Mood:
party time!Topic: election Oz 2007
reckons Minister Turnbull is a oncer who is about to be pulped. The lead story last Friday went to upwards of 40K A1 email demographic in this country. This cartoonist above today in the Sunday press seems to agree. PM Howard will be glad one rival is gone from his team which is why he gave him environment in the first place?
Author’s general introductory note (skip this if you know this regular weekly column):
This is not a well packaged story. It’s a contemporaneous traverse of the Sunday television free to air political talkies indicating the agenda of Establishment interests: Better to know ones rivals and allies in Big Politics and Big Media.
Indeed it’s the tv version monitoring task similar to what Nelson Mandela refers to here in his book Long Walk to Freedom (1994, Abacus) written in Robben Island prison (where he was meant to die like other African resister chiefs of history in the 19C), at page 208
“..newspapers are only a shadow of reality; their information is important to a freedom fighter not because it reveals the truth, but because it discloses the biases and perceptions of both those who produce the paper and those who read it.”
Just substitute ‘Sunday tv political talkie shows’ for "newspapers" in the quote above.
For actual transcripts go to web sites quoted below except with Riley Diary on 7. And note transcripts don’t really give you the image content value.
Media backgrounder
- The drum beat of climate change scaring the bejesus out of every serious objective thinker in the land just keeps, well drumming, the reverberations right in the chest cavity there and the loins as regards our genetic descendants and their prospects. Quite fundamental stuff really:
* Temperature likely to rise warns CSIRO - 5 degrees by 2070 quoting Dr Penny Whetton whose qualification is never mentioned by AAP in the News Ltd section (?) 6-7 Oct p10 Resources section of Careers in The Australian.
* Cash to cut and run by admirable Asa Whalquist on agri industry welfare.
* Climate inaction will hit output economics of climate
* Looks like Chile and other spanish speaking Latins are sacrificing their rivers for hydro power for lazy Australians who failed to promote solar, as per Sunday 9 story today, or is that just too cynical?
* "Roaring Forties change course as clean energy targets get wind farms out of the doldrums", yeah that's actually a headline.
* Chic Saffron Howden pushing forward some strong features in the News Ltd Daily Telegraph these days:
- It becomes clear, as per the headline, Turnbull former federal organisational treasurer and leadership aspirant has been first parked in the death's head portfolio of environment for a coalition/national party govt, then against odds on say water reform was getting too successful again, and now has been wedged on approving the pulp mill by forces within his own Liberal Party support base.
All of this is very cute and expedient from vain old powermonger Howard's perspective keeping the rivals in his tent busy and battling each other, Howard the climate change vandal and laggard, forest destroyer his whole career, who has woodchipped Costello's spirit, and now has to beat off Turnbull who is even more fearsome than the Treasurer, in order to control his succession and legacy. Glenn Milne seems to be helping out Mal the Coalition Minister with this splitter in the Sunday Telegraph (possibly offline) p5 today at the expense of the ALP's George Newhouse closing in as long as he holds his nerve:
But the hammer blow is Ramsey here, the old goat can still butt something fierce - 50 year legacy indeed:
Endless other articles about fallout of the pro pulp mill decision, the challenge is to see the weight such as
* Elizabeth Knight at Fairfax on Perpetual with 15% ownership of Gunns, and
* ANZ 'starved of global liquidity' as lender of $2B for a $1.3B business seeking to double its value for dubious pulp quality from old growth native forest. Laurie Oakes echoes with a question to Vaile today on Sunday 9 also.
* John Lyons at News Ltd carries strong dense writing too. And this front pager by Matthew Denholm.
* Matthew Warren at The Australian running red neck industry interference on pulp mill narrow view greenhouse neutral when 4M tonne native forest feedstock, 10M tonnes gh effect. As if.
* Graeme Wood of $950M Wotif IT business in The Oz business pages and on Doogue radio national Saturday to work against pulp mill decision.
* Even The Australian editorial knows this pulp mill stinks literally and in terms of good governance and economics
* And this indirect front pager in the seat of the Howard ancestral home in Earlwood, the smiling eyes "I accuse ....
and other cartoons abound speaking of betrayal of our future here .
....which calls up this poster of Feb 1999, with nary a mention of Peter Garrett on the bill although repeatedly invited with a perfunctory ACF reference second from bottom. You see PG was always an ALP prostitute on forest destruction and this was well understood even by the ACF's Noel Plumb on the bill and their aligned Forest Campaign Group (FCG) in Sydney . It's called selfish careerism:
- Gay friendly Sydney City Hub October 07 monthly edition publishes Christopher Pyne's name in the scurrillous hubris column. Circulation about 100? Just joking. More like 10,000 innner Sydney. With pro Liberal Party out Victorian MP Andrew Olexander in a feature in Sunday Telegraph p87 with the other serious agenda features, surprisingly sober and dare we say straight piece about the politics of minority sexuality. Probably offline. Gutsy stuff. Called Throw open the closet.
- Sexy Eco Worrier Oz colour supplement, so called green is new black in p1 teaser
- Caroline Overington colour supplement in The Oz last week carries profile of Howard - hangs together until the last page where it falls in a discreditable heap both for the writer and for PM Howard. For instance:
* "loyal backbencher Jackie Kelly" who is also quitting on her leader Howard. So loyal.
* Jackie reckons Howard is worried about ALP wall to wall but not about very close to wall to wall Liberal in 1996 (eg gun law reform period, Carr ALP in power in NSW). Can't have it both ways.
* concedes foolishly the electorate is "bored" with Howard. You bet. [Just look at Dr Zhengrong Shi story below on Sunday 9 to understand how stagnant Howard really is.]
* Overington says Howard "has run and only lost once - and it was 20 years ago". That's a joke analysis of his career having lost the leadership twice as Mr 18%.
*Sol Lebovic touting there, and elsewhere for more work at Newspoll continues to massage the comeback thesis when its a 10-12 point margin stabilised for months. He would say that. If the ALP just keep on as they have this last 9 month election campaign, the polls aint' changing, formal election campaign or not. And notice Howard saying it will now be before early December, not 'by Christmass' reacting to the allegation he is being a smart arse, which he is still being.
* laughable reference to Howard's Rockerfeller idol contra distinction presumably with Rudd's anti fascist Bonhoffer.
Even so it was a funny read. She's a good writer.
- Reba Meagher stories - depressed fragile divorcee not coping with curnch job of NSW Health Minister because of personal life ? Feel sorry for her, but more sorry for NSW Health system and the citizenry. She is walking wounded propping up Iemma's power in the govt. If she falls will Iemma?
- amusing article by the always bright Imre ZZ here. Secret handshake indeed saying their machine has more fairies than the Greens. Mmm.
- ALP messy stuff in the North East Seat of Cowper here, which reminds me of some bloke Combet?
- last stretch kinder to incumbents says Sol Lebovic, probably true even if touting for Newspoll.
- African refugee programme cut, image in Weekend Australian at p27 demonstrates Govt claims, refer discussion in Insiders below too. Fairfax running positive images by comparison.
- The Australian chips (gotta love that) The Daily Telegraph's Hackerman over Heiner whiner story with Far Right behind Shreddergate bid
- Nasty little story about extreme secondary boycott anti free speech law if federal Parliament returns before the election, at page 38 of Inner West Courier 2/10/07.
- Not a good look for NSW police shoving local pro Burma democracy activists when 200-300 of their compatriots are getting shot and beaten to death. Sure Bathurst races have needed riot control in past years as has Bondi but a pro democracy protest? Please, get a grip and a perspective will yer Chief Scipione et al
Meet the Press
Footage of Bret Solomon outside Phillip St Sydney office of Turnbull/Howard Govt, chief organizer of Get Up with Sylvia Hale MP Greens in background, condemning pulp mill decision as anti democratic.
Guest is Peter Garrett, footage of Bob Brown exposing PG as impotent, useless.
Garrett reruns script on support [for 50 year pulp mill
Facebook question climate change, pulp mill backward step. Garrett sings ALP pro pulp mill song, proving beyond all doubt he is an ethical prostitute. All the cartoons show this understanding. PG was always bad on forests from at least the Sydney Town Hall meeting of 1500 greenies Feb 1999 which he snubbed as ACF president [this writer was a key organizer of that event, which the Carr ALP hated]
First adbreak Climate Change spoof by Get Up with Brett named. Good work.
Panel Michelle Grattan Age, Peter Hartcher SMH both serious weight thinkers.
Q. 5 deg C by 2070 increase. Footage of Sen Milne, more than akubra hat and bandaid cheque.
MG – no medium term targets? PG - Sledge of govt. Ross Garnaut report info for that. A lot of info cop out? [PG effectively avoids responsibility, claims virtue of need for more detail, really avoid wedge by Howard in the election]
PH – pulp mill, broaden scope of Env Protection Act. How? Change discretion.
PH – great question – tax payer subsidy of major carbon emitting industry like pulp mill?
PG avoids question, sledges govt. …..
Farmer audit of land – lays out formula for that wise defensible policy against agri corporate welfare.
Coal, claims $500M clean coal research is good. Ethical prostitution again.
Out take 2nd adbreak – animation from Courier Mail, Costello using ALP theme song what about me but about leadership with Howard placating whimpering PC.
IR advert Liberal managerial voter shafted by Work Choices, real people real stories.
John Robertson Unions NSW - won't do vote for Greens in the Senate deal on Work Choices campaign.
Transcript in due course www.ten.com.au/meetthepress
Myspace web address: www.myspace.com/meetthepeople
7 Weekend Sunrise, 8.35-40 am Riley Diary -
Bathurst races coverage, no Riley Diary one presumes, and see media backgrounder above re police politics.
http://www.seven.com.au/sunrise/weekend
Insiders 2
African refugee intake has been cut to zero, guest is Tony Burke Opposition Immigration Minister.
$5M beachhouse, $10K per week rental holiday house. Rudd denies buying it or offering for it. Insiders exclusive apparently.
Every person retirees from Figtree club noting conservative popularity re integration, note competition of alp and coalition re social harmony politically,
Footage of PM Howard in Bennelong very instructive on Sudanese refugee politics. Problems in Melbourne says PM [yeah PM managing nasty racist ultra right wing side of politics by appeasement to avoid wedge from the ultra right, ALP effectively playing a dead bat on the merits of the policy to similarly sideline it, just like the pulp mill]
Paul Kelly soliloquy quite scathing Minister Andrews lack of competence in presentation, thin evidence. [We think all are missing the point, its this picture in Sydney Telegraph re shutting down Hansonism as per 1998, that Abbott had to work so hard on to put genie back in the bottle 1999-2001 with legal actions etc.
Pulp mill, politics different to 2004, much more sensitive issue. Much more opposition to 2004. Might work for ALP wonders Cassidy out loud.
Classic battle of subliminals between Cassidy seeing Henderson’s missing Newhouse (still in bed, and refer Telegraph sleaze article being leveraging very slyly) with a Liberal candidate in Bass quitting. Well done Barry. Hend is a ruthless bastard.
Academic Buchanan defended/attacked by panel by usual suspects on panel. Akerman says he was politics in the pub, find this very hard to believe. Is it true, it is at Gaelic Club just near Holt st Harlot.
Lurid picture Howard gawking at a woman’s chest apparently in the press today from Ryde ( I didn’t see it).
Howard going to Tasmania tomorrow 8th October says Akerman, real test of pulp mill issue.
Home page is http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/
Sunday 9
Good feature on govt funded feeding frenzy.
Laurie Oakes LO tackles Mark Vaile deputy PM on $200M largesse figure by ALP pollster Rod Cameron. Vaile sounds like we raised it via GST and strong economy so we can squander it.
Polling bad for Coalition in city and suburbs, what about nationals?
Fanning notes re online polling questions re pulp mill, troops from Iraq, that electorate more worried about “economic security … interest rates, child care, tax rebates …than national security”.
Chinese dance troup advert forbidden fruit
Feature by irrepressible Ross Greenwood, on Dr Zhengrong Shi (Dr Shi) ‘Emperor of the Sun’ fantastic solar entrepreneur lost to Australia [ and thus a real embarrassmint ! to quote John Valder] covers much of the same ground of 60 Minutes, and other quality media eg 4 Corners, 7.30 Report. Backbencher Michael Johnson in the story as is Bob Carr ex Premier. Everyone agrees Australia stuffed up losing him.
Says Tasmania with hydro power good place for expanding his business.
Hard to keep up with Insiders too.
His Phd was “as good as any ever done, and in record time”. That’s quite a wow.
Howard biographer Van Olsen (?) and ALP snot nose out of cheap take off of West Wing talks fast Andrew Soter.
http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/default.asp
