Witless Conroy's Shameful Attack

[silverfaun]

This witless little incompetent should be sacked, removed from the Labor party and Shorten should distance the party from this pathetic union hack.

This, on the day Labor was shown up for their shameful defence of Craig Thomson,  now we are subjected to this appalling insulting  of an honourable serving Officer on national TV and not having the intestinal integrity to apologise for his attack:

THE government has demanded Bill Shorten discipline frontbencher Stephen Conroy for breaking with convention in a “cowardly”, “unprovoked” and “outrageous” attack on a senior serving army officer.

Coalition senator Ian Macdonald shut down a Senate estimates hearing after Senator Conroy, Labor’s defence spokesman, launched an extraordinary attack on the head of the government’s border protection operation, Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, accusing him of being involved in a political cover-up.

Senator Conroy likened General Campbell to the fictitious Colonel Nathan Jessup from the movie A Few Good Men for his approach to restricting the flow of information on the interception of asylum-seeker boats.

“That is called a political cover-up, a political cover-up, you are engaged in a political cover-up,” Senator Conroy yelled from the bench.

The most bitter exchange began after General Campbell said it was necessary to keep details of Operation Sovereign Borders secret to avoid damaging Australia’s relations with its neighbours and to prevent people-smugglers from gaining an advantage.

Senator Conroy retorted: “Can’t we handle the truth?”

General Campbell responded: “It kind of sounds like a movie, senator.”

Senator Conroy: “It is a movie, and we are living it, Colonel Jessup. I mean seriously, you can’t tell us the truth, you can’t tell the Australian public the truth because you might upset an international neighbour. That is called a political cover-up.”

General Campbell remained calm during the incident but said he wanted to put on the public record that he took “extreme offence at that statement”.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/hearing-shut-down-over-stephen-conroys-attack-on-campbell/story-fn59niix-1226837720898

[silverfaun]

The shame will stick to Conroy, the outrage for his appalling behaviour will remain and won't be easily forgotten.

The disgraced Labor party are at it again showing they have learnt nothing from the last 6 years of failure and corruption.

It's sickening to read the defence of this grub, but then they defended Rudd/Gillard/Rudd and all the failures for years, and now can't come to terms with any other decent honourable competent government.

What a sorry end for them.

[tall_bearded]

"Just because the bloke is in uniform doesn't give him some special dispensation"

No the uniform simply makes his a politically soft target.

Sort of like a verbal cowards punch.

[silverfaun]

Conroy joins ABC in disrespect for our military

  26 February 2014 Chris Kenny

Stephen Conroy’s deliberate, ill-judged and offensive attack on Lieutenant General Angus Campbell showed he is unfit to be on Bill Shorten’s frontbench. Certainly it would be an ongoing insult to leave him in the defence portfolio.

Apart from the baseless slur, accusing Lt Gen Campbell of being involved in a “political cover-up” Senator Conroy showed a poor understanding of international security matters.

He ought to understand that the less that is said about boat turnbacks publicly the better for Australia’s relationship with Indonesia – indeed a large part of Labor’s justification in government for never attempting boat turnbacks was that it might offend Indonesia. And flowing from this point is the rather obvious fact that a healthy relationship with Indonesia is fundamental to our security interests.

That Senator Conroy could fail to grasp the import of these two points is difficult to comprehend. That he could then turn it into a tacky partisan attack on a senior military officer – whose team risk their lives to enforce this policy on the high seas – is irresponsible and unbecoming of an alternative government.

Remember, if Labor were to return to government, Senator Conroy would, on current standings, be defence minister.

Mr Shorten took a step towards improving his own leadership credentials yesterday when he belatedly condemned Craig Thomson. Now his Victorian and factional colleague has challenged his authority with this behaviour – Mr Shorten really needs to extract a resignation or he’ll be seen to be weak on core national security issues.

And as a footnote, how do you think the ABC would cover this matter? Remembering the ABC last month accused our navy personnel, with no plausible evidence, of torture. Despite this reporting being demonstrably unreasonable it has refused to apologise.

[izabsmiling]

---

@lakeland27 wrote:

Conroy may be 100% correct.

---

will they do anything to prove him wrong .......

[izabsmiling]

If any shame is brought on our Country's armed services due to this secrecy .....our PM owns it

Asylum seeker information should not be part of a  Millitary operation...which withholds information from us

[lakeland27]

---

@tall_bearded wrote:

You hit it on the head. 

He should never have been called at all and the fact that speaks volumes as to Conroy’s intent by requiring he attend.

---

and what is the alternative ? for those who prefer transparency the only way to get near the truth is via senate estimates. the officer ought to say 'i'm not going to talk' and be honest, Morrison put defence in this position with his militarisation of an immigration matter.

which in itself is a front for him to hide behind, he's the gutless weasel here.. telling the truth would spare defense the charade and grilling that is morrisons, not theirs.

[izabsmiling]

---

@tall_bearded wrote:

I think that before anyone makes further comment, they might want to take a look at the Defence Force Discipline Act, and that particular that part of the Act  which makes it an offence for defence force personal to criticise government policy.

---

How does that Act work with International Law which they are supposed to abide by ?

[lakeland27]

scotty hiding behind the skirt of the military . if one hides, one has something to hide.

[izabsmiling]

Just following orders ...doesn't cut it ...does it ?

[silverfaun]

This is nothing to do with "transparency" the left are using this as a political attack when they have been told everything the operation is undertaking.

They have been  given a weekly news conference to update operations whilst there was something to report.

This attack  on a successful operation that has stopped the smuggler trade is just what you expect from Labor and their adherents but this is not what the left want, they want failure & nothing else will do.

This type of grotesque attack on a policy that's working will not be forgotten when the next election comes around, this type of attack will come back to destroy them just like the dismantling of the successful border protection policy was dismantled by Labor destroyed them and that is the reason we have this disaster of 50.000 illegal immigrants in on our hands.

This is just the bleating & frustration of the Disappointed ranting.

Where was the transparency when Labor was in?? we were treated with contempt and that won't be forgotten either.

Hypocrisy always comes back to bite and the hypocrisy we are seeing beggars belief.