The $61 million plus royal commission into trade unions fails to get the only scalp Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was after

http://www.tradeunionroyalcommission.gov.au:

The Commissioner John Dyson Heydon AC QC handed his Interim Report to the Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove at Government House in Canberra on Monday 15 December 2014.

The Interim Report was tabled in Parliament on 19 December 2014.

Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption Interim Report–Volume 1 [PDF 5.7MB]

Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption Interim Report–Volume 2 [PDF 11MB]

Statement of the Hon Julia Gillard - Dec 19 2014 by Bruce Wolpe

After spending tens of millions of taxpayers' dollars, Tony Abbott fails to land a killer blow on Julia Gillard

Tony Abbott became one of the true believers, convinced Gillard was corrupt or at least guilty of “something”. Abbott would tell colleagues he wouldn’t be surprised if Gillard “ended up in jail”. To place added pressure on the former PM, Abbott announced the Coalition, in government, would hold a judicial inquiry into the affair, adding other dodgy union deals such as the stinking mess of the Health Services Union. [The Courier Mail 13 September 2014]

Mr Abbott said Ms Gillard had been a "dodgy and unethical lawyer". The criticism was not about gender; she had "failed the character test". [Herald Sun 30 November 2012]

Having reportedly spent in excess of $24 million to date on his Royal Commission Into Union Governance and Corruption, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has failed to get the scalp he most prized – that of his predecessor former Labor prime minister Julia Gillard.

Counsel Assisting Submissions, 31 October 2014

http://www.tradeunionroyalcommission.gov.au/Submissions/Documents/SubmissionPart1-1.pdf

Is Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott desperately avoiding being photographed under this particular art work?

World Economic Forum art work in January 2014 at Davos, Switzerland.

Top row, third from left - former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard whom current Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott never managed to beat at a federal election.

Artist: F Morales-de la Cruz @fmdelac 

BACKGROUND

Gillard labels Abbott sexist and misogynist on the floor of the House of Representatives on 9 October 2012

World Economic Forum The Global Gender Gap Report 2013

Two women an ocean apart on a momentous Wednesday 26 June 2013

Crikey.com.au Editorial, 27 June 2013:

Yesterday, a lone woman stood up to her (overwhelmingly male) colleagues who were trying to take away her rights and silence her voice. She stood in the legislature and spoke for women everywhere, and when she could stand no more her colleagues and the people who elected her stood with her. And at least yesterday, she was triumphant.

She is Wendy Davis, a Texas state Senator, who filibustered a bill that would effectively outlaw abortion in Texas. When her 13-hour filibuster ended 11 minutes before the crucial midnight deadline, others took up the torch, shouting down a vote, and preserving women's right to choose -- until Texas Governor Rick Perry called for another special legislative session to pass the bill.

Yesterday, in Australia, our first female prime minister stood up to her male colleagues who were trying to silence her voice. She stood and called their bluff, and she said she was not going down without a fight. But then, when she could stand no more, her colleagues and her friends spoke for a man with a blue tie instead. And while a few remained loyal to her, it wasn't enough. In her final speech as prime minister, she took to the podium alone.

"What I am absolutely confident of is it will be easier for the next woman and the woman after that and the woman after that, and I am proud of that," she said. And no one stood with her at all.

* Photographs from Google Images

Quote of the Week

“Gillard could walk on water and it would be reported that she failed to swim.” {The Australian Independent Media Network 8^th June 2013}

The gentle and generous humour of Prime Minister Julia Gillard

The ABC’s Sally Sara tweeted this image of Paul Bongiorno replacing Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard at her desk to celebrate his 25 years as a member of the Press Gallery. The Prime Minister is acting as one of his ‘assistants’ for the camera.

As the year ends Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's disapproval rating climbs to the second highest in Nielsen poll history

 

Fairfax-Nielsen telephone poll for 13-15 December 2012

Columns left to right: Sept 13-14, Oct 18-20, Nov 15-17, December 13-15

Media reports indicate that 75 per cent of Nielsen poll respondents were aware of the AWU affair
Poll respondents numbered 1,400
Margin of error is +/- 2.6%

 

The Age 17 December 2012:

If preferences are instead calculated

by how respondents say they will allocate them,

the gap between the parties is narrower,

with the Coalition on 51 per cent and Labor on 49.

Gillard labels Abbott a misogynist on 9 October 2012

http://youtu.be/ihd7ofrwQX0

Janelle Saffin and Gillard Government deliver! $4 million for a community health centre in Yamba

THE HON WAYNE SWAN MP

Deputy Prime Minister

Treasurer

THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP

Minister for Health

THE HON JANELLE SAFFIN MP

Member for Page

MEDIA RELEASE

Friday, May 4, 2012

$4 million for a community health centre in Yamba

The 2012-13 Budget will deliver a vital new health facility in Yamba.

Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek today announced that $4.3 million will be provided to build a new community health centre in the town.

“The Gillard Government is delighted to be directing funding toward a facility which will provide important health services to local families,” said Ms Plibersek.

“These capital works will be a major boost for the local economy while they are being carried out, and will provide health care services to thousands of residents of Yamba, Iluka, Maclean and other areas of the Lower Clarence once they are completed.”

Member for Page Janelle Saffin said existing service gaps, particularly in relation to oral health and mental health, will be addressed as part of the project.

“Access to quality health care, which will meet the increasing demand for services and attract doctors and nurses to our region, is the number one priority for residents in Yamba,” said Ms Saffin.

“The funding will go toward new outpatient clinics and facilities for local GP services, mental health and dental services.”

“I would like to pay special tribute to Yamba-based health campaigner, Jim Agnew OAM, who has been lobbying for this facility for many years.”

Funding for the community health centre was made available from the Gillard Government’s Health and Hospital Fund (HHF.)

The application was assessed by the independent HHF Advisory Board.

This centre is one of a large number of projects being funded by the HHF in the 2012-13 Budget to help regional health service networks manage the expected increase in demand for services over the coming years.

Funding for the hospitals will be made available from the Gillard Government’s Health and Hospital Fund (HHF.)

The application was assessed by the independent HHF Advisory Board.

This development is one of a large number of projects being funded by the HHF in the 2012-13 Budget to help regional health service networks manage the expected increase in demand for services over the coming years.

Treasurer Wayne Swan said: “As a Labor Government, we will always manage the economy in the interests of working people, and that means delivering a surplus while making room for critical investments in health infrastructure like the one here in Yamba.”

For all media inquiries, please contact Simon Crittle (Plibersek) on 0466 773 531 or Peter Ellem (Saffin) on 0437 303 875

Has the caravan moved on from Kevin?

A selection of tweets concerning former Oz Foreign Minister and once-more-with-feeling aspirant for the role of Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd MP. The level of sly mockery must give the number crunchers pause for thought. Áussies don't normally vote for the butt of their jokes

chrismurphys chris murphy

If Kevin Rudd is made Leader of the ALP I will be first Murphy since 1891 not to vote Labor. Grandfather Gallipoli, 6sons WW2. #auspol

annabelcrabb Annabel Crabb

Kevin Rudd: So difficult and chaotic that I put him in charge of Australia's foreign policy. #eeeek

toplitigator Mark J. Cohen

Possibly line of the day: 'Kevin Rudd is a self-made man, and he is devoted to his creator'. #auspol

PaulBongiorno Paul Bongiorno

Reality check: Kevin Rudd was rolled before the 2010 election, Julia Gillard then won the vote 2pp just over 50% and won the negotiation.

Wil_Anderson Wil Anderson

Kevin Rudd is challenging. Never has a truer sentence been typed...

latikambourke Latika Bourke

Now, Stephen Conroy on the #pokies story and Wilkie's revelations - says it's clear Kevin Rudd has been a 'complete and utter fraud.'

zozstar zoran

Break news:Kevin Rudd has said nothing in the last few hours #auspol

BreakfastNews ABC News Breakfast

Nicola Roxon: Kevin Rudd was "very difficult to work with"

@Joe_Hildebrand Joe Hildebrand

I like how Kevin Rudd launched his new staff-friendly persona by calling a press conference at 1.30am. #lateline

michellegrattan Michelle Grattan

And later today Wayne Swan might tell us what he really thinks of Kevin Rudd

vexnews vexnews

LIKE A BOSS: PM Gillard shows the strongest steel comes from the hottest fire #auspol #respill http://t.co/7bexSdDY

Abbott fleeing from one of his many his blunders

Just in case you missed the edifying sight of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott in full flight on Australia Day 2012.............

Video of a gracious Prime Minister rescuing a snide Abbott; http://youtu.be/pndFC1c1SwQ

Mixed public perceptions of Prime Minister Gillard's character and attributes

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard gets a mixed response from survey respondents in the Essential Report of 4 October 2010:

While Opposition Leader Tony Abbott does not fare well in comparisons with Julia Gillard in the same report:

Click on images to enlarge

Somehow I don't think those budgie smugglers are going to fade away

Jules quite literally nails it in The Daily Examiner on 10 September 2010.

The 2010 Australian general election poll should finally be declared on Monday 13 September 2010.

Never mind the quality, feel the post-election hate

Not content with a mind-blowing Page 13 editorial on 9 September 2010 which clearly positioned the newspaper:
Greens leader Bob Brown has accused The Australian of trying to wreck the alliance between the Greens and Labor. We wear Senator Brown's criticism with pride. We believe he and his Green colleagues are hypocrites; that they are bad for the nation; and that they should be destroyed at the ballot box.

On the same day The Australian pointed out (as though it matters) that Prime Minister Gillard doesn't normally carry a handbag.
A handbag? So why is this so weighty a matter that it has an entire article devoted to it?

I'm much older than Julia, am most definitely not an elite female of any sort and, I haven't carried a handbag for the last twenty years.
Journalist Glenda Korporaal is the odd one out here - not Gillard or I.

However, it is not really about handbags is it? This is merely a snippet from the river of hate continuing to flow Gillard's way and why The Australian is often considered the in-house newspaper of the Coalition parties.

They are passionate about their politics in regional Australia

From the Clarence Valley Review classifieds on Wednesday 28 July 2010.
















Clarrie suggests that this short announcement contains a typo and the last word should be GOLD.
On the other hand.............

Go Gillie!

I'm more than a tad tired of all that nonsense about Oz Prime Minister Julia Gillard being an unmarried, childless and godless sheila, so I was glad when Crikey's Bernard Keane took a scalpel to the mainstream media:

"The growing media obsession with both Julia Gillard's physical appearance and her marital status could be dismissed as indicative of both the essential inanity of the press and its casual sexism. That's certainly enough as it is. The media subjects female politicians to a blatant double standard, requiring them to conform to standards on physical presentation and lifestyle choices that are never applied to men. Moreover, it's not as if the media perpetuates a single stereotype to which female politicians must conform. Instead, it's a constantly changing set of requirements that means there's always something to criticise and the media always wins. Look too good, you're condemned as vacuous, or reliant on your appearance. Don't look good enough, you're disparaged as unattractive. Don't have a family, you're deliberately barren. Have a family, you're a career-obsessed harridan neglecting your kids. But it's more than that. The Australian yesterday launched a series of personal attacks on the Prime Minister, with the clear aim of ridiculing her and delegitimising her as a political figure. It complements an effort by Liberal Party figures to attack Gillard over her childlessness and her de facto marital status."

Go read the rest (with links to Albrechtsen, Stewart & Legge's sly nastiness) here.

2010 Election Campaign Day 10 - Into the Twilight Zone

It all started on the second day of the Federal Election campaign. I woke to find the world bathed in a strange half light and eerie music playing tinnily in my ear.

Then those emails started:

"Caller Lorraine says Julia Gillard was featured in the Launceston weekend paper doing a Nazi salute and that this is not the first time she has done this". {Quote from Crikey news email on 19th July 2010}

"She's a secret NAZI. When she thinks nobody will notice she heils." {Chain email 18th July 2010}

{Picture of Julia

supposedly 'saluting'

doing the email rounds

on 18th July 2010}

150 wankers will save Oz? G'arn!

"And so today I announce that if we are re-elected, I will develop a dedicated process – a Citizens' Assembly – to examine over 12 months the evidence on climate change, the case for action and the possible consequences of introducing a market-based approach to limiting and reducing carbon emissions." {'Moving foward together on climate change' speech on 23rd July 2010}
That rumbling sound followed by a slight tilt to the floor which you experienced after Prime Minister Gillard finished her climate change policy speech was caused by thousands of Aussies running towards The Green's camp.
Insulting the intelligence of the average voter can't have been intentional surely? Telling us all that 150 hand-picked wankers are worth more than we are - after the majority of us voted for climate change action in 2007 and have doggedly held on ever since despite denialist propaganda flooding the mainstream media and blogosphere.
Waaay to go Juuuulia!

2010 Election Campaign Day 8 - Beginning of the 2nd Week

And the day before teh grate ledders de-bait...



















Tell David Speers I'm all systems go, go, go!

2010 Election Campaign Day 2 - let's get the parodies over with early

Julia Gillard by Anthony Pascoe

Tony Abbott encompassed