The Liberal party has elected to stick with its plebiscite policy – with a postal vote as a backup – rather than moving immediately to a free vote, after a special party room discussion on Monday evening.

Liberals were told at the opening of the party room meeting the cabinet was in favour of resuscitating the government’s original plebiscite proposal, followed by a postal vote in the event the plebiscite is rejected by parliament once again.

After a two-hour discussion, only a handful of Liberal MPs, some sources say six, others say eight, raised their hands when Malcolm Turnbull asked people to indicate whether or not they wanted the plebiscite dumped now, and the party to move to a free vote.

read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/07/marriage-equality...

 

ON ALL ISSUES,  from the NBN, the clean coal furphy to marriage equality, Malcolm has shown "leadership" like the head lemming leading the rest off the cliff — or like the first rat to leave the ship to show the others how to do it... It's the "leadership you have when you don't know what you're doing or are afraid of making a decision which might create happiness and certainty in most of the community. On the NBN, his obsession with connection to the node is more than imbecilic. It's downright sabotaging Australia's future. Same with his "clean coal" vision. His "innovative country" program reeks of nepotism with mates and of helping accountancy to become as sexy as a cancan at the Moulin Rouge, Paris... It won't work. Nothing works... but with his clinched fists awkwardly stroking the air before him, he tries to appear as if he was a "leader", while he is no more than a pale imitation of an old drill-sergeant who has seen too many useless recruits.

We deserve better... MUCH BETTER.

 

Here comes Turnbull saying that we've got to go through the motion of a fait accompli as explained by arty-farty Brandis in his inimitable mannerism:

 

Federal Attorney-General George Brandis has predicted same-sex marriage will be legal by Christmas, as the Government prepares to hold a postal vote to gauge Australians' views on the issue.

Key points:

• If the bill passes the Senate a plebiscite will be held November 25
• But if it is rejected as expected, a postal vote would start as early as September 12
• The PM says he wants to give "every Australian a say" on the issue

 

The Government has decided on a non-binding postal ballot if the Senate refuses to approve a compulsory plebiscite.

It would cost $122 million and instead of being run by the Electoral Commission, it would be conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Voters would begin receiving ballots on September 12, ahead of a count on November 7, but voting would not be compulsory.

The Government will move to revive debate on a bill for a compulsory plebiscite this week, but the Senate is again expected to block it.

Senator Brandis, who is a same-sex marriage supporter, said he "profoundly hopes" the Senate will support the bill, describing a postal plebiscite as "the next best option".

"If the Senate blocks that course of action once again then we will go to a postal plebiscite, because we are going to exhaust every option to ensure the Australian people have their say," he told 7.30.

"My job is to ensure that as many people, as many members of the Australian public participate in this great act of democratic choice."

Read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-08/same-sex-marriage-pm-moves-to-hold...

A great act of democratic choice?... Well, I guess Turnbullshit, the self-appraised "strong leader" — with clenched fists and glass jaws — as he defines himself because he does not deviate from the declared plebiscited bullshit of his CONservative mates, unlike — we are told in a low blow by this misery gutbull that Julia Gillard who had said "no carbon tax" (fuck off, idiot turdshit, to denigrate something that worked well) and gave us a carbon pricing THAT WAS WORKING WONDERS IN REDUCING AUSTRALIA'S CARBON FOOTPRINT, unlike his own turdbullshitting fucking meddlings in "clean coal", but in the mind of these ridiculous idiots led then by Abbott, now by Trumble (if that's his name to Trump-the-Imperator) is the same thing as a tax when it's not — he has to stick to the wet petards of his own party's plebiscite, under the threats of Tony Abbott leading a revolt against pretty pissy leadership which he sells as superglued to his trousers, when according to his Attorney General the whole saga will be declared in favour (they certainly hope not in their CONservative underwear) of marriage equality by Christmas after spending a lot of cash for a known result anyway. All this nonsense which could be simply done by parliament that is paid for making fucking decisions, would save time and money, which in regard to these CONservative monkeys is the essence of their claimed existence: efficiency and planning... Yeah, like the Malcolmian disastrous NBN... Ah for Annabel to kick him in the nuts on our behalf... but she is the queen of sitting on fences, or placing her nose in all troughs and food baskets, especially those of Kanbra...

We are far more intelligent than the fools you take us for, Malcolm... and your silly "leadership" antics are a stain and strain on Australia — and an abortion of true leadership in general...

 

 

The strategy of the marriage equality opponents in the Coalition is to retain the conservative status quo at all costs, says Dr Martin Hirst.

THE OPPONENTS of marriage equality came a step closer to blocking the popular move yesterday when Liberal Party MPs decided by an overwhelming majority to stick to a policy of deflecting, pretending and ignoring good sense and common sense.

Good sense should have informed them that bringing the matter forward for a free conscience vote in both houses of Parliament is what the vast majority of Australians want them to do.

Common sense should have told them that sticking to the time-wasting and false "promise" of an expensive, but non-binding plebiscite on the issue would make Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull look weak, embolden his conservative opponents in the party and proven – once again – that the Liberals are a party of reaction, blocking and bigotry, not the hopeful, social progressives Malcolm desperately wants his dwindling band of supporters to believe in.

The position adopted 28 to 7 in the Liberals’ party room was to put the non-binding plebiscite position to the Senate again with the Plan B option being an even less legitimate non-compulsoryand non-binding postal vote.

I don't know what's worse: how stupid this decision is, or how clear it is that Malcolm Turnbull doesn't really care about #MarriageEquality

— Sarah Hanson-Young (@sarahinthesen8) August 7, 2017

This strategy seems like a rotten compromise. It is. It represents Malcolm the Appeaser at his unprincipled worst. It is a terrible plan that has the fulsome support of all the opponents of same sex union. They are the real winners; everyone else, including Turnbull, is a loser.

Just take a moment to really think through what the Liberals endorsed last night:

• Plan A represents an idea to the Senate that it has already rejected as unworkable, unnecessary and stupid, and which the ALP, the Greens and enough cross-benchers to sink it have already said they will block.
• Plan B is to threaten a really awful Plan B – the postal vote – in an attempt to force reluctant senators to back Plan A ‘or else’.

It’s like holding a gun to your own head during a bank robbery while high on crack cocaine and threatening to shoot the puppy unless the bank-teller gives you all the five-cent pieces.

read more:

https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/turnbull-take...

 

Yep, this is a more polite assessment than Gus' own old fart rant... see  a "strong" leader with a weak pissy bladder...

 

The French Government has been deemed too "technocrat", with unpopular and unknown ministers roaming the place. Macron's choices are severely judged by the French, according to a recent survey. After a year in power, the love for Macronics is sick.
As the government is about to celebrate its one year in power, the majority of its members are still unknown to the French. This is the result of an Odoxa poll for Dentsu consulting, released by Le Figaro and Franceinfo on April 26
Six out of ten French people are unhappy with the government, whose key ministers remain little known a year after taking office. 78% of French people also think the government ministers are "distant from the people" and that they are "technocrats".
Overall, 40% of respondents say they are satisfied with the government and 31% have a "bad opinion" of ministers as a whole. 46% of French respondents have no clue about the members of the government to express an opinion.
Macron is somewhat more popular than his ministers. My take on this is that with his fake "universalism" about the US and Europe is "welcome" in France as people see he is trying to push France's interests, ahead of the EU, to supersede Germany as the leader of the pack. 
Ignorance does not spare the holders of the major departments: one in five people still do not know enough about the Prime Minister to have a view, three in ten French people say the same for the Ministers of Economy, the Interior (31%) and Foreign Affairs (35%) and four out of ten have no knowledge of who is the Ministers of Education (41%) and of Labor (41%).
Being known does not necessarily make you better. "When they know the ministers, they often have a worse opinion (31%) rather than a good opinion (23%)" say the pollsters.

The French public is doing a bit better though than the general opinion of the Aussie “Liberal” Abbott/Turnbull (CONservative) government — now in its 60th loosing poll position, soon 61st. But what really mattered was “elections time” when on its first and second election to power, the present "Liberal" (CONservative) government lied through its teeth to steal the show.
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