Former high court judge dismisses union applications that he disqualify himself from the inquiry after row over plan to speak at Liberal party fundraiser. Follow the developments with Daniel Hurst
Month: August 2015
The Sleepy Rural Electorate That Could Topple The PM
Latest Newspoll puts Coalition’s margin in the formerly safe seat held by Don Randall at just 51%-49% in two-party-preferred terms
Liberal MP Don Randall, who died of a heart attack in July, had a lead of almost 12%, but the latest Newspoll shows that margin has all but disappeared.
The poll, which surveyed 508 Canning voters last weekend and was published by the Australian, shows the government ahead by 51% to 49% in two-party-preferred terms. At the last federal election in 2013 it won with 61.8% to Labor’s 38.2%.
Whatever the Daily Telegraph pays Piers Akerman to spread his unique brand of ‘commentary’, it’s not enough. So if you’re reading this Rupert Murdoch, double the man’s salary.Akerman’s column this week attacking the independent Australian documentary, Gayby Baby – and the Tele’s complementary campaign of smearing shit all over itself and then grinning like a five-year-old – has done more than any hard working publicist could ever do to promote a film that every Australian should see.
Source: Gayby Baby: Out Of The Mouths Of Babes, And Piers Akerman | newmatilda.com
The path from shrinking newsrooms to the bulging corridors of corporate communications and government media units is a well-trodden one. Many journalists, your own Girl Reporter included, have sought a crust by writing press releases. Some of them may even have been poorly worded. The process of preparing a press release is time-consuming and thankless…
Source: Words matter – but don’t shoot the press officer – » The Australian Independent Media Network
(Ferenstein Wire) – Drones can now legally fight criminals in the United States with non-lethal weapons thanks to a recently amended bill in North Dakota. The law’s author, Representative Rick Becker, originally wanted to require police to secure a warrant for drone surveillance. But, then local law enforcement managed to sneak in the right […]
Source: Weaponized Drones For Law Enforcement Now Legal In North Dakota – Forbes
Law enforcement agencies in North Dakota are now allowed to operate drones armed with “less than lethal” weapons.
Source: North Dakota Legalizes Armed Police Drones : The Two-Way : NPR
Saturday August 22
1 The process is more important than the individual. That is why Dyson Heydon must step down. When arguing that it puts the future of the commission in doubt people forget that the findings to date could have always been pursued through existing law enforcement bodies. That’s what made it a political…
Source: My Thoughts on the Week That Was – » The Australian Independent Media Network
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote Brilliant Abbott Strategy – The Best Way to Stop People Talking About Your Last Mistake Is To Make Your Next. As with much of what I write, people mistook it for satire, not realising that it had been leaked from Cabinet. Well, when I say “leaked”, I mean that…
Yesterday’s Border Force announcement was an attempt by the Government to engender fear in the community for political advantage, a former independent says.
West Australia energy minister says the future is in solar, noting that it is cheap, democratic, and was likely to displace the state’s ageing coal generators. And this man used to head the IPA!
Source: W.A. says solar is the future as it prepares to dump coal : Renew Economy
Wash. Post‘s David Ignatius Explains The “Scandal” Missing From Clinton’s Email Use
Washington Post opinion writer David Ignatius checked the “overstated” uproar over Hillary Clinton’s email use as secretary of state, citing national security legal experts who roundly dismiss the idea that any criminal mishandling of classified information occurred.
Australian Border Force commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg has conceded that the initial press release announcing Operation Fortitude was a “clumsily translated” statement accidentally sent from the 1930s.
“It did come across as a little abrupt. It’s always hard to translate these things perfectly from the original German,” Mr Quaedvlieg said.
Operation Fortitude – now cancelled – would have seen Border Force officers stopping people to question them about their visa status, with officers patrolling Flinders Street Station and other prominent border crossing points.
But there was an immediate backlash, with many claiming it was not realistic for people to carry around visa papers at all times. A spokesperson for Border Force agreed. “An armband or a small badge sewn onto a person’s clothing identifying their visa status would be much more practical for everyone involved”.
Following Australian border force’s announcement about conducting visa checks in Melbourne, here are six crucial facts about police and immigration officer powers
Source: Stopped on the street by border force? Six things you need to know | Australia news | The Guardian
The world’s oldest and largest collection of rock art – the Burrup Peninsula, or Murujuga, on the Dampier Archipelago – has been deregistered as a sacred site under new guidelines to the Western Australia’s weak Aboriginal heritage laws, which state there must be evidence of religious activity to qualify it as a ‘sacred site’. The change has led to questions about whether the art will be reinstated to the cultural heritage register following a successful Supreme Court decision that ruled against the WA government’s definition of a ‘sacred site’.
Source: WA Government Deregisters World’s Oldest Rock Art Collection As Sacred Site | newmatilda.com
Operation Fortitude will not go ahead in Melbourne’s CBD this weekend, Victoria Police confirms.
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA – (CT&P) – During an appearance on the Sean Hannity Show last night, 26-year-old propaganda filmmaker and insecure dweeb David Daleiden announced that he had lost his virginity a full four years ahead of his intended target date.
Daleiden told Hannity that he had given up hope of having sex before he was 30 and the encounter was completely unexpected.
“It just happened Sean, no one was more surprised than me,” said Daleiden, who had a huge grin on his face. “No woman has ever been interested in me before now.”
“In high school I was considered a loser, and girls treated me like radioactive waste. Nothing has really changed since then, but let me tell you, these films I patched, edited, and glued together from conversations taken out of context has made me a rock star with young Christian women. It’s great!”
Daleiden relayed to a bemused Hannity that a young God-fearing fan had approached him after a speech he made outside the trailer that serves as international headquarters for his sham organization called the Center for Medical Progress.
“She said she admired me for what I was doing and wanted to share some of God’s love,” said Daleiden.
“She told me her name was Chastity McTart from Beaver Falls, New York and she had hitchhiked across the country to meet me and thank me for the good work I was doing for women’s health issues. I just couldn’t believe it. I really hadn’t been thinking too much about sex because I didn’t know anything about it, and I’ve been too busy for the last decade trying to sink an organization dedicated to the well-being of low-income women across the United States.
Daleiden told Hannity that although he had been obsessed with controlling women’s vaginas and their personal medical decisions for most of his life, he had never really thought about how babies are made in the first place.
“But let me tell you Sean, this fucking stuff is really where it’s at!” Had I known how fun it is I wouldn’t have wasted my time with all this bullshit I’ve been involved in for so many years. In fact, I plan on fucking a lot from now on!”
In the closing segment of the show Daleiden told Hannity that Chastity had promised give him something called a blowjob tonight and he was really was looking forward to it.
A furious Tony Abbott has told the ABC he will personally turn off its Twitter at the wall if the national broadcaster doesn’t bring its flagship show Q&A into line.
The demand comes following last night’s show during which a tweet by @AbbottLovesAnal briefly appeared on screen.
“Either you turn it off, or I’ll do it for you,” Mr Abbott is believed to have told ABC staff. The PM was also concerned about the cost producing so many tweets. “I’m told Q&A now produces 40,000 tweets per episode. Someone has to pay for that – we need to draw the line somewhere”.
After a terse phone call from Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the ABC has agreed to remove the offending tweet from repeats of the episode, to ensure those who watched the live broadcast are the only people to see the tweet.
“I think through our swift actions we’ve managed to stop this from growing further,” a Government spokesperson said.
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Australians will be asked to go to the polls to determine whether Royal Commissioner Dyson Heydon is biased or not, after the man himself was unable to make a decision.
After more than a week of indecision, and with no resolution in sight, the Government has decided to put the matter to rest once and for all.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the plebiscite will be held after the next election. “There’s no need to rush into this,” he said today.
My Heydon has struggled to recall whether he is biased or not, and has spent the past week trying to remember.
Social Services Minister Scott Morrison said a referendum on the issue would be more appropriate.
Research reveals a huge proportion of Australia’s richest people amass their wealth via political connections rather than via innovative businesses – which is helping them at the expense of everyone else.
Source: Battlers and plutocrats: How political connections reward Australia’s super-rich
Almost half of those enrolled to vote in the Canning by-election are aged 50 and over, reflecting the high number of retirees in the WA electorate.
Research reveals a huge proportion of Australia’s richest people amass their wealth via political connections rather than via innovative businesses – which is helping them at the expense of everyone else.
AFP decision on Bishop comes under scrutiny
But the AFP refused to investigate – citing the so-called ‘Minchin Protocol’ – and referred the complaints to the Department of Finance.
A letter from the Ombudsman’s office to a member of the public unhappy with the AFP’s actions show there are grounds for an investigation into the AFP’s general use of the Minchin Protocol, as well as its explanation for refusing to investigate Mrs Bishop’s spending.
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