Rebels with a cause rattle Abbott’s plans

Barney Banana says:

06:53pm | 20/09/12

Yeah, because the ALP have never imposed candidates against the wishes of the local branches. And of course all of that shrinking ALP grass roots membership just LOVE it when the Sussex St overlords trample their democratic rights to promote another Union grub, or journalist, or rock star into parliament, instead of someone with genuine commitment and ties to the local communityt.
Who is Peter Garrett, again?

Greeny says:

09:51pm | 20/09/12

Shane From Melbourne, it is not as straight forward as Mal Farr puts it.

The NSW Liberal right-wing finally decides it supports plebiscites in 2012 only because it believes it has the numbers required to win.

This can only mean more Cory Bernardi’s in Parliaments across Australia - more politicans that do not support widely held Australian views but instead their own brand of extremism.

Because of the cancer of branch-stacking, whereby dummy members are temporarily signed up to the party just in time to allow them to vote (as instructed by a factional powerbroker), the democracy that you speak of is illusory. Stacks are convinced to join up but never go on to make a lasting contribution to a party or to our communities. They usually leave not long after a key vote has passed.

A blanket six-month memberhsip rule with a minimum requirement for attendance and activity at party meetings and events is still not enough to cut out this cancer, as is plain to see.

Sadly, all of our political parties face this challenge - balancing democratic membership versus the abuse of these democratic processes by career-driven factional power players.

acotrel says:

06:37am | 21/09/12

‘The rebels want a plebescite of local members in seats to decide who will stand for the Liberals at the election scheduled for late next year. They are fighting the imposition of candidates by the organisation.’

Democracy within the Liberal Party - what next ?
‘We’re not stalinist’  ! !  (says Tony Abbott !)  Ha ! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

The Liberal Party is a bunch of poisonous control freaks !

Christian Real says:

07:55am | 21/09/12

Acotrel
You are so right when you say the Lberal party are ‘control freaks’, one just has to look at the damage that they are causing to Queensland and other States.
The Liberals are also the only political party that sincerely believes that they are born to rule.
Five members of Newmans LNP State Government have even been forced to apologise to parliament, for incorrectly representing the State’s debt level in Parliament.
They are Mark McArdle,Steve Dickson,Ray Stevens, John McVeigh and Darren Grimwade.
“All MPs said Queensland had a $100 billion worth of debt,$35 billion more than it actually is.”
Source: “The Courier Mail”, Newstory: “LNP misleading Qld on debt:opposition”, August 21, 2012 @ 5.25PM
Surf the net and you will also find that Joe Hockey and Tony Abbott have also falsely claimied that Queensland’s debt is $100 billion, when that is a direct lie and not true.
But then,what could you expect of Tony Abbott when he said “Don’t believe everything that I say.”

marley says:

08:17am | 21/09/12

@acotrel and Christian real - have either of you read the analysis of the problems within the ALP by Messrs Bracks, Carr and Faulkner?  They identified one of the biggest problems within that party as being the lack of democracy, the lack of influence grass roots members have on policy direction or candidate selection. 

So, before criticising the Libs, maybe you should get your own house in order.  Frankly, both parties are a disgrace to democratic principles.

acotrel says:

08:39am | 21/09/12

‘Five members of Newmans LNP State Government have even been forced to apologise to parliament, for incorrectly representing the State’s debt level in Parliament.’

Harping about debt levels seems to be standard LNP strategy.  It gives no recognition to the fact that the GFC happened and the paradigm has shifted.  Belt tightening will probably be disastrous in this economic climate, but LNP ambitions are more important than the livelihoods of the battlers.

acotrel says:

09:00am | 21/09/12

@marley
While we are talking about democracy, you might do a search on Wikipedia on Sir Arthur Tange and Brigadier Spry - both inordinately powerful public servants, and no doubt their modern counter parts still exist today. The politics of the fifties involved them and are still seen as the nirvana by the Liberal Party and Abbott.

acotrel says:

09:04am | 21/09/12

Marley, one thing that the unions are not, -  that is undemocratic, even though they can be silly at times.

marley says:

09:46am | 21/09/12

@acotrel - I didn’t say the unions were undemocratic. I said the ALP is undemocratic.  And Bracks, Faulkner and Carr essentially said the same thing.  Take it up with them if you disagree.

Bear says:

12:17am | 21/09/12

@Babble-on, You must have a big backside to be able to pull so much out of it.

Alfie says:

09:13am | 21/09/12

@Bear

Another challenging and well thought out response. Your brain must be in overdrive today.

acotrel says:

09:17am | 21/09/12

We don’t need a Tea Party, we’ve already got one under a different name !

Alfie says:

05:11pm | 21/09/12

Yep Acotrel - The Greens. Loopy as…

acotrel says:

06:42am | 21/09/12

The return to Nauru stll hasn’t covered Howard’s backside against prosecution for human rights abuses, when he denied asylum seekers access to Australian courts to be shown just cause for their imprisonment.  A shameful way to treat people in distress !

marley says:

08:22am | 21/09/12

@acotrel - I find it odd that you criticise Howard for denying asylum seekers on Nauru access to the courts, when the Malaysian solution would have done the same thing. And at this point, it is the intention of the government that asylum seekers sent to Nauru will have access only to the Nauru system and not to the Australian courts.  Whether that is legally sustainable, I don’t know, but that’s their plan.  So, are you calling for Gillard and Bowen to be prosecuted for human rights offences?  If not, why not?

acotrel says:

09:09am | 21/09/12

Marley, the Malaysian option DID NOT HAPPEN !  Nauru DID !  Coulda, woulda, shoulda are irrelevant.  Howard is guilty of human rights abuses.  The High Court decision to give asylum seekers access to the courts proved that his actions were illegal. As a solicitor he knew all about habeas corpus, yet he went right ahead with his cynical agenda to exploit Pauline Hanson’s politics.

acotrel says:

09:14am | 21/09/12

@marley
‘So, are you calling for Gillard and Bowen to be prosecuted for human rights offences?  If not, why not? ‘

Difficult to prosecute someone purely for their intentions ! Howard actually committed an offence under international law.

marley says:

09:43am | 21/09/12

acotrel - you’re missing my point entirely.  You regularly make this complaint about Howard, yet when the Malaysia solution looked like a goer, I didn’t hear word one from you about how unconscionable it would be.  As I don’t hear a word from you now about how Nauru Mark 2 is unconscionable because it denies asylum seekers access to the Australian courts.

If it was wrong for Howard, it’s wrong for Gillard.  And since there are now asylum seekers on Nauru without access to the Australian courts, we are not talking intentions, but acts.  Presumably Gillard is now as much in violation of your hypothetical international law as Howard was.

Tom says:

10:41am | 21/09/12

Aaahh. Ain’t love grand?

Alfie says:

03:11pm | 21/09/12

The blind leading the blind.

Eifla says:

01:15pm | 22/09/12

Liberals = Rebels in need of Anger management