Australian Current Affairs Thread (not a Politics Thread) lol

[Wobblies]

Outside every Religious establishment especially Cathedrals, Plaques (large ones) should be erected and prominently positioned in memory of the victims (many still alive and many who have died by their own hand) and their families. And an annual wreath laying, Lest we Forget.

[ManfredSchaefer]

47 minutes ago, MartinTyler said:

I can't see UAP as a threat. They will have their work cut out competing with Pauline Hanson's mob for the LCD voters. Throw in Bernardi's Conservatives as well.

Whilst on the road during my trip to and from the old country I saw heaps of billboards & some regional TV ads for Palmer's Psychos. Hate to say it but he knows that he will get traction in the bush because:

1. He taps into the underlying resentment against the focus governments, big business and the media have on the city
2. There is, sadly, a strong tradition of disadvantage leading to lower education levels and prejudice in the bush.

Not saying that this group of nutters will win seats in parliament, but don't be surprised to see them pop up as an influence in how some electorates are decided. For example, they may leach away votes from National candidates, or split the Hanson Fookwits

[MartinTyler]

7 minutes ago, ManfredSchaefer said:

Whilst on the road during my trip to and from the old country I saw heaps of billboards & some regional TV ads for Palmer's Psychos. Hate to say it but he knows that he will get traction in the bush because:

1. He taps into the underlying resentment against the focus governments, big business and the media have on the city
2. There is, sadly, a strong tradition of disadvantage leading to lower education levels and prejudice in the bush.

Not saying that this group of nutters will win seats in parliament, but don't be surprised to see them pop up as an influence in how some electorates are decided. For example, they may leach away votes from National candidates, or split the Hanson Fookwits

Wouldn't Clive himself be representative of 'big business'?

[Edinburgh]

11 minutes ago, MartinTyler said:

Wouldn't Clive himself be representative of 'big business'?

That Didn't keep Trump out.

[MartinTyler]

Clive's certainly playing the 'Trump' card !!

[ManfredSchaefer]

39 minutes ago, MartinTyler said:

Wouldn't Clive himself be representative of 'big business'?

Considering how many 'big' businesses he has turned into small ones...

In all seriousness, I'm not sure if all his history of bullshittery is that much of a burden. Those who are engaged with his message aren't necessarily voting for him, but more against the existing parties and/or how they perceive the political status quo.

[Midfielder]

This is a full free youtube movie and its about the journalist who first broke the big church / priest story and its shows how important it is to give journalist time to investigate .

Enjoy

 

[scarcev]

1 hour ago, ManfredSchaefer said:

Whilst on the road during my trip to and from the old country I saw heaps of billboards & some regional TV ads for Palmer's Psychos. Hate to say it but he knows that he will get traction in the bush because:

1. He taps into the underlying resentment against the focus governments, big business and the media have on the city
2. There is, sadly, a strong tradition of disadvantage leading to lower education levels and prejudice in the bush.

Not saying that this group of nutters will win seats in parliament, but don't be surprised to see them pop up as an influence in how some electorates are decided. For example, they may leach away votes from National candidates, or split the Hanson Fookwits

Yea exactly this.   The idiots are too stupid to realise that for every fringe redneck political party they make they decrease their chances of doing anything worthwhile. 

[ManfredSchaefer]

1 minute ago, scarcev said:

Yea exactly this.   The idiots are too stupid to realise that for every fringe redneck political party they make they decrease their chances of doing anything worthwhile. 

Worst aspect of this is that there IS cause for those in the bush to scream bloody murder at the way their lives have been damaged by the political status quo. The Menindee/Darling River fish kill is a perfect example of policy being set by the big end of town in cahoots with those who should be representing the people on the land. Of course the party that was designed from the outset to be their representatives, the National (aka Country) Party has as its leader one of the most mendacious arseholes in our existing polity, Barnaby 'Shag the Staff' Joyce. He's the rotten apple at the top of the rotten tree, but as has been shown with the example of Tony Windsor, the appetite to change their 'own' party is very limited. It isn't helped by an ALP that has also become disengaged from the bush.

It's hard to not feel both angry at and sad for those trying to live and work outside the big smoke...it may be patronising but perhaps what it boils down to is that they are reaping what they've sown through decades of conservative dogmatism.

[Cynth]

https://www.smh.com.au/national/history-will-judge-george-pell-the-cardinal-who-sought-to-crush-me-20190227-p510ma.html

[Paul01]

More rats departing the sinking ship

Scott Morrison moves Linda Reynolds into cabinet after more high-profile departures https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/02/scott-morrison-moves-linda-reynolds-into-cabinet-after-more-high-profile-departures?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

[btron3000]

I wouldn’t be so sure it’s sinking. Shorten is going to have to show something at some point. Morrison will campaign on boats and economy and scare tactics, and if Shorten doesn’t turn the narrative to something the public see as a strength for Labor, he’ll have a tough campaign.

Unless of course Morrison takes a bath on his budget, which will come out just before the election is called. But i think he’s learnt a lot from some previous Liberal Party budgets and it’ll be a populist one (at least the stuff they tell us about).

Either way, could be some important independents again this time. Good.

[sonar]

48 minutes ago, btron3000 said:

I wouldn’t be so sure it’s sinking. Shorten is going to have to show something at some point. Morrison will campaign on boats and economy and scare tactics, and if Shorten doesn’t turn the narrative to something the public see as a strength for Labor, he’ll have a tough campaign.

Unless of course Morrison takes a bath on his budget, which will come out just before the election is called. But i think he’s learnt a lot from some previous Liberal Party budgets and it’ll be a populist one (at least the stuff they tell us about).

Either way, could be some important independents again this time. Good.

While leader of the parliamentry ALP Shorten has now seen off Aboott as PM.....replaced ( knifed  ) after 30 Newspoll losses in a row by Turnbull who having a 16 seat majority when he went to an election & came within 1 seat of minority govt and then lost 34 Newspoll to be replaced by Morrison who has now taken the number of losses to well over 40 in a row. The recent Newspoll has shown boats will not be as a divisive issue as some think.

Remember, Phelps won a dyed in the wool blue ribbon Lib seat in Lib heartland....Wentworth....on the back of her refugee/asylum seeker policy......ie medivac. Morrison ( as Treasurer )  is on the record as having opposed the RC into banks 26 times until the govt ( Turnbull ) was forced by the threat of a loss of a vote in the house when Nats threatened to vote with the ALP to set one up.

You have the GBRF where $444m was handed over in a lump sum even though the organisation never asked for it. Paladin....was given a closed tender of $423m even though their address is listed as a PO Box and a beach shack on Kangaroo Island and whose owner is a former mercenary and has links to Dutton.. We have a govt who gave a $bn contrct to a company whose CEO is the Lib Party treasurer and who the Libs can ring direct and book flights....he may take a year or two to charge their credit cards though when exposed by the media.....nothing dodgy there is there.

We have the rorting of water from the MDB where enviormental flows have been corruptly diverted from the system that led the the massice fish kill and has left the Menindee Lakes system almost dry. We have a Lib govt who are climate change denialist and hate renewables.

Shorten doesn't have to do anything....the Libs are doing the ******* up for him.

Edited March 2, 2019 by sonar

[btron3000]

16 minutes ago, sonar said:

While leader of the parliamentry ALP Shorten has now seen off Aboott as PM.....replaced ( knifed  ) after 30 Newspoll losses in a row by Turnbull who having a 16 seat majority when he went to an election & came within 1 seat of minority govt and then lost 34 Newspoll to be replaced by Morrison who has now taken the number of losses to well over 40 in a row. The recent Newspoll has shown boats will not be as a divisive issue as some think.

Remember, Phelps won a dyed in the wool blue ribbon Lib seat in Lib heartland....Wentworth....on the back of her refugee/asylum seeker policy......ie medivac. Morrison ( as Treasurer )  is on the record as having opposed the RC into banks 26 times until the govt ( Turnbull ) was forced by the threat of a loss of a vote in the house when Nats threatened to vote with the ALP to set one up.

You have the GBRF where $444m was handed over in a lump sum even though the organisation never asked for it. Paladin....was given a closed tender of $423m even though their address is listed as a PO Box and a beach shack on Kangaroo Island and whose owner is a former mercenary and has links to Dutton.. We have a govt who gave a $bn contrct to a company whose CEO is the Lib Party treasurer and who the Libs can ring direct and book flights....he may take a year or two to charge their credit cards though when exposed by the media.....nothing dodgy there is there.

We have the rorting of water from the MDB where enviormental flows have been corruptly diverted from the system that led the the massice fish kill and has left the Menindee Lakes system almost dry. We have a Lib govt who are climate change denialist and hate renewables.

Shorten doesn't have to do anything....the Libs are doing the ******* up for him.

I agree with most of this, but that’s because I’m a leftie. Shorten has to make sure the narrative is about the things Labor looks strong on.

The advantage Morrison has over Turnbull is that Morrison’s own idealogies don’t split the party like Turnbull’s did. He can campaign strongly, whether lefties hate him or not. Turnbull was always caught in no-mans land.

The closer we get to the election, the more that strength shows - especially if his budget is a popular one - unless Shorten highlights the issues this government has had and/or has some strong policies of his own.

FWIW, I think Labor will win, but then again the left never gave Trump a chance either! Australia are more pragmatic than our cousins (ugh) across the Pacific, but we’re still capable of being influenced by a well run campaign full of easy soundbites and slogans (Kevin 07!!).

[scarcev]

53 minutes ago, sonar said:

Shorten doesn't have to do anything....the Libs are doing the ******* up for him.

THIS

[Cynth]

2 hours ago, sonar said:

While leader of the parliamentry ALP Shorten has now seen off Aboott as PM.....replaced ( knifed  ) after 30 Newspoll losses in a row by Turnbull who having a 16 seat majority when he went to an election & came within 1 seat of minority govt and then lost 34 Newspoll to be replaced by Morrison who has now taken the number of losses to well over 40 in a row. The recent Newspoll has shown boats will not be as a divisive issue as some think.

Remember, Phelps won a dyed in the wool blue ribbon Lib seat in Lib heartland....Wentworth....on the back of her refugee/asylum seeker policy......ie medivac. Morrison ( as Treasurer )  is on the record as having opposed the RC into banks 26 times until the govt ( Turnbull ) was forced by the threat of a loss of a vote in the house when Nats threatened to vote with the ALP to set one up.

You have the GBRF where $444m was handed over in a lump sum even though the organisation never asked for it. Paladin....was given a closed tender of $423m even though their address is listed as a PO Box and a beach shack on Kangaroo Island and whose owner is a former mercenary and has links to Dutton.. We have a govt who gave a $bn contrct to a company whose CEO is the Lib Party treasurer and who the Libs can ring direct and book flights....he may take a year or two to charge their credit cards though when exposed by the media.....nothing dodgy there is there.

We have the rorting of water from the MDB where enviormental flows have been corruptly diverted from the system that led the the massice fish kill and has left the Menindee Lakes system almost dry. We have a Lib govt who are climate change denialist and hate renewables.

Shorten doesn't have to do anything....the Libs are doing the ******* up for him.

Can you take over the election campaign for the Labour Party please? 

[MartinTyler]

Looks like the 'Election winning machine' is losing more than a few cogs

[MartinTyler]

7 hours ago, Paul01 said:

More rats departing the sinking ship

Scott Morrison moves Linda Reynolds into cabinet after more high-profile departures https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/02/scott-morrison-moves-linda-reynolds-into-cabinet-after-more-high-profile-departures?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

Whilst I can see his desperation in getting a few more women into key positions....Linda Reynolds isn't going to give them much street cred

[wendybr]

On 28/02/2019 at 11:30 AM, ManfredSchaefer said:

Worst aspect of this is that there IS cause for those in the bush to scream bloody murder at the way their lives have been damaged by the political status quo. The Menindee/Darling River fish kill is a perfect example of policy being set by the big end of town in cahoots with those who should be representing the people on the land. Of course the party that was designed from the outset to be their representatives, the National (aka Country) Party has as its leader one of the most mendacious arseholes in our existing polity, Barnaby 'Shag the Staff' Joyce. He's the rotten apple at the top of the rotten tree, but as has been shown with the example of Tony Windsor, the appetite to change their 'own' party is very limited. It isn't helped by an ALP that has also become disengaged from the bush.

It's hard to not feel both angry at and sad for those trying to live and work outside the big smoke...it may be patronising but perhaps what it boils down to is that they are reaping what they've sown through decades of conservative dogmatism.

Sadly true...but hopefully change is afoot.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/01/how-the-rise-of-the-bush-independents-threatens-coalitions-big-names

[Neverbloom]

i didnt know kristina keneally is a religious nut, she is pretty much the female tony abbott

[StringerBellend]

38 minutes ago, Neverbloom said:

i didnt know kristina keneally is a religious nut, she is pretty much the female tony abbott

Heard her speak on the whole Pell thing the other day, religious she may be but tony abbot she ain’t 

[Neverbloom]

Just now, StringerBellend said:

Heard her speak on the whole Pell thing the other day, religious she may be but tony abbot she ain’t 

lol i wasnt serious about the 2nd thing, i just never thought she was a religious person, she def isnt a blind religious person though

[StringerBellend]

13 minutes ago, Neverbloom said:

lol i wasnt serious about the 2nd thing, i just never thought she was a religious person, she def isnt a blind religious person though

Apparently she has a degree in theology 

the interview she did on abc lately was interesting she spoke about her dissappointment in Catholic Church response and how she can no longer volunteer her time and money to support such a flawed institution 

 

[Zelinsky]

After watching Four Corners and QandA yesterday:

Pell is cooked. Even if his appeal is successful and he walks away from jail, his reputation is now so damaged that he would have to leave the country. But where would he go? If the Vatican is serious about its new found morality and "zero tolerance", Pell is bound to be defrocked, and could not hide in the Vatican any longer. But maybe the guys who wrote him blazing character references will have him as a couch surfer?

The comments of Sullivan and KK would suggest that the Catholic Church in its current form has exceeded it's expiry date in Australia. The top-down boys club which sees itself somehow superior to mere mortals is a remnant from a different time and age. These clowns not only believe in the fairy tales their predecessors made up, they also act on them.

Viv Waller said that she has been representing thousands of victims. Thousands! It really makes you wonder what forces are in charge here in Australia that allowed this national disgrace to linger for as long as it has. Why has everyone been so quiet about this? Where is or was the outrage of politicians, media, and society at large? What is wrong with people??

And just as a reminder: Howard, Abbott, Bolt, Devine - they are covering the guy who covered this guy https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/15/paedophile-priest-gerald-ridsdale-abused-girl-on-church-altar-victorian-court-told

 

[Cynth]

Well said! The lawyer on QandA last night was wonderful. She had an amazing grasp of the problem, better than I would expect for a lawyer. She truly is a hero of justice and ethics! 

[Legionista]

The separation of Church and State goes both ways. 

Let’s remember that. 

[Cynth]

1 minute ago, Legionista said:

The separation of Church and State goes both ways. 

Let’s remember that. 

What do you mean?

[wendybr]

8 hours ago, FCB said:

These clowns not only believe in the fairy tales their predecessors made up, they also act on them.

TBH, it's hard to believe that most in the hierarchy of this tainted and archaic institution believe in anything.

I really can't image those who have been part of the paedophile networks, and those who covered for them, seriously engaging in nightly Bible study, or praying to any sort of God.

Quote

The top-down boys club which sees itself somehow superior to mere mortals is a remnant from a different time and age.

Well put.

[btron3000]

Outside of this sordid affair, they should also start to treat religions like the businesses they are. They should be asked to account for every last drop of cash they get, and all profits should go back to the community, otherwise it’s tax time boys. If they wanna own cereal companies, tax time boys.

Organised religions - of all kinds - are farcical. They’re all cults. Their time is up. It’s 2019, let’s move on.

[Legionista]

4 hours ago, Cynth said:

What do you mean?

Btron’s post is a fine example.