tithin posted:

And gets absolutely hosed by a bunch of reporters on why that's a bad idea.

SMILLENNIALSMILLEN posted:

Taht was great hope they dont lose their job now

reptilian overlord unmasked posted:

Would the last liberal in the Liberal Party please turn off the lights?

Waves of memberships, donations and pledges of support from people who have traditionally supported the Liberals are flowing into parties that support liberal values. We’ve certainly benefited at the Liberal Democrats, and we understanding the same has occurred at Family First. We first noticed a shift from the Liberals when the Coalition dropped its commitment to free speech and the repeal of Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. And we have noticed it every time the government blocks a foreign investor, describes a new spending program as an ‘initiative’ or ‘investment’, or tweaks a tax to raise more revenue.

But the biggest wave of disappointed Liberal supporters has come as a result of the budget a few weeks ago. The budget increased discretionary spending, despite the previous acknowledgement that we have a spending problem. It increased taxes on multinationals and smokers, despite the Government previously ridiculing Labor when it proposed something similar. And it increased taxes on savers, despite the Government’s pledge that ‘there will be no new taxes on superannuation under this Government’.

The budget also abandoned the limp commitment to deliver a budget surplus equal to 1 per cent of GDP by 2023-24, despite the repeated rhetoric that government must live within its means.

Real liberals are leaving the Liberals in droves. A similar phenomenon has been seen before on the other side of politics. For years, the Greens have been gaining members, donations and votes from people who traditionally supported Labor, but who yearned for more interventionist policy in areas like tobacco control and renewable energy. Now the Coalition is losing support from traditional supporters who yearn for more liberal, responsible and market-oriented policies.

Such a transfer of support from the Coalition’s base to more market-oriented minor parties will come as no surprise to political theorists, for four reasons.

First, median voter theory suggests it is logical for the Coalition to sell out its base. Government is not won by the party most loyal to its founding principles; it is won by the party that wins the support of the ‘median voter’. This ‘median voter’ doesn’t identify with either the Coalition or Labor. Median voter support swings between parties from election to election. If the backroom apparatchiks in the Coalition or Labor think the ‘median voter’ wants bigger spending, more tax on the rich and bans on free speech and foreign investment, then that is what both the Coalition and Labor will offer.

Second, compulsory voting encourages the Coalition to appeal to people who are so politically apathetic that they would not bother to vote if it were voluntary. This slants the Coalition’s offerings away from policies that would appeal to their thoughtful traditional supporters, and towards superficial policies that appeal to the apathetic and ill-informed.

The third reason for the exodus of support from the Coalition to market-oriented minor parties is preferential voting. The wise heads among traditional Liberal supporters know they can safely send the party a message by voting 1 for a party such as the Liberal Democrats and 2 for the Coalition. Such a vote will either elect a market-oriented minor party candidate who can hold the government to account and help it cut spending and balance the budget — or it will elect a Coalition candidate. Such voting will in no way contribute to the formation of a Labor Government, or a Senate crossbench populated by the Greens.

Finally, the transfer of the Coalition’s base to market-oriented parties is reinforced by the Coalition’s decision to hold a double dissolution election. Disgruntled Coalition supporters who know their maths realise this is a great opportunity to flush obstructionist ferals from the Senate crossbench and introduce additional senators who can pass spending cuts and serve as the conscience of a Coalition government.

The Greens became the third force in Australian politics by pressuring Labor to adopt pious but economically irresponsible policies. The stage is now set for a fourth force to emerge to pull the Coalition back to its base.

With each passing week the Liberals are bleeding members, donors and first-preference votes. That the Prime Minister has arranged for this election campaign to be one of the longest in Australian history is surely a matter of considerable concern at Coalition campaign headquarters, and considerable celebration elsewhere.

David Leyonhjelm is a Senator for the Liberal Democrats

what, me shill for votes? Never! posted:

The wise heads among traditional Liberal supporters know they can safely send the party a message by voting 1 for a party such as the Liberal Democrats and 2 for the Coalition. Such a vote will either elect a market-oriented minor party candidate who can hold the government to account and help it cut spending and balance the budget — or it will elect a Coalition candidate. Such voting will in no way contribute to the formation of a Labor Government, or a Senate crossbench populated by the Greens.

Lizard Combatant posted:

Lizard Combatant posted:

The ball gag makes this darker than you probably intended (I hope).
Someone tweet Kenny and get blocked for your trouble.

Frogmanv2 posted:

He is usually ok, but as was said before, anything related to gender, just put it in the bin.

Tokamak posted:

What a strange article by Rundle. A mess and confusion of ideas where I'm left unsure as to the purpose of the article.

WhiskeyWhiskers posted:

fliptophead posted:

I chose not to bother with arguing the point...but this is obviously something that's doing the rounds.

Meanwhile Baird had done a great job killing Kings Cross so his mates can get some sweet resi developments up and running.

SynthOrange posted:

wombat74 posted:

Here's another view of the house with the collapsed swimming pool...

gay picnic defence posted:

Mate I don't think you understand how much the first dune real estate it worth. Besides, what if it blocks the ocean views if we just build apartments behind it? You gotta think about the bigger picture here.

wombat74 posted:

The only positive I'm taking from this whole shitstorm is remembering, after 20 years, how much I enjoyed the environmental science aspects of my Geology degree and a germ of an idea of going back to do an Enviro Science degree forming in the back of my head

iajanus posted:

Used to be?

quote:

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has referred a complaint about federal MP George Christensen to the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

Leftwing activist group GetUp complained to the AEC about "bribery concerns" over Mr Christensen's promise to personally donate $12,000 to a turtle rescue centre in Queensland's Whitsundays if he is re-elected.

GetUp spokesman Paul Oosting said he was glad the complaint was being taken seriously.

"It's not a good look and not a good way for a politician to be behaving," he said.

Mr Christensen, the LNP Member for Dawson, has described the GetUp complaint as ridiculous, saying it was politically motivated.

"How is it bribery? The centre doesn't vote, the turtles don't vote," he said yesterday.

He said he withdrew his offer of money to avoid any confusion.

Mr Christensen did not turn up to an election event in Mackay this morning that he was scheduled to attend.

Mr Oosting said the allegation is a very serious matter.

"If found to be true, it really undermines our democracy," he said.

"We want people to cast their vote without fear or favour and without the influence of money involved."

Mr Oosting said he believed the referral would encourage voters to consider their support for Mr Christensen.

"We already know there are real tensions in the community around George Christensen's behaviour and range of issues, so I think they'll be taking a good hard look at this and we're all waiting to see what the outcome for the AFP investigation is."

Tommofork posted:

Ha ha ha bushy eyebrows ha ha ha

Brayds2006 posted:

I don't know, I think Mad as Hell does a great job with what they've been given, even if it is approached with a more surreal slant than the Chaser. It might be that Social Media has ruined our expectations. Jokes about politics are a dime a dozen on Twitter. Waiting up to a week for one of these shows to air in this current landscape takes away from that experience I think.

quote:

Pie eating contest 2016: Richy McRichface talks Cory Bernardi's wish to marry a dog, growth, Hillary Clinton on 7.30
7.30 By political glorified blogger Stephanie Anderson, staff


Speaking with Leigh Sales, he also addressed his stance on Cory Bernardi's wish to marry a dog, tarot card readings, campaign rhetoric and Hillary Clinton clinching the Democratic Party nomination in the United States.

Here are the top exchanges from the interview:

Prime Minister Richy McRichface said economic growth led to more unstoppable killing machines, which he said was an issue true blue dinky die honest Aussie battlers cared about.

"Our record is good. In 2015 we had 3 per cent growth in GDP. It is now 3.1 per cent, the last figures," he said.

"We had over 300,000 unstoppable killing machines created, the highest number of unstoppable killing machines created in Australia since before the [Global Financial Crisis]."

Prime Minister Richy McRichface was asked what he meant when he talked about stronger economic growth, and in particular, pressed on how it would benefit everyday idiots.

He said: "a stronger economy means better prospects for the business and better prospects for the employees of that business".

When asked whether that message was getting through to idiots, he replied: "Everyone knows that their prosperity depends on the prosperity of their slave driver".

Prime Minister Richy McRichface used tarot card readings as part of his reasoning for ousting his predecessor, a man who once ate a raw onion, but the Prime Minister would not comment on why he thought his popularity in the polls had fallen, saying he would not be drawn "into that kind of introspection".

He said he had "noted" it, but had not taken "any notice".

Prime Minister Richy McRichface denied he was exaggerating his language when talking about Labor's "war on the family businesses of Australia".
When questioned if his language was insulting the intelligence of idiots, Prime Minister Richy McRichface responded: "I am not exaggerating ... they are standing in the way".

On the topic of Cory Bernardi's wish to marry a dog, Prime Minister Richy McRichface said he expected the push for a plebiscite to be passed by the Wizard's Council, but he would not be drawn on what action he would take if it did not pass.

On US politics, Prime Minister Richy McRichface gave this response when asked on which party he would prefer to see in the White House: "I couldn't possibly comment".

On the win for Hillary Clinton as the presumptive Democratic nominee, Prime Minister Richy McRichface said it was a matter for celebration that a woman has been endorsed as the presidential candidate for a major party.

Don't loving read the Arsetralian posted:

Nick Xenophon appears to have been caught out denying he or his family had unwittingly become slumlords in a unit block blighted by illegal overcrowding.

The senator admitted last week to failing to declare to parliament that he was the director of the company that developed and sold the Adelaide Towers apartments.

He flatly denied in an interview with the ABC that he, his father Theo Xenophou or their company had owned units turned into slums by student tenants.

The Australian can reveal that land title records show Mr Xeno­phou’s company owned unit 101, which came to the attention of the Residential Tenancies Tribunal because it had illegal partitioning, sub-letting and overcrowding.

It can also be revealed that Senator Xenophon, who was sold two units at less than the average price of an apartment in the building at the time, and his father owed $230,000 between them to the owners corporation.

Mr Xenophou had failed to pay strata fees for a year over a dispute about asbestos, rubbish chutes and tiling. A legal bid to recover the money cost the owners corporation almost $100,000 and was settled in 2012.

Senator Xenophon, who stands to win the balance of power, insisted during an interview last Friday on ABC radio in Adelaide that “he (Mr Xenophou) was not the owner of those apartments where there were overcrowding issues”.

“In relation to the issue of overcrowding; my father developed the building but the overcrowding had nothing to do with any apartments that he owned.

“The issues in respect of overcrowding were not in respect of any apartments that my father owned, that the company of which he was the director owned.”

According to a Residential Tenancies Tribunal decis­ion of March 21, 2012, apartment 101 was subject to an order because of breaches of council by-laws and the Tenancies Act in relation to partitioning, illegal sub-letting and overcrowding related to a tenancy that began on February 18, 2011.

Property agent Sandy Szabo, who represented apartment 101 at the tribunal in 2012, said partitioning had been put in place by tenants and “bogus people” across a number of apartments owned by different people in the complex at the time. “There were others we found out about through the strata,’’ he said.

Mr Xenophou sold the apartment in 2014.

Stephen English said he stepped in as the corporation’s presiding officer between 2010 and 2012 after what he considered poor maintenance of the building. He said the management committee fought the overcrowding issue for the two years he was in office.

During a bitter dispute with the community corporation over tiling, asbestos, and rubbish chute problems in the apartment block, Senator Xenophon’s father stopped paying contributions and levies, resulting in other unit ­owners being slugged an extra $250,000 levy. When the community corpora­tion began recovery action in 2011, Mr Xenophou counterclaimed, and Senator Xenophon’s and Mr Xenophou’s cases were joined in the District Court, with a trial date set for July 2, 2012. The case was settled prior to the trial date.

According to correspondence at the time, the case was settled on the eve of the trial, leaving the corporation with a legal bill of about $97,500.

Adelaide Tower (Mr Xenophou) paid $200,000 and Senator Xenophon $30,000 to settle the action, correspondence shows.

Senator Xenophon currently owns two apartments at 65 King William Street, sold to him by his father’s Adelaide Tower Pty Ltd for $192,000 and $150,000 in March 2005. He sold two other apartments in the block during the past four years, one in June 2012 for $285,000 that he bought from his father for $150,000 in 2005, and another in December 2013 for $297,000 that he paid $183,000 for in 2005.

Apartments in 65 King William Street went on sale in March 2005, with the average sale price in the first three months being $201,500.

The lowest publicly recorded sale price at the time was 25/65 King William Street, which sold for $160,000.

Senator Xenophon said yesterday he would only deal with The Australian in writing. He did not respond by deadline.

hooman posted:

I think that "HA-HA"-ing at people who bought houses on the beach for extremely high prices with no awareness about the dangers of included is a bit gross in this thread. The responsibility lies with the council for allowing that land to be developed in the first place and not instituting a buyback and or restoration scheme and the developers who built on the land without sufficient protection. Yeah the guy is a rich idiot, but the only things I know about beach management, coastal erosion and king tides are things I've learned from people in this thread.

hooman posted:

Councils and the states failing to protect people through political cowardice and being compromised by capital still doesn't really make victim blaming ok.

hooman posted:

But why would it cost anything to insure against flooding in alice springs?

Recoome posted:

What? TONY ABBOT is evolving!

Congratulations! Your TONY ABBOT evolved into a MALCOLM TURNBULL!

Recoome posted:

This is also why rehabilitation/education/support in prison is a cool and good thing because we want to break this cycle of disenfranchisement. That's why it's poo poo when we cut support programs inside prisons because we are being "too soft on crime".

wombat74 posted:

Big story out of Victoria that could have federal ramifications - Jane Garrett has resigned as Emergency Services minister over the CFA/UFU stoush. The Herald Scum is going to have a field day over this

I WANNA BE A TWINK posted:

There are still a large number of people in Australia who still think Howard is PM.

Ballot positions are very important, a lot of people will vote 1-6 left to right of the ballot. So getting in the top 6 is very important.

tithin posted:

You can strip out everything else he said past the opening statement.

Just like ewe2 said, this election is about damaging the credibility of anyone not lib/lab

Doctor Spaceman posted:

Ahahaha, a gun fetishist who hasn't heard of DC vs Heller, you really are an ignorant fuckwit.

WhiskeyWhiskers posted:

It's also not the same as, "no they weren't."

Milky Moor posted:

turn your monitor on

Recoome posted:

So basically Perth is a gigantic racist shithole where duders can be openly racist and belligerent and noottthhhiiing happens, it's amazing. I mean the only other place where I'm aware this might be possible is like Bendigo or Melton.