The man who opened the can of worms about Abbott’s potential ineligibility to sit in Parliament, Tony Magrathea, explains why he is not a “birther”, as some have alleged.

Why. Some people are wondering why I have been at Tony Abbott to tell the when of his renunciation of his British citizenship.

Let me make this plain: I am not a birther.

I know where Tony Abbott was born, when he was born and who his parents were. I know when he got his Australian citizenship and why. The missing bit is the when of his renunciation.

I was born in the UK in the same year as the Prime Minister and we both came to Australia as part of the £10 pom programme. In my case, I was an addendum to a sheet of paper in my father’s passport — the sheet of paper showed mum was dad’s wife. We were a little better than the Abbotts, we flew.

In 2013, around the time of the election, I decided to have a look at the other ten pound pom and see his story. And things didn’t quite add up.

There was talk of him getting citizenship by descent, which seemed to wipe out his pommieness. There was talk of him never being British, of him having two Australian parents, or one Aussie, one pom. 

So, being the sort of person who needs to know why things aren’t quite sitting right, I looked.

In February 2014, I was looking at his Australian citizenship papers in the National Archive of Australia when they went secret. Disappeared off the screen and out of the NAA online archive. Strange and stranger.

I delved deeper and found out about the Constitution, section 44 which stops dual nationals from being parliamentarians. So off I went to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to see how I go about getting a look at his renunciation papers. I found out these were called the Form RN. 

I had never made an FOI request before, so I asked the public servants in the department how you go about it. Peta Credlin contacted me and said if I ever lodged an application for an FOI peek at the Form RN, she would refuse it.

Another why? Why would she say that? Why would the chief of staff of the Australian prime minister suddenly become a clerk class 5 or 6 and do FOI requests?

Me, being who I am, waited until she was off in Washington with the boss before lodging the FOI application. I figured that being a liberal she couldn’t resist the chance of a holiday part paid by the public purse, I bet she would stay away for a holiday. It seems she did and the public servant I was talking to at PM&C was “that close “ to releasing the results of my FOI request.

read more: http://www.independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/not-a-birther,6866

From Victoria Rollison

Since political journalists so love to talk about Labor Party narrative, I think it’s time we turned the tables and talked about mainstream media narratives instead. The one I would like to specifically discuss is the media’s recent coverage of the one year milestone of the Abbott government. From what I have seen and heard so far, these are the mandatory ingredients of the media’s narrative marking this occasion, with the consistency of a wheel in a track. This review of the media narrative also, handily, becomes my critique of Abbott’s first year as Prime Minister. One stone, two dead birds and all that.

Acknowledging the kept promises

Abbott is given a big thumbs up for doing what all Prime Ministers were expected to do until he broke pretty much every promise he made during his first twelve months and Teflon-like changed the expectations that a Prime Minister shouldn’t lie. So on the three occasions that Abbott didn’t lie – promising to get rid of the Carbon Price and Mining Tax and stopping the boats, he gets a round of applause from the mainstream media.

This applause definitely does not include any critique of the effect these decisions will have on the community. Because discussion of policy outcomes is forbidden. All the journos need to know is that Abbott said he was going to get rid of the Carbon Price, the Mining Tax, and stop the boats and he’s done that, so big tick to Abbott! You’ll see no comment on the devastation that the demise of the Carbon Price, with no policy to replace it, will have on our environment, even though a study has already reveals that emissions went up immediately after the repeal. You’ll see no comment on the impact of the death of the Mining Tax on wealth inequality.

And has Abbott really stopped the boats if they’re still leaving Indonesia only to be turned around in secret military-like on-water operations that break international treaties and desperate people are sometimes sent back to the hell-hole they came from? One murdered asylum seeker and one death due to sub-standard third-world medical care and a damaged relationship with Indonesia doesn’t seem to me to be a successful policy. But if it kept a promise, it’s fine apparently.

However, if you cared to judge the Abbott government not on their ability to keep a promise, but on their ability to be humane and to work in the best interests of the community while keeping a promise, they have clearly failed. You won’t hear the media making this point.

read more: http://victoriarollison.com/2014/09/06/abbotts-first-year-the-media-narrative/

If a prime minister breaks promises made repeatedly to 15 million voters and then insists he hasn’t done it, will they eventually believe him? It’s almost the opposite of the famous philosophical musing: if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Everyone in Australia must have heard Tony Abbott say he would make “no cuts to health, no cuts to education … and no changes to the pension”. They heard him say parents could “vote Labor or Liberal and get exactly the same amount of funding for your school”.

The government then cut $80bn from health and education payments to the states in the budget, shocking and angering premiers. The state leaders were clear the federal government had “cut” their funding, “flick-passing” to them the need to figure out exactly where the savings should be made.

However they do it, there will be less money for schools and hospitals.

The government also decided that aged, disability and carer pensions would from 2017 increase by the consumer price index (CPI) – in other words inflation – and not (as they have for the past 20 years) by average weekly earnings, an increase that is almost always higher.

It’s exactly because it increases at the higher rate that the aged pension is now worth $7,500 more a year than unemployment benefits. The new pension indexation rates will mean the pension is worth $4,000 a year less in real terms in 10 years’ time. And it’s because the pensions will now increase at a lower rate that the decision delivered a substantial budget saving.

read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/07/tony-abbott-protects-a-vulnerable-claim-that-he-hasnt-broken-promises

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has assured Tasmanians the withdrawal of federal police will not make Hobart Airport vulnerable to a terrorist attack.

The decision to remove 27 federal police officers from the airport came as a $22 million budget cut.

With ASIO considering raising Australia's terror threat level from medium to "high", independent Denison MP Andrew Wilkie has warned the airport could come under threat when AFP officers leave.

Also Tasmania Police want a review of the pullout if the terror threat alert is raised.

But speaking in northern Tasmania this morning, Mr Abbott defended the move and insisted Tasmania would not become a soft target.

"I am confident that the state and Commonwealth authorities are working together to ensure that the terrorist threat in Tasmania is no worse than elsewhere in our country," he said.

"You will also find national security being taken very, very seriously by this Government."

read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-11/abbott-defends-removal-of-federal-police-from-hobart-airport/5736952

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Taswegians have only one thing to fear... That they fall off the map.

There you are. The removal of federal police from Hobart airport ensures that the terrorist threat in Tasmania is no worse than elsewhere in our country... Only a weasel idiot would come up with such crap... But then our prime minister is a ....

Meanwhile, be reassured: 

Australian Federal Police have apologised after leaving 230 grams of plastic explosive in an unclaimed suitcase at Sydney Airport.

The Newcastle Herald reports the explosive was discovered after the unclaimed bag was given to a woman as a replacement for her damaged bag.

The explosives were left behind after a training exercise on August 14 but discovered on Tuesday after the woman took the unclaimed bag. 

After finding the device, the woman immediately took it to Cessnock police.

Cessnock police station was temporarily evacuated as a safety precaution.

The device was not live, AFP said.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott, former prime minister John Howard and Queensland Premier Campbell Newman are holding a $5,000-a-head dinner to raise cash for the Liberal National Party (LNP) ahead of next year's state election.

The dinner, which Brisbane Mayor Graham Quirk and LNP state and federal ministers will also attend, could raise $500,000.

Whoever buys tickets will not have to be declared by the LNP after the party increased the reporting threshold earlier this year from $1000 to $12,800.

Labor however said it would voluntarily declare amounts more than $1,000.

Labor leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said Queenslanders would not know who was attending the event or buying access.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-29/lnp-fundraiser-complies-with-political-donation/5775302

All political donations should be declared because one cannot trust anyone, especially in a political party, not to do favours for cash. ALL POLITICAL DONATIONS SHOULD BE DECLARED. It would make life a lot easier for everyone. Meanwhile, we can only be VERY suspicious of a dinner at $5000 a plate... Anyone buying such thing might get away with the cutlery as well... Favours? Yes, there might be a lot of favours paid back...

The email chain from November 2012 documents a heated exchange between the director of Foundation 51, Graeme Lewis, and the newly-minted CLP president Braedon Earley.

Responding to questions from Mr Earley about the purpose of Foundation 51 and who controls it, Mr Lewis wrote:

"I am the sole director and shareholder, with Terry Mills for obvious reasons, not appearing on the registers, but adopting a directorial role throughout.

"As you very well know, it was set up for, and supported by numbers of business people and has necessarily had to operate absolutely separately from the Party in order to keep its activities away from public scrutiny."

Foundation 51 Pty Ltd is currently under investigation by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) after allegations were made in May this year about its links to senior members of the CLP and its involvement in the Blain by-election – Ms Mills' former seat.

Senior figures in the party, including current Chief Minister Adam Giles, have repeatedly denied any knowledge of the activities of Foundation 51 and their links to the NT Government.

read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-09/former-nt-chief-minister-held-director-role-foundation-51-emails/5802616