Auspol March - C U Next Trollday, Auspol - The Something Awful Forums

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Auspol March - C U Next Trollday, Auspol

«‹›156 »

PaletteSwappedNinja: Jun 3, 2008; One Nation, Under God.

Our democratically elected leader ate a raw onioin.

# ? Mar 15, 2015 12:28

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 24, 2024 13:47

Nuclear Spy: Jun 10, 2008; feeling under?

A few good quotes in this article

quote:

Christopher Pyne's threat to sack 1700 researchers unless he gets his way in uncapping university fees has sparked an angry response from crucial crossbench senators and even caused Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi to reassess his own support for the government's policy.

The Education Minister vowed to "fight right through to the vote" and warned the crossbench of the "consequences" for 27 research facilities whose funding is tied to the reforms, which are widely expected to be rejected for a second time when put to the Senate this week.

"The consequences are that potentially 1700 researchers will lose their jobs," Mr Pyne warned. "The savings are in the reform, therefore the savings and the spending are inextricably linked. You can't do one without the other," the minister said.

The tactic has left the majority of the crossbench unimpressed and sparked a backlash even within the government, with Mr Pyne's South Australian colleague Senator Bernardi saying the move appeared "counter-productive".

"Playing games with our scientists and research hasn't seemed to have done the government any favours," Senator Bernardi said.

"I'll have another very close look at what is finally put forward by the government and make a decision accordingly," he said.

Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie was so incensed by the minister's threat she was seeking early release from hospital to leave her sick bed so she could personally vote down the bill.

"This makes my blood boil. It is just another desperate, juvenile and bumbling attempt to blackmail the Senate," Senator Lambie said. "[Christopher Pyne] should just resign or the PM should just sack him."

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon deplored the government's approach as "toxic, reckless politics at its worst".

"Memo to Christopher � you're not in student politics any more," Senator Xenophon said. "The research fund and the university reform should never have been linked in the first place," he said.

Senator Xenophon supports reform to the sector but not the government's current model. He will support an increase in fees of up to 15 per cent, subject to an independent review that has cross-party support.

Newly independent Senator Glenn Lazarus retained his strident opposition to the changes and said Australians should be angry with the government for holding research jobs hostage.

"This is disgusting behaviour and demonstrates the appalling ethics of this government," Senator Lazarus said.

But Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm said he had no qualms about cuts to research because government funding crowded out the private sector.

"I'd wind back government-funded research in a heartbeat, it's hard to justify in a climate of big deficits," Senator Leyonhjelm said.

However, he wanted to see improvements to HECS that would ensure more students repay their debt to taxpayers before approving the current model. He also warned of the so-called "Veblen effect", where students would choose costlier courses because they would consider them the most prestigious, thereby creating a "perverse incentive" for chancellors to jack up fees.

Senator Leyonhjelm is due to meet Mr Pyne on Monday.

Motoring enthusiast Senator Ricky Muir is also scheduled for talks with the minister but has previously said the government should seek a mandate for the reforms before putting them to the Senate again. Senators John Madigan and Dio Wang were approached for comment but did not respond by deadline.

Only Family First Senator Bob Day said he would be supporting the bill.

"I'm supportive of the policy because it's a great opportunity for people on low incomes to gain a low-cost no-frills degree".

But Senator Day added he was supporting the policy on merit and "not because of the threat".

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said the government had broken the rules of politics by threatening science jobs and denounced the "deplorable tactics".

"It doesn't intimidate anyone," he said.

By the way, this happened over 10 years ago:

# ? Mar 15, 2015 12:44

CATTASTIC: Mar 31, 2010; ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I think imprisoning people who have committed no crime is a bad thing.
- Too left wing for the Labor Party

# ? Mar 15, 2015 12:53

CATTASTIC: Mar 31, 2010; ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The Sexual assault of children fleeing persecution!? Nothing makes me harder!
- The Labor Party

# ? Mar 15, 2015 12:55

CATTASTIC: Mar 31, 2010; ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Kids deserve to die
- Shill Borton

# ? Mar 15, 2015 12:56

You Am I: May 20, 2001; Me @ your poasting

QUACKTASTIC bad poster
- Auspol

# ? Mar 15, 2015 12:58

Gough Suppressant: Nov 14, 2008

Lid posted:

http://m.heraldsun.com.au/news/opin...tors_picks=true

Prepare to spit.

I was writing to say I am impressed that Bolt managed to write a whole article attacking what indigenous people have said about Abbott without quoting any actual indigenous people but then I discovered that Ray Martin is in fact indigenous, the more you know.

Gough Suppressant fucked around with this message at 13:13 on Mar 15, 2015

# ? Mar 15, 2015 13:08

CATTASTIC: Mar 31, 2010; ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You Am I posted:

QUACKTASTIC bad poster
- Auspol

rude

# ? Mar 15, 2015 13:17

drowned in pussy juice: Oct 13, 2009; by FactsAreUseless

I'm pretty sure anyone whose family has been here since federation has about as much aboriginal blood as Ray Martin, they just don't know it

# ? Mar 15, 2015 13:20

drowned in pussy juice: Oct 13, 2009; by FactsAreUseless

Not that it would be a bad thing if we all had the same reaction as he did but it's not unusual at all

# ? Mar 15, 2015 13:21

Jonah Galtberg: Feb 11, 2009

Lid posted:

http://m.heraldsun.com.au/news/opin...tors_picks=true

Prepare to spit.

I had all 4 wisdom teeth out on Wednesday but I'm definitely spitting in spirit

# ? Mar 15, 2015 13:34

hiddenmovement: Sep 29, 2011; "Most mornings I'll apologise in advance to my wife."

I would say it's more likely that there's Muslim somewhere in the bloodline than aboriginal, ala Pauline Hanson

# ? Mar 15, 2015 13:34

drowned in pussy juice: Oct 13, 2009; by FactsAreUseless

Can you please elaborate on that because I don't want to google 'Pauline Hanson Muslim' and I've never heard that before (also don't you know Muslim isn't a race? Jeez Louise!)

# ? Mar 15, 2015 13:41

Meat Miracle: Oct 24, 2010

just so long as there are no trots in our family trees

(shudders)

# ? Mar 15, 2015 13:42

drowned in pussy juice: Oct 13, 2009; by FactsAreUseless

Anyway if you're like most Australians who find out they're 1/8th aboriginal or whatever your reaction is more likely to be 'sweet I can get those abbo benefits now' followed by impotent rage at Centrelink and accusations of some conspiracy against white people so it's not like a magic empathy ticket for indigenous Australians or anything

drowned in pussy juice fucked around with this message at 13:47 on Mar 15, 2015

# ? Mar 15, 2015 13:43

ewe2: Jul 1, 2009

MC Eating Disorder posted:

I'm pretty sure anyone whose family has been here since federation has about as much aboriginal blood as Ray Martin, they just don't know it

Or Asian. I have a suspicious blood group for a Celt descendant and my main suspect is my great great grandfather's wife but I can't prove anything yet.

# ? Mar 15, 2015 13:51

hiddenmovement: Sep 29, 2011; "Most mornings I'll apologise in advance to my wife."

MC Eating Disorder posted:

Can you please elaborate on that because I don't want to google 'Pauline Hanson Muslim' and I've never heard that before (also don't you know Muslim isn't a race? Jeez Louise!)

A dna testing company did a radio promo once where it tested a bunch of well known QLD pollies. Beatty came up white, white, and more white, Bligh came up white, white, and more white.

Pauline came up white white and wu-oh, what's this? Middle Eastern descent.

http://www.news.com.au/national/dna-test-shows-hansons-middle-eastern-heritage/story-e6frfkp9-1111112976024

EDIT: While we are on the subject of ridiculous Pauline Hanson related things, there is an ad from the late 90s. It's a one nation party ad that uses the 'Would you like to know more motif?' from Starship Troopers in a way that is totally devoid of any awareness of the satirical nature of the original scene. I remember it clearly, even 12 year old me understood how gobsmackingly idiotic it was. I have searched for this before but come up empty. Does anyone else remember this ad, or better yet, know where to find it?

Only reference to it I can find:

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/202700

hiddenmovement fucked around with this message at 14:06 on Mar 15, 2015

# ? Mar 15, 2015 14:01

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

IDK if this has been posted already, but it's worth reading again anyway.

Turning back the boats is a moral and legal failure, say academics:

quote:

The first academic analysis of Australia�s �turning back� of asylum seeker boats concludes the policy is a fatally risky, moral and legal failure that is �severely damaging� the country�s reputation.

The University of Queensland study, which examines all 29 interceptions of boats under the Howard and Abbott governments from 2001, finds while there is no conclusive evidence the policy has saved lives, as many as eight people have died as a result of it.

The risk of death or serious injury at sea, including to Australian officials, remains elevated with the ongoing incentive for migrants to sabotage vessels in a bid to thwart forced returns to Indonesia or Sri Lanka, the study says.

�Given the official secrecy surrounding this topic, it is not possible to say with certainty that there have not been further cases of death or injury,� it says.

UQ researchers Andreas Schloenhardt and Colin Craig argue the singular achievement of halting the arrival of irregular migrants is �greatly outweighed� by factors also including the diplomatic effect of making Australia�s commitment to international refugee laws �meaningless�.

They conclude: �It is difficult to advocate, support and sustain this policy in these circumstances.�

Schloenhardt, a law professor and organised crime expert who came to the topic via his research of people smuggling, told Guardian Australia the government�s dishonesty about the fact it was flouting those laws through �towbacks� was �appalling�.

He said the nature of what took place during forced returns of mostly genuine asylum seekers � which have been kept secret by the government since last year � would make the public �think twice about this policy and whether it�s really the best way of stopping people smuggling�.

�Most people are not aware of the circumstances of returns, what happens on these boats, how few [towbacks] there have really been and all these other factors that flow into that,� Schloenhardt said.

�They just think, ok, there�s no more boats coming, that�s all we really care about.�

The study chronicles the frequency of dangerous incidents during forced returns by the navy and customs, from drownings to fatal explosions after engine sabotage and mechanical failures in unseaworthy boats towed at length.

It takes aim at Abbott�s comments as opposition leader about the �success� of the policy under Howard � when he said there was �no reason why [the navy] can�t do it safely again� � dismissing them as �a misrepresentation by any standard�.

Schloenhardt said in both eras of the policy, there had been �a very consistent pattern� of passengers taking desperate steps, including self harm and violence, to avoid �towbacks�.

He said it was striking how common these incidents were, as well as how few boats were actually turned back under Howard (four of 14 intercepted).

The law professor said Australia was unique in the way it broke its international refugee obligations and laws at sea, shifting the burden to countries like Indonesia and Malaysia with no such obligations.

Those countries tolerated underground societies of hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants, partly as a source of cheap labour but mainly because it was cheaper than detaining or deporting them in great numbers, he said.

Instead of accepting and protecting asylum seekers, Australia was repelling them in circumstances where it could not guarantee they would safely reach Indonesian shores � much less be protected from the risk of exploitation, arbitrary jailing or return to their original place of persecution, Schloenhardt said.

�There are international treaties and guidelines on this whole topic of people smuggling and none of them envisage the sorts of responses we have cooked up,� he said.

�We have a situation where international refugee laws are completely and utterly meaningless for Australia and the government is simply so dishonest about that. That is what is so frustrating for me.

�The government should have been honest and say we don�t want to be bound by these obligations and withdraw our signature. Of course it�s politically very unpopular, it paints us in a very bad light internationally, but this is the effect that all of this has.

�The resettlement of people in refugee camps in third countries is a nice thing to do, very humanitarian, but it�s got nothing to do with the refugee convention, which says if people show up, look after them and don�t send them back.�

The Australian government was �quite ignorant� of the negative publicity it was gaining worldwide on the issue, especially in Europe.

Irregular migrant numbers in countries like Austria (70,000 a year) � where Schloenhardt spends half the year as a research fellow at the University of Vienna � dwarf Australia even at its 2013 peak of 20,587.

�Certainly in Europe where there are a lot of organisations dealing with refugees, they all think this is completely crazy, what the Australians are doing,� Schloenhardt said.

�In Italy, where in the first month this year they had 6,000 arrivals by boat, they debate to what lengths they go to to rescue these people not about what they can do to stop them coming in the first place.�

While the number of deaths that have occurred among asylum seekers trying to reach Australia by boat has been estimated at 1550, Schloenhardt said the true number � was likely twice that.

# ? Mar 15, 2015 14:23

Gough Suppressant: Nov 14, 2008

Mithranderp posted:

IDK if this has been posted already, but it's worth reading again anyway.

Turning back the boats is a moral and legal failure, say academics:

I am sure Abbott will respond to this study maturely and by addressing the issues it brings up, rather than combining rabid australian racism with dumb as dogshit anti-academia.

# ? Mar 15, 2015 14:56

Chicken Parmigiana: Sep 12, 2007

hiddenmovement posted:

EDIT: While we are on the subject of ridiculous Pauline Hanson related things, there is an ad from the late 90s. It's a one nation party ad that uses the 'Would you like to know more motif?' from Starship Troopers in a way that is totally devoid of any awareness of the satirical nature of the original scene. I remember it clearly, even 12 year old me understood how gobsmackingly idiotic it was. I have searched for this before but come up empty. Does anyone else remember this ad, or better yet, know where to find it?

I don't think I ever saw it 'in the wild' (didn't watch much TV at that point), but I remember them showing and making fun of it on The Panel.

# ? Mar 15, 2015 15:15

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Mithranderp posted:

Turning back the boats is a moral and legal failure, say academics:

"Irregular migrant numbers in countries like Austria (70,000 a year) � where Schloenhardt spends half the year as a research fellow at the University of Vienna � dwarf Australia even at its 2013 peak of 20,587."

So, less than one refugee per thousand Australians?

# ? Mar 15, 2015 16:19

hakimashou: Jul 15, 2002; Upset Trowel

i love Australian politics so much.

You actually have a guy called Senator Xenophon.

# ? Mar 15, 2015 16:24

Anidav: Feb 25, 2010; ahhh fuck its the rats again

The treasurer of the Federal Liberal Party launched a strident attack on the Prime Minister's chief of staff, Peta Credlin, urging her removal in an explosive text message leaked to the ABC's Four Corners program.

The confidential message from party treasurer Philip Higginson was sent to a senior Liberal figure late last year.

He refers to Ms Credlin as the "Horsewoman of the Apocalypse" and tells his Liberal colleague: "I do hope you can negotiate the removal of Credlin. That would be a huge win in itself."

Mr Higginson was considered a good friend of Prime Minister Tony Abbott when he sent the message.

It was written during a fraught dispute with Ms Credlin's husband, Liberal Party federal director Brian Loughnane, over the party's accounts

# ? Mar 15, 2015 21:28

SMILLENNIALSMILLEN: Jun 26, 2009

No wonder he got the can.

# ? Mar 15, 2015 22:11

Birb Katter: Sep 18, 2010; BOATS STOPPED
CARBON TAX AXED
TURNBULL AS PM
LIBERALS WILL BE RE-ELECTED IN A LANDSLIDE

hakimashou posted:

i love Australian politics so much.

You actually have a guy called Senator Xenophon.

We have another one who is known as "The Brick with Eyes"

# ? Mar 15, 2015 22:40

bowmore: Oct 6, 2008; Lipstick Apathy

Birb Katter posted:

We have another one who is known as "The Brick with Eyes"

We used to have anyway

# ? Mar 15, 2015 22:56

Gough Suppressant: Nov 14, 2008

bowmore posted:

We used to have anyway

He didn't die as far as I know?

# ? Mar 15, 2015 23:07

Fruity Gordo: Aug 5, 2013; Neurotic, Impotent Rage!

He's 'Senator The Brick With Eyes' now.

# ? Mar 15, 2015 23:15

bowmore: Oct 6, 2008; Lipstick Apathy

Oh yeah he just quit PUP, forgot he was still a senator.

# ? Mar 15, 2015 23:16

Resident Idiot: May 11, 2007; Maxine13; Grimey Drawer

The Brick with Ties.

# ? Mar 15, 2015 23:38

Graic Gabtar: Dec 19, 2014; squat my posts

Mithranderp posted:

IDK if this has been posted already, but it's worth reading again anyway.

Turning back the boats is a moral and legal failure, say academics:

With respect to people posting about this but if there was an article that was going to change my views on this topic - that ain't it.

# ? Mar 15, 2015 23:38

CrazyTolradi: Oct 2, 2011; It feels so good to be so bad.....at posting.

Graic Gabtar posted:

With respect to people posting about this but if there was an article that was going to change my views on this topic - that ain't it.

I'm fairly certain the only thing that'd change your views is experiencing it first hand yourself, since your entire logic on this is "Well, it ain't happening to me."

# ? Mar 15, 2015 23:45

asio: Nov 29, 2008; "Also Sprach Arnold Jacobs: A Developmental Guide for Brass Wind Musicians" refers to the mullet as an important tool for professional cornet playing and box smashing black and blood

Graic Gabtar posted:

With respect to people posting about this but if there was an article that was going to change my views on this topic - that ain't it.

Your views are based on emotion so there's no point in trying to change your views. The solution is just to tell you to go away until the only people that listen to you are your family when they're forced into the same room as you.

# ? Mar 15, 2015 23:53

I would blow Dane Cook: Dec 26, 2008

Who will be masturbating vigorously while watching 4 corners tonight?

# ? Mar 15, 2015 23:54

open24hours: Jan 7, 2001

Graic Gabtar posted:

With respect to people posting about this but if there was an article that was going to change my views on this topic - that ain't it.

Have you even expressed your view?

# ? Mar 16, 2015 00:07

Gough Suppressant: Nov 14, 2008

Graic Gabtar posted:

With respect to people posting about this but if there was an article that was going to change my views on this topic - that ain't it.

# ? Mar 16, 2015 00:45

Negative Entropy: Nov 30, 2009

Graic Gabtar posted:

With respect to people posting about this but if there was an article that was going to change my views on this topic - that ain't it.

I'm interested in knowing your opinions and reasons, im not interested in wasting time trying to change your mind.

# ? Mar 16, 2015 00:50

Ragingsheep: Nov 7, 2009

Mithranderp posted:

IDK if this has been posted already, but it's worth reading again anyway.

Turning back the boats is a moral and legal failure, say academics:

It's only a moral and legal failure and who gives a crap about that when we've stopped the boats. :smug:

# ? Mar 16, 2015 00:58

birdstrike: Oct 30, 2008; i;m gay

Less "puppet master," more Wizard Master thx in advance.

# ? Mar 16, 2015 01:02

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 24, 2024 13:47

dordreff: Jul 16, 2013

Graic Gabtar posted:

With respect to people posting about this but if there was an article that was going to change my views on this topic - that ain't it.

But has it changed your views on cyanide suppositories?

# ? Mar 16, 2015 01:14

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Auspol March - C U Next Trollday, Auspol

«‹›156 »