Malcolm Turnbull ordered a departmental investigation into whether Barnaby Joyce breached the ministerial code of conduct – but his departmental head has now canned the inquiry on the basis that there is “little to be gained” now that the former Nationals leader has moved to the backbench.

While the investigation – requested by Turnbull when the Joyce controversy was at its height but not disclosed until Senate estimates on Monday, has now been terminated – the independent authority charged with administering parliamentarians’ expenses is continuing to audit the taxpayer-funded travel undertaken by the member for New England and his former staffer and now partner, Vikki Campion.

As the investigations were revealed in Senate estimates hearings on Monday, the National party president, Larry Anthony, had a revelation of his own.

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/feb/26/turnbulls-order-t...

This is sweeping the dirt under the carpet... but no matter what, beetroot juice stains need something stronger than a broom...

An official email was sent from the office of Nola Marino —the Chief Government Whip and federal Member for Forrest — this morning with an old image of Tony Abbott sitting and chatting with Barnaby Joyce on the backbench in the House of Representatives.

The image compared the men to school children and suggested Mr Joyce had gotten into trouble and was now forced to sit next to "the weird kid no-one likes". 

The email, which was recalled just minutes later, was sent to numerous journalists. 

It was later confirmed that Ryan Hadjimihalakis, a media adviser who also goes by the name Ryan Hadji, had been sacked for sending the email.

Read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-26/barnaby-joyce-joke-email-results-i...

Barnarby should have been sacked for being a whatever....

McCormack was the editor of Wagga Wagga’s Daily Advertiser from 1992 to 2001, and wrote the editorials in 1993 as part of his weekly column “From the editor’s desk”.

Since he entered politics, McCormack has consistently apologised for a column he wrote in May that year, where he said it was “unfortunate” that “gays are here to stay”. He apologised when he first ran for office in 2010, and again in August last year, saying: “I have grown and learned not only to tolerate, but to accept all people regardless of their sexual orientation.”

But in further editorials from the same period he said he “wasn’t sorry” about his views, branded himself “homophobic”, mocked women’s sport, and advocated for the death penalty. 

On April 3 1993, he wrote: “This week’s spate of violent crimes has again rekindled the debate as to whether the death penalty should be re-introduced.

“Those opposed to capital punishment argue that it hasn’t deterred the incidence of crimes ...[and] there is also the possibility an innocent person may be put to death.

“However there is a strong and growing case for capital punishment. Let’s face it, perpetrators of heinous crimes are getting off far too lightly.”

He added that capital punishment was “an extremely sensitive and emotional debate” and that the death penalty should be decided through a referendum. 

Another editorial supported the mandatory HIV testing of all prisoners, and called for the curtailment of prisoner’s rights. 

“Don’t let do-gooders stop the testing of prisoners for HIV,” he wrote on 4 September. “From the moment someone is sentenced to ‘do time’ until they’re let out, that person gives up most of their rights.”

...

An editorial on 11 September [1996?] argued against proposed legislation to prevent the vilification of gay people.

“Homosexuals want to be accepted as part of society, yet want special treatment,” he wrote. “If this had been passed now, what further ‘favouritism’ would these people get in future?”

In the lead-up to Sydney’s successful 2000 Olympics bid, McCormack also wrote that women’s soccer “trivialised” the Games. 

“The IOC’s decision to include beach volleyball, mountain bike racing and women’s soccer at the 1996 Atlanta Games has surely given hope to tiddly-winks one day becoming an Olympic event. I can see it now … the 2000 Sydney Olympics with egg and spoon, three-legged and sack races, jelly wrestling and marbles.”

In another editorial on 9 October, he also called for the return of caning in high schools, saying “there is nothing wrong, in my opinion, with students ... being given a ‘stinging reminder’ about how to conduct themselves”. 

On Wednesday, McCormack told Guardian Australia that none of these articles reflected his current views.

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/feb/28/michael-mccormack...

The Michaelia Cash rubbish did not come out of the blue... As Trumbleshit battled parliament to say unconvincingly he had "total" confidence in Michaelia, as she was "under pressure" (CRAP), something weird came up on the ABC 7:30 report. It linked the Michaelia outburst to the Joyce sexual erect candle... Sorry ABC, there is no real "direct link" between Cash and Joyce except they are from the same COALition political rubbish-bin and would have shared nasty comments about their political "opponents" with guffaw, guffaw....

All the Cash apologists say that she flipped under pressure... BULLSHIT! She was just trying to gain political advantage, using some of the comments made from imagined rumours, sprouting in cabinet — to belittle the opposition in a burst of venom and hypocrisy which is the usual wallpaper of the Liberal (CONservative) chamber. The "Nationals" have the same wallpaper — with a view over a combined harvester/crusher/joystick instead of a view over the Cayman Islands.

Under Trumble and co, politics in Australia have fallen below the sewer level into the cracks of hell. The worrying part is that he seems to believe in his own shit....

Federal Nationals backbencher Barnaby Joyce has taken almost 11 weeks personal leave from his parliamentary duties, effective immediately.

Mr Joyce applied to the National Party Whip for time off, six weeks after he and his partner Vikki Campion welcomed a baby boy.

Labor has granted the Member for New England a "pair" — meaning Mr Joyce's absence will not affect votes in the Lower House.

He is due to return to Parliament on Monday, August 13.

"Obviously he's been under a fair bit of stress in the last six or 12 months, and he's taking some time with his family, so I can understand that," Nationals frontbencher Darren Chester has told AM. 

"Everyone from time to time needs ... to take a break and reassess the situation.

"I think Barnaby can come back stronger than ever, but I think it's appropriate [he takes leave] and I respect him for taking a break now."

The backbencher's decision to take leave follows criticism of the couple's decision to accept payment for a joint television interview.

The interview will be broadcast next Sunday night on Channel Seven with payment reportedly as much as $150,000.

Read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-29/barnaby-joyce-takes-leave-will-ret...

Barnaby should not come back to parliament, where we don't need him to pontificate about something or another with hypocritical morality...