10 new demands from the three independents

James1 says:

04:03pm | 26/08/10

No matter how you look at it, they do not represent most Australians, yet they still get to hold us over a barrel with their demands.  Also, Bob Katter is a joke pretty much everywhere outside far north Queensland and perhaps some parts of Alabama.

Macca says:

04:04pm | 26/08/10

Do they not have senses of humour in Rural Australia?

fairsfair says:

04:17pm | 26/08/10

Ditto. This is making a mockery of things - which usually is funny (like the serviette stats) - but when you continue to belittle them for who they are, not what they are trying to say you only make yourself look like a fool. Would you rather they flip a coin? Or use the time afforded them by the finalisation of the count to allow them to make an informed decision when (and IF) it is actually required. Like it or not - this situation is upon us and if I can say one thing - there are far worse people in this world that could be making this decision.

Alfred Deakin says:

04:18pm | 26/08/10

Yes, James1, but they represent most of their electorates, like all the other 147. We live in a representative democracy - they have no more say than any other 3 members of parliament. And in Far North Queensland many southern politicians are likewise considered a joke.

Alfred Deakin says:

04:20pm | 26/08/10

Yes, James1, but they represent most of their electorates, like all the other 147. We live in a representative democracy - they have no more say than any other 3 members of parliament. And in Far North Queensland many southern politicians are likewise considered a joke.

h says:

04:23pm | 26/08/10

Agreed. City dwellers are too quick to dismiss country dwellers as stupid and irrelevant. The country is a different place. People wear hats because they don’t work in offices, nor lunch under big umbrellas. They are concerned about banana imports because it could destroy an industry. They are concerned about broadband because many of them currently have slower-than-city-dialup “connections” or pay through the nose for sat phones.

Katter is the way he is because that’s how you survive in politics as long as he has. If he wasn’t a bit over the top he’d get zero air time for his constituents’ issues, because people in the city are too snobby to listen any other way.

Everyone should get over themselves and accept the independents are here because they won in their electorate and the major parties failed dismally. That’s how democracy works. People voted, this is the result. People who live comfortably in the city and don’t like to hear anyone else’s point of view need to HTFU.

D says:

04:24pm | 26/08/10

People make fun of politicians all the time, it’s a national past time.  Shall the satirists and the cartoonists shut up shop? 

The other 147 parliamentarians have just as much right to be taken seriously and treated with dignity and respect.  Half the commentators can’t be bothered spelling Julia Gillard’s name correctly, and the other half seem to delight in calling Tony Abbott names such as “Mad Monk” and “Rabbot”. 

Why are the Independants special snowflakes that should not be mocked?  It’s going to be a very boring few years if we’re not allowed poke fun at the policiticans any more because their electorates are so sensivite.  It’s interesting to see how people respond to having a little power.  How precious some ppl are when they can dictate to others.

James1 says:

04:31pm | 26/08/10

I have lived in far north Queensland Alfred, and to be frank if they think something is a joke then it should be taken very seriously.  Those people are not like the rest of us.

Peter Oataway, Hay, NSW says:

04:45pm | 26/08/10

Paul Howes the AWU & Clive Palmer Coal Mining have less rights to call shots on who form a minority government than these 3 elected MP’s

James1 says:

04:58pm | 26/08/10

Or, h, country people could accept the consequences of the choices they make, and stop expecting agrarian socialists like Katter to artificially bolster the price of bananas.  If a banana grower can not grow his product at an internationally competitive price, then he needs to get into a different business.  That is how the world works, and no measure of agrarian socialism can change that - all it does is postpone the inevitable.

Why should I pay so much for bananas just so that some farmer doesn’t have to plant a different crop?  I don’t expect students to pay extra money just so that I can have the privilege of teaching them.

Nicole says:

05:04pm | 26/08/10

Oh get real! So just because these three stooges won in their electorates, we have to worship them? Spare me! And James1 is 100% correct. They don’t represent most Australians, and their blackmailing attempts is plain wrong. Katter is a nutter, Oakeshott lives in the land of group hugs and kisses and Windsor is just plain arrogant. This power trip they’re having is unbelievable.

PS: Loved the article Leo, excellent laugh.

SawHole says:

05:13pm | 26/08/10

I think it is called having a laugh, Alfred Deakin. Chill, dude.

Julie Coker-Godson says:

05:27pm | 26/08/10

Don’t be so sensitive!

Jaz says:

07:46pm | 26/08/10

Far North QLDers take Bob seriously? No we don’t….I think the only reason his still in parliament is because we have *such* an amazing sense of humour. We get these headlines year round.

Rod says:

10:10pm | 26/08/10

Lighten up Alfred!! Even us country hicks know how to have a good laugh!!

Philip says:

10:45pm | 26/08/10

Lighten up Alfred Deakin.I bet you are just a real barrel of laughs amongst your friends !!!!!!!

Philip says:

11:00pm | 26/08/10

FairsFair,no, !!!! What any thinking Australian expects is that this self-proclaimed Gang of Four would go back to their electorates and take a poll to determine who their constituents want them to support regards the next Government. Not to do this ,or having done that,not to follow the wishes of the majority in their respective electorates means these blokes do not understand the task they have been given or the parameters in which they should be operating.So far,they are the ones making fools of themselves and holding themselves up to well deserved ridicule.It is obvious these blokes are not up to it yet they would have us believe they are.What a sad and sorry lot they are !

Robert Smissen, rural SA, God's own country says:

11:42pm | 26/08/10

Macca the answer is NO! ! ! When we millions wasted on latte sippers in cities on the coastal fringe get everything whilst the battlers in the bush (just over 10% of the population over produce 40% of the wealth) get nothing! !

Macca says:

09:06am | 27/08/10

@Robert Smissen, righto, thanks for proving my point

h says:

04:16pm | 26/08/10

Taking a few days to work out how to run the entire country is “poncing about”? Glad I don’t have your attention span.

Brian B says:

04:19pm | 26/08/10

I agree. I don’t mind the idea of a minority Government, but these blokes are turning this into a long running circus saga with their demands.

Just pick the side whose policies they can work with and get on with the show of Government. Sick of the posturing.

TheRealDave says:

04:46pm | 26/08/10

@H yes I do. They’ve all worked with both sides of the house for decades and know exactly what each side stands for, how they work, who the real ‘movers and shakers’ are They know ‘how the system works’. Its not like these guys are first term pollies here.

They’re milking the attention right now.

IF I was a constituent I’d be pretty pissed that a golden opportunity to have the entire national gravy train parked at my door for 3 years was allowed to be pissed away for TV time and photo ops by my local member.

Chewy says:

04:56pm | 26/08/10

Well said the Realdave these ‘king makers’ need a reality check howzabout another election that should pee on their parade.

Nicole says:

05:10pm | 26/08/10

Hear Hear TheRealDave! The thought of these three idiots in the position they’re in at the moment, makes me fell ill. Let’s go back to the polls.

Gregg says:

10:12pm | 26/08/10

No Nicole, just stay with get real but not with Dave and the only reason hewants to hed back to the polls is because latest AEC count indication is that it’ll be 73/72 in favour of the Libs and that’ll mean with a few days back in their electorates the three musketeers will probably just about see that confirmed by the time it’s yes we canberra and they’ll know that it’s near past having a piss or a miss.

They have had their 15 minutes of fame and it’s about to become getting down to govern and it’ll be up to them and the likes of Andrew Wilkie and Tony Crook to determine just how stable government will be initially.
If they do not want to go along with the policies that the Liberal party was elected on and support them as such, life will be quite unstable.

If the Greens want to get tricky in the Senate, then stability may be on their head and it’ll be DD time.

Meanwhile the fun and games can continue in the media and all Leo is doing is what we do so well in Australia and that’s taking the piss out of them and if that helps to bring them back down to reality, then all the better.

Chewy says:

04:52pm | 26/08/10

These ‘king makers’ keep lapping up the limelight and it is no doubt starting to grate most Australians. They are now playing with fire.

Julie Coker-Godson says:

05:33pm | 26/08/10

@Chewy.  I couldn’t have expressed it better myself.

PS:  Leo:  Good article. Loved it.

PatC says:

12:55pm | 30/08/10

Hear Hear…

Who says:

05:29pm | 26/08/10

I thought that Bob was active in supporting suicide prevention for rural and regional Australians?

Vicki PS says:

06:18pm | 26/08/10

It’s curious, given the emphasis these three men have placed on their desire to promote the interests of all Australians, especially those in rural and regional Australia, that they haven’t expressed any interest at all in a briefing from the Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs department.

Apparently mental health and suicide prevention, disability services, housing or indigenous people’s issues aren’t a matter of much concern to these good chaps.  It must be, as h said above, that “the country” is a very different place indeed.

grumpy uncle pete says:

06:26pm | 26/08/10

I can’t believe some of the imature comments on this post. I did actually enjoy the satirical piece, but some of the posts astound me. some people seem totaly unaware that the counting process IS STILL HAPPENING!! the three independants are not making unrealistic demands nor are they grandstanding. If they, as a block, will be giving their vote for stable government, i prefere them to have all the facts at hand. For you folk who are unaware of their background, Windsor & Oakshott were both Nationals, in the NSW parliament. Both effective, both passionate, but over time rebelled against toeing the party line. I also recall Tony Windsor making an impassionate speech to federal parliament some years ago articulating how many Australians did not support howard and his pacific solutions, unreported by anybody except by alan Ramsey of the S.M.H as usual an empty chamber, press gallery all gone home, and contempt from Howard et. al. As an old bloke who has seen most of it all before, ( before some of the boofhead gen Y who are quick with the tweet and & 3 minute attention span were even born!) I wish everybody would take a deep breath, shut up, and let the due proccess take its course.
For my money, Phoney Tony, right now, is playing his usual game; force the independants to favour Julia as P.M then cause havock over the next 6 months as opposition leader, i.e block everything; new election; and make the big comeback as the saviour of stable govt.  God help us.

Confuscious says:

07:05pm | 26/08/10

Well known psychological premise:

‘When we speak, we reveal more about ourselves than the subject to which we refer’.

Are you planning on running as an independent Brad?

Barry says:

01:44pm | 27/08/10

You might want to check Blacksnake Katter’s history:

His father was an ALP member, then QLP, DLP, CP and finally NP while Bob has been a nominal State then Federal NP member before running completely feral. He is, at heart, a protectionist socialist interested in himself, not the good of the country and he has no love of the conservatives who continually refused to alter trade laws to suit Blacksnake’s business interests. By upbringing and inclination he is a denizen of the Left hiding under a big hat.

Nicole says:

09:12pm | 26/08/10

Hahahaha. How right you are Joan! With lots of hugs and kisses.

Markus says:

09:33am | 27/08/10

The two major parties always have the option to NOT suck up to the Independents and instead work on mature negotiations with each other to establish a government. That this appears to be too much to ask reflects more on the pathetic attitudes of the two parties than it does our system of government.

Don’t blame three Independents for delaying the process of government in this country when Labor and Liberal between them account for 146 of the 150 seats in the lower house (147 when you include the Greens member).

TheRealDave says:

08:50pm | 26/08/10

funny, I thought ‘We the people’ put the Greens into the Senate…..or are you saying the ‘Labor Powerbrokers’ were smart enough to rig the election so that the Greens would hold the balance of power in the Senate but not smart enough to give themselves an extra seat or two to get over the line?

Vicki PS says:

09:32pm | 26/08/10

I am a confirmed Labor voter, and don’t plan to change from that.  I do, however, agree that the federal ALP needs to have a good hard look at itself.  The campaign just run was a shame and a disgrace to the party: I cannot recall another such half-hearted effort.

What I do not understand, though, is why so many ALP critics pounce on the party’s union connection as though it were some kind of evil backhanded conspiracy.  The ALP and the union movement have common roots and are openly and proudly allied.  No “unholy” alliance here.  Labor party, labour unions—duh?

ricko says:

11:12pm | 26/08/10

I agree Vicki.Both Labor and Liberal have been corrupted by western
Sydney’s disfunctional branches.Some of the candidates and policies are not the aspirations and views of the average aussie.The powerbrokers of both parties have inflated influence and it is showing thru in there campaigns with negativity entrenched.The Christian right faction of the libs need to be unmasked like labors so called faceless men.

Ev630 says:

10:17pm | 26/08/10

You certainly are! And probably incredibly naive with little experience of the world.

I actually think these pea-brained single-issue cross bench spoilers (and I include The Greens) should get as much say on what becomes law over the next few years. Whoever is in government can endure the torment of having their policies watered down or stagnated.

After a few years of this parliamentary inertia and a few unworkable laws plus the impact on the economy of mad ideas from the Greens, the Australian electorate will go back to voting ALP or Coalition and we’ll get a government with a mandate. Perhaps a few show trials of these clowns and the bills sent to the families for the cartridge would be the cherry on the cake, hey comrade?

Rowdy says:

10:30am | 27/08/10

Well…a horse is a horse of course…......of course….

fairsfair says:

02:11pm | 27/08/10

Even if Julia is the one to pronounce “negotiation” ??

Seriously though, is it really so bad to have some money thrown at the bush this one time? I just fail to see how that can be interpreted as being done to “the expense of the rest of the nation”. If the independents go back to their own electorate and make a decision off those people’s preference we really will have the interests of three electorates chosing the future of the country. We will also have a coalition government - which I have no issue with, I voted for them anyway. I truly believe that these guys are taking in the bigger picture. Bob is off to the Murray/Darling for a toursy and they seem to be taking a lot of issues to task. Quite simply, they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

I’ll reitterate something I said in a post yesterday - The bush has always functioned with the decision makers being three idiots from the city who are so far out of touch with the other sides living conditions, making decisions without taking into account the overall impact. Whinge all you want - this is how our constituion works and it certainly isn’t going to change it at this point.