https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/questions-intensify-over-duttons-eligibility-for-parliament/news-story/ea59d7ec7953556da8ef048e036c7ab2

The coup is on and so is the race, will the aspirant get the job done before the question of eligibility raises its head again? And here we have the ultimate folly, a man in a marginal seat in a backward state who thinks that the swing against the government just delivered in that state doesn't mean him. Arrogance thy name is Peter

https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/08/22/14/34/turnbull-checking-if-dutton-had-conflict

why wouldn't he be eligible ? because of conflicts of interest ? oh please !

I guess your politics is not the stuffy boring tea party I imagined it to be, but if Dutton fails then what? If he succeeds can he hold sway and rule parliament? Is his coalition that strong as his last vote indicates? I admit the idea of being able boot out a dufus between elections is most appealing.

why wouldn't he be eligible ? because of conflicts of interest ? oh please !

The Constitution rules that you cannot nominate or sit in parliament if your derive benefit from government contracts or hold a government office for salary.

Dutton does as a shareholder in his wife's business. You see Tom like you we take our Constitution seriously

recent changes to the way benefits are paid to child care businesses mean that even if Dutton were clear at the last election he may not be today

I guess your politics is not the stuffy boring tea party I imagined it to be, but if Dutton fails then what? If he succeeds can he hold sway and rule parliament? Is his coalition that strong as his last vote indicates? I admit the idea of being able boot out a dufus between elections is most appealing.


Turncoat isn't a Dufus like Trump. Turncoat is a moderate, and has leftist leanings. He has had to abandon republicanism, he has had to abandon climate change, he has had to abandon tax cuts to the big end of town. This is all the ongoing attack of the conservatives led by Abbott, the outed former PM, Dutton is a conservative but he doesn't have the backing of key National Party members so he may split the coalition and bring on a election. Don't know if you ever saw the British Comedy Yes Minister, but this is a Jim Hacker situation. Life imitates art. Turncoat has shown himself to be weak lately having to modify key policies and being unwilling to engage in bipartisan politics. Blood is in the water and the sharks are circling

Having trouble herding the cats I see. Which is your preference?

Julie Bishop Deputy party leader and Foreign Minister has thrown her hat in the ring saying she won't serve as deputy to another man. Scott Morrison, the Treasurer, is a committed Christian, I would be happy if either won, but we don't need another ego maniac who thinks only of himself, and Dutton is an ego maniac and is purely reactive, fearing loss of his own seat. Turncoat has said he will resign parliament if outed so that will mean the incoming PM has no majority, and it will probably mean an election. This country is becoming ungovernable and this is sad in a very successful democracy

What? Did you mean a national election? A non scheduled national election?

Yes, It could have gone that way and still might. Scott Morrisson is now PM, both Turncoat and Bishop may fade from politics. We don't know the timing of the Turnbull resignation but he might wait until the election and not force a byelection. Morrison has a lot of runs on the board, border security, reform of welfare and treasury and he was not tainted by decapitating a sitting PM. Voting was 45-40 so Dutton might have miscalculated but may not go away. Abbott may oppose him and carry on the same warfare that brought Turncoat down. Abbott obviously hates all Turncoat supporters

your system is too unpredictable . How many PMs have there been recently ? MPs put their finger in the wind and based on that a PM can be ousted . Since Howard (the only decent one in years ) you have had pygmies running your country . KRudd ;Red Julia , Abbott , Turnbullsh*t .Really ? This new guy Morrison won't even be able to hold Turnbull's coalition. Your country is becoming more and more like Italy every year. (8 changes since 2000 but even there ,half of them were Berlusconi )

your system is too unpredictable . How many PMs have there been recently ? MPs put their finger in the wind and based on that a PM can be ousted . Since Howard (the only decent one in years ) you have had pygmies running your country . KRudd ;Red Julia , Abbott , Turnbullsh*t .Really ? This new guy Morrison won't even be able to hold Turnbull's coalition. Your country is becoming more and more like Italy every year. (8 changes since 2000 but even there ,half of them were Berlusconi )

Yes we don't like what is happening. After the Rudd/Gillard fiasco the Labor Party put in place a system something akin to your primaries which makes it hard to change a leader. The Liberals have hinted that after this changes will have to be made. It isn't the Coalition that is under threat, a new coalition agreement was hammered out this afternoon, what is under threat is the slender majority. If Turncoat resigns this forces a byelection so the government has no working majority and cannot bring legislation without bipartisan support. He just might do it to ultimately see these B@stards defeated at the polls. The last time they tried that Labor passed it in the House and opposed it in the Senate. What has come out of this is major policy changes needed in energy/climate change and Tax cuts at the big end

Turncoat was masterful in defeat, delaying the inevitable until his people could get the numbers together. Those who live by the sword die by the sword and Turncoat lived by the sword, overturning leadership more than once. No tears there Tom

Do you have any statesmen there ? any chance for Cory Bernardi to make gains ?

Seems the politicos there are subject to the same gridlock we have here that leads to a divide government that can get nothing done, because the focus is on them jockeying for a position of power and not the peoples business. An unflushed toilet serves no one and stinks up the place. Wish you better luck than us should a Dufus emerge on top.

Do you have any statesmen there ? any chance for Cory Bernardi to make gains ?

Every chance but it could not lead to the Australian Conservatives a significant political force any time soon, the conservatives would rather wreck the electoral chances of the Liberals. As to statesmen, they are a little thin on the ground at present, there are some with potential and Morrison might be one of them given the opportunity to develop. We certainly need a rest from Rhodes Scholars though

Seems the politicos there are subject to the same gridlock we have here that leads to a divide government that can get nothing done, because the focus is on them jockeying for a position of power and not the peoples business. An unflushed toilet serves no one and stinks up the place. Wish you better luck than us should a Dufus emerge on top.

Australia has a long history of volatile politics, long periods of stability make us forget the volatility. Removing the whim factor by setting specific terms for a Parliament, limiting terms of Representatives and Senators and changing the selection process of leaders might stop these rushes of blood to the head every time a party sees an electoral loss coming. Too much value is placed on how long a member can hold on to a seat

We certainly need a rest from Rhodes Scholars though here here ! and Ivy League egg heads

here here ! and Ivy League egg heads

Not sure how many of those we have

good radio interview explaining the political mess in Aussie.

https://audioboom.com/posts/6983019-another-liberal-party-spill-in-australia-to-fend-off-a-labour-landslide-gregory-copley-defense-foreign-affairs

Not much different than the in party fighting here. Different names same issues, as I read the headlines. Banks, energy, wages, and tax cuts.

good radio interview explaining the political mess in Aussie.

https://audioboom.com/posts/6983019-another-liberal-party-spill-in-australia-to-fend-off-a-labour-landslide-gregory-copley-defense-foreign-affairs


An interesting take but it doesn't tell the whole story. There were two things driving this and they may continue to do so. Firstly, Turncoat didn't do well in recent byelections, the sitting government never does well in byelections which are an opportunity for the electorate to censure the government, and particularly in Longman in Queensland indicating massive loss of support in Queensland. Dutton is from Queensland in a marginal seat, The second is Tony Abbott, former PM a conservative stornchly opposed to Turncoat and his policies on energy/climate change and Tax cuts to the big end. Abbott was never going to favour Turncoat in anything.


Not much different than the in party fighting here. Different names same issues, as I read the headlines. Banks, energy, wages, and tax cuts.

Yes there are similarities with the big difference that we don't have that polarising figure, Trump

We would be hyper polarized no matter which candidate had won to be honest, and the loonies would still be coming out of the woodwork. I think your parliamentary system allows you to check yourselves within your parties and allows for meeting whatever challenges to the country in a more orderly way. Our way is challenged and bound to get uglier than it is now before we get a grip on our own insanity.

We would be hyper polarized no matter which candidate had won to be honest, and the loonies would still be coming out of the woodwork. I think your parliamentary system allows you to check yourselves within your parties and allows for meeting whatever challenges to the country in a more orderly way. Our way is challenged and bound to get uglier than it is now before we get a grip on our own insanity.

I think we need to get a grip on our own insanity, you need a certain ego to be a politician but we don't have as many as you do so those that we do have can get carried away without the other checks. Power corrupts, it certainly did with Turncoat, who had that born to rule thing going on

LOL, you will either rise to the challenge or drown in your own crap, like most nations that face a challenge. Isn't that what any election is about? In our case it's a pile of crap of our own making with the DUFUS's pile of crap. We have the next 90 days to rise or drown.

LOL, you will either rise to the challenge or drown in your own crap, like most nations that face a challenge. Isn't that what any election is about? In our case it's a pile of crap of our own making with the DUFUS's pile of crap. We have the next 90 days to rise or drown.

And of course we wish you well in your endevours as neither of us wishes to live in a pile of crap

taken down

Glad someone deleted that troll? Or is the coup over?

The coup appears to be over, although in this volatile system it is never truly over. The next blood letting will occur at the election where failure on either side will lead to decapitation

I get you Clete, lots of bloodletting over here too as we get closer to the elections. Everything is all hyped up. What a circus.

Yes we are watching, what happens over there seems to mirror here and vise a versa

I think I have expressed that semantics can be weaponized to divide and conquer ones perceptions of the other side and with humans there is always another side. Very fascinating human behavior and understandable to think we are UNIQUE within our class or society or GROUP we identify with.

Having said that it should be a great show as we approach the election with everybody getting in there last licks. Me I have popcorn and Netflix, for after the televised presentation of a "hearing by our elected officials" between a Supreme Court nominee and his accuser of personal wrong doing way back in the days of youth.

Will we get truth from this made for TV sham? I seriously doubt it, but one side doesn't want the truth, just a furtherance of their agenda before the BIG election. Things could change after that as one election leads to another and they are all big nowadays. The sad part is we constantly ignore or don't learn a darn thing from the LAST elections once they have past.

I laughed my arse off at the dufus warning China to not interfere in our election at the UN meeting yesterday, while he made no mention of the documented Russian interference of the last. That whole thing was yet another laughable public episode to remind us of the consequences of the last election.

Can't say we didn't deserve what we got, but still a sad commentary for us. Luckily there will be more elections. Can MY side affect a coup against the dufus regime to counter his coup of our democracy? I sure the heck hope so.

After his performance at the UN I think we have to count Trump as either a comic genius or a pathetic moron

After his performance at the UN I think we have to count Trump as either a comic genius or a pathetic moron

The evidence for your description of the dufus was present long before the UN meeting. This was just MORE confirmation of his lunacy.

In his mind the is the greatest thing that has ever lived but being fat and loud mouthed doesn't make you a genius

He's the greatest lying bully ever elected. Deny, attack, and make it about him being a victim works for him.

It is sad Tal, well, we are fortunate here, we got rid of Turncoat, didn't like the way it was done, but poetic justice for the times he sank the knife into others. Our forms of socialism are doing well, the New PM has increased funding of non government schools and withdrawn some of the obnoxious policies of his predecessors. The French are playing silly buggers on the submarine contract, he might give them the boot too

Shinzo is hopping mad, but if you want submarines, we got submarines!

https://www.howmuchisit.org/how-much-does-a-submarine-cost/

Shinzo is hopping mad, but if you want submarines, we got submarines!

https://www.howmuchisit.org/how-much-does-a-submarine-cost/

Yours are nuclear, we are not up to that technology unfortunately. I doubt you would transfer the technology to us, you would not give us the F22, we had to make do with that flying brick, the F35. Who knows Shinzo, may yet get the contract if the frogs stuff about

Like Shinzo we have to make a profit and maintenance is costly over years. Talk nice to Dufus and he may cut you a deal for floating a few subs in the south china sea. Yeah we just had an F35 malfunction and crash recently.

We want our subs for defence not offence, you stuff with China we will watch Indonesia, anyway you will be at war with China before the first sub is delivered

We are already in a financial war with China over tariffs. They may need a bailout soon, unless our investor class starts to get antsy. You better sign a deal for those subs quickly though as the price will continue to rise. I noticed you guys have also invested pretty heavily in other parts of your Navy also. I may have to move to Adelaide next year. Scratch that idea, let a young guy have those great paying jobs.

Begs the question though of maybe you would be better served investing in your own military infrastructure technology. Nuclear subs are expensive as hell for us and sure budget busters.

We are already in a financial war with China over tariffs. They may need a bailout soon, unless our investor class starts to get antsy. You better sign a deal for those subs quickly though as the price will continue to rise. I noticed you guys have also invested pretty heavily in other parts of your Navy also. I may have to move to Adelaide next year. Scratch that idea, let a young guy have those great paying jobs.

Begs the question though of maybe you would be better served investing in your own military infrastructure technology. Nuclear subs are expensive as hell for us and sure budget busters.

That's the way we do it Tal, local builds where possible and we have innovative industries however don't move to Adelaide too stuffy but then you might like it, it is full of "liberals"

Well the fallout from the coup is now complete, Karren Phelps, an independent candidate, was elected to the seat formerly held by ousted Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Turncoat's final act was to knife his parliamentary party. The government is now a minority government subject to the whims of the cross bench with a strong possibility they will loose the next election and return rabid socialism to power.

This was truly a classic on how to loose an unlosable election passing a seat that has been conservative since federation into the hands of socialists. What do you do, you don't campaign, you put up a relatively unknown candidate, you stuff about with the selection process, you fail to announce key reports during the campaign, you announce freebees like lower taxation that have no hope of being passed, you give away money to non government schools

not good . sounds like our Democrat's playbook ie .Sen
Kamala Harris's plan to give everyone $500 a month tax credit . Why do that instead of just lowering taxes by the equivalent $6,000 annually ?


But I heard in the news that Turnbull's seats was conceded too early based on ;early returns ; but that later returns are making it a closer contest. The difference here I guess is that you see a hung government as a bad thing ;and it might well be because of your funky election rules. Here a split government gets nothing done for at least 2 years ;and that is comforting . I sleep better at night knowing they can't do any more harm.

not good . sounds like our Democrat's playbook ie .Sen
Kamala Harris's plan to give everyone $500 a month tax credit . Why do that instead of just lowering taxes by the equivalent $6,000 annually ?


But I heard in the news that Turnbull's seats was conceded too early based on ;early returns ; but that later returns are making it a closer contest. The difference here I guess is that you see a hung government as a bad thing ;and it might well be because of your funky election rules. Here a split government gets nothing done for at least 2 years ;and that is comforting . I sleep better at night knowing they can't do any more harm.

Sadly a recount has shown an error so Phelps will probably win by a slender margin. We don't know if it will be a hung parliament or just everything needing that extra negotiation but it brings the minor parties into play in the House, the Senate is always problematical. We have six months before the next election. The electorate have shown their displeasure at the personality games played in Canberra and Phelps may make up enough numbers to get Dutton referred to the High Court