#auspol
"Respect for Australia in the Pacific will be elevated by a positive Yes vote. It is almost inconceivable to us that this may not happen, but that possibility fills us with dread. A No vote will be a blow to our relationship, especially perceptions of Australia in our general public." - Ralph Regenvanu (MP Port Vila, Vanuatu)
Can't blame you for that @static
Here's something from a bit earlier:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/06/voice-would-fail-at-first-hurdle-if-not-enshrined-in-constitution-albanese-says
Albo was challenged in the Sky interview. What he says in response is clearer (to my mind) than the Guardian article.
#AusPol #VoiceToParliament
@CraigPendlebury
Legislated bodies have been tried before. They've consistently been failed by the next Conservative government, as soon as possible after they got into office. Repeating failure would be irrational.
Our First Peoples requested a Voice in the Constitution. That's their first priority, followed by treaty and truth-telling. A Constitutional Voice requires a referendum. There's no way around that.
What you or I might prefer is irrelevant. Dictating to the blaks has not worked well in the past. There's no reason to suppose that it will work better this time.
#AusPol #VoiceToParliament
@static
@static
The PM has said many times that, if the referendum fails, then he will honour the expressed will of the people.
https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/prime-minister-anthony-albanese-wont-move-to-legislate-an-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-if-no-vote-defeats-referendum/news-story/fbd05da2e34f598f886428a4c3de1bc2
"Honour" does not include legislating what they've rejected. Also, a legislated Voice is not what the First Peoples asked for.
#AusPol #VoiceToParliament
The voice contains hope. It will help end the great Australian silence | Peter Garrett https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/02/the-voice-contains-hope-it-will-help-end-the-great-australian-silence #auspol #voice #IndigenousIP
The absurdity of housing in Australia,
"You've got staff who need to be 'on call'.
They need to be able to get to the hospital within 20 minutes. But there's no affordable housing within 20 minutes of that inner-city hospital,"
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-02/affordable-housing-shortage-workers-low-income-earners-solutions/102642310
#AusPol
New Reserve Bank Chair Michele Bullock would love to raise interest rates tomorrow, especially if it guaranteed a few hundred thousand got fired
But it's not a good look when leading your first board meeting and the politics indicate the cash rate will stay on hold (for now) #auspol
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-25/the-rba-wants-more-unemployment-lets-applaud-it/102506500
I guess it’s a lot easier to throw the minorities ‘under the bus’ by accusing them of ‘being divisive’ and ‘symbolic declaring war’ than it is to adopt the necessary political institutions to enable more constructive engagement with First Nation people (or engaging in constructive, respectable political debate).
After all, they’re just a minority.
Once the referendum is over, I look forward to seeing who will be the target of the next opportunistic attacks against Australia’s minority groups
🙄
#AusPol #VoiceToParliament #Referendum2023
Warren Mundine’s ‘symbolic declaration of war’ statements against #UluruStatement hurtful, says daughter:
“It hurt because I feel that the Uluru statement came from a place of unity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,”
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/02/warren-mundines-daughter-says-his-opposition-to-voice-not-morally-right
#AusPol #Referendum2023 #VoiceToParliament
Remote NT schools underfunded by as much as $3.4 million
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-02/remote-nt-schools-underfunded-freedom-of-information-report/102913424 #NTPol #AusPol
Some folk seem to make a strange leap that because something is mentioned in the constitution it'll suddenly gain extra magical powers to force people to its will. The Voice will be an advisory body by its very nature, but the conspiracists imagine it forcing us to do all sorts of stuff. People are odd.
(I suspect they're indulging in transference, remembering how First Nations people were treated by settlers in the past without much regard for the rule of law.)
@politicalgadgets@mastodon.au
Votes-Like-Joyce-O-Meter
Bob Katter is 63.53% Joyce
63.53%
Bob Katter is the person who was elected, much against my better wishes to represent me, such is our electoral system.
(https://politicalgadgets.com/HowPolsVote/voteslikejoycep/) #auspol
This article mentions the four 1988 constitutional referendums. For those too young to remember, they were fairly harmless - but they went down anyway.
People love using referendums to give the government a kick, and conspiracy theories are always with us - I remember a taxi driver telling me in 1988 that the referendum would allow the feds to control local government (it wouldn't have).
---
'In 1988, the Hawke government put four questions to a referendum, including the bland idea of including local government in the Constitution. In the six months before the vote, “polled support halved, from the high 60s and low 70s to the 30s”...'
Voice to parliament: A No vote will haunt our national conscience, and so it should
#VoiceToParliament #auspol https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/a-no-vote-will-haunt-our-national-conscience-and-so-it-should-20230929-p5e8p2.html
Garigarra Riley-Mundine says her father Warren Mundine's comments throughout the referendum have been hurtful & are at odds with how the family was raised. She sees a post-referendum healing period will be needed due to the many divisive voices. #auspol https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/02/warren-mundines-daughter-says-his-opposition-to-voice-not-morally-right
QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited donated $54,450 in 2021-22. That was $28,700 to Labor and $25,750 to the Coalition. {9424} #auspol (https://politicalgadgets.com/PoliticalDonations/) #auspol
Federal Parliament is not sitting today. It next sits in 14 days. There are no committees today. {1696190406} (https://politicalgadgets.com/thedates/) #auspol
$692,937,312 in Federal contracts to the big consultants in 2023. $0 yesterday. {345} (https://politicalgadgets.com/GovtBusiness/consultytdv2/) #auspol
Henroth Investments Pty Ltd made $353,892 in Federal political donations. {822} (https://politicalgadgets.com/PoliticalDonations/donationsMadeDB/?Henroth%20Investments%20Pty%20Ltd) #auspol
The VIP fleet flew 26,618km in the last few days. That's 4 planes doing 5 flights over 3 hrs and 36 mins and costing around $16,435. 4 flights were not properly logged. {815} (https://politicalgadgets.com/WhatPolliesSpend/vipFlights/) #auspol
Barnaby Joyce is 100.00% Barnaby Joyce. {263} (https://politicalgadgets.com/HowPolsVote/voteslikejoycep/) #auspol
“But am I invisible because I am broken, I wonder?” And here Alice began to get rather sleepy, and went on saying to herself, in a dreamy sort of way, “Am I invisible because I am broken? Am I invisible because I am broken?” and sometimes, “Am I broken because I am invisible ?” for, you see, as she couldn't answer either question, it didn't much matter which way she put it…
But then she remembered she was also very poor as well.
#auspol ‘Predatory’ shops are selling lollies and vapes to children across Australia, with no date set for import ban - Read more here… https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/02/predatory-shops-are-selling-lollies-and-vapes-to-children-across-australia-with-no-date-set-for-import-ban
#auspol ‘What if there was a war?’ Chinese Australians wear the scars after bitter years of hostile rhetoric - Read more here… https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/02/china-media-portrayal-australia-relationship-war
#auspol The voice contains hope. It will help end the great Australian silence | Peter Garrett - Read more here… https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/02/the-voice-contains-hope-it-will-help-end-the-great-australian-silence
#auspol Policy pothole: are the states ready to share road safety data with the federal government? - Read more here… https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/02/policy-pothole-are-the-states-ready-to-share-road-safety-data-with-the-federal-government
#auspol Neurodiverse kids ‘dumped’ from mainstream education amid debate over special schools - Read more here… https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/02/neurodiverse-kids-dumped-from-mainstream-education-amid-debate-over-special-schools
How about we name and shame the ministers who don’t do anything about it except come up with puerile suggestions. #auspol #labor
——-
Minister backs ‘naming and shaming’ childcare providers who charge exorbitant fees https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/01/minister-backs-naming-and-shaming-childcare-providers-who-charge-exorbitant-fees?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
..it's a problem in all industrialised countries where for about 75 years we had a middle class and strong syndicated working class. The whole system has now entered a post industrialised stage where middle classes and working classes are no longer essential for profit. In fact, we are going back to societies with a very rich upper class and everybody else is more or less poor... #capitalism #poverty #greed #auspol
#Auspol #Yes23 #VoteYes #VoiceToParliament
I filched these memes from the @FYes23 #Xitter site
Credit to @danilic
https://x.com/fyes23/status/1708245990422249843?s=61&t=FglSPre5yk2wEFfKnomlVA
@weezmgk @danilic excellent. The remaking of COAG as National Cabinet has been pissing me off for years now. We used to know the agenda, minutes were recorded and we learned of the decisions. Now nothing. Zip. Everything is secret.
This is not how representative democracy is meant to work and it is how corruption flourishes.
Enough of the secrecy .
From #Instagram - Australian Greens First Nations Network officially advocate for abstaining or voting No in the #Voice_to_Parliament
🔗 https://www.instagram.com/p/CxwmrDmBMhp/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA
#VoiceToParliament #Referendum #Australia #Australian #Aussie #Sovereignty #Treaty #HumanRights #Human_Rights #Politics #Political #Culture #Racism #AusPol #AustralianPolitics #Australian_Politics #TreatyBeforeVoice #Treaty_Before_Voice #Sovereignty_Never_Ceded
#Auspol #PwC #CorporateCriminals #ATO#TaxRegulator #SenateEnquiry #ConfidentialityAgreements
“The fact that PwC has now admitted to numerous breaches of confidentiality by sharing secret government information does not absolve them from responsibility,” [Green's Senator] Pocock said.
“These are serious matters that go to trust between government agencies and private contractors and PwC must face consequences
“They won’t tell us who was involved or whether any penalties were applied. What they are really saying is ‘trust us, we’re dealing with it’ before disappearing behind the cloak of silence again.”
“…the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) confirmed it had launched a formal investigation into another PwC partner within the past fortnight, in addition to multiple preliminary investigations into other matters.
“Our preliminary investigations into one aspect have concluded and we have commenced a formal investigation into one further aspect,” the TPB chair, Peter de Cure, told the Senate inquiry this week. “That does not mean there won’t be further preliminary inquiries.”
From: @MacPherson
https://aus.social/@MacPherson/111158097961258225
#auspol Why is Labor’s bill on combatting disinformation so controversial? - Read more here… https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/01/why-is-labors-bill-on-combatting-disinformation-so-controversial
Exceptional Circumstances: Mark Dreyfus, Richard Boyle, Gina Rinehart and Oracle Corporation
#MichaelWestMedia #Auspol
https://michaelwest.com.au/exceptional-circumstances-mark-dreyfus-richard-boyle-and-oracle-corporation/
The Garden Island "infrastructure recovery" project will cost half a billion dollars.
Half a billion dollars here, half a billion dollars there, as the old joke goes, pretty soon you're starting to talk about real money.
#auspol Former Qantas boss Alan Joyce could face jail if he fails to front Senate aviation inquiry - Read more here… https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/28/former-qantas-ceo-alan-joyce-jail-threats-senate-aviation-inquiry
The hatred and greed of the frontier wars still drive race politics today. How little things change | David Marr https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/oct/01/the-hatred-and-greed-of-the-frontier-wars-still-drive-race-politics-today-how-little-things-change #auspol #history
I was asked, some years ago, which political party I would vote for. They wanted to know what my ideal party would be. At the time, I didn’t have a simple answer.
Political parties are not simple.
I composed this reply at a time when I was actually considering a career in politics. This is my description of policies of an ideal political party.
“A reasonable person could hope that this is the end of a sorry chapter in Australian history, the militarisation of our borders by a man who never got to run Defence. Looking at it now, it is clear he never stopped lining up toy soldiers.”
And the government went along with it.
Hmm, the thick plottens...
Max Max Uechtritz: "Some very nervous Canberra journalists sweating on potential revelations about their encrypted chats with
their “ handler” #Pezzullo"
Michael Pascoe: "So... Mike Pezzullo played ... #Coalition governments like a fiddle..."
"The obvious next question is how he has played the Albanese Government – who were his #Labor tools, his mugs?
"And a bit behind that is the extent he has played much of the press gallery."
https://thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2023/09/30/michael-pascoe-michael-pezullo/
On the Voice referendum in Australia
A first-rate panel of qualified, articulate, plain speakin' people in the know say what's what about the Voice proposal and why it needs to involve the Constitution... and more
"A Monash University panel of legal scholars and constitutional nerds give you a refresher on the mechanics of referenda, the constitution, and why Australian law permits disinformation in political advertising"
@toxi it’s a pity there isn’t better legislation on this.
People get sucked in with ‘free trials’ and then forget to cancel it. Or they use Apple or Google to manage the subscription, then find themselves locked out so do it manually -just to find these apps and platforms are charging them twice.
It’s perfectly legal scamming!
#VoiceToParliament #auspol The world's oldest living culture needs respect and representation.
No is old.
It's negative. It's harmful. It's destructive.
It's failing First Nations Australians.
Write 'YES' to recognise, Listen Unite, Help and Build.
#NowIsTheTime
#VoteYes #auspol #Referendum2023
However much I may mourn the loss of what the Australian ABC used to be & hate what they have done to it, living in the antipodes we cannot afford to wait for general news to be picked up by people on the other side of the globe, so I read the ABC News, with crap filters firmly in place.
@
Words for the ages: " you never change a country for the better through fear." Says a lot about the tactics of the 'No' campaign.
https://www.pm.gov.au/media/radio-interview-abc-radio-sydney-0
#AusPol #VoiceToParliament
Find out which senators are voting to increase legal protections for whistleblowers at theyvoteforyou.org.au/policies/90
Alt text: Red text stating: "Who has been voting to protect whistleblowers?" followed by the policy website address. The background shows the profiles of several human faces. Most are in varying shades of white paper. One is made out of red paper.
Sigh the damage has probably been done now, but good to see.
---
Voice to parliament: ‘Blak sovereignty’ leaders switch to Yes, isolating Lidia Thorpe
#VoiceToParliament #auspol https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/blak-sovereignty-leaders-switch-to-yes-isolating-lidia-thorpe-20230926-p5e7tk.html
“Australians are sick of seeing political parties creating one rule for themselves and another rule for everyone else,” the Curtin MP told Guardian Australia.
“If small businesses have to comply with the Privacy Act, political parties should too."
#AusPol #Privacy
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/28/labor-albanese-government-privacy-crackdown-political-parties
On the Voice referendum in Australia
A first-rate panel of qualified, articulate, plain speakin' people in the know say what's what about the Voice proposal and why it needs to involve the Constitution... and more
"A Monash University panel of legal scholars and constitutional nerds give you a refresher on the mechanics of referenda, the constitution, and why Australian law permits disinformation in political advertising"
Were I to have the energy to have fervent wishes, one of them would be for the Australia Institute to abandon their Neoliberal support of the economic nonsense that says that federal taxes pay for federal government spending & accept macroeconomic reality.
https://kolektiva.social/@theausinstitute@bird.makeup
Maybe their social media address is an indication of their real thoughts
Why is it always the usual suspects who speak up, those who are definitely not racist, absurd, just ask them, but who always pop up at the opportune times to say what racists would say? Cast whatever doubts less articulate racists are less able to say.
It's a mystery.
This is epic. Jessica always has a compelling and original perspective.
‘Sydney Criminal Lawyers spoke to Aboriginal Tent Embassy spokeswoman Jessica Savage about the widespread suspicions surrounding constitutional recognition, the priority goal of treatymaking and the Kalkadoon woman further explains the necessity in applying ancient protocols to such processes’
Woodside’s seismic blasting approval thrown out after legal challenge by Traditional Custodian https://www.edo.org.au/2023/09/28/woodsides-seismic-blasting-approval-thrown-out-after-legal-challenge-by-traditional-custodian/ #auslaw #auspol #IndigenousIP
With two weeks to go until the Voice referendum, Justice Dixon made his views clear during his farewell ceremony at the Supreme Court in Melbourne.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-28/supreme-court-judge-john-dixon-retires-voice-to-parliament/102912466
He said Indigenous people in Australia should be entitled to "constitutional recognition, to the truth, and to treaties".
"I think it is shameful that there is conflict and doubt over whether this will be achieved," he said on Wednesday evening.
"We ought to work together to resolve any uncertainty or disagreement on specifics, as our brothers and sisters across the ditch have done," he said, referring to New Zealand which provides recognition for the Indigenous Māori people.
"In truth, there is a root of collective shame in our racist past and the perpetuation and encouragement of racist attitudes by the empty vessels making the most noise.
"I want to believe that over the next few weeks, Australia will find the empathy, the grace and the fair go that ought to define our national character." #auslaw #auspol #voice #IndigenousIP #Yes23
Australian Government to overhaul privacy laws, including opting out of advertising, a right to be forgotten, and new rules for small businesses https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-28/government-agrees-to-sweeping-privacy-reforms/102912458 via @ABCaustralia #auslaw #privacy #auspol
A panel led by First Nations activists, I’ve got my ticket for this important session 💚
TICKET SALES END IN AN HOUR
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sovereignty-in-the-time-of-the-voice-tickets-721702731297
#AusPol #VoicetoParliament #Voice23 #Referendum #Referendum2023 #AustraliaIsRacistAF
It's not risky or divisive to recognise all Australians in a 122-year-old British-endorsed Constitution for the first time.
It's just bloody overdue.
#VoteYes #Referendum2023 #auspol #VoiceToParliament
"A spokesman for Mr Morrison has suggested an Investigaetjens into Mike Pezzulo."
‘SILENT COUP’: HOW CAPITALISM DEFEATED DECOLONIZATION
"The crumbling of European empires after WWII didn’t usher in a new era of democracy—instead, we now live in a regime of international corporate rule"
https://therealnews.com/silent-coup-how-capitalism-defeated-decolonization?utm_medium=email
Here’s some very excellent political cartoonists.
Aww heck, Dan Andrews just resigned. Who am I going to blame all my personal failings on now? #auspol
Dan Andrews is resigning #AusPol
The mining firm Bravus, formerly Adani, will narrow its lawsuit against an anti-mining activist, dropping its claim that Ben Pennings illegally accessed secret information as part of a long-running lawsuit. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/25/bravus-formerly-adani-narrows-long-running-lawsuit-against-activist-ben-pennings Three years seems a long time to run a breach of confidential information action before dropping it. #climate #confidentialinformation #confidentiality #tradesecrets #auslaw #auspol
This article by Margaret Simons rings true - most Australians are uninterested in politics and resent (rightly or wrongly) being dragged into it. So the "Make history" Voice campaign doesn't work for them; instead a campaign focused on the practical benefits would do better (something I've thought from the start).
---
Why is the campaign for an Indigenous voice struggling? It’s not just the media https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/24/indigenous-voice-to-parliament-referendum-yes-campaign-struggles
Who threw Mike Pezzullo under the bus?
Seems like another bad retain by Albanese (after Kathryn Campbell).
This should be referred to NACC #auspol
What has Pezzullo communicated to Libs or media since Labor was elected??
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/25/home-affairs-department-head-michael-pezzullo-referred-to-public-service-commissioner-over-leaked-texts
Emailed my Federal Minister about opposing funding of new major road projects. They replied to tell me that the federal government isn't responsible for roads...
The Shovel taking no prisoners in its assessment of the No-alition's plan to roll out nuclear power stations.
Based on this piece published an hour ago by The Age and SMH, Pezzulo is gone. Finally. He fucked around, and now he will find out.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/five-years-a-thousand-messages-how-a-top-public-servant-tried-to-influence-governments-20230919-p5e5ss.html
You can get the full text via Apple News if you don't have a subscription.
cc @NewtonMark @geordie @nathanaelcbr @mpesce @kcarruthers etc.
Civil Disobedience in a Climate and Biodiversity Crisis
"Ultimately, peaceful political protest should be addressed by politicians. The current government has decided, by making disruption of ‘everyday life’ a criminal act, that it is a matter not of politics but for the police and criminal law. This will have serious implications for society, and for freedom of speech, whether or not you believe it is the right approach."
read the full article>
(In)tolerance to Civil Disobedience in the UK, Adam Wagner
https://verfassungsblog.de/civil-disobedience-in-the-uk/
#democracy #rights #protests #criminalisation #inconvenience #disruption #environmentalists #movements #UK #auspol #NSWLogging #climate #biodiversity #law #governance #failure #ClimateTransformation #CivilDisobedience
2/3
DemocracyNow: Some say the reason Rupert "stepped down so quickly was because he doesn’t want to testify in the Smartmatic Case. $800 million to Dominion & now Smartmatic, $2.7 billion"
CARUSONE: "So, it’s really hard to overstate just how damaging for Fox Corporation Rupert Murdoch’s deposition was in the Dominion case"
"It was actually a devastating deposition that had consequences not just for the case, but also for the future of his companies"
1/3
As Rupert Murdoch steps back...
his legacy must not get sugarcoated, says Angelo Carusone, Media Matters America.
We must remain fully cognizant of the scale of his damage, incl climate denialism & far-right influence.
& Lachlan, says Carusone, "is more conservative than his father, with a nihilist worldview that could make Fox News even more extreme".
When Rupert dies, James may rally his two sisters to vote with him to take control.
Katharine Murphy has been a strong Albanese supporter until now. This piece just about writes him off. Unsurprisingly, I agree with just about everything she writes #auspol
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/23/anthony-albanese-a-slow-moving-target-for-peter-duttons-one-man-insurgency