My thought for the day Power is a malevolent possession when you are prepared to forgo your principles and your country’s wellbeing for the sake of it. ( John Lord )
Source: A prime ministerial address or a media undressing? – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Morrison pointed out that 66% of the Covid Deaths in Aged-Care were among the ” already near dying”. That seems his justification for not increasing the cost of labor but importing “cheap ” to keep the pressure on and shut the unions up. It seems like Abbott he wishes nature would take its course. So, case settled there’s no real need for him to intervene and lose voters it’s the natural course of events. The outcry of his inaction was there before Covid the virus has merely brought it into view and magnified it. His Minister Colbeck reflected that L-NP attitude. His solution has even magnified it more. The offer of an $800 two week bonus payment with strict conditions attached over a 4 month period amounts to a generous $0.77cents an hour bonus in reality. Morrison really seems to be a character out of a Dicken’s novel rather than Australia’s PM. “Scott sir. can I please have a little more dignity”
Mr Morrison’s miserly “retention bonus” in the face of a supply crisis reeks of a government determined to import cheap labour as soon as possible to solve its problems.
Source: Michael Pascoe: Aged care, COVID and cheap migrant labour
Big corporations like Amazon and Starbucks will continue to do whatever possible to squelch worker power. And if any of these issues get to the Supreme Court you can expect its Republican majority to do the same. But America’s working people outnumber the billionaires and CEOs by a wide margin. If we stand in solidarity, it’s possible to reverse 40 years of stagnant wages, declining economic security, and widening inequality — and build a more prosperous middle class where the gains are shared by everyone. My strong advice to Democratic politicians: Stand up for unions. Fight to strengthen them. Join workers on picket lines. Don’t let Republicans pretend they’re the party of the working class when they’re a trojan horse for the moneyed interests. * * * PS: I thought you might find useful the following video that my colleagues and I at Inequality Media just made about the labor union movement.
Source: So You Don’t Think Labor Unions Have a Future? | The Smirking Chimp
The “better” Managers according to Morrison
Aged care workers are among thousands of people locked out of Australia due to the government’s continued hard border for bridging visa holders. Australia is currently grappling with dire workforce shortages in the aged care sector, a problem compounded by the Omicron crisis. At the same time, the government has continued its tough border restrictions for one visa category – bridging visas – despite opening the border for all other fully vaccinated temporary visa holders. Freedom of information documents show the continued hard border was affecting 18,993 active bridging visa holders in Australia who are hoping to leave the country, and 4,246 people who are stranded overseas, as at 15 December 2021.
I believe Michelle is being too generous in her description on the current state and mindset of our mainstream media. Their long term investment and profit moving forward depends on a one sided quid pro quo relationship with the Big Swinging Dicks in the LNP Club in Canberra. The Election fix is in and has been for the whole of this century their rewards in cash flow due every election cycle. But it can’t be allowed to be that obvious or the punters just might bring their House of Cards down and become aware of the sting.The sting that we are an Oligarch Corporate Capitalist Democracy far far removed from a Socially Democratic one.
Elections don’t depend on what the majority of Australian’s think and the ALP, the most democratic of all the major parties with the broadest views, knows that. Yet, every election since Keating lost has been a battle with one arm tied behind their backs. A battle fought against concentrated spearhead of the IPA, undeclared corporate support their MSM state media message the muszak in our ears louder than our dimwitted L-NP leadership. Tony Abbott was an example he was little more than a student brawler all his political life backed by the LNP office whose mindset was to serve their donors. Morrison on the other hand is more the two-faced huckster, the ad man, who believes he can soft sell anything and anyone as long as he leads from behind and not out front. It only takes a small swing among voters not the whole nation. For Morrison “style is meaning” in Marshal McCluhan’s “media has to be cool not hot” and the MSM and Clive Palmer provide that. It’s media without detail, the constant photo-op, pictures without detail and where the MSM don’t give Albo elbow room. Morrison runs into hiccups when photos turn out like the one with Grace and Australians have access to social media and can spoil Morrison’s vaccuous I’m just an ordinary guy message. The Troll then panics and has to control the digital world by trying push through bills allowing MPs to sue and curtail the flow of Independant media and “facts”.
When the Big Swinging Dicks Club starts to turn against you, is your time at the helm numbered? And when you’ve burned so many bridges, what cushy roles will be offered once you’re ejected? Can it be that the majority of Australians (and much of the world) have joined Grace Tame in giving you the side-eye?
Source: Media mood turns on shameless Morrison (except for Channel 9 … and Kyle)
What isn’t accounted for is the unrecorded support offered by Corporations like News Corp in Quid pro Quo arrangements along with the promises in retirement guaranteed to Ministers for the mutual two-way street of benefits. Being a minister is just a step along the way to real wealth. The danger does Murdoch even like Morrison?
Fossil fuel companies, the Big 4 accountants, billionaires and the usual suspects. The Coalition bag-people came out on top, with more than $15 million more payments given to them than Labor. Callum Foote and Stephanie Tran wrap up 2021’s political payments. It never ceases to amaze how cheaply politicians, and therefore policy and political protection, can be bought. Released today, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) data for the 2020-21 financial year reveals that $166 million was paid to political parties, with the Liberal Party ranking in $15.4 million more than Labor.
All of a sudden there are other priorities rather than saving Australian lives and livelihoods. There’s not enough money for free rapid antigen tests for everyone but there’s a stash of $16 billion to buy votes ahead of the election. We got a couple of installments at the weekend. There are one billion dollars for the Great Barrier Reef and $50 million to save koalas, both programs announced in North Queensland by the Prime Minister on the deadliest days of the Omicron wave. Despite assertions, Omicron is less severe, it has a four-times higher death rate than the original Delta outbreak. Four hundred elderly Australians in aged care died in January alone, more than the 300 over the entire 12 months of 2021. Experts are warning with the return to school we are sure to see another surge in infections, which can only prolong supply chain disruptions and staffing shortages. And yet calls from doctors, businesses and the opposition for free rapid antigen tests for everyone as a surveillance check on the spread of the virus continue to be rejected.
Source: Paul Bongiorno: Coalition offers a sick excuse for pandemic inaction
My thought for the day In 2011 Malcolm Turnbull didn’t think there was a need for an inquiry into the news media but agreed with the then PM Gillard that Newscorp should stop publishing crap. They still do. ( John Lord )
Source: Chalk up another couple for the Government – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson excused one of the leaders of the extremist Oath Keepers organization implicated in the January 6th insurrection by describing him as “a devout Christian.” It’s safe to surmise that he wouldn’t have offered a similar defense for a Muslim American. Since September 11th, and even before that ominous date, they have suffered bitterly from discrimination and hate crimes in this country, while their religion has been demonized. During the first year of the Trump administration, about half of Muslim Americans polled said that they had personally experienced some type of discrimination. No matter that this group resides comfortably in the American mainstream, it remains under intensive, often unconstitutional, surveillance. In contrast, during the past two decades, the Department of Justice for the most part gave a pass to violent white supremacists. No matter that they generated more terrorist attacks on U.S. soil than any other group. The benign insouciance of the white American elite toward such dangerous fanatics also allowed them to organize freely for the January 6th assault on the Capitol and the potential violent overthrow of the government.
When the Prime Minister chooses his Ministry, he has many things to consider – reward for support, factions, states, urban/country, diversity, longevity of service. Merit doesn’t get a look in. Or perhaps this bunch are the best the Coalition has?
Source: The best a man can get – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Murdoch an American, owns 66% of the print media in this country and is the unofficial PR arm of the LNP government so what can we expect. The APC is after all like the ABC are a watered down version of our critical voice. Morrison’s promised an ICAC if and whenever it comes will be another watered down version of what our voice could be. But let’s be fair the defamation laws will be changed and called “strengthened” and MP’s will be allowed taxpayer money to sue us.
Australia’s media watchdog found more than two-thirds of all complaints upheld for violations of the media code of ethics in 2021 were against News Corp, Alan Austin reports. AUSTRALIANS WILL BE SAFER, healthier, happier and much better informed when Rupert Murdoch’s malevolent media empire eventually disappears.
Source: News Corp’s shoddy ‘journalism’ again dominates Press Council complaints
We once had a time when Politics was “hot” and we were eager informed and engaged. Then along came the Howard LNP who have sold work, the ” public service”, and gave them to the free market. Morrison has done everything to turned politics into a state of ” media cool” or “don’t worry be happy”. Hi Viz photo shoots, “on the water matters” the “cone of silence” better known as the Canberra bubble all real attempts to dampen our engagement in politics. But he’s done the opposite and once again politics has become “hot” When Morrison says he “keeps us safe” we experience and feel the opposite. The problem with all of this is his media illusion is in tatters and we can all see the machinery behind it and it’s not working. Scott Morrison has done that alone in one term of being PM and that’s his miracle.
To be precise, what we have today is a government that is at war with its citizens by other means. It’s a very real struggle. We cannot rely on traditional allies like the Fourth Estate. So, prepare yourself and the best preparation is knowledge. Ask questions and demand answers. It’s a life and death struggle for a form of democracy that truly represents us.
Source: Australia: a failing state in a hurry to fail – » The Australian Independent Media Network
My thought for the day Just because we are governed by clowns doesn’t mean it is a laughing matter. The first duty of any government, if they don’t already have it, is the acquisition of integrity. PS: When actions speak louder than words. Congratulations, Grace Tame. ( John Lord )
Failure to protect Federal aged care residents has left 389 elderly Australians dead this year alone, and 40% of private nursing homes locked down. Dr Sarah Russell reports on the government’s devastating failure as the Covid aged care crisis grips. Demanding accountability from the Minister for Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck, is being “a knocker”. So says our King of Spin, Scott Morrison. Given the media’s new obsession with appearances – and whether people smile for the camera – it was not a good look for Colbeck to be enjoying an outing at the cricket on the same day he declined to appear before the Covid-19 committee. In a letter to chair Katy Gallagher, Colbeck claimed he could not justify “diverting the time and resources” of his office given the pandemic was at a “critical point”. That the aged care system is at a “critical point” was an understatement. On the day Colbeck was out and about at the cricket (14 January), thousands of older people were in lockdown. Some 1,107 of the 2,704 federally operated private aged care homes (40 per cent) were locked down. The residential aged care system was in crisis.
Oligarchs invest to create a very unreal illusion of themselves.
Gina Rinehart, a global warming denier and the wealthiest person in Australia, cannot protect the sports she sponsors from the impact of the climate crisis. But should they be protecting Rinehart’s reputation from the condemnation that is increasingly directed at those who stand in the way of climate action?
While Josh Frydenberg is out there telling us the “fundamentals are good” the reality is the very opposite and we have been on a major slide since 2014.
The decline of political and corporate standards in Australia over recent years is not just in the imagination of some critics. Transparency International released its annual corruption report yesterday which gives Australia the lowest score and global ranking since the series began in 1995.
Source: Australia hits new low on Transparency International Corruption Index – Michael West Media
Conclusion: Nous Sommes Grace Tame The lesson from this is that activism need not be bricks through windows, or even fiery rhetoric. Through her simple facial expressions and the fire in her eyes, Grace Tame has conveyed the outrage of the considerable segment of the population that has, to put it mildly, an unfavourable opinion of The Lodge Occupant. As much as her critics like to complain about her ‘lack of civility’, it is precisely that lack of civility, the idea of not being ‘the good little girl’ that makes her statement so powerful.
Source: Grace (Un)Tame(d) Provokes Conservative Outrage – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Grace Tame’s ability to give voice to the voiceless and hold the powerful to account has earned her Crikey’s highest honour.
Source: In a year of deception, one voice stood out: Truth-teller Grace Tame’s
Morrison and the Corporate Media celebrated the Government winning the proprietory rights to the Indigenous flag. As if the war was now over they have allowed granted permission to Indigenous Australians qualified use of “their flag”. How Colonial of Scott Morrison
Fifty years ago today, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established in Canberra. It successfully pushed Australia’s government to establish indigenous land rights in the 1970s and helped create a model for militant action in indigenous rights struggles today.
Source: The Aboriginal Tent Embassy Is Still Fighting for Justice
Cold,” one news outlet reported of the young woman’s expression. “Frosty,” said another. “Visibly uncomfortable,” ran a subheading, describing the manner that affected her obliged pose beside the man – hung back, unsmiling, eyes hooded with mistrust. Yes, the scene described was of outgoing Australian of the Year, survivor advocate Grace Tame, obliged into a photo event with prime minister Scott Morrison. The occasion was a formal morning tea to commemorate the end of Tame’s eventful year in the AOTY role. “Tense,” explained the copy under the published photographs.
In an amazing break with protocol, Australian of The Year, Grace Tame did not curtsy and smile at the Prime Minister, leading to outrage from people such as James McGrath and Peter Van Onselen. What’s wrong with her? Morrison manages to smile, even when he’s announcing someone’s death?
“Cuba’s achievement in creating effective vaccines is immense, and if we can use this know-how to build a better system, not driven by the greed of the few, it will be truly world-changing.”
Source: ‘Historic Turning Point’: Cuba Issues Plan for Vaccine Internationalism
The National Australia Day Council (NADC), the body in charge of promoting Australia Day and choosing the Australian of the Year, has seen a tenfold increase in its funding since inception in 2014. Its funding has shot up from $4m a year when Tony Abbott was PM to $34m last year, the vast majority coming in the last 2 years under Scott Morrison. An investigation of the Council’s financial disclosures shows, ironically, that the people in charge of promoting Australia Day have been in breach of Australian Accounting Standards. Its accounts have been “qualified” by the Auditor-General; in other words they have been busted for fudging their income.
Source: Culture Wars: Morrison hides big spend on Australia Day – Michael West Media
Dutton’s feelings might be hurt he wants the right to sue for Defamation and us the taxpayers to pay to shut Binoy and other critics up. Scott and Michaela are preparing the Bill to do just that and keep themselves safe.
Give the man credit where it’s due. Few could possibly be congratulated for selling the sovereignty of a country in full view of its citizenry, but Peter Dutton, former Queensland copper turned sadistic Home Affairs minister turned Defence Minister, is very capable of it. Australia promises to become a throbbing bordello for the strategic affairs of other states (to a large extent, it already is), awaiting submarine insertions, naval manoeuvres, and more troop rotations. With the AUKUS arrangements being firmed up, US and UK sailors, personnel and miscellaneous staff are being readied for more time Down Under, ensuring that Australia becomes a staging ground for future forward military operations. Canberra has relinquished much say in this; the song sheets and blueprints are coming from elsewhere.
In light of last week’s devastating senate vote on voting rights, I keep hearing “voting rights are dead.” Wrong. If voting rights are dead, American democracy is dead. And if American democracy is dead, the entire project that began (imperfectly, to be sure) in 1776 and has been a beacon for the world, is dead. I will not accept that. Nor, I assume, will you.
Source: The Weeks Ahead: The Future of Voting Rights and Democracy | The Smirking Chimp
Labor’s Helen Polley and Anne Urquhart should be returned in Tasmania as should Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson. After an unsuccessful tussle with his former staffer Jonathon Duniam, Eric Abetz has been relegated to third spot on the Liberal party ballot with Wendy Askew at #2. There is a slim chance Eric could be gone and Labor pick up a seat but unlikely. It’s a nice thought nevertheless. Putting all that together, the likely end composition of the Senate is 37 Coalition, 24 Labor, 12 Greens, and Jacquie Lambie, with Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts as the deciding votes on legislation. I would suggest we all get very active about discussing the importance of the Senate vote with friends, family, neighbours, colleagues and anyone who will listen. A hung parliament is one thing but we don’t have time for a paralysed one at the mercy of PHON.
Source: Is time up for Eric Abetz? – » The Australian Independent Media Network
An appropriate description of The Tories, The Republicans, and the LNP
A fish rots, it is said, from the head down. With claims of blackmail, bullying and racism, it seems so too does a political party
My thought for the day When a political party deliberately withholds information that the voter needs to make an informed, balanced and reasoned assessment of how it is being governed. It is lying by omission. It is also tantamount to the manipulation of our democracy. ( John Lord )
PS: A comment by Kaye Lee on my last post is well worth repeating: “It’s not the comments that are the problem Scotty… it’s the lack of foresight of the Government in preparing for what would happen when they got rid of basically all restrictions at once and said to the unvaccinated go forth and party.”
We didn’t do it and we don’t lie!!!!
RAT TRAP Both Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Health Minister Greg Hunt have publicly denied this is the case. A spokesperson from Mr Hunt’s office informed IA that the Minister for Health categorically denies mandatorily requisitioning, redistributing or otherwise appropriating stocks meant for retailers.
Source: EXCLUSIVE: Morrison and Hunt’s tricky denial of RAT requisitions
Whilst Labor’s policies are preferable to the Coalition’s, they fall far short of what must be done. We cannot afford the timidity shown by the two major parties who bow to pressure from vested interests and are paralysed by fear of reprisal from their colleagues as much as from the electorate. Nor can we afford the denial from Barnaby’s mob and the Pauline and Clive cults. When Labor form government, the necessity for action will only be greater and the voices demanding it even louder. I hope they are ready.
We’re not facing the end of work, but we are facing the end of work as we know it. It’s about time.
In among a string of election campaign failures, Morrison had a regular habit of leaving or being pushed out of jobs before his contracts were finished.There were two stints that have, perhaps understandably, been scrubbed from his Wikipedia page.
The first was a period at big four consulting group KPMG in 2000, where he was attempting to start up a tourism practice.
The second was an ill-fated turn as the strategic director for the campaign of New South Wales Liberal leader Peter Debnam during his failed 2007 election bid.A self-styled “marketer” (he actually has a Bachelor of Science in applied economic geography from UNSW) Morrison instead hired others to do the marketing work, according to a number of people that worked with him in his various tourism jobs, while he focused largely on the networking.
This networking brought him into contact with Liberal grandees who promoted him ever higher, until he landed in — or rather was parachuted into — federal parliament in 2007.
Source: A closer look at Scott Morrison’s career before parliament – Crikey
Another parallel of the Black Death is worthy of note. The plague was so disruptive as to cause its own alterations of the feudal order. The wealthy might have scurried to their places of ornate and padded seclusion, but they were by no means guaranteed survival. Around them, aggressive depopulation fed the fulcrum of change. It emboldened the peasantry, resulting in a range of riots and a challenge to social and economic circumstances. The likes of Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have yet to see a modern version of a peasant insurrection. Perhaps it’s time they did.
Source: Arise, Pandemic Profiteers – » The Australian Independent Media Network
The Federal Government has spent billions on defence equipment, ignoring issues such as the climate crisis and pandemic, writes Dr Binoy Kampmark.
Source: Peter Dutton’s war machine cult
When Barnaby Joyce regained the leadership of the Nationals in June last year, no-one could have been happier than his dear friend and supporter, Gina Rinehart. She immediately offered to host a party for him. Those VIPs lucky enough to secure an invitation to spend an evening with Barnaby and Gina at her palatial coastal hideaway in Noosa could secure their spot for a mere $10,000 a head. At a fundraiser for Wide Bay MP Llew O’Brien shortly after their soiree, Barnaby sang Gina’s praises, which Ms Rinehart has graciously shared with us on her website. Mr Joyce spoke of the LNP’s belief in the importance of the individual to be master of their own game as opposed to being controlled by the state. He praised the efforts of his long-time “mate”, mining magnate Gina Rinehart, who attended the event. “Gina is one of the most powerful women in the world,” he said. “If we had more Gina’s we’d have a more powerful nation,” he said.
To put it bluntly, Biden is in deep trouble. So is America. How can Biden regain momentum? Here are ten steps he should take, starting this week:
Source: The Week Ahead: How Biden Can Get His Mojo Back | The Smirking Chimp
Peter Costello tries to boost Morrison by telling us “what we think” in The Age poll.
However:
The rising death toll and explosion in infections are a direct result of the failure to provide adequate safeguards to cope with these new “freedoms”. Experts warned exceptionally high vaccination rates by world standards would not be enough. Instead, we were given the mantra of “getting the government off people’s backs and out of their lives”. It was a stark dereliction of a government’s public health responsibilities. The failure to provide self-administered rapid antigen tests (RATs) as an essential tool in keeping the country functioning is a major contributor to the deep malaise we are now experiencing. Empty supermarket shelves are the most eloquent witnesses to this reckless wishful thinking. The situation has become so dire even Labor leader Anthony Albanese’s critics are giving him a serious second look.
Source: Paul Bongiorno: Summer of our discontent changes political calculus
A drastic slide in home ownership, mirrored by an equally dramatic rise in mortgage debt and renting, is a direct result of failed government policy. Spiralling inequality in the “Land of the Fair Go can be addressed, ironically, by stronger lending standards. Economist and The New Liberals candidate Steve Keen on the crisis in affordable housing. At the 1998 Census, 43% of Australians owned their houses outright, 29% had a mortgage, 18% rented from private landlords, and 6% from the government (the remainder were in hotels, homeless, etc). Twenty years later, only 30% owned their houses outright, 37% had a mortgage, while 27% rented from landlords and 3% from the government. And yet the objective of housing policy, under both Liberal and Labor governments, was to increase home ownership.
Source: Housing affordability plunge: radical policy the only answer – Michael West Media
The Novak Djokovic case has less to do with the tennis star himself and more to do with politics and how far a government is prepared to push the rules, indeed the independence of the Court, when the legal system is not working just as it would like. Four things stand out in the government’s campaign to undermine the rule of law: a convenient “minister swap” from Karen Andrews to Alex Hawke, Hawke keeping his decision secret for four days, the government’s fragile pretext that Djokovic might arouse anti-vax sentiment, and a judiciary prepared for a government which would play politics with the Court. Only the most ardent acolytes of the Coalition would agree with Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s claim to hold dear to rules. He might have said “rules are rules … no one is above these rules”, but his is a government prepared to subvert rules at any opportunity for political gain. And it is fair to say that, in this instance, a sacred rule of democracy – that is, the independence of the judiciary from executive government – has come under attack.
Source: Government sabotages rule of law in Djokovic case for political advantage – Michael West Media
Yes, we heard about the four killed in the pink batts installations for years and they were all supposed to be Kevin Rudd’s fault, but we can have dozens dying every day and it’s just the price of a healthy economy. Who says this government doesn’t put health first? I guess the pink batts guys didn’t have “underlying health conditions”…
Source: Why You Definitely Should Do Your Own Research… – » The Australian Independent Media Network
This is closer to the truth
Do not be fooled Morrison’s Government can be right for the wrong reasons at one and the same time. Distraction the primary purpose for doing the most popular action doesn’t remove the stain of Morrison’s pandemic cock up.
While COVID-19 overwhelms Australia’s health system, Scott Morrison’s government has spent the week trying to deport tennis star Novak Djokovic. It’s a cynical attempt to distract from a major public health disaster.
Despotism is bad for capitalism. Despots don’t respect property rights. They don’t honor the rule of law. They are arbitrary and unpredictable. All of this harms the owners of capital. Despotism also invites civil strife and conflict, which destabilize a society and an economy. My message to every CEO in America: You need democracy, but you’re actively undermining it. It’s time for you to join the pro-democracy movement. Get solidly behind voting rights. Actively lobby for the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Use your lopsidedly large power in American democracy to protect American democracy — and do it soon. Otherwise, we may lose what’s left of it.
Source: Why Isn’t Corporate America Behind the Pro-democracy Movement? | The Smirking Chimp
With Trump gone and Boris on the verge Scotty is the one left standing spruiking Bullshit in the Anglo world. Odd isn’t it Murdoch is still entrenched.
PM Scott Morrison came out strongly against Novak Djokovic again this week, claiming “rules are rules … no one is above these rules”. Yet the list of this government’s broken rules is prolific. From sports rorts, au pairs, parliamentary entitlements, environmental standards, action on climate to Christian Porter. Callum Foote and Michael West on brazen hypocrisy.
My thought for the day Lying in the media is wrong at any time; however, it is even more so when they do it by deliberate omission. Murdoch’s papers seem to do it with impunity. ( John Lord )
Source: Leadership is vital in this election – » The Australian Independent Media Network
The flooding of the media by the Djokovic case has tangentially drawn attention to Australia’s draconian border enforcement and the plight of the refugees who have been held hostage for nine years.When Morrison was told about the declining health and the neglect and abuse of children in detention, he denied it and accused advocates of promoting self-harm. When told that refugees are suffering torture, he claimed our strong borders make that necessary. Which makes his newfound concern about the mental health issues caused by state border closures sound very hollow.It really doesn’t matter what issue is facing the nation, risk assessment and expert advice are ignored in favour of tame consultants, ministerial decree, contracts without tender, grants without due process, and appointments without merit. We have panels and departments and commissions and reviews to make recommendations – all routinely ignored. To have such unerring confidence that you know better is foolhardy.Australia is paying a high price for Morrison’s hubris.
Source: He just won’t listen – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Australians are getting a stark reminder about how value is actually created in an economy, and how supply chains truly work. Ask chief executives where value comes from and they will credit their own smart decisions that inflate shareholder wealth. Ask logistics experts how supply chains work and they will wax eloquent about ports, terminals and trucks. Politicians, meanwhile, highlight nebulous intangibles like “investor confidence” – enhanced, presumably, by their own steady hands on the tiller. The reality of value-added production and supply is much more human than all of this. It is people who are the driving force behind production, distribution and supply. Labour – human beings getting out of bed and going to work, using their brains and brawn to produce actual goods and services – is the only thing that adds value to the “free gifts” we harvest from nature. It’s the only thing that puts food on supermarket shelves, cares for sick people and teaches our children.
For months, voting rights advocates and scholars of democracy have issued hair-on-fire warnings about the danger that the GOP’s death-by-a-thousand-cuts strategy poses to the very foundation of representative democracy. “The American experiment is at risk,” Holder says. This is not hyperbole. And by 2024 the damage may have already been done. The members of Congress, governors, secretaries of state, attorneys general, state legislators, and local officials elected this November will determine to a large extent whether there will be fair elections for years to come.
Source: The Coming Coup: How Republicans Are Laying the Groundwork to Steal Future Elections – Mother Jones
Morrison has died a thousand political deaths only to be spawned again yelling “don’t look in the rear vision mirror. Don’t look at the history of his government his political life is reborn and starts again today and he has the media Murdoch, Costello, and Stokes paid to back him up. Look how well Harvey Norman, Housing and the stock exchange are doing. Unfortunately we have a leader whose been playing whack-a-mole, without any concept of the past or future merely trying to stay alive today with no real direction. 18 months ago the Government was approached by an Australian RTA mfger and rejected. Yes rejected by our Government. No need for such trivia.
Meanwhile the nation is systematically sinking at an accelerated pace because what Morrison has in fact been doing is nothing. Nothing to stave off the collapse of the essential workers in health, industry, retail, transport or education why because the unions just might have some advice. What he is doing is trying to change the laws to allow infectious workers to keep on working and spreading the virus. A virus that can be caught no just once but multiple times to a point of collapse. How the fuck did this happen? Because Morrison believes a healthy economy produces a healthy nation and not that healthy nation produces a healthy economy. Morrison said “It was China’s fault”,”it’s not a race”,”lockdowns aren’t necessary”, and it’s “our fault” never his. What has he been doing? He’s been ” doing a Trump and like a camp follower has brought us to where we are today. He’s even pulled the RATs out from the Pharmacies reach that not so “free market” because the fucker can’t deliver the ones he promised. Yes it’s Morrison playing whack-a-mole with our lives.
He’s given us the most expensive government in Australia’s history. He has taxed us more invidually than the ALP, cut welfare, while subsidising and lowering corporate taxes as if there were no tomorrow. Our standing in the world has plummetted on every social metric while allowing only 1% of the nation to prosper and government debt increase by 200% to a $1Trn. Now that’s not leader. Thats not for the common good of this nation by any measure imaginable that’s a snake oil huckster a vampire sucking the very marrow out of us by simply doing nothing or when doing something it’s far too late. Good Onya ScaMo
The answer to all the above questions is that this Morrison Government is not interested in rules. It’s not even concerned with the welfare of its own people in the midst of a global pandemic. Its interests lie only in getting re-elected and appeasing its donors so this can happen.
What was Scott Morrison’s plan when he decided Australians should “live with Covid”? Did he give any thought to the impact this would have on older people living in aged care homes? Sarah Russell reports on the plight of our most vulnerable.
Source: “Living with Covid” – not so easy if you’re in an aged care home! – Michael West Media
My thought for the day Scott Morrison’s words and actions bring into question the very essence of the word truth. Or they have at least devalued it to the point of obsolescence.( John Lord )
olddogthoughts 
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