Bill Shorten Flubs Australia Day

[icyfroth]

Bill Shorten has muddled Aus­tralia’s moment of settlement, placing the establishment of a penal colony by the British in Botany Bay rather than nearby Sydney Cove in an Australia Day press conference marked by a series of verbal miscues.

The Opposition Leader also momentarily confused the Queen’s husband with the Queen’s son and heir to the throne, Prince Charles, in what was a ­stumbling performance in Melbourne.

Although dismissed yesterday as a minor issue by historian Keith Windschuttle, Mr Shorten was slightly off in suggesting Botany Bay was the home of the first British penal colony.

According to Australian government websites, the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay on January 18 in 1788 after Joseph Banks had declared the territory suitable for a penal colony after returning from a journey there in 1770.

But Captain Arthur Phillip, the fleet’s commander, “found the ­location unsuitable because the harbour was unsafe and the area lacked freshwater” and quickly relocated to Port Jackson.

After moving further into the harbour, on January 26, 1788, Phillip raised the British flag at Sydney Cove and 751 convicts and their children disembarked, along with 252 marines and their families.

Mr Shorten yesterday appeared to forget one of the worst political misjudgments in recent times, with the Opposition Leader struggling to remember exactly which member of the royal family it was that Tony Abbott had knighted last year to near-universal criticism.

“The Liberal prime minister knighted Prince Philip, uh, Prince Charles, it was Prince Philip, yeah, but it was still a remarkable thing to do,” Mr Shorten said.

He also had an unfortunate slip-up when he was sympathising with indigenous Australians unhappy with the annual Australia Day celebrations by incorrectly using the word “disposition”.

“For me, what it is to be an Australian does a lot more than that first British penal colony of Botany Bay,” he said.

“It means a lot more to me than a public holiday.

“I can understand that indigenous Australians don’t see January 26 as a day of celebration.

“For them, it was a day of dis­position,” Mr Shorten said.

Entire Article Here.

Mr Shorten is getting even shorter 

[lind9650]

Every time he opens his mouth, he proves what a clown he is.

But there is hope for oddballs. Just look at Trump.

Erica

[icyfroth]

I get the feeling that Trump's there as a diversion.

They'd never let him get that far with all racist ranting and flamboyant carry-on if they thought he'd be a serious contender. They would have found some sex-scandal or Nazi relative in his past by now.

[moonflyte]

Poor Bill, his silly smile to cover up his nasty temper only makes him look sillier and even more inconsequential. Getting shorter?? is that even possible?