Recoome posted:

I wasn't aware, but apparently Safe Schools was cut in NSW

This is a very cool and good thing to announce on Easter Sunday, I suppose

Sydney Mining Homosexual posted:

A Liberal MP has called on Tony Abbott to quit Parliament, labelling the former prime minister a "wrecker" who is trashing his own legacy and sacrificing the national interest to wage "jihad" against Malcolm Turnbull.

Queensland MP Warren Entsch said Mr Abbott's "nonsense" was driving voters into the arms of minor parties and independents, and likened his actions to Kevin Rudd's relentless campaign of vengeance against Julia Gillard.

Responding to Mr Abbott's latest public interventions – a newspaper column in which he sought to diagnose the problems of modern politics, and a high-profile Sydney radio interview – Mr Entsch called on him to "back off".

Mr Abbott should honour his promise of "no wrecking, no sniping and no undermining", Mr Entsch told Fairfax Media.

"He made it quite clear when he left office that he would not be a Kevin Rudd, that he would not provide a running commentary, he would positively contribute. He was very specific when he said that – and most of us believed him.

"But what he's doing now is reinforcing all the negative aspects of his time. And if it continues like this, this will be his legacy – and he won't be remembered fondly. He'll just be seen as a wrecker, hellbent on destroying an individual."

Opinion is divided among Coalition MPs as to whether Mr Abbott is seeking to reclaim the prime ministership or is simply intent on damaging Mr Turnbull. But Mr Entsch said Ms Gillard provided the model of how a dignified former prime minister should behave.

He also said Mr Abbott did positive things during his time as leader and could contribute more – but not as an MP. The backbencher also pointed out that much of the advice Mr Abbott now offers he failed to follow himself.

"Now for him to have what appears to be a vendetta against Malcolm Turnbull, you have got to ask the question: where is the national interest in all this?

"And you wonder why we see people moving towards minor parties and independents, when they see this sort of nonsense going on? At the end of the day people are saying, well it's a pox on both the major parties."

The leadership spill that ended his prime ministership was driven by the backbench and not orchestrated by Mr Turnbull, he added: "Somebody had to be a leader. Malcolm was prepared to stand up and do it but Malcolm had nothing to do with Tony losing his prime ministership – Tony did that himself."

Fairfax Media contacted nearly two dozen Coalition MPs on Monday to canvass their views on Mr Abbott's motivation and future, however even members of the former prime minister's rival moderate faction were loathe to publicly condemn him.

Jason Falinski, whose seat is also on Sydney's north shore, said Mr Abbott had "solid" ideas.

SHARE
SHARE ON FACEBOOK
SHARE ON TWITTER
LINK

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...417-gvm67a.html
Senator James Paterson.
Senator James Paterson. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
"He's right to point out that it's become very difficult to govern in Australia," he said. "There's no pressure from his community to go. That's got to be a decision for Tony and his family."

The fresh outburst prompted former Liberal leader John Hewson to say Mr Abbott's critique was "wearing thinner and thinner each time", and if he would not quit, he should narrow his attacks to Labor.

"He's at the point now where he's doing himself gratuitous harm," Dr Hewson told Fairfax Media.

"I think he does less and less harm each time to the government and more and more harm to himself and his credibility.

"If he's going to stay in the Parliament, do something constructive. He ought to think long and hard about what that ought to be."

On radio on Monday, Mr Abbott revealed he had a blunt "man-to-man" talk with Mathias Cormann after the Finance Minister publicly attacked him last time he lashed out at the Turnbull government.

Mr Abbott earned a stern rebuke from Senator Cormann in February over his scathing critique of the Coalition government's direction, but Mr Abbott didn't take it lying down.

"Mathias and I had a man-to-man talk you might say about that particular outburst of his," he told 2GB host Ray Hadley. "We had a very blunt conversation about it. If you don't like what someone is doing, rather than speak out publicly at least in the first instance you should have a man-to-man discussion."

Mr Abbott said while Senator Cormann was doing a good job, he had reminded him that as a former PM it was his prerogative to speak out on national and international issues "where I think it's for the good of the country and for the good of the party".

The stoush between the two Liberal heavyweights was triggered after Mr Abbott used a TV interview to accuse the Coalition of becoming "Labor-lite" and said politics should not be "just a contest of toxic egos or someone's vanity project".

Senator Cormann declined to comment on Mr Abbott's latest contributions.

Liberal MP Craig Kelly said Mr Abbott was entitled to express his opinions but warned another change in leaders would be "an absolute, unmitigated disaster".

Liberal senator James Paterson said he agreed Mr Abbott was entitled to argue for the things he believed in, but that he should use his ability to command public attention "carefully, reasonably and judiciously".

Bogan King posted:

Hasn't anyone warned the LNP about splits bro?

Doctor Spaceman posted:

I like that they can't decide whether he wants to be PM again or just bring down Turnbull.

Anidav posted:

Kurtofan posted:

you find a turtle upside down in a coal mine, what do you do?

Kurtofan posted:

you find a turtle upside down in a coal mine, what do you do?

quote:

2017: January 31. Following the closure of Radio_Australia's domestic shortwave service a pirate was heard broadcasting on the newly vacated frequency of 4835khz. The content was of a protest nature including audio grabs of Tony Abbott stating there would be no cuts to the ABC's funding.[9]

Tarantula posted:

Ha, how did I not hear about this.

Bogan King posted:

An story out of Perth

Kurtofan posted:

you find a turtle upside down in a coal mine, what do you do?

Recoome posted:

You are walking in a coal mine, and suddenly you come across a turtle crawling towards you. You reach down and flip the turtle onto it's back. The turtle lays on its back, beating its legs trying to turn itself over. But it can't. Not with out your help. But you're not helping. Why is that?

Recoome posted:

You are walking in a coal mine, and suddenly you come across a turtle crawling towards you. You reach down and flip the turtle onto it's back. The turtle lays on its back, beating its legs trying to turn itself over. But it can't. Not with out your help. But you're not helping. Why is that?

Ora Tzo posted:

How would Pauline Hanson go in a Voight-Kampff test?

Ora Tzo posted:

How would Pauline Hanson go in a Mein-Kampff test?

quote:

Tony Abbott: ‘Stop the spending, ScoMo’

FORMER prime minister Tony Abbott has called on Treasurer Scott Morrison to scrap all new spending, cut deeper, and leave housing affordability to the states in yet another provocative intrusion into policy debates.

In his second intervention in as many days, Mr Abbott took aim at Mr Morrison’s 2017 Budget, to be handed down in three weeks.

“Everyone has got to live within their means and government ultimately is no different to businesses and households,” Mr Abbott said.

“If you spend more than you earn, ultimately you go broke and our country has been living on the credit card since 2008 and sooner or later it is all going to end badly. This budget is as good as any time to get on with it.”

Mr Morrison’s budget preparations have been marred by ministers publicly debating several key policy areas. In one such debate a Morrison plan to allow superannuation contributions to be used for first-home buyer deposits was publicly opposed by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and senior cabinet ministers Peter Dutton and Christopher Pyne.

Mr Abbott’s latest comments, including a call for a cut to immigration numbers “until housing starts and infrastructure have caught up”, follow his warnings published in The Daily Telegraph that Labor was on track to win government. Several Liberal MPs backed parts of the plan published in this newspaper. Moderate-aligned MP Jason Falinski said Mr Abbott’s thoughts on Senate reform were accurate.

Victorian senator James Patterson said: “I don’t have a problem with any member of the backbench, even a former prime minister, being out there arguing for the things they believe in.”

That marks a change in tone since Mr Abbott’s last public criticism of the government in February, when Finance Minister Mathias Cormann called the comments “self-indulgent” and “destructive”.

Senator Cormann then pointed out many of the policies criticised by Mr Abbott, including the renewable energy target, were established by his government.

Mr Abbott told 2GB radio talkback host Ray Hadley that he had a “very blunt conversation” with Senator Cormann after that criticism.

“If you don’t like what someone is doing, rather than speak out publicly, at least in the first instance, you should have a man-to-man discussion,” he said.

The government is now attempting to reduce the “novelty” of Mr Abbott’s interventions, according to one MP, by refusing to buy into the commentary.


“Every backbencher has a right to put in their view, that’s exactly how the system works, and I encourage every backbencher to keep contributing,” Trade Minister Steve Ciobo said yesterday.

Bogan King posted:

Abbott is the best thing to happen to the LNP.

Bogan King posted:

Abbott is the best thing to happen to the LNP.

Bogan King posted:

Abbott is the best thing to happen to the LNP.

PaletteSwappedNinja posted:

I hope he gets hit by a train

Bogan King posted:

https://youtu.be/vkO_D0qov_s

hooman posted:

He'd die how he lived, smearing everything around him.