Clown car right at home in the circus
IF you’ve ever been to a circus, you’ve probably seen a clown car.
You know the idea, an undersized vehicle packed with ridiculous characters, add a honking horn, and you’ve pretty much described the current unofficial federal election campaign.
It started with sledging, but what began as a stinging salvo by friends of the late Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching backfired somewhat, when The Australian newspaper reported that the senator had been accused of leaking information to the Opposition, causing the trio of Labor senators, Penny Wong, Katy Gallagher and Kristina Keneally, to freeze the senator out of the Tactics Committee.
‘Mean girls’? More like damage control but a successful diversion was created, and the clown car was in motion.
An avalanche of counterclaims of bullying by the Prime Minister Scott Morrison swiftly followed, but not from the Opposition, rather from people in the PM’S own party.
Damaging? You’d think leaked texts from Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce describing the PM as a “hypocrite and a liar” would carry some weight, but the clown car backtracked sideways, with the deputy saying that since working “closely” with the PM, he now didn’t agree with his previous description.
Cue the horn honk.
Leaked texts also appeared from Gladys Berejiklian, describing the PM as a “horrible and untrustworthy person”, claims repeated in a scathing exit interview of sorts by LNP Senator Connie Fierravanti-wells, and
reiterated again in a statement from Michael Towke, the former preselection candidate Morrison managed to unseat despite having eight nominations to Towke’s 82.
Then Liberal MP Catherine
Cusack quit her role, accusing Morrison of “ruthless bullying at the expense of flood victims” and of having “ruined the LNP”, yet polling still suggests voters prefer to stick with an alleged gaslighting bully than the alternative, because ‘voters don’t know Albanese.’
OK, he’s the one that’s not the gaslighting bully, but anyway, if they’d rather excuse outright mutiny from Morrison’s associates, and are OK with lies, rorts, coverups and self-interest then so be it.
Even struggling New England farmers are likely to once again return Morrison’s deputy, Barnaby Joyce, to power, despite him refusing to release details of how, as ‘Water Envoy’, he spent $675,000 in three weeks.
The same inexplicable reasoning allowed Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to say with a straight face he’s Australia’s best option to run our economy, after miscalculating $60bn of Jobkeeper, and allowing corporations that profited from our taxpayer dollars, to keep the excess. It takes a special kind of talent to beat the drums of war while antagonising China, our Pacific neighbours and the French, while blowing billions on defence equipment that is unsuitable or undelivered, as does convincing voters struggling with the cost of living that ‘trickle-down economics’ work, when they only make corporate fat cats fatter.
The piece-de-resistance was diverting the news cycle on to how Labor will fund registered nurses returning to the workforce with pay increases, rather than focusing on the LNP’S wage stagnation and trillion dollar deficit.
In this circus of ‘look over there’, expect more contortionists, World-series-worthy sledging, dead cat diversions, and the politically expedient release of refugees locked up for nine pointlessly cruel years – ‘Ta-daa!’
Honk honk.
Mr Fontes, l will challenge science and scientists because they are not deity or infallible. Thalidomide caused unfathomable deformities and hardship, there is still no complete cure for the common cold, flu and cancers etc. Yes, l will challenge them and, in my opinion, the global pandemic gave us many forms of vaccines that are questionable. Yes, we have curtailed polio, smallpox and others but not eradicated. As for the GBR, sharks are in decline, supposedly but are in plague proportions according to those on the waters of the Reef. Yes, l will challenge science because l believe in provable not probably. M J REYNOLDS, MT LOUISA
Agree with Brian Kneipp re sevenstep plan but there is more. Let’s catch those supplying the kids with drugs and alcohol. BOB, AITKENVALE
There is a big difference between a character of strong will and being labelled a bully by people who disagree with you. Rather have a strong, experienced and determined leader than a spineless inexperienced halfwit who will be dictated to by far left factions, unions, minority groups, China and whoever else he will buckle for in charge any day of the week Steve. We only have to look to the US to see what a Labor led country will look like. But I am pretty sure you think Biden is a great leader as well. DAN, CRANBROOK Loved Clive’s yarn of medical staff supposedly frantically telling him he had to be saved because he was the only one telling the truth. Sorry Clive but you left off the obligatory fanfic ending where the doctors fell weeping to their knees thanking you for showing them the way, followed by being held aloft and paraded
around the Covid ward while the brass band played. I award you a B for imagination but an E for effort. THE CREDIBLE HULK, MT LOUISA
Well Billy, Wulguru another crap letter. I would not be that rude to the Prime Minister. I might have to drink tap water as you rudely put it but I would advise you to stop drinking toilet water. L. G, WULGURU
Very hard to get a text put in the TB, but Steve, Belgian Gardens can get two put in, in one day. RUSTY, KIRWAN.
With a federal election due in May and the election campaigns well underway a quote came to mind from a TTE contributor some time ago. “The left don’t debate, they demonise.” With all the vitriol against Morrison that quote is very accurate.
AS, 4814
I was intrigued by the headline “Albanese the great unknown”, page 33 TB, 8 April. One would expect that after 26 years as a federal Labor MP, the name would resonate publicly. Everyone had heard of Whitlam, Fraser, Hawke, Howard and Rudd, but who the bloody hell is Albo?
We’ll soon find out according to the polls. CARL FRIES, PIMLICO