The Victorians held an election last weekend, and a first term government was thrown out. That hasn’t happened in decades. Labor won a comfortable majority to beat the Liberal/National Coalition. There is a suggestion from the left that the current government is to blame for the Liberal election loss, and that this is, or at least should be, a wake up call to the current federal government, telling them that people are not happy with them. The new Victorian Premier, Dan Andrews has said that he will work with the federal government and Tony Abbott, but not for them. The election loss of a one term government isn’t the only shock though. Shepparton, which was considered the second safest seat in Victoria and held by the Nationals, has swung 32 percent against the Nationals to become an Independent-held seat.
After a shocking week last week, Tony Abbott held a 45-minute long press conference in which he took responsibility for some of the broken promises, and announced that the government will give back the days off it was planning to take away from people in the ADF. The budget is still in trouble, not just because the government hasn’t got major legislation through but because mining revenues are down, which is how the government was making a lot of money before. This week is the last week of sitting for 2014, so the government is hoping next week is better. To add to the government’s concerns, the GDP is down again, and worse than the most pessimistic forecast.
With this week being the last week of Parliament for 2014, there has been a lot of nagging about legislation that people want to pass through the Senate, especially the university fee deregulation legislation and Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) legislation. The university fee legislation did not pass, with PUP senator Glenn Lazarus complaining that Education Minister Christopher Pyne had been texting him non stop about it – Lazarus was in hospital with kidney stones last weekend and Monday. Pyne was not to be deterred, as he has tweaked the legislation and is sending it through next year, although my understanding is that the tweaking will not mollify students as they are more concerned with the cost of tuition than with having to pay it back. One success for the government has been the passing of legislation for Temporary Protection Visas. TPVs will be introduced, allowing genuine asylum seekers to be released into the Australian community.
There is frustration among rural communities, and in particular indigenous communities, with the announcement that people will have to work five hours a day, five days a week all year round in order to receive their welfare benefits. It’s meant to stop “sit down welfare”, but it also forces people into jobs. It’s also criticised as discriminatory as it only affects rural and indigenous communities and not people in the city.
The Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has announced that DFAT is going to be stricter on Australians who cause trouble abroad, suggesting that they may charge some people for consular assistance and may not even help some people who break local laws. Bishop has said that consular assistance is a privilege and not a right, and has also said that people need to stop asking DFAT stupid questions, like if they will feed your pets while you are away or requesting an embassy car to take people to and from their hotel.
Meanwhile, the Department of Defence is beginning an investigation into the leaking of receipts from restaurants, showing that the Defence Minister, while wining and dining foreign officials, has spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on food and drink at upscale establishments, including at Adelaide Casino, where a steak that cost $98 was ordered, along with several hundred dollars on drinks.
Finally this week, the Child Abuse Royal Commission investigated a yoga retreat where children were abused, there are mutterings of a cabinet reshuffle with the Treasurer and Defence Minister in the rumoured firing line, Australian medics are will soon be off to West Africa, once they’ve completed some critical situation training and safety training in Australia, and ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher is stepping down in order to be eligible to be considered for the casual vacancy that Kate Lundy is leaving in the Senate.
Tweet of the Week
Things I’ve been Looking at Online
Australian parents publish a correction in the Births, Deaths and Marriages section of the local paper – Mirror UK
Dame Quentin Bryce says men have to confront domestic violence – The Guardian
The ABC’s top 30 clips on YouTube
Kara L 