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NSW’s first woman premier - a defeat for feminism

Tory Maguire

by Tory Maguire

04 Dec 05:55am

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Filed under: Feminism, Kristina Keneally, Nsw, Politics

107 comments

What a great moment in history - NSW now has a woman premier and a woman deputy. How inspiring for the young women of NSW, who last night were told by Kristina Keneally “you can do anything.”

I'm nobody's girl, says new NSW premier Kristina Keneally

Eight year old girls can now listen to Ms Keneally’s story about how when she was their age she rang a radio station to put the local bishop on the spot about altar servers and think to themselves “wow, girls really can make a difference.”

“I’m a 40-year-old working mum,” Ms Keneally said last night. Oh blah ... I can’t even pretend to be excited about this.

What a shame a moment that could have been a genuine triumph for women in politics was brought to us by Joe Tripodi and Eddie Obeid.

All they’ve provided NSW with is a fall guy, or girl if you like, who’ll cop it like no tomorrow when she loses the next election.

Ms Keneally’s press conference last night made for bizarre viewing. According to her Nathan Rees was doing a great job under very difficult circumstances.

The reason she’d co-operated with the knifing of someone who was allegedly doing a good job was because it was time for the NSW ALP to “heal”.

The “party had put its trust” in her to “heal” it, said the woman who just a couple of months ago declared she was not interested in the top job and Rees was perfectly safe.

It was all very warm and cuddly, until someone asked her the first question of the night: “Are you Eddie Obeid’s puppet.” No - came the steely response. Now there’s a good sign, I thought to myself.

Then it was back to all the “healing” that was going to go on under her premiership.

No disrespect to Ms Keneally, but if she thinks she’s not premier of NSW on the indulgence of the factional heavyweights, she’s the only one.

This is a premier who starts her stint with one hand tied behind her back. Any authority she possesses has been handed to her by people who wanted Rees gone because he’d taken them on.

It is not within her power to “heal” the NSW ALP. That will only start when they (hopefully) lose the next election, and someone uses defeat to clean the place out.

If Ms Keneally survives the next few months good luck to her. But those looking for a feminist victory to celebrate should probably look elsewhere.

Most commented

347"Gifting", "journey" and other words we hate
292Thomson didn't answer the question everyone is asking
24612 bigger issues than gay change and climate marriage
245A big day for Thomson, who thus far is guilty of nothing...
241They must pay for one's bitter disappointments
224The most laughable, err, spoof since Einfeld
224Punch on: Open thread 17/05/2012
215Punch on: Open thread 18/05/2012

107 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • Bob says:

      06:07am | 04/12/09

      Does this mean we’ll see more shonky Mirvac apartments popping up everywhere?

      Reply

    • Super D says:

      06:10am | 04/12/09

      Tripodi and Obeid got sick of having a premier who had balls.

      Lets not forget hough that Rees was put in place to be a puppet.  He collapsed in a heap when he cut his strings

      Reply

    • T.Chong says:

      06:15am | 04/12/09

      AS an extreme Lefty (of the lost tribe of Fabians), I have to agree with Tory.
      Kristina hasnt made great strides for gender equality, but has shown that in politics, conservative or labor, the ladies are just as capable and willing
      to play the numbers/factions game.
      Rees summed it up nicely - whoever became premier is a puppet of a faction who represent themselves and varios financial backers.
      Her one and only gimmick is to attract female voters, not in a positive way, but in the cynical way of Sarah Palin.
      There is nothing Labor about this new team.
      Shame,shame,shame.

      Reply

    • Female Voter says:

      07:05am | 04/12/09

      @T.Chong, as a female voter I take exception to that.  I haven’t and won’t ever vote along gender lines.  Just as I won’t vote on ethnicity or religion or whatever.  I vote on policy and, it may come as a surprise, whether the candidate lives in the electorate, or in council elections, in the ward.

      On the topic of religion, I do note, however, that it is another out-and-proud church-going Labor politician.

      Are they trying to follow the recipe of Rudd’s success?

    • Bruce says:

      07:36am | 04/12/09

      T.Chong. Agree with you. Lets soften up the NSW voters !! NSW state labor is doing a “Queensland labor”, when the party is in trouble, put in a “pretty face”. That looks after the “sheep” and “oh, is’nt she nice” voters. A puppet leader.  Who is really running the “show” ?

    • Kirk says:

      08:52am | 04/12/09

      Yeah, and four decades later the majority of women want nothing to do with those women who started this ‘war’ you’re talking about (duh!).  For my money the best ‘war’ ever is Klingons vs The Federation in Star Trek.  Seriously dude, you should get into it, it’ll give you something to do in those long stretches of hours when girls (ahem, I mean ‘ladies’) won’t speak to you.

    • Ziggy says:

      09:09am | 04/12/09

      Why do you assume women are stupid? They don’t vote on gender. Amd poor old Palin is being blamed for this as well?

    • Sam of Sydney says:

      06:33am | 04/12/09

      On Feminism:
      How Naive does Ms. Keneally have to be, if she thinks that she can tout her leadership as a feminist victory, or does she think that Eddie Obeid, Joe Tripodi and Matt Brown are all ardent male feminists.

      Though she could ‘Heal’ the party, by callling an election, then get rid of Obeid, Tripodi, Brown, Della, Sartor, and all the other low lives of the NSW ALP. Apart from that, she can just help the party waste more and more of Tax Payers money, to make our problems worse.

      Reply

    • george gorman says:

      06:43am | 04/12/09

      I was never a supporter of Rees until yesterday, his speech (link below) was inspirational, impassioned and highlighted the complete corruption within NSW and NSW labour!
      Kristina is unfortunately, another puppet and has proven before she doesnt like to see dirty linen washed in public, so we will not see the state cleaned up anytime soon.
      http://iseeireportnews.ning.com/forum/topics/corruption-in-australian-nsw

      Reply

    • Jeff from Meroo says:

      06:43am | 04/12/09

      Well I have to say that this past week has been the best week in years for old school NSW Liberals.  First Abbot takes over Federal Opposition just in time to stop the ETS from taxing us all to death and now State Labor, through Reese’s pre-spill speech and Obeid’s placing Keneally onto the Alter of Sacrifice, have been exposed for the self-centred, inept government so publicly and convincingly that the Liberals could run Dennis Ferguson himself and still win in a landslide.

      I’ve had a a smile on my face since 9:55 a.m. Monday.

      Reply

    • hoofman says:

      07:01am | 04/12/09

      You’re dreaming. Abbott’s takeover won’t stop the ETS, only delay it. During the delay the wedge caused by the ETS will work its way deeper into the Liberal Party, and making it more and more unelectable, especially under Abbott’s gauche leadership style. The ETS will pass after the next election, if not before. This is a false dawn for ‘old school Liberals’. It’s really the end for them. Similarly for the NSW Labor right. They’ve increased the likelihood of their destruction due to this revolt.

    • Jolanda says:

      06:55am | 04/12/09

      If the Labor party really wants to heal then they have to have a good look at how they treat the people.  Games have been played by both sides for long enough with the focus on changing the deck chairs instead of changing what is wrong in the administrative process and system.

      Integrity and accountabilty and fair and impartial handling of issues and complaints is what is missing from our Government.  Without procedural fairness and natural justice nothing changes and bullies and those who fail in their duty of care rule.  Surely we want better than that for our children.

      Education - Keeping them Honest
      http://jolandachallita.typepad.com/education/
      Our children deserve better

      Reply

    • Dan says:

      06:57am | 04/12/09

      Too right. The whole thing is a disgrace. I’m an ALP supporter, and I hate the Liberal party, but I almost want them to lose the next election, just so this current generation can be replaced. Keneally’s victory isn’t something that anyone should be proud of. It has nothing to do with feminism, especially since she’s just a puppet.

      Reply

    • Ric says:

      09:59am | 04/12/09

      Dan, you are the reason why this state is in such dire straights, you and those like you that vote solely on party lines rather than on policy, delivery of service and transparency have doomed and will continue to ensure that this once great State of NSW remains the last stop on the train to no where. Just some facts for you to consider. 1.)66,000 people awaiting surgery in NSW - up 9000 from last year. 2.) Northwest Rail Link - First announced 1998, then again in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and again this year, action to date NIL. 3.) Bathurst hospital was built with operating theatres to small for surgical equipment to fit, floors not rated to carry the weight of equipment. 4.) Trains today run slower than the 1950’s. 5.) A bloated bureacracy that eats up Gpvt revenue with no actual service provided for the people of NSW. For every nurse there are 2 administrators in the NSW health service. 6.) Billions in stamp duty earnings collected during 10 years of the property boom have disappeared into PublicPrivate contracts for minimum gain ie: cross city tunnel. Do you need anymore for you to consider voting for someone other than a Labor party member?

      Reply

    • John T says:

      11:28am | 04/12/09

      Ric, you are obviously a clear thinker who believes as I do that governments ought to be held accountable for their performance, and if they underperform, they should be voted out by us the great unwashed.  This is not what a socialist or green voter believes.  They have no inner voice of reason, just the brainwashing line that the party is never wrong and if they are, we rewrite history just like in the novel 1984….We have always been at war with Eurasia.  The Howard government deserved to lose the last election, and the Liberals deserve to lose the next election, due to their poor performance on many levels, the major failure being their lack of understanding that they are not in government anymore, and for the likes of Turnball to pull their head in and get on with it. Like in footy, you have to work twice as hard to get the ball than those holding it do.  The electorate never get it wrong, and the socialists, because that what the ALP is, will soon find this out in NSW.  As for the new premier, I don’t care about her gender, or if she is a puppet, but her voice is already giving me the S#*@s.  It is almost as grating as the Ranga from Melton!!

    • Dan says:

      11:45am | 04/12/09

      So it’s all my fault is it? Maybe the reasons I vote for ALP is because I agree with them philosophically. As it happens I don’t live in NSW, but if I did, as much as I hate the NSW government, why would I vote for the Liberal party if I oppose practically everything it stands for? When one votes for a party to take office, one isn’t simply voting for public servants. A party’s philosophy, or ideology, is vital, whether it be on a social or an economic basis. If I were to vote against ALP, it wouldn’t be for the Liberal party. It would be for the Democrats (if they were still around), an independent, or perhaps even the Greens.

      The truth is, NSW politics is not a choice between a saint and a sinner, so to speak. While the Government is terrible (partly because they’ve been in office for far too long and have become lazy and arrogant and corrupt), I don’t think that the opposition is much better. Which is a shame, but not all that surprising, since I don’t think that NSW has such a great political culture, which is typified by the political stances on law and order issues, such as the Victor Chang controversy.

      Anyway, while I absolutely agree that the NSW government is horrible, corrupt, arrogant and (as I said in my original post) deserves to lose the next election so that the current generation can die out, it does not mean that I would vote for Liberal (I’m tipping the Greens to do extremely well in the next election), and it also does NOT mean that I am, literally or sumbolically, to blame in any way.

    • Super D says:

      12:18pm | 04/12/09

      Dan, voting Labor in NSW in 2011 is the moral equivalent of walking up to strangers in the street and kicking them in the nuts. 

      Stuff your principles - these guys are crooks.  They don’t believe in your principles or at least believe in feathering their own nests a whole lot more. 

      What ever they claim to have been doing the facts on the ground are that they have trashed our once proud state.

      Have a reread of Orwell’s Animal Farm.  NSW is run by Pigs

    • Dan says:

      01:26pm | 04/12/09

      Super D, I would vote against Labor, but I wouldn’t vote for Liberal. I would probably vote for the Greens.

    • Super D says:

      01:32pm | 04/12/09

      The thing is though Dan in the lower house a vote for the greens is a vote for labor.  Though I suppose at least you’re taking your shoes off before kicking us in the nuts.

    • Dan says:

      02:03pm | 04/12/09

      Super D, you’re not exactly making it easy for me! I’m sorry, but while I would be happy to vote for all the minor parties (apart from One Nation and Family First) and for any independent (apart from people like Fred Nile, although he’s not an independent is he?), I am extremely reluctant to vote for the Liberals. If Malcolm Turnbull was in charge, I MIGHT consider it, but certainly not with the current mob.

    • Cuppa says:

      03:16pm | 04/12/09

      Your a fool Dan, & it is dinosaurs like you(& your way of thinking) that is dooming Australia slowly.Open your eyes.Ric, very well said, you summed it up perfectly.

    • Steve says:

      03:42pm | 04/12/09

      Voting for the Greens in 2011 is basically the same as voting for Labor because their preferences flow directly to Sussex St.

      There’s only one way to rid the state of Tripodi and co. and that is to vote for the LP in 2011.

      Reply

    • Dan says:

      09:06pm | 04/12/09

      Cuppa @  04:16pm

      “Your a fool Dan, & it is dinosaurs like you(& your way of thinking) that is dooming Australia slowly.Open your eyes.Ric, very well said, you summed it up perfectly.” Let me get this straight. I’m a fool because I tend to vote for parties whom I philosophically agree with, and against parties that I philosophically disagree with? Does that mean that people who vote against One Nation or Family First because they regard them as extremist are also fools? Unless you are willing to vote for ANY party, including the extreme ones, you’re not exactly in a position to judge.

      The truth is, (almost) everyone has a line they will not cross. Some will never vote for One Nation, some will never vote for the Communist Party, some will never vote for the Greens etc… My line is before the Liberals, and certainly before the current mob. If that makes me a fool in your eyes, then so be it.

    • Steve says:

      09:44pm | 04/12/09

      Greg , Juju and Ric, You guys are on the money. Allow me to add to the list.
      Ric Said:
      1.) 66,000 people awaiting surgery in NSW - up 9000 from last year.
      2.) Northwest Rail Link - First announced 1998, then again in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and again this year, action to date NIL.
      3.) Bathurst hospital was built with operating theatres to small for surgical equipment to fit, floors not rated to carry the weight of equipment.
      4.) Trains today run slower than the 1950’s.
      5.) A bloated bureaucracy that eats up Govt revenue with no actual service provided for the people of NSW. For every nurse there are 2 administrators in the NSW health service.
      6.) Billions in stamp duty earnings collected during 10 years of the property boom have disappeared into Public Private contracts for minimum gain i.e.: cross city tunnel.
      Juju added:
      Peter Debnam lost the last election when he promised to pare back the public service and the Iemma spin doctors ran a scare campaign saying the libs would cut the number of police and nurses. People believed the spin doctors, so live and learn labor voters. You got what you paid for.
      Greg added:
      Well actually they [Liberal] do [Have policies], it’s just that you have to get off your butt and go look for them instead of being spoon fed by the television media which blurts out the latest rumblings from the politburo (oh sorry, NSW Labor).
      So here is my 2 cents:
      7.) to Rics list. North Sydney Hospital. Does any one remember that several Doctors blue the whistle and reported on Surgical Theatres and Wards being closed to make room for offices to house the extra administrators the hospital needed. Does any one find it odd that a whistle blower story was buried on page 14 of the Daily Tabloid?
      Having worked in the public service. Its all a numbers game. If you don’t use the budget you are given then you loose it come next budget cycle. So when you can’t get Professionals like Doctors and nurses & teachers you hire administrators to keep your numbers up. No one tracks metrics like the ratio of bureaucrats to front line staff so its hard to prove that the sort of numbers that Ric highlights.
      8.) Property developers. I’m surprised that Bob Carr gets off so scot free. Its amazing that here we are 14 years after Labour was elected (12 under Bob) that people are only just starting to wake up to the stench of corruption. 14 years ago Bob Carr ran on a platform of making Sydney more medium density to high density housing to cope with the explosion of growth that we were going to have. One of the cornerstones of that platform was to allow mums and dads to be property developers by allowing sub-division…(does any one other than me remember this?)…anyway no sooner did he get in that he promptly reversed this. Many people were caught out.(thank fully not me as I had not had my building approved…sheer luck). Any way does it seem odd that this policy was reversed? In light of Wollongong fiasco it is evident now that this was because Mums and Dads were the main competitors to the big developers….can’t have that…have to protect the slush fund. Oops I forgot Richo did not keep any notes on this so that’s probably how it got missed.

    • Barry Howard says:

      08:43am | 05/12/09

      Agree. However since the Libs are just as bad ( see Askin and Greiner Govts) and are controlled by some seriously fundamentalist “christians” - I suggest a plague on both their houses. Vote 1 Australian Sex Party!

    • Liz says:

      06:58am | 04/12/09

      Why cant it just be a sensible decision for women? Constantly thinking it’s a war and not about humanity is half the problem.

      Reply

    • Eric says:

      07:20am | 04/12/09

      Four decades ago, feminists decided to start a war against men. The damage to society is only starting.

    • Voxpop says:

      08:09am | 04/12/09

      And sadly after 40 years there’s still men around like Eric that believe women should be second class slaves to the men in their lives.  Oh the good old days…

    • T.Chong says:

      08:12am | 04/12/09

      Female Voter 8:05. No need to take exception. Im saying that most women voters are clever enough to see thru this pathetic attempt at trying to bring about gender politics, much the same as the repubs with Sarah Palin.
      Im giving you credit,where/when its due.

      Reply

    • Eric says:

      08:23am | 04/12/09

      Voxpop, prove it.

      When have I ever said that “women should be second class slaves to the men in their lives”? Link, please.

      Or is this just another feminist lie?

    • Pankhurst says:

      09:04am | 04/12/09

      The odious Tripodi and Obeid may be getting the credit, but the real movers and shakers are the NSW cabinet, which as most people know is currently located in Sussex Street.

      If NSW voters are masochist enough to fall for the “feminist” flim-flam at the next election and return the Labor Party, what price Keneally then gets dumped in favour of John Robertson?  After all, he probably thinks its his turn.

      Reply

    • Neil says:

      11:23am | 04/12/09

      Dann perhaps you should read what I said rather than shovel more drivel from the past at people who never participated in what you percieve all men acted in concert to do.

      The main thrust of what I said was that creating inequality achieves nothing in advancing the community as a group. If it is bullying to say we need to think about something then so be it.

      The Anti Islam and Anti Semite comment leaves me wondering what you are off about. If you ever bother to read anything I’ve published you might understand how silly that comment was.

    • Eric says:

      04:26pm | 04/12/09

      Sorry, AliceC, but you’re wrong.

      Feminists have consistently opposed equal rights where they might benefit men - such as in the areas of divorce, child custody, and domestic violence.

      Feminists only seek equal rights when they would benefit women, and always attack men’s human rights.

      Stop listening to the feminist propaganda, and take a look at what’s actually happening in the real world.

    • Neil says:

      09:07am | 04/12/09

      Doesn’t strike me as being what Eric said. Perhaps you aren’t one of those men that worked to support the feminist movement in gaining equal pay for equal work, getting access to loans etc, put up with being overlooked by sexist females when they made job selections….. based on all things being equal the woman gets the job etc (which they are supported by legislation in doing).

      Replacing one kind of cultural inequality that you can work on and get rid of, with a legislated inequality that has no end date is war. Women as you might have noticed out number men in the electorate and will not even discuss the idea of doing away with discrimination in their favour….. does it remind you of what men are supposed to be like.

      The Feminist movement lost my support when they pushed that legislation, it is nothing but sexist rubbish. Eric is quite right unless you are going to tell me that the Feminists equivalent of the Treaty of Versaille is going to convince men that they have equality in the community.

    • Dan says:

      09:12am | 04/12/09

      Indeed Voxpop. Eric, you’re a broken record, and you’re a hypocrite. You moan about the sexism aimed against men, yet you display the most disgusting Islamophobia and Anti-Semtisim. You want to play the victim? Fine, but then at least have the decency and consistency to not play the bully as well.

    • Chase Stevens says:

      09:35am | 04/12/09

      I lol’d Eric, I lol’d hard. If women weren’t being pressed into being ‘at home mothers’ by us men they wouldn’t have had to start a ‘war’. You always seem so hard done by.

    • cats says:

      11:17am | 04/12/09

      oh ffs Eric, because of those women, I (20 year old woman) am allowed to drink in pubs, vote, hold executive positions and many more things. A lot of feminists think it’s a war against men that they have to win, but the very first beginning of feminism was not. You constantly preach “equality” on this website, but then you make comments like these that completely contradict what you claim to represent

    • AliceC says:

      03:53pm | 04/12/09

      Eric, feminism isn’t a war against men, it’s about equal rights for women in all relms. Yes, there are some extremists, as there are in all facets of life.

    • Phil says:

      07:20pm | 04/12/09

      Liz Im with Eric on this one. The new premier is a hack for her men. Feminism has cost you lot more than you will ever know.

      For the record, I am a happily married man, I have a beautiful wife whom I adore. I expect certain things from her, and she expects certain things from me. I wake up to a nice coffee prepared lovingly by my wife. I in turn take her out to dinner and treat her with luxuries whenever the money allows. Our marriage has been hard work, but I will ensure it lasts.

      Many women these days want independance and power, problem is some men dont want that in a woman. That is not saying women cant do well, mind you Gail Kelly at the helm of Westpac hit a lot of women hard with an extra interest rate rise.

      Just like you women dont want ugly fat men, men want a woman who is a woman now some steriod injected one trying to impersonate a man, even dressing and looking like one.

    • hoofman says:

      07:06am | 04/12/09

      This is part of a now familiar pattern for state labor governents. Tired and damaged by scandals after years in office, they run out of male contenders for Premier and install a female just when the polls make an election win look unlikely. Cue Joan Kirner in Vic, Carmen Lawrence in WA, Anna Bligh in Qld. Bligh is the only one to win the election but she currently looks unlikely to survive until the next one. Keneally is the patsy this time, and never has the hand of backroom powebrokers been more obvious in the installation of a Premier. This will play very, very badly in the election to come.

      Reply

    • Diamantina Dick says:

      07:47am | 04/12/09

      Agreed, just to make the electorate feel like they are clubbing a seal if they vote her out. Last act of despicable despiration.

      The electorate needs to tell Labor in no uncertain terms that the brand of politics brought to you by Graheme “Watever it takes” Ricahardson, Bruce “Perception is reality” Hawker and Mark ” The machine runs the Parliament” Arbib that has resulted in the State being a complete laughing stock has to end. The message may need to be delivered Federally as well and it will come quicker because the rest of Australia is a bit sharper than the average NSW voter.

    • Maree says:

      08:01am | 04/12/09

      Agree, This poor women, she is being used a puppet. I feel she knows she is being used. What does that say about NSW Labor. Shameful bunch of dopes !

    • Steve says:

      08:43am | 04/12/09

      I wouldnt say poor women, lets think about , she would never had been premier, in other circumstances, so she becomes the fall guy, will lose election but keep seat, what it does mean because she has been premier, is that her entitlements will increase, whilst a member, and then she she retires from policitcs as a former premier, there are more kickers, so why not be the fall guy, and be happy down the track

    • hoofman says:

      09:32am | 04/12/09

      Steve, while what you say might be true, it’s too cynical to focus on personal financial rewards a politician might receive. I don’t think people are motivated to be political leaders for a better salary or retirement package. They do it because of ego, or because they want to win the jungle warfare. Maybe some of them are actually motivated by sense of public service. Not many, though.

    • Mal says:

      09:40am | 04/12/09

      Yes - if a state party sees fit to give the leadership to a woman you can bet it is because they know they will lose the next election and she will only be in for a short time.
      It is tokenism all the way.

    • Juju says:

      04:50pm | 04/12/09

      She’s obviously expendable.

    • Libbie says:

      08:07am | 04/12/09

      I think it’s pathetic that in 2009 the media still carries on about “the first woman premier”. The same way they carried on when Julia Gillard was the first female acting Prime Minister. Who cares if Kristina Keneally is a woman?! Who cares if she’s pretty?! Who cares if she’s wearing an electric blue suit?! Who cares if she’s got flicked blonde hair?! Let’s in 2009 judge people on performance and not on gender. Keneally has been Premier for about 12 hours. I for one will judge her on her performance and nothing more or less.

      Reply

    • James says:

      08:13am | 04/12/09

      @Liz; She’s the premier of the state of NSW, her job is to lead the government for ALL of the people in NSW. 

      NOT just all of the women in NSW- so her gender is irrelevant.

      It is sad that Keneally felt the need to mention and therefore make an issue of her gender, and that many journalists(not Tory) have done the same.

      Reply

    • mid says:

      08:18am | 04/12/09

      Well personally I think we’ve just had demonstrated to us how meaningless the position of Premier is in NSW. The ALP needs to get it’s act together and demonstrate to us some electoral control over what goes on. And as for Keneally, having seen her responses to the McGurk Inquiry, there is no way on earth that we can ever trust her to ‘heal’ anything

      Reply

    • Tanya Barber says:

      08:27am | 04/12/09

      how can anybody be a catholic and a feminist? Catholicism is a misogynistic belief system - designed to keep women subjugated to men

      Reply

    • SR says:

      08:57am | 04/12/09

      Marriage is also a misogynistic belief but how many women do that? But I guess on the flip side females are asking for the right to marry females, and males are asking for the right to marry males, so I guess that marriage can now be crossed of the list of being misogynist. Thank “God” for that. wink

    • Razor says:

      11:30am | 04/12/09

      Marriage is a misogynistic belief?

      Been invovled in any weddings lately - the bloke doesn’t get much of a look in.  Same with pregnancy and child birth.  All the fella has to do is turn up on time, sober and appropriately dressed.

      I know who wears the pants in my house and it ain’t me.

    • Anna says:

      12:38pm | 04/12/09

      Keneally wrote her Master’s on the way women are viewed within the Church. It would probably be a good read. She’s a strong advocate for involving women more and giving women equal opportunity. Just because you believe in a particular religion that doesn’t mean you agree with everyone else who believes it. That’s like saying that every feminist agrees with Germaine Greer.. just because they share common base beliefs, that doesn’t mean that the conclusions they reach are the same. My many gay Catholic friends are a testiment to this: they believe in God and the Bible, but they interpret it differently.

    • Little Miss Scifi says:

      08:32am | 04/12/09

      You’re absolutely right Tory.

      Reply

    • Dave B says:

      08:37am | 04/12/09

      And just to prove independence, Keneally rules out Tripodi for cabinet.

      Shucks. He must be bummed. All that power and now no responsibility.

      Reply

    • Joe Stephens says:

      08:38am | 04/12/09

      Doesn’t the fact that NSW’s first woman premier was given her job by men solely as a political stunt, take away from the “feminist” angle?

      Reply

    • Patrick says:

      08:52am | 04/12/09

      Agree. I consider myself a traditional Labor supporter, but I can tell you if I lived in NSW I would be preferencing even the Liberal party over this bunch of fools. Rees was just starting to grow on me and had proven he had a pair when he took on the factional heavyweights last week, and yesterday when he made his 11th hour speech. He was attempting to stop the rot that had taken over the party and the government.

      So what do the factions do? They dump him and install some puppet because they are more interested in maintaining their place in the pecking order than in good governance.

      This is not the progressive party I believe in, this is a corrupt, malignant cancer on society, not fit to hold the title “government”. Let this situation be a warning to all those who advocate fixed terms, I’m sure betting the people of NSW regrett endorsing them in that refferendum.

      I hold no love for the Coalition, but surely anything is better than this. I sincerely hope Labor is reduced to a pathetic rump for their breathtaking arrogance come 2011, and I suspect the Greens will even pick up a few lower house seats from dissafected Labor voters.

      Reply

    • D'oh says:

      09:38am | 04/12/09

      “I lived in NSW I would be preferencing even the Liberal party over this bunch of fools”
      [jaw drop]
      [pick’s jaw off floor]
      Are you feeling okay Patrick?
      Seriously though, the electorate got exactly what they voted for.  The responsibility therefore lies with the electorate to do something about it.  Email/write/call the governor, a few thousand complaints in a few days should force Bashir’s hand and if not, then you will know how deep the corruption runs.

    • Patrick says:

      10:24am | 04/12/09

      I think this is a case where all people of good will and with half a brain across the political divide can recognize a truly corrupt and useless government when they see it.

      But I don’t know that there is much the governor can really do.

      Theoretically yes, Bashir has the power to dismiss the government, but our democratic system and that of the Westminster system in general is built largely on convention, and convetion holds that although the governor does hold extraordinary executive powers, they never excercise them except on the advice of the government of the day.

      If the governor took an active role in politics and overuled the government of the day or dissmissed them simply because he/she didn’t like what they where doing, then we would effectively have real political power resting with an unelected despot. It would be like the Queen/King of England flying to australia and disolving parliament or overuling bills because they disagreed with them.

      But it is my opinion that this has really gone too far, the corruption and rot runs too deep, and the governor would be entirely justified in disolving the government if enough of the community expressed their view that it should happen. If it doesn’t happen, then I could hardly blame Bashir for not doing it, because the governor is very strongly bound by convention.

      But it isn’t as though it is not unprecedented. Kerr did it (in cricumstances I believe where unjustified, but that’s another matter) and in this case Bashir would be completely justified in doing it, but there would probably need to be a constitutional impasse for it to happen. I don’t know who controls the balance of power in the senate but i’m getting to the point where I think that the opposition/the holders of the BoP should start deliberatly blocking supply with the shameless intention of forcing the governor’s hand and calling a DD.

      Reply

    • Patrick says:

      11:27am | 04/12/09

      Rather…forcing the governors hand to dissmiss the government and set a date for an immediate election. The governor of course does not call DDs.

    • Frankie V. says:

      04:46pm | 04/12/09

      The problem is that even if the ALP take a bath at the next election, the “pathetic rump” will still contain the Member for Fairfield and Eddie Obeid MLC.

    • ChrisG says:

      09:01am | 04/12/09

      Is Ms Keneally the NSW ALP Right’s “Stepford Wife” Premier? That’s what she now has to disprove.

      And here’s the first reason to doubt her claim not to be the ALP Right’s robotic creation. She claims to be a feminist but also a devoted Catholic. Her Catholic programming means she is unable to compute that loyalty to an institution that teaches that subservience for women is in the God-given order of creation, and therefore of church authority, is inconsistenty with a claim to champion women’s equality. That programming allows her to be the smiling female face for Benedict XVI on his recent visit to Australia.

      If she is unable to understand that she lives that contradiction, my guess is that she can believe she is not the robotic creation of the NSW ALP Right.

      Reply

    • m.streeton says:

      09:05am | 04/12/09

      I am an independent working woman,mother,and partner to a wonderful intellient man. We are baby boomers and are well aware of feminism and its many achievements and its many disappointments. The common response to a comment such as Eric’s is an emotional attack crying fowl and citing the rights or lack of rights of women. I feel that women at this time have more rights then men and we should really be looking for equality of both sexes. We have to leave the 60-70’s in the past and work at equality now.

      Reply

    • Anna says:

      12:43pm | 04/12/09

      I have no way to prove it, but I have a very strong hunch this is written by a man. How do women have more rights than men? All laws in our society are geared toward equality and a lack of sex discrimination. If a man feels he has been discriminated against, he has as much right as anyone to lodge a complaint with HREOC. So I would say we are already working at equality, but part of that is acknowledging where equality still does not exist. Unfortunately for your argument, the statistics tend to point to women being the ones who are still disadvantaged. As someone who has been discriminated against many, many times for being a woman, both overtly and covertly, I have to disagree with you.

    • Damien says:

      03:57pm | 04/12/09

      As a male who is regularly discriminated against, I have to disagree with you.  Male’s are generally laughed at if we mention sexual discrimination, or my favourite female response: “Males have had it good for too long, it’s out turn now”.
      Modern feminism would make the feminists of the 60s and 70s cringe.

    • m.streeton says:

      08:29pm | 04/12/09

      Anna why do you think I must be a man? I have been in the workforce in a female dominated environment since I was 17. I experienced more discrimination during this time from colleagues than I have in my life from men. I have never allowed myself to be put down by anyone and know I am a strong independent woman. I never took no for an answer when I had a goal. I bought a house as a single woman and raised four children. To suceed takes tolerance,compromise,understanding and a lot of stuboness. I have raised my daughter to know no boundaries and the same for my sons.

    • thatmosis says:

      09:59am | 04/12/09

      Queensland has had a “female’ premier since Beattie fled the scene and if thats any gauge of what females can do for a state then woe betide NSW. Of course she could take lessons from our Anna on how to wear a hardhat which in reality is a turtle shell she disappears into every night.

      Reply

    • Az says:

      10:00am | 04/12/09

      State labor = Fed labor = Useless = A bad future for Australia

      Reply

    • Bateman says:

      10:10am | 04/12/09

      You whinge when there are no women there and then you whinge when there is because it’s not to your liking…..

      Every politician is a puppet of the factions/unions/political donors/self-interest group/religious group that put them there. It’s how the system works

      Get a clue and get over it.

      Reply

    • T.Chong says:

      10:25am | 04/12/09

      Whats happening to the threads this am? I aint said half the things i seem to be creditted with.
      SR 9:57am , OK I’ll bite. The old “marriage =misogyny/women as property ” BS. Sounds like Feminism 101 from about 20 years ago.
      Very sorry for you, or if you know somone(s) who’ve done it tough, but as someone with same partner of 26yrs(since teens) I cant see how you can justify yur claim. Thats as stupid as claiming that anyone not in a relationship, het or gay, must be a serios low life , who dont desrve anyone.
      Hets can be just as equal, just as happy as any lesbian or gay couple.

      Reply

    • SR says:

      11:00am | 04/12/09

      Don’t feel sorry for me T.Chong, I was simply indicating a historical fact that religion and marriage are interlinked and both are generally misogynist in their origin.

      Marriage has been modified slightly these days to basically say that the man “gives” himself to a woman and a woman “gives” herself to a man. The word “give” in the English language indicates a transfer of “property”. The basics have never really changed all that much and probably never will.

      I might also point out that there has been widespread opposition to legitimising same sex marriage in general because of this link which is what I was skirting around in my previous comment.

      I also was not discussing happiness because as you well know happiness is in the eye of the beholder and has nothing to do with a relationship of any type between two or more people as people can be sad or happy in a relationship.

      I am glad that you are happy in you long lasting relationship but you should not confuse your individual emotional contentment with the basic meanings and foundations of institutions like the church and marriage.

      * BTW I am not religious, nor against relationships of any kind – I just like a good debate.

    • Richard says:

      10:46am | 04/12/09

      KK is a creature of the NSW Labor Right - the people who have given us a collapsing public transport system, over crowded hospitals and crumbling schools. We need an election to throw this miserable lot out of office. Our new Premier is all care, no responsibility.

      Reply

    • Razor says:

      11:37am | 04/12/09

      Remember - the Voters are always right.  And there is only one poll that counts.

      Reply

    • Julie Coker-Godson says:

      01:01pm | 04/12/09

      No, the voters are not always right.  Look at the situation we are in now in NSW precisely because of the voters.

    • SR says:

      11:45am | 04/12/09

      “I know who wears the pants in my house and it ain’t me.”

      Doesn’t a statement like that somewhat invalidate the implied degradation of female power used for the title of this article, “NSW’s first woman premier - a defeat for feminism”?

      You could almost change the title to “America’s first African American President – a defeat for blacks” (pardon the language but just making a point!). After all BO inherited a political nightmare in economic terms, regardless of what persuasion of politics you follow.

      Reply

    • Newcastle Lady says:

      12:12pm | 04/12/09

      I live in Newcastle N.S.W . my town is traditionally a safe Labor seat. Mainly because the Liberal Party while in Governemnt both State and Fedral has done nothing for us. But “oh boy” the next State election will be a hard one. While I am loyal , I am not a fool and I have seen N.S.W sink into a big hole. I certainly can’t vote for Liberal because after this bloody disgusting mess in Canberra, I would not trust them to run a chook raffle. So I guess my vote goes green.
      I like the fact that we have a female premier but that American accent is a dead turn off. Yes I like Americans but I like em in America and not running our country

      Reply

    • Anna says:

      12:47pm | 04/12/09

      She’s half-Australian and I find your comment discriminatory. Replace “American” and “America” with “Chinese” and “China” or “African” and “Africa” and you’ll see why it’s racist. Her grandmother was Australian and her mother Australian and she’s given up her American citizenship. He accent isn’t even full American, it’s half/half American/Australian. Her accent wouldn’t fit in anywhere but I don’t think people should be voted out because people don’t like their voice. Seriously.

    • Libbie says:

      01:17pm | 04/12/09

      I wondered when someone would resort to racism - yes having a go at Americans is just as racist as having a go at any nationality. The fact is Ms Keneally is Australian and has been for a decade. She has an Australian mother and long family ties here. Yes, she was born in the States, but so what? Are those of us who were born overseas and chose to be proud Aussies unworthy? Join us here in 2009 please!

    • Julie Coker-Godson says:

      12:18pm | 04/12/09

      Your’re right there Mid:  the office of NSW Premier has now been thoroughly devalued together with so called parliamentary process because of the “Gang of Three” behind this latest fiasco.  No one wins in this situation, least of all the long suffering NSW voter who has sod all to choose from as an alternative government.  What I want to see is a massive landslide defeat of this incumbent state government and we voters take a deep breath and take our chances with another party or combinations of.  Needs some serious thought on my part at least as to who I would vote for.  I don’t vote along party lines, but along merit, performance lines because that is what affects us in NSW at the end of the day.

      Reply

    • Carl Palmer says:

      12:29pm | 04/12/09

      You are right, Rees stood on a few toes and dented a few serious egos. However it did show his immaturity and the complete lack of political shrewdness. I’m sure he meant well but not the smartest thing to have done. It wasn’t smart politics particularly if you didn’t have the numbers behind you.

      No doubt Keneally was watching the Rees demise unravel and would be well aware of the heavyweights - no pun intended - the power brokers. But isn’t that what politics is all about? Keeping your friends close and your enemies closer? Been politically switched on and able to get things done whilst manoeuvring around the various factions? Tough – absolutely. Is she aware that one hand is currently tied behind her – absolutely. She would have accepted the role knowing full well the lay of the land – and it’s very very ugly.

      Finally I really do get sick of people trotting out the feminist thing – I wish it would just go away because it is really irrelevant.  It’s dumb. If she can do the job then good on her, I genuinely hope she does. Unfortunately she won’t have the time to turn these boof heads around because these people are in one huge quagmire, swimming in our largess and unable to move. A thorough Macquarie Street cleanout is required.

      Reply

    • mid says:

      12:40pm | 04/12/09

      Come on Rees, I’m sick of waiting. They’ve stabbed you in the back, now where’s the dirt?

      Reply

    • Dan says:

      12:41pm | 04/12/09

      Neil @  12:23pm “Dann perhaps you should read what I said rather than shovel more drivel from the past at people who never participated in what you percieve all men acted in concert to do.

        The main thrust of what I said was that creating inequality achieves nothing in advancing the community as a group. If it is bullying to say we need to think about something then so be it.

        The Anti Islam and Anti Semite comment leaves me wondering what you are off about. If you ever bother to read anything I’ve published you might understand how silly that comment was.” I was actually responding to Eric, which is why I addressed my commen to Eric. My comments about his Islamophobia/anti-semitsm/bullying stands. Perhaps you could note whom responses are directed at, and if they are not directed at you, do NOT act as if they are! If you had bothered to read that I had addressed my response to Eric, you would understand how silly your post is!!

      Reply

    • Botfly says:

      03:33pm | 04/12/09

      SM Who are you to call people racist because they like the sound of their own accent in government? We are Australians mate , not Americans. Most of us like Americans and we think they are just great running their own country but we want to run ours. Labor has lost my vote

    • SM says:

      12:45pm | 04/12/09

      The fact that you are so totally narrow minded (and likely racist) as to judge a prospective candidate on the basis of their accent, renders your other opinions as, well, meaningless

      Reply

    • Newcastle Lady says:

      01:37pm | 04/12/09

      SM i have no idea who you addressed this to but if its me..firstly and foremost, I as a voter am more worried about the mess in N.S.W, but I the people who are serving us in Government to have the same accent as me..call me odd I really don’t care. Thats not a priority for me anyway. My biggest worry are the sex scandles and all the other rubbish thats gone on, while N.S.W falls into a big hole. An MP in an area near us Milton Orkopoulos was jailed for child sex and drug charges and you want me to vote for them? Give me a break. But our Fedral MP Sharon Grierson is a real gem and she will definatly get my vote

    • Newcastle Lady says:

      02:07pm | 04/12/09

      How dare you call me racist!! You don’t even know me. I live in Australia and I expect my Government to be Australian. And alot more are like me. I don’t care where they come from originally..we all came from somewhere else. But beg borrow or steal and Aussie accent . We have too many good people who are Aussies who can do the job..now I am not replying to you again and you just sealed the deal for me and my friends who feel the same as I do .. we will not vote labor now.. thank you have a nice day

    • BW says:

      01:19pm | 04/12/09

      Tory, fair point. But what would really get the message out to Obeid and Tripodi they they are “persona non grata” in parliament is for the Libs, Nats, Greens and everyone else to put them (and them only) dead last on their how-to-vote cards at the next election. Never mind the Shooters Party, One Nation, Citizens Electoral Council or the whackiest political outfits. Make a stand and show you’ve got guts. And to NSW voters: if the political parties won’t put O & T last, do it yourself. After all, it’s your vote!

      Reply

    • Harry says:

      01:20pm | 04/12/09

      Kristina Keneally has told her wimmin colleagues “you can do anything”.

      She’s gone part way by knocking off Nathan Rees a couple of days after Tony Abbot knocked off Malcolm Turnbull.

      I would assume she’ll follow through by releasing some pics of herself on the beach stripped down to some Abbotesqe budgie smugglers.

      Reply

    • LAWSON says:

      12:11pm | 07/12/09

      Not to mention…[meeting with carcass] oops…. may-be she was very tired and accidently pronounced the word wrongly??  or maybe… Ms Kristina Keneally meant to say caucus…...NO,NO, NO I go with the first spelling.  Perhaps she is really telling the truth,i.e. to say that…she is carrying out the job of politics, doing her job with honesty and integrity… to the best of her ability…and that she is really having a meeting with a lot of dead carcass as aired on the ABC/SBS late news….

    • Pedro says:

      02:10pm | 04/12/09

      The problem with politics around the states is that there are not eough competent people willing to stand for public office. Neither side of politics is up for the job, which is another good reason for abolishing state governments. Political parties are full of life members who have no worldly experience running anything except the local party fundraiser.

      Reply

    • Blossom says:

      02:11pm | 04/12/09

      Sorry I agree with Newcastle Lady, while its nice to have a female doing the job, the accent is a turn off. New South Wales Goverment is a disgrace and the whole of Australia knows it and no they won’t get my vote either. I was until I read some of these comments a labor voter.

      Reply

    • Bigboomer says:

      02:13pm | 04/12/09

      With all the good Aussies women out there, why have a yank? My choice will now be green

      Reply

    • soultrader says:

      03:08pm | 04/12/09

      There are some here that claim they vote on performance. In that case, if all voters voted with their heads, the NSW Labor Party’s days are well and truly numbered.
      I wish it were the same here in SA. Please don’t anybody vote for personalities or pretty faces or for loyalty - just vote on performance. Then we may get the government we need, and not deserve.
      I know some people can not overcome their ideologies and allegiances BUT until they do, we will get the rubbish we have today.
      A classic example is the National Labor Party not running candidates in the by-elections this week in “safe” Liberal seats. The Liberals do the same.
      Can anybody besides me see that these 2 powerful political groups, share power bewteen themselves and will not share with anyone else. Talk about stable government.
      Well over the next 12 months we all have the opportunities to turn these smug bastards on their heads.
      Stand Up Australia and take your country back.

      Reply

    • Cricketor says:

      03:25pm | 04/12/09

      Can anyone give me an example of of an Australian accented American in Government in the USA? If not there is your reason for many feeling its not acceptable. But its nice to see a women leading any state of Australia. But she will not be getting my vote, Labor has had its day here and its not been a bed of roses for the State

      Reply

    • Steve Smith says:

      03:55pm | 04/12/09

      Arnold Schwarzenegger is a perfect example of an Austrian accented American in Government in the USA.

      Why is it nice to see a woman leading the state if, 1. she didn’t win the position and 2. is just a puppet with ability to play the female card at the next election?

    • Eric says:

      03:33pm | 04/12/09

      I am proudly anti-Islam. Islam is an ideology that preaches destruction of all that is not Islam, and puts that belief into practice.

      I am not anti-Semitic. This term applies to discrimination and hatred against a particular ethnic group, and I have never done so. That is a foul lie, and unless you can prove it, you should withdraw it.

      Reply

    • iansand says:

      05:58pm | 04/12/09

      You are not anti-Islam.  You are anti -Wahhabist.  It’s just that you don’t know enough to realise that.  It is like saying you are anti-Christian because of the Branch Davidians, or some other apocalyptic Christian sect.

    • Dan says:

      09:14pm | 04/12/09

      Eric, the fact that you say that you are proudly anti-Islam shows that you a bigot. The fact that you utilise those nonsensical and ridiculous ‘reasons’ shows how massively ignorant you are. But then again you believe that man-made global warming is a conspiracy, so why aren’t I surprised?!

      As for anti-Semitism, you compared ‘practising Nazis’ (which is actually stupid since one is either a Nazi or not) to ‘practising Muslims.’ The fact that you would compare practising Nazis to practising Muslims (or practising members of any religion) IS anti-semitic.

      It IS also expressing hatred towards a particular group (what do you think, comparing Muslims to Nazis is an expression of love towards Muslims?!) The fact that you would express such vile hatred towards a religious group, but then self-righteously deny it, shows that you are a seriously disturbed individual.

    • LAWSON says:

      10:22pm | 06/12/09

      Yep!  If you want to draw attention to yourself, make a statement, have one focus and one focus only..(not that it is a political statement.  Gosh we can’t help it if are politics and religion are so tightly screwed together!!!)  women cover up please!!!faces covers too!!!!  Men, well you adapt to what ever clothing you prefer…..or what ever blends into the crowd..thank-you

    • iansand says:

      03:40pm | 04/12/09

      I’m glad commentary on politics has at last reached a high level.  Getting excited about accents.

      Reply

    • Juju says:

      03:43pm | 04/12/09

      Great comment Ric, at 10:59am | 04/12/09—- On point 5 —- ‘5.) A bloated bureacracy that eats up Gpvt revenue with no actual service provided for the people of NSW. For every nurse there are 2 administrators in the NSW health service. ’—- Peter Debnam lost the last election when he promised to pare back the public service and the Iemma spin doctors ran a scare campaign saying the libs would cut the number of police and nurses. People believed the spin doctors, so live and learn labor voters. You got what you paid for.

      Reply

    • Barry says:

      04:21pm | 04/12/09

      So pearl clutchers such as Helen Coonan and Bronwyn Bishop are positive alternative role models? Give me a break. Tory, it’s what side of politics she represents that you take exception to.

      Reply

    • D'oh says:

      05:18pm | 04/12/09

      Sorry Pedro, but Rees was starting to look competent and look what happened to him.

      Can’t have a competent comrade making the terrible trio look bad now can we….

      Reply

    • Kinny says:

      11:32am | 05/12/09

      Labor is bad government at any level, why we vote for them is a mystery.

      Reply

    • newcastleboy says:

      10:06pm | 27/02/10

      To Newcastle Lady, who says she doesn’t want to vote Liberal: you don’t have to, choose someone who is preferencing someone other than Labor. I’m really envious of Maitland, all the infrastructure they’ve got, because they’ll threaten to change their vote once in a while (the last time we did that in Newcastle was in 1988 at a State level, electing an Independent, George Keegan, in Lake Macquarie we elected Mr Piper in 2008), but Federally, Newcastle has been Labor for 109 years **No joke*, so yes I will be voting anything but Labor, both State and Federal - I’m hoping enough Novocastrians will look forward to Maitland’s example - whole government departments moved, performance theatres getting new $40,000 kitchens (wouldn’t happen in Newcastle), road improvements. People complain about the Liberals wanting to do nothing, and why would they when Novocastrians are silly and keep voting the inept ALP back in election after election - the same thing happens in safe Liberal electorates, so if you want change (think locally for a change, not about your Tony Abbotts or Barry O’Farrell - they’re simply personalities and not local representatives) - how good is your local ALP representative? Are they worth voting for next election? If you think not, then change your vote. I compare Newcastle’s circumstances as having John Howard in for 40 elections because it really is the same principle, why keep rewarding one political party which has delivered very little, when a swinging seat can deliver a hell of a lot - again I refer to what has happened in Maitland.. why do you think we still have railways gates and not overhead bridges - it’s not hard to image why living in a 109 years’ safe Labor electorate or a 20-21 year State ALP electorate.. Heck even Piggy Baldwin has done more than what happens in Newcastle

      Reply

    • Connie says:

      06:00am | 21/11/11

      Ya learn somheting new everyday. It’s true I guess!

      Reply
 
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