The “$4bn bribe” some newspapers alleged the National party has “forced” out of the new prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, crumbles to a series of uncertain and unfunded aspirations when examined in detail.

The headline “win”, heralded as “great news” by the Nationals, was a pledge to pay an extra $1,000 to single-income families with a child under one who earn less than $100,000 a year.

read more: http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/sep/16/turnbulls-so-called-4bn-bribe-to-nationals-more-wishes-than-fulfilment

To go with good grace would be to acknowledge the legitimacy of others’ claims: those of colleagues or citizens. Instead, in the final hours before he is said to have faxed his resignation to the governor general, he demonstrated the core meaning of his premiership. And that, simply, is a deep, even existential resentment.

Every last joule of Tony Abbott’s political energy, every last howl of his most committed supporters, was derived from what philosopher Lauren Berlant once called “the scandal of ex-privilege”, including “rage at the stereotyped peoples who have appeared to change the political rules of social membership, and, with it, a desperate desire to return to an order of things deemed normal”.

The “normality” which has been lost in Australia and other western democracies is the unquestioned social and political primacy of white men. Recent decades have seen new kinds of political claims emerge, and a plurality of values, cultures and lifestyles. The rules of the game have, after long struggles, shifted.

read more: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/16/after-the-wreckage-abbott-caused-he-still-left-feeling-sore-and-under-appreciated

 

So what exactly was said that led Ms Plibersek to criticise the prime minister for his allegedly mansplaining ways?

During question time on Wednesday, Ms Plibersek asked: "can the Prime Minister confirm how much he will restore to the foreign aid program after the cabinet he was part of cut the budget by $11.3 billion?"

Mr Turnbull replied: "If the honourable member wanted to get a serious answer she should ask a serious question. If all she's interested in is making an allegation, making a political argument across the dispatch box, that is fine. But it's a complete waste of question time."

To which Ms Plibersek said: "Mr Speaker, I'd rather have an answer than the mansplaining by the Prime Minister."

The term has made headlines elsewhere in the world in recent times.

Just days ago, famous US actor Matt Damon was accused of "mansplaining" when he interrupted African-American filmmaker Effie Brown to talk about diversity in films.

After the "mansplaining" comment by Plibersek, the Gov front bench replied "manscaping?" "What does she mean?" #qt

— Alice Workman (@workmanalice) September 16, 2015
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/pm-accused-of-mansplaining--but-what-does-it-mean-20150916-gjo7sk.html#ixzz3lw0XA5mU
Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook

 

Indigenous leaders have called on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to reverse Tony Abbott's decision to move the portfolio into the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, describing the change as an "absolute disaster".

The National Congress of Australia's First Peoples has called for an overhaul of Indigenous services, following this week's leadership spill which forced Mr Abbott to stand down as prime minister.

Co-Chair of Congress Les Malezer said Mr Abbott's decision to take responsibility for the portfolio in his own department was a big mistake.

"Moving all of the responsibilities into his portfolio in Prime Minister and Cabinet's department in Canberra, centralising all the decision-making, has just been a disaster," Mr Malezer said.

"An absolute disaster, impacting upon the daily lives of our people."

read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-17/indigenous-leaders-call-on-turnbull-to-reverse-decision-on-port/6784954

http://www.yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/26895#comment-33656

 

read to the end of all the articles...

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The early signs aren't great. Slowly, we're learning of the continuing anger towards Christopher Pyne, Julie Bishop and even Scott Morrison over their abandonment of Tony Abbott. We're discovering Cory Bernardi's remarkable flirtation with leaving the Liberal Party altogether, perhaps with a view to establishing his own neo-Hansonite operation.

Then there are the incandescent interventions of Alan Jones types that agitate the kind of base Bernardi might pilfer. Part of this undoubtedly stems from a deeply held hatred of Turnbull – of his broadly liberal politics and his swift dismissal of their obsessions, such as climate-change denial. Part of it is the visceral contest for a great party's soul.

But perhaps, most seriously, this is the desperate gasp of a certain politics in crisis, demonstrably failing and on the brink of redundancy.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/malcolm-turnbull-needs-to-ditch-the-neocons-and-connect-to-middle-australia-20150916-gjojxk.html#ixzz3m2lFtQxH
Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook


What Turnbull has to do urgently:

Restore the confidence of the Aboriginal people by stopping the destruction of their settlements and working on recognition in the constitution.

Investigate the problem of global warming in earnest and propose a solution that supports renewables and eliminate subsidies to the fossil fuel industries in order to make a dint in the problem. Then eliminate fossil fuels.

Stop the Australian war planes in Syria — and for once stop listening to the double-dealing Yankees (and Saudis) on this subject.

Reinstate the Gonski reforms and boost the general confidence in PUBLIC education.

Remove the chaplaincy program.

Restore the funding to Universities to make them more democratically accessible

Improve health services and manage the influence of pharmaceuticals on the services

Restore funding to public scientific organisations.

Restore MANUFACTURING in this country — dice the FTA with China and control those made earlier with other country. 

Reduce the exposure of this country to currency speculations by whatever means

Stop "stopping the boats" in a manner that stops being a shameful embarrassment to this country.

Improve working conditions (Sweden has introduced the more productive and effective 6 hour day).

Restore the NBN plan of fibre to homes.

Get the marriage equality laws passed through parliament.

Move towards an Australian Republic.

Charm the Murdoch media to approve of all good things to come...

Tell his doubtful rich mates that these first steps in a simple program is for them to benefit (profit) from a better and more confident country prepared to face the future rather than flying back to the 1950s.

More to come...

Should Malcolm not move in these direction, then he is as useless as Tony Abbott. Don't be fooled by the charm and the smiles. So far we've only heard about the same stick going up our arses, except "Doctor" Malcolm does it with a smile rather than a smirk.

 

 

From Lenore Taylor

...Contrary to reports, he did not offer the Nationals billions in extra funding to get them to sign a Coalition agreement, although he did agree to transfer responsibility for water policy.

And he has long signalled he would work within Abbott’s climate policy, which as I have written before, can be “dialled up” and added to, to become a reasonably credible way of reducing emissions.

But if that’s what Turnbull intends he probably needs to think twice before saying – as he did in parliament this week – that the emissions reduction fund “is reducing emissions at a remarkably low cost”.

Actually, it is in large part paying people to continue doing things they were already doing, and in some cases would have continued to do anyway. And it paid on average $14 a tonne, compared with an international carbon price of between $10 and $12. And it can’t possibly meet deeper long-term targets.

In a way the promise to try to banish the slogans is the biggest test of his prime ministership, and they key to its success.

Those who would like him to succeed are under no obligation to agree with Turnbull. They have every right, in fact every responsibility, to subject his new policies or ideas to the sharpest of scrutiny. If nothing much changes he deserves all the criticism he will get.

But for the great experiment in ending zero-sum warrior politics to have any chance of success, the disagreements and scrutiny need to be conducted as a debate, rather than as a screaming match.

And when you think about that, it’s in everyone’s interest. If Turnbull can take the punch out of politics it will help other politicians too – including the ones with whom his critics concur.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/sep/18/malcolm-turnbull-says-hell-end-stupid-shouty-politics-his-critics-should-too

blah blah blah... Sorry Lenore... This does not wash... We've always matched the energy of the perpetrators... It's in our blood... Should Malcolm do things quietly or with a smile, we will do the same. We will do our shouting more quietly while beaming like clowns, but still pointing out that the Liberal (CONservative) policies stink like a series of bad farts.

As indicated above, unless Turnbull does what I (and many other Australians) have set out above, then Turnbull will be like a smiling pig smelling of Abbott's bacon with lib-stick... Malcolm has to reverse the Abbott decimation of the renewable industry forthwith no matter how good is the direct action (it's crap and Turnbull knows it is designed to be inefficient while squandering cash on the Liberal-CONservative rich friends... he said similar himself in 2010).

Malcolm is a show pony... Let see if he can improve more than just the look of the merry-go-round...