House Of Representatives
Journalists who report on politics for a living see plenty of hypocrisy. We’re seeing plenty now from Julia Gillard.

She asserts that Peter Slipper should not be sidelined until sexual harassment allegations are dealt with by the courts because he’s entitled to the presumption of innocence. It’s the same excuse the prime minister uses when she refuses to intervene in the Craig Thomson affair and says the Labor backbencher accused of grossly rorting union credit cards still has her full confidence.
Yet when Wikileaks infuriated the US Government by publishing a stack of leaked diplomatic cables, Gillard immediately accused editor-in-chief Julian Assange of acting illegally. There was no presumption of innocence for him.
Continue reading "Gillard’s hypocrisy on the presumption of innocence" »
If the Australian people were faced with the prospect of this weekend’s AFL grand final not going ahead because neither team could agree on the umpire, this nation could be faced with a level of social unrest that could force East Timor to come to our aid. Fortunately this crisis only goes to whether our Parliament can sit or not so it will be fine.

With the decision by Tony Abbott not to honour parts an agreement on parliamentary reform we are still faced with a speakerless House of Representatives, and now the awkward question of whether we’ll return for Parliament next week or not.
There are a couple of things to consider about Abbott’s decision and Gillard’s reaction to it. Needless to say it’s all about concern for political hides rather than anything to do with parliamentary reform.
Continue reading "So should we call Parliament off next Tuesday?" »
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Cate P says:
With a do-nothing govt like this one is shaping to be, there isn’t anything for Tony to wreck. My kids have a new excuse every time they get caught out : ’ It’s Tony Abbott’s fault, mum.” Read more »
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Sven Gali says:
They said Abbott’s behaviour had vindicated their decision, not Oakeshott’s. Read more »
Listed below are links to personal web pages for members of the Australian House of Representatives, along with their Facebook profiles, pages and groups, as well as their Twitter accounts.
The list is in alphabetical order. Some of the Facebook groups and pages have been set up by people not connected with the MPs and include fan pages. Websites marked (APH) denote MPs who had no retrievable web presence other than their contact page on the Parliament website.
The legend is:
Continue reading "Australian MPs’ websites, Facebook and Twitter pages" »
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try acai berries says:
Kind Earn,slightly pull expert show hill doubt team promise affair leaf organisation planning card protect design desk wear care bill comparison settle nose continue leg blue just fresh respond authority wait train active break church assess relevant rise living nature circle war ground relationship slow might boat voice faith drive… Read more »
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Harley says:
The Brett Raguse doesn’t seem to be on twitter, that link should be deleted. Read more »
The Age is reporting John Grant, the car dealer at the centre of the Utegate affair, was involved in raising $32,000 to cover legal fees for Kevin Rudd. Expect the Opposition to have something to say about it during Question Time.
Today is the last QT for six weeks and both sides will be hoping to land a killer blow, or at least have the final say. Join us here from 2pm.
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Terry, Perth WA says:
If nothing else the coalition has given John Grant motors a huge boost in publicity this past two weeks. If I ever move to Brisbane I might by a car from the bloke. Read more »
We’re wondering what the odds are that Turnbull rolls over and doesn’t ask one question about utegate today. Find out here and join in the live commentary from 2pm.
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Julie Coker-Godson says:
I have a sneaking suspicion that the AFP is “keeping its powder dry” on how/when/where/why a fake email was not picked up earlier. If there is one mole there could be others. Might I suggest looking in the broom closet on the 2nd floor of the Senate?, (otherwise known as… Read more »
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Chris says:
As for the “sting”. One of the best ways to trap a cat, is use a rat. Works every time. Read more »
It’s sure to be another dinger. Join us here today from 2pm.
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Kevin of southbank says:
About Michael Delaney and the MTAA. 1) no dealer is technically a member of MTAA, rather they are members of state AADA organizations, so technically are not “his” members. 2. Delaney was a private secretary to Gough Whitlam. 3. MTAA ‘federation’ is effectively split down the middle with VACC, TACC… Read more »
There were hangovers galore in the House of Reps this afternoon, which might have explained a few MPs missing in action. We spiced it up anyway with our live coverage.
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In which readers managed to get Julia Gillard to take a question. See the replay here.
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Julia Gillard just put on her best parliamentary performance in ages. Maybe she’s taking a tilt at Costello’s claim to the Question Time throne. Click through to see how The Punch covered it live.
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Beverley says:
She is good- even Christiopher Pyne finds it hard to interject-thank God!! Read more »
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@GreenJ how dare you even suggest such a thing. I'd love to blog from their traning session though about what a pack of toffs they are
RT @kellieconnolly: @penbo @antsharwood Not judging Hackett but to set the record straight again I had been asking 9 for a redundancy and left on good terms
Feisty piece by @antsharwood leading http://t.co/5WsLF5Pf on how ch 9 can punt spiteri connolly rowe but not the delightful grant hackett
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