It will surely never happen, I mean he's loathed within his party and overworked and under appreciated his staff, no way he'll get the backing to come back. However despite all that he has some ridiculous celebrity status amongst the people and represents ALP's best chance of regaining popularity, despite his flaws.

I have it from a current ALP MP that Rudd is so widely despised that his only friend in Parliament is Joe Hockey and even that's a stretch.

KEV TURNBULL: Is he the leader we're hoping for?

by: By Malcolm Farr, National Political Editor From: news.com.au November 20, 2012 11:18AM

IF OPINION polls are right, Australians want their next government to be headed by a two-in-one political super ego, Kev Turnbull.

Last night former Labor leader Kevin Rudd and former Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull met up on ABC TV's Q&A, and they left the audience howling for more.

Both said they would not be leading parties to the coming general election, no doubt disappointing the thousands who Mr Turnbull said had asked him to start a new party in his own image.

Mr Rudd said they would be unable to work together because they could "never agree on the leadership", one of the better lines of the night and one Mr Rudd felt he had to point out was a joke.

There will be no Rudd-Turnbull alliance, he was saying.

But what if there was a new political contender, perhaps called the Two-in-One Party, and it was led by an amalgamation of the talents, personalities and priorities of Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull?


The leader, Kev Turnbull, would easily be the wealthiest national leader Australia ever had, making it a little hard to relate to the ordinary voter but making him a suitable model for the aspiring classes.

The combined egos of the two huge personalities would be record setting, and a few doses of Kevin Rudd aw-shucks humility performances might be needed.

The PM would have much to say but given the splendid speech-writing skills of his Malcolm Turnbull side the amalgam leader would not use such Kevin Rudd terms as "programatic specificity", itself a major bonus of this amalgamated government.

The Two-in-One PM would be big picture - really big picture - and scrappy debates over what walls someone might have punched or what someone's boyfriend did decades ago would remain part of ancient history.

But the issue of political scandal would not be ignored. Last night Kevin Rudd said it was "very significant what is unfolding" before the ICAC inquiry involving senior Labor figures in NSW.

"The future of the Labor Party will depend on whether they come to grips with the cause of this phenomenon and how widespread it is," he said.

As well as the richest PM ever, Kev Turnbull would be one of the cleanest.

Kev Turnbull would appoint himself Foreign Minister, Treasurer and Climate Change Minister - not least so that when the Prime Minister ordered a meeting with his senior ministers there was a fair chance at least three of them would not be kept waiting.

And if an emergency cabinet meeting were required, he could have it in the front seat of his car. But the self appointments would be indications of his priorities, even though he had to be talked out of being health and education ministers as well.

This portfolio collection would of course involve extensive travel and the newly-installed leader - who had also appointed himself his own parliamentary secretary for the arts - would be seen in first night seats at major theatre and film events, and in first class airline seats heading for major capitals.

But much would be happening at home.

One of the first decisions of the new administration would be to confirm that Australia needed an emissions trading scheme which enabled market forces to reduce the carbon pollution which was affecting global climate.

Super-fast broadband access would be spread throughout Australia but would not involve the expense of connecting every house to fibre cables. They would get their access through a local hub.

PM Kev Turnbull would be torn over this one but finally settle on fibre to the node as a compromise.

The hope is that Kev Turnbull could combine right-wing Labor and left-wing Liberal parties, which would be a unifying force.

The popularity of the prospect could be more a comment on current party leaderships than faith in the healing powers of Kev Turnbull.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/kev-turnbull-is-he-the-leader-were-hoping-for/story-e6freuy9-1226520235196

Bank letter links PM to house mortgage

DateNovember 22, 2012 - 7:16PM

The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, told her law firm partners she knew nothing about the mortgage on a Fitzroy property, bought partly with union money stolen by her former boyfriend, despite having been involved in the mortgage arrangements for the property two years earlier.

A 1993 bank letter confirms that Ms Gillard - then a salaried partner with law firm Slater & Gordon - received an insurance certificate of currency, which was required for approval of a $150,000 mortgage provided by the firm's loan department.

But Ms Gillard denied knowledge of the mortgage when challenged by the firm's managing partners in late 1995, after they first discovered her involvement in the work.

"I don't, I don't think I knew that at the time," she told senior partner Peter Gordon, according to new details of the interview obtained by The Age.

A West Australian fraud squad investigation in 1996 found the rest of the purchase money - more than $100,000 - had been siphoned from a union association by Bruce Wilson, Ms Gillard's then boyfriend and a senior Australian Workers Union official.

The unit in Kerr Street, Fitzroy, was bought in the name of Ralph Blewitt, a union crony of Mr Wilson who this week returned to Melbourne from his home in Malaysia to brief Victorian police, who are considering whether to reopen their investigation into the scandal.

In the newly-released details of her September 1995 meeting with Mr Gordon, Ms Gillard - after being questioned in detail about her work for Wilson and Blewitt - denies any knowledge of the Fitzroy mortgage.

Peter Gordon: "Were you aware at any time that the balance of the funds to make up the capital was to be provided by contributory mortgage of which Jonathan Rothfield (a Slater & Gordon partner) was trustee?"

Julia Gillard: "I don't, I don't think I knew that at the time, where the source of funds was. It's subsequently been raised with me that that was done through the Slater & Gordon mortgage register but I didn't have any recollection of that."

The additional transcript material has been released by Nick Styant-Browne, another former equity partner in the firm, after he was contacted by The Age with questions about the mortgage. He said he was able to release it as it clearly did not involve any issues of lawyer-client confidentiality.

A spokesman for Ms Gillard told The Age she stood by her statements in the interview with Mr Gordon and had no recollection of seeing the bank correspondence.

A Commonwealth Bank letter sent to Ms Gillard on March 22, 1993, shows she was involved in the property's insurance, a prerequisite for the mortgage.

Addressed "Attention: Julia Gillard" and headed "Certificate of Currency", the letter from the bank's insurance department confirms the Kerr Street unit had been insured in the name of Ralph E. Blewitt.

"In accordance with your request, we advise the building/s are insured for $200,000 with the Commonwealth Bank Insurance Scheme and the policy is renewed until 18th March 1994," it says.

On the same day the letter was sent, a handwritten note in the file headed "Bruce Wilson" refers to the certificate of currency from the Commonwealth Bank and adds: "Ralph spoke to Julia Gillard".

The 400-page conveyancing file also shows that Ms Gillard waived professional fees on the conveyancing and loan work, sought and received a detailed briefing on penalty interest provisions for the mortgage and forwarded a cheque from Mr Blewitt for costs associated with the purchase.

The Prime Minister was asked for her comments on the latest information and her spokesman stated:

The conveyancing for the Kerr Street property was handled by Olive Brosnahan, a paralegal, under the oversight of Nick Styant-Browne, the relevant partner. A note in Ms Brosnahan's handwriting appears on the publicly available file dated 22 March 1993. It states that Ralph (Blewitt) was chasing up the Commonwealth Bank in relation to the Certificate of Currency. It also records the making of a phone call to Ms Gillard which resulted in a message being left for Ms Gillard. The file contains no evidence of Ms Gillard returning this call.

What this entry on the file shows is that Mr Blewitt was personally attending to dealing with the Commonwealth Bank about the certificate of currency.

Ms Gillard has no recollection of seeing the correspondence from the Commonwealth Bank dated 23 March 1993.

Ms Gillard stands by her statements in the Slater and Gordon interview of 11 September 1995 as her best recollection of events two and a half years earlier.

There is no contradiction in anything you have put to us. In addition, contrary to previous claims by you and The Age, the Prime Minister did not run nor was in charge of the conveyancing file – and as such couldn't be expected to have a detailed recollection of the transactions in the file two and a half years after they occurred.

In addition, the certificate of currency does not show that Ralph Blewitt was her “client” in relation to this conveyancing matter, as you allege, nor that the Commonwealth Bank was “her bank”, as you allege, nor that she personally sought confirmation of the insurance cover, as you allege.

Given your recent history of publishing unsupportable claims on this matter, and having afterwards to correct them, it's a pity The Age is again considering publishing allegations you can't substantiate.



Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/bank-letter-links-pm-to-house-mortgage-20121122-29ssd.html#ixzz2CwjHau5c

Majority unhappy with Newman government: poll

DateDecember 2, 2012 - 10:37AM

More than half of Queensland voters are dissatisfied with the Newman government, a new poll shows.

ReachTEL surveyed 1138 Queensland residents and found 54 per cent were dissatisfied with the performance of the Liberal National Party (LNP) government.

Just 25 per cent believed the government had kept its promise that it would not cut front-line jobs, according to the Queensland Council of Unions (QCU), which commissioned the poll.

The November 29 telephone poll also revealed more than 75 per cent of respondents were against the privatisation of government services.

QCU president John Battams said the poll showed Queenslanders are extremely concerned about the government.

‘‘This poll shows the relentless, indiscriminate cutting and slashing of the Newman government increasingly disappoints the people of Queensland,’’ he said in a statement.

Last week a Galaxy poll indicated almost half of Queensland voters don’t believe Campbell Newman has kept his promise to be more open and accountable than the former Bligh government.

AAP



Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/majority-unhappy-with-newman-government-poll-20121202-2aomu.html#ixzz2DrAYHXMX

Kevin Rudd says federal politicians 'scratching their heads' at LNP 'weird civil war' in Queensland

by:
Sarah Vogler From:
The Sunday Mail (Qld) December 02, 2012
2:48PM

FORMER Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has ridiculed the state of Queensland politics as he attended a union rally in Brisbane on Saturday.
"Sometimes Queensland politics gets a little weird. And it's pretty weird right now,'' Mr Rudd told the crowd of about 100 onlookers.
"We've got Clive Palmer, the new face of progressive politics in Queensland now saying that we need to bring back the Bjelke-Petersen dynasty.
"Things are being turned on their head and it gets weirder and weirder as each day goes by.''
Mr Rudd said politicians in Canberra were "scratching their heads'' at the state of Queensland politics.
"This looked like the American civil war in slow motion here in George Street and within the LNP,'' Mr Rudd said of the departure of three LNP backbenchers from the party over a dramatic four days.
. "It would all just look like comedy if at the same time it wasn't in fact an unfolding tragedy for the communities which make up our state.''
Meanwhile, Clive Palmer says Queensland's Liberal National Party will cost Tony Abbott the next election if the federal opposition leader doesn't bring it into line.
In his latest tirade against the Newman government, the mining magnate has called on Mr Abbott to intervene.
"It's quite clear the LNP is acting in a most disgraceful manner which will have major repercussions at a federal level unless Tony Abbott shows some leadership," Mr Palmer said in a statement on Sunday.

Clive Palmer's plans for a new political party seem to be gaining momentum.
"Tony Abbott must intervene and clean up the LNP mess or (Prime Minister) Julia Gillard will be re-elected as a result of the disgraceful antics of the Newman government."
But Mr Abbott last week rejected similar claims, saying Premier Campbell Newman and his team were doing an "outstanding job" and facing tough challenges.
Meanwhile, John Bjelke-Petersen, son of former premier Sir Joh, is being lined up as a federal election candidate as the likelihood of billionaire businessman Clive Palmer launching his own political party gathers momentum.
The Sunday Mail has obtained the results of a Galaxy Research poll taken on Tuesday and Wednesday in the seat of Maranoa, which shows that longtime LNP MP Bruce Scott would face a strong challenge from Mr Bjelke-Petersen.
The result will add fuel to the political ambitions of mining magnate Mr Palmer who is expected to decide over the next week or so whether to start a new party following his spectacular split from the LNP.
Records show Mr Palmer's nephew Blair Brewster trademarked the United Australia Party name on September 30 - just days after the billionaire was first threatened with being stripped of his life membership of the LNP. Mr Palmer resigned nine days ago after another showdown with party chiefs.
Polling is already underway to gauge possible support for specific candidates and it indicates Mr Palmer has his eye on federal, as well as state, politics.
In Maranoa, half the 350 people polled said they would be likely to vote for "a party that would unify Australia" and 43 per cent said they would be likely to support Mr Bjelke-Petersen, rising to 45 per cent among LNP voters.
The research was commissioned by "a consortium of businesses".

John Bjelke-Petersen at his Kingaroy property. Picture: Megan Cullen
Mr Scott has held the traditional National Party heartland seat of Maranoa since 1990 and won a 65.5 per cent primary vote (72.0 per cent two-party preferred) at the August 2010 election.
The Galaxy Poll found his primary vote would be cut to 53 per cent if an election was held now, with Katter's Australia Party picking up 15 per cent of votes.
Galaxy Research managing director David Briggs said the entry of another right-leaning party would cut LNP support even further.

- additional reporting by Daryl Passmore and AAP
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/sir-johs-son-and-clive-palmer-a-big-worry-for-lnp-government/story-fndo45r1-1226528044796

Labor Party defies gloom as membership soars
DateDecember 8, 2012

THE recent soul searching about reforming NSW Labor in light of the corruption hearings involving former ministers Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald has at least one bright side: membership is up.

The general secretary, Sam Dastyari, said this week that in the past year the number of financial members had jumped by about 30 per cent. Who on earth is choosing to join Labor at a time when its stocks are at an all-time low? The party won't give precise details, but says official figures show since last November, 4013 have signed up.

With a median age of 37, they are hardly the next generation, but Labor says about 65 per cent live in its target seats in west and south-western Sydney, the central coast, the Hunter and regional and rural NSW.


Membership is now at about 16,000 compared with an all-time low of about 12,000 shortly after the party's 2011 election rout.

The NSW branch alone accounted for more than half of the new memberships called for last year by the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, who set a target of 8000 across all states and territories by the end of this year.

The surge is being credited to innovative recruitment campaigns, including challenging existing members to sign up new members who could join for $5 each and the chance to win dinner with the former prime minister Bob Hawke. ''Members are joining the Labor Party at rates unseen since Gough Whitlam was prime minister and it's because of [federal Opposition Leader] Tony Abbott,'' Mr Dastyari said.

But the former state Labor minister Rodney Cavalier questioned the quality of the new memberships.

''Most of the members of the Labor Party are no more than pixels on a computer print-out,'' Mr Cavalier said. ''They do not do work of any kind in the Labor party''. Mr Cavalier described the $5 membership drive as ''a give-away'' and said Labor's challenge was to convince members to get involved in the party.

It had been unable to do this due to the centralisation of power in head office.

''If the Labor Party was a physical entity like a bowling club, you would drive around NSW and find bowling greens full of divots and weeds,'' he said.

Mr Dastyari disputed this, saying the party had just completed a ballot in which 4000 members voted to select representatives to a national policy forum.

''Labor Party members are engaged and are getting more engaged as we head towards the federal election,'' he said.

The director of the NSW Liberal party, Mark Neeham, said there was always a need to question what Labor's claims.

''They also said there would be no carbon tax and promised a budget surplus this financial year,'' he said.



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/labor-party-defies-gloom-as-membership-soars-20121207-2b10h.html#ixzz2ENNukmyN

It’s amazing how Joffa did not previously report one sentence about the Royal Commission in to NSW Labour minister’s dealings, but at the so called glance of good news for Labour, full page about their membership.

After all Labour has done at state or national level (Craig Thompson, Peter Sipper, this lot in NSW, Milton Okropulos…. I can write a novel as thick as War and Peace to mention it all) you have to be pretty brave or dumb to admit your association with this lot.

Next election can not come soon enough, Labour / Greens gone!:-({|=

Bob Carr boasts of swinging caucus against Julia Gillard

by: Patrick Lion From: The Daily Telegraph December 13, 2012 12:00AM

IT was the second betrayal in as many weeks.

Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr yesterday further undermined Prime Minister Julia Gillard, declaring that more than 90 per cent of her caucus sided with him about whether to support Israel in the recent United Nations vote on Palestine.

Senator Carr also admitted phoning some MPs a fortnight ago over the issue after Ms Gillard said she wanted Australia to vote with the US against a UN resolution for greater Palestinian recognition.

His comments came after senior Labor MP Michael Danby accused him in yesterday's Daily Telegraph of "unforgivable" and "unacceptable" behaviour in acting like Roman emperor "Tiberius on the telephone" and organising numbers against Ms Gillard to roll her over the issue.

Senator Carr said Mr Danby had overstated his role but he did, however, confirm hitting the phones - though he only "made very few phone calls".

"Tiberius with his telephone on the Isle of Capri was much more active," Senator Carr said yesterday.

"My view as a friend of Israel is that we are doing nothing for Israel if we fail to register a criticism when Israel has got it wrong.

"And it was that spirit that I think over 90 per cent of the party, the cabinet, the caucus subscribed to when it endorsed the approach we were taking at the United Nations on the vote on non-state status of Palestinians."

Environment Minister Tony Burke confirmed he had "conversations a lot during this" with Senator Carr but he insisted that Mr Danby was wrong.

As reported by The Daily Telegraph at the time, some NSW Right Labor MPs feared that a no vote could offend Middle Eastern and Muslim communities in marginal southwestern Sydney seats before next year's federal election.

In the end, Ms Gillard was forced into a backdown amid concerns she could lose the leadership. Australia abstained from the vote.

Liberal MP Josh Frydenberg yesterday said the claims from Mr Danby showed Senator Carr was "treacherous" and that he wanted the top job.

"He was picking up the phone ... directly undermining the will and the wish of the Prime Minister," he said.

But Labor Left faction convenor Doug Cameron said Mr Danby was "on the wrong side of history".

"The Palestinians have got an inalienable right to form a state," he said.

Ms Gillard's office declined to comment on the matter.

In Canberra, US Ambassador Jeffrey Bleich told the National Press Club there was no daylight between Australia and the US on the issue and both wanted the same goal of a two-state solution with peaceful borders.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-news/bob-carr-boasts-of-swinging-caucus-against-julia-gillard/story-e6freuzi-1226535712608

PM Gillard Edit: Comment removed with Bulldogs AFL President Gordon

Here's proof

Exhibit 1.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/law-firm-slater-gordon-considered-axing-julia-gillard/story-e6frg6n6-1226454530444
LAW firm Slater & Gordon considered sacking Julia Gillard during a 1995 secret internal investigation because her relationship with the firm's partners had "fractured, and trust and confidence evaporated", according to then partner Peter Gordon.

The Australian can today reveal that Mr Gordon, a senior lawyer now at a different firm, drafted a remarkable statement last week in which he described torrid fallout after the discovery of Ms Gillard's controversial legal work for an allegedly corrupt union boss, her then boyfriend Bruce Wilson.


Exhibit 2: read Page 2 especially of this topic
http://www.woof.net.au/forum/showthread.php?t=11208&page=2


Exhibit 3:
http://www.pm.gov.au/press-office/transcript-press-conference-canberra-30
From my point of view now, it's all history. I have a very good relationship with Slater & Gordon. I'm very chuffed that a room there is being named in my honour. I'm a woman with very limited time, but from time to time I do say hello to staff in the firm.

I recently gave a lecture in a lecture theatre in the same premises as Slater & Gordon in Sydney and took the opportunity to shake hands and have a photo with all of the staff who work there. I regularly see Mr Gordon, most particularly in the context of consoling each other about Bulldogs' losses.


Exhibit 4: http://pickeringpost.com/article/why-single-women-prefer-married-men/597

Gillard is so obviously a very sexual woman. Her patent, overt flirting with Barack Obama is testimony to that. She displays that come-to-bed look with aplomb and her list of affairs with married men with children is long and worthy of note:

Bruce Wilson, apparently happily married with children. He was a fraudulent crook and a union strongman with loads of cash at the ready. The exciting world of union corruption was an attraction for Gillard. (A relationship of over 4 years.)

Michael O'Connor, ruggedly good-looking and an unabashed communist was at the time a militant powerbroker of the CFMEU. He is now CFMEU Boss. Apparently happily married with children. Union power and mob-style thuggery was again an attraction for Gillard. (A relationship of over 6 years but overlapped other relationships.)

Peter Gordon, of Slater & Gordon, Married with children and Senior Partner. Gillard's rather brief stint with Gordon was a result of his Presidency of the Western Bulldogs AFL Club. Gordon and Gillard regularly spent time together at the Club and Gillard has supported the Bulldogs ever since, both emotionally and with taxpayer funds as Prime Minister.

Craig Emerson, current Trade Minister. Happily married with 3 children. His rise to power through ANU academia and his assertive manner was also an attraction for Gillard. Emerson and his wife divorced after this relationship became public. Emerson's main claim to fame was that he drank Gillard's contact lenses she inadvertently left in a glass of water in the bathroom.

Tim Mathieson breaks the mould of Gillard's affairs. He is divorced with children and has another daughter out of wedlock. Gillard began this relationship just prior to Rudd's election. Mathieson, a drink-driving yobbo, has left a long trail of debt wherever he goes.

Your exhibit 4 is so far from quotable news that it is libel.

Wamackie hitting new lows of conservative drivel. Quite entertaining really.

Ring Larry Pickering who wrote it, he use to work for The Age newspaper. Oh and 442 mods haven't deleted it yet either, so they're not fussed.



Doesn't change the fact that an ex-Age staffer is prepared to put to public airing that she had an affair with the current Western Bulldogs AFL president.

Edited by wamackie: 15/12/2012 02:31:32 PM

I have edited out your assertions about an affair because personally I think that is potentially slanderous on your behalf, the other reason why I didn't remove the whole post is because none of the links you provided have actually come out and categorically made that allegation. In fact the highlighted paragraph notes that Gordon is married with children and states nothing to the contrary.

Pissweak.

THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA are gloating about the fact the LNP and Ashby have “succeeded” in their evil little plot to discredit the Government.

They are gloating about the fact that, not only have they ruined a man’s career, they have also destroyed a man’s “character”.

What a wonderful result that must seem — to have so successfully slandered and defamed another person? To have driven him and his family to the brink?

This person, Peter Slipper, was a man the LNP themselves had endorsed in the Fisher electorate for decades. And he was a man to be ruined by someone who couldn’t have been a more trusted ally; who had pride of place at Slipper’s wedding — though he turned up 20 minutes late, delaying the service and leaving the bride in tears.

[youtube]bNUJ_lQiqAA[/youtube]

The man referred to is Tony Abbott — a man without a shred of honour.

Tony Abbott thought enough of the character of Peter Slipper to celebrate his wedding — yet later scathingly denounced him to the nation in Parliament as a misogynist.

A few of Peter Slipper’s private text messages suggest, at times, he may have had less than admirable thoughts — but who are we to judge? If someone was to trawl through all your own most private words — would you feel exposed? Would you have said things you now regret? These thoughts of Mr Slipper’s ‒ these very human thoughts ‒ do not make him any less competent, or sane, or good, or worthy.

Regrettably, Peter Slipper may very well have been the best Speaker to sit in the Speaker’s chair since Federation — yet he was denied much time to shine by the arrogant, power-hungry narcissism of a bosom friend he’d held for decades.

This kind of personal betrayal is almost unimaginable in a prospective prime minister.

Tony Abbott had the audacity – the temerity – to stand up in Federal Parliament to denounce, discredit and debase his very own former bosom buddy — but if Tony Abbott’s great friend is a terrible misogynist ‒ a hater of women ‒ then what does this say about Tony Abbott?

It says that Tony Abbott is a hypocrite.

It reminds us that this is the same person who was arrested and convicted for vandalism at university; who punched a wall on either side of a woman’s head in a fit of rage after being beaten by her in a student election; who found himself in court for sexual assault after allegedly groping a woman; and who has been, right throughout his life, a bully and a bigot. A man who has been reported to have a tendency to respond first with punches, not words; who flattened a man’s nose and ended up in Glebe Court on assault charges; a man whose greatest love is fighting.

[youtube]QlTL-tjlb2w[/youtube]

Put simply, Abbott has no right to slander others on charges of character — because he is of base character himself.

Abbott’s more recent “character”, since assuming the top job in the Liberal Party, is clearly apparent. He will destroy anything and anybody that stands in his way in a bloodthirsty romp to take the ultimate prize – the prime ministership – something he has coveted his entire life.

Abbott brazenly calls for an inquiry into the 20 year old AWU issue – an issue no one in the Coalition or the mainstream media has been able to produce a shred of evidence about that tarnishes the Prime Minister – but when an inquiry is suggested about getting to the bottom of the Ashby/Slipper affair – an issue in which a Federal Court Judge has brought down damning findings against Ashby and senior members of the LNP, including a former Federal Liberal cabinet minister – he runs back home to mother England and calls it all a witch hunt!

[youtube]3BUM3-FXY-U[/youtube]

The gall of this man.

When asked about when he personally knew about the Ashby allegations, Tony Abbott, as barefaced as ever, looked Australia in the eye and said:

“When everyone else knew. When I read it about it in the Sydney Morning Herald.”

Bullshit!

Now, thanks to the brilliant analysis of IT expert Kieran Cummings, we can be quite sure that Abbott has lied about this — as he has shamelessly lied about so many other things.

[youtube]ZvYzLIywCiA[/youtube]

Kieran has proven, by analyzing the meta-data from Abbott’s APH email stream, that Abbott’s Ashby media release was, in fact, written the night before Ashby submitted his court action.

So, Abbott knew all about the Ashby conspiracy — to lay low his old mate.

That is the definition of scum.

His denial of specific knowledge sank further into implausibility when Opposition Chief Whip Warren Entsch confirmed today that he rang Abbott the night before Ashby submitted his claim against Slipper. And how did Entsch know Ashby’s case was about to break in the press? Well, IA can reveal that we have discovered through our investigations that Entsch and Mal Brough are very old friends — much like Slipper and Abbott. But, more specifically, Entsch’s staffer Suzanne Newbury’s husband, James Newbury, is none other than Christopher Pyne’s chief of staff.

Christopher Pyne is the one who, apparently, can’t recall sending emails requesting Ashby’s phone number and personal email — but after being shown by a journalist the email he actually did send James Ashby, he changed his story, agreed it happened and then said “so what?”. Then, when it was shown that Pyne has met Ashby on numerous occasions in the lead up to Ashby launching his spurious claim against Slipper — Pyne denied any knowledge of the pending action.

[youtube]rLw-sTiVq70[/youtube]

Liar.

It is now becoming crystal clear that the Ashby conspiracy ran right through the senior ranks of the Liberal Party.

We also have Julie Bishop, someone who says she doesn’t know or care who she is talking to on the other end of a phone — remember Ralph Blewitt? She also can’t recall James Ashby calling her office for “advice” — even though it was allegedly given by her own chief of staff, Murray Hansen. That’s the same Murray Hansen who was caught out plagiarising for Bishop back in 2008.

Then there’s Jolly Joe Hockey — an inexplicable favourite amongst the morning television gaggle. Jolly Joe quietly travelled to the Sunshine Coast in April – that is, just before Ashby filed his court documents – to meet Mal Brough and Clive Palmer at a Coolum steakhouse. Joe says they discussed Peter Slipper — but not James Ashby. Of course not! Now, don’t expect big Joe to remember meeting James Ashby ‒ if it turns out he did ‒ as he has up to eleventy things on his mind at any one time. And if you persist in asking him questions about this affair — well, you can just “go to hell”!

[youtube]3H8gh6dPpec[/youtube]

Yes, you can rely on the Liberal Party to tell the truth — but only if their backs are pressed right up against the wall.

And then there’s Mal Brough.

Mal Brough is the man who has been pre-selected by the LNP for James Ashby’s former employer, Peter Slipper’s, seat of Fisher.

In the early stages, apparently before he was aware of how much even the media don’t like him, he also said he didn’t meet James Ashby.

Then, as the truth emerged, it became twice…then three times…

How many times did he really meet Ashby? How many times do you need to meet to plan a conspiracy? I have no idea; I have never planned one? Have you?

[youtube]a0FESE8C38o[/youtube]

The texts messages and information uncovered by Independent Australia’s tenacious investigative reporters show, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that these illiberal Liberals are drowning in a quagmire of conspiracy.

And, of course, the mainstream media know it full well, but they refuse to dig too hard — perhaps for fear of what they might find.

It is clear that from Judge Rares’ findings that this scandalous case was deliberately conceived in an atmosphere of revenge, spite and ambition — to discredit Peter Slipper, to have him removed as Speaker, and to bring down the properly elected Australian Government.

[youtube]K9CmLgVwYnY[/youtube]

n many places, these sorts of actions are called sedition.

In Australia, it’s called “The LNP’s right to rule”.

It is extremely frightening for our nation that the mainstream media continue to refuse to investigate this issue ­— and to tell the Australian people the full truth.

It is time we asked — why won’t they?

Too long to read that with the YouTubes breaking it up.

Swan admits surplus unlikely

December 20, 2012 - 3:58PM

Treasurer Wayne Swan has admitted for the first time the government is unlikely to deliver its promised surplus this financial year, prompting Opposition leader Tony Abbott to accuse Labor of breaking another promise.

Earlier, the federal government's hopes of delivering a surplus this financial year were dealt a hefty blow by the slowing world economy, with tax receipts in October $3.9 billion weaker than forecast in the budget.

''Now that’s a really big hit to revenue, it’s a huge whack to revenue,'' Mr Swan told reporters in Canberra.


''Obviously dramatically lower tax revenue now makes it unlikely that there will be a surplus in 2012/13.''

New figures published on Thursday show the federal coffers were hit hard by a plunge in commodity prices, which caused the budget balance to deteriorate by near $3 billion.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott said the government’s failure to deliver a surplus was a broken promise by Labor as serious as its decision to introduce a carbon tax after promising not to before the last election.

''What this demonstrates is you just can’t trust this government to manage the economy and you just can’t trust this govt to tell the truth,'' Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney.

''It is a failure of trust. We will pursue this government every single day until the next election on its failure to deliver a surplus.''

While the mining tax appears to have raised some revenue – contrary to media reports – it is understood the weakness in tax receipts was more severe than the government had forecast in its recent mid-year budget review.

The government had forecast a surplus of $1.1 billion for 2012/13.

In October, the month in which the government received its first instalment of company taxes from the September quarter, tax receipts were $3.9 billion behind where the government had forecast in May.

Mr Swan said further cutting spending to achieve a surplus would endanger jobs and growth.

''We don’t think it’s responsible to cut harder or further to fill a short term 2012-13 hole in the budget,'' Mr Swan said.

''At the end of the day I don’t care about the political outcomes, I care about the economic outcomes,'' he said.

''‘The course of action I’m talking about today really comes very much, I guess, to the core of my values and the values of the Labor Party.''

Government spending was also weaker than expected, but this was not enough to prevent the budget balance weakening to a deficit of $12.3 billion, about $3 billion worse than forecast.

Mr Abbott said it was important to deliver a surplus to ease cost of living pressures.

''When it comes to the economy, this is a government that just doesn’t get it,'' Mr Abbott said.

''This is a government that has competely failed on economic management.''

Mr Swan said the lower than expected profits had not only been in the resources sector, but also in other industries affected by the strength of the Australian dollar.

''What we’ve seen is a sledgehammer hit our revenues,'' he said.

The figures released today show the mining tax appears to have raised some revenue, contrary to media reports.

Resource rent taxes – which include the mining tax and the petroleum resource rent tax – raised $500 million in the month, up from $213 million in September.

The increase is likely to have been driven by the mining tax, but the government is not specifying how much mining tax was raised in order to protect the confidentiality of taxpayers.

Mr Swan repeated the worsening in the government’s budget bottom line was due to revenue falls rather than increased government spending.

He said the ratio of spending to gross domestic product (GDP) was 23.8 per cent in 2012/13, which was below the average spend of the previous Howard government, and would remain around 24 per cent of GDP over the forward budget estimates.

''We will continue to exercise spending restraint, even in the face of continuing volatility and uncertainty in the global economy,'' he said.

The treasurer said that since 2009, the government had offset all of its new spending commitments and the next budget for 2013/14 would continue to exercise spending restraint.

''‘When we are funding new priorities and new Labor reforms, including the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the Gonski school reforms, we will do that by changing priorities within the budget.''

The government first talked about bringing the budget back to surplus in 2012/13 in 2010.

''So through this whole period we have kept making responsible savings to fill what has been an emerging and growing revenue hole,'' he said.

''But things are a bit different now and that’s the main point I want to make today.

''At this stage I don’t think it would be responsible to cut harder or further in 2012/13 to fill a hole in the tax system if that puts jobs or growth at risk.''

The ''real economy'' remained resilient, he said.

The treasurer said he believed the government was taking the responsible course of action in the current economic circumstances.

''If the worst thing people say is we got the economics right again but fell short on the politics, I would say, so be it,'' he said.

''At the end of the day I don’t care about the political outcomes, I care about the economic outcomes.''

Mr Swan said the government would allow the budget’s automatic stabilisers take their course.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants said it had always maintained there was no need to push for a budget surplus in 2012/13.

''It was always going to be much more important that we protect the weak sectors of our economy rather than artificially manipulating our budget numbers to deliver a theoretical surplus,'' the institute’s Yasser El-Ansary said said in a statement.

''Today’s admission confirms the inevitable - a surplus could not be reached without a massive and very significant cut to budget spending, which would be devastating from an economic perspective.''

The government now should consider how to step in and help prop up the weaker parts of the economy, Mr El-Ansary said.

A partner at Deloitte Access Economics, Chris Richardson, said the figures showed a significant blow-out in the gap between the budget forecasts and actual tax collections.

''October was the month in which China's slowdown started to bite the budget,'' Mr Richardson said.

''Although it's still not impossible to get a surplus, there's a clear gap there, and the government would have to make a bunch of decisions pretty fast, or pull the plug. That choice is now looming large and probably coming soon.''

The figures also provide the first clues as to how much mining tax was paid during its inaugural September quarter.

Resource rent taxes – which include the mining tax and the petroleum resource rent tax – raised $500 million in the month, up from $213 million in September.

The increase is likely to have been driven by the mining tax, but the government is not specifying how much mining tax was raised in order to protect the confidentiality of taxpayers.

The financial statements are not directly comparable with the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook, published in October, but it is understood the slump in revenue is weaker than expected within the government.

with AAP


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