The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, who will give a condolence speech about Margaret Whitlam's death in Parliament tomorrow, described her as more than just an accessory to Australian politics thanks to her professional background in social work. ''Margaret was an accomplished woman in her own right, with an abiding commitment to social issues, reflecting her own professional training, as well as a tireless advocate for the arts, the environment and women's rights,'' Ms Gillard said.

The Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, called Margaret Whitlam a ''woman of style and substance''.

''There was a lot wrong with the Whitlam government but nevertheless it was a very significant episode...

http://www.smh.com.au/national/tributes--from-gough-to-gillard-20120317-1vcjj.html

 

That little rat Abbott never misses a nasty beat, does he? One has to say that there was a lot more wrong with the Menzies government who had invested bugger all in this nation... and it was the liberal John Gorton PM who removed himself from leading this bunch of unsocial scrooge called the Liberals (conservatives)... Gough had only but a few years to improve Australia and had to go faster than fast. Equality of women, first recognition of Aboriginal land rights, free education and free university, family planning, development of resources and many more successful policies were the legacy of Whitlam. Menzies, the idol of the Liberals (conservatives) did bugger all but maintain the divided-class status quo... The undoing of Whitlam was Fraser who at the time was like a little Tony Abbott full of shit. Fraser eventually saw the light and is, of all people, a very decent man with compassion. He resigned from the Liberal (conservative) party in disgust.... WE WILL NEVER SEE THAT FROM ABBOTT and that is so scary...

 

 

For centuries, power-seeking politicians have recognised that scaring the public is an effective tactic to win support.

Today, with ready access to a media that's hungry for shocking stories, any parliamentarian who wants to whip up fear will usually find a ready audience.

Nowhere is this truer than in the case of fear of crime. Most Australians – particularly those whose major source of information is talkback radio – believe that crime is high and rising. And yet as a report earlier this month from the Australian Institute of Criminology showed, most categories of crime in Australia have been falling over time.

Alas, some members of the Federal Opposition this week decided that they would take the low road, and exploit community fear of crime for partisan ends.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott spoke of a 'reign of terror on the streets of Sydney'. For anyone who missed the first dog-whistle, Scott Morrison added, 'If you can't stop the boats, you can't stop the guns'. Neither admitted that officers from customs and police – working with their European counterparts – had successfully shut down an attempt to smuggle guns into the country. Spreading misinformation on any issue is damaging, but it's particularly harmful in the case of crime.

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3897070.html?WT.svl=theDrum

 

One has to add against the little shit demagogic rant is that LauraNorder is mostty a "responsibility" of the States... And who is leading the State where "Syderney" sits....? A Liberal (conservative — same political party as the little shit) named Burry O'Feral... or something like this... Idiot!...

 

 

Mr Fitzgibbon says the matter should never have gone that far.

"The Opposition should have accepted the original doctor's certificate," he said.

"In not doing so, they've called into question, in my view, his integrity."

Mr Fitzgibbon says the Opposition has accepted the second certificate.

This morning, Opposition chief whip Warren Entsch defended the decision to demand a new sick note.

"My concern is that the certificate is very vague - he's got abdominal pain," Mr Entsch told AM.

"And my concern is these things can disappear overnight.

"What we need to do is to have some sort of specific diagnosis that will give an insight into his condition that would require and justify a longer-term pairing."

But Australian Medical Association (AMA) president Steve Hambleton said the Opposition was setting a dangerous precedent by publicly questioning the validity of the medical certificate.

Dr Hambleton said employers should be confident that medical certificates were legally binding documents which doctors stake their reputations on.

"We value these certificates very highly, we recognise they are important documents, and we expect that people can be able to rely on them," he said.

"We recognise that making a false statement is actually quite serious, and yes I would commend anyone to respect the reputation of the doctor who provided it."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-19/thomson-granted-pair-after-new-sicknote/3899568?WT.svl=news1

Amongst Warren Entsch's activities and occupations, I can't see anywhere that he's ever been a fully fledged GP, but a spruiker he's been and still is...

Warren's diverse career history has given him a unique insight when representing his constituency in Canberra. He has worked as a railway porter, insurance clerk, real estate salesman, fitter and turner with a mining company, grazier, and crocodile farmer. He served Australia for nine years in the RAAF as an aircraft engine fitter, and has been Chairman of the Cape York Peninsula Advisory Group and the Peninsula Brach of the Cattlemen's Union and was Vice Chairman of the Australian Crocodile Industry Association. http://www.warrenentsch.com.au/AboutWarren/WarrensBio.aspx

 

Despite all the hullabaloo, all the hand-wringing and the wailing from various sections of the mining industry, the passage of the Mineral Resources Rent Tax overnight confirms Australia as one of the world's most benign destinations for miners.

That's right. When it comes to taxing resource companies, Australia is a soft touch, a virtual tax haven.

Not that you will read that anywhere else. More than likely you will continue to be beaten about the head with dire predictions of impending doom and threats of mass defections from our big mining houses.

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And you can expect to see the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, leaping about in a hard hat in the outback banging on that he will repeal this awful tax when he becomes ANPM (Australia's Next Prime Minister).

Cast your information net beyond these shores, however, and you will soon discover that Abbott is swimming against a mighty strong international tide.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/resources-tax-what-you--may-not-know--20120319-1vfvg.html#ixzz1pc0JQp00

 

In moving a motion to suspend standing orders, Mr Abbott tried to tie federal policies to Saturday's poll in Queensland, declaring it a referendum on the carbon tax and Ms Gillard's integrity.

"It'll be a referendum on political leaders who don't tell the truth. It'll be a referendum on political leaders without honour and principle," he said.

"The people of Australia are waiting to pass their verdict. We don't have a federal election, but Mr Speaker we certainly do have a state election and isn't the whole of Australia waiting.

"The voters of Queensland, they won't miss... this Prime Minister and this Leader of the House have got targets on their foreheads."

Leader of the House Anthony Albanese took offence.

"What we saw when the Leader of the Opposition said across the chamber that the Prime Minister and myself had targets on our foreheads, from the political party that quite proudly introduced John Howard's gun laws is an outrage, Mr Speaker," he said.

"We see it day after day that he simply does not have the temperament required of a prime minister."

Mr Abbott said he was sorry for using the phrase.

"Mr Speaker, at the close of my contribution to the suspension of standing orders debate I said something across the table which I shouldn't have," he said.

"I used a metaphor that I regret and I withdraw, and I apologise."

And Mr Albanese again attacked the Opposition's tactics to repeatedly bring Question Time to an end.

"Already in the 43rd parliament, we have lost 27 hours of Question Time - 27 hours as a result of their shutting down of Question Time," Mr Albanese said.

"That is enough time to watch all the Harry Potter movies, to watch the Lord Of The Rings trilogy... It is enough time to complete a course in basic Spanish."

As with the 49 other attempts to suspend standing orders in this parliament, the Opposition lost the motion.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-22/abbott-apologises-for-target-comment/3906838

There you are... Another sample of the little shit at work... The political sociopath of the year on track to become a fully fledge psychopath... The trick here is to push the imbecility as far as one can then APOLOGISE... It's the catholic trick... Sin as much as you like as long as you go to confession... UGLY. UGLY TOXIC TONY... Totally TOXIC TONY....