Jumpingmanjim posted:

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/sep/11/no-relief-yet-for-ministerial-heartburn-suffered-at-tony-abbotts-dining-table

Can someone post this TIA

drunkill posted:

Hey. At least a Liberal Member acknowledges climate change, right?

Gorbash posted:

I'm not sure if anyone cares about public sector enterprise bargaining as an indicator of the Government's labour market policies, but Human Services has just delivered a fairly emphatic rejection of the policy with an 80% no vote: https://m.canberratimes.com.au/national/public-service/human-services-emphatically-votes-no-to-public-service-wage-deal-20150910-gjk43d.html.

quote:

Federal Circuit Court judge accused of bias after rejecting hundreds of migration cases

quote:

Judge accused of bias now has airline guide dog ruling overturned

Fresh questions over the approach of a Sydney Federal Circuit Court judge emerge after his ruling that a severely disabled man did not have the right to travel with his guide dog is overturned.

Negligent posted:

Mocking people's physical appearance would seem to be a bit of a dangerous game for most typical goons to be playing.

sidviscous posted:

Bugger off you humourless twat.

Negligent posted:

Post a picture of yourself so I can continue the joke.

sidviscous posted:

Which is Peter Dutton



and which is Karl Pilkington

SynthOrange posted:

Far-right group United Patriots Front to run for Senate, and campaign on right to 'bare arms' (sic).

Jumpingmanjim posted:

Jumpingmanjim posted:

quote:

Tony Abbott hits phones as leadership talk heats up

Sep 11 2015 at 6:24 PM Updated Sep 11 2015 at 6:40 PM
http://www.afr.com/news/politics/abbott-fights-off-new-challenge-20150910-gjk33y?stb=twt#ixzz3lQREFLYm

Tony Abbott is fighting to protect his leadership against a fresh coup that is brewing from within his frontbench.

Multiple sources have told AFR Weekend that the plan is to mount another leadership challenge regardless of the outcome of next week's by-election in the Western Australian seat of Canning.

Malcolm Turnbull is, at the moment, the likely leadership rival should there be a push, while Julie Bishop would stay as deputy. Some members of the Right, who could not previously abide Mr Turnbull, confided that they could now vote for him.

"There's no alternative," said a source.

Social Services Minister Scott Morrison is said to be sticking by Mr Abbott but would benefit from a change, most likely by becoming Treasurer.

"Everything changes if the top changes," said one powerbroker. He added that the move this time was "not about Mr Morrison" insofar as he was not being lined up for a leadership role.

Mr Abbott publicly confronted the issue on Friday after The Daily Telegraph reported he was under pressure to bring forward a reshuffle of his ministry, scheduled for Christmas, to head off the push.

The publication of a list of ministers supposedly to be targeted for demotion sparked an internal round of hostilities and finger-pointing as to who was behind it.

Mr Abbott rang ministers on the hit list, including one of his top performers Trade Minister Andrew Robb, to assure them the list did not come from the Prime Minister or his office. Some ministers rang Mr Abbott or his office first to seek clarification.

Others on the list like Eric Abetz and Kevin Andrews are part of Mr Abbott's Praetorian Guard and are protecting the PM.

One minister called the list published in The Daily Telegraph "the most Machiavellian act ever perpetrated".

"This is a bastard of an act. We've had the best week we've had all year," he said, in reference to the well received decision to accept 12,000 Syrian refugees.

Mr Abbott, who heads to the Western Australian seat of Canning this weekend to campaign ahead of next Saturday's critical by-election, said the report was "wrong".

"Reports of end-of-year reshuffles are absolutely a dime a dozen," he said.

Mr Abbott is believed to still have the numbers to protect him against a challenge but one MP keen on a change said "things are moving pretty fast".

Another said there was definitely movement but little co-ordination and he feared the renewed unrest could be devastating for the government in Canning.

"There's a lot of chatter among the frontbench but it's not clear where this is landing.

"That's the worst of both worlds. The government suffers from the chatter."

The government suffered a modest setback in Canning on Friday when the Liberal Democratic Party, led by Senator David Leyonhjelm, announced it would direct its preferences away from the Liberal Party in response to an ongoing legal dispute with the Liberals and to protest some policy decisions.

The government is expecting a strong swing against it in Canning and Mr Abbott is conscious he needs a respectable result to keep the wolves at bay. One theory circulating on Friday was that the reshuffle story had been leaked to blow up the government in Canning and ensure Mr Abbott's ouster.

Treasurer Joe Hockey was drawn into the firing line when 2GB radio host Ray Hadley, a supporter of the government and who has a good relationship with Mr Morrison, suggested to Mr Hockey during a live interview that he should resign for the good of the government and Mr Abbott.

"If [Mr Abbott] says, 'Look, Joe we're moving into election cycle, it's next year and you're one of my best mates, you're a great bloke, I think you're a great Treasurer, but we just might have to move things, we might have to put you somewhere else', would you take one for the team without bluing or screaming?"

Mr Hockey dismissed the suggestion.

The government's day further soured when Mr Abbott and Mr Dutton, while posing for a photo opportunity, were caught on camera joking about the effect of climate change swamping Pacific islands. Mr Morrison, standing beside them, warned them about the boom microphone overhead as Mr Abbott and Mr Dutton chuckled at the joke.

In February, Mr Abbott survived a motion to spill the leadership by 61 votes to 39. After what he described as that near-death experience, he asked his team to give him six months to turn the ship around.

But despite a brief surge in the wake of the May budget, the government has been pretty much lagging Labor by 54 per cent to 46 per cent on a two-party-preferred basis.

One frontbencher told AFR Weekend that he believed it was a matter of if, not when, the leadership would again be confronted.

"It's like the election," he said. "There will be one, we just don't know when."

Labor privately fears a switch to Mr Turnbull with Mr Morrison as Treasurer, believing they would be much harder to beat.

Digiwizzard posted:

Put the coal on a skateboard.

Les Affaires posted:

waterline phone

katlington posted:

Is Cape Time what it sounds like? Because it sounds p racist.

Jumpingmanjim posted:

Ler posted:

Libspill 2.0

Ler posted:

Libspill 2.0

PaletteSwappedNinja posted:

I hope he's mauled by a honey badger.

quote:

"This is a bastard of an act. We've had the best week we've had all year,"

quote:

Thousands of apartment owners could be forced to sell their own homes under a massive shakeup of property laws that developers hope will be adopted by all state and territory governments.
Under existing laws, 100 per cent of residents who own flats in an apartment building must agree to the terms of a full buyout from a developer.
The New South Wales Government wants to lower that threshold to 75 per cent, as part of a raft of reforms to strata title laws.

It is understood the changes will be put before the State's Parliament next month.
The industry says current laws make it difficult and expensive for ageing buildings to be redeveloped, because residents who do want to sell their homes can stop a collective sale going ahead.
Developers say the reforms will help increase urban housing density in the country's big cities.

The New South Wales Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation, Victor Dominello, said there would be protections in place to ensure residents are fairly compensated for the sale of their homes.
"You've got to have at least just terms compensation," he said.
"That is the minimum market value provided to the owners. And in most cases it will be well in access of that."

The NSW Opposition has plans to vote against the legislation.
"We're not going to support the proposal between the Government and the developers to evict, particularly older people, from their homes," opposition MP Peter Primrose said.
I don't see why they should be able to change your status just because they suddenly want to make a lot of money.

Strata title is the most common form of apartment ownership in Australia. It is estimated about 3 million people live in strata title apartments.
University of New South Wales strata title expert Cathy Sherry said the change would inevitably result in people being forced to sell their own homes.
"It's the Government empowering private citizens to take other people's property and the Government can essentially write the legislation any way it wants," she said.

Dr Sherry said one of the goal of the legislation — to renew run-down apartment buildings — has merit.
But she pointed out there was no requirement in the proposed legislation for developers to only redevelop run-down buildings.
Nor was there a requirement for them to increase density by building more units than they demolish.
"So, a developer could do a cosmetic revamp, strip the apartments inside, make them look a lot posher, do a cosmetic revamp on the outside and they may not be redeveloping to a higher density because that land size isn't big enough," she said.
"But a developer can still make a profit."

Other states consider adopting NSW changes

Randwick resident Vern Philpott said he was worried his apartment building could be targeted by developers.
"I don't see why they should be able to change your status just because they suddenly want to make a lot of money," the 88-year-old said.

The Property Council of Australia's Chief Executive Ken Morrisson said he hoped other states would adopt the NSW changes.
"We're seeing in Western Australia advanced stages of debate as well," he said.
"There's a parliamentary inquiry [into strata title laws] in South Australia."
The Victorian Government has told 7.30 it is willing to consider the 75-per cent threshold as part of a review into property laws that begins in November.

MiniSune posted:

It's happening?

Freudian Slip posted:

the advantage of being high on the ballot is that you collect the donkey votes.

MikeJF posted:

It pisses me off so much that we can't even do the obvious 'randomise the order across different ballot papers' despite everyone knowing it should happen and it being fairly easy. SORRY TOO HARD GUYS