#361
yes it's really funny and gross considering he ahs like 1% support or something and is barely a blip on the scene never mind leader of any opposition
#362
works nicely with the elder propaganda line of Oligarch Candidate, But Putin's Evil Made Him United States Strong. the truth is probably somewhere in the middle, a moderate rebel you might say
#363
strayan politics is extremely popcorn right now
#364
cool hat barnaby
#365
It was the thing that really stood out from that performance wasnt it. Maybe it is a comfort hat
#366
I will talk to the people about my pain but first, fetch me my comfort hat
#367
i cant recall the last time i saw one of our politicians wearing a hat, perhaps australia has finally defeated us..
#368
#369
#370
Hat baby hat baby
#371
#372


i think the CFMEU social media team clicked the wrong button...
#373
it's actually kind of charming that the CFMEU are so old school they fall prey to twitter spambots weeks after everyone else
#374
pretty mental that australia is still here, really freaks my nut out
#375
my state is having an election soon and someone told the 3rd party guy about tim and eric
#376


#377
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/14/dutton-considers-fast-track-visas-for-white-south-african-farmers

#378
cory bernardi is doing tv ads for the state election talking about "ensuring a future for your children" 🤔
#379
#380
Bruce is retired with a large self-managed Bat-fund,
#381
im classified by the EPA as a large self-managed superfund
#382
so the SA state election was a bloodbath for Labor, i now live under a tory state government and can only pray it doesnt fuck up essential and community services too badly. the good news is that xenophon got smashed and will only end up with a couple of upper house seats, the man himself lost his lower house race which is pretty funny. more importantly the conservatives won absolutely nothing, their upper house seats will be reduced from 2 to 1, which bodes well for a crushing defeat for cory bernardi in the next federal election, no doubt he will move on to a plum sky news commentator role alongside andrew bolt but at least he wont have parliament as a platform for his filth anymore. still, that is all in the future...
#383
it's weird that you guys dropped the u considering you still sound british. that is my only contribution to this thread, good luck arestrayans.
#384

drwhat posted:

it's weird that you guys dropped the u considering you still sound british. that is my only contribution to this thread, good luck arestrayans.


its a curiosity of the ALP because strayans actually still spell it correctly, with the 'u' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Labor_Party#Name_changes

#385
so the other big election of the weeknd was the byelection for the federal seat of batman, the inner city melbourne seat held by labor in a two horse race against the greens. infighting in the greens has reached fever pitch with the failure of this campaign and the machiavellian leader di natale is now threatening a purge. the party has always been booj but was more sincerely enviro-soft left prior to di natale taking the reigns and starting a hard shift towards the centre right, his leadership was never going to be good for the party but its kind of weird to see them start eating themselves so quickly https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/19/richard-di-natale-calls-for-purge-after-greens-defeat-in-batman-byelection
#386

Petrol posted:

drwhat posted:

it's weird that you guys dropped the u considering you still sound british. that is my only contribution to this thread, good luck arestrayans.

its a curiosity of the ALP because strayans actually still spell it correctly, with the 'u' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Labor_Party#Name_changes



what

that is completely ridiculous

#387
Welcome to Straya.
#388
what is australia
#389

Dimashq posted:

what is australia


The israel of the asia pacific

#390
The Hitler within the larger Hitler
#391
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/federal/maggots-morons-and-dogs-building-union-boss-unloads-on-labor-20180322-p4z5mg.html

somewhat re-assuring. i follow cfmeu on twitter and they always retweet labor stuff, including wayne swan's twitter lol. glad they're fighting harder behind the scenes i guess.

Mr Setka finishes his email on a lighter note, saying "PS: I am not on a rant" and "sorry for telling the truth," while wishing his colleagues a good weekend.

ahah

#392
CFMEU are the good guys, they understand twitter is just for PR bullshit
#393
Break out the popcorn for this one, mates http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/au-pair-visa-in-public-interest-dutton/news-story/ce765eba06f06fe3d5e3b63d75de1490

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton claims it was in the "public interest" to grant a visa to a foreign au pair, after using his ministerial powers to intervene in her case.

The visa was granted after a young woman's bid to enter Australia was ruled unlawful following her detention at Brisbane International Airport.

Over the past two years Mr Dutton's department has been trying to suppress key details of the case and the reasons underpinning the decision.

AAP sought access to details surrounding the case under freedom of information laws, but documents supplied were heavily redacted citing privacy concerns. AAP is now awaiting an outcome from the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

An au pair is a person under 30 who travels abroad for a temporary period and lives with a host family. They generally receive free board, meals and spending money in exchange for child care and light housework duties.

In this case, a young woman had her eVisitor visa cancelled at the Brisbane airport on June 17, 2015, which rendered her an "unlawful non-citizen" under migration laws

AAP understands she made a phone call to a contact while detained at the airport and was "quickly" granted a new visa which allowed her to lawfully enter Australia.

A document tabled in parliament shows the woman was granted a tourist visa (subclass 600) after Mr Dutton used his ministerial discretion to intervene in the case.

"Having regard to this person's particular circumstances and personal characteristics, I have decided to exercise my discretionary powers... as it would be in the public interest to grant this person a visa," the parliamentary document says.

"I have decided that as a discretionary and humanitarian act to an individual with ongoing needs it is in the interests of Australia as a humane and generous society to grant this person a (visa)."

An Immigration official familiar with the visa cancellation process at the airport was "very surprised at this unusual set of events".

"It is hard to see how the grant of the new visa ... was genuinely in the public interest," the source told AAP.

"It is not very common for visas to be granted at the border after the visa a person arrived on is cancelled."

The source said usually people were put on the next available flight home.

Analysis of ministerial discretion statements for 2015 tabled in parliament shows the bulk of these visas are granted to asylum seekers requiring bridging or temporary humanitarian visas or former residents returning to Australia.

A former department official told AAP under the ministerial discretion powers "the minister is God. He can do whatever he likes."

Ministerial submissions concerning the au pair did not involve consultation with the department secretary or the head of Customs.

Mr Dutton has declined to explain why it was in the public interest to grant a visa to the woman and refused to shed light on her "ongoing needs".

Mr Dutton has denied he personally knew the au pair and that she worked for him or his family. The minister and his wife Kirilly have three young children.

"The decision did not breach the statement of ministerial standards," Mr Dutton told AAP in 2016.

Ministerial standards under the Turnbull and Abbott governments state: "it is critical that ministers do not use public office for private purposes."

"Ministers are required to ensure official decisions made by them as ministers are unaffected by bias or... considerations of private advantage."

"Ministers must ensure they act with integrity - that is through the lawful and disinterested exercise of statutory and other powers available to their office."

#394
#395
Another update for the thread nobody gives a shit about - First Nations protests at the Commonwealth Games are being dealt with in a predictably heavy-handed manner, and today Dylan Voller has ended up in hospital after an encounter with the Gold Coast's Finest. Depending on the media outlet you go with, the pigs are either saying he self-harmed or attempted to top himself. To its credit, the ABC is injecting a healthy dose of skepticism

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-13/dylan-voller-in-hospital-after-arrest-at-indigenous-protest/9653074 posted:

Former Northern Territory youth detainee, Dylan Voller, is being treated for injuries sustained in a police van after being arrested for breaching his bail conditions during an Indigenous protest on the Gold Coast.

Mr Voller was among five men who were arrested this morning, they were part of a larger group of people who were trying to disrupt Channel Seven's live broadcast of the Commonwealth Games.

Mr Voller came to national attention in 2016 when he was shown tied to a restraint chair and hooded in a Four Corners episode on youth detention in the Northern Territory.

The episode resulted in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announcing a royal commission into the detention of children in the NT.

Queensland Police said a man who was arrested was transported to hospital in a stable condition for observation.

Police said one of the five protesters attempted to self-harm whilst in the back of a police van, and officers responded by preventing him from continuing and calling for medical assistance.

The ABC cannot independently verify if Mr Voller self-harmed.


Sounds like he was picked up en route to meet other protesters and arrested for breaching bail conditions (iirc he was arrested during the opening ceremony protests so probably to do with that). Hope he's okay. FTP

#396
Big news as a three year long effort to bring false criminal charges against CFMEU leaders has just been dropped. In the process evidence of false statements and destruction of evidence has come to light, as has the involvement of the government in this failed union-busting effort.


#397
the catholic archbishop of adelaide was this week found guilty of covering up child sex offences in the church. he has now been excommunicated haha just kidding he has temporarily stood aside from his position while he appeals the judgment and has now taken the hilarious step of writing to all catholic school children in the state asking for their prayers

#398
*extremely old ben voice* Archbishops. you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy
#399
anyone got any info or thoughts on the recent One Nation drama?
#400
i havent been following it closely because bleugh. but since the company tax cuts seem to play a big part in the falling out between hanson and burston i'd say the coalition is quietly delivering death by a thousand cuts for her not sufficiently toeing the government line

let's not forget one nation has always had a symbiotic relationship with the libs and toney speaking at her recent book launch just goes to show what a short leash she's been kept on