Michael Pascoe: The federal Liberal Party doesn’t care about Australia
So the rabble that is the federal Opposition will remain aloof from the jobs and skills summit, declining the opportunity to contribute to policy formation – if they have anything to contribute – preferring to remain remote to whinge, playing to their rusted-on base instead of the nation’s benefit.
And thus the Dutton opposition perforce marks itself as unfit for consideration as alternative government. It doesn’t care about the country, about our future.
It lacks any sense of integrity. It’s only in it for the mates, for the vested interests, for the lust for power, for the keys to The Lodge.
And that is a bad thing for us all. We get better government when there is good opposition, challenging, improving.
The Dutton opposition has left the building. It has nothing to offer.
Because what he can’t admit is that inflation won’t fall back to the target range of 2 to 3 per cent until the nation’s businesses decide to moderate their price rises. And they’re not likely to do that until those rises reach the point where they’re driving away customers.
Republican Elise Stefanik to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy have issued statements brimming with outrage and accusation. Last night, the RNC sent out a fundraising text: “THIS IS NOT A DRILL: UNPRECEDENTED move Biden’s FBI RAIDS Pres. Trump’s home. Time to take back Congress.
”Rubbish. There’s no evidence that the FBI search was motivated by anything other than concerns (and, under a court order, probable cause) that Trump made off with documents rightfully belonging to the United States. That’s a criminal offense. If anyone has been undermining the rule of law, it’s Trump. Recall that Trump himself appointed the current director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, after firing former director James Comey for investigating the ties of Trump’s 2016 campaign to Russia.
People like Andrew Bolt and Alan Jones, who write and comment outrageously based on payment for controversy, will eventually pass on as Gough Whitlam did. They will be quickly forgotten, but he will go down in the annals of Australian history as a decent, optimistic, passionate and sagacious Prime Minister who made an enormous contribution to Australian society. Something they could never aspire to do.(John Lord)
It probably won’t surprise you that the Productivity Commission is always writing reports about … productivity. Its latest is a glittering advertisement for the manifold benefits of capitalism which, we’re told, holds The Key to Prosperity.
Will Joe Biden be re-elected in 2024? With his current approval rating in the cellar, most pundits assume he will be toast by the next presidential election. At 81, he would also be the oldest person ever elected president, slightly exceeding the typical American’s lifespan.
So, the conventional thinking goes, Biden will be demolished by Donald Trump (or a Trump surrogate such as the Texas senator Ted Cruz or the Florida governor Ron DeSantis), thereby subjecting the US and the world to an even crazier authoritarian than Trump 1.0.
Imagine if a budding identity thief had a free, user-friendly, publicly searchable database that contained the name, location, date of birth, and mother’s maiden name of millions of people. Enter Amazon registries. We already know that Amazon collects plenty of personal information and data that can be arduous for its users to obtain, but the company also readily shares your information for anyone to access when you set up a registry. Because the default visibility settings of registries for weddings, birthdays, new babies, and other occasions are preset to public, Amazon reveals to the world information that financial institutions and other service providers request for identity authentication — and that identity thieves can use to take over your life.
Never in the history of this nation have the rich and the privileged been so openly brazen.The rise of narcissism and inequality and the demise of compassion illustrate the state of the world.( John Lord )
Gaping loopholes, earnest advisers and an international reputation for stability have made Australia a place of choice for illicit funds. Despite a crackdown on the foreign ownership of established houses, there are still many ways for crooks to score a piece of the action, no matter which government is in power, writes Nathan Lynch in an extract from his book The Lucky Laundry – how the Aussie economy got hooked on the world’s dirtiest cash.
Under cover of climate debate, the Greens and Labor swiftly and smartly killed off a longstanding loophole which let Australian billionaires hide their financial affairs. Michael West reports on politicians beating the lobbyists.
We are talking about the “grandfathering” exemption, a loophole standing since 1995 which allowed Australia’s richest families of the time to hide their financial affairs.
The arc of history bends slowly towards justice but, 15 years on from the national apology to Indigenous people, it’s time to walk the next steps in the long journey to reconciliation. There has already been too much delay since Indigenous leaders signed the Uluru Statement from the Heart five years ago.
Michael Pascoe: Professional classes make billion-dollar tax rorts possible
“The key lesson from WA Inc was that the shonks, crooks, spivs and conmen only really thrive with the assistance of the professional classes – the accountants, lawyers, valuers, journalists et al.
“It took at least a culture of acquiescence and, more likely, one of mercenary complicity for the likes of Bond and Connell to prosper.”
They are resurrected in light of Rio Tinto settling its tax avoidance bill with the ATO last month – close enough to $1 billion worth of tax it attempted to dodge on the vast fortune it has made exporting WA iron ore and funnelling the money through its “Singapore marketing hub”.
“Singapore marketing hub” might make it up there with “colourful racing identity” as a useful euphemism.
As we approach the 50th anniversary of the election of the Whitlam Government, Victor Kline asks, what would Gough do to solve the chronic deficiencies of our current society?
Nothing matters more in life as to live it decently. And you don’t need any form of religious belief or political allegiance to do so. Be as humane as you can possibly be.( John Lord )
While the Coalition probably aren’t wishing for a long period on the Opposition Benches in Parliament House, their behaviour so far suggests a different outcome. If your criticism of the government reminds the public why they voted against you in the first place, you’re on a hiding to nothing. While some are offering valuable input and suggestions, including state governments, minor party and independent MPs and sections of the media, the Coalition is fast fading into irrelevance brought about by its own behaviour. We all deserve better.
They really do want to kill him. Perhaps it is high time that his detractors and sceptics, proven wrong essentially from the outset, admit that the US imperium, along with its client states, is willing to see Julian Assange perish in prison. The locality and venue, for the purposes of this exercise, are not relevant. Like the Inquisition, the Catholic Church was never keen on soiling its hands, preferring the employ of non-church figures to torture their victims.
Rather than be bogged down by the games in Canberra, we need to roll up our sleeves and squeeze the last drops of hope out of our souls. In every walk of life, every profession, every community, there are discussions and decisions and organising we must start doing now that will pay enormous dividends in three years time. We need to put in the hard work so that in the next parliament the political calculations around climate targets are radically different.
In an interview with Oscar Grenfell of the World Socialist Website, John Pilger explains the latest manoeuvres by the U.S. and UK authorities to extradite journalist and publisher Julian Assange to the U.S. where he faces 175 years in prison for the crime of journalism.
The Coalition Government’s performance over its time in office had been like a daily shower of offensiveness raining down on society. Surely performance or lack of it must have meant something.(John Lord )
Sane people don’t give Trump credit for having a policy vision at all. In the annals of political oxymorons, a “Trump policy vision” must rank very high.
He said the free market and small government ideology that has had America and much of the world in its grip for 40 years is over. Free Market, Small Government,
Democracy allows Autocracy but Autocracy doesn’t allow for Democracy. There’s no Second Chance. Rapists are Trumpists and say ” I’ll put it in a little if it hurts I’ll take it out”
So your vote is critical, and not just in federal elections. Make sure you also vote for state legislators who understand what’s at stake to preserve our democracy. Because, as this Supreme Court shows, the future of our democracy is not guaranteed.
I have no idea whether the hearings will lead to criminal indictments and convictions of Trump and his enablers, but I do believe the hearings are finding their way into the public’s consciousness. This may prove to be as — if not more — valuable than a criminal proceeding. Not even a criminal conviction will change the minds of those who believe Trump’s Big Lie; to the contrary, it may make them even more suspicious or paranoid, possibly leading to further violence. But the hearings may begin to convince Trump supporters that he’s a dangerous charlatan.
“He said it, We read it, But didn’t believe it. Until we read it in Rolling Stone”
Is a song that might well be applied to the attempted Pentecostalist takeover of the Australian Government. A takeover that’s been stopped in its tracks for the moment but is not yet guaranteed ended. For them, the separation of powers between religion and the state is an anathema born out of multiculturalism and its attended beliefs that need to be stopped. Conversion and forced assimilation their desired path. Morrison’s second coming of Australia. Even Peter Dutton has taken it on as a core of the LNP’s opposition and strategy to divide the Left. Meanwhile, Scott Morrison is ready to reveal his true affiliation with OAN and its Pizzagate imaginings and origins.
Scott Morrison is continuing the Pentecostal agenda in Opposition, undermining the system of government he is still paid to uphold. Managing editor Michelle Pini takes a look at the former PM’s aggressively expanding cult.
‘Inflamed: Deep Medicine And The Anatomy Of Injustice’ reveals a critical observation — that inflammation repeatedly connects poor health and structural injustice, writes April M Short.
Since 1910, non-Labor governments have governed for two-thirds of the time and Labor for one-third.
In their governance, the right has attracted a proliferation of odd xenophobic people who have sought to plaster their thoughts on every parliament wall, from religious extremism to coal is good.
The true Liberalism of Menzies is now dead and buried and has been replaced by a brand of Conservatism unique to American politics. The Liberal party exists in name only.
Australia is a different place politically, and so is Canberra. Scott Morrison is no longer a one-man employment agency, and ex-Coalition staffers are scrambling for new jobs. (Stephanie Tran).
There’s nothing more ex than an ex, as the old saying goes, but there are ways of landing on your feet after being dumped.
Sure, Scott Morrison has is already enjoying the perks of life as an ex-prime minister, turning up in Seoul last week to hobnob with other has-beens such as former US vice-president Mike Pence and former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad and has-been / possible future star Michelle Obama. And on the weekend he was warning congregants at Margaret Court’s church in Perth of Satan’s plan.
It’s a less settled path for the lower orders, and an even less settled path for their staff. But there are some options for those political exes facing an existential crisis.
While we have managed to elect a new government, we are still stuck with the same old media who cannot or will not imagine a non-toxic politics. This will likely not be the last time the Albanese government may have to change its position. Any government must be granted the space in which to reverse bad decisions without enduring toxic criticism from toxic media who are more interested in furthering discord than they are in facilitating positive change.
US and EU officials recently suggested targeting livestock and agriculture in Asia and Africa to reduce methane emissions. Far more emissions, however, come from oil and gas production in the U
Rising profits levels among the Australian corporate sector have been identified as one of the key causes for increasing inflation levels across the country, a new report has shown.
Leaked documents have revealed illegal operations and ethically questionable practices of the world’s biggest ride sharing company, writes Dr Binoy Kampmark.
Without a single thought or platform of their own, the LNP under Peter Dutton’s leadership is grasping at Republican strategies in order to regain power. It’s not for Australia’s sake but simply for their own benefit. Like Dutton the strategy is entirely unoriginal or relevant..
My thought for the day
The ability of thinking human beings to blindly embrace what they are being told without referring to evaluation and the consideration of reason never ceases to amaze me. It is tantamount to the rejection of rational explanation. ( John Lord )
If Australians knew the extent of the collection and abuse of their online activities and biometric information, they would be marching in the streets demanding decent regulations that protect them against such violations. Unfortunately, when it comes to tech, legislation is either uninformed, out of date, or just embarrassing. That left tech companies on their own to self-regulate, and it’s often in favour of the investors and shareholders. What’s worse, Australians are left in the dark and unprotected when it comes to their digital rights.
Across Australia, power prices are rising exponentially while corporations rake in billions. It’s not the product of shortages or instability but of a market designed to let for-profit companies hold the public ransom.
It is time to stop using the term “conservative” to describe them and their agenda.
And it is time it to fight back: Enlarge the size of the Supreme Court and limit the terms of justices. Abolish the filibuster and then pass laws most Americans want — protecting voting rights and reproductive rights, and controlling guns. Criminally prosecute Trump and his insurgents.
These are conservative measures. They are necessary to conserve and protect our governing institutions from the radicals now bent on destroying them.
How To Handle Radical Republicans | The Smirking Chimp
Much of today’s Republican party is treacherous and treasonous. So why are Democrats facing midterm elections that, according to most political observers, they’re likely to lose?
Robert Reich reveals the 3 things Joe Biden can do to lower gas prices and save Democrats in the midterms – Raw Story – Celebrating 18 Years of Independent Journalism
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