http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/australia-day/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-comedy-of-errors-thats-not-very-funny/ In three days the whole Labor Caucus is due in Canberra to break out the white boards and textas and brainstorm some policy ideas for the year, then share a sausage sizzle at The Lodge. The MPs who’ve been summoned would be forgiven for demanding one of the areas up for discussion should be how the Prime Minister intends to turn around what’s been a terrible start to the year. They’d be well within their rights to say, actually we’re not the problem Prime Minister. In the last week since Julia Gillard’s office set off one of the ugliest events in recent political history, the PM’s operation appears to be in a constant state of SNAFU. Let’s not relive the Tony Hodges affair, except to say it has not been successfully put to bed by the resignation of the meddling media adviser. Questions still remain about who in Gillard’s office knew what, and when. At best it seems some of her most senior staff kept Gillard in the dark about Hodges’ confession to the fateful phone call overnight and well into the next day. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-comedy-of-errors-thats-not-very-funny/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-comedy-of-errors-thats-not-very-funny/#item7661 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 The two biggest stuff-ups of the political year to date have said little about the conduct of our politicians and everything about the judgment of the advisors they employ. Given that 2012 is not yet five weeks old, these two remarkably stupid episodes confirm the extent to which the black art of media management has become an unchecked cancer on modern politics. The irony is that in both cases the very people who were hired to make life easier for our politicians, ostensibly with their capacity for crisis management and flair for finessing a message, have in one case created the crisis and in the other mangled the message. This should not be of interest solely to political tragics and Canberra insiders. The punchline to the joke is that the mugs who are footing the bill are, of course, the taxpayers, who over the past two decades have funded an ever-increasing number of spin doctors, speech writers and media advisors for politicians of every hue at both the state and federal level. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/first-lets-sack-all-the-staffers/ The two biggest stuff-ups of the political year to date have said little about the conduct of our politicians and everything about the judgment of the advisors they employ. Given that 2012 is not yet five weeks old, these two remarkably stupid episodes confirm the extent to which the black art of media management has become an unchecked cancer on modern politics. The irony is that in both cases the very people who were hired to make life easier for our politicians, ostensibly with their capacity for crisis management and flair for finessing a message, have in one case created the crisis and in the other mangled the message. This should not be of interest solely to political tragics and Canberra insiders. The punchline to the joke is that the mugs who are footing the bill are, of course, the taxpayers, who over the past two decades have funded an ever-increasing number of spin doctors, speech writers and media advisors for politicians of every hue at both the state and federal level. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/first-lets-sack-all-the-staffers/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/first-lets-sack-all-the-staffers/#item7639 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 The two biggest stuff-ups of the political year to date have said little about the conduct of our politicians and everything about the judgment of the advisors they employ. Given that 2012 is not yet five weeks old, these two remarkably stupid episodes confirm the extent to which the black art of media management has become an unchecked cancer on modern politics. The irony is that in both cases the very people who were hired to make life easier for our politicians, ostensibly with their capacity for crisis management and flair for finessing a message, have in one case created the crisis and in the other mangled the message. This should not be of interest solely to political tragics and Canberra insiders. The punchline to the joke is that the mugs who are footing the bill are, of course, the taxpayers, who over the past two decades have funded an ever-increasing number of spin doctors, speech writers and media advisors for politicians of every hue at both the state and federal level. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/blame-no-one-and-everyone-for-the-oz-day-debacle/ As murky details continue to emerge about the Australia Day ‘riot’, so do the murky conspiracy theories. In reaction to that shocking photo of a ruffled Prime Minister, people are positing grassy knolls on the lawns of Parliament House, eager to think that the whole debacle was a plot. The startling picture of Julia Gillard being dragged along with furrowed brow was disturbing enough that people immediately wanted to find someone to blame, to find a greater lesson in the chaos. To convince themselves that it was ALL SOMEONE’S FAULT. Maybe a set up. The Opposition wants an investigation and to debate a no-confidence motion. People have called for the embassy to go, for Australia Day to be moved, for arrests to be made.  Somebody must be made to pay! It’s time to take the ranty pants off, fold them neatly and leave them on a chair in the corner for when they’re really needed. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/blame-no-one-and-everyone-for-the-oz-day-debacle/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/blame-no-one-and-everyone-for-the-oz-day-debacle/#item7640 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 The two biggest stuff-ups of the political year to date have said little about the conduct of our politicians and everything about the judgment of the advisors they employ. Given that 2012 is not yet five weeks old, these two remarkably stupid episodes confirm the extent to which the black art of media management has become an unchecked cancer on modern politics. The irony is that in both cases the very people who were hired to make life easier for our politicians, ostensibly with their capacity for crisis management and flair for finessing a message, have in one case created the crisis and in the other mangled the message. This should not be of interest solely to political tragics and Canberra insiders. The punchline to the joke is that the mugs who are footing the bill are, of course, the taxpayers, who over the past two decades have funded an ever-increasing number of spin doctors, speech writers and media advisors for politicians of every hue at both the state and federal level. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/this-is-who-thursdays-event-was-supposed-to-be-about/ The Australia Day event at The Lobby in Canberra has become all about Tony Hodges, Kim Sattler, Barbara Shaw, Michael Anderson, Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott, the police and a bunch of idiots who saw fit to hijack the day. It wasn’t supposed to be about them. Our political leaders had gathered at the restaurant to bestow the new National Emergency Medal on 26 Australians who, paid or unpaid, did extraordinary work during the Victorian Bushfires and Queensland floods. In her speech before the event was hijacked by an appalling set of bad decisions the Prime Minister said: “Today we award these Medals to a group of Australians who inspired us with their courage and service during two of the most devastating summers of natural disaster Australia has ever witnessed: the Victorian bushfires of 2009 and the Queensland floods and cyclone of December 2010 and January 2011.” penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/this-is-who-thursdays-event-was-supposed-to-be-about/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/this-is-who-thursdays-event-was-supposed-to-be-about/#item7630 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 The two biggest stuff-ups of the political year to date have said little about the conduct of our politicians and everything about the judgment of the advisors they employ. Given that 2012 is not yet five weeks old, these two remarkably stupid episodes confirm the extent to which the black art of media management has become an unchecked cancer on modern politics. The irony is that in both cases the very people who were hired to make life easier for our politicians, ostensibly with their capacity for crisis management and flair for finessing a message, have in one case created the crisis and in the other mangled the message. This should not be of interest solely to political tragics and Canberra insiders. The punchline to the joke is that the mugs who are footing the bill are, of course, the taxpayers, who over the past two decades have funded an ever-increasing number of spin doctors, speech writers and media advisors for politicians of every hue at both the state and federal level. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-saying-goes-politics-is-showbusiness-for-ugly-people/ AND, action! A senior cabinet minister generally regarded as among the more effective, uses a major speech on Australia Day-eve to channel an American president without acknowledging it. Worse, it wasn’t even an actual president but a fictional one. On the same day, a few hundred metres up the hill, the 2012 Australian of the year is unveiled as an A-list Hollywood actor, Geoffrey Rush. Rush, a gifted pretender with an expressive face, promptly weighs in to some of the more divisive political debates in this country hinting at the moral failure of both sides of politics to recognise the human courage of asylum seekers, the failure to progress gay marriage equality, and to deliver enough on climate change. Later he defends his A-list compatriot Cate Blanchett who had been lambasted for taking part in an advertising campaign on carbon driven global warming. OK as movie plots go this is bit lame but it certainly seems fanciful enough. Besides, it has the advantage of being “based on a true story” and all that. It even has some real actors in it. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-saying-goes-politics-is-showbusiness-for-ugly-people/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-saying-goes-politics-is-showbusiness-for-ugly-people/#item7617 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 The two biggest stuff-ups of the political year to date have said little about the conduct of our politicians and everything about the judgment of the advisors they employ. Given that 2012 is not yet five weeks old, these two remarkably stupid episodes confirm the extent to which the black art of media management has become an unchecked cancer on modern politics. The irony is that in both cases the very people who were hired to make life easier for our politicians, ostensibly with their capacity for crisis management and flair for finessing a message, have in one case created the crisis and in the other mangled the message. This should not be of interest solely to political tragics and Canberra insiders. The punchline to the joke is that the mugs who are footing the bill are, of course, the taxpayers, who over the past two decades have funded an ever-increasing number of spin doctors, speech writers and media advisors for politicians of every hue at both the state and federal level. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/singing-the-praises-of-the-unsung-heroes/ The world is ruled by extroverts. The loudest voices, unsurprisingly, are often the only ones we hear. The Australia Day honours are meant to pay tribute to the unsung heroes, thereby making them sung. While the most attention is too often given to the already well-sung - celebrities, the actors and the sportspeople who make the list - there are also the local heroes, the young and the senior Australians. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/singing-the-praises-of-the-unsung-heroes/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/singing-the-praises-of-the-unsung-heroes/#item7616 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 The two biggest stuff-ups of the political year to date have said little about the conduct of our politicians and everything about the judgment of the advisors they employ. Given that 2012 is not yet five weeks old, these two remarkably stupid episodes confirm the extent to which the black art of media management has become an unchecked cancer on modern politics. The irony is that in both cases the very people who were hired to make life easier for our politicians, ostensibly with their capacity for crisis management and flair for finessing a message, have in one case created the crisis and in the other mangled the message. This should not be of interest solely to political tragics and Canberra insiders. The punchline to the joke is that the mugs who are footing the bill are, of course, the taxpayers, who over the past two decades have funded an ever-increasing number of spin doctors, speech writers and media advisors for politicians of every hue at both the state and federal level. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rocking-like-an-aussie-our-top-ten-songs-of-2011/ The “Australian of the Year” awards were presented last night, but today the focus for those musically-inclined is on metaphorical silverware. The “Triple J Hottest 100” countdown is touted as the “largest public music poll in the world”, and today marks the 22nd instalment of the fan-voted list. Inclusion in the best ton of songs of the year is highly coveted, and a top ten berth is an indisputable endorsement of a track’s timbre. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rocking-like-an-aussie-our-top-ten-songs-of-2011/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rocking-like-an-aussie-our-top-ten-songs-of-2011/#item7615 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 The two biggest stuff-ups of the political year to date have said little about the conduct of our politicians and everything about the judgment of the advisors they employ. Given that 2012 is not yet five weeks old, these two remarkably stupid episodes confirm the extent to which the black art of media management has become an unchecked cancer on modern politics. The irony is that in both cases the very people who were hired to make life easier for our politicians, ostensibly with their capacity for crisis management and flair for finessing a message, have in one case created the crisis and in the other mangled the message. This should not be of interest solely to political tragics and Canberra insiders. The punchline to the joke is that the mugs who are footing the bill are, of course, the taxpayers, who over the past two decades have funded an ever-increasing number of spin doctors, speech writers and media advisors for politicians of every hue at both the state and federal level. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/take-our-alternative-australian-citizenship-test/ Around Australia today as the snags sizzle and the beers flow cold and bitter, people will also be becoming Australian citizens. The Government says a bunch of boring questions plus a bit of pomp and ceremony allow someone to declare ‘I am Australian’. Which is a great thing, don’t get us wrong. We just thought the questions are probably due for a revamp. So here’s our Alternative Australian Citizenship Test. Answers are in! Yet-to-be-confirmed prize at this stage goes to S.L because he looks like he needs some cheering up! penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/take-our-alternative-australian-citizenship-test/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/take-our-alternative-australian-citizenship-test/#item7612 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 The two biggest stuff-ups of the political year to date have said little about the conduct of our politicians and everything about the judgment of the advisors they employ. Given that 2012 is not yet five weeks old, these two remarkably stupid episodes confirm the extent to which the black art of media management has become an unchecked cancer on modern politics. The irony is that in both cases the very people who were hired to make life easier for our politicians, ostensibly with their capacity for crisis management and flair for finessing a message, have in one case created the crisis and in the other mangled the message. This should not be of interest solely to political tragics and Canberra insiders. The punchline to the joke is that the mugs who are footing the bill are, of course, the taxpayers, who over the past two decades have funded an ever-increasing number of spin doctors, speech writers and media advisors for politicians of every hue at both the state and federal level. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/change-the-topic-australia-day-is-not-about-racism/ In the past few days, we have had a few prominent and highly regarded individuals coming out to voice their concerns about racism in Australia. They say it is very much alive and kicking. Dr Charles Teo, a very respected neuro-surgeon who has saved many lives, said that racism is still “very much alive in Australia”. Then came Fayia Lahai, a refugee from Sierra Leone in West Africa, who also agreed with Dr Teo’s assessment that Australia has a racism problem. Mr Fayia Lahai was recently appointed to a new body called People of Australia Ambassadors – a body that will give advice to the Government and to the Australian Multicultural Council. Mr Lahai arrived in Tasmania in 2006. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/change-the-topic-australia-day-is-not-about-racism/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/change-the-topic-australia-day-is-not-about-racism/#item7589 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 The two biggest stuff-ups of the political year to date have said little about the conduct of our politicians and everything about the judgment of the advisors they employ. Given that 2012 is not yet five weeks old, these two remarkably stupid episodes confirm the extent to which the black art of media management has become an unchecked cancer on modern politics. The irony is that in both cases the very people who were hired to make life easier for our politicians, ostensibly with their capacity for crisis management and flair for finessing a message, have in one case created the crisis and in the other mangled the message. This should not be of interest solely to political tragics and Canberra insiders. The punchline to the joke is that the mugs who are footing the bill are, of course, the taxpayers, who over the past two decades have funded an ever-increasing number of spin doctors, speech writers and media advisors for politicians of every hue at both the state and federal level. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/five-big-fat-aussie-myths-about-australia/ As Australia Day descends, the great Aussie annual introspection starts. We ask questions about who we are as a nation, how does our history stack up, where are we heading and what our values are. We even have debates about whether we should have Australia Day at all. Of course, having a bit of a national conversation with ourselves isn’t a bad thing. It’s healthy to ask questions. And there can be some spinoffs. A bit of navel gazing by Australians lead to Dr Karl Kruszelnicki‘s mini-thesis and why belly button fluff is always blue (true blue that is, or is it green, Karl?). But as healthy as questioning is, it is important to know to have a good amount of evidence on side to really get a handle on things. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/five-big-fat-aussie-myths-about-australia/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/five-big-fat-aussie-myths-about-australia/#item7605 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 The two biggest stuff-ups of the political year to date have said little about the conduct of our politicians and everything about the judgment of the advisors they employ. Given that 2012 is not yet five weeks old, these two remarkably stupid episodes confirm the extent to which the black art of media management has become an unchecked cancer on modern politics. The irony is that in both cases the very people who were hired to make life easier for our politicians, ostensibly with their capacity for crisis management and flair for finessing a message, have in one case created the crisis and in the other mangled the message. This should not be of interest solely to political tragics and Canberra insiders. The punchline to the joke is that the mugs who are footing the bill are, of course, the taxpayers, who over the past two decades have funded an ever-increasing number of spin doctors, speech writers and media advisors for politicians of every hue at both the state and federal level.