It is a week since Craig finished speaking in his defence to the House of Representatives and with scornful raised forefinger swore Abbott was not fit to be an M.P.
In the days that followed Rebekah Brooks was arrested for concealing information, Joe Hockey said he couldn’t guarantee the disabled any money, Tony Abbott breached the Crimes Act by promising to lay off Craig if he resigned his seat, Mal Washer said Craig might top himself, the hooker stepped forward, Channel 9 said she wouldn’t be given any money, women all over the nation were revolted by Abbott’s bullying, Pyne shrieked at the Prime Minister, Abbott said he felt for Craig and wished him well, Carr saved Schapelle Corby’s life, Julie Bishop said this good deed was ‘tricky, pretty tricky’, Pyne proved to have a whorehouse-visiting past, or so it was alleged in these columns and not denied, Gina Rhinehart was shown to earn two million dollars an hour and said to need more money to dig up things we owned and was allowed to disadvantage further Aboriginal workers in her state by bringing in foreign ones, Gillard claimed she knew nothing of this, Howes called the idea ‘lunacy’, it began to be rumoured that Gillard would stand down on Tuesday, the Whip denied he was destabilising her, and, in the past hour, an enquiry showed Craig may have been framed by his rival Kathy Jackson’s current squeeze who might go to gaol, and Abbott was shown to have nearly bashed on the floor of the House a legless Vietnam War veteran, and Question Time starts in half an hour.
‘A week,’ Harold Wilson said, ‘is a long time in politics.’
It is unlikely that Abbott will be where he is now in August, and Gillard … well …
She may be saved by a good Newspoll tomorrow. If honest it will show Labor on 48 or 49 but it is not known what the flapping and furious Murdoch wants it to say and he may not have made up his mind. I expect he will opt to save her.
If she is removed or, more likely, made to announce she will stand down at the end of the fiscal year, the candidates to replace her — Carr, Albo, Shorten, Rudd, Swan, Crean, Combet, Plibersek — will start with similar odds but this will change in the time allowed, if any is. It is the Crean-Gillard method to move quickly to seize or preserve the crown and they may again.
I think on the whole she will survive, in part because there is no clear uniting candidate apart from Carr and he may not want it. Survive this session of parliament, that is.
But I am going down tomorrow, just in case.
Name:
1700 for 6000 sounds a lot like the Malaysia solution doesn’t it?
Gillard: TINA.
“But I am going down tomorrow, just in case.”
Good on you Bob.
I hope you can post some dispatches from the Front.
I like reading those little pieces with MORE TO COME written at the bottom.
I do like your little vignette portraits of mundane events at the cafeteria and who walks by and what they say. Helps flush out the story better than Leigh Sayles and the 7.30 Shlock.
What happened to Chris Uhlmann? Why did he have to go?
Too much of a Liberal tapeworm for the ABC to endure?
Herr Uhlmann was only ever a seat-warmer for Sales, who had a baby recently . . . I called for her to come back, baby at her breast if necessary!
The president of FWA reckons Lawler didn’t interfere but we know that he replaced another president thanks to the interference of Kathy Jackson and Michael Lawler and we know for sure that Lawler tried to bully and harass another union official who then quit and we know that Jackson was working out of Lawlers office and we know that Lawler is now on leave.
Ross has only been in the job since after the report was handed to Gillard.
The most telling part about Ross’s evidence today was his admission FWA just accepted Lawler’s word and not only made no apparent attempt to check whether this was true, but indicated they had no intention of looking into it even NOW, after more evidence has come to light.
Also, he said he had no knowledge of any complaint against Lawler. Seriously? He could check that right now by going back to work and looking in the man’s personnel file. The complaint letter from the HSU member – and his predecessor’s response to it – should be right there for him to see.
One gets the impression, however, that he has no desire to see. The three FWA witnesses today came across more like the three wise monkeys.
Which Asian country did Pyne whore in?
Not sure. It may be a mere pernicious rumour.
Never!
How many are there in SE Asia?
Several, is my information.
Abetz is now and always was a fuck up.
Prime exhibit was the Australian Military Court, where he put up legislation which any 3rd year law student could have told him would be found Unconstitutional. That left several of our soldiers at risk of indictment in the International Criminal Court – the court of last resort to deal with the dross of failed States pariah regimes and outlaws.
He should have been shot, as should several other ex-ministers from Howard’s regime. Reith, Andrews, Abbott, Bronny Bishop, Ruddock and Howard himself for starters.
If that fuckwit Rudd had had any balls he would have had a Royal Commission into the various Howard disasters : AWB, AMC, children overboard, U486, the waterfront debacle, probably several others.
My blood boils that anyone could want Rudd back, or Abbott as PM.
Bob
Have you read Hewson’s piece in Unleashed today? I would love to read your demolition of it.
Q and A was the funniest program one could imagine tonight, with Barry Humphreys leading the way, with Miriam Margolyes and even David Marr and John Hewson joining in the fun. Watch a replay if you can.
I agree Doug, excellent show.
The best Q&A ever, Barry and Miriam were priceless,they were all good really, even the audience…there has not been much humour on these forums or on TV lately…it was most welcome…
Yes but David and the others tittered like ninnies over Thomson as if he is an axe murderer.
Hope you watched 7.30 to see FWA get blown up.
It was a David Shackleton type moment.
Remember when Shackleton was confronted by the kids not thrown and then had to come and change his storyA?
Well Ross told the senate there was no evidence that Lawler was interfering with HSU when we all know he was.
7.30 aired the papers and Ross had to explain that he hadn’t seen the evidence.
Just goes to show how a little bit of power corrupts.
Bob, please do us all a favour and give Marilyn life plus 128 years.
Bob won’t give me life.
We are adopted grandparents of the same lost kids.
This is true.
The same dead kids.
Discuss.