Diary of our stinking Govt.

[boris1gary]

As it's more than 100 days now, it has been suggested that a new thread was needed.  The current govt has been breaking promises and telling lies at a rate so fast it's hard to keep up.

This below is worrying, "independent" pffft, as if your own doctor is somehow what? biased, it's ridiculous. So far there is talk of only including people under a certain age 30-35, for now. Remember that if your injured in a car, injured at work or get ill, you too might need to go on the DSP. They have done a similar think in the UK with devastating consequences.

and this is the 2nd time recently where the Govt has referred to work as welfare???? So when you go to work tomorrow (or tuesday), just remember that's welfare.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-20/disability-pensioners-may-be-reassessed-kevin-andrews/5400598

Independent doctors could be called in to reassess disability pensioners, Federal Government says

The Federal Government is considering using independent doctors to examine disability pensioners and assess whether they should continue to receive payments.

Currently family doctors provide reports supporting claims for the Disability Support Pension (DSP).

But Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews is considering a measure that would see independent doctors reassess eligibility.

"We are concerned that where people can work, the best form of welfare is work," Mr Andrews said at a press conference.

[monman12]

""He made some prejudicial comments about the appearance of Mr Shorten which I think calls into question the motives of the establishment of this royal commission."

I see you have not bothered to research RC's and their distance from judicial process, and commissioners  freedom to act as they think appropriate.!.

"prejudicial comments"????? to what,  or whom, considering the wide boundaries pertinent to a RC, and it is not

a court ?

Also in that same ABC article:

"Meanwhile, a former Labor national secretary, Bob Hogg, used Facebook to attack Mr Shorten after his appearance on Wednesday, when he admitted he failed to declare an election donation worth tens of thousands of dollars."

[debra9275]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-13/bradley-difficult-to-see-how-dyson-heydon-can-continue/6695500

The purpose of a Royal Commission is to conduct a wide-ranging inquiry into whatever subject matter the government has referred to it. It is not a court and the Commissioner is not a judge. Witnesses give evidence under oath, and the Commission has similar powers of compulsion as a court. The big difference is that a court determines, on a final basis, controversies. A Commission makes factual findings and recommendations, but none of that has any binding legal effect on anyone. The government may choose to act on the recommendations, or the authorities may prosecute crimes which the Commission identifies.

This difference is significant for the question of bias which is now plaguing Heydon. The allegation being levelled against him is that, through lending his name to a fundraiser for the party which is in government, and which appointed him to conduct an inquiry into that party's political enemies (Bill Shorten and the union movement generally), he has been hopelessly compromised. There is a high risk that the public will perceive an implication that he is aligned to the Liberal Party, and consequently apprehend that he might be biased in his conduct of the Commission's inquiry.

If Heydon was a judge hearing a corruption case against union officials, he'd now have to recuse himself, no question. With a Royal Commission, it isn't quite as clear-cut. His determinations don't directly affect anyone's liberty or pockets. However, the Commission has coercive powers; witnesses before it can be prosecuted for perjury or contempt; its findings can destroy reputations.

I find it difficult to see how Heydon can continue. No doubt he didn't realise the function was a party political fundraiser, but it patently is and he is badly compromised now even if his only real fault was inadvertence. Of course he isn't a Liberal Party stooge and he will, if he continues as Commissioner, do the job in as impartial a manner as he can. But that doesn't change the fact that nothing he says or does from here on will be viewed other than through the lens of apprehended bias. As a result, the credibility of his factual findings and recommendations is pretty much shot.

[debra9275]

post what you want me to read

[myoclon1cjerk]

Yes,very wide boundaries,John.Like the ones in the Cole inquiry into the AWB and bribes paid to the Hussein regime. 🙂

[iapetus_rocks]

"Inside an anonymous building in St Petersburg, the Kremlin commands a workforce of hundreds that patrol the internet as trolls — assuming false identities online.

Their task is to control debate and stifle dissent in forums and on social media.

The department at the centre of this effort is officially known as the Internet Research Agency.

But its reputation has earned it another name by which it is widely known: the Troll Factory."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-12/inside-russias-troll-factory-internet-forums-social-media/6692...

I wonder if we have something similar here in Oz.

I have seen, over many years, posters on this board and posters on the US ebay boards who, in spite of their different user ID's could be identical, such is their style of posting and the hyper-vigilance which they display in responding to anything which challenges the right-wing mythos party-line .

One of the main things they have in common is a seeming access to research facilities which the average amateur poster could only dream of.

and another thing they have in common is that they accuse their interlocutors of not doing adequate research. their cynicism in this context is breathtaking.

So, Where's Wally on this board?

[debra9275]

yes, we do have something like thatr here in Oz lap... I was just reading something about it the other day $4 million the abbott govt pays for internet trolls.  wil find it soon for you

[debra9275]

http://linkis.com/canberratimes.com.au/Z6Ljc

Tony Abbott's government is embroiled in a new political crisis just weeks after the Bronwyn Bishop affair, with the Prime Minister digging in on Thursday against calls to dismiss his hand-picked head of the royal commission on trade union corruption, Dyson Heydon, for perceived political bias.

just imagine what the uproar would be like if Gillian Triggs had been booked for a labor fundraiser 

[debra9275]

http://www.afr.com/opinion/columnists/laura-tingle/tony-abbott-determined-to-lead-the-whitlam-govern...

A meeting of the National Security Committee of the cabinet has, however, recently asked for a list of national-security-related things that could be announced weekly between now and the election.

'look over there' moments 

[monman12]

"just imagine what the uproar would be like if Gillian Triggs had been booked for a labor fundraiser"

"imagine  the uproar "   No imagination needed,  Triggs activities were  quite real !

Why would the ALP/ACTU bother,  she has already "served" the ALP/ACTU well , and had made her position political when she delayed her inquiry, scheduled to start early 2013, because of an election date announced 9 months in advance and then delayed again during the campaign proper – when the government is meant to be in caretaker mode.

[debra9275]

Poor Tony