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AusPoliGAF |OT| Boats? What Boats?

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Yagharek

Member
What I'm saying is that even by the standards of your typical "It's flattened out" denial it's still a very bad sign.

Indeed. But as we know anyway, solar fluctuations are a trivial component of climate change/global warming. So even when solar activity picks up, it doesnt imply that warming will rise significantly as a result. It will still be due to atmospheric and ocean responses to heat buildup courtesy of CO2, methane and others.
 
Apparently Hockey is currently on Sydney radio apologising. Though whether it's a genuine apology or an "Abbott" type one like:

"I'm very sorry that you didn't understand what I was saying."

Edit: update

SMH link

Hockey said:
“I’m sorry about the interpretation, I am sorry about the words.

“All of my life I have fought for and tried to help the most disadvantaged people in the community.”


mmm....
 
A

A More Normal Bird

Unconfirmed Member
Apparently Hockey is currently on Sydney radio apologising. Though whether it's a genuine apology or an "Abbott" type one like:

"I'm very sorry that you didn't understand what I was saying."

Edit: update

SMH link


mmm....
Even if he gave an unreserved apology he wouldn't acknowledge the factual problems of his statement. I didn't realise at first but he didn't just say that the poor wouldn't pay much, he actually claimed that fuel excise was a progressive tax.

Well, change to the fuel excise does exactly that; the poorest people either don’t have cars or actually don’t drive very far in many cases. But, they are opposing what is meant to be, according to the Treasury, a progressive tax.

Someone already tried the "in absolute terms you're right but proportionally you're wrong which is why it's regressive," line and his response was something about how the GST was introduced alongside other measures to reduce taxation on lower income earners and this tax is going to pay for roads. Some seriously stupid stuff.
 
But isn't part of the budget designed to put pressure on the state governments to demand an increase in the GST?

Probably, but I imagine they didn't think they could lose the SA state election, hoped they could bully the ACT government with commonwealth override powers and severely underestimated the ineptitude of the NSW, VIC, NT and QLD governments.
 

wonzo

Banned
apparently the disabled dont drive cars either

BvDSG5ACMAAwsOT.jpg:large


Scott Morrison announces cut for paper budget in detention centres. Now one piece of paper to share a month.
"poor people little to no paper because they cant read/write"
 

markot

Banned
I like how a stupid comment gets people angrier then stupid policies that essentially embody the statements stupidity......
 

Dryk

Member
I like how a stupid comment gets people angrier then stupid policies that essentially embody the statements stupidity......
The wider populace seem to like to think that it's all a big misunderstanding, so they get annoyed when they realise that no, they have actually elected people that couldn't care less about them.

Also apparently if you support Scottish independence the terrorists win

Tony Abbott told the Times, while visiting London, those who would like to see the UK break up were "not the friends of justice... [or] freedom", .

He said the nations who would "cheer" the prospect were "not the countries whose company one would like to keep".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-28814936
 
Also apparently if you support Scottish independence the terrorists win



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-28814936

I read that today, I was like holy shit seriously?

I'm first generation Australian, all my family is from Scotland. Opinions in my family range from a very strong yes from my Mum, a complete meh from my dad, a not a good idea from my Aunt and a there will be a civil war and blood will run in the streets if it's a yes from my uncle. He's strange. He still writes letters.

There was a good article by Paul Bongiorno in the Saturday Paper today.

http://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/2014/08/16/base-politics/1408111200#.U-7LpaPqpe4

The Saturday Paper said:
No wonder the prime minister has flicked the switch to khaki. National security is traditionally a huge Liberal plus. His racial discrimination backdown came in the context of a new terror emergency. Although, curiously, at the press conference stressing the homegrown jihadist menace, we were told “there’s no change to the threat level”.

5jTqMbH.png
 

Quasar

Member
So McCloy resigns (though I'm unclear if it was just as Lord Mayor or as a councillor as well). SO we get a new election for Lord Mayor as well as new state reperesentatives.

And I have to say the Liberal tactics are shitty. Not running candidates just so they save money for the state election in March, whilst trying to make it appear as some kind of good act.
 
Remind me again which year the White Australia policy ended?

According to Wikipedia the answer is complicated because it ended slowly, depending on what your threshold for "ended" is , it could be sometime between 1949-1966 (progressively dismantled) , 1973 (officially terminated) or 1975 (anti-racial discrimination laws).

ETA - Not sure if you were being sarcastic. So I checked and I thought it was interesting anyway.
 
Tony Abbott told the Times, while visiting London, those who would like to see the UK break up were "not the friends of justice... [or] freedom", .

He said the nations who would "cheer" the prospect were "not the countries whose company one would like to keep".

Trying to parse this and failing to get an outcome that makes sense:

So if Scotland does decide to be independent then there are not company you would want to keep, so there independence is a good thing ?

but

If Scotland decides not to be independent then you would want to keep their company so their choosing not to be independent is a good thing ?

Which means that whatever way Scotland chooses its the correct decision. So why is it worth talking about then ? My brain hurts.
 

wonzo

Banned
So McCloy resigns (though I'm unclear if it was just as Lord Mayor or as a councillor as well). SO we get a new election for Lord Mayor as well as new state reperesentatives.

And I have to say the Liberal tactics are shitty. Not running candidates just so they save money for the state election in March, whilst trying to make it appear as some kind of good act.
It's also stupid as it's just gonna piss off people even more.
 
So McCloy resigns (though I'm unclear if it was just as Lord Mayor or as a councillor as well). SO we get a new election for Lord Mayor as well as new state reperesentatives.

And I have to say the Liberal tactics are shitty. Not running candidates just so they save money for the state election in March, whilst trying to make it appear as some kind of good act.

I suspect they just want to avoid the bad press surrounding the bi-elections and the likelihood of getting completely smashed in both. But, yeah, there is nothing magnanimous in what they are doing, it's all tactics.

I think so far today I've read that the RET is being abolished, the RET is being scaled back and the RET is remaining as is. Maybe if these clowns could maintain a consistent message for more than, say, half an hour their message could get some traction in the media and the populous.
 
A

A More Normal Bird

Unconfirmed Member
So McCloy resigns (though I'm unclear if it was just as Lord Mayor or as a councillor as well). SO we get a new election for Lord Mayor as well as new state reperesentatives.

And I have to say the Liberal tactics are shitty. Not running candidates just so they save money for the state election in March, whilst trying to make it appear as some kind of good act.
It saves costs but I'm not sure it's that much of an advantage for March, sacrificing candidate exposure/experience and letting Labor run incumbents (if they win, not sure if there's any wildcard independents or PUPpies to consider). But you're right, it's definitely a strategic move, not an altruistic one; even if it has its disadvantages it would still be them making the best of a bad situation.
 

Rubixcuba

Banned
So McCloy resigns (though I'm unclear if it was just as Lord Mayor or as a councillor as well). SO we get a new election for Lord Mayor as well as new state reperesentatives.

And I have to say the Liberal tactics are shitty. Not running candidates just so they save money for the state election in March, whilst trying to make it appear as some kind of good act.
Guess there is maybe potential for an independent? John Tate, Jodi McKay might give it a tilt at state level?

As for who becomes Mayor? No idea there, I can't remember who was runner up to McCloy.
 

Yagharek

Member
Trying to parse this and failing to get an outcome that makes sense:

So if Scotland does decide to be independent then there are not company you would want to keep, so there independence is a good thing ?

but

If Scotland decides not to be independent then you would want to keep their company so their choosing not to be independent is a good thing ?

Which means that whatever way Scotland chooses its the correct decision. So why is it worth talking about then ? My brain hurts.

It really sounds like a "if the Scottish vote for independence, the terrorists win" kind of comment.
 
I like how a stupid comment gets people angrier then stupid policies that essentially embody the statements stupidity......

Because people only know about these things when they are told it by the media. Nobody actually researches policies or knows anything about them, they know what they are told when they watch tv or listen to the radio. I'm not sure i really blame people either because it's very difficult for your average person to actually work out whether policies are effective or not. We can't all be experts in every field.
 

Dead Man

Member
Icac: Tony Abbott says 'problem' was Labor banning developer donations
In the wake of the resignation of two NSW Liberal MPs over corruption allegations, the prime minister has said the “problem” was the former Labor NSW government banning property developer donations in the first place.

Hunter Valley MPs Tim Owen and Andrew Cornwall stepped down from parliament last week over revelations at the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) they accepted money from property developer Jeff McCloy. Donations from property developers were illegal at the time.

Questioned on talkback radio about the damage the revelations were doing to the Liberal party, Tony Abbott said: “The problem was that the former state Labor government, because of a predicament it found itself in, introduced laws banning donations from developers.”

“Who exactly is a developer? That can sometimes be a difficult question. [They] also introduced legislation to limit the total amount of donations and political parties need to raise money,” he told 2GB on Monday morning.

“I think it’s right that political parties have to go to the public and seek support that way rather than just being able to rely solely on the taxpayer. And plainly, some people have cut corners. It’s quite possible some people have broken the law and if that’s the case, whatever party they’re in, they should face the consequences.”

What the fuck Tony? That is pretty blatantly a pathetic blame shifting device, are you stupid enough to think people will not notice?


Minister believed to be Malcolm Turnbull ‘gave demo to explain VPN’

A government minister, believed to be the communications minister, Malcolm Turnbull, had to give a demonstration to explain what a virtual private network (VPN) is to those who have been seeking mandatory data retention powers, Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm has told a US magazine.

Leyonhjelm told Reason magazine that he had spoken to an unnamed minister who knows what metadata is and “knows quite a lot about the internet and how it works”, and who told him that the people who are asking for this power don’t understand it, Gizmodo reported.

“He gave them a demonstration on a VPN [virtual private network] and said, ‘By my IP address, tell me what you can find out about me now.’ And they had no idea there was such a thing as a VPN,” Leyonhjelm said.

“It indicates to me that these people are not well-informed enough to make these kinds of decisions.”

Leyonhjelm told Reason the unnamed minister “knows what he’s talking about”.

“But he’s surrounded by people who don’t know what they’re talking about, who think that they need something more. We don’t know yet where this will end up. It does have the potential to be very dangerous.”

The government is facing strong opposition to its plans to bring forward discussions on mandatory data retention laws amid its proposed suite of counter-terrorism measures.

Intelligence agencies have been able to access metadata for some time, but the new laws would require telecommunications companies and internet service providers (ISPs) to store customers’ metadata for two years.

The head of Asio, David Irvine, said if a warrant was required for every request for metadata “the whole system would grind to a halt”.

The plan has been criticised by privacy and technology advocates and the Greens.

The prime minister, Tony Abbott, and attorney general, George Brandis, announced the plans earlier this month without the communications minister present, but did not provide detail on exactly what the data retention scheme would involve.

Confusion increased during the day as Abbott and Brandis gave conflicting answers on what constituted metadata, and what could be accessed by intelligence services without a warrant. Brandis also struggled to define metadata in a widely watched interview with Sky News.

The data retention proposal was leaked to the media before it was presented to cabinet, prompting angry scenes between ministers as Turnbull became frustrated at the lack of detail and knowledge of how the scheme would work.

...

Turnbull’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

Oh. Turns out he is.
 

mjontrix

Member
BvSq_OZIAAAxw-6.png


What next? Preserving the Great Barrier Reef will raise your power prices as we can't dredge and dump where ever and whenever we want?

Yep.

Also - http://afr.com/p/national/lnp_supporter_paul_darrouzet_granted_H56FCT5lzRinFun8UfGHiK

The largest individual donor to the Queensland Liberal National Party in the past year, former coal baron turned marina operator Paul Darrouzet, gave $150,000 to the party a week before gaining approval to dredge near the Great Barrier Reef.

As the Independent Commission Against Corruption in NSW casts a spotlight on the murky world of pol­itical donations, an investigation by The Australian Financial Review can reveal property and construction ­companies continue to help fill the LNP coffers.

EDIT - had a quickie through the thread - welcome back d.jerk!
 

mjontrix

Member
You just couldn't make this shit up, could you.

Oh god you really CAN'T make this shit up -

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-...ears-eve-dinner-sent-to-fundraising-a/5678836

Part of the proceeds from a lavish New Year's Eve fundraiser for former police minister Mike Gallacher, which was attended by banned donors, was sent to the fundraising arm of the NSW Liberal Party, an inquiry has heard.

Former restaurateur Peter Doyle has given evidence to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) about the $1,000 a head dinner, which was held at his harbour-side restaurant at Circular Quay on New Year's Eve in 2010.

Mr Doyle told the hearing that he contacted the then opposition police spokesman Mr Gallacher suggesting a New Year's Eve function would be "a good way to make money for the Liberal Party."

"He thought it was a great idea," he said.

Mr Doyle said Mr Gallacher told him that Restaurant and Catering Australia could bill the invited guests and make a donation to the Liberal Party.

He said he was not involved in the guest list for the dinner, which he estimated was for about 12 to 14 guests.

ICAC has previously heard that Buildev executives Darren Williams and David Sharpe, along with some of their family members, attended the dinner.

Mr Doyle said he was told that $5,000 from the fundraising dinner was donated to the Millennium Forum, the fundraising arm of the NSW Liberal Party and the rest went to Restaurant and Catering Australia.

Mr Gallacher's barrister, Arthur Moses SC, suggested that Mr Gallacher had told Mr Doyle that Mr Sharpe and Mr Williams should only pay cost price because the event was partly being run as a party fundraiser.

But Mr Doyle could not remember that.

Earlier the inquiry heard that the woman described as Joe Tripodi's "eyes and ears" in Newcastle confessed to her lawyer she had been involved in a leaflet campaign against former Labor MP Jodi McKay.

The anonymous "Stop Jodi's Trucks" smear campaign did massive damage to the then sitting member for Newcastle Ms McKay's bid to hold on to her seat in the 2011 election.

Lawyer Nick Dan told the corruption watchdog that when police began investigating the pamphlet campaign, Mr Tripodi's former aide Ann Wills told him: "I've done something silly ... I was involved with those pamphlets."

When asked if she ever suggested to him that Buildev, or Buildev executive Mr Williams were involved he said, "she told me the police have tracked it down to Joe Tripodi's printer and the pamphlets were funded by Nathan Tinkler".

ICAC has previously heard allegations that both Mr Tripodi and former treasurer Eric Roozendaal deliberately undermined Ms McKay as they worked to promote Mr Tinkler's plan for a coal loader.

Ms McKay supported a rival proposal for a container terminal.

Ms Wills previously worked as an aide to Mr Tripodi and was later employed by Buildev.

On a somewhat more lighter note...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-18/wikileaks-julian-assange-to-leave-ecuador-embassy-soon/5679104

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he will "soon" leave Ecuador's embassy in London, where he has been holed up for two years to avoid extradition.
 

Yagharek

Member
Poor Warren Truss, he really is out of his depth. Should be on a farm growing sticks and raising mud or something.

He's ignoring questions about WFTD. Just flips off people making points about travel expenses then says WFTD is not a lifestyle choice.

Fuck me.

He makes George Pell look bright, and thats a fucking achievement.
 

Arksy

Member
I swear to god I feel like my head has gone through a wall when I listen to US News. It seems like on both CNN and Fox the only two stories they ever talk about are Iraq and Gaza. I guess they talk about the Furguson riots every so often as well. US newspapers are decent but I feel dumber everytime I listen to either Fox or CNN. They talk about these issues for HOURS. I'd go get breakfast and they've still got the same panellists complaining about the same issue when I get back.

I'm not sure about the other channels most of my hotels only really have those channels for News.
 

mjontrix

Member
I swear to god I feel like my head has gone through a wall when I listen to US News. It seems like on both CNN and Fox the only two stories they ever talk about are Iraq and Gaza. I guess they talk about the Furguson riots every so often as well. US newspapers are decent but I feel dumber everytime I listen to either Fox or CNN. They talk about these issues for HOURS. I'd go get breakfast and they've still got the same panellists complaining about the same issue when I get back.

I'm not sure about the other channels most of my hotels only really have those channels for News.

Why watch TV - just get a twitter account and follow news groups of your liking.

Simples.
 

Tommy DJ

Member
I swear to god I feel like my head has gone through a wall when I listen to US News. It seems like on both CNN and Fox the only two stories they ever talk about are Iraq and Gaza. I guess they talk about the Furguson riots every so often as well. US newspapers are decent but I feel dumber everytime I listen to either Fox or CNN. They talk about these issues for HOURS. I'd go get breakfast and they've still got the same panellists complaining about the same issue when I get back.

I'm not sure about the other channels most of my hotels only really have those channels for News.

That has always been a problem with CNN. Have they stopped talking about the Malaysian plane gone missing? Because they were "reporting" on every single angle for who knows how long.

And since they're private entities that need cable subscribers to make money, there's always this rush to talk about EVERYTHING with the hope that one second of it is breaking and relevant. They also went on and on about the Boston bombing a while back and fucked up when they jumped the gun and announced the perpetrator was caught when no such thing happened.

Oh and they bothered to replace Larry King with Piers Morgan.
 

Yagharek

Member
I withdraw everything I said about Palmer, populist talk got to me haha. His Chinese rant was straight out of 1900's Australia :/

Palmer is a useful tool to reevaluate your own opinions. If you agree with him you have an opportunity to critically analyse your own thoughts and fix them.
 
A

A More Normal Bird

Unconfirmed Member
Good Guy Scott Morrison:
More than 1,500 children held in asylum seeker community detention in Australia will be released, but Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says the policy will not extend to children being held on Nauru and Christmas Island.
I don't understand why they would be removing children from the community and returning them to detention if they were planning to do this and the fact that the children in the worst conditions offshore will be left out is heartbreaking, but it's a start I guess.
 

Dryk

Member
Apparently Andrew Bolt is foaming at the mouth because Penny Wong didn't leap across the table and slap him with a charge under 18c

I withdraw everything I said about Palmer, populist talk got to me haha. His Chinese rant was straight out of 1900's Australia :/
yZJs8.gif
 
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