- Adbot
-
ADBOT LOVES YOU
|
|
|
#
¿
Apr 24, 2024 02:59
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
Given there is some pretty hosed up poo poo going on in Iraq at the moment, is there a preferable alternative to war that won't allow IS to continue to wreak poo poo for any minorities they stumble across?
This nightmare was set in motion decades ago and was most recently sent into free fall by the 2003 war. We are as collectively responsible for what ISIS is doing as anybody else. Strangely enough pouring less arms and combatants into a war zone seems to cool things off rather than the other alternatives. And if we are so keen on preventing oppression/genocide where ever it is found there are plenty of other places we could be focused on, some as close as West Papua.
|
#
¿
Sep 1, 2014 09:22
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
I agree, but stepping back and letting things cool off doesn't seem like it is going to provide much immediate relief to anyone who isn't a Sunni extremist in the north of Iraq right now. Obviously the best thing would be to have some serious discourse in Sunni society about religion and proper conduct towards people outside their faith or whatever, however I'm not seeing anything to suggest that is occurring, or if it is that it will result in anything meaningful.
1/ A UN motion for involvement. Specifically the protection of minorities by UN sanctioned forces. Nope what we have is an internally generated 'fact finding mission'
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/01/un-iraq-isis-war-crimes
If the Syrian experience is anything to go on. There will be a lot of hand wringing and gently caress all commitment to any kind of a rational process.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Supervision_Mission_in_Syria
That UN oversight appears to be off the table for the US then it must be a further ill conceived unilateral intervention.
2/ A loving game plan. Here's NTATAs :- http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/we-should-have-debate-on-iraq-xenophon/story-e6frfku9-1227043330289
quote:Abbott lays out Iraq strategy
2 HOURS AGO SEPTEMBER 01, 2014 5:49PM
Nick Xenophon has backed a push for a parliamentary debate on the growing involvement in Iraq.
PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has moved to ease public fears Australia could rush into a new war in Iraq, but warned the Islamic State "death cult" needs to be stopped.
AUSTRALIAN defence personnel are expected to conduct a third aid drop in northern Iraq within days - this time including guns and ammunition - as Kurdish Peshmerga forces battle Islamic State extremists. Prior to this week's mission to Erbil, RAAF aircraft have taken part in humanitarian airdrops to people trapped on Mount Sinjar and the besieged inhabitants of the town of Amerli.
Mindful of the divisive debate over the Iraq war in 2003, Mr Abbott told parliament on Monday the government had properly weighed up the risks. "Many Australians are understandably apprehensive about the risk of becoming involved in another long and costly conflict in the Middle East," he said. "Doing anything involves serious risks and weighty consequences. But doing nothing involves risks and consequences too." Australia could not leave the Iraqi people to face the horror of Islamic State, which he described as a "death cult"
.
Labor joined the coalition to vote down a Greens motion calling for parliamentary approval of the latest mission. But the government and opposition later agreed on a two-hour Senate debate. The prime minister laid out four principles behind the government's decision to provide weapons and ammunition sourced from eastern Europe, but ruled out putting combat troops on the ground. The principles included a clear and achievable overall objective, a proportionate role for Australian forces, a proper risk assessment and an overall humanitarian objective. "Like President Obama, Australia has no intention to commit combat troops on the ground. But we're not inclined to stand by in the face of preventable genocide either," Mr Abbott said.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said the government also needed to ensure Iraq set up a unity government in coming months and that Australia denied the opportunity for its citizens to join the extremists and return home with terrorist skills. "We should not confuse empty jingoism and aggressive nationalism with steady decision-making," he said. Nor should we ignore the "dreadful consequences of fanaticism and extremism". Admitting he had not spoken with the Abbott government, Iraq's ambassador to Australia Mouayed Saleh suggested the guns should go through the central government in Baghdad rather than the Peshmerga.
"We are not saying they shouldn't have weapons, it just needs to be organised and coordinated with the central government," he told Sky News. The new Iraqi government headed by prime minister-designate Haider al-Abadi is set to be sworn in within the fortnight. Greens leader Christine Milne said Barack Obama had himself admitted he did not have a strategy for Iraq and yet Australia was "simply running behind" the US President.
Islamic State's campaign of fighting, beheadings and mass executions will be the subject of NATO talks involving Foreign Minister Julie Bishop this week.
Labor frontbencher Penny Wong said her party had opposed Australian intervention in Iraq in 2003 but endorsed President Obama's response which was "methodical and internationally inclusive".
It's like it came as a complete shock to everyone when a US installed Shia government in Iraq spawned a militant Sunni opposition who, by being disenfranchised by the 'new democratic' deal, turned to a violent uprising. The whole 2003 'intervention' was a double barreled cluster gently caress in an unstable region. At the end of the day Suddam Hussein killed way less of his people, minorities included, than the US did. And now our brilliant plan is to drop weapons to a radicalised terrorist group? Yep that'll work.
I'd go on but I'm getting seriously fatigued by the pants on head nature of our leaders. This is dumb. Really really dumb and will lead to more people, not less, getting killed.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 1, 2014 11:04
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
I actually think those Palmer dates were selected to allow for them to be things that the PUP could use during an election campaign.
While we're on LNP speculation; In a previous post I fakeposted the LNP play book and suggested that one way you could tell who was being groomed as a scapegoat was that they became the spokesthing for the government. Head scumbag Morrison has been used a lot recently to do such things as announce our going to war. Is it too much to hope for?
Also West Papua? Who_Cares!.png
|
|
#
¿
Sep 2, 2014 06:08
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
Not sure why you are paging me. I only did the work to find out about labour productivity because it was being used as a weapon by the forces of darkness and I smelled poo.
In contemplating this issue this morning I actually did the mental question "Do I become a half baked authority on the impact of superannuation change in the Australian setting" and decided that no I don't. That said (IANAE):
This is just more neocon/liberal ideology at work. The alterations reduce pressure on upwards wage movement (This just alters where the wage earners money goes. Into the hand rather than long term savings). So for the sake of placating workers now you rob them in retirement. It also reduces the pool of national savings which erodes Australia's ability to compete globally in a globalised economy.
Unfortunately you don't have to go far to find similar levels of dumb:
The Arsetralian totally not being a spokesthing for the Minerals Council posted:3 Sep 2014 The Australian ANNABEL HEPWORTH NATIONAL BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT
Coalition ‘too soft’ on Swan’s flawed legacy
THE former Labor government’s stimulus spending “left a loss of competitiveness as a lasting legacy” but the Abbott government has “undersold” the importance of budget repair to restore it. A blistering analysis to be released today undermines claims that 200,000 jobs were saved by the stimulus as being based on “spurious” Treasury modelling and finds the rescue package weakened the economy. It also says stimulus spending such as the $16 billion Building the Education Revolution “failed to deliver as originally expected and left a loss of competitiveness as a lasting legacy” by increasing imports and drawing resources away from the tradeable sector.
The paper — commissioned by the Minerals Council of Australia and written by Griffith University economics professor Tony Makin, a longstanding critic of the stimulus — sounds the alarm on the extent to which Australia’s competitiveness has “collapsed” since the turn of the century. The remedy, it says, is urgent industrial relations reform and cuts to spending by all levels of government. “The Abbott government has so far undersold the importance of fiscal consolidation to Australia’s competitiveness and to future economic growth,” the paper says. “It should broaden its fiscal repair message beyond the need for government to ‘live within its means’ … The Abbott government should construct a reform narrative more squarely around the need to reverse the slide in national competitiveness.”
The paper, to be launched by Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, comes as business leaders have been lining up to warn about the influence of the minor parties in the wake of Labor’s moves to oppose key planks of the budget in the Senate. Frustration has also been growing in corporate Australia about the slow pace of workplace policy change.
The new analysis appears to give backing to Joe Hockey’s belief that the federal budget was too soft, as it pushes hard for cuts to government spending over the short to medium term. “Overly expansionary fiscal settings of federal and state governments in Australia in the wake of the crisis, settings that have yet to be fully reversed, contributed to the dollar’s strength and have been a major homegrown source of the competitiveness problem,” it says.
It also cites foreign central banks policies weakening their exchange rates as having aggravated Australia’s competitiveness woes. The paper calls for spending cuts and backs this over tax hikes — a move likely to be welcomed by businesses as they turn their attention to the government’s promised white paper on tax reform. But Australia will not “durably” lift its competitiveness without also moving on labour market reform and the Coalition should “grasp this narrative and own it”. “Australia urgently needs a more searching national conversation about our international competitiveness,” the paper says. “In many ways, this is the missing link in the Abbott government’s economic narrative as it struggles to come to grips with Australia’s long-term budget predicament and looks to flesh out a meaningful agenda in areas such as tax, reforming the federation and industrial relations.”
The comments on the stimulus are likely to anger Labor, which has maintained its program kept Australia out of recession during the global financial crisis. Former Labor treasurer Wayne Swan, who oversaw the stimulus, has recently said there is a “battalion” of people “who will say anything to discredit stimulus purely for the ideological purpose of delegitimising government action in an economic crisis”. On Sunday he released a September 2011 letter from Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson congratulating him on being named by Euromoney magazine as the world’s finance minister of the year for policies contributing to the resilience of the economy following the GFC. He did this in a tweet that said Tony Abbott talked of economic emergencies but “Labor dealt with a real one”.
However, the new Minerals Council paper says it was “Asia that pulled the Australian economy along by buying commodities at elevated prices”. On the stimulus, the it says that, as a proportion of GDP in 2008-09, it was similar to the US, which was at the “epicentre” of the crisis, and exceeded the response of many economies whose banking systems had failed. Because of delays, the spending continued “well after the worst of any business cycle downturn”.
This (while actually ignoring the fact that Australia didn't go into recession during the GFC) paper relies on a supposed lack of competitiveness to push for a harsher IR system (lower wages). It seems strange that this is exactly what reducing our superannuation savings will do too and yet (given the timing) this isn't mentioned at all.
There is no shortage of goobledegook.
Here's the facts:
Someone else needs to be doing the 'heavy lifting' IR settings aren't the problem.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 3, 2014 02:31
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
Why does the Arsetralian have such a ragging boner for trashing superannuation?
quote:4 Sep 2014 The Australian ADAM CREIGHTON ANALYSIS
Super debate ignores failures
DEBATE about the delay to the superannuation guarantee ignores the policy’s profound failure to reduce dependency on the pension. It also reveals a widespread and damaging misunderstanding about the policy’s budget impact. As the recent Commission of Audit noted, even by 2050 — that is, after 60 years of compulsory superannuation — about 80 per cent of retirees will receive a full or part age pension, the biggest and among the fastest growing of federal expenses. This is because the age pension eligibility test is a joke, granting a part-pension to retirees with “family homes” of any value and financial assets up to $1.134 million. Until this is changed — both Labor and the Coalition ran away from the commission’s sensible recommendations to fix it — compulsory superannuation will remain a costly, unfair burden and lucrative subsidy to fund managers.
For all the attacks on the government’s decision, it has heeded a key recommendation of former Treasury secretary Ken Henry’s tax review, which is not to increase the superannuation guarantee (SG). It also busted the two key myths that pervade the super debate. Myth number 1: lifting the SG helps the budget. “An increase in the superannuation guarantee would also have a net cost to government revenue even over the long term (that is, the loss of income tax revenue would not be replaced fully by an increase in superannuation tax collections or a reduction in Age Pension costs)”, the review says. “Increasing the superannuation guarantee rate would increase national saving, but reduce public saving (ie, the budget surplus) since only part of the revenue forgone in tax concessions for superannuation would be offset by a reduction in pension outlays.”
Perhaps no policy truth has been hidden for so long to the detriment of so many, for the benefit of so few. Yet the Financial Services Council, which represents an industry that stands to make billions from lifting the SG, gets away with claiming compulsory super was “significantly” reducing pressure on the budget, pointing to savings of $11 billion a year by 2030.
Because the age pension test is so lenient, lifting the SG punches a long-run hole in the budget that logically forces all other taxes to be higher given spending. Myth number 2: business pays for increases in the SG. “Although employers are required to make superannuation guarantee contributions, employees bear the cost of these contributions through lower wage growth,” the review says, contradicting Labor Senate Leader Penny Wong this week, who denied on ABC TV a link with take-home pay. “The effect of this reduction in a person’s standard of living falls most heavily on low to middleincome earners who are unlikely to be in a position to offset the increase in the superannuation guarantee by reducing their other savings,” it adds. Tax economist John Freebairn bemoans the pervasive belief that business rather than workers pay for compulsory super.
The Rudd government ignored the Henry review, announcing without justification in May 2010 the share of workers’ wages to be siphoned into remote, untouchable accounts destined to be ravaged by fees would rise to 12 per cent, come hell or high water.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 4, 2014 02:22
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
Good Morning AusPol! I'm luminescently happy and deeply proud of my country. This is the best government ever! How did this happen? Well you see it's opposites day! Black is White!
After-all:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/05/tony-abbott-uranium-india posted:Tony Abbott defends deal to sell uranium to 'model citizen' India
Questions remain about its use, but prime minister says ‘it’s not our job to tell India how to conduct its internal affairs’ (Really? What makes them special?)
Tony Abbott has defended an agreement to sell uranium to India, describing it as a “model citizen” with peaceful ambitions. The prime minister is expected to sign a long-awaited nuclear safeguards agreement with his counterpart, Narendra Modi, in Delhi on Friday. The deal would allow Australia to start shipping its abundant reserves of uranium to the subcontinent, which is struggling to meet its vast energy needs. It’s a controversial move because India has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which ensures uranium is used for civilian energy purposes and not weapons.
But Abbott said it signalled trust with the “world’s emerging democratic superpower. India has an absolutely impeccable non-proliferation record,” he told reporters in Mumbai on Thursday. “India has been a model international citizen. India threatens no one.” But when asked how Australia could guarantee India used its uranium as promised, Abbott declared: “It’s not our job to try to tell India how to conduct its internal affairs.”
The Australian Greens condemned the deal, warning uranium wasn’t any ordinary commodity. “It is a strategic mineral and a trade that Australia should be getting out of,” Greens senator Scott Ludlam said in a statement. Australia’s refusal to sell uranium to India has been a sore point between the nations for years. Former prime minister John Howard first gave in-principle support to the idea, but Kevin Rudd promptly rescinded the agreement once elected to the office. It was Julia Gillard during her tenure who convinced Labor in 2011 to overturn its ban on uranium sales to India, and negotiations for a safeguards deal began the following year.
India already buys almost $5 billion worth of Australian coal every year, but is keen to supply more of its energy needs from its 21 nuclear reactors. The Abbott government wants to capitalise on trade opportunities with the new administration of Modi, who made energy security a key plank of his reform platform. Two-way trade with India is worth $15bn – about a 10th of that conducted with China, Australia’s top trading partner.
Abbott has confessed that Australia hasn’t invested enough time and energy in the subcontinent compared with the markets of north Asia. “Our attention was elsewhere,” he told reporters in Mumbai. “Just think what could be achieved between Australia and India if there had been the same focus here as there has been there.” He brought a top business delegation to India’s financial capital Mumbai to explore new trade and investment opportunities with Australia’s fifth biggest export market. The government’s top trade priority remains, however, a free trade deal with China, which it’s confident will be inked by the end of the year. Abbott will begin the official bilateral phase of his visit in Delhi on Friday.
I just want to hug you! Well know refugee advocate and humanitarian NTATA.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/friday-panel-abbotts-first-year/5721522
Excuse me while I affirm my commitment to a long life.
Cartoon fucked around with this message at 01:47 on Sep 5, 2014
|
|
#
¿
Sep 5, 2014 01:45
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
Weekly reminder: Morrison is seen as a success within Coalition circles (both voters and politicians), and if he leaves immigration it will be for a more important portfolio.
Julie 'pants on head' Bishop is percieved by the general population as doing a good job  This is the woman who was replaced by Joe Hockey in the treasury slot. At least this sends a clear message that the first Abbott budget is entirely on the nose. Muppet government.
Next in his seven moves ahead four dimensional chess NTATA:
niggers[/s]indigenous people"]‘Indigenous PM’ Tony Abbott to keep his promise in Arnhem Land
THE AUSTRALIAN JUNE 21, 2014 12:00AM
Patricia Karvelas
TONY Abbott will mark the first anniversary of his swearing-in as Prime Minister by spending a week in northeast Arnhem Land, hosted by Gumatj leader Galarrwuy Yunupingu. Mr Abbott will stay in the community with other politicians and bureaucrats from September 15, making the deadline he imposed on himself to spend a week in a community every year .
It follows his promise to be the prime minister for indigenous affairs and radically change policy to close the gap, committing himself to gaining “a better understanding of the needs of people living and working in those areas. This trip will mark the first anniversary of my swearing-in as Prime Minister,(He even outs himself in the very article you printed)" Mr Abbott said. “It will be a significant personal milestone and it will be a great honour to spend it among Aboriginal Australians." Aboriginal people would have “my full focus and attention as Prime Minister. Last year I spoke to Gumatj leader Galarrwuy Yunupingu about spending a week living in his country and I am grateful for his offer to accommodate me,” Mr Abbott said.
He said the Yothu Yindi Foundation would help him join Yolngu men and women with activities that immediately benefit the community. He would be listening to community members about government policy and practical solutions. “The government is determined that children will go to school, adults will go to work and communities will be safe,” Mr Abbott said. “For the past decade I have spent time in remote indigenous communities and I am committed to continuing this tradition as Prime Minister."
Mr Abbott made the commitment at the Garma Festival last year during a pre-election speech on Yolngu country where he promised a new relationship with indigenous Australians. “I believe things will be different if there is a change of government,(Yes they have gotten significantly worse)" Mr Abbott said at the time. “I’ve said before, let me repeat it, it is my hope that I could be not just a prime minister, but a prime minister for Aboriginal affair."
Mentions of agency, culture and legal aid cuts 0.0. gently caress off NTATA. Go torture soemone else. The loving Arsetralian can not be serious in suggesting it is a caring (or even handed) mouthpiece for indigenous affairs.
Hes this been posted here (pretty sure it has but..)?
quote:Police apologise after leaving plastic explosives at Sydney Airport
September 11, 2014 - 6:34PM Matt Carr
Australian Federal Police have apologised after leaving 230 grams of plastic explosive in an unclaimed suitcase at Sydney Airport. The Newcastle Herald reports the explosive was discovered after the unclaimed bag was given to a woman as a replacement for her damaged bag. The explosives were left behind after a training exercise on August 14 but discovered on Tuesday after the woman took the unclaimed bag. After finding the device, the woman immediately took it to Cessnock police. Cessnock police station was temporarily evacuated as a safety precaution.
The device was not live, AFP said. AFP Sydney Airport Commander Wayne Buchhorn issued an apology on Thursday afternoon, saying the device was left behind after a dog training exercise. "The AFP takes this error seriously and the canine instructor who inadvertently left this device behind has been identified and will be the subject of a formal Professional Standards Investigation," Commander Buchhorn said. "Although the travelling public was not in danger at any time, we regularly review our processes in this area, and we will do again in the light of this incident. Commander Buchhorn thanked the woman and Cessnock police for their help.
Still on the terroism front.
Given that we are going to blindly follow the US into stuff when we attack targets in Syria are our soldiers in danger of having to show cause so that they can be let back into Australia? Under the stupid new 'terror' laws they would seem to be violating the bit about fighting against an existing state power.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/isds-the-devil-in-the-trade-deal/5738842
A final message to all Australians: t gently caress you all. You sad ignorant wastes of DNA.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 12, 2014 03:44
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
Can't even frighten the horses properly madam speaker!
|
|
#
¿
Sep 12, 2014 05:49
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
If that doesn't result in effectively everyone involved getting demote or sacked then we really have crossed over into the bad place™.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 13, 2014 10:01
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
I'm not going to comment as to why the alert was raised, nor am I going to read the full article in the Terrorgraph, but want to point out that the Defence Security Authority is a different part of the national security bureaucracy to ASIO (Department of Defence vs Attorney-General's Department) and I don't think the email sent out by the former was justification for the latter raising the alert. It's just the Tele being the Tele.
It didn't take long however for us to be dragged fully into out next Vietnam:
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/brandis-is-an-existential-threat-to-australia/5743322
Note the error/malaprop in that url "Brandis is an existential threat to Australia".
quote:Brandis: Islamic State's caliphate ambitions an 'existential threat' to Australia
Monday 15 September 2014 7:37AM
Attorney General George Brandis joins RN Breakfast to discuss Australia's deployment of military assistance to combat Islamic State extremists. The Government will deploy up to eight Super Hornets to a staging base in the United Arab Emirates, along with early warning and air-to-air refuelling aircraft. Additionally, a contingent of SAS troops will act as military advisers to Iraqi forces. Labor are supporting the Government's decision, but the Greens are warning that an 'open ended' commitment will act as a rallying cry for more foreign fighters.
This however had me thumping the dashboard:
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/australia-needs-a-broader-is-strategy-peter-leahy/5743532
quote:Australia needs a broader IS strategy: Peter Leahy
Monday 15 September 2014 8:05AM
Former Army Chief Peter Leahy speaks with Fran Kelly about Australia's involvement with a US-led coalition aimed at 'destroying' Islamic State extremists.
And they both fired all guns at this:
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/milne-iraq-commitment-will-heighten-risk-of-terrorist-attacks/5743552
quote:Milne: Iraq commitment will heighten risk of terrorist attacks
Monday 15 September 2014 8:33AM
Greens Leader Christine Milne joins RN Breakfast to discuss her party's opposition to Australia's military deployment to Iraq. Her party has warned that Australia is 'blindly following' the US into another war that has no exit strategy. Attorney General George Brandis has rejected these claims.
Milne makes the very reasonable claims that arming a bunch of radicalised extremists, who are on our forbiden enemy combatants list won't, in all likelihood, lead to peace in Syria and Iraq and that there is actual evidence that our involvement in Iraq/Syria raises the threat of terror attacks on Australian targets. Brandis and Leahy poo poo this as being mamby pampy surrender monkey talk.
-------//-----------
Nice to note that large in NTATA's plans for the week are conversations with the miners, smelters and loggers that might be able to draw on local indigenous people to swell the ranks of their workforce. It's great that all these employers are indigenous operated and owner, oh wait that's not true! Sorry to be such a dope Massa. If you actually give a poo poo and don't just gaze at the smoke and mirrors read this:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/public-service/tony-abbotts-indigenous-takeover-in-disarray-20140912-10fgbf.html
quote:Tony Abbott's indigenous takeover in 'disarray'
September 12, 2014 Noel Towell Reporter for The Canberra Times
Prime Minister Tony Abbott's takeover of indigenous affairs is in "disarray", public service insiders allege, with hundreds of specialist public servants retrenched, funding and programs stalled and staff morale in the "doldrums". Senior leaders in the Prime Minister and Cabinet department's Indigenous Affairs Group have based themselves in Canberra's dress circle, nearly 10 kilometres away from their rank-and-file workers, who are still reeling after repeated restructures to their workplaces. The internal problems have emerged on the eve of the Prime Minister's trip to Arnhem Land, part of his pledge to be "a prime minister for indigenous affairs" that also included the takeover by PM&C of indigenous functions from several other government agencies.
The department admits that things are "difficult" but says it is working "towards building a cohesive department" after forced mergers saw it try to absorb an extra 1800 public servants. The Prime Minister's office did not respond to requests for comment. Do you know more? Send your confidential tips to ps@canberratimes.com.au. The hundreds of public servants still working in the PM&C's Indigenous Affairs Group are trying to overhaul programs and transfer key responsibilities to regional offices in line with Mr Abbott's promised shake-up of services. But departmental sources say the work is going on against a background of upheaval and disruption after several restructures and 236 redundancies, including senior executives, and middle-managers distracted by being forced to apply for their own jobs.
"Staff are still unclear how the new program arrangements will be assessed and managed," one PM&C staffer said. "The disorganised state has meant that indigenous groups and other stakeholders have not been consulted. Most 2014-2015 money is not available as many existing contracts were automatically extended for 12 months. There are some funds for indigenous education projects but this will be well short of demand. Staff morale is in the doldrums in IA group."
There is also unhappiness among Indigenous Affairs staffers that their senior leaders, Associate Secretary Liza Carroll and Deputy Secretary Richard Eccles, have based themselves at PM&C's Barton HQ in Canberra's leafy inner-south, while most of their subordinates continue to work 9.5 kilometres away in unfashionable Woden. But a PM&C spokesman defended his department's performance, saying it was doing its best after being quadrupled in size and having to absorb 1800 extra public servants from nine other agencies, with the Prime Minister also taking over as Minister for Women.
"Most of the staff were in the Indigenous Affairs area, but the deregulation function and the Office for Women are also new to PM&C," the spokesman said. "Change of this magnitude is always difficult, and we are continuing to work towards building a cohesive department. The effect of the efficiency dividend and the streamlined programme structure has seen a reduction of staff.
"236 staff have taken a voluntary redundancy." The spokesman said all current funding contracts were being honoured and service providers whose contracts ended on 30 June 2014 and "who had an expectation of ongoing funding" have had their contracts extended.
"The government will work in partnership with Indigenous communities to tailor action in the priority areas of schooling, jobs and community safety," the spokesman said. "Under these arrangements, senior decision-makers will be closer to communities. Associate Secretary Liza Carroll and Deputy Secretary Richard Eccles work in both Barton and Woden, as appropriate."
I'll be keeping a running total of the number of times that Tony uses the words culture and agency in his reported discussions this week. Current count - 0.0.
There was a write-up in The Conversation by an academic from a business school somewhere who basically pointed out that a big contributor to Australian production inefficiency was the fact that our business managers are typically loving terrible. I read a paper today that estimated that 60% of the workforce was not engaged while at work, and the drivers of that were pretty much management fault.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 15, 2014 01:32
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
Lets buy some Japaneese subs!
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-15/japanese-concerns-over-submarine-deal/5743022
Is there anything these muppets can't gently caress up? This makes the Gillard governments Timor and Malaysia deals (sans consult) seem mild.
quote:Former senior Japanese military personnel have spoken out for the first time against the submarine deal the Abbott Government hopes to conclude with Japan. Australia is considering buying 10 state-of-the-art Soryu class submarines from Japan, at a reported price of more than $20 billion. But Japanese military insiders have warned that it will cost much more. They told the ABC there was great reluctance within the Japanese military to share their expertise, and said it would take Australia decades to perfect the submarines' top secret technology. The Federal Government wants to replace its Collins class submarines with Soryus by 2030.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 15, 2014 06:24
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
Touche.
I must get my racist lingo in order.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 16, 2014 04:50
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
So in a previous post I pointed out that NTATAs supposed commitment to indigenous welfare and rights is shallow lip service at best. He's been a busy boy!
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/16/tony-abbott-may-cut-short-election-pledge-arnhem-land-visit
quote:Tony Abbott may cut short election pledge Arnhem Land visit
Prime minister says he may need to leave early because of discussions about Australia’s military role in Iraq
Gabrielle Chan in Arnhem Land
theguardian.com, Tuesday 16 September 2014 16.40 AEST
Tony Abbott has raised the possibility of cutting short his promised week-long trip to Arnhem Land to engage with Indigenous people due to Australia’s developing involvement in conflict in Iraq – possibly breaking an election commitment. The prime minister, who is negotiating a time frame for Indigenous recognition in the constitution, said he could leave earlier than his planned departure on Friday but he expected to have the referendum time frame worked out in the coming days. Indigenous leaders, including Warren Mundine, Noel Pearson and Galarrwuy Yunupingu are among a group gathering to discuss plans to achieve recognition for Indigenous Australians in the constitution.
Abbott had earlier lauded the week-long trip as an iron-clad election promise but on Tuesday he said Australia’s recent military deployment meant he had already been forced to “duck out of programs here and there. It is possible that I may have to leave a little earlier but certainly I intend to have a deep and full engagement as I committed with Galarrwuy Yunupingu,” he said.
Mundine, the head of the prime minister’s indigenous advisory council, said Aboriginal communities would understand if Abbott had to leave. “With anything in life, there’s always some people who will complain,” Mundine told AAP. “But I don’t think people will take that as an insult, people are mindful it’s a dangerous world.”
Abbott visited a furniture manufacturing business and a nursery owned by Yunupingu’s Gumatj Corporation but skipped out for a teleconference with the defence force chief, Mark Binskin, his chief of staff, Peta Credlin, and the defence minister, David Johnston. The prime minister is meeting Indigenous leaders on Wednesday and said he would have a time frame in “days rather than weeks. It is important to say something significant about our country that acknowledges the pivotal role of the Indigenous people as the first Australians,” Abbott said. He said he wanted to capture the “glory of modern Australia”. “We are a very embracing, inclusive country that reaches out to people,” he said. “I am not saying it’s going to be easy to put this into our constitution … that’s the challenge.”
OK so military crisis and what not, fair enough...
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2014/s4088856.htm
quote:Prime Minister likely to leave Arnhem Land early due to preparations for Iraq mission
Louise Yaxley reported this story on Tuesday, September 16, 2014 18:10:00
MARK COLVIN: The Prime Minister looks set to wind up his visit to north-east Arnhem Land early. Since Sunday, Tony Abbott has been visiting Aboriginal communities in the area as part of his promise to spend a week a year in an Indigenous community. But the deployment of fighter jets and 600 members of the Defence Force to the Middle East is likely to mean his visit's a little shorter than that.
Political correspondent Louise Yaxley reports.
TONY ABBOTT: OK, well it's good to be here in Gunyangara, on Yolngu country. How are you mate, good to see you.
(Prime Minister greets local people)
LOUISE YAXLEY: Mr Abbott's met many of his Yolngu hosts, as well as trying his hand at some of the tasks involved in the local businesses, like sanding furniture made from timber cut at the mill.
TONY ABBOTT: OK, so I'm going to be your apprentice, am I? Wow, this is great! This is beautifully constructed.
LOUISE YAXLEY: At the nursery he potted up some seeds for sandalwood trees...
TONY ABBOTT: Are these the seeds, are they? OK, yup. You show me what we do and then I'll do some with you.
LOUISE YAXLEY: And he promised to keep in touch to track the progress of his tree.
A communication barrier was apparent when he tried to chat to some local children though.
TONY ABBOTT: And your name, darling, what's your name?
(Child's response inaudible)
What beautiful children. Hey kids, what school are you at? Are you at Nhulunbuy school, are you? Latoya, you're at Nhulunbuy school are you?
LOUISE YAXLEY: And doing as politicians do and kissing a baby proved a little complicated.
TONY ABBOTT: Just for the camera. OK, ready?
(Kisses baby, laughs)
Sorry, is that alright? Oh dear.
LOUISE YAXLEY: Mr Abbott says the locals he's been speaking to want the constitution changed to recognise Indigenous Australians.
TONY ABBOTT: While it's too soon to talk about the precise wording of any constitutional change, it's very clear that Yolngu people are as enthusiastic as other Indigenous people right around our country to see this great historical wrong righted in some way. It's important that it's righted in ways that unite Australians, that don't divide us needlessly, and there is a long way to go before we get this done. But it is a great and noble cause. It's one that I'm personally committed to; it's one that the Coalition has been committed to at least since John Howard announced our commitment back in 2007. It has bipartisan support. It's supported - as I understand it - right across the Parliament.
LOUISE YAXLEY: This afternoon, he said there'll be an announcement very soon about a referendum on Indigenous recognition in the constitution.
TONY ABBOTT: I'm hoping within a space of days rather than weeks to have more to say on this.
LOUISE YAXLEY: But Mr Abbott's immersion in Yolngu culture is likely to be cut short.
TONY ABBOTT: It's possible that I may have to leave a little earlier, but certainly I intend to have a very deep and full engagement up here, as I committed with Galarrwuy [Yunupingu] about a year ago. It's very important that I keep faith with the people of east Arnhem Land and I certainly am determined to ensure that no-one feels short-changed.
LOUISE YAXLEY: Returning to Canberra early would be to prepare for Australia's mission in Iraq, something Mr Abbott says is fundamentally humanitarian.
TONY ABBOTT: To protect the people of Iraq and the people of the wider world from this murderous death cult. So I'm simply describing it as it is. It is a mission to protect, and yes, it is very likely to involve combat operations inside Iraq.
LOUISE YAXLEY: The Prime Minister says Australia's involvement could spread to Syria.
TONY ABBOTT: No, I'm not ruling out some action in Syria, but it is not part of the Government's current intentions because as I've said quite frequently over the last few days, the legalities of operations in Syria are quite different from the legalities of operations in Iraq. In Iraq, we would be operating with the full support, cooperation, and welcome of democratically elected Iraqi government. Syria is essentially ungoverned space with a regime that we don't recognise. So while I entirely support president Obama, who's said that he is prepared to conduct American combat operations inside Syria, it is not part of the Australian government's current intention.
LOUISE YAXLEY: That statement concerns The Greens leader Christine Milne.
CHRISTINE MILNE: Make no mistake: he has committed Australia to an open-ended war in Iraq that may well spill into Syria.
LOUISE YAXLEY: And the Opposition leader Bill Shorten supports the Government's approach on Iraq, but does not back going into Syria.
BILL SHORTEN: We want to see that it's about preventing mass population murder in northern Iraq. We want to see it stem the flow of foreign fighters from Australia who in some misguided beliefs are going there and learning how to commit crimes and acts of violence. It is important that we constrain our operations to Iraq, where the government has asked us to intervene.
MARK COLVIN: The Opposition leader Bill Shorten ending Louise Yaxley's report.
So he came late, left early and why? So he could be there to wave as our brave lads go to fight the Turk.
Also his flag ship intervention program Anti-truancy has been outted as a gently caress up. Attendance rates after an intial improvement are back to historic lows. Turns out that once the kids returned the schools didn't have to resources to deal with the increased numbers. A wholly forseeable circumstance that, based on his removal of funding for support services, will be repeated across all other areas. Face it NTATA you are a bad joke.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 17, 2014 01:23
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
I never got the practical reason publicity surrounding terrorist stuff. Surely the intelligence agencies would be better off operating quietly on their own without the hype. After the big announcement and all these arrests, the first thing I'd do if I were planning some kind of terrorist attack is urgently review all security systems and try and make the plan even harder for national security forces to uncover. Assuming that terrorists groups aren't so stupid to ignore all this and keep going on business as usual it seems like all the fuss is only going to make the job of security forces harder, and the country less safe.
Obviously the real reason they publicize it is to distract from the budget but I'm surprised no one from the security sector has called them out on it.
http://media.theage.com.au/news/federal-politics/wilkie-shorten-scared-stiff-on-iraq-5776275.html
Not the denouncement I'd hoped for.
http://www.andrewwilkie.org/content/index.php/awmp/home_news_extended/a_statement_on_afp_withdrawal_from_hobart_airport
Apparently Tasmania isn't part of team Australia.
quote:A statement on AFP withdrawal from Hobart Airport
The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, discussed new revelations about the withdrawal of the Australian Federal Police from Hobart Airport. “The consequences of the withdrawal of the Australian Federal Police from Hobart Airport are even worse than we first feared,” Mr Wilkie said. “I have learned that the two AFP detection dogs have already gone. One detected drugs and cash, and the other detected explosives. And I have also learned that the Hobart-based AFP officers who are being removed were in the practise of inspecting Launceston Airport on a weekly basis, visits that will obviously no longer be possible. In other words, Hobart Airport will be the only capital city airport without a permanent AFP presence and Hobart, and Tasmania more broadly, will be left without a range of law enforcement capabilities and advice. Not only does the withdrawal of the AFP make Hobart Airport vulnerable to innovative home-grown terrorists looking for a symbolic and soft target, it also makes the whole of the State more vulnerable to a range of other criminal activities. I call again on the Federal Government to urgently review this matter. If the Government is fair dinkum about the increased terror threat then it needs to maintain a permanent AFP presence at Hobart Airport.”
|
|
#
¿
Sep 18, 2014 01:20
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
It's sad, but there has to be some indoctrination that doesn't go away after you've worked in intelligence. Considering his views on so many other things I'm not to upset. Still a shame.
Is anyone with a public voice decrying this current TERRORIST THREAT as BS, or are all the opinion pieces staying 'impartial'?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 18, 2014 02:03
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
They already said they raised the terrorscope level because of what turned out to be the (utterly incompetent) terrorist attack on the warship in India.
So this whole terror threat level thing is just a late response to all those explosives and targeted maps found last month, right?
Remember, they arrested that white guy with a history of bomb making, for planning actual attacks?
https://twitter.com/corybernardi/status/512381674881949696
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...918-10iltb.html
quote:'Stupid and ignorant': Cory Bernardi's comments linking terrorism raids with a push to ban burqa slammed
September 18, 2014 - 3:54PM Latika Bourke National political reporter
The politics of terror
The government is benefiting from the threat of terrorism, says Mark Kenny, but that doesn't mean it's orchestrating events.
Comments by a Liberal senator linking terror raids with a campaign to ban the burqa have been described as "stupid and ignorant" and designed to "feed prejudice". As news broke of the mass counter-terrorism operation across Sydney and Brisbane, in which 15 people were arrested and one charged, Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi took to Twitter to rail against the burqa as a "shroud of oppression".
Senator Bernardi has been a long-time critic of the burqa, arguing that it is a "symbol of female oppression and Islamic culture", carries security and identification risks and is "un-Australian". Labor leader Bill Shorten on Thursday criticised Senator Bernardi's remarks, telling Fairfax Media that the last thing the country needed was "stupid" and "ignorant" comments from government MPs. "Why on earth is this out-of-touch, out-of-line senator on a rampage with his ignorant and stupid comments?" asked Mr Shorten. "This senator's comments should have no part to play in public life, fuelling fear and suspicion."
Mr Abbott stopped short of rebuking his backbencher on Thursday when asked about Senator Bernardi's comments at a media conference in the Northern Territory, saying there was no need to "fret about people's faith" or "fret about what people wear. Well this isn't about people's religion, it's not about what people wear, it's about potential terror attacks here in Australia and that's what we've got to guard against," he told reporters in Arnhem Land.
Another senior Liberal, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman, warned on Thursday against racial vilification following the raids. "We must not let what we're seeing with these raids and arrests poison the relationships within our community," Mr Newman said. "If anybody uses what's happened to vilify a group, race or religion they are playing into the hands of these would-be-terrorists. That is, helping the terrorist organisations to achieve what they want to achieve."
Mr Shorten said he had "no time for Senator Bernardi's stupid comments. The last thing we need at a time like this are ignorant comments from government MPs that feed prejudice," he said. "We must refuse to submit to this type of fear and intolerance."
Senator Bernardi hit back at Mr Shorten, saying the Labor leader was in no position to offer criticism. "Given Bill Shorten was part of a government that wanted to facilitate sharia-compliant finance laws in our country, his lack of understanding on this matter speaks for itself," he told Fairfax Media.
Also in light of these recent developments I'd be very careful what you say on social media.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 19, 2014 01:22
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
Is there any law against police pointing a fuckin video camera at your face and asking for ID?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 19, 2014 02:30
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
Before I forget: I will do a more thorough search before I get home, but it's likely that I was confusing the Australian terror level with the US terror level which was raised around the same time, my bad. There are too many terrorscopes for me to keep track of.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 19, 2014 09:26
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
Hey! Don't tell Beet to gently caress Off that's my job!
I wasn't sure whether they were referring to Police or the likely occupants of Allianz stadium. Then I realised who I was dealing with.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-19/jacqui-lambie-ban-the-burka-photo-believed-to-be-policewoman/5757438
quote:Ban the burka photo shared by PUP senator Jacqui Lambie believed to be of Afghan policewoman killed by Taliban
By Sally Sara Updated 28 minutes ago Sat 20 Sep 2014, 9:53am
The photo used in a Facebook post is believed to be of Afghanistan's first female policewoman.
The photographer who took the picture of an Afghani policewoman, which has been used in an online campaign to ban the burka, says Senator Jacqui Lambie has desecrated her image. Malalai Kakar was Afghanistan's first female policewoman who the Taliban gunned down in her car in 2008. She was well known for her stance on women's rights. Lana Slezic says she is shocked and appalled the photo she took of Lt Col Kakar in Afghanistan has been used out of context and without permission. Palmer United Party senator Jacqui Lambie shared the image posted by far right British group Britain First on her Facebook page. The Facebook post shows a woman in a blue burka pointing a pistol overlaid with the words: "For security reasons it's now time to ban the burqa". Lana Slezic, who is now based in Toronto and took the photo as part of her "Forsaken" exhibition said she believes Ms Lambie's actions are an insult to Lt Col Kakar who died fighting Taliban extremists.
"I'm shocked... I cannot believe how Malalai's image has been really desecrated on Jacqui Lambie's Facebook page. It's a misappropriation of Malalai Kakar's identity of her family. It's an insult to her family and her children and I'm appalled by the way it's been used really," Ms Slezic said. "She was the pinnacle of strength in Kandahar at a time that was extremely difficult for Afghan women. She was the first female police officer in Kandahar and stood for the rights of women. All the women of Kandahar knew who she was and knew they could come to her with their problems. Problems like domestic violence, rape forced marriage. I'm shocked... I cannot believe how Malalai's image has been really desecrated on Jacqui Lambie's Facebook page. It's a misappropriation of Malalai Kakar's identity of her family. It's an insult to her family and her children and I'm appalled by the way it's been used really.
"You know she was their one sort of beacon of hope and in December 2008 she was brutally murdered in front of her family, in front of her home in Kandahar. She was shot by the Taliban. To have this image used in this way really is such an insult to Malalai – she would be turning in her grave and I am also deeply insulted by the use of the image in this way." Ms Slezic said she took the photo in Lt Col Kakar's office to show the difficulties she faced working as a female police officer. "In her office she always wore a uniform and she was armed, but when she left her office, as soon as she left the police station she was in a burka. "So the image was a portrait taken in her office to show what she had to face every day working as a police officer literally undercover. "I cannot believe that anyone could be so insensitive and frankly stupid. It's inappropriate, it's wrong, it's misleading. I definitely don't support the use of my image this way. It's insulting to Malalai Kakar and to her family."
Lt Col Kakar achieved a measure of global fame for her deeds, which included protecting divorced Afghani women from their husbands. The mother of six was married to a United Nations worker.
Lambie will review the use of the image
A spokesman for Senator Lambie said she would review the image, but is happy with the message. Senator Lambie has called for a ban on burkas in public and says she would not allow anyone wearing the traditional garment into her office for "public and staff safety reasons". Following Thursday's counter-terrorism raids in Sydney and Brisbane, Liberal senator Cory Bernardi renewed his call for a ban on burkas on his Twitter account, describing them as a "shroud of oppression and flag of fundamentalism" that are "not right" in Australia. He later told ABC News that his comments were in line with his previous concerns about the burka, which he has described as "un-Australian" and "repressive". In a statement, Senator Lambie said she backed Senator Bernardi's comments. "Now we're at war with the sharia extremists and Australia has been placed on a heightened terrorism alert - we can't have anyone hiding their identity in public. It now becomes an important national security issue," Senator Lambie's statement said.
"I agree whole-heartedly with Senator Cory Bernardi's comments - and call for an immediate and complete ban on the wearing of burkas in public. "The burkas are obviously designed by men who have an obsessive need to have extreme control and power over women. "Why have the feminists turned a blind eye to this and other abhorrent cultural practices happening in Australia like female genital mutilation?" Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said Senator Lambie's comments were ignorant and "fed right into the hands" of extremists. "This is the worst possible time for this type of ill-informed prejudice," he said in a statement. "These comments from politicians have the potential to damage community harmony and inflame tensions and it must stop. Elected representatives should defend the rights of all in our democracy, not just the majority. We don't defeat intolerance by being intolerant."
Prime Minister Tony Abbott yesterday rejected Senator Bernardi's comments, while Mr Shorten described them as "stupid" and ignorant".
When you find yourself using material sourced from a right wing hate group you should probably consider ending your tenancy on the planet.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 20, 2014 01:28
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
Had a 'customer' come into my shop yesterday and out of nowhere say "It was a disgusting that Muslims were going to behead people in Australia. They shouldn't be importing their poo poo here" I pointed out that we had been involved in their country to the tune of several hundred thousand deaths. https://www.iraqbodycount.org/ They didn't see the problem.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 20, 2014 04:57
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
But if you don't do anything wrong you have nothing to fear...
|
|
#
¿
Sep 20, 2014 10:24
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
Well, that'd be swell if we were talking innumeracy and not illiteracy...?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 21, 2014 07:54
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
These are the end days posted:22 Sep 2014 The Australian DAVID CROWE DAVID UREN
G20 puts IR reform on agenda
WORKPLACE reform has been put on Australia’s G20 agenda as the International Monetary Fund urges action on labour-market rules to revitalise global growth at the same time that Tony Abbott prepares to launch a major review into industrial laws.
The call for reform comes as the Prime Minister considers launching a Productivity Commission inquiry into industrial relations to accompany a new “competitiveness agenda” aimed at spurring business growth. Combining domestic and international agendas, the new industry policy is expected to meet some of Australia’s obligations under the Cairns agreement, while the workplace reform review coincides with the G20 calls for reform. The Australian can reveal that the terms of reference for the Productivity Commission review are mostly finalised and that one of the options in the Prime Minister’s office is to announce the inquiry as part of a wider probusiness competitiveness agenda.
Joe Hockey hailed yesterday’s G20 agreement as a major step towards creating “millions of jobs” if member nations acted on more than 900 specific reform plans they had put forward, which range from infrastructure investment to opening up markets to greater competition. While observers warn that the global forum is delivering more rhetoric than action, the IMF and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development evaluated the reform proposals and concluded they would add 1.8 per cent to global growth compared with a “business as usual” scenario. Ms Lagarde welcomed the progress but said more work was needed to meet a goal of 2 per cent growth set by the G20 in February, naming labour-market reform and infrastructure investment as priorities.
“We hope that there will be more commitments in the areas of infrastructure and labour market,” Ms Lagarde said, although she added she was not expressing “frustration” with the outcomes so far. “We are particularly concerned that the growth objective is coupled with job deliverables as well. And we believe that more focus in general on job-market reforms, and on more opportunities delivered by the job markets, will actually help us with the double objective of both growth and jobs.” Mr Hockey hosted finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 nations in Cairns over the weekend to negotiate the growth agreement, which will be put to leaders including US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a final summit hosted by Mr Abbott in Brisbane in November.
International tensions were on display in the closing hours of the gathering as US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew took aim at Europe for not doing enough to reform its economies, while rebuking Russia over its interference in Ukraine. Common ground was found on the key agenda items, however, including actions to curb tax evasion, a new infrastructure investment plan and tougher regulation of “too big to fail” banks in the hope that taxpayers will not be left paying the bill for future bailouts. While the proposals to add 1.8 per cent to global growth fell short of the 2 per cent target set in February, it was higher than reports suggested on Saturday and comes with far more detail than G20 assurances in the past. “At the beginning of the year there was no global growth target, no global infrastructure initiative, financial sector reform was slow and the tax integrity program was in its infancy,” Mr Hockey said. “As of today, we have committed to over 900 policy initiatives that help to make the economy around $2 trillion larger over the next four years. This represents millions of new jobs.” Aware of doubts over the delivery on previous promises, Mr Hockey declared that the Brisbane summit would deliver “real, concrete outcomes” based on ambitious goals.
Ms Lagarde also warned that implementation was crucial and said the IMF had been asked to help monitor the plans to ensure they were acted upon. The Lowy Institute’s G20 program director, Mike Callaghan, said the success of the meeting would be determined by what member nations actually did. “At this stage, it’s lots of words and intent, but the real challenge is always implementation,” he said. Mr Callaghan, a former senior Treasury official, disputed whether the G20 was, as Mr Hockey said, “90 per cent there” in terms of meeting its target. “You’ve only agreed to start implementing the measures to get to the target,” he said. Community advisers to the G20 sent a similar warning at the Cairns event, saying the global forum risked a voter backlash if politicians kept making big promises without results.
“Implementation has really been problematic and that’s why the G20’s credibility is on the line,” said World Vision chief executive Tim Costello, a member of the Civil 20 group advising the forum this year.
So due to the rest of the world getting poo poo on during the GFC we need to implement draconian IR reform because something, something, something, err, * bobble head * OH gently caress! TERROR! LOOK OVER HERE!
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/iraq-wmds-and-counter-terrorism-andrew-wilkie/5759502
quote:Iraq, WMDs and counter-terrorism: Andrew Wilkie Monday 22 September 2014 8:32AM
ANDREW WILKIE: JOHN HOWARD 'SHOULD BE FEELING QUITE LUCKY THAT, CONCEIVABLY, HE HASN'T BEEN CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MASS MURDER'. (ALAN PORRITT, FILE PHOTO: AAP)
National security is set to dominate this sitting fortnight of Federal Parliament.
The new measures come as former prime minister John Howard admits that he was stunned that no weapons of mass destruction were ever found in Iraq, following the invasion to topple Saddam Hussein 11 years ago.
In 2003, Andrew Wilkie famously resigned from the Office of National Assessments because he believed that the intelligence on WMDs was overblown.
Wilkie outright calls Howard a liar and outlines the very different assessments that he was putting under Howard's eyes. The very same ignored assessments that caused him to resign from the APS. This is timely as it clears up to some extent the question that little Johnny's statement begs about the competence of the intelligence services. So not incredibly incompetent just untruthful (well some of them) and complicit (most of them).
Prepare to have Labour backflip into supporting all of the new measures. Having the ability to perform exjudicial killings has been number one on the list that Irvine has been sending to Santa every Christmas. He just never thought he'd get it up.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 22, 2014 01:46
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
But what if ASIO officers are involved in a thrilling car chase through the streets of Sydney during a G20 meeting, which turns into a thrilling boat chase on Sydney Harbour, and then manages to jump onto the terrorist boat and fight the terrorists and set them on course for Fort Denison and then jump off, leaving the terrorists to slam into the fort and explode and our hero to swim back to safety? Do you want him or her charged with murder as well as damage to a heritage-listed building?
Unwelcome calls.
1800 805 996 Is the direct Telstra number for dealing with this. Log the time and date of the call(s). They will trace the call and block the originator.
We are so far through the looking glass now. It's bad enough that the community will profile people and call the cops. To then have your face on the front page of the paper for...? Being completely innocent. Can't wait for Crytalnacht part II (Part one was Cronula you big silly).
In other horrid poo poo:
From the Heart of Darkness posted:23 Sep 2014The Australian ADAM CREIGHTON ECONOMICS CORRESPONDENT
Cheaper services to flow from competition reform
GOVERNMENT health and education services would be exposed to greater competition, leading to cheaper goods and services throughout the economy, under proposed sweeping changes to the nation’s competition rules. A panel chaired by economist Ian Harper said its 52 interim recommendations, the basis for the next wave of competition reform, would boost productivity, lift economic output by more than 2.5 per cent and clarify excessively complicated laws. “Strengthening competition brings economic benefits, including choice and diversity, as well as lower overall prices,” the panel said. The 307-page interim report, released more than 20 years after the Hilmer review initiated a national competition policy, will prove controversial given proposals to deregulate retail trading hours, introduce road-user charging and force local and state governments to consider the competitive impact of land-zoning decisions. A final report to government is due next March.
Professor Harper said restrictions on pharmacy ownership, for example, served pharmacists rather than consumers. “GPs are allowed to locate anywhere with no restrictions on ownership and they are just as important as pharmacists,” Professor Harper said. “Upholding health and safety is done in the vital area of primary medicine using other regulations; that situation should apply also in pharmacy.” He suggested the existing rules hurt regional areas by making it more difficult for pharmacies to be established. While the Hilmer review extended competition law to government-owned business enterprises, the Harper review would extend such laws to government services as well. “Given the size and pervasiveness of government in the Australian economy, as funder, provider and regulator, there is a need to consider new ways to foster diversity, choice and responsiveness in government services,” the panel said. “Splitting the regulator from the provider can help to ensure that the regulator makes decisions in the best interests of consumers. This is particularly the case in the area of procurement: whether for the delivery of large infrastructure projects or the regular requirements of the health and education systems.”
The review of competition policy — to account for growing competition from Asia, the rise of the digital economy, and the ageing of the population — advocated changes to the Competition and Consumer Act that would give large firms more freedom to compete, even to the detriment of smaller competitors, provided their actions served the long-term public good. “The panel recognises that a business might be deterred from undertaking a business strategy that enhances its competitiveness and creates durable consumer benefit for fear that, if the strategy is successful, it might be assessed as having the effect of substantially lessening competition,” the panel said. “All prohibitions should focus on protecting competition and not individual competitors … that gives all firms, big and small, an opportunity to compete on merit.”
It argued that existing prohibitions of predatory pricing and price-signalling rules had curbed potential collusive behaviour by large banks in setting market interest rates. The panel said attempts by large supermarket chains to restrict supply, directly or indirectly, to other smaller chains would fall foul of the proposed test of market abuse. The recommendations should reassure business groups following Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims’ recent call for a new “effects test” that could expose large firms to penalties if they make decisions that harm smaller competitors. Professor Harper said the panel had recommended the definition of competition in the act be changed so it specifically recognised the benefits of potential imports as well as actual imports in determining the competitive status of a market. The report said limits on trading hours, which were most restrictive in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland, should be limited to Christmas Day, Good Friday and the morning of Anzac Day.
If state governments insisted on maintaining artificial limits on taxi numbers these should be set by independent regulators. The panel suggested that zoning restrictions had harmed supermarket giant Aldi’s ability to compete with Coles and Woolworths. It recommended establishing an Australian Council for Competition Policy that would be funded and controlled by federal and state governments with the power to inquire into the competitive state of any industry while advocating and overseeing procompetition reforms.
Well that was certainly persuasive especially as it will impact on the higher education sector and deregulation:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-23/uwa-to-hike-fees-30-per-cent-if-deregulation-gets-green-light/5762240
quote:UWA to hike fees 30 per cent if deregulation gets green light
Updated 17 minutes ago Tue 23 Sep 2014, 10:11am
It is the first tertiary institution in Australia to reveal its fee structure under deregulation. The university said it would charge a flat fee of $16,000 a year for full-time domestic students enrolled in one of the institute's five undergraduate courses from 2016. That is at least 30 per cent more than current charges. Students studying medicine are facing fees of more than $100,000 for their full degree.
Budget measures for Higher Education
Reduce repayment threshold for HELP (Higher Education Loan Program) debts from an annual wage of $51,309 to $50,638 from July 1 2016; increase interest rates on the loans to the Government bond rate which is capped at 6 per cent. These two measures will save $3.2 billion over four years from 2014-15. Deregulate fees to allow universities, TAFEs and colleges to charge market-driven rates for courses. This will save $1.1 billion over three years from 2015-16, representing a 20 per cut in federal government funding for course fees. Commonwealth scholarships for disadvantaged students will be funded by contributions from higher education providers, who will be required to contribute $1 out of every $5 raised through fee increases. Remove the 25 per cent loan fee on FEE-HELP loans, which are available for domestic fee-paying students whose places are not subsidised by the Government. Cut $173.7m funding over three years to the Research Training Scheme, allowing universities to charge doctoral students to cover the gap. But UWA said it still gave students the opportunity to obtain a three-year degree for less than $50,000.
In a submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Education and Employment, the university said it had decided to take the initiative to end widespread speculation about fees. Deputy vice-chancellor (Education) Professor Alec Cameron said the announcement aimed to provide clarity to students. "The university feels compelled to announce its fees proposal at the earliest opportunity to provide greater certainty to current and prospective students about its pricing plans in a deregulated market," Professor Cameron said. "However, this fee pricing strategy would need to be reconsidered should the Senate make amendments to the bill."
He said the fee scheme was justified because UWA graduates were highly employable. "UWA graduates consistently rank as the most employable in Western Australia, regardless of which course they study," he said. "In our view this justifies a common pricing approach." The Government plans to deregulate fees for higher education from 2016 and will also increase interest charges for student loans.
Muppet government. NOW WITH EXTRA ADDED TERROR!
Speaking of: Someone else is smelling BS.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/politics-with-paul-bongiorno/5762148
You'd have to listen to the audio. Long story short. It is established practice not to talk about security measures relating to politicians and protective security for operational reasons! The recent trumpeting of enhanced security measures flies directly in the face of thirty years of advice from PSCC and is unprecedented. I wonder why the sabers are being rattled against the shutters at parliament house so furiously?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 23, 2014 01:37
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
You missed the part where this didn't work. They made excuses like "it has to go on for three weeks", complete bullshit since I know for a fact that it's actually more than 3 calls in 2 days. Don't forget the little fact that they were illegally calling someone on the do not call register, that alone should have spurred immediate action. To reiterate: the calls didn't actually get blocked after contacting that number OR contacting the Ombudsman OR threatening to cancel their a/c. It only stopped after they demanded to speak to a manager. Within half an hour Telstra rang them and said "oh the Ombudsman contacted us we'll block that number".
--/--
Lucas Heights is a research reactor and is mainly used for producing medical isotopes. That doesn't mean they aren't dangerous however. Quite the opposite. They need to be highly energetic and shortlived (The two go hand in hand in nuclear in any case). How you'd pull off doing anything of a terrorist nature at Lucas Heights is another matter entirely however.
Even if what Soag posts is considered fair enough there is still the issue of four people being labelled terrorists on the front page of a newspaper based on nothing what so ever.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 23, 2014 02:36
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-23/one-person-shot-dead-two-stabbed-endeavour-hills/5764408
quote:(Abridged)'This individual was acting on his own'
Mr Cornelius stressed the man came to the station of his own freewill. "It's absolutely clear to us that our members had no choice other than to act in the way in which they did," he said. "This is not an exercise in police seeking to single out particular individuals in the community." Mr Cornelius added police believed this was an isolated incident. "It appears this individual was acting on his own and was not acting in concert with other individuals," he said. A large number of uniformed and plain clothes officers attended the scene late on Tuesday night, with officers interviewing witnesses from a nearby shopping centre.
The incident has occurred amid heightened tensions following last week's counter-terrorism raids in Sydney and Brisbane. On Monday, Mr Abbott warned Australians the balance between freedom and security "may have to shift", given the current "troubling" and "darkening" security situation.
Three quick things. Anyone who is in anyway linking this to terrorism of any kind is misrepresenting the truth (lying). See above.
This is pretty obviously the death of a mentally ill person at the hands of Police (When ever you see 'This individual acted on their own' its pretty much an admission of this by authorities. I guess I'll have to wait for the coroner's inquest to confirm this as fact but the weight of previous evidence is on my side). If the deaths at sea can be slated home to the Gillard govt. then this death is directly the fault of NTATA.
I'm probably as extreme an example of gently caress the po po as you will find anywhere but even our coppers deserve to go to work without an expectation that they will spend the night in hospital. There have been some serious failures in the procedures designed to protect Police in this encounter that led directly to Police being harmed and a young man being shot. I'm sure the subsequent investigations and media scrutiny will focus on these important safety and life saving measures.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-18/authorities-thwart-beheading-plot-in-australias-biggest-raid/5754276
quote:(Abridged)The court was told the charges against Azari stemmed from a single phone call intercepted earlier this week and police made their move this morning to disrupt a group of mostly Afghan Australians 48 hours after that phone call, concerned at how close it was to going ahead.
"It's been an immediate reaction to a clear, imperative danger," Mr Allnutt said. "There is still an enormous amount of material for police to assess." There was heightened security at the court for Azari's appearance. The prosecution opposed bail, saying the unusual level of fanaticism meant Azari would be unlikely to adhere to any court orders. His barrister Steven Boland told the court police have very little evidence to support the charge, except for one phone call. Azari did not apply for bail and the case was adjourned until November 13.
A 24-year-old man from Merrylands, who was charged with possessing ammunition without licence and unauthorised possession of a prohibited weapon, has been bailed to appear in Fairfield Local Court on September 24. Two others remain in police custody and two women were issued Future Court Attendance Notices. Nine other people detained on Thursday have been released as investigations continue.
The face of terror in Australia (etc)
--/--
In NSW the first stats on the hunting in NSW National Parks are out. Since opened to hunters on 15 February 2014 there have been 200 feral animals culled by shooters at a cost to the taxpayer of over 1.5 million dollars. Clearly a success... (I'd link a source but can't locate one. It's all over ABC News in NSW).
--/--
And now for the feel good palate cleanser:
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/abuse-victims-testify-to-royal-commission-in-darwin/5764928
quote:Abuse victims testify to royal commission in Darwin Wednesday 24 September 2014 8:06AM
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is currently holding public hearings in Darwin. Eighteen witnesses are expected to testify over two weeks of hearings in the Northern Territory, including nine former residents of the Retta Dixon Home, an institution for mixed-race Indigenous children which was run from the 1940s to the 1980s by a group of evangelical missionaries.
A point that has many resonances that was made in the broadcast is the difference in outcomes for the children who were separated and those who were not. Basically there aren't any. A further point is that until actions happen then the words mean nothing.
Still on indigenous affairs, Nigel Scullion was taking names and kicking arse in question time when Nova Peris pointed out what a gently caress up he was.
quote:Abbott's team flying high on indigenous wings, says Minister
Date September 24, 2014 - 9:26AM Noel Towell
Morale is at an "all-time high" among the public servants working in indigenous affairs for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, according to the federal government. Minister for Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion told Parliament on Tuesday that PM&C bureaucrats were "delighted" at the direction of their department since its takeover of indigenous affairs late last year. Senator Scullion brushed off Labor questions about the PM&C in Senate question time on Tuesday, telling the Chamber that indigenous Australians were thanking the government and the Prime Minister for the work they were doing.
The Canberra Times recently reported departmental insiders saying Prime Minister Tony Abbott's takeover of indigenous affairs was in "disarray" with hundreds of specialist public servants retrenched, funding and programs stalled and staff morale in the "doldrums"[See below). There was also disquiet about senior leaders in the Prime Minister and Cabinet department's Indigenous Affairs Group basing themselves in Canberra's dress circle, nearly 10 kilometres away from their rank-and-file workers, who are still reeling after repeated restructures to their workplaces. But in response to questions from his fellow Northern Territory Senator Nova Peris on Tuesday, the minister painted a glowing picture of life at the PM&C.
"I am delighted to report that in terms of our department, not only is morale at an all-time high but they are absolutely delighted that they are now working for a government that has some absolute outcomes in mind," Senator Scullion said. The minister, who appeared to be unclear on the source of the reports, told the Labor senator he rejected the notion that a public servant from the PM&C would brief the Labor Party on problems within the department. "I completely reject that one of my very hard-working staff would find the time to ring those on the other side and suggest that it is all a terrible mess and our quiet reform is going nowhere," Senator Scullion said. "I can tell you right now what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are telling me. They are saying, 'Thank you very much, Mr Abbott, for the reforms getting our kids back to school."   Nigel it was a 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander' person who just said you are completely full of poo poo.
In response to..
quote:Tony Abbott's indigenous takeover in 'disarray'
September 12, 2014 Noel Towell Reporter for The Canberra Times
Prime Minister Tony Abbott's takeover of indigenous affairs is in "disarray", public service insiders allege, with hundreds of specialist public servants retrenched, funding and programs stalled and staff morale in the "doldrums". Senior leaders in the Prime Minister and Cabinet department's Indigenous Affairs Group have based themselves in Canberra's dress circle, nearly 10 kilometres away from their rank-and-file workers, who are still reeling after repeated restructures to their workplaces. The internal problems have emerged on the eve of the Prime Minister's trip to Arnhem Land, part of his pledge to be "a prime minister for indigenous affairs" that also included the takeover by PM&C of indigenous functions from several other government agencies.
The department admits that things are "difficult" but says it is working "towards building a cohesive department" after forced mergers saw it try to absorb an extra 1800 public servants. The Prime Minister's office did not respond to requests for comment. Do you know more? Send your confidential tips to ps@canberratimes.com.au. The hundreds of public servants still working in the PM&C's Indigenous Affairs Group are trying to overhaul programs and transfer key responsibilities to regional offices in line with Mr Abbott's promised shake-up of services. But departmental sources say the work is going on against a background of upheaval and disruption after several restructures and 236 redundancies, including senior executives, and middle-managers distracted by being forced to apply for their own jobs.
"Staff are still unclear how the new program arrangements will be assessed and managed," one PM&C staffer said. "The disorganised state has meant that indigenous groups and other stakeholders have not been consulted. Most 2014-2015 money is not available as many existing contracts were automatically extended for 12 months. There are some funds for indigenous education projects but this will be well short of demand. Staff morale is in the doldrums in IA group."
There is also unhappiness among Indigenous Affairs staffers that their senior leaders, Associate Secretary Liza Carroll and Deputy Secretary Richard Eccles, have based themselves at PM&C's Barton HQ in Canberra's leafy inner-south, while most of their subordinates continue to work 9.5 kilometres away in unfashionable Woden. But a PM&C spokesman defended his department's performance, saying it was doing its best after being quadrupled in size and having to absorb 1800 extra public servants from nine other agencies, with the Prime Minister also taking over as Minister for Women.
"Most of the staff were in the Indigenous Affairs area, but the deregulation function and the Office for Women are also new to PM&C," the spokesman said. "Change of this magnitude is always difficult, and we are continuing to work towards building a cohesive department. The effect of the efficiency dividend and the streamlined programme structure has seen a reduction of staff.
"236 staff have taken a voluntary redundancy." The spokesman said all current funding contracts were being honoured and service providers whose contracts ended on 30 June 2014 and "who had an expectation of ongoing funding" have had their contracts extended.
"The government will work in partnership with Indigenous communities to tailor action in the priority areas of schooling, jobs and community safety," the spokesman said. "Under these arrangements, senior decision-makers will be closer to communities. Associate Secretary Liza Carroll and Deputy Secretary Richard Eccles work in both Barton and Woden, as appropriate."
Muppet Government.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 24, 2014 02:53
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
Why should we support your family?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 24, 2014 08:17
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
NTATA spoke up for us all at the UN today he stated that it was the highest duty of any government to protect its citizens
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-25/tony-abbott-speaks-at-un-general-assembly/5767576
Well OK Tony and if you are the Syrian Government and asymmetric warfare is the only way you have available to 'protect its citizens' then that surely makes terrorism OK. Even if I didn't think this was a smoke grenade being thrown into a mirror warehouse, all I'm hearing is a bunch of rhetoric about disabling, punishing and destroying ISIS. You know the same talk that preceded Gulf War II. At least in the short term this violent action is going to increase radicalisation and bait terrorist action (French tourist beheaded due to French involvement). Where is the over arching game plan to actually gain some long term benefit for obvious short term harm? It's been called a wicked problem and not because it's 'Baddies verses Baddies' (Thanks for your penetrating insight NTATA).
Even 'honest' John Howard has a better grip on it than NTATA
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2014/s4094212.htm
Lateline from last night. John thinks that Menzies is the answer. To give some idea of how Dad's Army our security services are, in the arrangements that were given to Parliamentarians to enhance their security were:
Alter the times of your coming and going (Parliament is commenced on a rigid timetable).
Alter the route of your coming and going (Parliament House only has one entrance).
Alter the time of any exercise either outside Parliament House or in the courtyards (See above).
Stay out of the line of sight of any window in Parliament House (You'd have to visit the Ministerial Wing of Parliament House to understand why this is ridiculous. The sniper would have to be standing directly outside your window).
But hey security security something something alert alert alarm alarm.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/report-predicts-economic-slowdown-next-year/5767802
quote:Report predicts economic slowdown next year
Thursday 25 September 2014 7:52AM
Roubini Global Economics has predicted that Australia's economy will slow markedly next year, prompting interest rate cuts and a further 20 per cent slump in the value of the Australian dollar. Roubini's report also says that a deep slowdown in China - and what it describes as 'poorly timed' fiscal austerity by the Abbott Government - will see Australia's growth fall to below two per cent next year.
This is one of the few credible economic agencies that predicted the GFC. Ruh Roh! But please keep talking about the terror threat to OW CITIZENS.
Muppet Government.
Speaking of muppets if you have responded to IWC go post a loving ban me.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 25, 2014 01:15
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
If this thread demonstrates anything it's how effective playing the Jihad card is at suppressing rational debate.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 25, 2014 04:19
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
Look I think we can all agree that a bad terrorist is sort of like a bad father in that they tend to do more good than bad.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 25, 2014 06:31
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
What have you people done to my beautiful thread?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 25, 2014 09:34
|
|
- Adbot
-
ADBOT LOVES YOU
|
|
|
#
¿
Apr 24, 2024 02:59
|
|
- Cartoon
- Jun 20, 2008
-
poop
|
We are treading very close to literal fascism in this country
If we had a charismatic leader, we'd be hosed
|
|
#
¿
Sep 26, 2014 02:28
|
|
#
¿
Sep 1, 2014 02:01
TERROR ALERT 
