The Week That Was – November 1 to November 7

As the North Sydney by-election campaign continues, the Federal Government appears to be laying groundwork for tax reform. I should be interesting to see how a popular PM deals with selling unpopular tax reforms. It’s thought that the GST will be raised to 15% and all exemptions will be removed, however this is all speculation and it’s believed that the PM and the government are letting all this speculation run rife in order to lay the groundwork and see what the public think.

Some MPs believe that they could sell GST changed but they would have to come in a package with other sweeteners – such as income tax cuts and increases in pensions – in order for that to happen. Meanwhile the opposition is against any tax changes util they see the maths behind it. Turnbull will also have to convince the state premiers that it is worth the rise in the GST – especially Western Australia who feel – thanks to the way the GST paybacks to states are calculated – that they are not getting as much money as they should.

Peter Dutton travelled one of the biggest refugee camps in the world this week, on his trip to Jordan. Dutton had a tour of the camp, meeting residents, before giving visas to the first few dozen refugees that Australia is taking in. There was one guy the cameras filmed getting his visa and shaking Dutton’s hand, professing his gratitude and promising that his family would be good people in Australia – which shows just how desperate these families are to get out of Syria and the Middle East.

This week the Trade Union Royal Commission looked into the NUW, with revelations that several employees were using their union-issued credit cards for personal expenses, such as online dating and holidays. Some of these employees are members of the same family. Furthermore, TURC released a statement exonerating Bill Shorten of any wrongdoing while at the helm of the Australian Workers Union, but faced criticism for releasing this statement at 8pm on a Friday night.

Finally this week, Malcolm Turnbull made a speech this week talking about his plans and vision – He wants Australia to be a high-wage nation with a generous social net and “fair” tax systems – he also got rid of Knights and Dames and Bill Shorten has been revealed as an awkward dad dancer. Other than that, there hasn’t been much else on, or I missed it.

Tweet of the Week

Pulled Red Cadeaux in the #melbournecup sweeps but my sentimental favourite is still Bondi Beach pic.twitter.com/mjUXkWIeCg

— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) November 3, 2015

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

Bit of a Melbourne Cup theme this week…

The pooping pony at a Sydney cafe on Melbourne Cup Day – ABC News

Jana Wendt’s profile on Wyatt Roy – SBS News

Malcolm Turnbull just doesn’t care about the Melbourne Cup – Buzzfeed

How Admire Rakti (one of the horses that died at last year’s Cup) saved his jockey’s life – The Age

The Week That Was – February 15 to February 21

This week was a little less crazy as the last, but there was still some drama.

Philip Ruddock has spoken out about his sacking, saying that he was never approached by Tony Abbott about his performance as Chief Whip. Some have suggested that Ruddock was sacked because he allowed the spill motion to go ahead last week, or that the sacking was a way to show the backbench that he was serious about change and that he wants to communicate with them differently.

The Bali Nine ringleaders are getting closer to execution, although it was closer at the start of the week, when the authorities decided to move them to the execution prison by Wednesday. However that changed, and the two men will not be transferred for some time, so they can have more time with their families. Tony Abbott and the government have been trying to save the two men from execution, saying that if it goes ahead, Australia will make their disappointment known diplomatically. Abbott also said that because of the $1 billion in aid Australia gave to Indonesia after the 2004 Tsunami, Indonesia should pay us back by saving the two men from execution, which Indonesia did not like, saying that threats were not part of diplomatic language and foreign aid was not a bargaining chip. It put strain on the relationship and Julie Bishop ended up apologising to the Indonesian Foreign Minister for the gaffe.

The Social Services Minister Scott Morrison has ruled out including the family home in the means-testing calculations for the aged pension, after rumours that it would be included. Morrison has asked for ideas on saving money so he doesn’t get in trouble from the public for doing something they don’t like.

The Productivity Commission has released their report into childcare, saying that the cost and the limited places are what keeps parents (usually mothers) at home looking after the kids and not returning to work. The Commission has recommended that there be a means-tested subsidy that is paid directly to the child care providers, meaning that wealthier parents will pay more towards childcare than lower-income parents. If the parents choose to get a nanny, the subsidy can also go towards paying them, however the professional child care providers are concerned about the quality of care children get from nannies. Meanwhile, the Health Minister Sussan Ley is trying to make the Medicare changes more palatable.

David Hicks, an Australian held in Guantánamo Bay by the Americans, has had his conviction quashed after it was ruled that the crime he was charged with did not exist at the time he committed his crime. Hicks has welcomed the development, but has been critical of the Australian and American governments, saying his conviction was politically motivated, and wants an apology from the government, which the Prime Minister has said he will not get because he was “up to no good”. Hicks also wants the government to help him pay his medical bills, as he needs quite a few procedures and long-term treatments thanks to his time in the prison at Guantánamo Bay.

The submarine building drama continues, with the announcement that Japan, Germany and France will compete for the tender to build Australian submarines, meaning that the ASC will have to partner with the company that earns the tender in order to have building jobs available. The Opposition and the unions have said this is a broken election promise. The government has also ruled out the Swedish firm Saab from building submarines, even though Saab said it would be more than happy to have all the building done in Australia, because the Swedish haven’t built a submarine since 1996.

Also, there appears to be someone leaking things to the media, after a story came out on Saturday suggesting that Tony Abbott wanted to send thousands of troops into Iraq. Abbott has denied that he ever brought it up, although it has been suggested that it may have been an informal suggestion rather than a formal idea.

Finally this week, Western Australia is worried that the measures to prevent young Australians heading to fight in the Middle East are focusing too much on the eastern coast after a West Australian man left for the Middle East; George Brandis is trying to monitor social media in real-time; the ADF has been called in to help with the Cyclone Marcia recovery; and there are concerns that Free Trade Agreements might make it easier for incidents, like this week’s Hepatitis A outbreak, to happen again.

Tweet of the Week

CNN – you're doing it wrong! #TCMarcia http://t.co/MlGSJmxbR4—
Brendan Casey (@BrendoCasey) February 21, 2015

Things I’ve been Looking at Online

Malcolm Turnbull talks to Indonesia through Q & A about the Bali Nine ringleaders (and in the process auditions for the role of PM)

Queensland’s Cyclone Marcia sent rain and wind to Northern NSW – so this happened.

The Year that Was – 2014 Politics

New Words: 1

Shirtfront: Tony Abbott said that he was going to “shirt front” Vladimir Putin regarding the suspected Russian involvement in the downing of Malaysia Airlines MH17.

You bet you are.

Elections: 3

West Australian Senate Seats Re-election: This is what happens when you misplace 1300 ballot papers.

Griffith By-election: To fill the vacant seat left by former PM Kevin Rudd. Labor won.

Victorian State Election: Victorian Labor ousts a one term Liberal/Nationals Coalition government, which hasn’t happened in more than 50 years, and it scared the federal government.

Reshuffles: 1

Just before Christmas, Abbott reshuffled cabinet after Arthur Sinodinos resigned, which also meant that David Johnston was removed as Defence Minister. Other people were moved around which leads us to….

Women In Cabinet: 2

Julie Bishop: Minister for Foreign Affairs, since 2013 Election

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

Dramatic Sagas: 1

Jacqui Lambie vs. Clive Palmer: Lambie basically got sick of working with Clive Palmer and the Palmer United Party and left 5 months into her senate term, deciding to vote in the “coalition of common sense” which involved Labor, Nick Xenophon, Ricky Muir and other independents.

Achievements as Minister for Women: 1

Apparently, that achievement is the repeal of the Carbon Tax. How? Well, I think it might have something to do with housework and electricity bills.

Here’s ABC 7:30’s Politics Year in Review.

Happy New Year. Let’s see what 2015 has on offer.

The Week that Was – October 26 to November 1

This week saw the Labor party announce that they may keep the current government’s policy of turning back boats, because it appears to be working. However, they have said that they will only do it with Indonesia’s permission, which probably won’t happen, and then they didn’t say much else about it.

Clive Palmer has signed a deal with the government to pass the Direct Action Plan through the Senate, allowing the government to pay emitters to reduce their emissions. This has annoyed people, because Palmer had initially said he wouldn’t let it through because he believed it to be a wast of taxpayer money, and would only accept an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) if Australia’s allies would do the same, especially China. The government has also found a way to get the Fuel Excise to rise without taking it through Parliament. It will go up by half a cent every six months and is estimated to rain around $19 million. There is a catch though, if the government can’t get Parliament to agree within 12 months the money has to be given back, not to the taxpayers, but to the oil companies. Tony Abbot has also said that he wants an adult debate on the GST so it can be changed. It’s led to a few people wondering about this ‘adult debate’, given Abbott was part of the protests about the Carbon Tax during which he stood in front of some pretty nasty signs about Julia Gillard.

Tony Abbott during Protests about the Carbon Tax (from http://images-2.drive.com.au/2014/08/04/5651350/1407146829758.jpg-620×349.jpg)

Ebola scared the bejesus out of everyone again this week, after an 18-year-old Brisbane woman was taken to hospital with a fever after coming into the country from West Africa. She was in self-quarantine in her home before she came down with the fever, and as it turns out, she’s tested negative. However, refugees from West African Ebola countries will no longer be given visas for the time being, and those who already have visas will be quarantined for 21 days. This seems to be the only reaction Australia has made at the moment, as they haven’t forced aid workers into quarantine, like several US states have, although most aid workers are making sure quarantine themselves and check their temperature everyday, as is recommended by health authorities and aid groups. Again, the Australian Medical Association has said Australia should be sending staff to Ebola hot zones to help, however the government is still saying that they probably won’t until they have an evacuation plan in place should anyone contract the virus.

Parliament House got interesting earlier in the week, after three men staged a protest about the burqa ban being overturned. You can see the video from the ABC here.

Nova Peris is embroiled in scandal this week after being accused of using taxpayer money to get an international track star from the Caribbean to come to Australia because she was having an affair with him. She has denied the allegations and the Labor Party is standing beside her, while some believe News Corp may have got the emails illegally. Peris spoke in Senate to say that this is part of a blackmail attempt in a long running child access case.

The metadata laws passed this week, meaning that metadata will be held for two years. This is believed to cost the telecommunications companies money, so they will get subsidies from the government, but it is unclear at the moment as to how much money there will be. There are critics, especially the Greens and Nick Xenophon, but given Labor supported the legislation, it’s gone through.

The government is trying to confirm the death of an Australian ISIS member in the conflict zone. The man is thought to be the most high-ranking Australian in the organisation. Meanwhile, Australian troops are still in the UAE, yet to go to Iraq to advise the military there.

Finally this week, Medibank shares are on sale,  Australian couples are having trouble getting visas to India for surrogacy, Julia Gillard has been found by the Trade Union Royal Commission to have done nothing wrong, farmers are suing the government for damages after the live export ban a few years ago, and the West Australian town of Albany played host to commemorations for the centenary of the first ships leaving Australia for WWI.

Tweet of the Week

Plus in breaking news … the newsreader has a new short hairdo. #itsallaboutthehair

— Juanita Phillips (@Juanita_Phillip) October 29, 2014

Things that I’ve been Looking at Online

How British Colonialism determines which countries celebrate Halloween – The Washington Post

With the US Midterms coming up, people are being reminded to vote:

The Week That Was – August 3 to August 9

This week there were MH17 memorials in Western Australia and Queensland and more bodies were found at the crash site. The people living in a town close to the crash site also held a memorial. Meanwhile, the Russians have imposed sanctions on Australia, the EU and the US, in retaliation for the sanctions placed on them (which I thought Australia was not a part of, because our main aim was to bring our dead home). These sanctions stop Australia from trading dairy and livestock. Tony Abbott has said Australia will now consider more sanctions on Russia. Also, the Prime Minister is due to travel to the Netherlands and the UK in the next week.

So it turns out the asylum seekers were moved to Nauru on Friday night last week. Scott Morrison has been saying that the Tamils are from Indian camps and most have long-term Indian residency. The lawyers for the High Court case have also begun to claim that their clients were taught to drive lifeboats and read maps to show them where to go. Meanwhile a report has come out about the asylum seekers that claimed to have been burnt by being forced to put their hands on boat engines by Australian authorities. The heavily censored report suggests that the asylum seekers were burned when trying to light a fire on their boat and not by the actions of the Australians. There has been no response from the Indonesian authorities, who treated the asylum seekers at the moment.

Unemployment is now at a 12 year high – at 6.4%. Only 300 jobs were lost in the last month, but more people have been looking for jobs, making the unemployment rate rise. Youth unemployment is worse, with a little over 20% in the 15-19 age group and nearly 15% in the 15-24 age group. South Australia and Tasmania have had a drop in the unemployment rate, while the other states have had a rise, with Sydney having one of the worst youth unemployment rates, especially out in Sydney’s west. The Paid Parental Leave Scheme may have been shelved or delayed. It’s thought to be because some backbenchers – primarily those in rural or low-income areas – are still not supporting it. The government claims that the budget is the priority at the moment, so they haven’t brought up the scheme yet.

Joe Hockey has also been disputing Treasury numbers, after information was released stating that many families would be up to $490 worse off because of the 2014 Budget. In fact, the table that explains this was omitted from the budget papers, and those who wanted to know what the table said had to make Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. However, it appears most FOI requests, including one from the ABC was denied. Joe Hockey says that the numbers are wrong because the Deficit Levy imposed on higher-income households wasn’t factored in and there could still be changes. Either way, there are still negotiations between the Government and the cross benchers in the Senate – David Leyonhjelm has said that these discussions should have begun before July 1.

This week also saw a bit of gymnastics on the repeal of section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act. The government has decided not to continue with the repeal of section 18c because Tony Abbott wants to unify Australia, given the threat posed by Australians travelling to the Middle East. Andrew Bolt, along with other conservative commentators and politicians are not pleased. At least one conservative senator is going to launch a private member’s bill to keep the repeal alive.

There are now going to be changes to the Terrorism laws given the threat posed by those travelling to the Middle East perceived by the government. This change, on top of the “burden of proof” proposal last week, means that there will be another $630 million for security agencies, the ability to suspend passports and make it illegal to travel to certain nations without an acceptable reason (burden of proof on the traveller not the police) and telecommunications companies must keep metadata for a certain amount of time.

Now this “metadata” thing has confused everyone. Tony Abbott and George Brandis have been unable to explain exactly what will be retained, and they didn’t let Malcolm Turnbull (one of the guys who probably could explain it) out to talk until a few days later. Other than the concerns over privacy, it is completely unclear at the moment what is going to be retained by the telcos. Now, I am not a computer geek in any way, but from what I understand, what will be retained is the IP address of websites you visit, not the content or the URL of the site. So when you visit this blog, they only see the IP address, not the karaxl.wordpress.com or the content of the blog – in order to see those they need a warrant.

Before I forget, Eric Abetz is in trouble for appearing to link abortions with breast cancer. He said it on The Project on Channel Ten in what he says was a pre-recorded interview that was heavily edited, which Channel Ten denies. By the way, the link has been disproved by the scientific community, despite the fact that some scientists coming to the World Families’ Congress maintain there is a link. The congress will be held in Melbourne later this year, and several Federal Government MPs are planning to attend.

Finally this week, the Federal Liberal Party is being dragged into the NSW ICAC, Australia might become involved in humanitarian drops in Iraq, our Airports are preparing for Ebola checks, and the WA Premier Colin Barnett wants the GST changed, because he feels that Western Australia is ripped off as it contributes quite a bit to the GST and gets less back.

Tweet of the Week

After hitting 5000 followers on twitter this week, the people running Kevin Rudd 2000 (@Rudd2000), a spoof account called it a day, killing off “Kevern”.

Ablo eat Kevern

— Kevin Rudd 2000 (@Rudd2000) August 5, 2014

(Translation: Albo [Anthony Albanese] ate Kevin [Rudd])

Things I’ve been Reading/Watching/Listening to etc

Balibo’s ghosts and East Timor’s media laws – ABC The Drum

When journalists stop covering a story without explanation and social media speculation gets out of hand – BBC News

Whitehousegate is still going, and a student at the college is facing criminal charges for blowing the whistle – Business Insider

The Week that Was – July 20 to July 26

So this week was all about MH17 and the asylum seekers that are floating around Christmas Island.

Australia drafted a resolution for the UN Security Council which asked for an international investigation and for the crash site to be secure. Julie Bishop was there for the emergency meeting in New York as questions were asked about where the plane’s black boxes were and who was to blame for the crash. Australia’s resolution was voted on and passed, and Julie Bishop travelled to the Netherlands, where she, along with Sir Peter Cosgrove and Lady Cosgrove, watched some of the bodies arrive from Ukraine. Julie Bishop has since travelled to Kiev, and also to a base in the north-east of the country where bodies are sent to the Netherlands.

Tony Abbott on the other hand, is staying in Australia and giving daily briefings. He’s also told the ABC that his daughters took flight MH17 a few months ago when they were returning home from a trip to Europe. Abbott is leading the criticism of Russia and the rebels, earning himself some narky comments from not only the Russian foreign ministry, but the Chinese as well. Since the crash, Abbott has spoken with Putin, who has “said the right things” and now needs to be held to his word. Abbott has sent Angus Houston (the guy in charge of the MH370 search) as his personal envoy, and Australian police, army and victim identification experts are being sent to Europe to help. One thing that has been getting to me though is Operation Bring Them Home – the plan to bring back all the bodies of the Australian victims. The number of times I have heard Tony Abbott say “bring them home” has now got me singing Bring Him Home from Les Misérables in my head.

Moving on to the asylum seekers, it has come to light that they are being held on a customs ship in windowless rooms but they are let out into the light during the day when they have their meals. The government has defended the treatment saying that there are children on board and they have to be kept safe. However since the case was in court at the start of the week, Scott Morrison has announced that the refugees will be taken to Curtin Detention Centre via the Cocos Islands. At Curtin Detention Centre (in remote WA), the refugees will be interviewed by Indian Consular staff to determine if any can be taken back to India. However, legal experts and refugee advocates have pointed out that technically if the asylum seekers are brought to Australia, then technically we have to assess them and decide to grant them asylum, as per their rights in the Immigration Act. But this is “not a broken promise” according to Morrison, despite the fact he’s letting them into Australia.

Its been discovered that the current Childcare Rebate scheme doesn’t help families as well as it used to. the 50% rebate doesn’t always cover an entire year’s childcare for a family. It’s been suggested that the signature Paid Parental Leave scheme should be smaller and that the Childcare Rebate should be expanded – something that has been suggested multiple times – giving lower-income families a 90% rebate and high-income earners a 30% rebate, while also making the hiring of nannies eligible for the rebate as well.

Finally this week, Joe Hockey’s authorised biography has been released, revealing that he wanted a tougher budget and that Tony Abbott would sometimes give him no warning before announcing a policy. It has sparked rumours that there could be a leadership spill in the Liberal Party, which most government MPs are rubbishing. But we’ll never know.

Tweet of the Week

So the Queen photobombed a selfie by some Aussie hockey players at the Commonwealth Games:

Ahhh The Queen photo-bombed our selfie!! 😄 👑 #royalty #sheevensmiled #amazing #Glasgow2014 @Hockeyroos @AusComGames pic.twitter.com/ZMtHYFUqHk

— Jayde Taylor (@_JaydeTaylor) July 24, 2014

Things that I’ve been Reading/Watching/Listening etc

What happens when you equate your President with a giant inflatable toad online in China – ABC Online

Westboro Baptist Church picketed a Panic! At the Disco concert – Huffington Post

Virginia Trioli talks about SAD – The Weekly Review

ABC1 recently rebranded to become ABC and has some new idents to go with it:

The Week that Was – July 6 to July 12

The week began with a #Bustthebudget March in major cities, protesting the Budget and the government in general.

Then we saw one of the two boats of asylum seekers processed at sea and surrendered to the Sri Lankan Navy. Eric Abetz says the government is acting within its international obligations – but he’s the only one from the government talking. It was confirmed the next day with Scott Morrison defending the move saying “This is what works”. Critics say that may be, but it is possibly somewhat almost illegal under international law , especially when you send Sri Lankan Tamils back to Sri Lanka, where they are discriminated against. The other boat with 153 asylum seekers aboard is in limbo, after a High Court challenge was brought. It’s hoped that the court case will lead to transparency about what is going on, but the government is still saying that they are acting legally. But now the Sri Lankan government has said they won’t take the second boat, which means they’ll be taken to Manus Island or Christmas Island if and when the injunction is lifted. Australia also gifted two patrol boats to Sri Lanka to help “Stop the Boats”. Meanwhile the UNHCR is becoming increasing concerned about the Australian Government’s treatment of asylum seekers and Tony Abbott says he “won’t capitulate to moral blackmail” after being asked about refugees attempting suicide in detention.

The new Senate was sworn in and then decided to postpone the Carbon Tax and Mining Tax votes. Clive Palmer and the PUP have also possibly blown a $7 billion hole in the budget by demanding that the mining tax be gone but the sweeteners be kept. The government then attempted to move to have less debate on the Carbon Tax repeal bill, which was lost because Ricky Muir, the Motoring Enthusiast Party’s senator didn’t vote with the Palmer United Party. Then when it came time to debate and vote, the Palmer United Party withdrew support claiming that the Coalition had “pulled a swifty” on the PUP Senators by not putting their amendment in the way they wanted it. Something they could have missed, given bills are written in legalese. This rejection of the Carbon Tax repeal is not the first and is now a double dissolution trigger for the Prime Minister. We also saw Clive Palmer storm out of an interview with 7:30.

Tony Abbott has also said that this first week drama is understandable given the new senators are “inexperienced” and Labor is being annoying. PUP Senator Jacqui Lambie was not impressed by that. Abbott also seems to think that Clive Palmer will eventually come around.

Tony Abbott had a guest this week with the visit of Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. They signed their Free Trade Agreement and went to look at the mines in Western Australia and talk about trading. Abe also spoke to a joint session of Parliament, making his speech in English and making mention of rugby and Olympian Dawn Fraser – most famous for stealing a flag from outside the Emperor’s Palace at the Tokyo Games in 1964. He also went to the Australian War Memorial where he laid a wreath – he’s since returned home and the FTA will be tabled in Parliament in a few weeks.

Tweet of the Week

So Abe got some RM Williams and wore them in WA

PM Abe wearing his gift from Australia – RM Williams boots. Both proud to be wearing them today #RMs pic.twitter.com/fxjyrSNNQz

— Tony Abbott (@HonTonyAbbott) July 9, 2014

What I’ve been Reading/Watching/Listening etc

The National Gay Blood Drive in the USA – TIME Magazine

RJ Aguiar – Bisexuality: Setting the Record “Straight”

The Week That Was – May 18 to May 24

Well, this week saw further dissent on the budget with protests across the country…and it wasn’t just the young angry ones

The Premiers and Chief Ministers of states and territories had an emergency meeting – called by Campbell Newman – to discuss the budget changes and they will not be taking them lying down – although the WA Premier, Colin Barnett, didn’t show up. They were asked if they were going to ask for a raise in the GST, which to some might seem like a good idea, but Newman said that they were not going to. I can see why though. The Federal Government hasn’t raised the GST in years, and by cutting state funding, the states will then ask for a raise in the GST….making the State governments look bad, and not the federal government. The states will not accept the budget or the budget cuts, and said that Tony Abbott is wrong about when the effects of the Budget will begin to show.

Tony Abbott said the voters were ‘on notice’ about the budget and that the Coalition was upfront, but funnily enough, most people don’t see it that way – including some government backbenchers. The government needs to sell the budget to not only the people of Australia, but independents and small parties in both houses, especially in the Senate, where the Greens and the Palmer United Party hold the balance of power – and Clive Palmer actually seems to be genuinely concerned about the budget, and how it affects the average Australian.

In fact, this budget is the most unpopular in 20 years, and Abbott, as well as the Coalition, have taken a huge hit in the polls. Abbott says the budget was meant to get the country’s finances back on track, not for popularity, and that if the country is borrowing money to pay off other borrowed money, were kind of stuffed – how that was relevant, I have no idea, but it was said. Tony Abbott says that the polls are the least of the governments worries right now, and that the Labor party are being “fiscal vandals”.

Although, if you’re a university student you probably think the “fiscal vandals” are the government. Again this week there were student protests in Sydney, both on Wednesday at an organised protest in the city, and on Thursday outside a debating contest being held at St John’s College, where several key Liberal figures were moderating or attending. Not only that, but when Universities Australia asked the government to reconsider the timeframe for implementing funding changes to universities, Pyne refused. He doesn’t think students will be burdened by costs, and moreover, it appears that there is now confusion over who pays what when the changes get through.

However, the responses from Abbott and Pyne were unfair and unjust. To suggest that these university students “were looking for a rumble” or “wanted to get a riot on national TV” is rude and unfair. They were not looking for a riot or a rumble, but looking to get their voices heard, and given that the government is not listening, but making snide remarks, they are going to continue protesting until they are heard, no matter how long it takes.

Ok, I’ll stop being opinionated now – sorry.

Anyway, doctors are now more concerned about the $7 co-payment. It turns out that people are already avoiding seeing the doctor because they think the co-payment is already in force, to the point where surgeries have been sending texts to their clients reminding them that is not the case – and hey, $5 of the co-payment goes to the government, and only $2 to the GP. Not only that but statistics show that a lot of women in violent and abusive relationships often tell their GPs what is going on before telling anyone else, and there are cuts to Legal Aid and housing/shelters – two other important things that help women in abusive relationships. However, it appears that some doctors are considering waiving the co-payment for these women so that they can get help.

Also this week, Australia moved closer to sending asylum seekers to Cambodia. It seems that the only things left to be done are to finish negotiations and sign the piece of paper.

And now to this week’s gaffe:

Yep, he winked – and it made international headlines.

Oh and he used an interesting analogy to explain the budget crisis too.

Finally, I thought I’d let you know that this is the 100th post on Kara L. Thanks for reading and following.

Tweet of the Week

Oh, the weather has been lovely in Sydney this week…

Absurdly perfect day here at Sydney Writers Festival. Assuming organisers sacrificed a goat at some point for this weather #swf2014

— Annabel Crabb (@annabelcrabb) May 24, 2014

Things I’ve been Reading/Watching/Listening etc

How #winkgate was covered around the world – ABC Online

The less important, yet interesting, #whitehousegate – New Matilda

A collection of collated social media reactions to the budget – Buzzfeed

The March in May protests on the budget…witty signs galore – Buzzfeed

 

The Week That Was – March 30 to April 5

So this week was pretty busy too for politics what with Western Australia going back to the polls to re-elect their six senators – Louise Pratt copped judgement for voting below the line and putting herself first – but hey, she has every right to do that and that is how she decided to vote.

The week began with a protest from Qantas workers who are upset that 5000 jobs are going. They are threatening to engage in civil disobedience, but have said that they will warn customers and the public if they plan on doing anything, unlike Alan Joyce when he just decided to ground Qantas flights back in 2011. They have support from some politicians as well, with Bob Katter and Tanya Plibersek attending their protest. Labor has been giving the government a hard time about all these job losses, given they promised to create them, asking if any of the one million jobs they have pledged to create will be in Australia.

We’re starting to hear about the budget a little bit as it gets closer and closer to May. The government has been saying that it’s going to be tough because according to Tony Abbott, “Labor booby-trapped the budget. Labor booby-trapped the budget” – Yes, he did say it twice – and that means its going to be a tough one. Labor seems to think that isn’t the case, and is saying the government is being over dramatic in order to get away with making huge cuts. To be quite honest I would not be surprised – given that booby-trapping a budget would have been quite difficult if it is computer based – maybe it had a virus…

The International Court of Justice in the Hague has ruled that Japan’s Southern Ocean whaling expeditions are not for scientific purposes as the Japanese have claimed. The court ruling is final, but the Japanese are expected to continue whaling in the Northern Pacific Ocean because they can. But it is a win for Australia and most, if not all, Australians are pretty happy about it.

Also this week, the government is being accused of moving asylum seekers for their own purposes – and not good ones. According to the government, Villawood Detention centre is being renovated and that means the asylum seekers inside need to be moved. The issue is that there are some asylum seekers at Villawood who are suing the government for protection because of a bungle a few months ago that saw their information put on the Dept of Immigration website, and their court cases are due to start this and/or next week. These asylum seekers are being moved to Curtin Detention Centre in a remote part of northern WA, which has what has set off the conspiracy alarms. The suggestion is that the government is moving them to a remote centre on the other side of the country, where there is limited communications and the possibility of not having contact with their lawyers, such that they will voluntarily leave Australia and return home or drop the cases. There were protests outside Villawood Detention Centre on Friday and Saturday, with people blocking the entries on Friday and others clashing with police on Saturday.

Also this week, Angus Houston was put in charge of the Australian-run search for MH370 and Tony Abbott has promised to look for as long as is possible for the flight, the Malaysian PM also came to visit to check on how it was going and to say thank you, Arthur Sinodinos suffered from ICAC Memory Loss Disorder and the ICAC was gatecrashed.

Tweet of the Week

There was mention that the guy who gatecrashed ICAC is a serial pest….

Is a "Cereal Pest" someone who leaves only a few crumbs in the box? #ICAC @Kate_McClymont

— Steve Williams (@therandomswill) April 4, 2014

Stuff I’ve been Reading/Watching/Listening etc

A dating site in the US prevented Mozilla Firefox users from entering their site before they read a letter about how the Mozilla CEO was homophobic – SFGate

But was this an overreach by activists? – The Advocate

The Week That Was – March 16 to March 22

This week was definitely crazier.

Sunday saw the “March in March”, an anti-Liberal protest that took place in all major cities, with the slogan “a vote of no confidence” – essentially, these people are not happy with the way the country is being run. There was a good turn out, with Melbourne having the largest protest, and Sydney had pretty high numbers too. Tony Abbott was in Sydney and was either poking fun or being a complete idiot when he replied to a reporter asking about the protests, saying “I thought the only rally today was the St. Patrick’s Parade,” with a grin. So I’m more inclined to think that maybe he was trying to be funny as opposed to being an idiot.

Tony Abbott was in Sydney to help announce a new roads project called the North Connex – a motorway and tunnel project to be built in north-western Sydney to help with congestion on Pennant Hills Road. The NRMA seems positive about it, mainly because the tunnel in this project is going to be high enough to clear large trucks (a problem we’ve been having for a while) and will cut travel time for many in the Hills District.

Moving on, the Royal Commission into the Insulation Scheme revealed that only two bureaucrats costed the scheme over one long weekend without much help and that the public servants and government knew about the risks and similar deaths New Zealand. While that probably is a pretty big thing to come out of the hearings this week, some are still calling it a witch hunt on Tony Abbott’s part to get back at Labor.

Keeping with Commissions, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) revealed the Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos stood to make $20 million from some dodgy deals that Sydney Water Holdings made while he was in charge of the board. Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party have been standing by him, but Labor wanted him to quit. He hasn’t – but he “stood aside” from his ministerial position (he may come back when and if he is cleared) of Assistant Treasurer, which could make life difficult the closer the Budget gets.

Manus Island has been in the news this week, with a judge in Papua New Guinea opening an inquiry into the conditions at the detention centre. The aim is to see whether or not the PNG Government is treating the asylum seekers in their care as they should be. A couple of the asylum seekers testified, saying they felt like they were in jail and the feel like humans for once, because this inquiry is letting them talk. They’ve also said that on a visit to the centre, Scott Morrison told the asylum seekers “don’t even dream of coming to Australia” because they weren’t going to be settled. The judge leading the inquiry travelled to the detention centre and allowed the media to come along – as if they would decline that opportunity. The ABC reported that there are still scars of the riots with broken windows and bullet holes in places. The dorms are packed and the bathrooms look pretty bad. According to the ABC journalist the asylum seekers kept asking the media to help them.

Still on Papua New Guinea, Tony Abbott has paid a visit to Port Moresby to discuss the deal with the asylum seekers, as the PNG Government is yet to process any of them. In return for speeding up, the Papua New Guineans will have more say in where the aid money they’re getting for taking the asylum seekers. Not only that, but Australia has to see if other nations will take our asylum seekers, because PNG can’t possible take all of them in. Tony Abbott did say something about the nations shouldering “their fair share of the burden” of the asylum seekers coming into the region, but that is a bit unfair – most countries have their own issues.

MH370 is still missing, and now an area around 2500km off the Western Australian coast is the main area for looking for the plane. They’ve found some chunks using satellites – and they’ve had ships and planes looking for them, but they can’t be found. There has been some great international co-operation though, so hopefully with some hard work they might find something.

Also this week, with the RBA considering changes to the Australian notes, the vision impaired are calling for tactile markings on the notes (like Canada does) to make it easier to tell whether they’re handing over $10 or $50.

Tweet of the Week

While the world was looking at Crimea, seems Indonesia quietly annexed Kuala Lumpur. http://t.co/mzURmnOUo7—
Adam Todd (@_AdamTodd) March 20, 2014

What I’ve Been Reading/Watching/Listening etc

A car crashes into the concrete fence/wall surrounding the Lodge – ABC Online

The US Media has trouble with Australian facts – News.com.au