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A month before he was toppled by Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott received an alert from an unusual quarter. The deputy leader of the National Party, Barnaby Joyce, left the early-morning leadership group meeting that was held every sitting day in the prime minister’s office to walk with Abbott to a function in the Great Hall. As they made their way, Joyce told the prime minister he would face a challenge from Turnbull around the time of the Canning by-election. It was August 2015. Like others, Joyce could see the signs: unusual groupings at dinner, which Joyce later likened to springing people out and about with their mistresses; a few embarrassed looks; odd expressions here and there. As an old boy of St Ignatius’ College, Riverview, Joyce was still well-plugged into the Sydney scene, picking up on the vibe and gossip about Abbott. He was also hearing things from contacts close to NSW federal Liberals. Joyce could read the polls, too, and as he would later say, you didn’t have to be Sigmund Freud to understand their deeper meaning. Abbott’s leadership was terminal. Joyce had been very close to Abbott, but there had been a serious falling out, triggered by a number of factors. Joyce had quietly stood aside as shadow finance minister when Abbott as opposition leader came under pressure to dump him. When the Nationals’ leader, Warren Truss, fell seriously ill towards the end of 2014, Joyce read reports that the prime minister wanted Truss to stay on because he feared instability would engulf the Coalition if Joyce were to become leader. Joyce was infuriated by those reports but stayed silent publicly. He was convinced they were sourced from deep inside the prime minister’s office. Joyce made no secret of his displeasure at Abbott’s delegation of power to his chief of staff, Peta Credlin. In his typically wildly funny, wildly politically incorrect, irreverent way, he would joke privately about the eunuchs being in charge. Pretty soon, Joyce could find little to laugh about. In July 2015, when the government approved the $1.2 billion Shenhua coalmine on the Liverpool Plains in his electorate, Joyce snapped, declaring the world had gone mad. Not long after that, Joyce concluded Abbott would not recover and that the prime minister should think seriously about stepping down. Nevertheless, when he suspected there were moves afoot to unseat the prime minister, he thought he owed it to him — because Joyce had always seen Abbott as an incredibly kind man, even though his first duty was to protect his own leader, Truss — to warn him. Abbott neither responded to Joyce’s warning nor engaged with him about it. He simply changed the subject. Despite that, Joyce felt good about having done what he thought was the right thing. There was something else Joyce was girding himself to do if Christmas came around and Abbott was still limping along in the job, with the opinion polls where he expected them to be. He was going to tell Abbott he should do the decent thing and step down as prime minister. Unlike Abbott’s Liberal cabinet colleagues, Joyce firmly believed that, in these circumstances, Abbott would accept it was beyond him to recover and that he would quit. He did not think Abbott was the kind of man who would stay on to drive them all over a cliff, which is what they thought would inevitably happen if Abbott remained in the job. Joyce would have had the guts to do it, too. He thought that would have been a more fitting end to Abbott’s rule than to be voted out by his colleagues. Whether Joyce’s confidence in what Abbott would do was well placed was another matter entirely. There were so many warnings, so much advice from so many people to Abbott, at so many different times, on so many different issues. He ignored them all. He did not listen to Julie Bishop, Joe Hockey and Christopher Pyne when they told him immediately after the election to appoint more women to cabinet. He did not listen to Peter Dutton when he told him to kill off the Medicare co-payment, nor later when he urged him to remove Hockey from Treasury so he could appoint Malcolm Turnbull to the job. He did not listen to John Howard when he told him not to reintroduce knights and dames, when he warned him about delegating too much of his authority to his chief of staff, and similarly when he advised him to appoint Turnbull as treasurer. In fact, Abbott ignored every significant piece of advice that Howard gave him. Abbott and Credlin Tony Abbott and chief of staff Peta Credlin hold a corridor meeting before the 2013 Liberal election campaign launch. Picture: Andrew Ellinghausen Tony Abbott and chief of staff Peta Credlin hold a corridor meeting before the 2013 Liberal election campaign launch. Picture: Andrew Ellinghausen 1 of 12 Question time, Parliament House, Canberra. Question time, Parliament House, Canberra. 2 of 12 Credlin and Abbott on day 31 of the 2013 election campaign. Picture: Gary Ramage Credlin and Abbott on day 31 of the 2013 election campaign. Picture: Gary Ramage 3 of 12 The then opposition leader Tony Abbott gets cleaned up after a Clean Up Australia Day event in western Sydney. The then opposition leader Tony Abbott gets cleaned up after a Clean Up Australia Day event in western Sydney. 4 of 12 At the Trans-Pacific Partnership Leaders meeting in Bali in 2013. At the Trans-Pacific Partnership Leaders meeting in Bali in 2013. 5 of 12 Then prime minister Abbott conferring with chief of staff Credlin in federal parliament. Then prime minister Abbott conferring with chief of staff Credlin in federal parliament. 6 of 12 Peta Credlin and government frontbencher Stuart Robert were caught on film arguing during the 2013 election campaign. Peta Credlin and government frontbencher Stuart Robert were caught on film arguing during the 2013 election campaign. 7 of 12 Credlin, Abbott and his daughter Frances at the Perisher Valley ski town in NSW last year when the PM took a rare weekend off with family and friends. Picture: Andrew Murray Credlin, Abbott and his daughter Frances at the Perisher Valley ski town in NSW last year when the PM took a rare weekend off with family and friends. Picture: Andrew Murray 8 of 12 Abbott and Credlin in Sydney during the 2013 campaign. Picture: Gary Ramage Abbott and Credlin in Sydney during the 2013 campaign. Picture: Gary Ramage 9 of 12 Credlin sits behind Malcolm Turnbull, not yet PM. Picture: Kym Smith Credlin sits behind Malcolm Turnbull, not yet PM. Picture: Kym Smith 10 of 12 A meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye at the Blue House in South Korea. A meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye at the Blue House in South Korea. 11 of 12 Peta Credlin in Canberra in 2013. Picture: AAP Peta Credlin in Canberra in 2013. Picture: AAP 12 of 12 Abbott particularly refused to take the advice regarding his chief of staff, including from his friends, people who had been through the wars with him, who believed his relationship with Credlin was destroying his prime ministership. Connie Fierravanti-Wells had always been able to speak frankly with Abbott. They went back a long way, having first met in 1990 when they were both staffers in opposition. She also ran against Abbott as a candidate for preselection for Warringah in 1994, but still thinks that Abbott was the best candidate on the day. She was there when he rang his wife, Margie, to tell her he had won endorsement, urging her to come down and bring the girls with her. Connie remained true to the leader, but she was not blind to his faults. In early 2015, she could see the damage that was being inflicted on Abbott inside the parliamentary party. Even her own loyalty had been severely tested. There was briefing going on against her before the 2013 election, which she sourced back to Abbott’s office. After the election, she did not make it into the ministry; rather, she was appointed parliamentary secretary to the minister for social services, despite her hard work on aged care and mental health policy, and despite the fact there was a crying need for more women in the cabinet — especially after fellow conservative Sophie Mirabella was defeated. She was disappointed she didn’t make it. Nevertheless, she didn’t make a fuss and worked hard, hoping for promotion later. As the senior conservative from NSW, she represented the views of many of Abbott’s base who did not want to see him ousted. Late on the night before the spill motion against him in February 2015, she visited him in his office, a bit after 10pm. She was brutally frank with him, raising something few people would dare broach but which only a woman who had known him a long time could, while hoping he would appreciate she had his best interests at heart. She believed he needed to hear, unfiltered, exactly what his colleagues were really thinking. In their view, he had to remove his chief of staff because they blamed her for many of the government’s problems and they resented her treatment of them. This was not only about the abuse she heaped on them, but the fact he had closed himself off from them — a separation they blamed on Credlin. Connie told him, without mincing words, that they were prepared to take it out on him because they did not like her. She told him it was important that he get rid of her because politics was not only about what was real. ‘‘Politics is about perceptions,’’ she told him. ‘‘Rightly or wrongly, the perception is that you are sleeping with your chief of staff. That’s the perception, and you need to deal with it.’’ She told him she was speaking on behalf of many people in the NSW division who cared for him, who did not want him to lose his prime ministership. She warned him that if he did not move her on, he would lose his prime ministership. ‘‘I am here because I care about you, and I care about your family, and I feel I need to tell you the truth, the brutal truth. This is what your colleagues really think,’’ she said to him. Abbott told her he wasn’t going to move Credlin on. He said the rumours they were having an affair were not true. Abbott did not get angry when Connie confronted him about this most sensitive of matters. He did not remonstrate or raise his voice. He simply, calmly, denied it. Within two days after she had spoken to Abbott, after the vote that mortally wounded the prime minister, Credlin visited Connie in her office, a typical backbencher’s room made warmly personal by the display of family knick-knacks, including beautifully intricate doilies handmade by her Italian grandmother. They talked for an hour and a half. Connie was equally frank with Credlin, telling her she had to go. She also told Credlin about the rumours — that colleagues believed she and Abbott were having an affair. Credlin also denied it, saying it wasn’t true, that they were not having a relationship. Connie told Credlin that, for Abbott’s sake, she should go. Credlin said she believed she was vitally important to Tony, that without her he would not be able to do his job. She believed Tony’s enemies were trying to get to him through her. Credlin gave no hint that she had even thought about going, not even for a moment. Connie was troubled because she remained convinced this would result in an extremely unhappy ending for Abbott. She tried to make Credlin see the consequences for herself as well. ‘‘One day, Tony will be sitting on a park bench in Manly feeding the pigeons, and he will blame you,’’ she told her. Connie had dared to ask each of them directly the one question that so many people inside the government whispered to each other, which they thought might help explain what they otherwise found inexplicable about this most complex relationship, which they believed was having such a detrimental impact on their lives, on their ability to do their jobs and on the standing of the government. One long-time Coalition staffer, searching for historical comparisons to capture the ultimately destructive and self-destructive nature of the relationship between the prime minister and his chief of staff, landed on one, saying: ‘‘She was his Wallis Simpson.’’ This was not meant to imply an affair; it was meant to describe the depth of the dependence, the consuming obsession, and what Abbott was prepared to sacrifice for it. Like King Edward VIII, who gave up his throne because he could not do the job without Wallis by his side, Abbott had convinced himself he could not do without Credlin. Ultimately, it cost him the highest office in the land. There were so many people trying to come up with the least harmful resolution to what was a diabolical problem. Abbott had been a brilliant opposition leader. Unfortunately, he was failing as a prime minister. Joyce was not the only one around that time who was contemplating ways of convincing Abbott to do the right thing by the Liberal Party and by his government. Could his wife, Margie, be prevailed upon to speak to him? Would a petition of elders or businesspeople do it? Could John Howard be persuaded to tell him that time was up? There was growing desperation. Their motives were simple. They wanted the government to be re-elected, yet they were convinced that with Abbott as leader they would get smashed. They could not find the means to separate the two people at the helm, held in bonds so tight that no one else could penetrate. They were not only destroying one other; they were destroying the government, too. Cabinet ministers as well as backbenchers had also lost confidence in Hockey, despite the benign second budget he’d delivered. They had doubts about his work ethic, they thought he was ill-disciplined, not up to the job, incapable of taking advice, had spent what little capital he had, could not recover in that most important of all portfolios, and was more than likely to falter as treasurer under the extreme pressure of an election campaign, especially if the government went into it with a tax-reform package. So they wanted him gone, too. Abbott and Credlin had been on a war footing every day for four years before they got into government. Their four-year war was brilliant, brutal and extremely effective. The problem was, once they got there, they couldn’t stop campaigning. Like soldiers or war correspondents hooked on adrenalin, their expertise and their passion were all about the fighting and the crushing of enemies, real or imagined, rather than on governing
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Mar 4, 2016 15:09
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| # ? May 12, 2024 07:01 |
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quote:Abbott and Credlin 
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Mar 4, 2016 15:15
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Does Australia even have an extradition treaty with the Vatican state because George Pell should be brought home to face charges.
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Mar 4, 2016 15:17
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Negligent posted:Does Australia even have an extradition treaty with the Vatican state because George Pell should be brought home to face charges. what is love, brother?
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Mar 4, 2016 15:22
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Negligent posted:Does Australia even have an extradition treaty with the Vatican state because George Pell should be brought home to face charges.  I guess a lot of priests were curious too. But no, we don't. Whether that means someone can't be extradited some other way I don't know.
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Mar 4, 2016 15:24
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but what of love?
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Mar 4, 2016 15:29
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Orkin Mang posted:but what of love? Priesty don't molest me, don't molest me, no more.
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Mar 4, 2016 16:59
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First Dog:
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Mar 4, 2016 17:02
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Tink please, stop. It's not too late, we can still fix things. Make it how it used to be, y'know?
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Mar 4, 2016 17:17
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There are only like, two pictures in that, just copy and pasted over and over again. Why are you like this?
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Mar 4, 2016 18:40
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I spose even in the current media culture you can't pull this sort of thing and get away with it. Good to see him actually get suspended rather than just hand waving it away, because while crazy, most of the stuff it said was pretty horrific dog whistling. http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/mar/04/paul-sheehan-suspended-sydney-morning-herald-false-rape-story
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Mar 4, 2016 20:06
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What are the chances that the LNP is a spent force? the more I think about it, the more i realise that they have no one with credibility left and based on their taking that young dude (Wyatt?) as a minister, I reckon they're probably scavenging their young liberals and finding no one of value
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Mar 4, 2016 22:52
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Well this month's March OP certainly shits all over last month's March OP.
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Mar 4, 2016 23:30
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WhiskeyWhiskers posted:
Just do what mossad did with all the nazi's hiding in south america.
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Mar 5, 2016 00:35
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When they made the switch I expressed deep scepticism at Scott 'Baby Killer' Morrison being able to control the Treasury portfolio because, unlike his previous portfolio, he wasn't the faucet for all information. This weeks events have proven me spectacularly right. Who in their wildest dreams would have imagined anyone could make a worse treasurer than J Hockey? I know, it's breathtaking. I imaging in forty years a certain document, written in badly spelt crayon will be released under the Cabinet In Confidence rules:"An anonymous treasure" posted:Dear BIS Shrapnil, Well yes Baby Killer you do. Stupider in fact. I was trying to locate an instance of anyone in any of the broad finance portfolios of even this abysmal LNP government saying something stupider. It certainly rivals 'Poor people don't drive cars' and while 'Economic Girlyman' is in some ways worse that's because it is highly offensive misogyny not outright dumb economics. Looks like you can't just bully and torture the economy to get it to behave and trying to tow bad macroeconomic results back to sea just makes you look sillier. In case you missed it, KIller used a report (that is being used as evidence that we need an economic modelling regulator) to support a nonsense stance on a policy he either doesn't understand or didn't read. Is there any evidence available that KIller can, in fact, read? So Cartoon's clown shoes of the month goes to Scott "Babykiller" Morrison  keep up the good work Scotty! You may be the straw that humps this camel off stage right.
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Mar 5, 2016 00:43
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https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/national/a/31005086/why-joe-bullock-is-closer-to-tony-abbott-than-you-think/ That's the wall in Joe Bullock's senate office. What's the only thing he's hung on it? 
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Mar 5, 2016 01:18
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Jibs Monteef posted:There are only like, two pictures in that, just copy and pasted over and over again. First dog is for the 110 IQ crowd. It is a sad reflection of our society. Tokamak fucked around with this message at 02:51 on Mar 5, 2016 |
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Mar 5, 2016 02:45
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Does anyone have any good AusPol podcasts to recommend? SomethingWonky is great, is there anything else along those lines?
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Mar 5, 2016 04:08
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Vahtooch posted:I spose even in the current media culture you can't pull this sort of thing and get away with it. Good to see him actually get suspended rather than just hand waving it away, because while crazy, most of the stuff it said was pretty horrific dog whistling. pc gone mad
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Mar 5, 2016 04:33
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Pell refuses to resign over all the things he admitted he did because doing so would be an admission of guilt  He did it, he just doesn't feel bad about it quote:George Pell: Cardinal says resigning would be an 'admission of guilt' after royal commission evidence Won't someone please think of the poor Catholic Church. Surely they're the real victims here. And poor Pell, having to testify about the decades he spent covering up for hundreds of children being raped has made him feel bad. Poor thing. We should all just forget about it now. Sweep it under the carpet, as it were. Cover it up nice and warm so the Church and Pell are never made to feel bad again. Megillah Gorilla fucked around with this message at 05:08 on Mar 5, 2016 |
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Mar 5, 2016 05:04
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Gorilla Salad posted:Pell refuses to resign over all the things he admitted he did because doing so would be an admission of guilt It is pretty disgusting. The church has had more than a fair go for an extremely long time.
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Mar 5, 2016 05:27
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Recoome rhymes with Pells doom.
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Mar 5, 2016 05:29
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tithin posted:Recoomes rhymes with Pells doom.
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Mar 5, 2016 05:30
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Its happening again Tony Abbott has refused to confirm or deny an affair with his chief-of-staff Peta Credlin after rumours surfaced in a new book.
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Mar 5, 2016 05:52
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Brown Paper Bag posted:Does anyone have any good AusPol podcasts to recommend? SomethingWonky is great, is there anything else along those lines? Like I'm a six year old is pretty good. Tom Bollard does political interviews with some comedy weekly. Also check out Follow the Money from the Australia Institute of lefty talking points comrade, short and sweet.
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Mar 5, 2016 06:02
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Brown Paper Bag posted:Does anyone have any good AusPol podcasts to recommend? SomethingWonky is great, is there anything else along those lines? Like I'm a Six Year Old and Follow the Money are pretty good. edit: stupid forums with your post not appearing trickery. clusterfuck fucked around with this message at 06:06 on Mar 5, 2016 |
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Mar 5, 2016 06:03
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e: nm, bad joke
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Mar 5, 2016 06:05
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tithin posted:e: nm, bad joke mods, change thread title please
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Mar 5, 2016 07:40
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so, have you guys ever considered doing an OP that isn't horribly biased towards the Greens (who get less than 10 percent of the vote)? It might encourage greater diversity of opinions.
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Mar 5, 2016 08:13
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Because what this thread really needs is a bunch of right wing fuckholes jerking themselves off over the rape and torture of kids in detention while telling us that rich people getting richer is a good thing for society. gently caress off and or kill yourself.
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Mar 5, 2016 08:17
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LibertyCat posted:so, have you guys ever considered doing an OP that isn't horribly biased towards the Greens (who get less than 10 percent of the vote)? It might encourage greater diversity of opinions.
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Mar 5, 2016 08:22
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0 day history and one dumb post likely a troll
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Mar 5, 2016 08:28
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Birdstrike posted:0 day history and one dumb post likely a troll In auspol? 
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Mar 5, 2016 08:31
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The offer stands 
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Mar 5, 2016 08:35
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LibertyCat posted:so, have you guys ever considered doing an OP that isn't horribly biased towards the Greens (who get less than 10 percent of the vote)? It might encourage greater diversity of opinions. 
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Mar 5, 2016 08:37
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LibertyCat posted:so, have you guys ever considered doing an OP that isn't horribly biased towards the Greens (who get less than 10 percent of the vote)? It might encourage greater diversity of opinions. I remember there used to be OPs that had a bit more of a Labor bent, but that was during like, the Gillard years. Can't imagine why the Labor-supporting crowd might have lessened or quietened since then!
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Mar 5, 2016 08:45
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Lid posted:Its happening again If he had of denied it would people say, "So it never happened? OK."? Cartoon posted:You can do next month's if you like and show us all how it's done. Well played.
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Mar 5, 2016 08:49
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there hasn't been a reason to feel optimistic as a change from withiner since Rudd Mk1
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Mar 5, 2016 08:49
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I'll just presume that IWC missed Graics thread for, I think January? or was it december?
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Mar 5, 2016 08:58
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LibertyCat posted:so, have you guys ever considered doing an OP that isn't horribly biased towards the Greens (who get less than 10 percent of the vote)? It might encourage greater diversity of opinions. If you dont agree with everyone in this thread on every single measure you are literally hitler.
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Mar 5, 2016 09:21
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