Less busy this week, I guess that’s what happens when there’s no parliament and the PM is off in Asia.
So, the WA Senate re-election took place, with the Greens and the Palmer United Party getting quite a few seats. The major Parties didn’t do as well, with Louise Pratt battling with the Liberals for the last seat – although it looks as if she may have lost it.
Tony Abbott has spent the week in North Asia arranging, negotiating and signing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) – thrilling stuff. In Japan, we finalised the FTA which will make cars and electronics cheaper for us and make meat and dairy cheaper for the Japanese, as the Australian Farmers won’t have to pay as high a tariff as they are now. It’s given the Coalition a gold star, because they were able to negotiate it and finalise it. Abbott also signed the FTA in Seoul, again, tariffs have been slashed and every household will probably save about $700 a year.
Abbott also made a trip to the Demilitarised Zone on the 38th Parallel. He went into one of the blue huts and met some South Korean and American armed forces, all the while being stalked by North Korean soldiers who took pictures of him through the window….
According to Tony Abbott the DMZ is probably the most dangerous border on earth….NO! Really? I had no idea! Thank you so much Prime Minister Obvious. Oh and he thinks that North Korea is a danger to the South…yeah, kinda guessed that too.
After that The PM visited China as part of Australia Week in China. He also went to Hainan Island for the Bo’ao conference and was basically asked anytime he was in front of a camera if he had anymore news about MH370. I have to say though, this trip’s timing is good – though most likely a coincidence. China is eternally grateful that Australia is still looking for the flight – with 150-ish Chinese passengers on board – and that may make the Chinese more receptive to some of Australia’s requests.
Moving back to Australia now, this week the Commission into Union Corruption started, with the Commissioner, Judge Dyson Heydon, promising it wouldn’t be a witch hunt. He has also said that if anyone who is giving evidence is threatened, they will arrest the person who made the threat.
In other news this week, Bob Carr has a book that upset everyone’s apple cart, the jobs numbers were up and a Sri Lankan Asylum seeker self-immolated after fining out he was to be deported.
Tweets of the Week
Ever wondered why some people don’t particularly like FOX News in the US? Here’s one example…
https://twitter.com/TeaPartyCat/status/455002504586338304
This may be a few weeks old, but it only just showed up on my feed…
What I’ve been Reading/Watching/Listening etc.
This week’s Q&A was very interesting…and no-one yelled at anyone – ABC Online
Apparently the Republicans in the US are doing some things right – NY Times
Kara L 