Negligent posted:

Who would you rather have a beer / organic fair trade soy latte with, Bill Shorten or literally anyone else in Australia

Negligent posted:

Who would you rather have a beer / organic fair trade soy latte with, Bill Shorten or literally anyone else in Australia

Cleretic posted:

Yeah, personally my hope for a new ALP leader isn't a hope that the ALP will magically become Not poo poo (I won't vote for them either way), but that they would now have someone who can actually properly fight against the Liberals.

The worst part about the ALP right now is that they're spineless, both legislatively and publicly, and I think a lot of that has to do with Shorten himself. You might see sort of a knock-on effect if Labor were led by someone like Albanese, who would at least be willing to argue loudly. This would probably allow Labor to actually climb in the polls because they'd actually be an entity, and maybe this is wishful thinking, but because Labor would be speaking against a lot of unpopular policies, they might be inclined to take up some better ones. Even if that doesn't happen, we'd still do very well to have someone actually being opposition leader.

I think a huge part of the current bleakness of Australian politics is the fault of Bill Shorten's utter lack of personality or charisma. When Turnbull brings up the penalty rates issue, sure it's widely unpopular and will be shouted down. But it just doesn't feel like it is, because none of the people speaking against it have the public platform and audience available to the opposition leader, who is often unable to muster up a strong stance (other times he's straight-up unwilling). It feels like there's no opposition to these things, even when there is, because we practically don't have an opposition leader.

ScreamingLlama posted:

Plibersek for PM.

quote:

The militant national construction union and the Maritime Union of Australia have started historic negotiations to form what they say will be the country's most powerful union.

The merger represents a grasp for political survival by the embattled Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, which faces allegations of corruption before the royal commission into unions.

Lid posted:

On the topic of factional warfare and union corruption

open24hours posted:

I hope Albo and Penny Wong both lose their seats at the next election so people finally give up on the ALP.

Burn Down Canberra posted:

Nah greens aren't winning booths in Ashfield....albo is in parliament until grayndler goes entirely white through gentrification or the lnp reverses its policy on green preferences. Even then albo has star appeal and pork barrels the electorate like a machine

Even the gentrified suburbs albo wins because he's albo. The greens really should be winning booths in Petersham/stanmore etc.

Solemn Sloth posted:

now I want to see the video that brought him to tears too

hawaiian_robot posted:

Here it's pretty shithouse tbh

Jumpingmanjim posted:

What Bill really needs now is for another mine to collapse. Unfortunately you only get one fortuitous mine collapse in your lifetime (cf. Kerry Packer).

Burn Down Canberra posted:

I'm not a political strategist by any stretch but for me the greens have a few issues in beating Albanese. For one he is approachable and a genuinely good local member. Sometimes I vote for him, sometimes I don't depending on how evil labor is at any given moment in time. So its unlikely I'll be voting labor this time for example.

The first issue is the greens for whatever reason struggle in the more western suburbs. A hat with labor painted on it will run up a huge vote in suburbs like Ashfield, dulwich hill, etc. That can be fixed with redistribution and gentrification with time but appealing to the type of voter in those areas is mission number 1 if the greens want to win the seat.

Secondly albo wins votes even city side because "he's the type of guy you would like to have a beer with". He has very successfully fostered a cult of personality around him. My friends think albo is a legend. He DJ's, he has a beer named after him, he does a guest spot on rage and plays good music. Iirc his pamphlets last election featured him and what he has done over alp logos.

I don't think he lost a booth last election. He won all the booths in my suburb (Petersham) and he won the booth in newtown (newtown is mostly Sydney so it being taken away isn't a huge blow to the greens)

quote:

What aroused Stoljar’s interest was an EBA struck in 2004 that essentially wiped out weekend penalty rates. Shorten admitted that the EBA was registered with the Australian Industrial Relations Commission without declaring those cuts. The gap between the award and the rates paid by Cleanevent widened even further in the 2006 agreement negotiated by Shorten. Under the award, casuals were supposed to be paid $33.67 an hour on public holidays, while the AWU was happy to see Cleanevent pay them $14.24. In the witness box of the Royal Commission, Shorten insisted that in the real world this was what such casual cleaners were paid:

If you and I, in 2004 or 2005, were to go out to a fairground or a dog track or a racetrack and find everyone there receiving double time and a half plus a casual loading, to me is fanciful in the real world
..

quote:

The former head of labour-hire company Unibilt has admitted it made a false record of a political donation fed through the Australian Workers Union to pay for Bill Shorten's research officer in the lead up to the 2007 federal election.

Ted Lockyer told the royal commission into union corruption on Friday the payment was not for a research officer for Unibilt, as recorded in an invoice. The $40,000 donation was paid to the Australian Workers Union which used it to pay part of Lance Wilson's $52,000 salary.

Solemn Sloth posted:

This is the video that forced leadership change in Australia's foremost (non-parliamentary) neo-nazi movement hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha


I was a little disappointed that a video named the great Australian potato wasn't just peter dutton

Birdstrike posted:

I like Plibersek but she's no stranger to dirty deals herself.

Lid posted:

Continuing the knives out for Shorten train.

hooman posted:

With all this corruption and poo poo that's being revealed how the gently caress has he not been arrested?

This is actually a serious question.

Lid posted:

Evidence before Royal Commission's cannot be directly used in criminal prosecutions given their powers are beyond the judicidal powers of evidence, they can make recommendations for prosecution (see: Eddie Obeid) but they are not coercive. The police can be conducting their own parallel investigation and seeing if these admittance amount to criminal activity but like all good mafia dons Shorten is one step removed from it all, apart from politically being a dickhead.

EDIT: NEVERMIND - I confused Royal Commissions with ICAC. We need a federal ICAC.

Solemn Sloth posted:

This is the video that forced leadership change in Australia's foremost (non-parliamentary) neo-nazi movement hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha


I was a little disappointed that a video named the great Australian potato wasn't just peter dutton

quote:

Latham was guest of honour at the 2004 annual AWU shindig at Crown Casino and sat on Shorten’s left. Latham was surprised to find the union leader urging him to support the free trade agreement being negotiated by the Howard government:

I said that I thought both he and his union were against it, to which he responded, “That’s just for the members. We need to say that sort of thing when they reckon their jobs are under threat. I want it to go through. The US Alliance is too important to do otherwise. Politically, you have no choice.” Great, the two faces of Little Billy Shorten: Public Shorten against the FTA, Private Billy in favour of it. Is this why he’s being groomed for one of the top slots in the corporation? Political courage is not his long suit. Not a bad night otherwise.

Bendigo Advertiser, website posted:

Mr Wilson’s first stop was Bendigo Senior Secondary College where he told students Australia should foster its culture of tolerance when it came to religious pluralism.

“If you believe in a country like Australia with a full respect for our values and our traditions then you have to respect the fact that people are going to build mosques,” he said.

“So long as they are law abiding citizens and they are not breaking any laws there should be no issue with that.”

Bendigo Weekly posted:

Ongoing protest actions and legal objections to a permit granted by the City of Greater Bendigo to allow construction of the city’s first mosque, have cost Bendigo ratepayers more than $150,000, with costs continuing to climb.

Documents obtained under Freedom of Information show that council has accumulated a legal bill in excess of $124,581 as at the end of September, for legal fees associated with the planned mosque.

A further $16,214 was spent on resources such as crash barriers, traffic management, staff costs and associated security to deal with the protests that brought much of the city to a standstill on Saturday, August 29.

While the documents provided pre-date last weekend’s repeat rallies by supporters and opponents of the mosque, it’s likely up to $15,000 in costs were incurred as barriers were once again placed near the Town Hall and also in sections of Rosalind Park as part of a major police
operation aimed at keeping locals safe, and the opposing groups apart.

Council’s legal expenses relate to dealing with two of Victoria’s most experienced legal firms specialising in the Local Government Act and the Planning and Environment Act – Russell Kennedy and Maddocks, and are continuing to mount as legal action instigated by Bendigo resident Julie Hoskin is still to be concluded.

Ms Hoskin last month sought an injunction in the Court of Appeal to prevent the Australian Islamic Mission from proceeding with plans to build the mosque until a full hearing is held by the Court of Appeal on November 6, but the two presiding judges rejected the application, labelling the appeal documents, in their present form, as “embarrassing”.

VCAT has previously dismissed a claim of bias brought about by Ms Hoskin against its president and one of his deputies.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has not ruled on costs associated with the process so far, and while parties are generally expected to pay their own costs for all VCAT matters, circumstances can give rise to one party’s costs being met by the other.

Under Section 109 of the VCAT Act, the Tribunal may order that a party shall pay all or part of the costs of another party in a proceeding if they have been responsible for prolonging unreasonably the time taken to complete the proceeding, if they have vexaciously conducted the proceeding, if the relative strength of the claims made have no tenable basis in fact or law, or if they caused an adjournment.

City of Greater Bendigo chief executive officer Craig Niemann said council was continuing to accumulate costs around defending the decision councillors made back in June 2014.

Greater Bendigo mayor Peter Cox this week reiterated the fact that the decision by councilors cannot be reversed.

Expensive audio visual equipment and more barriers had to be brought in for this week’s council meeting and additional security employed, and preparation for the November 6 Court of Appeal hearing is ongoing.

Mr Niemann said if council thought it appropriate, it would seek to recover legal costs the organisation had incurred.

He said council’s legal bills and the associated costs regarding the mosque were more about responding to a council decision and supporting it.

“There have been delays because the level of information filed hasn’t been to the standard.”

Mr Niemann confirmed the council’s frustrations that the matter, which councilors voted in favour of in June 2014, was still ongoing.

“It does draw out the process and adds cost and time,” he said.

“It’s frustrating that it has taken this time to get to this point.

quote:

Bendigo could begin welcoming dozens of refugees within months after councillors decided to opt into a federal government resettlement scheme on Wednesday night.

City of Greater Bendigo councillors voted 7-1 to sign onto the Safe Haven Enterprise Visa (SHEV) program, which encourages asylum seekers in Australia who arrived before July 2013 to seek work or study opportunities in rural and regional areas.

There are currently 9,605 people eligible for a SHEV living in Victoria and the city’s Community Partnerships manager Steven Abbott says he believes a state government decision on whether to opt into the program is imminent.

“We expect the number of people to successfully apply to come to Bendigo in this program to be in the dozens,” he said.

“And we expect it to be rolled out over coming months.”

Bendigo Advertiser, website posted:

As promised, Councillor Helen Leach was outspoken and often a sole contrary voice on a wide range of issues.

Councillor Elise Chapman – with whom she jointly referred Mayor Peter Cox to a Code of Conduct Panel last week – was the sole absentee.

Before the meeting was two hours old, Cr Leach was denied her fourth speaking extension – on that occasion as she spoke against the draft Early Years Plan.

She was raising concerns about it not addressing “unborn” and wanted more to be done to offer mother’s support to avoid abortion. However, Cr Leach voted for the item and it was unanimously endorsed the plan be opened to the public.

Her previous extension was granted as she spoke against her colleagues’ decision to sign onto the Safe Haven Enterprise Visa program.

“How do you know they are hard working and intelligent?” she asked Councillor Rod Fyffe, who was one of several councillors to speak passionately in favour of signing onto the visa program.

“What do you know that I don’t?”

Councillor Rod Campbell’s one line response seemed to capture the tone of the rest of the speakers.

“How would you like to be treated if you were one of them,” he said.

quote:

THE Liberal Party hopes to have a candidate for the seat of Bendigo “as soon as practical” as the federal election looms just over 12 months away.

Candidates have already been selected for the electorates of Indi, in the state’s north east, and McEwen, directly north of Melbourne, but there is no indication yet of when Bendigo will have a candidate.

Liberal Party Bendigo branch president Greg Bickley, who ran in the last federal election, said the candidate would want at least 12 months to campaign across the electorate.

“I had a bit over 12 months to get out in the electorate, but it’s such a large area so you need a lot of time,” he said.

“The Liberal Party in Bendigo is looking to open preselection very soon.”
-----------------------

Mr Bickley was elected the branch president after last year’s state election, in which he also ran as a candidate in Bendigo East. He has yet to announce whether he would contest preselection.

The party received a significant swing of 8.2 per cent in the 2013 federal election, but fell 1.3 per cent short of claiming the seat from first-time Labor candidate Lisa Chesters.

Strong support for Labor and the Greens in the southern areas of the electorate, including Castlemaine and Maldon, were crucial for the Chesters win.

Bendigo has been Labor-held since 1998, and a win next year would mean 20 years of Labor in Bendigo at both state and federal levels.

The Liberal Party is likely to focus its attention on replacing former premier Denis Napthine and Terry Mulder in their south west seats before federal preselections.

hawaiian_robot posted:

Oh wait, guess which Aussie Patriot is back - the Great Aussie Patriot!

https://www.facebook.com/unitedpatriotsfront/videos/187545951579865/

Stephen Mooney, Bendigo posted:

Views of the rally

As a resident of Bendigo I attended the anti/pro mosque demonstrations on Saturday as an observer. { Hint: do not under any circumstances think this guy is going to lose whatever argument you make because he's just an observer okay? }

The police did a marvellous job. Each group was confined to different sides of the Bendigo creek, with the adjoining footpath being blocked by the police.

Each side has a tendency to exaggerate their claims.

The anti-mosque group believes that building the mosque is part of the Islamisation of Australia leading to the full scale application of Sharia law.

They clearly underestimate the power of our democracy to ensure that will never happen.

The pro-mosque group claims that the anti group are racists. Islam does not constitute a race. {Uh oh this sounds like a familiar phrase}

It appears to me that the pro group are desperate for a cause to demonstrate their moral and intellectual superiority, and in the absence of a viable cause have focused on the anti-mosque group. { Defending the rights of mosque-builders is just not viable or moral, checkmate protesters! }

This is ironic given that there are parts of Islam which are the most racist of all religions. { Because Islam isn't a race...wait whut? }

As part of my research into Islam I purchased a copy of the Koran on eBay for $1, and that included the postage. {Research is cheap guys! Be warned, he's going to get technical now!}

It’s true that part of Islam advocates tolerance towards others.

But, it’s also true that other parts advocate hatred and violence towards those who will not submit to Islam. { And this is racist how? }

It’s this latter part which motivates Muslim terrorism and is mistakenly referred to as extremism. { Oh right, because...oh you didn't back any of that up did you? Afraid to quote your research? }

It’s not extremism to follow what is clearly stated in the holy texts of your religion. { Checkmate atheists! }

In terms of our laws which forbid the advocating of hatred and violence, there are parts of the Koran that should be banned.

If the Muslim community is serious about becoming an integral part of any modern western democratic society then they should be at the forefront of expunging the hatred and violence from their religious texts. {Yeah! Just like the Christians did...oh wait}

I find the practise of Muslim women wearing a head scarf offensive. { I find this turn of conversation confusing and disturbing }

Firstly, the head scarf represents women being made responsible for any licentious thoughts of males.

The idea of blaming the victim for the thoughts and actions of others is something that modern western societies have rejected.

Secondly, at a personal level, the head scarf is saying that as an individual male I cannot be trusted to look upon the hair of Muslim women.

However, I defend the right of Muslim women to offend me with their head scarfs. { Checkmate feminists! }

To claim that the anti-mosque group divides the Bendigo Community is to devalue the importance of the freedom of speech.

In her biography of the French philosopher Voltaire, and as a way of representing his philosophy, Evelyn Beatrice Hall stated that “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. This is often misattributed to Voltaire himself. { Checkmate academics! }

The claim that a majority of Bendigo residents support the building of the mosque is based on wishful thinking, or political manipulation.

In fact, the only survey on the matter was conducted by a local radio station which resulted in a majority being opposed to the building of the mosque. { Checkmate fact-based community! }

The mosque will be built because there is no legal means to stop it from being built.

I’m pleased that Bendigo has been able to play a part in demonstrating that the freedom of speech is alive and well in Australia.

If we lived in a country governed by Islam we would not have that right. { DUN DUN DUNNNN }

The only thing which needs to unite the residents of Bendigo is the belief in the freedom of speech, and the rejection of the advocating of hatred and violence in all of its forms. { Checkmate leftys again! }

Senor Tron posted:

Solemn Sloth posted:

Surely at some point a judge has to grow a loving spine and find the immigration minister in contempt of court order the immigration minister marched into the loving sea.

Jonah Galtberg posted:

Feeling pretty loving radicalised right now