Spull!

Written By: - Date published: 2:49 pm, August 24th, 2018 - 25 comments
Categories: australian politics, International, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags: , ,

And to round off an appalling day for right wing parties on both sides of the Tasman Malcolm Turnbull is goneburger.

There is an interesting historical similarity. He served for the same time as Labor PM in the 1970s Gough Whitlam. It is there the similarities end. Whitlam achieved a great deal of good and was sacked in exceedingly dodgy constitutional grounds. Turnbull has achieved nothing and is gone because of the feral nature of his caucus.

And Peter Dutton, a Texas based popcorn maker, not a Queensland based psychopath, has become an Internet sensation and has offered to be Australia’s next PM.

They could do a lot worse …

Update:

Morrison wins …

25 comments on “Spull! ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. te reo putake 1
    24 August 2018 at 3:01 pm

    Interesting times. Hopefully Dutton will lose his Ministerial role and the poor wee kids on Nauru can have a good laugh at his expense.

    In a way it’s a shame Bishop didn’t get up; she’s about as reasonable as anyone in that caucus. Morrison is a super Christian and has taken nasty positions on social issues such as marriage equality.

    • Carolyn_Nth 1.1
      24 August 2018 at 3:19 pm

      Bishop probably used the run to do a deal with Morrison – my supporters will support you, Morrison, if I get xxxx role in your cabinet.

      And she will bide her time til being a party leader looks likely of a better medium term outcome.

      • Anne 1.1.1
        24 August 2018 at 3:24 pm

        Yes. She’s better off where she is atm. Too many misogynists and flat earthers in that coalition government. They would have done to her what they did to Julia Gillard.

        Best to wait until they lose the next election and then she can take over and clean the party out of the neanderthals.

        • One Two 1.1.1.1
          24 August 2018 at 3:50 pm

          Take over the party…

          Clean out the Neanderthals…

          Flat eathers and mysoginest…

          JB likes to stab others in the back…DPM is the preferred position for a purpose…and is part of ‘the gang’…

          Some are influenced by gender politics…others are not…

          Don’t be fooled…it doesn’t help genuine change…

      • dukeofurl 1.1.2
        24 August 2018 at 5:19 pm

        hardly could do a deal if she was the lowest polling in first round and then eliminated. The time for a deal was before voting started…but I dont think shes the factional boss type who ‘controls a chunk of supporters’

        • dukeofurl 1.1.2.1
          24 August 2018 at 5:33 pm

          Bishop has been dumped as deputy Liberal leader – not that its an important job.

          The new deputy to Morrison is Josh Frydenburg. The leader of the nationals stays as Deputy PM. Frydenburg was a Commercial lawyer

    • lprent 1.2
      24 August 2018 at 5:26 pm

      Bishop didn’t get up; she’s about as reasonable as anyone in that caucus

      It is a caucus that has a *very* low standard of intelligence or competence. So yes, she stands out. Of course it is the intellectual stature of a chimp in a crowd of possums.

    • Exkiwiforces 1.3
      24 August 2018 at 5:36 pm

      Here’s a H/T for you, Julie Bishop won’t run in the next election, but would be given an ambassadorship by the next Labour Government for cross member support and supporting the Labour spokesperson on Foreign Affairs Penny Wong.

    • Morrissey 1.4
      24 August 2018 at 8:25 pm

      it’s a shame Bishop didn’t get up; she’s about as reasonable as anyone in that caucus.

      ?????

      On what basis have you made that remarkable assessment?

  2. WILD KATIPO 2
    24 August 2018 at 3:29 pm

    Flat earthing neanderthals.

    Hmmm…

  4. SPC 4
    24 August 2018 at 3:48 pm

    A party divided 40 for Turnbull, 40 for Dutton.

    Nearly all of Morrison’s support comes from those who supported Turnbull.

    The centrist liberals lose under Dutton or Morrison, so a good win for Labour looks most lilkely. With Dutton, Bishop and the next Treasurer … fighting the next won

  5. Timeforacupoftea 5
    24 August 2018 at 4:07 pm

    Jacinda has just removed Curran from cabinet – bloody great effort from ministers from Poverty South Dunedin.
    Benson Pope removed by Clarke now goodbye Curran.

  6. Jenny 6
    24 August 2018 at 4:55 pm

    And the loser is…..

    Climate Change, (again).

    In virtually every recent Aussie PM spill, climate change policy disagreements have been the cause. This is just the latest….

    Climate Reckoning for Australia

    The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, barely survived a leadership challenge after trying to enact a modest measure to reduce climate-altering emissions.

    Most of Australia’s electricity is generated from coal.

    Australia is the world’s biggest coal exporter

    Australia has the highest carbon footprint per capita of all Western nations

    Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions highest on record

    Any, even the slightest attempt, to front up to climate change by leading Australian politicians, is greeted with massive campaign of outrage and pushback from the powerful fossil fuel lobby. This hostility against action on climate change gets its political expression in the conservative wings of both major Australian political parties.

    It is likely, that this vicious internal government infighting over climate change, will continue, whichever political party is returned to the Australian Treasury benches after the election.

    This will be especially true, if neither party makes differences over climate change policy an election issue. Ensuring neither party will have a popular mandate to make climate change policy.

    So more Spulls are certain.

    • dukeofurl 6.1
      24 August 2018 at 5:22 pm

      ” This hostility against action on climate change gets its political expression in the conservative wings of both major Australian political parties.”

      In labour ? Where did you get that idea
      https://www.laborsclimatechangeactionplan.org.au/

      In general labours policy points are
      Help stop the pension age from being raised to 70
      Save Medicare
      Tell Turnbull to Fix Our Hospitals
      Protect Our Penalty Rates
      Stop Malcolm Turnbull’s attack on uni students
      Labor’s Climate Change Action Plan
      Fully Fund Our Schools
      Protecting funding for TAFE, skills and apprenticeships
      We Need a Banking Royal Commission
      Help us stamp out modern slavery
      Fund Preschools Now
      Stand up to protect the ABC & SBS
      Act On Live Exports
      Stop Unfair Labour Hire
      Do you support a National Integrity Commission?

      • Jenny 6.1.1
        24 August 2018 at 6:36 pm

        dukeofurl 6.1
        24 August 2018 at 5:22 pm
        ” This hostility against action on climate change gets its political expression in the conservative wings of both major Australian political parties.”

        In labour ? Where did you get that idea
        https://www.laborsclimatechangeactionplan.org.au/

        I’ll tell you

        Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd fell out over the implementation of a Carbon Tax. The implementation of a carbon tax was one of Labor’s pre-election promises*

        On becoming Prime Minister, Rudd refused to implement the Carbon Tax.

        Gillard toppled Rudd and implemented the Carbon Tax.

        Rudd toppled Gillard and repealed the Carbon Tax.

        Climate change, an issue that helped propel Labor to power, became a particular albatross around Gillard’s neck, with her carbon tax a rallying point for a new Tea party-style conservatism……

        …..When Gillard toppled Rudd, she ostentatiously abandoned all the policies to which conservatives had been most hostile; when Rudd unseated Gillard, he did exactly the same – an Alice in Wonderland scenario of two rival PMs, each more rightwing than the other.

        ……A similar process has been at work across the policy spectrum. Notoriously, Abbott once declared climate change science “crap”. But rather than campaigning for the environment (as he did in 2007), Rudd went to the election boasting about scrapping Gillard’s tax on carbon.

        https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/06/infighting-rudd-gillard-election-victory

        *That Labor has a “Climate Change Action Plan”, does not mean it will be implemented**. Well not unless Labor aggressively campaign on their Action Plan, and fight to make climate change an election issue. Only if Labor do this can Labor build a mandate powerful enough to face down the powerful fossil fuel lobby. (and the conservative wing of their own party), once they get into power.

        **(or even campaigned on).

        • Ad 6.1.1.1
          24 August 2018 at 8:25 pm

          Yes I’m going to post on this point.

        • dukeofurl 6.1.1.2
          24 August 2018 at 8:34 pm

          Rudd could have had his carbon plan but was blocked by Senate..which usually isn’t controlled by party in power.
          Guess who side with Abbott to block the labour plan… The greens.

          Jenny I think your analysis is simplistic for what was Byzantine political manoevering. Under your simple view you could say it was the greens who are anti climate but of course that wasn’t true either… But it happened to look that way

  7. dukeofurl 7
    24 August 2018 at 5:38 pm

    Morrison got his seat by some dirty tricks- Wikipedia
    “Morrison sought Liberal preselection for the Division of Cook, an electorate in the southern suburbs of Sydney which includes Cronulla, Caringbah, and Miranda, in the 2007 election following the retirement of Bruce Baird, who had served as the member since 1998. He lost the ballot 82 votes to 8 to Michael Towke, a telecommunications engineer and the candidate of the Liberals’ right faction.

    However, allegations surfaced that Towke had engaged in branch stacking and had embellished his resume. The state executive of the Liberal Party disendorsed Towke and held a new pre-selection ballot, which Morrison won. The allegations against Towke were subsequently proved to be false, and The Daily Telegraph was forced to pay an undisclosed amount to settle a defamation suit filed by Towke.

    So Morrison wasnt the original choice of the NSW Libs ‘right faction’ – thats Abbots crowd.

    • Exkiwiforces 7.1
      24 August 2018 at 6:02 pm

      Yes the North Shore Toffs (Right Wing Conservatives) are completely different to the South Shore Toffs (Moderate side of the Party).

  8. Exkiwiforces 8
    24 August 2018 at 5:58 pm

    There are three things I took away from today’s shenanigans:

    The vote for the spill
    The vote for a new leader,
    and this comment from the mad monk post spill

    “ We have lost the Prime Minister, there is a government to save.
    That’s what all of us will do our best to do now, to save the Government.
    Above all, we [the Liberal Party] are patriots, we want to make the country strong and as good as it possibly can be, based on the wonderful achievements we already have to our name.”

    Which is so typical of the right wing of the Liberal Party and below the belt. SCO MO is now the PM and is sort of from the conservative of the party, but from all accounts more moderate than conservative. So I don’t think we have seen the last of the right wing guerilla warfare on the moderates members of the Liberal Party.

  9. Phulj 9
    24 August 2018 at 6:32 pm

    Another banker bites the dust.Oh well…

  10. Dennis Frank 10
    24 August 2018 at 7:23 pm

    ScoMo wrote this in his 2009 bio: “I am a regular kayaker.” This would be a concern if he establishes a foreign policy independent of the USA. He should keep a watchful eye when out on the water (given the CIA track record in making disobedient Oz PMs disappear in marine environments).

  11. Andrea 11
    24 August 2018 at 8:18 pm

    Those of a religious persuasion should be on their knees chanting, ‘Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! It wasn’t Dead Eyes Dutton!’

    Perhaps now we can push for freedom for the Manus Island and Nauru prisoners?

    PS That bloke from Texas sounded like a really nice person. Perhaps he could supply the popcorn while we watch the next spill… Or even an early election. (Good luck, Shorten. Always wear the kevlar…)

  12. Jenny 12
    24 August 2018 at 9:43 pm

    A failure of leadership

    In the global fight against climate change the missing ingredient is leadership.

    It is just not happening.

    Nothing puts this into more sharp relief than the lack of leadership that has seen a string of Australian Prime Ministers brought down over climate change.

    In New Zealand John Key wanted us to be fast followers, in Australia the leaders who tried to lead on climate change – faced by powerful vested interest and conservative forces in their own parties, backed down when it came to the crunch.

    They backed down because they found they had no mandate to oppose the political forces arrayed against them.

    They need to aggressively fight to build that mandate out on the hustings and in the media using the platforms given them by the election.

    So what Would a leading climate change election campaign look like?

    Time to stop the pussy footing about, and call it like it is, Time to stop ignoring the issue and come out fighting, tell the public what they need to know and what needs to be done about it.

    Tell then public that sacrifice will be needed to fight this scourge.
    Start by promising to cancel the Adani coal mine project.
    Argue the necessity for winding back all existing coal mining, especially coal being dug for the export market. Signal that it is time for these industries to start winding down.

    Announce massive new public investment in renewable energy projects, wind, and especially solar which has huge potential in Australia. Announce more investment in public transport over private internal combusting automobiles. Start shuttering the coal fired power plants and redeploying the workforces to building the new renewable infrastructure.

    Tell the voting public the consequences if these thing aren’t done; more frequent, and greater number of devastating bush fires, the loss of the Great Barrier Reef. Deadly heat waves.

    Say that Australia must give a world lead.

    Challenge the Liberals to argue against the need for these actions. Challenge them to try and deny the consequences if these things are not done.

    Make a clear difference between Labor and the Liberals over climate change.

    Announce an official alliance with the Green Party.

The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.