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advance australia fair...
The 2013 Boyer Lecture series have been presented by Her Excellency, The Honourable Quentin Bryce AC CVO, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia.
The title of the series, Back to Grassroots, reflects the Governor-General’s involvement in community, the law, and human rights activism, reform and practice throughout her personal and professional life. Whilst she has occupied formal public roles on state and federal bodies, and leadership and teaching roles within academic institutions, the motivation for her work has primarily come from her experiences and observations on the ground, in the lives of Australian women and children. Consistent with this philosophy, the Governor-General has, in her current role, taken a hands-on approach to her outreach and engagement with the Australian community. This lecture series takes listeners on a journey “back to grassroots” in the context of her own life and work over the last fifty years, and in the context of contemporary Australia.
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Gus: I would have been disappointed had the Governor General, Her Excellency Quentin Bryce, not thrown a curly at those pussy-footing politicians about Australian contemporary issues... Did she mention global change? I think so... Did she mention Women's rights? I think so... Did she mention marriage equality? I think so... And did she mention the republic? Not by name but by wishing for an Australian head of state sooner than later... All visionary and clear. Simple. Anyone who disagree here is either a fool or a stick in the mud... Some may be both — like that hapless David Flint who when the word republic is uttered anywhere is always rolled out like a wheelie-bin by the media to show "balance" and stir controversy...
The issues are essential for the future of this country but the little rat in Canberra will have none of that: He hates the concept of global warming and does not "believe" in it, He placed Himself as the Minister in charge of women's affairs (WHAT A JOKE!) rather than have a woman doing the gig, he hates gays, despite someone in the family being a lesbian and the republic? NEVER on his watch...
You know what you have to do... Kick him out, Any self respecting woman, those who are not from the anti-feminist league of Janet and Miranda, should fight him teeth and nails...
And the media? Pathetic... Even the ABC has used the most idiotic controversial headlines on their website front page, which the ABC has changed possibly due to readers complaints:
first:
then:
and:
Noteworthy too, I am sure that the ABC would have got many smiling pictures of the GG at the Boyer Lecture — far more lively pictures with a genuine smile that this woman always has... But the ABC had to chose the ephemeral dour moment... Sad ABC News... But at least thank you to RN (formally know by the glorious name of Radio National), ABC for having given the opportunity to a genuine courageous woman to speak her mind. I believe Mark Scott would have died of apoplexy if he had been present, unless he is a secret republican, who knows...
- By Gus Leonisky at 23 Nov 2013 - 1:25pm
- Gus Leonisky's blog
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bold important issues — not sensitive...
Quentin Bryce spoke out in favour of gay marriage during her Boyer Lecture address last night, stating she hoped Australia might become a nation where "people are free to love and marry whom they choose".
She then added: "And where perhaps, my friends, one day, one young girl or boy may even grow up to be our nation's first head of state."
It is the first time a governor-general has publicly supported a republic while still serving as the Queen's representative.
The republican movement has applauded the comments, but the Governor-General has drawn fire from other quarters.
Liberal Senator Dean Smith says Ms Bryce had crossed the line by voicing opinions on two sensitive political issues
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-23/republicans-welcome-governor-general-support-for-republic/5112658#comments
Gus: It is about time someone like the GG relaunched the important issues that have gone soggy in the head of most Australians, mostly due to the soporific media pushing prancing prices and birthing princesses, distracting us from the real issues at hand... including pushing their unscientific agenda... So the GG conversed on:
Global warming
Gender equality
Marriage equality
and the Republic.
The destruction of the economy by Joe Banana can wait, as he is hell-bent on spending moneys you don't have on project that are unimportant in the scheme of things...
tony supports gg right to speak — not the issues...
Tony Abbott says it is "more than appropriate" for the governor-general to publicly support gay marriage and a push for Australia to become a republic.
Quentin Bryce, the Queen's Australian representative, said in the final Boyer lecture of the year in Sydney on Friday she hoped the nation would evolve into a country where "people are free to love and marry whom they choose".
"And where perhaps, my friends, one day, one young girl or boy may even grow up to be our nation's first head of state."
Abbott, a staunch monarchist who opposes gay marriage, said: "It's more than appropriate for the governor-general approaching the end of her term to express a personal view.
"And as you'd expect of Quentin Bryce, she did it in graceful style."
Asked whether Bryce's comments had swayed his view, Abbott said: "Different people have different views on these subjects. She was expressing her view, others express their views."
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/23/tony-abbott-quentin-bryce-right-republic
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Gus: my toon at top is still valid... More valid than ever. Tony does not want to stifle the GG... it would be bad manners to stop the formidable Quentin Bryce from expressing "views". He wants to defuse the issues as quickly as possible... any argument he would about the GG speaking out would reinforce the value of the issues presented, issues he totally disagree with and does not want to be exposed more than he is prepared to cope with...
By endorsing the right of the GG to speak, he thinks that this would defuses the power of the issues. Hopefully not.
Tony is a clever idiot... I have heard some people calling him an imbecile... I disagree: he is an idiot. So what is the difference? I could wrong but I believe an imbecile is a genetic medical condition that affect intelligence. An idiot is a deliberate ignoramus gone bonkers.
saved by the soccer belles and the DIY dads...
Today's headline in the Sunday Terrorgraph is something about "soccer mums and DIY dads clogging up Sydney traffic" on Saturday... My personal observation is that traffic was no more clogged than usual on Saturday... from Monday to Fridays, trucks, buses and accountants in Mercs clog up the place, especially if it rains like last Friday and many impatient morons get stuck in the middle of cross-traffic zones, creating massive mayhem.
In regard to the "soft" headline for a ST, my guess here is that Typhoon Tony did not want the issues raise by the GG to hit THAT front page and though he would have had support and praise from the grubby ST, it would not have won him any points... Had he not "defuse" the GG issue beforehand, the merde-och press would have gone to town trying to milk the issues — and suddenly apart from having to extinguish the Indonesian fire, Tony would have had to reiterate his idiotic views on climate change, marriage equality, the republic and women's lib...
As I said before (see above comment) Tony is a smart idiot. He would know that Quentin Bryce is a quietly spoken woman with a stainless steel-trap mind and a formidable sense for justice and social values... Tony flies off the cuff and has to think hard about which side he's going to butter his morning toast. He might delegate this complex choice, mind you...
If it had come down to a philosophical match between the GG and Tony, Tony knew he was mince meat... He had to avoid this and one has to admit he is very gallant, giving bouquets to ladies, despite being a fierce closet misogynist...
a dead weight takes on a progressive...
From Amanda Vanstone...People like me, who are republicans and sympathetic to gay marriage, have no reason to be pleased with the Governor-General's outspoken support for these two causes. She has done them no good. The public outing of her position is unlikely to sway anyone not already sympathetic to those views.
Quentin Bryce has done a decent job of being Governor-General. It is, however, unlikely that she would be ranked up there in the popularity or affection stakes with the likes of Sir Ninian Stephen and others. The point is that whatever you think of her relative success as Governor-General, she will not leave the job being held in the minds of many Australians as having any particular insight that eludes others. She is not an opinion maker.
So what are we to make of this announcement on the republic and gay marriage? Does the Governor-General think that her personal political views are relevant to the rest of us? This is not the first time she has entered the political fray. The last time I recall was her advocacy of a legislative change in relation to women. She is entitled to her views. But ought they be considered more persuasive than anybody else's? In relation to gay marriage or women, there can be no reason to value her view more than those held by others.
As to whether we should become a republic, it may be that she believes the experience of being Governor-General has given her a deeper understanding of and commitment to that constitutional change. But she should have waited until she left the office before expressing them.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-lookatme-gg-20131124-2y3so.html#ixzz2lawzFD3c
Gus: Amanda, Amanda, Amanda... Yours are fake weak pissy views of the subjects at hand... You support Tony Abbott who at best is a moral compass smasher and an old oldie worldie living in the nineteenth century — and at worse he sleeps with the devil himself... Someone in high office has to publicly push his buttons and who better than Quentin Bryce, Her Excellency the Governor General to do this in a dignified and gentle way... Tony does not want to take her to task front on because he knows he could not win THAT fight.
But he is expecting people like you and rabid Bolt to throw under-the-belt punches on his behalf... Tony Abbott is a weasel and an idiot. By attacking the GG, you show you are a fake pissy republican. You are a fake pissy defender of marriage equality. You have missed the boat on feminism and you never understood the problem of climate change...
You are lucky that Auntie is giving you a platform to express your pissy views... I wish I had the same reach for my own pissy views.
And please, don't tell me you understand what that Joe "Hackney" does. Joe himself does NOT know what he is doing on the economic front. He has no clue other than to bullshit his frame around and write blank cheques for the extravagance of the party of loonies you support, Amanda...
Quentin Bryce is a progressive. You are a dead weight.
vanstone lives in a glasshouse...
There is no doubt Ms Bryce is always sartorially elegant. It's possible the President noticed this elegance at the airport. If he did he would have been a little surprised at the ensuing luncheon to see the G-G in a new outfit. It appears the G-G and her escort had hightailed it from Fairbairn Air Base to Yarralumla so she could change outfits. Then they had to pump a bit more gas and probably get the traffic lights flicked to green so that her excellency would not be late for lunch.President Obama and then prime minister Julia Gillard had simply gone on in their clothes from the airport to the lunch. Perhaps they both thought that what they did, how they conducted themselves, was more important than their clothes.
If the President did notice the G-G's change of clothes, it would have told him something about her. Just as it told us. What's that line from Kath and Kim? ''Look at me, look at me.''
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-lookatme-gg-20131124-2y3so.html#ixzz2lbsTUYCz
Gus: that is so idiotic and NASTY... I though Amanda was a decent human being who accidentally had fallen with the wrong crowd and started to support the ultra-right wing thinking it was like bringing a plate to a picnic in the park..... Disappointed I am... Amanda could have stated that she did not like the GG to speak her mind on essential issues for this country and leave it at this... but to attack Quentin Bryce sensibly changing shoes and dress is beyond the pale... But I would be careful for comparing the GG to Kath... Amanda could be be thought of as "SHARON"... Think about it.....
And yes, in one of the comments above I meant "prancing princes and birthing princesses"... The keyboard must have slipped with an "n" missing... and it was late at night... and I am old...
gus the dog has nothing to do with gus the cartoonist...
Governor-General Quentin Bryce should be applauded for calling for an Australia republic and Amanda Vanstone should stop acting like her dog Gus, says senior correspondent Barry Everingham.
When I opened my copy of The Age today I saw there was a pointer to a piece by Amanda Vanstone looking at the remarks made by our Governor General, Quentin Bryce. Dear old Amanda, she can always be relied on for a laugh and even, at times, a cry.
Who will forget the treatment of Cornelia Rau under her watch as Immigration Supremo. (Or Kevin Andrews and Dr Haneef. What is it with these conservatives? Look at Scott Morrison right now, or better not.)
Back to Amanda when she was our Ambassador in Rome.
She will be mainly remembered for one incident and once incident only. The dreadful out of control dog of hers, Gus, who tried to take a piece out of the Pakistani Ambassador when he was making an official diplomatic call on our Amanda.
At the time, I was briefed on a daily basis of Amanda's faux pas and I was delighted to hear she used many hours of Federal Police time trying to unearth the source of my information.
Back to her story in The Age — ‘The ‘look at me’ G-G’. Amanda went in boots and all but shot herself in the foot with her closing paragraphs, which rehashed that old furphy when Her Excellency the Governor General changed clothes after meeting Barack Obama on his arrival in Australia, before rushing to a luncheon in his honour.
Come on Amanda, you should know better.
read more: http://www.independentaustralia.net/australia/australia-display/the-governor-general-and-the-attack-dog,5921
Disclaimer: Gus, Amanda's dog has nothing to do with Gus the cartoonist... Gus being short for Gustaphian Leonisky...
madam, the president...
In their joint press conference Mr Abbott described her as an icon for democracy, saying it was a great honour to meet her.
"I was an opposition leader myself for four years; I know that that position has some exhilarations and some frustrations," he said.
"Let's hope as time goes by the exhilarations are greater and the frustrations are lesser."
However Ms Suu Kyi, at an address to the Lowy Institute, earlier revealed she does not like the term 'democracy icon'.
"I look upon myself as a politician and not as an icon," she said.
"I always object to the word 'icon' ... it just sort of hangs on the wall, and I work very hard ... so I do object to being referred to as an icon, it seems to indicate that I do nothing except let myself be shown."
She says she has had to make difficult choices in her fight for democratic change in Myanmar, but she would not call them sacrifices.
"I chose the path I wanted to walk and I have no right to complain about it," she said.
"I am satisfied. I had the right and the opportunity to choose the path I wanted to walk and not everyone has that opportunity and I consider myself fortunate."
Ms Suu Kyi is using her first visit to Australia to highlight the fight against HIV AIDS and Myanmar's path to democracy, as well as to appeal for Australia's support in her bid for the presidency.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-28/aung-san-suu-kyi-weighs-in-on-asylum-debate/5123282
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Am I the only dude to see the enormous irony here?... Ms Suu Kyi comes to the "Kingdom of Aussiedom" to get support to her bit for the PRESIDENCY in her own democratic country... And of course Tony Rabbitt understood zip of the whatever Ms Suu Kyi was talking about in regard to refugees, the law of the land and about mercy — which is a word he and Morrison have long erased from their nazi vocab...
Note: Under the Abbott government, democracy is going backwards in Australia... 1956, 1954, 1950...
GG gripes on the grapevine...
I have no idea...
But with my nose to the ground and with my ears in the wind, I have heard rumours that our GG has been slightly shunted till the new one comes in... Apparently, and I have no reliable sources for this, Quentin Bryce overseas functions have been cancelled by the Abbott government as soon as she mentioned the Australian Head of State caper in her Boyer Lectures, while her abode is now being refurbished ahead of schedule. Thus if the info that flies through the air like a carrier pigeon is correct, the Bryces have been pushed out to live frugally in a modest villa in Canberra. Apparently according to a jet-black crow passing by, Yarralumla is being redecorated to suit a major general, a certain admiral Cosgrove. Not an admiral I replied to the bird of doom that went on his way laughing at me with a caustic call...
Actually, the Cosgrove said with gravitas that he would not be political (unless he said he would be a-political), meaning straight away he would sleep in the same bed as the conservatives. But he would tour with Adam Goodes as soon as he would get the GG gig...
Don't quote me on this 100 per cent satisfying rumour.