Tag Archives: Baird

The Week That Was – January 17 to January 23

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The week has been relatively quiet with Malcolm Turnbull back on tour. He first travelled to Iraq and Afghanistan to meet with troops, before travelling  to the USA to hang out with Obama after his invitation in November.

Turnbull signed a cybersecurity agreement with the FBI, Twitter and Facebook, spoke to Obama and Defence Secretary Ash Carter about fighting Islamic State and having “the right boots on the right ground”. He then went to Hawaii to meet the Commander of the US Pacific Command and talked about concerns about China’s claims in the South China Sea.

The economy is causing concerns again, with Australian shares down 8% since January 1st. There are questions over whether or not the Australian economy will have a recession, which some experts are saying may not be all that bad. Either way, Scott Morrison has called for “sober and wise heads”.

Clive Palmer’s Queensland Nickel (QNI) company has gone into voluntary administration with continuing concerns about the company’s finances and how much money has been given to the Palmer United Party (PUP). As the administrators get to the bottom of the whole thing, Palmer has announced that two other companies he founded/owns (it’s complicated because of the whole political thing) will give QNI around $250 million to help them get back on their feet.

As we begin an election year, there are tensions within the NSW Liberal Party over the candidates in certain seats. Because NSW has been redistributed by the AEC this year, some MPs no longer live in their original electorates, and also due to some scandals, and the fact that we have a moderate PM, there are certain seats that are being fought over between the conservative and moderate factions of the party. Mackellar – held by Bronwyn Bishop, Berowra – held by Phillip Ruddock, and Hughes – held by Craig Kelly are at risk. It is believed that the plan is to put forward younger, more moderate candidates, supported by the moderate faction. Two others, Angus Taylor and Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, while at risk have been supported by Turnbull and it might be less concerning for them.

Finally this week, NSW Premier Mike Baird has spoken about accepting and welcoming refugees into Australia, using the example of lawyer Deng Adut (of Western Sydney University advertisement fame) to remind people that refugees do make positive contributions and Turnbull has moved into the lodge.

Tweet of the Week

Bauer announced the end of Cleo.

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

Lisa Wilkinson on being one of the editors of Cleo – Huffington Post Australia

First Dog on the Moon on Border Force Medals – The Guardian

*I would have also linked to Sharri Markson’s piece on the folding of Cleo, but it’s on The Australian website behind a paywall.

The Year That Was – 2015

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Another year, another batch of numbers.

Leadership Spills: 2

The first in February this year, saw Tony Abbott survive a ballot to see if there would even be a spill. The second saw Tony Abbott rolled by Malcolm Turnbull, who has brought Australia some calm in the political realm.

Elections: 4

Queensland State Election – saw the first term Liberal government go from over 80 seats in a less than 100-seat House of Representatives to a hung parliament lead by Labor with around forty seats each for the major parties.

New South Wales State Election – The Liberals, under Premier Mike Baird, remained in power in NSW, albeit with a reduced majority, and the Greens had one of their best showings with four seats – two in the Sydney Metro area, and two on the north coast.

Canning By-election: Andrew Hastie, a former SAS captain, retained the seat for the Liberals less than a week after Malcolm Turnbull took over the country. Hastie replaces the late Don Randall.

North Sydney By-election: Won by Trent Zimmerman for the Liberals. Nominated for the seat under controversial circumstances, Zimmerman is the first openly gay MP in the lower house and replaces former Treasurer Joe Hockey, who is now the incoming Australian Ambassador to the US.

Scandals: 2

First, the knighting of Prince Phillip (the Queen’s husband) by Tony Abbott, resulting in the non-spill in February. Second is Chopper-gate in which former Speaker Bronwyn Bishop was discovered to have used taxpayer dollars to charter a helicopter to travel to an event that she could have easily travelled to by car. The scandal resulted in Bishop’s resignation after more than two weeks.

Women In Cabinet: 5

Julie Bishop: Minister for Foreign Affairs, since 2013 Election

Sussan Ley: Minister for Health and Sport, since December 2014

Kelly O’Dwyer: Minister for Small Business and Assistant Treasurer, since September 2015 (Turnbull’s Reshuffle)

Marise Payne: Minister for Defence, since September 2015 (Turnbull’s Reshuffle)

Michaelia Cash: Minister for Employment and Minister for Women, since September 2015 (Turnbull’s Reshuffle)

Changes to the AEC’s Ballot Paper Protocols: Many.

Since that awkward moment in 2013 when 1,300 senate ballot papers from WA went into the void, causing the AEC to nullify the 2013 result and recall the senate election for the state. Since then the protocols for ballot papers at federal elections, including by-elections, have changed dramatically, with the Canning by-election and the North Sydney by-election becoming test runs.

Last Minute Cabinet Resignations: 2

#1: Mal Brough, stood down until the police investigation into Slipper-gate ends.

#2: Jamie Briggs, resigned after a public servant made a complaint about him regarding a trip to Hong Kong.

ABC News 24 Year in Review

ABC News 24 Politics Unearthed

ABC Digital Most Popular Vines

Happy New Year. Let’s see what 2016 has on offer.

The Week That Was – October 4 to October 10

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Investigations continued into the Parramatta police shooting this week, with police looking into people the 15-year-old shooter was involved with. A classmate of the shooter was arrested earlier in the week and raids in neighbouring suburbs later in the week lead to more arrests, although most have now been released with no charge. Meanwhile, NSW Police, the NSW Premier Mike Baird and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull have been calling for calm, while the Muslim community continues to remind people that the bulk of their community are law-abiding, non-violent citizens. Turnbull has heralded a marked change in the government’s reaction to events, in that he does not use Abbott’s favourite word “death cult” nor does he engage in the kind of scaremongering that was a key part of Abbott’s national security spin.

The Nauruan government has announced that they will start processing remaining asylum claims with aims to finish within the week. It appears there may be a bit of a delay, as I don’t think they are done, but it’s a start. There is some suspicion that this move may have to do with a High Court case that started this week, but the government obviously isn’t saying anything. However, it is still at a cost to the Australian taxpayer and there are still allegations of untoward behaviour at centres.

The government has announced that they’re going to spend $1.3 billion on new armoured vehicles for the ADF. They’ve ordered 1100 vehicles, along with an unclear number of trailers. PM Turnbull and Defence Minister Marise Payne have said this is good for the country, if not for the fact that we need some newer better ones, but because they will be built in Australia, keeping at least 200 jobs. However, there has been some amusing side acts to this with both Kevin Andrews and Labor claiming they started the process for ordering the vehicles.

Peter Garrett is in a spot of bother this week after it was revealed that he had said that someone from Clubs NSW had given him a bag of cash at an event just after he was elected to parliament in 2004. He said he didn’t accept the cash. However, he has now backtracked on his allegations, saying now that it was an event before he was elected and the envelope contained a cheque (which is considered a legitimate donation as it can be traced). His excuse is that he had a brain fart and he has asked both his publisher (he’s writing a book) and the editors of a documentary on gambling to correct what he had said.

Also this week, Liberal Party Director Brian Loughnane has announced he will leave his role at the end of the year. Loughnane, is married to Abbott’s Chief of Staff, Peta Credlin. Loughnane is not seen as a victim of the spill, however he believes, much like Abbott, that Abbott could have won the Liberals the next election.

Finally this week, the Trans-Pacific Partnership has been agreed on and signed in Atlanta this week, with all nations involved relatively pleased with the result; Australia still has concerns about Russia’s involvement in Syria, the crazy people came out to protest outside Parramatta Mosque, as well as against a proposed mosque in Bendigo in Victoria; a Somali asylum seeker is trying to get to Australia for medical treatment after she was sexually assaulted, and NSW will be taking the bulk of the Syrian refugees Australia has agreed to take in.

Tweet of the Week

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

Terry Barnes on how Turnbull needs to learn from the Credlin-Loughnane era – ABC The Drum

Criticisms of Channel 9’s attempt at a Q&A (“The Verdict”) – ABC The Drum

The ABC reflects on its coverage of the Turnbull spill – ABC Backstory

The Week That Was – September 27 to October 3

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The realm of politics seems to have settled a bit, which is good because it’s hot this long weekend and I don’t want to work too hard.

Turnbull’s new economic team has met with interest groups and service organisations to see what they want and need. Obviously the government can’t give everyone everything they want, but the key thing for the groups seemed to be that they were being listened to. That seems to be Turnbull’s signature at the moment, going places and listening to people and seeing what they want, which was one of the things he promised to do when he said the government would be a consultative one. There are still concerns with the China FTA and Greens leader Richard Di Natale seems to think the government will over-promise and under-deliver. But if you were anywhere near Turnbull, you’d be hearing about new markets and great opportunities.

Meanwhile, Ken Wyatt, an Indigenous MP has been made Assistant Health Minister. This means he gets to deal with the new Medicare review, the lucky thing. While the AMA and other medical interest groups are divided, some calling the review unnecessary, and others saying it’s worth a look. The issue seems to be, at least from the government’s point of view, inefficiency, with people having “unnecessary” tests and treatments, while also saying that Australia needs a medical system for the 21st Century (I think this is part of the Turnbull government spin script at the moment). The medical experts seem to be concerned that the cutting of unnecessary items is all that is going to happen, and that the introduction of more efficient ones will not occur, disadvantaging Australian patients.

Julie Bishop has been in New York for UN meetings this week, taking part in a counter terrorism forum, announcing that Australia will co-operate (and only that) with Russia and the Assad government to defeat ISIS, on the proviso that Assad would step down and allow reforms once ISIS had been defeated. Australia has also decided to nominate for the UN Security Council for the 2029-2030 term, which seems way to far away, but apparently starting now is good because we will not have to spend as much as we did to get ourselves on the UNSC for 2013-2014. Julie Bishop said that while she probably wouldn’t be in politics when we hypothetically win this UNSC seat, she’d be more than happy to hear what Future PM Wyatt Roy would have to say. It also seems that Turnbull has a more favourable view of the UN than Abbott did given our decision to nominate. Australia is also trying to get on the UN Human Rights Council, but there’s obviously the whole thing with detention centres that we have to deal with.

Tony Abbott has appeared at two radio stations this week, talking with Ray Hadley on Sydney’s 2GB and Neil Mitchell on Melbourne’s 3AW. In the interview with Hadley he said that he would’ve won the next election, and was upset about the lack of faith his party had in him. Abbott has decided for the moment to stay in politics, because he is “too young” to retire (which led to the suggestion in my house that Abbott should be the next Ambassador to the Holy See) and that he would “grit his teeth” and support Turnbull as PM. On 3AW, he was mildly miffed that the government had shelved the university fee deregulation legislation, tried to save his legacy and took a dig at Turnbull, suggesting that Turnbull did not stay in the Parliament after 2010 not to be Prime Minister.

Also this week, there was a police shooting in Parramatta, in Sydney’s west. It’s understood that a 15-year-old boy, who is believed to have been radicalised, shot a police civilian employee (someone who works for the police force in an unsworn role – basically they’re not an officer) as they were leaving the Parramatta Police HQ and was then shot dead by officers. The boy was not known to police and was not on anyone’s radar, although his sister is believed to have travelled to Iraq or Syria to be with ISIS fighters. It is also understood that the boy’s brother called the police to tell them he thought he knew who their perpetrator was. NSW police are calling it a politically motivated act of terrorism, while both NSW Premier Mike Baird and NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione are calling for calm and respect and unity.

Finally this week, the Manus Island police are annoyed that the company running the detention centre is flying out people accused of committing crimes on the island before they can be dealt with; the satellite that is to deliver the NBN to regional Australia, named “Sky Muster” by a School of the Air student, has been launched, with the new Communications Minister saying “Thunderbirds are go”; Australia denied visas to musician Chris Brown (who has a domestic violence conviction) and an anti-abortion activist and there is confusion over what will happen now that Russia has begun bombing in Syria.

Tweets of the Week

Obama’s words after the mass shooting in Oregon

Matt Moran (who was working for Channel 10) has got a job being Turnbull’s press secretary, so his former colleagues are keeping tabs on him

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

Greg Jericho helps the Treasurer out after he got annoyed talking with Leigh Sales on 7:30 – ABC The Drum

The ABC’s Tahmina Ansari on accepting ‘visible’ muslim women – ABC The Drum

Michael Bradley rebukes Miranda Devine on domestic violence – ABC The Drum

The Week That Was – July 19 to July 25

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The week began with “Reclaim Australia” protests in major capital cities, most of which were countered by anti-racism protesters, who had a tendency to call the Reclaim Australia protesters ‘fascists’. At least in Sydney, the police kept the apart for most of the day, considering their operation a success with only five arrests and two people charged.

The saga with Bronwyn Bishop continues, with Bishop insisting that while her use of taxpayer funds to pay for a chopper ride from Melbourne to Geelong (which is perfectly accessible by a highway and you can get there in about an hour) was an ‘error of judgement’, it was official business and she paid back the over $5000 the ride cost. Abbott is standing by Bronwyn Bishop, although she is ‘on probation’, which is leading to calls of hypocrisy from both Labor and the public, given the last time a Speaker got in trouble for spending taxpayers’ money for dubious transport claims Abbott was calling for their resignation. For those who don’t remember, that was Peter Slipper, the LNP MP that became Speaker so that Labor had another vote – he spent $900-ish on cars to wineries.

This week also saw a COAG retreat and meeting, with all of the Chief Ministers and Premiers, along with the PM discussing the GST, Health Funding, Medicare and other ways to bring some more money into the states after the government cut funding to health back in the 2014. No decisions were made but they had “constructive discussions”. They also considered some more finding for domestic violence and also looked into making the Northern Territory a State.

The ALP had its National Conference at the end of the week, with Bill Shorten proposing that 50% of Australia’s energy to be renewable by 2030, with a possible ETS – the Greens were happy with that and the Liberals are not (no surprises there). However, the ALP is not all rainbows and sunshine, with both Bill Shorten and other senior party people proposing that Labor consider turning back asylum seeker boats if they win government. The party voted not to ban turnbacks, which means Labor has the option if they’re in government, but they do have some additional parts to the policy, such as money for the UN Refugee Agency, a Refugee Child Advocate, and doubling Australia’s refugee intake. Dutton suggests that this will make more boats come.

Speaking of boats coming, an asylum seeker boat was spotted off the Western Australian coast, which is believed to have Vietnamese asylum seekers on board – we’re not sure though because of the Operation Sovereign Borders Cone of Silence which also means we have no idea where they are now.

A nurse who ended up joining IS has returned to Australia and extradited to Victoria. He claims that he went to Syria for humanitarian purposes, as he was a nurse, and when hurt in an airstrike was taken to an IS-run hospital where they forced him to join the organisation. He is yet to be charged.

Finally this week, the National Party is split over the Shenhua Coalmine, telcos are upset about the new national security legislation being proposed that lets the government meddle in the way they secure their networks, Mike Baird suggests raising the GST which upsets almost everyone, and incumbent MP for Canning Don Randall died this week – most famous for expenses scandals and not being in Parliament during the apology.

Tweet of the Week

The ABC celebrated five years of ABC News 24…

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

How the ABC’s female journalists are changing the newsroom – Daily Life

Virginia Trioli on renewable energy and engineers – The Weekly Review

ABC News 24 looks back at five years:

The New South Wales Budget

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In stark contrast to the Federal Budget, the NSW Budget was much nicer, kinder and understanding. There was some “Yay! Vote for us” subtly inserted, but that was to be expected – this is the last budget before the 2015 State Election.

NSW still has a AAA Credit Rating, and it’s economy is growing faster than both Queensland and Victoria’s. The NSW Government feel that they have done the repairs and restored NSW’s economy, while living with the means and being ‘fiscally responsible’. NSW had a $1 billion surplus, and while it will get a deficit in the next financial year, there will be a surplus in the financial year after that.

So, what are they funding?

Housing

  • Increase in first home buyers’ grant
  • $60 million for infrastructure
  • ONLY for Australian citizens and permanent residents

Health

  • New nurses and frontline staff
  • money for Capital Works at Westmead Hospital
  • Emergency Department Upgrades and other Capital Works at other hospitals
  • Public/Private agreement for the new hospital on the Northern Beaches
  • redevelopments of ICUs and NICUs
  • Mental Health funding

Transport

  • Lots of people using the Opal Cards (250,000 commuters)
  • Opal rollouts on buses and light rail in next 18 months
  • Wynyard Station upgrade
  • funding for West Connex and other Western Sydney roads
  • Pacific Highway upgrades in regional areas
  • Parramatta Light Rail

Education

  • $612 million extra
  • Early childhood education
  • New apprenticeships and creation of quotas for number of apprenticeships

Environment

  • Money for Parks and Conservation trusts
  • Money for councils to do flood protection
  • More money for Rural Fire Service, especially training

Community Services

  • Money for DOCs – IT implementation to free up case workers to see more kids in need
  • Move some kids into NGO-run foster care instead of state care
  • No word on employment of new case workers
  • NDIS rollout – “Ready Together” program to prepare for delivery
  • Money for accommodation in disability homes
  • NSW will fill pension gap that Federal Government leaves for one year – hope to get the Federal Government to leave pensions the way they are

There was also talk about what could be funded if they are voted back in and they sell the pole and wires, such as the extension to the Northwest Rail Link through St Leonards/Crows Nest and the CBD. They’ve said that the sale will help with the bills, clean up efficiencies and unlock investment potential. It sounded a bit like an election promise – which it probably was, given the State Election is less than a year away.

The biggest issue for the State Government right now is the Federal Government’s budget, especially the cuts to pensions, health and education. They seem optimistic about negotiating with the Federal Government to get some of their money back – so we will have to see what happens.

In Case You Missed It….

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…Barry O’Farrell resigned on Wednesday.

It turns out that O’Farrell did receive a bottle of $3000 Grange (1959 Vintage) from Nick Di Girolamo and did write a thank you note. But, given he vehemently denied it on Tuesday and may (or may not – I could be wrong) have said that he would resign if proven otherwise, he’s had to go.

On Tuesday, following his appearance at ICAC he spoke to the media.

Then overnight, it appears Di Girolamo found the letter and gave it to ICAC, which meant that O’Farrell had to resign – you can see his speech here on the ABC website. Then, O’Farrell was called back to ICAC, speculation arose as to who would become the new Premier of NSW and Tony Abbott spoke to the media. Abbott was mainly talking about Badgery’s Creek, but that was taken over by the news of the resignation – and the first question asked by a journalist at Abbott’s press conference went like this:

From there, Barry O’Farrell pulled out of welcoming the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George to Sydney, and has been keeping quiet ever since. The reactions from the other sides of NSW Politics have been interesting, with John Robertson (NSW Labor Opposition Leader) and John Kaye (Greens MLC) both talking to the media about it.

On Thursday, Gladys Berejiklian and Mike Baird released a statement saying they would run on the same ticket for the party leadership with Baird as Premier and Berejiklian as deputy leader. Pru Goward put her hand up for the deputy leadership in the morning, before pulling out after lunch as did Anthony Roberts. Meanwhile, Jillian Skinner, Barry O’Farrell’s deputy stepped aside to allow for Gladys Berejiklian to take up the role. Both Baird and Berejiklian were elected unopposed to the Liberal leadership.

And that is it for now, as Mike Baird and Gladys Berejiklian spend Easter reshuffling NSW State Cabinet.