The fortnight began with the shock win of the NSW state seat of Orange by the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, leading to people suggesting that the people of Orange were possibly inspired by the win of Trump in the USA.
Meanwhile, the announcement that refugees in detention will go to the USA, has been met with cautious optimism from the detainees, but there are questions over how many the USA will actually take given their stringent health checks. The other concern is that of one of the witnesses to Reza Berati’s death, as it appears he may not be able to go to the USA with the others as the case is yet to be closed.
Meanwhile, Bill Shorten is taking aim at another group of migrants. He says that Australia is issuing too many 457 visas – those for skilled migrants – shutting Australians out of the workforce. Shorten has been criticised for making Trump-esque comments, as well as the government’s claim that when Shorten was Employment Minister in the Labor Government, he issued many more 457 visas, which Shorten counters was proportionate to the mining boom at the time.
There are also concerns about the unemployment rate numbers, as those that are released (most recently 5% unemployment) do not include those who have given up looking for work, or those who wish to work more hours. The other concern is that full time employment is decreasing and most new jobs are part time hours.
Malcolm Turnbull has had a fortnight of travelling to Peru for APEC, dealing with uncertainty over US-Australia relations when the Trump administration is in power and having the government’s ABCC bill passed through the senate with all but one cross-bencher agreeing to the legislation, with a few amendments. Turnbull has also revealed this week that Greg Norman gave him Trump’s private phone number, while pundits suggest that because Turnbull is a conservative politician he may be able to get Trump’s ear – and that he should act on it as soon as possible.
Indigenous indicators are once again concerning the public, especially health, education and incarceration rates. However there are some positives, as some local and community based initiatives are paying back dividends.
Also this week, the whole property drama took an interesting turn with a NSW Liberal minister suggesting that negative gearing has to be reformed in order for first home buyers to get a foot in the market. Despite the NSW Liberal State Government continually talking about needing to increase supply, the Planning Minister Rob Stokes has said that maybe negative gearing is another factor to consider among others to allow first home buyers to get into the market.
Finally during this fortnight, there are complaints about the NBN rollout; theres issues with the Murray-Darling basin plan and water allocations; there are fights over the backpacker tax, among other senate drama; and people are demanding Peter Dutton be sacked for suggesting that Malcolm Fraser made a mistake by allowing so many Lebanese Muslim refugees into Australia, given the majority of people in recent terror arrests have been Lebanese-Muslims.
Tweet of the Fortnight
Things I’ve Been Looking at Online
Not much due to a busy work schedule…
This Cuban-American grandmother’s reaction to Fidel Castro’s Death – Buzzfeed
Kara L 