Liberal senator Bill Heffernan smuggled a fake pipe bomb into parliament to demonstrate what he sees as flaws in its new security system.

As the Australian federal police commissioner, Tony Negus, gave evidence at Senate estimates on on Monday morning, Heffernan waved the supposed pipe bomb and said it was a “joke” that the new system exempts hundreds of people from being screened at security.

Staffers of politicians as well as departmental staff are among those who do not have to put their belongings through security screening, under a new system being trialled in the parliament.

Heffernan told the in the legal and constitutional affairs legislation committee that his fake bomb, which was just a piece of pipe, demonstrated the flaws of the system.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/26/bill-heffernan-hoax-pipe-bomb-senate

Meanwhile, Tony Abbott and his sad lot brought in a budget full of lies in parliament. Security was too lax to detect the sting. The officers in charge of the magnetic booth and of the x-ray machine are dismayed that LIES don't show up on their antiquated machine. They have demanded a new bullshit-detector to STOP anyone in the corridors of power with porkies, fibs, deceit and forgery — especially those hidden in budgie-smugglers. The officers also demanded a beehive MRI machine to make sure Bronwyn Bishop stops smuggling BIAS as well.

...

The Liberal party seems to have learned their lesson. Rather than mount a frontal assault by changing industrial relations laws, this time they're trying to tip the power balance through welfare measures in the budget, in particular the restriction of access to the dole.

The cruelty of forcing people under 30 to spend six months of every year with no income at all is reason alone to block this budget measure. Kicking people off the dole for half of every year is a recipe for homelessness and desperation. People will be forced to do things previously thought unthinkable just to survive.

What hasn't been remarked upon, though, is how it will change workplace culture for Gen Y and everyone who comes after them. Put yourself in the shoes of someone under 30 who is lucky enough to find a job. (ABS figures from April put youth unemployment in Ballarat at 26%, and 14% in Melbourne.) Imagine after a few months you're unlucky enough to find your employer is less than scrupulous. You're on the receiving end of unwelcome sexual advances, or a request that you bend the rules and work fewer hours than you'd agreed, or do unpaid overtime.

You'll have an unsavoury balancing act to perform. Because if you do decide to leave, or if you complain and then find yourself out of a job, you'll spend months on Newstart without a single dollar in benefits. How much would you put up with if you knew a sideways step would take you off a steep cliff with no safety net?

read more : http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/26/workchoices-has-made-an-insidious-comeback-in-this-budget

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has ruled out a television or radio advertising campaign to spruik the budget, telling MPs such a move would be "disingenuous" during the budget emergency.

However sources have told the ABC the Government will embark on a letter or leaflet drop, targeted at those most affected by the Government's proposed budget cuts.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says the Government has a "responsibility" to tell the public about how its changes will affect voters.

"We're going to be doing what needs to be done to ensure that all of the different people and groups across Australia that are impacted by various budget decisions understand how exactly they're being impacted and not being impacted," he said.

"So we will do that in the usual way."

The Treasurer's parliamentary secretary Steve Ciobo has played down how much any advertising campaign will cost, saying it can be funded by the existing allowances allocated to MPs.

"I fundamentally believe that within the fixed budgets that already apply to members of parliament that we'll be able to push that message," he said.

"I'm talking about the budgets that are made appropriate for MPs to use to communicate messages to their electorates."

But Mr Ciobo was unable to confirm if the Government would fund any further advertising and but praised efforts to communicate with voters as a "good approach" when asked if he would support further spending.

Opposition frontbencher Brendan O'Connor seized on the Government's comments.

"The reason why this Government would have to spend taxpayers' dollars and take that from places like schools and hospitals to sell the message is because Joe Hockey and Tony Abbott cannot sell this budget," he said.

"The reason they cannot sell this budget is because this budget is a budget of broken promises, a litany of lies by the Government, imposing cruel measures on the Australian people."

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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-27/cormann-hints-at-taxpayer-funded-budget-ad-campaign/5480170

New documents reveal millions of dollars of funding for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse have been re-directed to the home insulation inquiry.

The Opposition is demanding Attorney-General George Brandis give a complete explanation to show the Abbott Government is fully committed to getting justice for victims of child sexual abuse.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was set up by former PM Julia Gillard and has been hearing harrowing stories from victims since the beginning of last year.

The Royal Commission into the Home Insulation Program was established by the Coalition Government and is looking into the deaths of contractors working on the former Labor government's stimulus scheme.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-28/the-attorney-general27s-department-has-confirmed-millions-of-d/5482568

New senator Jacqui Lambie says the Prime Minister put his political career ahead of his daughters' safety by "parading" them for the media in last year's election campaign.

The Tasmanian senator, who took office on Tuesday, launched the criticism of Tony Abbott in an interview on Radio National this morning, adding that she believed the Coalition leader was a "political psychopath".

"What really finished it off with me was when in the last election how he was parading his daughters around ... because that's a security issue," she said.

Senator Lambie said being a former Army corporal, this was the "last straw" for her in assessing Mr Abbott's character.

"That really bothers me that you've got those pretty young girls running around in front of a camera, and I just thought, 'Is your political career more important than your own daughters' security?'," she said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-03/lambie-claims-abbott-put-career-before-daughters-safety/5568286

Gus: I personally think Tony is a psycho, but not for the same reasons... His views are totally in line with the destruction of the planet... It's hard to know what position Lambie and her colleagues have on this subject, though THEIR expressed DESIRE TO REPEAL THE CARBON PRICING tells me they also are in the same boat as Turdy Tony...  See toon at top...

Asked whether the treasurer continued to enjoy his full support, Abbott said “of course” but then again quickly switched to a defence of the budget itself, the economic case for reducing government expenditure and the difficulties of saying to people: “the benefits you were told you can have are not affordable, they were never affordable”.

read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/15/tony-abbott-fails-to-back-joe-hockey-on-fuel-excise-controversy

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Yes so why did Turdy promised the moon before the elections when he knew he could not catch it???

And really, everything is "affordable", including a house on a huge mortgage if you can pay the interest...

And there WAS NOT A SKERRICK of whiff that Australia could default. All this has been invented by the team of neo-fascist running this country to make you suffer while they enjoy cigars... Tony talks shit and LIES while he and Hockey are idiots... Add Pyne to this as well...