open24hours posted:

I don't know what to make of this. There are already organisations that can give loans to agriculture and infrastructure projects deemed worthy; they're called banks. Are they going to fund projects that no-one else thinks are worthy? Is the state going to underwrite some harebrained scheme because it's in an electorate that votes National? Yes.

Kat Delacour posted:

Yeah, now, but the unprocessed postals will likely push that margin a lot higher as he issues a lot of dodgy partisan postals to the electorate.

open24hours posted:

I don't know what to make of this. There are already organisations that can give loans to agriculture and infrastructure projects deemed worthy; they're called banks. Are they going to fund projects that no-one else thinks are worthy? Is the state going to underwrite some harebrained scheme because it's in an electorate that votes National? Yes.

open24hours posted:

I don't know what to make of this. There are already organisations that can give loans to agriculture and infrastructure projects deemed worthy; they're called banks. Are they going to fund projects that no-one else thinks are worthy? Is the state going to underwrite some harebrained scheme because it's in an electorate that votes National? Yes.

freebooter posted:

Urghhh gently caress off with "calling" the election when it's on such a knife edge. What the gently caress is wrong with just waiting for the loving AEC to finish the loving COUNT?

Like, I get that it's very likely that Turnbull will win enough seats to form majority government, but "very likely" is not the same thing as "definite." It is journalists' job to report the news, not predict it. This is where the endless 24-hour content-churn has led us.

edit - Case in point, Melbourne Ports suddenly being reported to still be in play today. Anybody who's been paying any attention to it during the campaign would be able to tell you it would come down to preferences, and that those preferences would be unpredictable. But no, the media has to wait until a member of the Liberal Party says so. gently caress me dead.

QUACKTASTIC posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXupBdvt4Bo

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/smart-chip-a-safeguard-for-mobile-phone-radiation/3057154/

QUACKTASTIC posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXupBdvt4Bo

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/smart-chip-a-safeguard-for-mobile-phone-radiation/3057154/

Jumpingmanjim posted:

Wow QandA terrible tonight.

Jonah Galtberg posted:

Derryn Hinch, George Brandis, Bad Badbad and Steve Price

truely a starstudded lineup.......

norp posted:

Apparently labor are calling Cowan and abc is tipping them for all 3 of the remaining in doubt seats, it's going to be so great when the next choppergate happens and the coalition are suddenly on 75 seats

quote:

A WA Liberal MP has claimed Australians are unknowingly being converted to Islam by eating Halal meat.

In a speech to Parliament yesterday, backbencher Luke Simpkins said most Australians did not know that most of the meat they ate came from animals killed in accordance with Muslim law.

“By having Australians unwittingly eating Halal food we are all one step down the path towards the conversion, and that is a step we should only make with full knowledge and one that should not be imposed upon us without us knowing,” Mr Simpkins told Parliament.

“What is happening is wrong. Too often the minorities in this country are looked after without regard to the majority.”

Mr Simpkins said he had carried out an unofficial survey in his northern-suburbs electorate of Cowan and had discovered that most meat at major chains such as Coles or Woolworths had been killed under Halal conditions, but had not been labelled as such.

He tabled a petition demanding that all Halal meat be clearly identified, complaining people could not buy meat for their “Aussie barbecue” without the influence of the “minority religion”.

Mr Simpkins said that Mohammed the prophet of Islam had talked of how the religion could be expanded around the world by getting people to eat Halal meat.

“He reportedly said, ‘The non-believers will become Muslims when, amongst other things, they eat the meat that we have slaughtered’. This is one of the key aspects to converting non-believers to Islam,” Mr Simpkins said.

The petition tabled by Mr Simpkins had been organised by the Barnabas Fund, an organisation that supports Christians living in Muslim countries.

quote:

Federal Liberal MP Luke Simpkins has become the target of social media scorn after a high-level intervention to ensure ‘Islamic’ stickers were removed from the Leederville Train Station pedestrian overpass.

In a bizarre case of mistaken identity, the stickers were in fact spruiking a local nightclub – a fact lost on Mr Simpkins when he boasted on his Facebook page of having them painted over.

On November 5, Mr Simpkins wrote: “Last week I noticed black disks (sic) that appeared to be Shahada symbols. Thanks to the Transport Minister and his adviser for getting them painted over quickly after my call”.

The post included pictures taken from some distance of two “discs” displaying white cursive writing against a black background.

The Shahada, a declaration of Islamic faith which translates to “There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet” is commonly displayed written in white Arabic writing on a black background.

The Shahada flag was brandished by Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis last month in what Muslim leaders slammed as a desecration of the phrase.

It was not until this week that fans of Speakeasy, the bi-monthly Australian music showcase at Villa nightclub, noticed Mr Simpkins’ post and recognised the “discs” as Speakeasy stickers.

The MP’s Facebook page was yesterday bombarded with ridicule.

“Thanks for fighting the good fight in WA on all of Australia’s behalf. We really do need to crack down on ISIS promoting nightclubs in Australia,” wrote one user.

“Speakeasy is a Shahada symbol? Wow, You sir are a complete idiot,” posted another.

Pierce Ericson, event manager at Metric Promotions which runs Speakeasy, confirmed the images in Mr Simpkins’ post were Speakeasy stickers which had been in circulation two to three years ago.

“We’ve been discussing this in the office this morning. The fact that (Mr Simpkins) felt the need to cover it up purely because it was ‘Islamic’ is bothering us a little bit,” he said.

Ikebal Patel, immediate past president of the Federation of Islamic Councils, said it was a “sad case” if Mr Simpkins wanted the stickers painted over because he thought they were Islamic, rather than merely graffiti.

“If in this case the federal member basically wanted them painted over because he thought they were the Shahada then it does make you wonder if we are getting too carried away by world events,” he said.

“The Shahada itself is a very profound symbol and statement within Islam. Sure, people are abusing that right now for political gain and we all have issues with that.”

In a statement to thewest.com.au, Mr Simpkins said the images had been reported to him as containing Arabic writing but couldn’t get close enough to make sure.

“I later drove up the freeway and had my passenger take the photographs,” he said.

“Obviously it is illegal to park on the freeway and reckless to hold a camera over the freeway.

“Therefore based on the photographs that looked like Arabic writing, I referred the matter to the minister’s office saying that there was vandalism and it appeared to be Arabic writing like the Shahada flag.”

Mr Simpkins said he was not familiar with bars, clubs and events in Leederville “and yet the social media abuse assumes I should have been”.

“I am nevertheless glad that the vandalism has been cleaned up although it appears that others are not happy with that either,” he said.

Jonah Galtberg posted:

seriously how the gently caress do price and badbad get to be on the panel

Jumpingmanjim posted:

Cancel QandA, 1 hour mediawatch.

Jumpingmanjim posted:

Wow QandA terrible tonight.

Jumpingmanjim posted:

Wow QandA terrible tonight.

Jumpingmanjim posted:

Jumpingmanjim posted: