A responsible Opposition

[Jovial Monk]

Ouch! Malcolm & Co won’t like to read this.

RESCUED Iraq hostage Douglas Wood is very lucky that the clodhopping attention-seeker Malcolm Turnbull wasn't Opposition Leader when he was kidnapped.

Four years ago Wood spent 47 days at the mercy of the world's most dangerous Muslims.

He'd be dead as a doornail. His captors would have blown his brains out, like they did two fellow captives.

Buried deep in then-prime minister John Howard's measured statement to Parliament on June 15, 2005, announcing Wood had been found in Baghdad and was safe, was an overlooked handful of words that spoke volumes.

They read: ". . . may I also thank the Opposition, the Leader of the Opposition and the member for Griffith for their understanding at every stage of the difficulties involved and the need for us to unite to save an Australian and this has brought out some of the best things in our people."

Howard was a flawed prime minister, but his performance that day was statesman-like. He nobly and with dignity explained how with complex and patient diplomacy -- and it turns out, more than a little luck -- Wood's life had been saved, and he was generous about the role a responsible Opposition had played in it.

The then Opposition leader was Kim Beazley. The member for Griffith then, and now, was Kevin Rudd.

None of which has restrained garrulous expert-in-everything Turnbull and some of his senior team from self-indulgent criticism.

Here's Turnbull: "Mr Rudd must get on the phone immediately to the Chinese President and demand that the Australian citizen, Mr Stern Hu, be released . . ."

Rudd should "take advantage of that (his Mandarin language skills) and of the special connection he claims to have with China and its government in aid of an Australian citizen."

Sense a bit of envy there? For Godwin's sake, Malcolm, calm down. The Bishop girls came in as a chorus. Julie, Turnbull's deputy for the time being, wanted Rudd and Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith to "pick up the phone, speak to their counterpart ministers and ask what is going on".

Bronwyn meanwhile teased Rudd about his "special relationship" with the Chinese.

"Test it, use it. Try and achieve an outcome by intervening, you, yourself, personally."

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/ ... 17,00.html

the above is from PB

[Jovial Monk]

Unlike Rudd after being elected Leader, Attabull is just opposing for oppositions sake. Crazy!

Menzies posted about what a responsible Oppn Leader should do and he specifically cautioned against opposing for oppositions sake. Rudd carefully picked his fights with Howard, Attabull is just flailing around and not hitting targets either.

The ETS will be passed, and will be passed without Fib amendments (no major ones anyway.) Attabull might as well have let it through earlier.

Now Attabull said he is opposing raising the Medicare Levy by .15% to fund a dental scheme. Dickhead! No one will miss the money and more people will be able to make more trips to the dentist, improving their health--dental decay is washed into your gut during eating & drinking and causes problems there.

Now, if only Rudd would introduce a mechibank to help pay mechanics' bills!

[Biff O'Hara]

Dickhead!

JM, somehow your contributions don't have the same cachet without the usual expletives. The best you could manage in "A responsible Opposition" was dickhead. How weak. What about the female body part word. What about the copulate word.

Lift your game.

[Jovial Monk]

We know the Ruddster wrote a 6000 word essay for the Fairfax press. So now faceache Truffles has responded in a '2000 word' essay in the Opposition Orifice. This essay got dubbed a 'rant' by Fin Min Lindsay Tanner. You can find it here:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/st ... 36,00.html

But it is just a rehash of all his usual crap. What is interesting is the number of very short, single-sentence paragraphs in the rant. A paragraph is a working out of an idea, when we switch attention to a new idea or a different way of looking at the idea or looking at the implications of the idea we start a new paragraph. Truffles don't do ideas it seems. His rant looks like the outline of a considered paper but with only the heading being published in the OO.

The Fibs really need to get rid of this complete turkey. I think they have to put in People Skills who can bang heads together and get some policy work started, get fresh blood into the Party etc. I want the Fibs to present a credible Opposition, to keep the next 15 years of Labor govts up to the mark

[Jovial Monk]

There have been ruckuses at the Uni sydney Fib club and then the Young Fibs. Apparently Alex Hawke isn't conservative enough.

Read & listen to the fibs fighting for the spoils of defeat at Vexnews:

http://www.vexnews.com/news/5490/the-th ... speak-out/

[Jovial Monk]

Mungo McCallums views on, errrr, several things. Good read.

[Jovial Monk]

Auditor General's report into Utegate has been released for comment, should be available widely when Parlt resumes next week. The rireworks in QT will be spectacular!

As will tonights Australian Story (ABC1 TV, this evening after 7.30 Report) which includes footage taken inside Turdbull's office the moment they learn the email is fake.)

[Jovial Monk]

Aust Story was fascinating! That staffer, flabbergasted, googling "concocted" when news came through that that was what the email was?

If you didn't watch it last night it should be availble on iview: abc.net.au/iview

[Jovial Monk]

AG report released. "It does Truffles no favors."

More later.

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/stor ... 01,00.html

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/st ... 01,00.html

The Auditor-General is understood to have had a close look at claims Mr Grech may have given preferential treatment to one Sydney-based car dealer believed to have close links with the Liberal Party.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/st ... 04,00.html

From PB:

This stinks!

Mr Grech said he never intended the email to be used in the way that it was, nor did he give the Coalition permission to disclose its contents to anyone. But three days after his meeting, he received a call from Ford Credit managing director Greg Cohen. "(He) was concerned because a senior journalist had been calling asking questions about John Grant," Mr Grech said.

Mr Grech said he phoned Mr Turnbull that evening.

"It was agreed that it would be a good idea if I spoke to the journalist off the record and on an in-confidence basis setting out the story as I understood it" he said.

Grech gets a call from Ford credit, instead of being a public servant and helping him, he goes home that night calls Malcolm Turnbull and asks him what he should do!

Skulduggery by the Fibs! Lay in a good supply of popcorn, parliament next week will be something else!

At a parliamentary ball two days before Mr Grech gave his testimony, Mr Turnbull and Dr Charlton had an exchange. Dr Charlton alleged afterwards that Mr Turnbull had warned him not to lie to protect his boss.

The fake email was from Dr Charlton to Mr Grech on behalf of Mr Rudd.

At the ball Mr Rudd gave a staff member his BlackBerry to photograph the exchange. Sources told the Herald last night that a woman photographed sitting next to Dr Charlton was later contacted by Mr Turnbull and asked to refute the adviser’s version of events.

The woman told the Herald last night she did not want to comment.

Speaking on the ABC’s Lateline last night, the Liberal MP Peter Costello said Mr Turnbull ‘‘should have done more due diligence about this email’’.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/nationa ... -e7am.html

[Jovial Monk]

I cannot see how Truffles can last until the next election. Any takers on him being challenged when Parlt resumes next week? Damaged goods.