Sign In
0 Items (
Search
Comments (8)
I CAN’T let this pass. I tried to let it go and say nothing. But I couldn’t do it. There I was, you see, sitting at a desk in London and reading pieces about the Liberal preselection outcome in the seat of departing former cabinet minister Kelly O’Dwyer – she of the economically stupid school of policy-making (a broad church) which thought it a good idea to attack the superannuation plans and future balances of the Liberal Party’s core supporters and whose departure I count as being an unsullied positive for Prime Minister Morrison.
Where was I? Oh yes, those commentators opining about O’Dwyer’s successor. First off, there’s the now seemingly obligatory discussion about which sort of reproductive organs the various finalists happen to have. I’ll be frank: merit and merit alone should be the only factor and having Liberal supporters play this Green/Labor Party identity politics game is a serious error. If every Liberal candidate going for preselection were like Margaret Thatcher then I’d like the whole party room to be women. If they are like most of the present crop of left-leaning, wannabe Labor-lite ladies then I’d be happy not to have a single one – though Amanda Stoker clearly does not fall into that category. By God, do the Libs need more women like her.
Anyway, after the customary genuflecting before the gods of ‘gender’ political realities, you’re then be taken through the competing credentials of the two highest-finishing women – the winner, Dr. Katie Allen (described by some as the ‘highly fancied’ candidate, but I think the ambiguity was unintended) and the loser Ms. Zoe McKenzie.
And here is what riles me no end. Ms. McKenzie is described as having been ‘a consultant, former top adviser to Brendan Nelson in the Howard years, policy director for Victorian premier Ted Baillieu, chief of staff to trade minister Andrew Robb, and an NBN independent director’.
Did you spot the problem?
Here it is. As a supposedly Liberal premier Ted Baillieu was a disgrace. (I give my own views you understand; it is possible Christopher Pyne and the Black Hand Brigade may see things slightly differently.) Had I been a resident of Victoria I would never have voted for the Libs. Ted Baillieu ran an insipid, uber Labor-lite government. Worse, he had a perfect opportunity to wind back Victoria’s egregious statutory Charter of Rights. Every single one of the Liberals on the parliamentary committee looking at it recommended that the government do just that. And yet Red Ted opted to side with Labor and the Labor members. If Ms McKenzie, as his ‘policy director’, had anything to do with that, the fact she did not resign over it is enough for me. I would never pick her to represent any seat, anywhere, for the Liberals, not ever.
The core problem with today’s Liberal Party is its party room. Far, far too many of those being preselected (and then, for some, elected) to sit in Parliament as supposed Liberals seem to me to be anything but people whose views I want to vote for – incredibly weak on free speech; unwilling to stop the $3 billion a year of subsidies to the renewables rentiers; far too politically correct; unable to fix the universities; happy to continue a world’s highest per capita immigration scam; and when it comes down to it far too likely to have spent a lifetime as one sort of advisor ‘insider’ or another.
So let me be blunt. If the Libs got it wrong in not selecting Zoe McKenzie then maybe they need to get it wrong a lot more often. And I say that knowing next to nothing about the woman who won the preselection. God knows, she’s a Liberal, so there’s a good chance she could be even worse. But at least she wasn’t responsible for Ted Baillieu’s policy positions.
Way back, I saw a TV clip of Margaret Thatcher that has stayed with me for its’ wonderful perfection. Twas the morning after her first election to Prime Minister and the meeja had managed to stop her for a kerbside interview. The tenor of the questioning was along the lines of: “This is a tough job. Are you sure you’re up to it ?”
She peers into the TV camera as only she could, and replied: “For the first time, the British people have a Prime Minister with a science degree !” …silence … then: “Got it ?” What a truly wonderful moment.
Meanwhile, here in the Antipodes, we had Gillard defending creepy slug (mollusc) Slipper by claiming someone else was showing “misogonee !!!” Or now Bishop proclaiming with malice that she could beat Shorten, the malice being reserved for those of her colleagues who didn’t vote for her.
I suggest that we should now all make ourselves as small a target for the collectivists as possible. We’ve had quite a bit of practice already with Waffle.
Small target? I agree, which is why I am moving money to an offshore investment.
No point in remembering the Oz I used to know as it is no more.
en passant. True, the OZ we grew up with is but a memory. But your question should be, how and why did we let it happen? How and why did we allow the Left to infiltrate and then take over the education system at every level from pre-school to university? How and why did we allow the Left to control a large slab of our media? How and why did we allow the Left to dominate our public service? And so on. Was it our fault? Did we take our foot of the pedal? Perhaps we are to blame?
I’ve got some very unfortunate news, Katie Allen is a renewables advocate, and after losing her race for a seat to Labor in the state election declared the Libs needed policies more like Labor in relation to climate change.
I know this may not be technically possible, but she could be worse than Kelly O’Dwyer.
This has Peter Costello written all over it; his preferred candidate was Kelly O’Dwyer – a former staffer. Costello should have been PM now but, like his present incarnations, didn’t have the ‘ticker’ to stick around.
Peter Costello was very wise in not standing as leader of the libs.
Look at what has happened to all those that did.
And we’ve finished up with a weakling p m who lacks any of the traits of leadership.
Peter Costello retains his very high standing and hasn’t been attacked successfully by his ‘friends’ , pretend liberal, leftie spiv sympathizers or the mug media.
He had wisdom and it is still apparent to those who understand real wisdom and class.
I would recommend that all candidates for pre-selection be assigned non-gender-specific labels, preferably numbers.
They should then be asked to write up to 100 words each on three topics:
a) climate change & energy policy
b) immigration policy
c) economic management
The answers should be evaluated as follows:
1. short answers receive priority and those of 25 words or less (to quote competition rules) should be immediately ranked ahead
2. There ARE correct answers
a) abandon the RET, stop all renewable subsidies, encourage fossil fuel mining, build nuclear power plants for baseload capacity
b) Australia controls its borders and exercises full sovereignty over who enters the country, fewer migrants is better, cultural assimilation factors can be predicted and should be enforced
c) Budget surpluses are essential and expenditure needs to be cut severely, beginning with the ABC (sell it) and renewable subsidies; next cancel the subs contract with France wear the penalties and buy either US or Japanese versions
Who is surprised by any of this? I’m told that in less than 3 years the millennials will overtake the baby boomers as the dominant demographic in this country; ergo, those systematically brainwashed through the educational institutions. We will see massive changes and the likes of Julian Burnside and all those independents elected to our parliament and unleashing their vanity projects. Look at what is happening to the Virtue Signaller in Chief in Canada – the ‘happy country’ is mired in scandal and its leader is a ski-instructor who wears an asinine grin and espouses shallow pieties. It’s beyond horrific. New Zealand will go the same way. Name me one progressive and successful government which increased national living standards and improved society? Just one will do.