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Watching them do it online, as Labor did it to the nation

Joe Hildebrand

by Joe Hildebrand

03 Sep 05:55am

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Filed under: Election 2010, Labor Factions, Nsw Labor, Nsw Right, Paul Mccleay

74 comments

Let’s face it: What Paul McLeay’s done isn’t the worst thing in the world. It isn’t even the worst thing in the NSW Government.

This isn't a caption competition either.

The now former minister was summarily shafted—an activity with which he is apparently familiar—by Premier Kristina Keneally after being busted looking at porn and gambling on his parliamentary computer.

There is no question that his behaviour was stratospherically stupid, but again, these days that is more a pre-requisite for getting into Cabinet than being booted out of it.

McLeay said at the time of his resignation: ``As a minister I accept that I am held to a higher standard.’’ In fact nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, statistically speaking, you are far more likely to find a pervert, crook or deviant in the NSW Cabinet than you are in the general population.

I am told lists are very popular these days so let us refresh our memories. Over the last 10 years or so we have had:

1 One minister jailed for paedophilia

2 Two ministers accused of bashing their wives or girlfriends

3 One minister dumped for dancing in his parliamentary underpants while reportedly declaring to an MP’s daughter that he was ``titty-f***ing’’ her mum

4 One minister accused of sexually assaulting a Democrat staffer while an MP

5 One minister dumped for verballing a restaurant owner to get his wife off the hook from bullying waiters

6 The same minister dumped again for shagging a chick half his age

7 One minister dumped for visiting a gay sex club

8 One minister dumped for travel rorts

9 One former minister exposed for having a secret love child

10 A parliamentary secretary dumped for cooking her books

Quite frankly, compared to this any NSW minister who whiles away their time looking at porn and playing online poker deserves to be Australian of the Year.

And this is the truly, brutally crushing thing for any Labor supporter left in NSW. They have a State Government which knows only how to cannibalise itself while sinking lower and lower into a filthy pit of sleaze and corruption. If someone wrote a screenplay about the last five years of the ALP it would be rejected by every studio in Hollywood because nobody would believe a Government could be that filthy.

And yet far from being amputated like a gangrenous limb, somehow the NSW model of governance has been allowed to infect federal Labor and bring it crashing to its knees.

Only a year ago the Rudd Government was almost unbelievably popular and literally bursting with talent—men and women whose names were bywords for integrity, a cluster of future prime ministers.

Then Kevin Rudd was dragged into the morass of NSW politics and used as a weapon in a war between Mark Arbib and Joe Tripodi. But the attempt to roll Tripodi backfired, and a furious Rudd—left looking both tarnished and impotent—backed away from Arbib. Whether he knew it or not, this was the moment from which he was going to get rolled as soon as his popularity dipped—the only trick NSW Labor now knows.

Now Julia Gillard, once an inspirational figure defined by her loyalty, appears weak, desperate and duplicitous and the nation’s first female prime minister instead of being a source of celebration is, for many, a source of shame.

Undoubtedly Bill Shorten, who convinced her to knife Rudd, will soon enough step over her carcass to seize the Labor leadership. He will be fought tooth and nail by Greg Combet and there will be another certain bloodbath.

The highly intelligent and talented Tony Burke should be PM one day but ironically he will be weakened by his NSW Right power base, which is now so on the nose within caucus it may never fully recover.

The nation was stabbed in the heart with the knifing of Kevin Rudd, it now has no Government at all, and the ALP has burned five leaders to a crisp. All because of a criminally naive act of dick-swinging straight out of the NSW Right playbook.

And they sacked Paul McLeay for looking at a few pictures.

Most commented

431Australia, you have nothing to fear but fear itself
390There's no one Thomson won't burn to save his skin
336Animal experiments won't cure me from cancer
313Thomson didn't answer the question everyone is asking
266Who murdered the Arts degree?
246A big day for Thomson, who thus far is guilty of nothing...
231South Australia. It's the middle bottom bit.
231Craig Thomson speaks. Meanwhile, in Australia...

74 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • iansand says:

      07:07am | 03/09/10

      You mean all this is real?  I thought I was watching a soap opera.

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      07:08am | 03/09/10

      Oh, those Labor poliies!  We should all vote for the coalition? Perhaps we should legislate to have all policies proclaimed during election campaigns, to be assessed by treasury?

      Reply

    • Macca says:

      08:09am | 03/09/10

      “Perhaps we should legislate to have all policies proclaimed during election campaigns, to be assessed by treasury?”

      @Acotrel, no opposition party has ever done this, and the assumptions Treasury makes for budgets are also not available to the opposition.

      Also, as there is a huge political advantage being the incumbent and having this additional treasury benefit, the situation is unlikely to change

    • MarK says:

      08:12am | 03/09/10

      Sigh.

      You really don’t get it do you.

      To stoop to your level of incomprehension and ability to ramble off topic lets do what you suggest and start with the NBN.

    • Jane says:

      10:14pm | 03/09/10

      anagram of acotrel?

      Ear Clot.  I’d get that seen to if I were you.  It could be terminal.

    • Tedd says:

      07:13am | 03/09/10

      ” .. his behaviour was stratospherically stupid, but again, these days that is more a pre-requisite for getting into Cabinet than being booted out of it.”

      Good point.

      What is it that forms the morality and ethics of most of those who seek political office , ignore the basic tenets of service to the people, ‘ad-minister’ and mis-administer it, this highlighting their immorality and unethical foundations?

      Reply

    • PaulB says:

      05:07pm | 03/09/10

      Ever wondered why so many who get ahead politically seem so open to compromise these days?  Would they get there if they weren’t?  I doubt it, it would cost too much for them not to have a price for some players.

    • PJ says:

      07:20am | 03/09/10

      Hi Joe. Excellent article; unfortunately so true. In NSW we get on despite them. They embarrass me. Re Federal Labor—-iv’e watched Mr Arbib answer questions in the Senate and could not believe just how STUPID he is. Add Bitar and Slill Shorton and you have the recipe for another Labor disaster. Regards.

      Reply

    • Joshua says:

      08:03am | 03/09/10

      Labor NSW needs a long long time on the sideline.

      Labor Ministers and members aside, the rot has infested the bureaucracy now. Clearing that out will take a long hard push against ingrained vested interests.

      Barry’s got a big job ahead of him.

      Reply

    • Against the Man says:

      08:06am | 03/09/10

      A bunch of my son’s uni friends came over for dinner the other night most of them were international students. What they said was that Australian politics and politicians were becoming laughing stocks worldwide. They basically say they don’t understand how Australians can support a person like Gillard who has very little dignity is all aspects of her life. I had little to say because they were right. Thanks ALP for playing a big part in losing the dignity in Aussie politics.

      Reply

    • T.Chong says:

      09:32am | 03/09/10

      “They” said that AtM?  Gosh, Oh Golly, what to do?  These foreign students seem to be terribly judgemental about Gillard, no dignity etc.
      Did you tell them about, Abbotts made for TV , long lost family reunion that wasnt? - now that was dignified.
      Dont forget Little J.Howard running around being GWBs deputy?,
      how about Menzies with “I did but see her passing by…, ”  (The footage showed even Her Maj squirmed with that one.)
      Yes AtM , noble dignified stuff from the Libs

    • Tedd says:

      09:35am | 03/09/10

      I think Gillard comes across as being quite charming and also quite considered; whether that is facade or real is hard to tell.  She was put in a difficult position with regard to Rudd,s ousting by both the party machine and Rudd,s underlying persona and ultimate failing. But do you mean her de facto relationship and atheism?

    • Macca says:

      10:13am | 03/09/10

      @AtM, from what countries were they from? I’d say compared to the US republican hangover of George Bush, the hung parliament in the UK, 5 PMs in 4 years in Japan, Widespread protectionism in China, Nicholas Sarkozy and Slivio Berlusconi, Julia is doing alright.

      If I throw Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Iran, South Africa, Zimbabwe, North Korea, Libya and Turkey in there for a bit of Corruption / anti-Democracy, I think we could be a lot worse

    • MarK says:

      10:47am | 03/09/10

      Lol Chongy anti-channel of Bob Menzies.

      Did the Liberals do something wrong in biblical times too that we can bring in?

      You crack me up

    • T.Chong says:

      11:45am | 03/09/10

      Well MarK, some things are simply timeless.

    • MarK says:

      01:42pm | 03/09/10

      So are some psychiatric conditions.

    • Randal says:

      03:19pm | 03/09/10

      So Chong the best you can come up with in regards to Liberal misbehavior is Abbott trying to do the right thing by a child that turned out to not even be his, John Howard supporting our long time and most important global alliance and a former PM showing his mark of respect for the monarch of this nation, at a time when respect actually mattered.

      I tell you what when compared to the list that Joe has displayed in relation to the ALP in just a single State over a five year period I think it is safe to say which party wins the integrity States.

      Unless of course you think supporting a child, a global alliance and showing respect to a world leader is worse than things like sourcing child pornography or bashing a women, which appears to be what you are saying Chong.

      If so mate, then I suggest that you should sign up with the ALP in NSW, with an attitude like that you should be a Minister in no time!

    • john says:

      04:00pm | 03/09/10

      Rubbish, most people outside Australia couldn’t tell you the name of the PL let alone comment on his or her personal attributes.  No one cares.

    • Foreigner says:

      06:06pm | 03/09/10

      @ john

      That’s very true.  I don’t even know what a PL is!

    • Tony says:

      06:17pm | 03/09/10

      Chong, the story was about Labor pedophiles, bashing women, stealing from taxpayer, abusing and bullying waiters, corruption and now laziness and stupidity.
      All of this done by LABOR MP’s, but somehow, you think its all the Liberals fault ????
      Keep bleating “four legs good (labor) two legs bad” if it makes you feel better.

    • Joan says:

      06:19pm | 03/09/10

      Interesting that young students pass judgment on someone’s life style. Most of them live with someone they aren’t married to.
      Did you ask them if they have dignity? Gillard has the right to live her life the way she wants to, after all she is a mature woman not a young kid, who still might be idealistic.
      DId you point out that she is educated and old enough to make a decision about her life? Sheesh

      Did you point out that this is 21st century and women can and do run countries?

    • Rob r Charteris says:

      06:57pm | 03/09/10

      Against the Man says:08:06am; still haven’t learnt to leave the top shelf alone when the young’ns are around….

    • Against the Man says:

      07:42pm | 03/09/10

      Nice answer as usual T Chong. Have a great Friday night, make sure Tim (the real Mrs Gillard) doesn’t drink and drive again.

    • Jane says:

      10:21pm | 03/09/10

      Against the Man. An ex-patriot Chinese woman told me she wasn’t going to bother gaining Australian Citizenship. It’s too much like China she said:
      “Go to bed, wake up in the morning and there’s a new leader.”
      “Go to bed and they decide there are going to be new taxes.  Wake up in the morning and we have new taxes. This is like China, why bother.”
      “What next, go to bed and when you wake up in the morning your neighbour has disappeared.”

      While I was handing out HTV’s at the election I overheard two separate heavily accented conversations, each ending with “This is not Democracy”

      The morals of an alley cat are not welcome by a LARGE number of people.  Look out Julia!

    • Farkurnell says:

      11:50pm | 03/09/10

      Well ATM you’‘re obviously not a patriot .by defending the PM You might consider her a poor PM but shes OUR PM,Wouldn’t happen in there country ,where some corrupt dictator controls the army ,police ,stifles any debate.,where dinner guest live in fear of dissent..
      And also did you ask them if they arrived by boat.

    • Rosie says:

      08:06am | 03/09/10

      Labor never get their priorities right. Paul Mcleay “looking at pictures wasn’t hurting anyone” but was shafted because it is the Labor way to be seen as carrying out strong leadership.

      I think that “looking at pictures” in one’s privacy maybe good therapy for some people as it could fulfil their sexual desires. As I read through the list I found Paul Mcleay’s misdeed was nothing worse than it was a stupid thing to do so he didn’t deserve the NSW Premier to come out in Public and tell us what a bad boy Paul Macleay was.

      What I don’t understand is why the Intelligentsia group like “Get Up” who makes out that they can save the world come out and stick up for people like Paul Mcleay. They were willing to go negative on Tony Abbott’s personal opinions for the sake of their preference to which party they wanted to govern so why not come out and stick up for someone that enjoyed and found satisfaction from “looking at certain pictures”

      Living in the 60s & 70s without easy access to all this stuff was so much easier!

      Reply

    • DaisyDuke says:

      10:35am | 03/09/10

      Because Getup is not an “intelligentsia group”, in practice they are basically an arm of Labor.

    • The Badger says:

      10:59am | 03/09/10

      Much like the IPA is an arm of the conservatives

    • Rosie says:

      11:18am | 03/09/10

      DaisyDuke is that the reason they talk in riddles??? Anyway thanks for letting me know.

    • Ronk says:

      01:53pm | 03/09/10

      “wasn’t hurting anyone”? Nonsense. What about the women (or was it boys?) in the videos he was watching. Fulfilling your sexual desires in a loving way is fine. Commodifying sex and exploiting people as sex objects is evil, not just stupid. At least as bad as most of the other misdeeds on the list. He had to be sacked, no question about it. He should consider himself lucky that he hasn’t yet been asked to resign from Parliament.

    • PaulB says:

      05:11pm | 03/09/10

      “Getup” is a fake grassroots (or “astroturf”) group that basically supports the globalist agenda, but disguises it with populist talk.  They are more usually known as Gatekeepers.

    • Macca says:

      08:11am | 03/09/10

      And despite all this, its hard not to think another scandel or two will occur before the next election

      Reply

    • Gerard says:

      11:38pm | 03/09/10

      Only one or two?

    • Phil says:

      08:16am | 03/09/10

      Yes Joe and this doesnt go to the usual Labor way or lining the pockets of mates so you can be repaid once your tenure in parliment finishes.

      Dont you just love the labor voters, who for ideological reasons support the party, yet the party and its elected members would screw the battlers no sooner than sell their ageing parents for a quick buck or to fix a PR nightmare. I actually feel sorry for many of them.

      The shame is that regardless of polictics, Paul Gibson is probably the hardest worker amongst them, and a bloke that should be running this state with an iron fist. None of them have balls. I am no labor fan, but Michael Costa was at least capable of telling the truth, saying it like it is, rather than spin and bullshit hoping to get your way out of a situation.

      Reply

    • John C says:

      08:21am | 03/09/10

      Yep, spot on. Yet we have the Tasmanian Grunge Green and the Tasmanian pseudo-Green rabbiting on about supporting Gillard because she will provide an ethical government. And at least two of the Independents, wanking on about similar ethical concerns, leaning the same way. Cant and hypocritical.

      And how ethical can we believe the Independents really are when they choose the Master of Spin, Bruce Hawker, to be their wise man? Come on!

      Reply

    • TimB says:

      08:27am | 03/09/10

      “And yet far from being amputated like a gangrenous limb, somehow the NSW model of governance has been allowed to infect federal Labor and bring it crashing to its knees.”

      And this point Joe, is why ANY NSW voter who voted Labor federally is an idiot. We know first hand the damage this style of politics brings. So why are people continuing to endorse it?!

      I know I’m going to get replies along the lines of “federal and state issues are seperate”...and yes ideally that would be the case. But in the case of Labor, it’s clearly not true.

      Federal Labor is heading down the exact same road as NSW Labor. It isn’t quite there yet, but give it a few more years in power and it will be. And it’s the country that will suffer.

      Reply

    • Paul Neri says:

      08:42am | 03/09/10

      This obsession with punishing porn watchers is silly.

      The public is losing competent officials because they participate in a pastime that most of the human race engages in every now and again.

      The fact they do it at work should be a matter for their employer. If no one is being offended and their porn watching is not soaking up too much work time then what’s the difference between looking at porn at work or reading the newspapers at work?

      Reply

    • John C says:

      09:01am | 03/09/10

      Paul

      I don’t disagree in principle with what you say but this bloke was doing his porn watching on a computer supplied by his employer, the government of NSW representing the people, and his employer, the said government, had the right to discipline him.

      All that said, his sin is pretty low down on the list of atrocities perpetuated by thus government on the long suffering people of NSW.

      The Governor should seriouisly consider dissolving parliament and call an early election on the basis that that State is presently ungovernable under this lot.

    • MarK says:

      09:07am | 03/09/10

      “The fact they do it at work should be a matter for their employer.”

      I agree. As his employer being a voter and payer of taxes in NSW I say sack him.

    • TimB says:

      09:15am | 03/09/10

      +1 vote for sacking.

      Just wish we could sack the lot of them for utter incompetence. First thing O’Farrell must do when he gets in next year is legislate a recall provision so the Goveneror can dissolve government at the people’s request. We can’t have this sort of situation happen again.

      The same thing should be installed @ federal level if we ever switch to fixed terms.

    • Paul Neri says:

      09:51am | 03/09/10

      Chaps I think you’re moralising instead of analysing. Newspapers have a serious side and an entertainment side, but really neither side significantly enhances our work and yet our employers tolerate us reading the news but not looking at boobs and I’m not sure why - both pursuits are enjoyable.

      It seems to boil down to the fact that the public wants its officials to work at work, which is fair enough, but if they are to enjoy themselves at work every now and again, only some entertainments are permissible.

      There’s an inconsistency there. The basis for it seems to be that sex and human bodies are ... bad.

      Yep, we are a world of bad people behaving badly all the time. One day we might accept the things we do naturally!

    • The Badger says:

      10:58am | 03/09/10

      Sack the bastard

      Everyone knows that work computers are for work related business

      If you want to gamble or look at porn do it on your own time and device.

    • Michael says:

      11:26am | 03/09/10

      The difference between watching porn at work and reading the newspaper is that reading a newspaper will not result in harassment claims should any other staff catch you with a newspaper. DJs could give you 37million good reasons why this sort of thing is not appropriate behavior in the workplace. Now let’s put some perspective on this: if this guy was a manager in mcdonalds and he sat in his office surfing for porn instead of working, exposing his staff to his laziness and also the humiliation and harassment of walking in on him, we would ALL be outraged. When this guy is fiddling while his (our) department is in flames - his senior staff found guilty of corruption by ICAC, corrupt deals with the kazals, and terrible waste and ineptitude rampant, you are somehow defending him!? Let he be a wanker on his own time and computer! He can afford himself a break or two when he can do his job even sort of!

    • Eric says:

      01:19pm | 03/09/10

      I think Paul Neri has a good point. Most of us use our work computers for non-work-related activities, so we’re in no position to cast stones. Of course, there is the question of how much time those activities take away from our paid duties, but that isn’t the main issue here.

      There are legal issues, as Michael points out. But that’s because the law is wrong, not because surfing porn at work is inherently wrong.

      Use of workplace computers should ideally be negotiated between employers and employees, with acceptable boundaries explicitly stated. When no policy is in place, people are more likely to stray.

    • Ronk says:

      01:48pm | 03/09/10

      “most of the human race”? No. This behaviour is totally unacceptable no matter where it is done.

    • Miss Lou says:

      03:10pm | 03/09/10

      “Work computers are for work related business…” like reading blog sites and posting comments during work hours, you mean?

    • The Badger says:

      04:29pm | 03/09/10

      Miss Lou
      What shift do you work?
      Are you retired?
      Are you an invalid?
      Do you own your own business?

      Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

    • jbe says:

      09:31am | 03/09/10

      I’d love to see an Underbelly style dramatisation of it.  What a hoot.  What a drag living there must be with that hanging over you. Mind you, I live in QLD ...

      Reply

    • Michael says:

      10:20am | 03/09/10

      Having consulted to the nsw pulic service, I can confirm that each and every time you log into the government’s website you are confronted with a terms statement which spells out that accessing porn or “inappropriate” websites, gambling sites etc. is a dismissable offence. In order to proceed, you have to acknowledge these terms. For the people who set these rules to be breaking them is not just a naughty thing - it’s flat out WRONG! Imagine how surfing for porn and potentially confronting staff with sexual material could violate the rights of those staff. The large retail organisation could give us 37 million reasons not to do this.

      Reply

    • G says:

      11:31am | 03/09/10

      11) Had a Upper House Labor MP resign because he declared he “loved” two of the killers of Janine Balding (Peter Breen)

      Reply

    • Duncan Fine says:

      11:45am | 03/09/10

      I apologise if anyone has said this before but come on… has anyone anywhere ever seen Paul Macleay and Peter Griffin from Family Guy in the same room????

      It’s freaking uncanny

      Reply

    • LoveFest says:

      01:17pm | 03/09/10

      Ha Ha Ha…

    • Philip Crowley says:

      01:25pm | 03/09/10

      Nup…Same person.

    • Edward James says:

      12:17pm | 03/09/10

      While the Minister had offered to resign from the Labor party for his sins, that was not needed. While we are all watching this light entertainment unfold we may be missing more important stuff. Activity which may result in a by election or two. We are reading about the more than generous deals between the SHFA and friends of Labor in NSW. The Sydney Morning Herald is calling for more information from its readers. BTW Milton the horrible Orkopolous John Della Boska, and David Campbell all had two things in common all three were Cabinet Ministers and all three were exposed as adulterers!

      Reply

    • Daniel says:

      12:39pm | 03/09/10

      No, I still don’t get it.

      The guy was looking at pictures. He was caught because of surveilance on him not because he was stupid enough to leave it on his screen while others were present. Nobody was hurt, and he probably puts in a lot of external hours anyway like most polititians. I couldn’t care if he gets around in the privacy of his office wrapped in latex with a ball gag in his mouth and a chicken feather in his butt. All that is important is that he represents the needs of his constituents and does a good job.

      Reply

    • Gerard says:

      11:50pm | 03/09/10

      But he doesn’t represent the needs of his constituents or do a good job, does he? The Labor party has engaged in a sustained persecution of the citizens of NSW with no rational justification; they can therefore expect to receive the same treatment from the public.

    • marley says:

      09:23am | 04/09/10

      For me, the issue is - he’s a member of a government that has had it’s full share of scandals, he knows he’s in the spotlight, and he knows what the rules are about using taxpayer time and equipment to gamble and watch porn.  But he does it anyway.  No one that dumb should be in government, never mind in Cabinet.

      And what on earth makes you think this legacy politician either represents the needs of his constituents or does a good job?  Nothing I’ve ever heard about the guy suggests he does much of anything.  Maybe if he spent a little less time with his on-line pursuits, he might actually achieve something.

    • Sherekahn says:

      09:17am | 06/09/10

      Oh boy Daniel!
      Thank gawd I was born and brought up in an English Country-Town.
      Your tolerance gives me the shudders, as do most of the comments on this subject.
      To put distance between modern sick Australian society and me, I surf photos of my youth in Picasa to ease my nausea.
      I wish I could add a photo to my comment, of the “hills, trees and spires that formed my soul.

    • Tim says:

      12:51pm | 03/09/10

      Is News Limited now handing out briefs to it’s journo’s, Joe? Certainly the media company is looking more like a political organisation than a reputable source of ‘news’.

      Reply

    • MarK says:

      04:43pm | 03/09/10

      Dude if Fairfax thinks the same.

      Half of the current NSW government members parents wouldn’t vote for them.

      This situation really is beyond politics. It is an embarrassment to everyone.

      No comparisons need drawing, no bias needs pointing out. They are as a group shot. And NSW has suffered.

    • Matt says:

      01:57pm | 03/09/10

      Gold Joe.

      What a pack of venal whores.

      And Labour aren’t much better.

      Reply

    • Super D says:

      02:03pm | 03/09/10

      Though we’ve all though the NSW government was a bunch of wankers its still confronting to have it confirmed.

      Reply

    • RB 2010 says:

      02:17pm | 03/09/10

      Joe - good yarn. But you’ve got to give Labor credit. The brand is relatively uncontaminated. Think about the Nats Govt in Qld in the 80s - 3 Ministers jailed for corruption and it essentially finished the Party off. Voters wouldn’t touch them at a Federal or State level for years. The NSW ALP just increased their margin in four Federal marginals in NSW.

      Reply

    • Farkurnell says:

      12:03am | 04/09/10

      RB . the Nats in QLD are back in business with Son of Joh -Barnaby.
      He’s going to sort out the water needs of Aust.in the new LNP govt.
      Like putting Dracula in charge of the Bloodbank.

    • Anthony Meaney says:

      02:58pm | 03/09/10

      Tony Burke -you’re kidding Joe.He was appointed so called Population Minister to deflect Rudd’s gaffe about a “Big Australia”.As soon as Rudd said it he denied soon after that he ever believed it,and besides it was out of his control to decide immigration numbers.
      Then the Focus Groups came up with immigration nos as an election loser for Labor, and Gillard re-appointed Burke as so called Sustainable Population Minister .But she asserted that immigration nos had nothing to do with sustainability,hence showing a distinct lack of common sense that seems to infect many politicians.
      And what has Burke achieved since being Minister for Whatever It Takes to Win an Election?

      Sweet FA Joe.

      Regards from Anthony Meaney,a member of Stable Population Party of Australia

      Reply

    • Farkurnell says:

      12:11am | 04/09/10

      Anthony Look at me.Loook at me.Now I’ve got just one thing to say to you. ...Have a nice day.

    • Ed Balls says:

      05:48pm | 04/09/10

      Or as the 2 Ronnies used to joke Joe,more politely-Far canal.

    • Just Sayin' says:

      06:12pm | 03/09/10

      He shouldn’t be sacked from the front bench for looking at porn and gambling, and indeed he wasn’t.  He was sacked for using work (in this case tax payer) resources to do so.  If I did that in my office and my boss found out, I think I would feel that I got off pretty lightly if I was demoted.  The man effectively stole from his bosses, and his bosses are us.

      Nonetheless, I agree with the general thrust of the article.  He’s comparatively virtuous compared to many of his colleagues.

      Reply

    • Sam says:

      06:43pm | 03/09/10

      So why didn’t this guy simply use the Fred Nile “it was only research” defence?

      Reply

    • Rob r Charteris says:

      07:57pm | 03/09/10

      I am enjoying watching the Coalition implode, admittedly just like the Gillard government did when Julia went a bit too hard on Work Choices in the last few days of the election campaign. Some of the rubbish coming out of coalition mouths is simply ridiculous… Beware of the new lefty government (the world is going to stop), Bob Brown will be Deputy PM (couldn’t stop giggling on that one, on’ya Dutton read the alliance agreement ya silly bugger) the borders will be flung open to every man and his dog (yes I’m sure you’ll be out there to start a few more wars Mr Morrison so that happens). Mr Hockey said he found it hard to believe the trio, all former Nationals MPs, would decide not to back Tony Abbott. But hold on Hockey wasn’t Kennedy a form Labor seat before the Katter family got a hold of it. Even Katter senior was a union sympathiser. This is all has the sounds and hallmarks of a desperate party. All it has left and all it can do is run the scare smear and fear campaigns. It will suck in it last dying breath over the weekend and we can tip it over board next week. It’s about time to give the other end of the political movement a go, since we’re all about a fair go for all.

      Reply

    • Perskaya says:

      02:59am | 04/09/10

      Yes, it really is that bad.

      Reply

    • Shane From Melbourne says:

      06:17pm | 04/09/10

      Say No to Porn. Ban all pictures of Tony Abbott in budgie smugglers. It gets all the Liberal fanboys and fangirls hot and bothered…...

      Reply

    • cam says:

      09:49pm | 05/09/10

      Whether you are Labor, Liberal, Green, the disappointing aspect of NSW politics is that for the last 10 years the state has failed to invest in infrastructure, health, policing etc etc. Where have we gone since the Olympics ? What has the state become other than an embarrassment to it’s constituents. Labor have right royally stuffed it up. They can’t even keep their own people in ministerial positions, they have no positive culture, their in fighting has done immeasurable harm to NSW and it really is a shame for the people who live in the state. I cannot understand how anyone next March could possibly, sensibly consider voting Labor irrespective of the alternative. If Labor was a business, it would have been out of business 5 years ago. I feel sad for the state of NSW and sad for the state of politics in NSW. The Libs don’t have to do much to get in next year and they’ll probably win by enough majority to stay in for two elections, maybe even three. If the pay was better for MP’s, you might get better quality pollies apply. Pay peanuts, get monkeys and as it stands right now, I think I’d go for the monkeys over Labor.

      Reply

    • Old Clive says:

      08:20am | 06/09/10

      Well I say that the students got it right, I say Penbo has got it right, I say that the standards of behaviour have diminished throughout our society and having seen the behaviour of politicians in this country for over 50years, the present bunch are almost the worst bunch at governing but the best at BS and covering mistakes and blaming others for their own incompetency.But I am even more afraid of the 3 amigos.

      Reply
 
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