travel expenses. This seems like a rather simple and elegant solution to the frankly rather small problem that has so enraged the minions of the left over the last few weeks. Well done Mr Abbott 😉
Which brings me to the victims of the Abbott Axe, those poor dears in the Labor bloated public service who will now find themselves out of a job:
click for source
Its clearly sad for the “scientists” who will find themselves down at Centerlink but I can’t help wondering if we as a nation will even notice their absence from the public payroll. frankly I think that just because what they do comes under the “science” descriptor should not mean that we as taxpayers can not expect some real bang for our bucks. Am I the only one who thinks that “science’ has become like a secular religion? And scientists its anointed priests? Like another religion its devotees think that questioning the holy is blasphemy and that those who do so are agents of the dark lord. I personally respect those who are learned in any field but I am just arrogant enough to question that which so many think to be unquestionable. Sadly mine is a heterodox position when it comes to “science” all that I can do is thank the blessed Saints (not of Kilda) that they no longer burn heretics…
Laters Comrades
Related articles
- An Open Letter to Laurie Oakes (theaimn.com)
- Abbott acts: crackdown on travel rorts affair (smh.com.au)
- Tony Abbott set to crack down on politicians’ dubious travel claims (theage.com.au)
- Abbott can’t simply ride out the expenses furore (abc.net.au)
- ‘Bills to fall’ after carbon tax scrap (skynews.com.au)
- The Abbott government: Climate policy as culture war (reneweconomy.com.au)
Congratulations to Mal Brough the new LNP candidate for Fisher
Mr Abbott is the odds-on-favourite to win the next election and is already under pressure to promote a bevy of rising stars to the frontbench. But none of his existing frontbenchers has indicated a willingness to step aside and the jostling for the spoils of victory has already begun.
Apart from the recently minted NSW senator and former right-hand man to John Howard, Arthur Sinodinos, who is certain to be promoted, others in line include Scott Ryan, Jamie Briggs, Simon Birmingham, Paul Fletcher and Kelly O’Dwyer.
The former West Australian Liberal treasurer, Christian Porter, is also set to join federal Parliament and will be expecting rapid promotion.
Mr Brough was elected in 1996. He entered the ministry in 2001 and the cabinet in 2006.
(click for source)
While the minions of the left struggle to find reasons to describe the coalition as evil incarnate they are in fact being offered some very hard working and dedicated talent in the candidates that have been chosen to stand for the party at the next election. There is an interesting contrast between the ALP and the coalition here. At the last state election our oldest political party struggled to get enough people to pull on the ALP jersey as candidates and they struggled even more to get anyone to man to polling stations (only one very depressed chap on the verge of tears at the one I voted at) Yet on the conservative side we have just seen a very spirited competition result in Mal Brough winning the pre-selection for Fisher, The Phil Coorey piece I cite above seems to be missing the point that its better to have lots of talent to draw a ministry from than to have too few in your team that are worthy and able to take a seat at the big table.
Cheers Comrades
Gillard discovers that those warm and fuzzy slippers are not as comfy as she thought they would be …
Julia now has to consider that the Speakers bat may in fact be used upon her instead of just being wielded at her enemies , click for what she has discovered about the speaker's powers yesterday
Its pretty common to think that peter Slipper is something of a pretentious wanker what with his fancy dress and revival of the procession before each sitting day of the house but I can’t help thinking that Julia Gillard must be thinking that the price that she has paid for making him speaker may end up hurting her just as much and possibly more personally than the deal that she repudiated with Andrew Wilkie on the Pokies, after all that was only about money where as Peter Slipper seems intent to ensure that the boot is on the other foot for Gillard:
The Speaker, Peter Slipper, has the quaint view that questions should be answered.
Resplendent in black robe, white bow tie and barrister’s tabs, fresh from his latest ceremonial procession to the House, Mr Slipper decided to enforce his edict at the first opportunity yesterday.
His mood was possibly sharpened by the appearance of the fellow he replaced as Speaker, Harry Jenkins, sporting his own silvery bow tie. The view around Parliament was that Mr Jenkins was gently taking the mickey.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott opened combat with his favourite subject: reminding Ms Gillard that she had promised during the last election campaign that there would be no carbon tax. Now she was introducing just such a tax and had admitted she had made mistakes she regretted, would she ”rescind her deception” and put aside the tax until she took it to the next election?
Mr Slipper ordered Mr Abbott to withdraw the word ”deception”. But when Ms Gillard launched into her answer the full might of the Speaker was exerted.
”Putting a price on carbon was the right thing to do and I stand by it,” Ms Gillard began, her eyes turning flinty in the style she has assumed following the Great Unpleasantness of the past week.
And then, in her well-practised manner, Ms Gillard turned the question on its head and got stuck into the opposition, declaring that Coalition MPs might like to explain why they had promised to introduce a price on carbon during the 2007 election campaign. As she reached full throttle, Mr Slipper called for her to be ”directly relevant” to the question.
Ms Gillard sailed on, and the Speaker hollered again for her to get back to the subject at hand.
The Prime Minister, who appeared to have been studying Meryl Streep’s Oscar-winning depiction of Maggie Thatcher in The Iron Lady, wasn’t for turning. It was a battle of wills.
Mr Slipper triumphed. He simply turned off the Prime Minister’s microphone, told her she would no longer be heard and sat her down.
Ms Gillard appeared thunderstruck.
Related articles
- Peter Slipper bewigged and malodorous (iainhall.wordpress.com)
- Gillard breaks her promise to Wilkie (iainhall.wordpress.com)
- Gillard’s political deathbed delusions (iainhall.wordpress.com)
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