Apart from Turnbull and Hockey at the forefront — and possibly a couple of the small fry, the shadow ministry for the coalition resembles a full-lit version of its Howardian past... But some people see it differently:

New blood in shadow cabinet

Misha Schubert
December 7, 2007

BRENDAN Nelson has opted for sweeping generational change in his first shadow ministry, with almost half of the senior faces of the Howard government headed out the back door.

Former immigration minister Kevin Andrews, the architect of WorkChoices, was the high-profile casualty, being demoted to an advisory role on federal reform.

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"Federal reform"? Uh? Is this a submariner's way to torpedo federalism, like Johnnee was trying to go for — diminishing the power of the States, bit by bit?... Andrews, a casualty? my foot... To some extent it does not seem relevant where the "shadowy" are for the next three years, but the ones who are hidden should be the ones we should worry about...

Despite claiming new stuff, the shadow Liberal cabinet is still plodding in the footsteps of the man of rust himself... Obviously the shadow ministers won't go far with this... The Liberal party appears to have one foot in the grave and unless it gets new policies closer to the reality and away from the conservative mold, the Party will end up in the quick sand of history... But of all things, after a few rhetorical questions from Judith Brett regarding the over-length of stay by leaders who think of themselves as king pins, the king of sharp political quips explains the final rust in the "man of steel" as a coconut...:

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Was Howard stubbornly clinging to office, denying the next generation its chance? Old leaders often believe that after them the deluge: it seems to be a hazard of the psychology of ageing. So on the whole they stay on for too long. It would have been much better for Menzies' reputation had he lost the credit-squeeze election in 1961 (which he won on communist preferences); for Margaret Thatcher not to have waited till she was pushed; for Mao Zedong not to have launched the cultural revolution. Keating summed up this line of thinking in the rather improbable image of Howard as a coconut Araldited to his chair: "You know, prime ministers have got Araldite on their pants, most of them. They want to stick to their seat. And you either put the sword through them or let the people do it."

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People did it... 

from Crikey ….. 

MacCormack: Is Nelson starting to sound like John Howard? 

David MacCormack writes: 

Anyone else noticed Brendan Nelson is starting to sound like John Howard? 

Yes, we know that Howard oversaw Nelson's gradual shift to the right, and the smoothing of those very unLiberal rough edges, like the earring.

But did the former PM give other lessons as well?

Nelson - who once upon a time was regarded as a bit too, well, OUT THERE for the Liberal Party - now talks like someone (Malcolm perhaps?) has been slipping Mogadons into his tea.

Worse, he actually sounds like a younger version of Howard - although without the "I-yuh" so beloved of Howard's caricaturists. His front bench certainly suggests a Howard influence.

The Kirribilli Casuist, after all, was well-versed, in the 1980s, in having to make up a front bench from decidedly limited resources.

Particularly Howard-esque is the bias toward the Right and the exemplary punishment of those who aren't quite with the program. Bronwyn Bishop makes a wholly unexpected return to the outer ministry - she was last a minister in 2001, after which she took a role in the Lord of the Rings films as a Nazgul - while the vile reactionary Erica Betz gets Industry and Tony Abbott gets Families and Indigenous Affairs.

Not a good time to be a single Aboriginal mum. But Christopher Pyne has been made an example of. One of the few Liberals left in the Rustbelt State, Pyne's bid for the deputy leadership promising to "draw a line under the Howard and Costello era".

Bad move in a party where Howard's adherents still walk the earth, unstoppable except via a bullet to the brain. Pyne's head now adorns a pike outside the shadow ministry of justice.

What next, one wonders - perhaps Glenn Milne will circulate a scandal sheet about him. Or does Glenn work for Wayne Swan now?  

Some up-and-comers have been given a chance. Greg Hunt gets climate change and environment. Hunt regards himself very highly indeed, and as a Parliamentary Secretary under Howard was a royal pain in the a-se for public servants, for his insistence on getting a comprehensive briefing for every bill he introduced as duty minister. But at least someone who actually believes climate change is occurring will represent the Coalition on the issue.

Tony Smith and Peter Dutton get substantial portfolios in Education and Finance, respectively, while Bruce Billson, whoever he is, will shadow Stephen Conroy on the zeros and ones portfolio, BCDE, or Bacardi as its younger officers have already christened it.  

And yes, it's a pity that the National Party continues to infest the conservative side of politics. Warren "the choice of a new generation" Truss and John Cobb will cast covetous eyes over the Department of Pork-barrelling (AKA Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development), while Nigel "I'm not even in this party and they let me lead it" Scullion gets the huntin', shootin' and fishin' portfolio.

But they've lost Trade, which is a useful step toward good policy.  But the shadow ministry is naturally more notable for who is not in it.

The first meeting of the shadow cabinet will have a decided "twilight of the gods" feel. No Howard, no Costello, or Downer, no Brough, or Vaile. No Kevin Andrews, whose competence has been appropriately recognised by Nelson.  

And no Philip Ruddock. Instead, Ruddock has promised to mentor MPs from the backbench. He certainly has considerable experience to impart. He has the proud record - for a so-called "moderate" - of having inflicted more damage on the basic rights of Australians (not to mention common decency), than any politician since Federation.  

The sooner this repugnant man leaves our public life, the better.

Nelson tight-lipped on quitting MPs

It is becoming clearer several former Howard government ministers including Peter Costello, Alexander Downer and Peter McGauran will quit federal Parliament soon.

Mr Costello and Mr Downer are backbenchers along with former immigration minister Kevin Andrews, ex-deputy prime minister Mark Vaile and former senior Nationals minister Peter McGauran.

Federal Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson says he has spoken to Mr Downer and Mr Costello about their plans but will not reveal if he has urged them to leave soon.

"I want them to make decisions which are in the interests of their electorates and of their families and then of themselves and our party, and I will expect that they will make those decisions very soon," he said.

He says if they retire he wants the by-elections held on the same day.

"If hypothetically speaking we do have a number of members who choose to retire some time over the course of this year, then it would be preferable that they did so on the one day," he said.

"But that's a self-evident truth ... I'm not going to talk about specifics in relation to the future of the individuals that you mention."

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Gus: the self-evident truth is that should Peter Costello, Alexander Downer and Peter McGauran resign, the wrong crop of "benchers" would have gone on this occasion... Now, should Heffernam and Minchin resign that would be swell. Should Alston quit the Liberal Party that would be the icing on the cake... These fellows quittting politics would be tops... My opinion for what it's worth.

see toon at top 

John Howard's back - and speaking his mind

JOHN HOWARD told the Liberal Party it needed to keep a sense of historical perspective about its current woes, out of office federally and in every state and territory.

The former prime minister used his first Australian speech since he lost government and his seat to tell a gathering of Queensland Liberal faithful in Brisbane last night that the dark days of opposition would pass.

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Gus: yes, hopefully by 2011, the dark days of the Liberal party in opposition would  become the bright days of the Liberal party in opposition... by then called the LibNat party, in opposition...

Opposition warns against unemployment figure 'complacency'

Julie Bishop has highlighted job loss forecasts.

The Federal Opposition says it remains concerned about future job losses in Australia, despite official figures showing unemployment dropped in June.

The national unemployment rate dropped slightly to 4.2 per cent, with falls across most states and territories.

Official figures show jobs surged by 30,000 last month which is almost three times the broad forecast of economists.

There had been expectations that the labour market would not be so resilient to the sharp falls in consumer confidence and home loan demand that were revealed yesterday.

Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop says the figures are encouraging, but should not lead to complacency.

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Gus: Who's complacent...?  See toon on top....