Tag Archives: Queensland

The Week That Was – June 9 to June 15

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It’s been a while since my notes have said “No politics” on more than one day! This mostly has to do with the fact that the country and the government are waiting for the results of the Senate count to be finalised, and there seems to be only one seat left in doubt, so it should not be long now. Once that happens, it’ll be back to politics all day, every day.

Monday was the Queen’s Birthday Holiday, and so came the Queen’s Birthday Honours. Father-daughter duo Jade and Paul Hameister, who completed the exploration known as “Polar Hat Trick” (North Pole, Greenland and the South Pole) together have received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). Leigh Sales, Eric Bana and Elizabeth Chong, among others have become Members of the Order of Australia (AM). Former senator and anti-domestic violence activist Natasha Stott Despoja is now an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO); and former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, actor Hugh Jackman and ABC Chairwoman Ita Buttrose have received the highest honour, becoming Companions of the Order of Australia (AC). You can see the full list here.

It was revealed this week that the Home Affairs Department’s Secretary Mike Pezzullo called Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick after he said that the department and the Home Affairs Minister “hate media scrutiny” in a press release put out after least week’s raids on News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst and the ABC’s Sydney headquarters. Pezzullo allegedly called Patrick to ‘correct the record’ – which has concerned both Peter Dutton and the Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Morrison and Dutton have both said that the call concerns them, and they have advised Pezzullo that he really shouldn’t contact senators personally, even if Pezzullo thinks they’re wrong.

This week also saw drama amongst the unions, after CFMEU boss John Setka was accused of saying that anti-domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty was infringing on men’s rights at a union meeting. Setka denies he said anything of the sort, and two other union bosses who were present at the meeting, the West Australian Secretary of the Maritime Union, Christy Cain and ACTU President Sally McManus have backed Setka up on that fact. However, Setka is not well-liked by some in the union movement and many conservative politicians and regular people, and McManus has urged Setka to step down, while federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese has requested that Setka be booted from the party, but Setka appears to be holding firm for the moment.

Adani’s new Queensland mine has passed another environmental assessment, which now means that Adani can start to build their mine. This has made many regional Queensland MPs, mayors and residents very happy, as there is promise of jobs – even though the number keeps changing. Environmentalists, on the other hand, are unimpressed, especially given that the Queensland government has given Adani a huge concession on their water management plan, that was off the table before.

Finally, this week the country farewelled former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, who died last month, at a National Memorial Service. Many former Prime Ministers, and former and current Labor figures attended the memorial along with Hawke’s family and members of the general public.

Tweet of the Week

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

The Good Priest (who does CrossFit) – ABC Online

WA Liberals have their first female leader in Liza Harvey – ABC Online

 

The Week That Was – July 10 to July 16

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Due to big international events and the fact that there is still a very close seat or two to be counted, there hasn’t been much going on. Well, except for the Liberal-National Coalition making it to 76 seats.

Sunday saw Bill Shorten concede defeat in the election, resulting in Malcolm Turnbull returning as Prime Minister. Shorten and Turnbull have agreed to make parliament work, and have also agreed that things would be a hell of a lot easier if we had electronic voting. Turnbull would also like a review into robo-calls and the Medicare texting incident, which I’m all for – as long as it’s independent and looks at all political parties. There are still a few seats to finalise, with Herbert in Queensland being the closest. The AEC is having another count of it in the coming week, so hopefully they will sort that out.

Talk for most has moved to the make-up of Parliament, and the question of what will happen to the ABCC legislation. The one downside of the whole double dissolution thing is that instead of getting the Senate the government wanted we’ve got a mish-mash of people from Pauline Hanson through to the Greens. This means that the ABCC legislation, unless accompanied by some sort of Federal ICAC, may not even enter parliament again. Meanwhile the government is promising a same-sex marriage plebiscite will take place in the next 6 to 12 months. This is despite the fact the vote is not legally binding, leading to some major criticism – including Nick Xenophon saying it will be the world’s most expensive opinion poll.

Other than the random mention of Very Fast Train (again), there hasn’t been much else, except for some drama about the National Party’s agreement with the Liberal Party.

Tweet of the Week

You’re welcome Charlie Pickering.

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

Mainly stuff on international events….

Boris Johnson as the UK’s Foreign Minister – ABC Online

Bastille Day attack: The horror continues, but so does our resolve – ABC Online

Behind the scenes of the ABC’s multi-platform election coverage – ABC Backstory

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 Week That Was – January 10 to January 16

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This week saw the political machine whirr back into gear, with Bill Shorten touring marginal seats across the nation, campaigning against a rise in the GST. In one of these visits he was at supermarket asking a shopper what variety of lettuce they preferred, which lead to some frivolity with Triple J journalist Alice Workman desperately trying to find out which variety was Shorten’s favourite (you can tell we’re only in low gear at the moment).

https://twitter.com/workmanalice/status/687027060460486656

Shorten even played along, only to frustrate Workman further.

https://twitter.com/workmanalice/status/687049109484654592

The frivolity kind of stopped a bit later in the week, when it was revealed that the NSW ALP boss Jamie Clements was being accused of sexual harassment and many people in the party were asking him to go, such as former NSW Premier Kristina Keneally, NSW Acting Opposition Leader Linda Burnie and Shorten himself. It’s believed that Clements wanted $1 million to go, but whether that happened was unclear when it was announced that he had resigned, as he put it “for the good of the party”.

Clive Palmer and his Palmer United Party are under scrutiny this week after Palmer’s company Queensland Nickel sacked hundreds of workers after they were unable to get financial assistance to the tune of $35 million from the Queensland Government, despite the fact that the company donated nearly $290,000 to the PUP at the end of 2015.

Finally this week, Save the Children staffers have been vindicated over accusations they were causing trouble on Nauru; there are concerns about the share market and commodity prices as the price of oil drops to below USD $30 a barrel; Nick Xenophon and his party the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT) have announced their candidates for this year’s election with a candidate in Tony Abbott’s seat of Warringah; and there are also concerns that the government is trying to make it harder for people to prove they need the Disability Pension.

Tweet of the Week

Something for us all to think about.

And if you can guess who it was, well done you.

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

First Dog on the Moon on killing off carp with herpes – The Guardian

First Dog on the Moon “moonsplains” sexism – The Guardian

The Two Weeks That Were – December 20 to January 2

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I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Before Christmas, there were a few announcements, starting with the Health Minister announcing that there would be $1 billion in funding to help eradicate Hepatitis C, however the concerns about the bulk billing of pathology are still rife. Then, the Productivity Commission recommended that Sunday penalty rates should be wound back from their current level to the current Saturday penalty rates. Labor and Unions are not impressed by the suggestion, while the Government is trying to distance itself from the recommendations and blame the Productivity Commission, even though they commissioned the report and set the terms of reference for the commission to investigate.

The Adani Abbot Point Coal Terminal in Queensland has been approved by the federal government, with the dredge spoil to be dumped on land and not in the Great Barrier Reef. This could increase export capacity, however there are strict environmental rules Adani has to follow. The other major issue is that Moodys is planning to give the development “junk status” in terms of its financial health, and the government is refusing to give financial assistance at this point, meaning the development may not even go ahead, which would make environmental groups pleased.

After Christmas, a whole heap of negative news was released, presumably in the hope that people wouldn’t notice. First, two ministers have left the frontbench, with Mal Brough – the Special Minister of State – being stood down temporarily until the police investigation into Slippergate is resolved; and Jamie Briggs – the Minister for Cities – has resigned or was forced to resign as a result of an investigation into a complaint made by a female public servant in Hong Kong. The Briggs scandal has grown in recent days, with the revelation that a photo of his Chief of Staff and the public servant (whose face was pixelated) that ended up on the front page of some papers, was taken by Briggs and sent to colleagues by Briggs himself, despite saying he wanted to protect the identity of the woman. Either way, this means that there are now two spots to fill in cabinet. Some think Turnbull should have more women, while others think Tony Abbott should be on the front bench.

The Trade Union Royal Commission has delivered its report, recommending over 40 people to the relevant authorities for further investigation and releasing almost eighty recommendations. The government is saying that the public should be appalled by the level of misbehaviour in the union movement, while Labor and the Unions are suggesting there are just a few bad apples in a very large barrel. Either way it appears that the next election (due this year!) could be run on busting union corruption and other industrial relations issues. This could be interesting to see given the last time an election was run on those issues, its was 20o7, and just after WorkChoices was introduced, which was so poorly received that Labor won convincingly.

Cabinet Documents from 1990 and 1991 have been released, and it is creepily reminiscent of the last year or so. A sluggish economy, issues with submarine building, refugee issues and a war in the Middle East were all from 1990 and 1991 and were still issues in 2015. And hey, two attempts at booting the party leader, with the second being successful? It would appear that Paul Keating and Malcolm Turnbull have something in common – although Keating was behind both in the 1990s and Turnbull appeared to have nothing to do with the first in February 2015.

Finally this fortnight, the people living near the Williamtown RAAF base have been able to speak at a Senate Inquiry, Border Force stopped entry of a French national of arabic background from entering the country earlier in December, Malcolm Turnbull made Dr Who references regarding the TARDIS, and concerns about Childcare reforms are rearing their heads again.

Tweet of the Fortnight

https://twitter.com/hamishNews/status/679413177013022720

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

Not much really – it was Christmas.

The ABC News Year in Review (from the 31/12/15) – ABC Online

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 – January 25 to January 31

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So, Tony Abbott made Prince Phillip a Knight of the Order of Australia. That announcement kind of took away from the fact that Angus Houston – the former Defence guy that was coordinating the search of MH370 and represented Australia for a bit after MH17 – also received a knighthood, and that anti-domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty was named Australian of the Year.

Other than the awkwardness of the Prince Phillip knighthood “captain’s pick” issue, Australia Day was relatively normal, other than the heavy rain in Sydney. People who did some great things were recognised, there was some interesting helicopter and boat choreography on Sydney Harbour and Prince Phillip received a knighthood (the whole knighthood thing took over for a bit). Indigenous people also reminded people that they still see this day in a more negative light, treating it as a “Day of Mourning” or a “Day of Survival”, since over 200 years ago, they were basically invaded and colonised by the British.

Tony Abbott has been having a tough time this week, especially after his captain’s pick for the knighthood, with ministers and backbenchers saying they had no idea that was the plan and saying that it isn’t really an appropriate knighthood to have given. Those who haven’t specifically said that the knighthood was the worst idea ever, have at least placed all the blame on Abbott who has ignored social media backlash over the whole thing, calling it “electronic graffiti”. However, there’s more to it, because now there are rumours of serious rumblings behind the scenes over Abbott’s leadership, while some of his closest supporters in the media, like Andrew Bolt and Alan Jones, are suggesting his leadership could be at an end.

Abbott has admitted he should have consulted more with his party and the public over the whole knighthood saga, but the rumours have continued with talk that Julie Bishop, Malcolm Turnbull and others, including Mal Brough (responsible for the whole Ashby-Slipper saga back in the Gillard days), are canvassing the party for numbers, or if not them, backbenchers who think that some of these Ministers could be PM and win them the next election.

The whole thing got a little bit more insane and ridiculous when Abbott said the reason ministers like Malcolm Turnbull, Julie Bishop and Scott Morrison are any good at their jobs was because he is a great leader.

Meanwhile, the Queensland LNP is fully ready to blame Abbott if they get a poor result in the Queensland State Election, held on Saturday, which now looks increasingly likely. The number of seats needed by a party to rule Queensland is 45, and at last count just before midnight on Saturday night, the LNP had 40 seats, Labor had 43 seats, with three seats in doubt, and three seats to other parties and independents. The prediction is that Labor will get 45 (the magic number) and win the election, most likely with support from the three other MPs – a result nobody expected.

Matthew Gardiner, the Labor Party President in the Northern Territory, has left Australia for the Middle East in order to help the Kurdish forces fight against Islamic State. It has shocked the country, with Bill Shorten telling people it’s a bad idea to go, and asking Gardiner to return to Australia. Furthermore, the government has pointed out that regardless of who you are fighting for, it’s still illegal to go fight overseas.

While the Manus Island Detention Centre protests are over, it appears that the allegations of violence on the part of the security forces and PNG Police may have had some truth to them, with images showing detainees with what appears to be evidence of being beaten. 40 of the Detention Centre’s detainees have also been arrested by the PNG government, however, once again, both the Australian and PNG governments aren’t saying much.

Finally this week, Whitlam and Hawke government minister, Tom Uren died this week; it’s looking more and more likely that the two Australians on death row in Indonesia for drug offences will be executed in the next few weeks; the Sydney Siege Inquiry has begun; the Royal Commission into Child Abuse has released its recommendations for compensation and reconciliation for victims; and Brazil is upset that a NSW court acquitted all but one of four cops charged with a Brazilian student’s death – and the one that was found guilty was charged with assault for using three cans of pepper spray on the student and didn’t even get a conviction recorded.

Tweet of the Week

So Triple J disqualified Taylor Swift from the Hottest 100, only to play another Top 40 song in spot #6

https://twitter.com/KKeneally/status/559657461620027392

Things I’ve been Looking at Online

Kristina Keneally is a Catholic and a Feminist – The Guardian

Things that would have been different if Harry Potter was set in Australia – Buzzfeed

Your Argument is Wrong: “Guns don’t kill people”

The Week That Was – January 18 to January 24

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The unrest at the detention centre on Manus Island has ended albeit with a lot of silence from the government, and conflicting accounts over whether or not violence was used to end it once the health and safety staff cam. The asylum seekers in the detention centre were blockading the entry to one of the compounds to the point where water had to be left outside the gate.

Several passports have been canceled in the hope that those at risk of heading to the Middle East will not be able to go, however communities have been saying that it doesn’t stop radicalisation. They suggest that a cosmetic approach is not enough and that rehabilitation is better than prosecution – to the point where people are setting up counselling and community groups to help people, with one group being funded by an organisation based in Dubai.

It’s believed that the Prime Minister pushed for the change to the Medicare rebate against the advice of both the Treasurer and the Health Minister. It’s also been suggested that once it became obvious that the Senate would throw the policy out when they returned to Canberra (and the public was not going to support it) he abandoned it, and left the new Health Minister Sussan Ley to clean up the mess. While the $20 cut is gone, the $5 rebate cut to doctors is still there, and it’s though that most doctors will pass that change onto patients.

To add to the drama, there are rumblings on the backbench, as people begin to question Abbott’s judgement. There are suggestions that Abbott is a liability, with rumours that people are seeing who might have the numbers to take Abbott on.

The government has cut $271 million from the Social Services budget, leaving community organisations to apply for tenders so that a select few can get funding. Only 700 groups have been shortlisted, and by the end of the tender process 4000 groups will have lost funding, including a suburban Sydney community aid group and a teenage mother support group.

Cross bench senators are making clear that they still do not support the plans to deregulate university fees. Christopher Pyne is indicating that he may compromise further on the policy, but many cross benchers are still saying that any changes to university funding will not be supported at all.

Australia is trying to save the lives of two men on death row in Indonesia after both their pleas for clemency were denied by the Indonesian government. It’s thought that if the executions do go ahead, they will be carried out in the next few weeks. It’s not looking good for them, as Indonesia executed five foreigners for drug trafficking offences last week, including a Dutch citizen and a Brazilian citizen.

Back at the 2010 election, Tony Abbott said that Work Choices was “dead, buried and cremated”. It appear however that some form of Work Choices may be returning after the Productivity Commission said that changes to penalty rates could be on the table. This has made several industries, like the hospitality industry quite pleased as they won’t have to pay workers so much, while workers, particularly those who work for emergency services and in hospitality are not pleased, as part of the reason they put up with being rostered on weekends and public holidays is because they are paid more money.

Finally this week, David Hicks could have his conviction overturned, Campbell Newman has said that the Queensland Labour Party is being funded by bikies, and has also told voters that if they don’t vote for the LNP candidate in their seat they will not get what was promised by the party for the electorate.

Tweet of the Week

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

First Dog on the Moon on Australia Day Honours – The Guardian

Emma Watson should run for US president in 2016 – Buzzfeed

The Week that Was – January 11 to January 17

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The Queensland Election is forcing some to start paying attention to politics again, and even those not living in Queensland are hearing about it. In the 2012 Queensland Election, the LNP won in a landslide that left only seven ALP MPs in the House of Representatives, since the there have been by-elections that have pushed that number to nine Labor MPs. This election is being watched closely because while the incumbents are disliked, the Opposition has a lot of ground to make if they are going to win the election, not to mention the fact that should the incumbent government remain in power, their leader, Campbell Newman may lose his seat.

Warren Truss has been in Queensland on the campaign trail for the LNP, as has Bill Shorten for Labor. Shorten has pointed out that the LNP can only get truss and not Abbott. The official excuse for Tony Abbott not being on the campaign trail has been that he is on leave, although some have pointed out that Abbott never showed his face in the Victorian State Election at the end of last year, and suggest that people are trying to keep him out of the way so he can’t mess anything up.

Julie Bishop is condemning Boko Haram’s use of girls as young as ten in suicide bombing missions. The East African terrorist cell has been attacking villages and towns in Nigeria for months, but most recently killed 2000+ people in a village, mostly women and children, and used a ten year-old girl in the suicide bombing of a market, as well as several other young girls on other occasions.

Now for another round of Government Policy Gymnastics. Earlier this week it was announced that the rebate cut of $20 for short (10 minutes or less) consultations that Peter Dutton – former health minister, now immigration and border protection minister – decided to make were to begin on January 19. It was made clear that both Labor and a majority of the Senate’s crossbenchers would support a disallowance motion that would effectively stop it. However, the new Health Minister, Sussan Ley, had announced that it won’t come into effect, and that while she supports a co-payment or change to the medicare rebate to those who can afford it, she wants to consult people before she makes a change.

Several asylum seekers are on hunger strike, some have sewn their lips together and some have recently attempted suicide. The government has said that actions like these will speed up the refugees’ applications, although I am inclined to think that these actions are more to do with the mental health of asylum seekers than their wish to move up the list and be allowed to move to Australia.

Finally this week, Australia has been appealing to Indonesia to spare the lives of two Australian men on death row for drug trafficking, the USA is thanking Australia for its help with the fight against ISIS, and a security expert is suggesting that one way to deal with people returning from Syria or Iraq, who are suspected to have fought, should be made to wear GPS trackers to surveil them.

Tweet of the Week

Shorten was talking about Medicare the other day and decided to quote a famous Australian movie.

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

First Dog on the Moon’s Love Letter to Medicare – The Guardian

Yes they Can: Women of Wit are Winning – SMH

Is YouTube a “Real Job”?

The Two Weeks That Were – December 28 to January 10

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Happy New Year. As the government slowly heads back to work after the holidays, Penny Wong has suggested that Tony Abbott’s New Years Resolution should be to stop breaking promises, while Abbott has told senate cross benchers to stop being selfish and think about the big picture, and Nick Xenophon thinks that Abbott is still acting like an opposition leader as opposed to a PM.

After the Air Asia crash just before New Year, Australia began to help in the search for the plane, as has the USA, Russia and other countries Indonesia has asked. It’s believed that some Australian searchers found some bits of wreckage, and Tony Abbott, ever the philosopher, said it was neither a mystery like MH370, nor was it an atrocity like MH17 (Air Asia is a Malaysian budget/low-cost carrier).

In some slightly good news for Peter Greste, judges have overturned his and his colleagues convictions, but they will have to be retried. The Al Jazeera journalists were not given bail, however two have applied to be deported – Greste and his colleague with Canadian citizenship – the other is Egyptian and has no other citizenship. It’s unclear if that will happen, and both Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and the Greste family are not getting too hopeful. Qatar and Egypt have apparently improved their relationship slightly, which will help in the case as Al Jazeera is based in Qatar and run by a member of the Qatari Royal Family.

Meanwhile, more has come to light in the saga involving one of Clive Palmer’s staffers. It’s alleged that he helped with a plan to lure a NAB executive to Bali in order to hold the executive against his will and force him to retract a witness statement he was going to make in court. It turns out the executive reported it to NAB and the Queensland Police Fraud Squad, and nothing was done. It wasn’t until 2014, when Taskforce Maxima – an anti-bikie taskforce – came across the case while looking into other matters and they arrested Palmer’s staffer and some of the other people involved, while also reporting the dodgy fraud squad investigation to Queensland’s corruption watch dog.

Ton Abbott went to Iraq just after New Years to meet with the Iraqi Prime Minister and Australian troops and talk about the fight against ISIS. He talked about decimating the ISIS “death cult” and how everyone wants the ADF to be out there fighting against ISIS. Reports are that the Iraqi PM wants Australia to send more troops and equipment to help, which Labor has said it would like information about before they vote for it. Abbott also went to see air force staff based in the UAE, who have been helping with airstrikes on ISIS strongholds.

Cabinet Papers from 1988 and 1989 have been released showing Australia’s concern about the Cold War, including the bugging of the Australian Embassy in Moscow, the aftermath of the Tiananmen Incident, and the expulsion of spies. There were also concerns about the introduction of HECS – the current tertiary funding model – and cabinet papers also show the tension already brewing between Hawke and Keating.

This last fortnight also saw the attack on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo (said “ebb-dough” – short for hebdomadaire, meaning weekly in French) in Paris, two men shot journalists and cartoonists, as well as the shooting of a Paris Police Officer and the hostage taking at a Kosher supermarket. The French terror threat level is at its highest level, while Australia’s remains at its second highest, with Tony Abbott drawing links between the Paris attacks and the Lindt Siege, and since Wednesday, has started to scaremonger again, and is also saying that Australia’s safety starts in the Middle East.

Finally this fortnight, Queensland is having an election on January 31, and it is unclear how that will end; Tony Abbott, Bill Shorten, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman and Queensland Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk were at a funeral in Cairns for eight children killed by a family member; and an ISIS propaganda magazine has hailed Man Haron Monis’ attack on the Lindt Cafe, encouraging copycats, and there are reports that another Australian fighting with ISIS in the Middle-East has been killed.

Tweets of the Fortnight

As the Queensland election campaign begins, strange things begin to happen.

After the attacks on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, people are getting behind the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie

https://twitter.com/ABCNews24/status/553654405036122112

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

First Dog on the Moon’s poignant cartoon about Charlie Hebdo – The Guardian

26 Things about JB Hi Fi – Buzzfeed

2014 in Interactive news stories – ABC Online

Not One More: Leelah Alcorn and how trans* teens in deeply religious families suffer – Huffington Post