All political leaders must deal with the world as they find it. They can shift some things, and change some views here and there. But over all, they have to take the world as they find it. Climate change is, in my view, an absolute hoax and I can say that whenever I like and to whom I please. But if I were the leader of a political party hoping to find a majority within the Parliament, I might, just perhaps, keep these views to myself.
Scott Morrison has not confided in me what he actually believes about climate change. But let me tell you, his approach to dealing with the politics of the moment could not, in my view, be better than it is. Here is the speech from The Herald-Sun he gave the other day, ‘Can-Do’ Capitalism is Our Way, which is a cut-down version of what he actually presented: Address – Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Let me pick out a few bits that appear in both versions so that you can see what I mean. He begins with boilerplate but then moves into policy. It is the policy I sincerely admire along with the boilerplate.
Taking action on climate change is extremely important for the health of our planet….
Australia has already reduced our emissions by more than 20 per cent. Now, I’m not sure a lot of Australians know that. Our emissions are going down, not up. They’re down by more than 20 per cent. You may say to yourself, or others listening in, ‘Oh yeah, other countries, they’re doing so much better than that’. Not true, as Angus Taylor and I had the opportunity to share directly with them, whether it was in Rome at the G20 or at COP26, because a 20 per cent fall is broadly in line with what’s being achieved across the EU. But, it’s better than the United States, it’s better than Japan, it’s better than our Kiwi cousins across the ditch in New Zealand, in Canada and South Korea….
Just as the animal spirits of enterprise have worked together with scientists and technologists to change the world in the past – and we’ve seen that here in this very city – through advances in medical science and digital technology, I am more than convinced they also hold the answer to solving the challenge of a decarbonised economy….
In many respects, Glasgow has marked the passing of the baton … to private enterprise and the millions of dispersed decisions, choices and flashes of inspiration that make up consumer-led technological progress….
We believe climate change will ultimately be solved by ‘can do’ capitalism; not ‘don’t do’ Governments seeking to control people’s lives and tell them what to do, with interventionist regulation and taxes that just force up your cost of living and force businesses to close….
I think Australians, after almost two years of governments telling them what to do through this pandemic, they’ve had just about enough of that approach….
What you can take from that is we’ll reset, back to letting our economy do the work and let those who drive it be able to do that work as quickly as we possibly can.
You cannot imagine any other political leader of the moment – not Joe Biden, not Boris Johnson, not Justin Trudeau, not Jacinda Adearn – putting in a good word for capitalism and the market economy at any time, never mind while discussing climate change. Uniquely brave, and what’s more, uniquely accurate in what must be done since something must apparently be done to appease the climate-change gods.
No political leader is ever perfect, and I realise how unfashionable it is to say something positive about our PM, but still, he really is unique.
You must be on fucking drugs.
Brave Kates….
We’ll see how that goes down.
Put down the crack pipe Steve.
He’s a lying bastard just thinking about an upcoming election. Saying what he thinks useful idiots will let him get away with.
It’s way past that now. Lost most of their normally loyal base.
They see right through the gutless, pathetic bastard.
What do you think of Jair Bolsonaro? He is hated by all the right people.
This is a joke, right?
ScoMo is a lying POS who has betrayed all Victorians with his now open support of Dictator Dan and his new legislation.
An interesting sample of commenters with a wide cross section of responses argued with vigorous rationality. 10/10 Steve.
Morrison’s so open to ‘can do capitalism’ that nuclear power is and will remain banned under the government he leads. That is despite the improvements in design and safety of private innovators who are making it viable.
Oh, and if you think swallowing whole the claims of Sharma, Falinksi, and Zimmerman is a sign of leadership you’re off your trolley, Steve. Their interest in Net Zero is simply for the sake of a proclamation to get them past May 2022 – regardless of whether the Morrison Government survives.
…argued with vigorous rationality. 10/10 Steve.
OK – Scummo is a lying piece of shit, who is doing his best to destroy this country – witness all his bullshit and his (quiet) support for the likes of Dan XiMan & Gladbags/ParrotHead & Snekaers and PalaceChook.
“You cannot imagine any other political leader of the moment – not Joe Biden, not Boris Johnson, not Justin Trudeau, not Jacinda Adearn – putting in a good word for capitalism and the market economy at any time, never mind while discussing climate change.”
They all pay lip service to “market solutions” and then try to distort the market with taxes, subsidies et al, which they say will “push” the market in the “right direction”. This despite the fact that all previous attempts to make such “shifts” have resulted in the industry concerned simply sharpening their pencils and finding either a way around the rules or a way to game the system.
The US did very well under DJT’s energy independence regime – this flooded the market with fracked gas, making coal noncompetitive, which resulted in reduced emissions from the switch away from coal. Gas is, of course, much easier to ramp up and down in order to match the unreliables variable output. President
BrandonBidetBiden has broken this with coal now making a comeback over there.Here in Aus, we could replace the aging coal plant with HELE ones, which would reduce emissions in the electricity industry by 30% without the headaches of the renew-a-bubbles, and give us cheap and reliable base load power, with a tiny fraction of the coal we export being used to power it.
As I’ve noted before, most people have no idea of the scale involved in powering the Aus eastern seaboard (AEMO covered area). Minimum demand is about 18GW, peaking at over 30GW in summer at the evening peak. Over 30 million kW. If it’s cloudy and still, wind and solar won’t do the job. If those conditions persist for a week, we would need about 3TW hours (3 billion kw/h) of storage cover it and enough renew-a-bubbles to charge the storage back up again (with losses) as well as supply demand, before we could be solely renew-a-bubbles.
SA battery is 150Mw/h (150 thousand kw/h) so you do your own research and figure out how much that would cost, how long such storage would last before needing replacement, how much toxic waste we are leaving lying around when these eventually are replaced, the fire risk and toxic chemical leaks if they catch fire etc etc.
Then work out how many solar panels and wind turbines we would need as well.
Don’t forget to include the extra transmission lines needed to gather all that diverse solar and wind energy onto the grid either.
Nor the cost of the environmental impact statements required over the massive area used for both generation and storage, and the subsequent re-location requirements etc etc that come with these.
Try not to run out of digits on your calculator…
Even if you manage to convince all and sundry that we can do it and can afford to do it (the latter would be a neat trick), the one thing I can guarantee you is this: the environmental damage involved in manufacturing, installing, commissioning, maintaining, decommissioning and waste recycling/disposal of the “green” generation and storage required would be an order of magnitude worse (at least) than using fossil fuels to do the same job.
I thought the reason that Australia’s emissions keep ‘dropping,’ is due the mass closure of industry and baseload power generation over the last decade or so, without replacements…
“Scott Morrison has not confided in me what he actually believes about climate change.”
Why would he? Scumbag Morrison doesn’t believe in anything.
Agreed it is a hard line to walk when you’re trying to keep everyone happy, but, happy ain’t gonna happen with failed doomsday global warming.
Tim “permanent drought in SE Australia, dams will never fill” Flannery laments what Morrison didn’t achieve in cop26:
https://theconversation.com/try-harder-try-harder-today-cop26-negotiators-will-fight-to-save-life-on-earth-the-next-decade-will-reveal-if-they-succeeded-171661
Even when ScoMo takes his glasses off in a phone booth and wears his underpants on the outside, he will never save the planet.
He should be honest like a good Christian.
97% consensus Scomo is a lying motherfucker.
He is a lying piece of shit, the poles are showing he is gone at the election as he has driven his voters to other parties so he is trying to get them back. Like that treacherous dick Fitzgibbon tried, and failed to do with the Hunter.
He should be honest like a good Christian.
You gotta be fucking joking – that POS is no Christian.
‘You cannot imagine any other political leader of the moment – not Joe Biden, not Boris Johnson, not Justin Trudeau, not Jacinda Adearn – putting in a good word for capitalism and the market economy at any time, never mind while discussing climate change.’
So, what’s the argument here?
That he’s an imbecile amongst idiots?
That he is the prettiest-looking bloke in the burns unit?
He’s the nicest authoritarian Fascist?
No, he’s not. He is indeed one of the most cunning retail politicians in the Western world, but whether he is the “best” will be decided at the next election.
If he loses the next election because he sold out the LNP’s base, he’ll just be the latest in a conga line of political trash (Turnbull, Rudd, Gillard, etc) who took the side of the political elite and the crony capitalists enriching themselves with the rivers of taxpayer cash subsidising renewable energy.
Morrison, like Abbott, still evidently thinks he can be loved by his ideological enemies. If so, he’s delusional.
Crony capitalists hate the free market and regard any talk by a political leader praising capitalism as confirmation he is an enemy opposed to the government subsidy rackets on which they rely.
Opinion polling indicates the LNP is headed for a devastating defeat, but even the most accurate polls like Newspoll can’t truly describe the fracturing in the LNP’s primary vote as a result of Morrison selling out to the climate cabal in Glasgow
However, the idea that Morrison can miraculously win two federal elections in a row is fanciful. The cronies want Albo because they know his followers are ideological zealots who hate their mortal enemy, capitalism.
I agree with every Morrison-bashing comment on this thread, but at the same time, it is nothing short of astonishing that at this moment a leader of a western country is actually daring to use the word ‘capitalism’ in a positive sense.
Seems to me that Scomo is off-loading climate initiatives to the private sector whilst keeping coal mines open. Or am I wrong?
COP26: Australia to block phase out of coal and subsidies for fossil fuels in final text. Australia has supported Saudi Arabia, Russia and India in blocking one of the most controversial lines in the COP26 initial draft statement: to accelerate the phase out of coal and subsidies for fossil fuels.
A second draft is due to be released on Friday evening showing just how some of the most powerful nations have held sway on some of the most contentious points of the summit’s proposed cover text.
Observers say the line about coal and fossil fuel – the first time there has been an official COP reference to the worlds’ energy polluters – is unlikely to make the final text because of fierce opposition to it by countries which mine and export coal, of which Australia is one of the biggest in the world. More at the link https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/cop26-australia-to-block-phase-out-of-coal-and-subsidies-for-fossil-fuels-in-final-text/news-story/04d04a368a404dbc68dd3500e781452a
All he has to do is shut off electricity for climate change zealots and declare daily forced vaccinations for Labor and Greens politicians, non-compliant judges and journalists and he’ll be guaranteed a victory in every electorate in Australia. Plus we (non-climate change zealots and forced vaxers) will have the added benefit of living in a country that is rich and free.
That is the obvious solution.
My first thought when I read this headline was, We’ve been hacked.
Cut back on whatever powerful substance you are on by at least 20% until a semblance normality returns.
Spot on Steve
Further to my previous post Morrison would have appeared to have pulled off a huge win by stealing the Labor opposition agenda on emissions whilst withdrawing fed government from major responsibility and keeping the coal mines open. Was this his cunning plan after all?
Says the bloke who kept the border shut for 18 months. Unless you were a Hollywood celeb or international sports star, in which case you could come and go as you pleased while quarantining in a 5 * resort.
This is Scotty mouthing some shibboleths in an attempt to get base voters back inside the camp in the face of some terrible internal polling, while at the same time getting his government off the climate change hook. If private enterprise is to “solve” climate change, it will only be within a very favourable legislative framework established by government and subsidised by the tax payer. Needless to say, trillions of dollars will be made and the pain will largely fall on the ordinary person who struggles to pay their electricity bill.
The most courageous political leader right now is Craig Kelly.
I like it.
I’m not keen on Morrison but you know; politics.
Please Steve, most of us here like you so very much. There is still time. Please, step away from the goat.
My problem with this position, reviewing my earlier one, is that it begets ideological drift and weakness. The Libs may be less worse than Labor but that is not enough and it has been a failing strategy these past thirty or more years. Things have worsened, not gotten better. We need to cop a beat down, the LNP needs to suffer, and our support needs to go to parties that actually represent their core constituents, not treat them like a slave class that will do what they’re told or else. If we can capture the balance of power in the interim, all the better.
I partially agree, to be contrarian, with Steve.
Wait until Liebor come out with their Carbon Tax (it won’t be called that of course, but that’s what it will be as nothing less will only explode heads down Brunswick St HQ).
As soon as the electorate hear about a Carbon Tax… well, you know…
Perhaps it is “retail politics” – but I love the fact we’re not committing to anything and the GOP26 is just a great big hoax that Scomo hasn’t bought into (at all). “Technology, not taxes” is a great line that distinguishes the Libs from a Carbon Tax.
Sure, he’s pretty crap at many other things, but he’s truly wedged Liebor on this.
Best, or just ‘potentially great’? We’ve been here before.
I no longer give a rodent’s backside what Goose Morristeen says about anything.
The man is blockhead.
“dover0beachsays:
November 12, 2021 at 3:03 pm”
I think you’ve said it best DB.
SHIT!!!!! We REALLY are in trouble now.
Rabz says:
November 12, 2021 at 3:34 pm
I no longer give a rodent’s backside what Goose Morristeen says about anything.
The man is blockhead.
No Rabz, Scummo is a dissembling traitor who has sold Australia and its people out in the worst imaginable way. (The rest, through their silence, support the xunt’s actions)
Nick Cater said similar last night to Rita on her show.
Albo is already measuring the curtains, so I fail to see the genius in been a jellybacked turncoat.
I suppose he is a genius with the culture wars too.
Morrison was sunk in the polls long before the year zero shit went down.
The “National Cabinet” and the misdeeds of Andrews, Gladys, Chook and the rest are what he’ll pay the penalty for.
To be fair, Morrison is no more intelligent than the rest of them – they all live in a room of mirrors and he was quite likely spooked by the initial MSM driven covid panic.
Maybe he genuinely believed health would have been better handled locally.
BUT, he did nothing to control or prevent the abuse of our rights and freedoms by tinpot local tyrants. He’ll go down for it, regardless of anything else he does between now and the election.
Scott Morrison
@ScottMorrisonMP
·
3h
Simply outstanding, Australia! We’ve now hit 90% first dose!
Thank you to each and every one of you who has had their jab. Not only are you protecting yourself and your loved ones, but you’re helping Australia to reopen safely and stay safely open.
https://twitter.com/ScottMorrisonMP/status/1458974469502898178
Aussies refusing to get the Covid jab ‘shouldn’t be demonised’ –
Scott Morrison says in call for calm after prominent Labor leader’s controversial demand to STRIP the unvaccinated of Medicare
Maybe it is Barnaby and Canavan we should acknowledge as the architects here.
The only positive thing I can think of about Scammo is that he hasn’t shit his pants (so far as we know).
A good Prime Minsiter would not sit idly by while the Aussie Deep State steam rolls the constitution and welcomes the tyranny of the WEF.
This is like a sibling saying their brother shouldn’t beat his children, but never lifts a finger nor rebukes his brother for doing so.
I agree, Scott. They shouldn’t.
You are in a position to do something about it.
Hop to it lad.
Usually I agree with Steve Kates.
However, defending ScoMo is extremely far from a hill I am prepared to die on.
What Arky in pole position said.
Can see what you are trying to articulate and agree unless we want to pretty well much be shut out of trade. However there are ways around signing these agreements and being creative with the wording on the non binding agreements that the Eurotrash exploit ruthlessly.
Scomo though, yeah nah. A litany sell outs to the left lost me a way back.
When he has to ScoMo can say some of the right things, but he doesn’t let it impact his actions.
You know his ‘Can do’ capitalism consists of throwing obstacles in the way of productive businesses at the behest of activist groups and lunatic quasi-academics, and then stand back to see if any of them can find a way to survive – and then proclaim the fact that a few managed to hang on as vindication.
If they had the power (and they actually think they do but just lack the bureaucratic infrastructure) they would be summoning every passing asteroid to slam into the planet to see what survives.
It may well have been a parliament of dinosaurs that set up the asteroid that brought about the end of the Cretaceous. And the handful of singed birds who chanced to be in the blast shadow when the asteroid hit and a fiery maelstrom tore ferociously at their trees, denuding them, setting them ablaze, and the few disheveled limping mammals that emerged from their burrows, craning their necks to lift their heads above the stinging acrid blanket of smoke that choked the ground, lost on an alien landscape – these would be deemed successes! Innovators! The way in a low asteroid future!
If it had not killed the dinosaurs in the process.
There is that Nietzschean saying “What does not destroy me makes me stronger.” To this Morro and his Morrons would say, “Cool! Let’s make him stronger! Let’s try to destroy him!”
I think we should make Morrison stronger. And all the other saplings with delusions of being mighty oaks.
Steve, love your profound wisdom in most of your posts, but wouldn’t Scomo be a better politician if he grew some cojones and said:
1. Catastrophic global warming is a complete hoax. CO2 is highly beneficial to plant life and thus all life. We’re still close to one of the lowest levels of CO2 in geological history. The Global Warming Exit from the Little Ice Age has been hugely beneficial to mankind. Australia should immediately open up fracking, more coal power stations, nuclear power (but NOT because there’s no CO2 involved), natural gas, and yes even solar and wind or whatever, provided it’s totally unsubsidized by the screwed taxpayer. We don’t need “capitalism” to pull us out of the threat of CO2. We need capitalism to show the whole think is a mythical construction of coercive government.
2. The Covid Pandemic is a Scamdemic. There is no “Pandemic”. Not only has the definition of Pandemic “evolved” to accommodate the demands of Big Pharma: so too has the definition of “Vaccine” and “Vaccination”, to accommodate the failures of the mRNA vaccines. Masks and lockdowns are worse than useless.
3. People should be able to try out anti-virals such as Ivermectin, HCQ, etc, in consultation with their physicians. Or even their vets. Or just buy them online.
4. The government, federal or state, should not lay down vaccine mandates.
5. Private businesses should be allowed to require vaccine mandates if they so wish. Fair enough: it’s their business … and their funeral. Heck, businesses should be able to ban all redheads and make customers hop around on one leg, if they’re stupid enough to do so. Objectors should be able to point their follies out, and encourage boycotts. Let the market decide.
6. And while I’m allowed to speak: abolish the Federal Department of Education, the Yarts, the ABC, the funding of “traditional” remote communities (Ha, Ha!) and all other government boondoggles, idiocies and tragedies.
7. There are two sexes. “Male and female He created them.” I know of no scientist who spots a dead kangaroo with a joey in the pouch on the roadside and says, “Gee, I wonder if this one identified as a male or female, or even something else along the spectrum.” (Oh well, perhaps Tim Flannery might.)
8. AIDS was known as “Gay bowel Disease” before little girls holding dollies were knocked over in the TV ads around dinner time. Hundreds of millions spent of taxpayers’ money avoiding yet another elephant in the room for the sake of political correctness … meaning a lot more practicing homosexuals actually died. Just as with “Catastrophic” Global warming, “Mad Cow Disease” the various flus (swine, bird &c) and now Covid. Scare, scare, scare! We are so stupid. Perhaps we deserve what we get?
I was impressed with Scomo when he helped stop the boats once. Sadly he’s been on a steep downhill trajectory ever since, his conservative positions disappearing like the Cheshire Cat.
He should know better. He’s the wettest of lettuces and he’s stupid to think that embracing the above policies or a portion thereof would make him worse off electorally. I know a huge number of people who would agree with them.
He doesn’t get it. He should be like the little boy in “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. And even if he did lose, he would have awakened a beast. Like Trump saying simply: “Everything Woke turns to sh*t.” More and more people are agreeing.
Boob Carr. Should be stripped of his citizenship and sundry other ill-earned privileges for being a CCP shill.
Perhaps, but bad polling played a big part. Regardless of outcome, he is a slimy marketing man and not a statesman. He has no principles and is dishonest when presenting a position to the public. I won’t be voting for him ever again.
I was impressed with Scomo when he helped stop the boats once. Sadly he’s been on a steep downhill trajectory ever since, his conservative positions disappearing like the Cheshire Cat.
“Helped” is the key word. Abbott led the policy charge on that one.
Scomo is a competent lower-middle level manager promoted way above his pay grade because the Mick Trumble faction were so scared that someone with a brain cell and a proto-vertebra would become PM.
If ‘citizenship’ is code for ‘skin’, and ‘sundry other ill-earned privileges’ code for ‘dropped in the middle of a salt pan on a windy day’, then I would concur.
Agreed. Abbott bore the brunt of the outrage. Scomo only had to defend doing what he was told while Abbott defended doing it at all.
Julie Bishop also benefited from Abbott’s protective arm. She was a star after the Russians shot down the plane over Ukraine – even receiving an award from the Dutch for her efforts in relation to Malaysia Airlines MH-17 which the Russians shot down over Ukraine.
Look what a limp tunicate she was afterwards.
Damn straight.
This guy is the Ty Cobb of Australian Politics.
To the commenter above, “the Russians” didn’t shoot down the Dutch Airliner, that was Ukraine’s doing.
One of the reasons Tony Abbott was rolled was his cringeworthy Russian bashing in support of the Obama regime.
If you believe any of that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
It’s really cheap!
Morrison:
I think Australians, after almost two years of governments telling them what to do through this pandemic, they’ve had just about enough of that approach….
What you can take from that is we’ll reset, back to letting our economy do the work and let those who drive it be able to do that work as quickly as we possibly can.
Such fine statements. But the same politician who made those statements also said a few weeks ago that under property law a business has the right to refuse persons access. On his watch and with more than a nod to the state premiers, he has stood by and allowed his fellow Australians to be made into second class citizens for refusing to have an experimental jab and many have lost their jobs for choosing not to comply with mandatory vaccinations. Even though the PM has said on more than one occasion that people have the right to make their own health choices.
Despite many pleas from individual Victorians for help to stop the Andrews government obtaining through the parliament laws that put at risk the democratic system of the state, not a word from Morrison or any Minister in his Government. Not a word as well about the level of frightening overreach, police brutality and months of business-destroying lockdowns. And his government is to introduce the Trusted Digital Identity legislation.
At Glasgow he can tell the world that Australians have had enough. Pity he can’t find his voice to say that at home.
He disgusts me.
Yeah I have a strongly libertarian leaning conservative friend who thinks Scott Morrison is great.
…I honestly do not get it. After I was quite rude to Dr Kate’s and very suspicious of Trump in early 2016.
Everyone is different. Sometimes these peculiarities are mind blowing.
Not seeing anything controversial about that statement from Scotty.
Sure, it’s not particularly Liberal, but, so what?
I think Australians, after almost two years of governments telling them what to do through this pandemic, they’ve had just about enough of that approach….
But the same politician who made those statements also said a few weeks ago that under property law a business has the right to refuse persons access.
Not seeing anything controversial about that statement from Scotty.
Sure, it’s not particularly Liberal, but, so what?
A Liberal would say
Okay, so Scotty has done what Abbott and Turnbull couldn’t, which is, unite the Party.
Sure, Scotty isn’t a Liberal, i’d say he leans more Libertarian, but, again, so what?
To the commenter above, “the Russians” didn’t shoot down the Dutch Airliner, that was Ukraine’s doing.
In the absence of munty, Mr Ed is doing a good job as resident wrongologist.
Best political leader? Is there such a thing?
As a Cat currently in Florida I can report that today I attended a large veterans (armistice) day parade in the city of five flags followed by a yuge BBQ in the park with an average but enthusiastic series of jazz/country/bagpipe bands on the stage, people sitting around on blankets with their kids having fun listening, and heaps of BBQ and seafood on the grills.
The only masks in sight were on people too drunk to shave or too desperate to make a point. Weirdos with a cause.
Oh and nobody was checking for vaccinations as it’s illegal here for businesses to even ask that question. DeSantis, a leader as compared to a politician, made that happen.
He doesn’t believe it is true.
He believes it will invite all sorts of attention upon him.
He doesn’t give a rat’s about truth. He only knows that he hungers.
It is why I ignore him.
Politicians have run rampant in the west over the last 70 or so years because the populous allowed them to. A random quote:
“Oh, it’s just yet another staggeringly stupid idea that wont affect us and who cares about those that are affected. It will take another 80 years or so before it affects us and by then we’ll be dead or non compos mentis in a government “care home”.
And now, here we are. Lurching into what will probably prove to be the most hideous totalitarian epoch in human history. One that may never be overcome and which certainly won’t be in our lifetimes.
People of certain faiths will hope and pray that a mighty non earthly being will appear to bring a long overdue end to it all.
I fear their faith will prove to be misplaced.
Now that is weird. It is only very superficially that Morrison might be called conservative – that on any of the leftist talking points Morro takes the least leftist position: They want to nationalise women today*, Morro wants to nationalise them tomorrow. They want the state to run 100% of the economy, Morro wants the government to run 90%, while 10% is run by government appointed and funded committees.
I will admit that when I type I often use the expression ‘conservative’ to mean the right more broadly including libertarians, in order to avoid the leftist dichotomy where ‘right’ means ‘not left’, so they claim that non-leftists = fascists = conservatives = Christians = libertarians = Fundamentalist Islamists = Nazis = capitalists = etc etc etc. Conservatives and Libertarians have far more in common that they do with leftists so the shorthand works in most cases at least at present.
*Read the communist manifesto.
Top trolling. Lmao.
The only thing not fake about Smirko are the moobs.
Be a wonderful day for Australia when we transition to net zero globalists not in gaol.
So he’s telling half-truths instead of whole lies…. the difference is unimpressive.
It sounds more like lip-service to reality, than a commitment to it. Like recent commentary on T. Abbott, he would be far less of a disappointment if he put his money where his mouth is.
That is true, in a limited sense.
It is limited by other Rights, such as the Right to Privacy. As a property owner my right to know about your medical status is limited.
It is also limited by contractual Rights. I do not get to insert new conditions in something like an employment contract, without the consent of the other party.
Property rights also mean that the Government does NOT have the right to tell me who I cannot allow on my property.
“…Malaysia Airlines MH-17 which the Russians shot down over Ukraine.”
Sigh… pay attention!
The Russians have themselves released hand written log books of the missile used, based on recovered serial numbers, that shows that the missile used was under the control of the Ukraine government since the time of their independence. Everything from when and where it was manufactured, to which military division it was assigned, where and when it was deployed, who had command over it and so on. They gave a press conference outlining the entire life of the missile up until the time is was left in the hands of the Ukraine military, which was well before MH17 was shot down.
Then too, there is the recorded conversation of the president (or some other high official, I forget) of the Ukraine saying “Do I have to shoot down another plane?” or something similar.
That the missile was of Russian origin is beyond doubt. But it was not under their control when it was fired – indeed had not been for years. To blame them for its use makes about as much sense as blaming the Israeli’s for every terrorists use of an Uzi.
Terrorists mostly seem to use AKs and clones.
The irony of your point is that for decades the Soviets were very much engaged in proxy-warfare by supplying weapons and training to third parties while claiming to be disinterested.
Does the phrase, “plausible deniability” ring a bell?
Ok, maybe they are innocent – or slightly more innocent than usual – in this case… but given their record, a certain degree of scepticism might be excused.
“But the same politician who made those statements also said a few weeks ago that under property law a business has the right to refuse persons access.”
Well of course they do.
But that isn’t the question, is it?
No, the question is: does the state have the right to impose access restrictions upon that business, and impose a fine on the business if it does not enforce those restrictions, while at the same time not offering any compensation to the business for the expenses incurred in policing said restrictions?
While there is certainly precedent for such restrictions and policing of same (eg, licensed premises), these have previously always been limited to specific circumstances (again such as a licensed premises) where such was known to any prospective purchaser. Furthermore, such restrictions have previously been neither particularly onerous on the owner of the premises, nor intrusive on the privacy of the patron – licensed premises are not required to ask every patron for proof of age, only those they have reasonable grounds to believe may be under age, and neither have they been required to keep the details of such patrons as they do ask, they merely need to reasonably satisfy themselves of compliance.
By changing the rules in mid race as it were, government has an obligation (moral, if not legal) to compensate a business that is detrimentally affected by such changes. They have not done so – indeed, have not even publicly proposed it. Instead, they have doubled down and set penalties at such a level as to bankrupt a small business that does not incur the expense of enforcing these restrictions, even for those businesses that were forcibly closed for months prior, and are already – if they have not permanently closed – well behind the eight ball in terms of cash flow and profit, while still being obliged to pay such expenses as rent etc.
This is, quite frankly, facist in the Mussolini style of “the merging of the state and private enterprise to their mutual benefit”. The “big boys” who can afford to comply survive, and gain the business they would have otherwise lost to smaller enterprises that have been forced to close permanently.
Is it any wonder that such facists are also creating concentration camps for those the deem “untermenschen” (the un-vaxxed)?
Not really.
But it is a wonder that there has not been any significant push-back against it – at least, where such has existed, it has been de-platformed on social media, downplayed if mentioned at all in the mainstream media, and defended by the facists as “for all our safety”.
“The irony of your point is that for decades the Soviets were very much engaged in proxy-warfare by supplying weapons and training to third parties while claiming to be disinterested.
Does the phrase, “plausible deniability” ring a bell?”
The “West” has done the same – does the phrase “regime change” ring any bells?
What about “We came, we saw, he died” wrt Ghadafi?
Strangely enough, when the Soviets were in Afghanistan, those who resisted them were freedom fighters and were given weapons and training by the US. But once it was the US and the “West” that was in Afghanistan, the very same people, fighting once again for their right to self rule and self determination, were terrorists.
Frankly, I find very little difference between the two situations. The only reason Afghanistan had to suffer such indignities from both sides is that they have not had the resources to pose a significant threat to either side., and had no choice but to do as the US trained them to do, and use guerilla warfare to ultimately win. Good for them, I applaud their stoicism.
And before you say it – no, I don’t particularly like the style of government they have now, nor their policies. But that does not mean I support war against them – there are other ways and means that are less fatal to the majority of the population that could care less about our moralities and simply want to live their lives.
1. Steve, if the policy is so great why won’t Morrison release the modelling its based on?
2. Who benefits? Because it certainly won’t be the ordinary Australians who’ll have to fund the 20bn+ Morrison intends to spend on this just for starters.
Ex army mate of mine has long been under the opinion that MH17 was probably and accidental side effect of asymmetric warfare. The BUK apparently has 2 modes, trained operator mode which the radars can identify aircraft type and as my mate says “illiterate Russian peasant mode” where operators fire at blips. He thinks that probably a few (possibly pissed) rebels and maybe a Spetsnaz handler fired at what they thought was an air force target.
Turns out it wasn’t and could well have been any of a number of airlines using the area, including Singapore Airlines flight that passed through that area moments apart. Truth whatever it is will come out some day but I don’t expect to be around to hear it.