The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has rejected suggestions Australia could increase its international advocacy on climate change, saying the country is already “carrying its load” and must adapt to a warmer climate regardless of emissions policy.

After indicating that the government would “evolve” its climate change policies to address heightened concerns about the role of global warming in Australia’s ongoing bushfire crisis, Morrison used a keynote speech at the National Press Club on Wednesday to talk up the government’s current policies, including its emission reduction targets.

“We know that Australia on its own cannot control the world’s climate as Australia accounts for just 1.3% of global emissions,” Morrison said.

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/29/australia-already-ca...

Our PM, Scott Morrison, is patiently awaiting Jesus' second coming which, if his calcultions are correct, should be in just a few years of global warming from now. Sinners repent. 

Think of it as a hypnotist’s trick, because that’s what it is. Scott Morrison says it over and over: there is no dispute about the need to take action to reduce Australia’s emissions. No dispute. You are getting sleepy. No dispute.

In fact there is a dispute, and a serious one. By failing to do what is necessary, the government Morrison leads maintains a serious dispute with what the climate science tells us needs to be done both in Australia and internationally to avert the most dangerous risks associated with global heating.

When it comes to mitigation, Morrison’s government is in dispute with the facts.

It is in dispute with the evidence.

It is in dispute with the truth.

Day in, day out.

So despite his gritted-teeth soothing and head-patting from the podium at the National Press Club on Wednesday after a summer of calamity, there’s a dispute alright, and it’s one of the most important disputes of our time.

This dispute is about the future, and how our government shapes it on our behalf. The dispute turns on whether climate change is now all about adaptation, about adjusting and adapting to the new reality – or whether Australia, as a responsible, reformist, middle power, is still at the policy and diplomatic barricades trying to avoid the worst case scenario.

Dear prime minister. That’s a big dispute. Big with a capital B. And this is a dispute that every citizen of this country, and every citizen of the world, has a direct stake in.

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/29/our-government-is...

Scotty of Marketing is running out of superlatives, laxatives and prophylactics... He is recycling the spin. And there is no way we can get under his tight briefs. He believes and that's that. You cannot beat a guy who believes in miracles, with reality. Noah's ark is a true story. It's not. It's bullshit, but read it ten times over and you now imagine the species climbing onto the gangplank of the big boat in an orderly fashion, two by two, facilitating some inbreeding as instructioned by the big guy in the sky...

This is the vision of global warming our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has in his mind and wants you to believe. If he believes this crap, why should you not. An idiot he is, but idiots with a mission and a stick you cannot chase away. May his positivism turn sour, quickly...

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Ministers keep saying in relation to the sports-rorts affair that Bridget McKenzie had ministerial discretion to make the grants and that she was only exercising normal ministerial powers. They also keep saying that no rules were broken.

This either shows a complete misunderstanding of the powers of ministers within the legal system, or a desire to mislead the media and the public.

So to what extent do ministers have discretion and what are the limits on it? Ministers have discretion in directing their departments, but do not have the same ministerial discretion in directing corporate entities such as Sport Australia.

If we were being charitable to Senator McKenzie (and every other minister spouting about ministerial discretion) we could say that she was confused and really thought the same rules applied to making these sporting grants as would normally apply in relation to a departmental grant program.

Perhaps somehow she was not informed that she had only limited legal powers in relation to the Sport Australia, despite it pointing this out.

But even if this was so, she must still have known and believed she was subject to the following constraints.

First, section 71 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 says that a Minister must not approve expenditure of public money unless satisfied, after making reasonable inquiries, that the expenditure would be a "proper use" of the money. "Proper" is defined as meaning "efficient, effective, economical and ethical".

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-02/bridget-mckenzie-sport-grants-min...

As well, the minister was given a new portofolio in order the hide the deed:

Want to know how Bridget McKenzie and her office administered the $100m in sports grants that are at the centre of a major scandal? Beyond the great work done by the auditor general, it’s going to be hard to find out.

One of the side benefits of a ministerial reshuffle is that embarrassing documents generated in the minister’s former office get filed away in the national archives, beyond the reach of prying eyes.

Journalists can use freedom of information laws to ask departments and agencies such as Sports Australia for documents, which include emails, texts and even WhatsApp messages. But by all accounts the agency was cut out of the final decision making.

We could also ask the prime minister for documents because he remained prime minister after the election. But we cannot access emails or documents from McKenzie’s office when she was sports minister because she is now minister for agriculture, not sport.

And if she is relegated to the backbench before question time on Wednesday, Labor won’t be able to ask her any questions either.

This limitation of freedom of information laws is frustrating and illogical.

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/feb/01/dont-hold-your-br...

Scummo is a "Christian"... He would have had to know that by shifting the minister to another post, it would bury the paperwork. If he had any Christian decency he would release the records. I will guess he is a devious thief, a sinner, a scum and a psycho if he does not...

Senator Bridget McKenzie has quit Cabinet and resigned as deputy Nationals leader in the wake of the so-called sports rorts affair. 

• A report found Bridget McKenzie breached ministerial standards
• Senator McKenzie said she did not receive any personal gain, but accepted the report
• The PM said the report did not find evidence sports grants were handed out "unduly influenced by reference to marginal or targeted electorates"

Senator Mckenzie's fate was sealed after an investigation by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet found she breached ministerial standards by failing to disclose her membership of a gun club that received almost $36,000 from a controversial sports grants program she oversaw. 

The report by secretary Phil Gaetjens was handed to Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Saturday night.

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-02/bridget-mckenzie-quits-over-minis...

Not good enough... She should also quit as an MP... 

A staffer from Scott Morrison's electorate office told members of a sailing club that were invited to apply for a Stronger Communities government grant to "vote Liberal" and "thank Scomo" for the funding, a video obtained by 7.30 shows.

• Cronulla Sailing Club received an $8,400 grant for a barbecue through the Stronger Communities Program
• After being told about the new barbecue, Cronulla Sailing Club members were told by a Scott Morrison staffer to 'vote Liberal'
• Stronger Communities Program applicants must be invited by their local MP to apply

The politicisation of grant funding arrangements has dominated headlines for the past two weeks.

On Sunday, Bridget McKenzie resigned as a minister following a series of revelations surrounding the administration of a sports grant scheme.

7.30 has examined other programs where politicians can invite community groups to apply for grants.

One such grant scheme is the Stronger Communities Program, introduced in the 2015 budget.

The grant is unusual because applicants are only eligible if they have been invited to apply by their Federal Member of Parliament.

The MP consults with a community group, handpicked by the MP, before inviting clubs to submit a formal application.

Up to $150,000 can be awarded in each electorate. The Department of Infrastructure is the ultimate decision maker.

Mr Morrison invited the Cronulla Sailing club to apply for a Stronger Community grant.

The club was subsequently awarded an $8,416.10 grant by the Department of Infrastructure in January 2018 for "permanent barbecue facilities".

The grant was intended to "improve usability of the space and eliminate the need for users to engage in heavy-lifting to move a portable barbecue".

A video obtained by 7.30 posted online by the sailing club in November 2018, three months after Mr Morrison became Prime Minister, shows a club official thanking a staff member from Mr Morrison's electorate office for assisting with the club's grant application.

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-05/cronulla-sailing-club-told-vote-l...

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love pork

SHE'S GONE. It took until Sunday evening for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to dump Bridget McKenzie, but not for the sports rorts corruption, but for awarding one of the grants to a Wangaratta gun club of which she had overlooked declaring her membership.

This distinction is important. Because the sports rorts debacle was instigated by his office, almost certainly by himself, Morrison could not terminate her for corruption without directly implicating himself. So, the issue is still live, much to Morrison’s dismay. Had he ended her Cabinet position weeks ago, he would not be in this position. Again, it’s a reflection of Morrison’s terrible political judgement that he thought he could tough it out.

Sports rorts has metastasised into a real monster for Morrison. The corruption is so overt, hundreds of professional journalists and amateur internet sleuths have been poring over documentation to see what else has been swept under the carpet. Most notable is the Regional Infrastructure Grants program overseen by Deputy PM Michael McCormack (“whats-his-name” to most people), where 94 per cent of grants went to coalition or marginal seats.

Other gems uncovered were a $500,000 grant to the St Georges Little Athletic Club in the marginal electorate of Banks (next to Morrison’s own electorate). The next biggest Little Athletic grant (of many) was for $22,000. We have also seen a video of Morrison’s PA at a yacht club in Morrison’s electorate vociferously thanking Morrison for the $8,000 barbecue that she had wrangled and urging members to vote for Morrison. Morrison is now perceived as being so corrupt, many have now started referring to him as “the white Mugabe” or “ScoMugabe”.

If a lawyer or accountant accessed their client’s trust fund for their own personal gain, they would be subject to criminal charges. The sports rorts fiasco is effectively the same thing. It’s an utter disgrace that the AFP has not been called in yet.

The dumping of McKenzie led to leadership ructions within The Nationals, as McKenzie could not remain as their Deputy Leader. Like a dormant herpes virus, Barnaby Joyce suddenly reactivated and decided it was also the time to challenge McCormack for his old job back. Resources Minister Senator Matt Canavan decided to back Joyce and resigned his portfolio. 

cartoon from The Saturday Paper...

Joyce lost. I can only conclude that when Joyce was working his numbers, he saw double when counting his fingers. The loss of Canavan was an unforeseen bonus.

Parliament is also back. We saw Christian Porter repeatedly shut down debate in Question Time whenever the Opposition or an independent raised a question about sports rorts. The Government does not want scrutiny. They certainly don’t want to have to answer questions in Parliament where they could be accused of misleading Parliament when they lie as they do in public. Like so many things Morrison promised – transparency in government, being one of them – the opposite has occurred.

Speaking of transparency, a freedom of information request for the expense reports pertaining to Morrison’s Hawaii holiday was blocked by the PM’s office. As usual when such a thing happens, the question must be asked: what is he hiding?

There are many theories:

1. that we taxpayers paid for his family holiday;
2. that he (as was rumoured) went to New York prior to Hawaii to see Brian Houston’s new Hillsong pad; or
3. both.

If there was nothing to hide, he should have released the information.

Read more:

https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/wrens-week-br...

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The head of the Prime Minister's department is refusing to release his secret report into the way a $100 million pre-election sports grants program was administered but has conceded the program had "significant shortcomings".

• The Government has refused to release Phil Gatejens' report into the sports grants program
• Mr Gaetjens has provided a summary of his report to a Senate inquiry examining the pre-election program
• He said there were shortcomings in decision making but Bridget McKenzie wasn't "unduly influenced" by marginal electorates

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Phil Gaetjens late on Friday made his first public intervention into a saga that has weighed heavily on the Federal Government for more than a month.

In a six-page submission to a Senate review into the Government's handling of the program, Mr Gaetjens revealed then-sports minister Bridget McKenzie told him she had never seen the now-infamous colour-coded spreadsheet that advisors used when assessing applications by electorate.

It came a day after the Senate hearing heard conflicting testimony about the eligibility of grants the Coalition handed out before last May's election.

Mr Gaetjens is a former chief of staff to Scott Morrison but from when the Prime Minister was the treasurer.

In his secret report, which Mr Morrison commissioned, Mr Gaetjens assessed Senator McKenzie's handling of the program when she was sports minister in 2018 and early 2019.

His investigation followed an Auditor-General's finding that the $100 million program for community sports infrastructure had a bias towards marginal government seats and electorates that the Coalition was targeting in last year's election.

Mr Morrison has previously asserted that the Gaetjens report contradicted the auditor's finding but has resisted political pressure to release the full report.

Mr Gaetjens' Senate inquiry submission said the full investigation he completed for Mr Morrison remained "subject to the rules of Cabinet confidentiality".

His summary document said there were "significant shortcomings" in the way Senator McKenzie decided on the grants.

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-14/phil-gaetjens-releases-sports-gra...

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The report being financed by the public purse has to become public. But our farting Scumdog (apologies: I mean our prime minister Scott Morrison) is still trying to make us believe that his election was a "miracle"... WE DON'T BELIEVE IN MIRACLES ! ! !...

We know, Scotty, that you've cheated us in order to get there, by the seat of one pair of pants... This was not a miracle but sheer and utter thieving. God would be unhappy like hell, if he existed... So, If god exists in your head and heart, you should resign forthwith and beg for forgiveness, but you're only a fake Sunday Christian with a head of coal and a heart of concrete, and with beliefs that border on devious hypocritical psychopathy. 

Sport Australia has admitted giving incorrect evidence to a Senate committee about the timing of the final decision on the Morrison government’s controversial “sports rorts” program.

And a minister has revealed staff from Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s office visited him late on Tuesday to talk about his appearance in a Senate committee investigating the issue on Wednesday.

In other developments into the government’s pre-election handouts, Mr Morrison sensationally claimed on Wednesday that millions of dollars in government grants were never meant for regional areas.

Sport Australia originally told a Senate hearing that then-sports minister Bridget McKenzie sent it the final list of projects for funding under the controversial $100 million community sport grants program on April 11, 2019 – about 20 minutes after the federal election was called.

But, on Monday, the audit office told senators that list changed more than three hours later. A second final version was sent to Sport Australia at 12.43pm.

On Wednesday, Labor frontbencher Katy Gallagher confronted Sport Australia chief operating officer Luke McCann about the discrepancy.

“Your evidence on that day was clearly not correct, was it?” she said.

“No senator,” he replied.

“On the day we took an undertaking within the committee to answer the question, I received a message from my office that indicated it was 8.46 [am].

“In hindsight, we should have taken that on notice and done a more thorough search.”

Mr McCann’s team found the later emails during a search over the weekend and let him know mid-morning on Monday.

He read the note early on Tuesday – but was still to correct the record of his evidence on Wednesday.

Nor did he bring copies of the April 11 emails to the hearing on Wednesday.

“It is very convenient that you’ve appeared today without these key documents, Mr McCann. Are you withholding information from this committee?” Senator Gallagher said.

Ms McCann denied that and described the updated information as “a change in attachment not a change in brief”.

Read more:

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2020/03/04/...

Was the change in attachment, an updated version of the sports rorts pdf? or whatever format it was in?

Scott Morrison should resign. He has been fibbing with obfuscation and fudge. A real Christian would never do this. Scomo should call an election now... We are much sicker of him than of the process of having to go to the ballot box — with accessible loos for the oldies...

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