Holiday News Round Up

Apologies for the projected silence ... I'm on holidays, blogging on a library computer, and a weird feeling it is too.

Other than the passage of El Packer, it's satisfying to report that very little has happened over the holiday period (unlike this time last year, when we were all still absorbing the shock of the Boxing Day tsunami). I note that one Alan Bedford Jones plans to add Crikey to his long list of litigation targets (a list which includes just about anyone who's criticised him on the public record), for publishing 2UE rival Mike Carlton's article claiming Jones' racially inflammatory attitude helped spur the Cronulla riots. Two observations: Firstly, could Jones - as I earlier suggested when I blogged this article - be walking himself smack bang into the first legal test of the new sedition laws? Secondly, has Jones ever listened to Carlton's Friday News Review? Clearly not ... :)

Secondly, I note that the SMH's Michael Duffy took only four months to uncover the unhappy truth about the Liberal candidate for Macquarie Fields and so-called whistleblower nurse, Nola Fraser - that she was at best a misguided sensationalist, and at worst, delusional. His article was based partially on the Sunday Show's expose of the Camden and Campbelltown Hospital affair - which, he claims, `the media ignored'. Well, not all the media, Michael. Vive la blogging, as usual!

On that note, this is likely to be my last post before New Year's, so drive safely, party safely, and have a safe one everyone.

First Big Kev, Now Big Kez

Like him, loathe him, fear him, the death of Kerry Packer, announced yesterday morning by a misty-eyed Richard Wilkins on Channel 9's Today Show, represents the end of an era.

When I was studying leadership as a formal discipline at university, we were all asked to name the three most influential leaders in Australia. Few people left Kerry Packer out of their lists - most ahead of democratically elected leaders such as state premiers and the Prime Minister. Moguls such as Packer are increasingly influential in modern bureaucracies, acting outside and upon both the cabinet and opposition. In the case of media moguls, this effect is massively magnified. In fact, it's difficult to think of a sphere of Australian life in which Packer did not have some hand - horse racing, cricket, gambling, newspapers, television (much of Channel 9's news broadcasts of yesterday were dedicated to eulogising their departed head honcho, who famously sold the network to failed - and forgetful - entrepreneur Alan Bond and then bought it back again for a song). Though Packer donated portions of his $7bn personal fortune to both sides of politics, his passionate dislike of the Keating government - which passed legislation preventing him from buying Fairfax - was well known. Keating - never a media darling - received the harshest run of all in Packer media, in particular the notorious `pig farm' affair.

How ironic that Packer should pass away with only one of the Howard Government's long-cherished pieces of reform held over until next year - cross media ownership.

2005: The Year in Review

The first of the `year in review' type articles have begun appearing in our national newspapers, and Mr Minotaur and I realised just what an extraordinary year it has been. For John Howard, it's possibly been the greatest year of his political life (a Federal Opposition MP I recently talked to summed up the year in one word: `Demoralising'). However, as David Marr suggests in his beautifully written summary of the year in today's Sydney Morning Herald, it could well be Howard's Indian summer. Despite Howard's strong support, think how quickly and without warning Bob Carr's considerable political capital ran out. Glen Milne - hardly a strident Howard critic - makes a similar warning in an intriguing article for The Australian today.

But back to 2005. Would you believe, that it was the year in which we saw ...

• The aftermath of the Asian tsunami, which killed over 300,000 people


• The retirement of Mark Latham from the leadership of the Federal Labor Party and from politics


• The resignation of NSW Treasurer Michael Egan


• The return of Kim Beazley to leadership of the Labor Party


• The Sea King helicopter crash in Nias


• Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib released


• The Macquarie Fields riots


• Thousands take to the streets in several protests against the industrial relations changes


• DIMIA disgrace itself with the Cornelia Rau and Vivian Solon scandals.


• The resignation of NSW Premier Bob Carr and Morris Iemma's succession as leader of the NSW Labor Party


• The discovery of Tony Abbott's `long lost son', Daniel O'Connor - who soon afterwards became the world's luckiest young man, when a DNA test swiftly revealed that Abbott was in fact not his father.
  
• The resignation of John Anderson as Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals leader.


• The London terrorist bombings


• The identity of `Deep Throat', the informant that lifted the lid on the Watergate scandal, finally revealed as FBI agent Mark Felt


• The deaths of Pope John Paul II, Joe Bjelke-Petersen, and Yasser Arafat.


• The disastrous handling of New Orleans' Hurricane Katrina and the deaths of several hundred impoverished residents


• 80,000 Pakistanis and Indians die in an earthquake in the Kashmir region


• A second wave of bombings in Bali which killed 23 people


• The ousting of John Brogden in favour of Peter Debnam, and Brogden's subsequent suicide attempt


• The Maroubra, Marrickville, Macquarie Fields and Werriwa by-elections


• The defeat of the Liberal Party in the Pittwater by-election


• The Cross City Tunnel shermozzle


• The execution of Australian citizen Van Tuong Nguyen in Singapore


• The passage of legislation enshrining VSU, the full sale of Telstra, industrial relations changes, Welfare to Work ... and all the rest ...


• 5,000 people riot on Cronulla Beach over tensions between local Anglo-Australians and Muslims.

That's quite an extraordinary list, but I'm sure there's some things I've forgotten ... any suggestions?

Costello and Boswell Under Fire

The Federal Opposition have again turned up the heat on Treasurer Peter Costello after revealing that Treasury did in fact perform economic modelling for the industrial relations changes, something he denied in parliament. Costello's denial that such economic modelling existed was initially a cause celebe for the Opposition, who had hoped to expose - as they ultimately have - that the modelling proved the economic impact of the changes would not be the bonanza Costello waas promising - but instead appeared to expose an even bigger scandal; that a massive change was being planned without Treasury having even examined the economic impact.

Costello, on ABC's AM this morning, argued that he was correct on a technicality as the modelling was detailed in a cabinet minute rather than a full report, but it's splitting hairs. Economic modelling existed and he said it didn't, it's as simple as that. And while it's silly for the Opposition to be calling for his sacking over the matter, the affair does add another black mark to the reputation of the man on which the Howard government has built its reputation of sound economic management. Howard's twin mantras for the economy over the past year have been `Costello is Australia's greatest ever Treasurer', and `The only way to preserve the momentum of Australia's economic prosperity is to reform the industrial relations system'. If there is an economic downturn - regardless of whether either of those two factors are the cause - Average Joe will have good reason to assume they are, which is where the government could stumble into big trouble.

The cabinet minute is, thanks to FOI, now available on the Treasury website, (complete with helpful pointers on how to interpret it).

Meanwhile, the career of Nationals Senator Ron Boswell is in doubt, with younger rivals such as former TV journalist and Tim Fischer staffer James Baker lining up to oust the notoriously conservative elder statesmen of the party. Ominously for the Coalition, Baker - considered a frontrunner in the pre-selection to replace Boswell - is a close pal of fellow Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce and says he would, like Joyce, be willing to cross the floor to serve Queensland's interests rather than simply kowtowing to the Liberal Party. It will be interesting to see whether this movement from the old guard to a more rebellious and independent new generation will extend to other states - it could certainly go some way towards arresting the stagnation of the National Party in many of its traditional areas, where it is rapidly being superceded by successful independents such as Tony Windsor.

A National Party that's not just the Liberal Party with an Akubra and Drizabone? Two Barnabys??? Ah, I can see Howard choking on his festive egg nog now ... what a small but warm glow it gives me ...

United Against Racism

This rally will take place in a few hours' time. Given that I was intending to attend a barbecue at, of all places, Cronulla Beach this morning (it was planned many weeks ago) but had to cancel because we were too concerned about the welfare of a friend who was planning to attend. Though she is part-Indian, if you're a bludgeon-wielding drunken racist idiot, you're not fussy about who you abuse.

The rally details are:

WHEN: Sunday 18th December 2005

TIME: 1pm

WHERE: Town Hall Square

SMS and be happy.

Fairfax Mass Exodus

I've seen the list of journos who are confirmed to be leaving Fairfax publications The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age (available at Crikey) and it's profoundly depressing. High profile names such as Mike Bowers, Mike Seccombe and Lauren Martin are all set to go from the Herald, where morale is at an all time low as the paper heads further downmarket. Ironically, up in Queensland, Peter Beattie is arguing in favour of the establishment of a second - and Fairfax owned - paper, to compete with the local rag, The Courier-Mail.

If only a fraction of the poor sods leaving the Age and Herald bugger off up to the Gold Coast to work on that paper, it'll be a goodie ... sadly, I don't see it happening.

More on the problems at Fairfax available at the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance's blog.

Heat on 2GB Increases

Late night 2GB host Brian Wilshire has been forced to make an on-air apology to the Lebanese community, after claiming that inbreeding within the community is common, `the result of which is uneducationable (sic) people … and very low IQ'.

Evidently not a problem for Mr Wilshire.

Meanwhile, attention remains focused on his breakfast colleague Alan Jones in regards the comments he made on the initial race riots at Cronulla Beach. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I've listened to more talkback radio than I care to contemplate, and the rubbish I've heard come out of the mouths of the likes of Chris Smith and Philip Clark not only defies belief, it more than qualifies under our new sedition laws as `urging violence or unrest within the community'. I have attempted to lodge complaints in the ACMA before, but this is a trickier process than the likes of David Flint would have you believe. Complaints cannot be about principles - that is, I can't say `That's racist, I don't like it'. Only a person who can argue that they have been directly impacted by what has been said can legitimately complain. The case held against 2UE's John Laws and Steve Price for inflammatory comments on homosexuals - held by a gay man - is a good illustrative point.

Taking on 2GB in a legal challenge would be a pretty daunting prospect. Facing a motormouth like Jones in court, who has all his lines about being simpy a voicebox for the people well rehearsed, would not be easy. However, perhaps now that there is some real momentum, the Lebanese Muslim community may mount some sort of challenge. What may result is a much needed examination of the machinations of talkback radio - the illusion of what John Laws calls `dial-in democracy' (an illusion demolished by no less than his 2UE colleague Mike Carlton in Crikey this week).

Don't get me wrong - I'm not in favour of censorship of talkback. What I am in favour of is transparency. There is no more dangerous thing than the illusion of democracy.

ABC CAF Strike

ABC CAF (current affairs) journalists held a snap strike this week, causing your humble Modia Minoutaur to fear that her Walkman was malfunctioning.

The strike was virtually inevitable, and had been brewing for some months, with cuts announced within ABC-CAF and staff furious at news that they would not only have to compile stories but do their own panel operating live to air. This may be appropriate to a live talkback show, but not to a quality current affairs show of the likes of AM, PM, and The World Today. Generations of political leaders have relied on these shows for their essential political briefings for the day, from Gough Whitlam to John Howard.

Should further cuts occur - as is very likely - so too is there likey to be further strikes, and this is a very great shame, especially in such a crucial time for Australian current affairs.

Cronulla: Was Talkback to Blame?

Tensions have been easing in Cronulla in the past few days, though I've been the last one to laud the laws passed by the NSW Govt to quell the tensions in the Sutherland Shire, which seem mainly aimed at calming things in the short term. This is not a dishonourable goal, but is it, ultimately, just a matter of putting a few buoyant eskies under Venice as Venice sinks.

A few buoyant pictures of Venice are available here.

The main aim of the legislation passed by the NSW Government in the past 24 hours seems to be to treat the symptoms rather than the causes of deep-seated racial tensions. There has been a long-running joke in the Sutherland Shire that has suggested that blowing up the few bridges that connected the area to the rest of Sydney would allow it to acheive its ultimate aim of drifting away to become a literally exclusive area. In the past few days, the police checkpoints that have been set at these bridges have allowed this urban myth to be achieves to be achieved in a literal and quite atocious manner.

There are growing suggestions - finally - that talkback radio may have been a contributing factor to the racial tensions. Let me say right now that I have, as a part of my professional duties, listened to an inordinate amount of talkback radio and, in doing so, come to the conclusion that this is undoubtedly a factor.

During the Schapelle Corby case, the media reaction, and in particular, talkback radio - particulary that stoked by several commentators which I could name but won't (2GB2GB2GB) - led to a genuinely passionate reaction which, I honestly believe led to the attack on the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra which was ultimately used as a cunning propaganda tool for the Howard Government. Today, former AMA (now ACMA) chair David Flint took his old nemesis David Marr to task in a fairly obvious way on The World Today in a completely unconvincing piece of rhetoric defending his old buddy, Alan Jones.

It is worthwhile considering that in the early days of Australian radio, talkback was strictly forbidden as it was seen as an excessively risky prospect. This week, Crikey has suggested that the first use of the much-mooted Sedition laws may not be against the hunted, but against the hunter. Go for it, I say. And chuck Philip Clark, Chris Smith and Jason Morrison in for good measure.

Cronulla: A Local Perspective

I've been interstate for the past day, but it was with a dreadfully ill heart that I saw last night's news reports about the race riots in Cronulla.

I grew up in the Sutherland Shire and spent roughly the first 20 years of my life in the area. My mother grew up in the Cronulla area, and herself spent her childhood there, at a time where it was slowly but surely changing from a sleepy seaside town to the slightly more urbane area we all remember from the movie `Puberty Blues'. By the time I was a teenager, it was a poor second cousin to inner city beaches such as Bondi and Maroubra. This was exactly why locals liked it. That meant they could keep it to themselves.

You'll hear Sutherland Shire called `God's own country'. Once upon a time, it really was. Sydney, for those who do not live there, is divided along the lines of the compass. The North and East are seen as affluent and leafy. The West is seen as poorer and more working class. And the South? The South, when I was growing up, was not seen as anything at all - it was almost as if it didn't exist, except to those who did this - again, this is exactly how locals liked it. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, there was something cosy and pleasant about this fact. In the fullness of time, it has led to a damaging insularity.

The Sutherland Shire was once solidly working class; an area where young families built their first homes where such a thing was still in the reach of young families. In the years it has taken for one of the two Federal seats in the Shire to become solidly Labor (held by Keating government Aboriginal Affairs Minister Robert Tickner) to solidly Liberal (held by Howard government former Vets Affairs Minister and legendary blunderer Danna Vale), the Shire has become the absolute epitome of an aspirational area - money, property investment, money, white bread, money, money, and money. The local council is used for little more than facilitating property development and mustering support for the NSW Opposition,

To watch riot police run down very familiar streets on the news last night - to cringe and hope I saw nobody I knew - to know a suburb I grew up in has now become part of the cannon of names; not only amongst Redfern and Macquarie Fields, but of names to be chanted by all the racists in Sydney as a slogan of victory - just made me feel absolutely ill. I heartily endorse NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney's disgust at the whole ugly incident. I'm well aware that it was not only locals who participated - but the fact that it was locals at all makes me pine for the Shire I remember - a pretty innocent place that wouldn't have known a race riot if you smashed a beer bottle on its head.

One person I would like to give an almighty slap to is John Howard. Even to an unashamed partisan like myself, his performance on this issue has been as weak as cold tea. To say that 5,000 drunken men and women running down a suburban street bashing innocent bystanders and vowing to `get rid of wogs and Lebs' demonstrates no fundamental racism in the national psyche? You weak, weak bastard, Howard. Stop using fear and racism as a political tool to achieve your means and do something about it.

All in all, an intensely disturbing development which I'm still trying to get my head around ...

Steven Fielding: The Grinch That Stole Student Unionism

Well, that's it for Christmas. It's aaaall over.

First we had Backdown Barnaby - now it's F**kup Fielding, after Family First Senator Steven Fielding - denying all the way that a deal was done - sided with the Coalition last night to pass the contentious Voluntary Student Unionism bill a matter of minutes before the Senate ended its sitting for 2005.

Why ???

Firstly, the government have been treating Fielding like a red-headed stepchild ever since they realised they didn't have to rely on him to hold balance of power in the Senate. Not a single one of the much-mooted Family Impact Statements that the Coalition promised would be attached to every bill to keep him on their good side was ever written.

Secondly, Fielding claims he voted on the `substance of the bill'. I strongly doubt this. A deal has certainly been done somewhere. That isn't to say that since the Coalition realised Barnaby was going to backdown for the wrong side this time, they've haven't been lobbying their little freely-educated rear ends off to get Fielding onside. The line they pushed was likely this: student union fees are several hundred dollars. Expenses are bad for families. Therefore, compulsory student unionism is bad for families. QED.

What students will face now is exactly what students of Western Australia - particularly in rural universities such as Edith Cowan - faced: nothing. Little or no on-campus food stores, no support services like childcare, Women's officers, publications, sports teams. The things that make university a community rather than something you may as well do by correspondence course. Fielding is confident that they'll `survive in some form'.

Thanks for putting families first, Stevo.

As for Brendan Nelson and John Howard's claim that the vote on VSU was forced `without knowing which way Mr Fielding would vote' - I have one thing to say about that.

HAHAHAAHHHHAHAAHAHAHHAHHHhHHHHAAAHAHAHAAHAHAAyeahright. The government was really going to watch Barnie cross the floor and mope off to their Comcars going `Boo hoo ... that didn't work ...'

Well, that about wraps it up for one of the bleakest parliamentary years on record, and one of the most earthshattering parliamentary weeks. It is not alarmist to say that the laws we have seen passed in only the past five days (with an absolute minimum of debate - little over two hours for most bills) have fundamentally changed many aspects of Australian legislature. It was obviously too much to think that one stray ray of light would escape through the darkness ... hard to believe the Coalition have only had the Senate since July, and yet they've managed to do (or undo) so much since then. Drinks all round at Kirribilli house ...

The 12 Days of Christmas: 2005 Style

The following was sung by a few spirited Federal Labor shadow ministers as part of their Christmas celebrations this week. Enjoy, and sing heartily to your Liberal voting rellies this Christmas.

The Twelve Days of Christmas, 2005

On the first day of Christmas,
my PM gave to me
A chance to trade away leave.

On the second day of Christmas,
my PM gave to me
Cuts to overtime ,
And a chance to trade away leave.

On the third day of Christmas,
my PM gave to me
Lower pay ,
Cuts to overtime ,
And a chance to trade away leave.

On the fourth day of Christmas,
my PM gave to me
No redundancy
Lower pay ,
Cuts to overtime ,
And a chance to trade away leave.

On the fifth day of Christmas,
my PM gave to me
NO RIGHTS AT ALL
No redundancy
Lower pay ,
Cuts to overtime ,
And a chance to trade away leave.

On the sixth day of Christmas,
my PM gave to me
No more penalties
NO RIGHTS AT ALL
No redundancy
Lower pay ,
Cuts to overtime ,
And a chance to trade away leave.

On the seventh day of Christmas,
my PM gave to me
Many bosses sacking,
No more penalties
NO RIGHTS AT ALL
No redundancy ,
Lower pay ,
Cuts to overtime ,
And a chance to trade away leave.

On the eighth day of Christmas,
my PM gave to me
Lots of lost conditions,
Many bosses sacking,
No more penalties
NO RIGHTS AT ALL
No redundancy
Lower pay ,
Cuts to overtime ,
And a chance to trade away leave.

On the ninth day of Christmas,
my PM gave to me
Less time for family,
Lots of lost conditions,
Many bosses sacking,
No more penalties
NO RIGHTS AT ALL
No redundancy
Lower pay ,
Cuts to overtime ,
And a chance to trade away leave.

On the tenth day of Christmas,
my PM gave to me
Gaol if I protest,
Less time for family,
Lots of lost conditions,
Many bosses sacking,
No more penalties
NO RIGHTS AT ALL
No redundancy
Lower pay ,
Cuts to overtime ,
And a chance to trade away leave.

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
my PM gave to me
Much longer hours,
Gaol if I protest,
Less time for family,
Lots of lost conditions,
Many bosses sacking,
No more penalties
NO RIGHTS AT ALL
No redundancy
Lower pay ,
Cuts to overtime ,
And a chance to trade away leave.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my PM gave to me
The end of certainty
Much longer hours,
Gaol if I protest,
Less time for family,
Lots of lost conditions,
Many bosses sacking,
No more penalties
NO RIGHTS AT ALL
No redundancy
Lower pay ,
Cuts to overtime ,
And a chance to trade away leave!

The Gerard Thing

I haven't passed any comment on the Robert Gerard issue thus far for one major reason. I heard a quote a while back from a journo - I can't remember who, or where, but I think it was quite perceptive. He said that if politicians want to complain about being made to look like clowns in the media, they shouldn't spend all their time performing stunts.

In the end, the Robert Gerard issue is basically that - a stunt. It's an extremely well executed stunt - ironically, possibly some of the most effective work from the Opposition in some time - but ultimately, you have to ask yourself: why? And why now?

Undoubtedly, the past fortnight has been one of the most significant in Australian legislative history. Would it have been better to bring the Gerard issue up in the new year, when parliament is dealing with a backlog of dull and non-controversial legislation? As Costello himself pointed out, the information has been in the public domain for several years. This fortnight, of all fortnights, was one in which the Opposition could have distinguished itself by drawing attention to the extreme nature of the legislation that is being passed. The majority of Australians probably don't even know what's been passed, or how it will effect them. Nor will they remember a thing about Gerard within a month's time.

Obviously, the intent of the Gerard issue was to attack the credibility of Peter Costello as a treasurer, and by extension, as a potential party leader. But again, what good is this for the Labor Party? The effect has been to push Costello to finally set aside a leadership challenge. Though the `Vote for Howard, get Costello' line used for the 2004 election has been roundly criticised (not the least by the ALP itself), it was based on sound research. People just don't like Costello, and the ALP have a far, far better chance of winning against him than against Howard.

I don't know. The whole thing just gave me the impression of a sideshow. Perhaps it was Piers Akerman praising Wayne Swan's `sterling performance' on Insiders this week that confirmed my suspicions ...

VSU: The Silver Lining?

Looking back on the past week is a little like reading one of those starry-eyed books on socialism written in the early part of the 20th century, writen from the perspective of when it all seemed entirely possible. These books are often quite accurate, to a point. `Well, there'll be one or two major world conflicts (yes), a financial crash which will bring the world to its knees (yes), followed by a lengthy period of consolidation, prosperity, and rampant capitalism (uh huh) ... but everyone will be sick of it by around 1980 and thenceforward will the socialist utopia begin (erm ...)

At the beginning of this year - or even the beginning of this week - it seemed possible that some of the wide ranging legislation that is destined to change the face of Australia would at least be amended to make it less bloody alarming. No chance. It's almost all gone through - little softening for the Welfare to Work legislation, no reduction on the sunset clause for the anti-terrorism legislation from 10 to 5 years (Senator John Faulkner's adjournment debate on this issue, which I've posted in the comments section below, is a good summary of my thoughts on this issue).

The tiny ray of light is still VSU, with Barnaby Joyce and Brendan Nelson both digging in their heels and refusing to budge. Still, given the past week I wouldn't be surprised if they simply forced the Senate to pull an all nighter and bullied Barnaby into acquiescing. If it succeeds in being pushed to the year, I say we all go to our nearest uni bar and have a coldie. What a sad day for Australian democracy, when these are the small victories we celebrate.

There's no doubt about it - Australia in 2006 will be a different Australia. Especially, it will be a crueler place for those on the fringes of society. Let's talk about it now - while we still can.

The Week Ahead

The fact that a torrent bills are up for consideration in Federal Parliament this week - the last sitting week of the year - has led to speculation that the House of Reps will (as the Senate did last week) be pushed into a fifth sitting day. It's restating the obvious, but many of these bills are so important that they should get a week to themselves. They include the Anti-Terrorism (No.2) Bill 2005, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work and Other Measures) Bill 2005 and Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Bill 2005; Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Bill 2005 (regarding the possible establishment of a nuclear waste dump in the Northern Territory), and the Higher Education Support Amendment (Abolition of Compulsory Up-front Student Union Fees) Bill 2005.

The latter is attracting the most attention, after Education Minister Brendan Nelson offered a last minute compromise in the form of a student referendum on the issue. This has failed to placate Coalition dissidents, and in particular Barnaby Joyce, who now has his best chance of proving whether he is worthy of the title of Insiders Political Personality of the Year (which he was bequeathed on yesterday's show) by voting against the legislation rather than merely settling for half-baked amendments. It seems there is a good chance that, at the very least, the VSU bill will be postponed until next year - a small victory perhaps, but a victory nonetheless.

Unfortunately, it looks like the other aforementioned bills, as well as other `non-controversial legislation' (to use the government's own terminology) will rush through faster than the speed of light. Merry Christmas and don't forget - they didn't abuse their Senate majority now, did they?

March of the Right, Part 2

Confirmation came yesterday that NSW Liberal Patricia Forsythe has lost her preselection with a substantial 44 votes to 22. Today, speaking to the ABC's Virginia Trioli, Stateline host Quentin Dempster agreed that her controversial interview with his show about John Brogden's departure and the Right's part in it may have contributed to her ousting, but also pointed out that she would probably not have made the decision to do the interview had her preselection not already been under serious, perhaps fatal, threat.

Meanwhile, the latest rumours have it that moderate Federal Liberal senator Marise Payne will be the next to lose her preselection. Payne, who recently chaired the Senate Enquiry into the Anti Terrorism legislation, was one of the most vocal opponents of the sedition provisions, and in the past also came out strongly on issues such as the Coalition's policy on refugees and the mandatory sentencing of children in the Northern Territory.

One thing the Liberal Right don't seem to appreciate - other than the important need for balance within parties about which I spoke earlier - is that moderates also fulfil an important role within their party in an electoral sense. Anyone who scrutineered for the 2004 Federal election will tell you the astonishing number of people who voted Liberal first preference, Green second preference. The `doctors wife' vote is a genuine phenomenon.

The Sun-Herald's screaming weekend headlines about the new Independent Member for Pittwater Alex McTaggart's ownership of an alleged `drug haven' boarding house had me giggling. Could the Liberal Right have possibly fed the Herald this story? Nahhhh. Haven't they worked out yet that this is exactly the sort of pathetic scullduggery that got them voted out in the first place ...

The March to the Right Continues

Following their routing of an increasing number of major Liberal groups such as the Womens Council and Young Liberals, the Liberal Right have now begun exercising their influence on preselection, with several leading moderates tipped to go. John Ryan has already lost his preselection, and the next on the chopping block is strongly rumoured to be Patricia Forsythe, who earlier this year bravely tipped off ABC's Stateline to the appalling series of events which led to the resignation of John Brogden.

It's not out of the realms of possibility that this trend should extend to the Federal Party, with Bruce Baird, chairman for the Parliamentary Amnesty International Group and a leading Liberal campaigner for social issues, a name that has come up many times. Party apparachiks say this is for his `underperformance', despite the fact that he holds his southern Sydney seat of Cook on a safe margin of 14%. The most dire scenario, rumoured for some time, has vile Herald Sun columnist Andrew `WorkChoices is merely the next Y2K bug' Bolt supplanting Petro Georgiou, but that's a situation too awful to even contemplate ...

Ironically, as Anne Davies puts it in today's Sydney Morning Herald the one man preventing a full takeover by the Liberal Right is quite possibly one John Howard. As illogical as it may initially sound, this is quite true. Howard has built his career on not taking sides - on standing outside controversial debates, letting others get their fingers dirty, then stepping in and saying `Wasn't it a good thing we had that debate?'. The recent RU486 issue is a good example.`"Howard may be conservative, but he's a pragmatist, and he's avoided being dragged into debates on wedge issues like abortion like the plague," says one senior Liberal. "The right needs his curtilage, and they won't defy his authority."'

A Liberal party without dissenting views such as those of Georgiou and Baird, as well as others such as Marise Payne and Judi Moylan would be a much diminished party. This is, I think, something Howard implicitly realises - the paradoxical idea that small outbursts of disssent actually do more to foster a sense of party unity than a code of strict caucus solidarity which makes even the smallest divergence from party policy seem like mutiny.

A NSW Liberal Party over-run by the Right is a scary enough proposition - hopefully the result of the Pittwater by-election indicates that this prospect is not attractive to voters. But an entirely right wing Federal party ... I shudder to think of it ...

The Brave New WorkChoices World

The WorkChoices legislation was passed in a special sitting of the Senate last night, 33 votes to 35, along party lines. At least one Coalition MP, the Member for Robertson, Jim Lloyd, admitted that he passed the legislationn without reading it. I'll bet he's not the only one.

So that's that then. We're screwed.

There's only two ways that this legislation will now be reversed - if the High Court challenge by the states is successful (details of the constitutional issues raised by the legislation are available here) and, of course, if these buggers are voted out.

For Whom The Bell Tolls

The official word has just been handed down from the Singapore Government that Van Tuong Nguyen was executed this morning.

Prior to the execution, which is thought to have been carried out at 9am this morning, 2UE's Mike Carlton read part of John Donne's famous meditation, as an eloquent tribute to Nguyen, for whom many churches rang their bells 25 times, once for each year of the young man's life.

Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls;
It tolls for thee."

Van Tuong Nguyen was 25 years old and leaves behind a twin brother and a mother who moved to Australia after seeking refuge from Vietnam.

I hope he found some peace.

Walkley Awards

The ABC's Tim Palmer was the big winner at last night's 50th Annual Walkley Awards, for his Indonesian reportage, including of the Asian tsunami in Aceh and the Jakarta embassy bombing. Unlike the 2003 Golden Walkley winner, the Sydney Morning Herald's Iraq correspondent Paul McGeogh, Palmer is somewhat of a quiet but steady achiever, so his win was a surprise, though well deserved.

Personally, I'd suspected that the Lateline team would win the Gold for their coverage of the Vivian Solon scandal - for which they were awarded in the Best Investigative Journalism category - but let's face it, it's been a huge year for news.

Speaking of which, today's Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that Ray Martin is planning to hang up the plastic hair and quit hosting A Current Affair. Thank goodness he fulfilled his mandate of turning the show around from its previous focus on cures for back pain, tawdry diet stories and shonky tradespeople and back to true current affairs. Snicker.

One Day From Now

In less than one day, Van Tuong Nguyen will be executed by the government of Singapore. I've been reluctant to enter into the debate on this poor young man's life. Let him live what he has left of it. There's nothing I can add, except my sorrow, and the hearts of many Australians are already heavy enough as it is about this terrible injustice.

Amnesty International are holding a series of candlelight vigils around Australia tonight.

Sydney
6.30 pm, Martin Place, vigil with speaker, Tim Goodwin

Adelaide
7.30pm, Victoria Square, vigil and speakers

Melbourne
7.30pm, Federation Square - silent candlelit walk to Queen Victoria Gardens

7.00pm - 9.00pm, Johnston Park, Geelong

Perth
8.00pm, Wesley Methodist Church, Cnr Hay and William Street, all night silent vigil to conclude with a minute's silence at 6.00 am

Brisbane
6.15pm, Queen Street mall. Vigils will also be held in Warwick, Rockhampton and Townsville

Hobart
12.00pm - 2.00 pm Salamanca Square

As you may know, a majority of businesses in Singapore are either partially or wholly owned by the Singapore Government. For your interest, these include:

Optus (51% owned by Singtel)
AV Jennings (60% Singapore owned)
Harvey Norman (40% share in Singapore company Pertama)
Singapore Airlines (also a part owner of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Mobile)
SP Ausnet (Victorian power company, partially owned by Singapore Power)

I'm not saying consumer boycott. I'm just saying.

Whoosh!

`I love deadlines,' said Douglas Adams, `I love the whooshing sound they make as they go by'. Much the same can be said for the rush of legislation that is rocketing past our pollies in this, the last two weeks of Federal Parliament for the year. As previously discussed, Barnaby Joyce has folded on industrial relations, making it now almost inevitable that the WorkChoices bill will pass through both houses by Christmas.

Meanwhile, Philip `The Ghost Who Legislates' Ruddock has successfully convinced party dissidents such as George Brandis that passing the Anti-Terrorism legislation with sedition clauses more or less intact, to be amended later, is a logical legal argument. Ironic, given Brandis was the one who made the notorious `Rodent' comment about his leader ... as the article I've linked at the Sydney Morning Herald indicates, some sections of the media are portraying this as a `cave in', Ruddock and co. have largely stood their ground.

And finally, there is the sleeping giant of current legislative matters, the Welfare to Work legislation. This legislation, and its enormous inequities, would be on all the front pages if the whole issue was not so starved of oxygen by the myriad other issues in the spotlight at the moment. Following the Senate Enquiry's adverse findings, WA backbencher Judi Moylan has spoken out against the legislation, saying "In my view, that part of the legislation which cuts income support and imposes disincentives and high effective or marginal rates of tax on some of the most vulnerable groups in our community does not deserve the support of this parliament."

Hear, hear. Perhaps, ironically enough - much the same as Barnaby's surprise ACCC floor cross - the fact that Welfare to Work has been forced into the background by other events will actually give important amendments a greater chance of success. Here's hoping.