Showing posts with label Liberal Party of Australia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liberal Party of Australia. Show all posts
Sunday 2 December 2018
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s poor judgment on show again
Just because Scott
Morrison’s maternal grandfather and mother were New Zealand citizens and he lived in
that country for a few years as an adult, did he really have to wish this NZ political disaster zone on Australia?
BuzzFeed, 29 November 2018:
In a speech to the
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday night, prime minister
Scott Morrison announced Steven Joyce would head the first national vocational
education review in more than 40 years…..
Joyce is a former New
Zealand National MP who was given the nickname "Mr Fixit" (making him the Kiwi equivalent of our very
own Christopher "I'm a Fixer" Pyne) during his time in politics.
He served as the
tertiary education minister for about seven years (January 2010 to December 2016) and was the architect of
former prime minister John Key's massive cuts to training programs across the
country.
During his first four
years on the job Joyce cut more than $60 million from regional and urban
training centres, according to New Zealand's Tertiary Education
Commission data…..
Sandra Grey, president
of New Zealand's Tertiary Education Union, said Joyce's time as minister was a
"real disaster for New Zealand".
"The real cost of
his cuts is a $3 billion shortfall over the 10 years just gone," Grey told
BuzzFeed News. "A $3 billion hole... we're never going to fill that.
That's where the strain on staff and students comes. He chose to keep the budget
flatlined but it cost more and more each year to run the sector."
Figures from the New
Zealand Treasury confirm the Key's government budget left the sector more than
$3 billion underfunded by not increasing year on year expenses in line with
CPI.
Saturday 1 December 2018
Quotes of the Week
“Some say the Liberal Party is dead and personally I do not care whether
it is or not. Something will rise, phoenix-like, from its trust fund trash
ashes. My kids and I have survived a helluva a lot of vicious Liberal Party
policy, and will again. But if the Liberal Party is dead, I will be the first
to dance on its grave. Good riddance, horrible people.” ” [Academic
and blogger Ingrid Matthews writing
in oecomuse,
27 November 2018]
"The
parliament is part time under this prime minister, but the civil war in
the Liberal Party is a full-time occupation." [Opposition Leader & Labor MP for Maribyrnong
Bill Shorten, House of
Representatives Hansard,
29 November 2018]
Labels:
Liberal Party of Australia
Tuesday 27 November 2018
Morrison goes full Trump and democracy begins to suffer
Channel
9 News online,
22 November 2018:
Scott Morrison insists
police need immediate access to encrypted messages to stop future terror
attacks.
The prime minister says
new laws giving police access to the messages must pass federal parliament in
the final sitting fortnight of the year, after three men charged with plotting
a terror attack in Melbourne were accused of using encrypted communications.
"Our police, our
agencies need these powers now," Mr Morrison told reporters in Sydney on
Thursday.
"I would insist on
seeing them passed before the end of the next sitting fortnight."
He said the foiled
Melbourne plot showed it was incredibly important for authorities to have
powers to intercept encrypted messages on apps like WhatsApp.
Mr Morrison urged the
committee examining the laws to wind-up its review as soon as possible so the
laws can be passed.
The Liberal-chaired
committee has scheduled three public hearings on the bill, with the final one
set for December 4 - two days before parliament rises for the year.
To pass the encryption
legislation before then, the Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security would
likely have to bring forward or abandon the hearings.
The next
Encryption Bill public hearings are scheduled for 27 November, 30 November and
4 December 2018. In addition to evidence from the full five hearings there are
87 submissions the Parliamentary
Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security needs to evaluate before
writing its report to Parliament.
Both Prime
Minster Scott Morrison and Home
Affairs Minister Peter Dutton are
reportedly applying pressure to the Joint Committee to throw out standard
parliamentary practice and deliver its report no later than 3 December.
It appears
that both theses hard-right politicians are determined to kill off democratic
processes whenever they see an opportunity to do so.
Monday 26 November 2018
Morrison Government looks at women's economic security and domestic violence
This was an Australian
Morrison Coalition Government announcement mentioned in the media on 19 November 2018:
“Women experiencing domestic and family violence will now
also be able to apply for early access to part of their superannuation to help
cover the significant costs of rebuilding their lives….Good Shepherd
Microfinance’s No Interest Loan scheme will help women at risk of domestic
violence access finance when they most need it, without high interest holding
back their financial recovery into the future. The loans will be able to assist
with relocation, essential household items, rental bonds, or, where appropriate,
debt consolidation….” [Australian Government “Women’s
Economic Security Statement”, excerpt, November 2018]
Bearing in
mind that although the husband’s superannuation entitlements are considered property of the marriage these funds cannot be anticipated ahead of any court sanctioned
property settlement in a divorce.
This was the
situation in June 2018 according to the Australian Government Workplace
Gender Equality Agency:
Women comprise 47.0% of
all employed persons in Australia; 25.0% of all employed persons are women
working full-time, and 21.9% are women working part-time.
Women constitute 36.7%
of all full-time employees and 69.0% of all part-time employees.
Average superannuation
balances for women at retirement (aged 60-64) are 42.0% lower than those for
men.
As of June
2018 the Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded 6.25
million females 15 years and older as being in the workforce and 315,600
females as unemployed and looking for work.
According to ASFA
Research and Resource Centre, in the financial year 2015-16:
* Looking at all females aged 15 years and over the superannuation balance
averaged out at $68,499 per person.
* Only 16 per cent of females had superannuation balances of over
$100,000.
* When it came to all women aged 30-35 years of age the superannuation
balance averaged out at $33,750 per person.
* However, 32.7 per cent of all females in the workforce reported
they had no superannuation at all. That’s an estimated 2 million women Australia-wide.
When it comes to that 2 million women without super it is probably safe to assume that; a) the majority form part of the casualised workforce; b) most receive the minimum wage or less; and c) a significant number live in regional and rural areas.
A good many may also be from socially marginalised groups.
Somehow I can’t quite see that a woman being able to access part of her superannuation, or in lieu of super being able to take out a meagre $1,500 interest free loan which has to be repaid, as being of much assistance when fleeing life-threatening violence.
Not while first contact domestic violence services she attempts to access - along with DV emergency accommodation - are so chronically under resourced across the country.
A word of advice to the Morrison Government from Fiona the Bettong; Just shut up about it and fund it - just do your job and fund it - we know your every word is a lie so shhhhh just fund it.
Looking straight at you, Nationals MP for Page Kevin Hogan. Act like a real man and get domestic violence services in the Northern Rivers region more funding - structured to increase annually - guaranteed for the next ten years.
A good many may also be from socially marginalised groups.
Somehow I can’t quite see that a woman being able to access part of her superannuation, or in lieu of super being able to take out a meagre $1,500 interest free loan which has to be repaid, as being of much assistance when fleeing life-threatening violence.
Not while first contact domestic violence services she attempts to access - along with DV emergency accommodation - are so chronically under resourced across the country.
A word of advice to the Morrison Government from Fiona the Bettong; Just shut up about it and fund it - just do your job and fund it - we know your every word is a lie so shhhhh just fund it.
Looking straight at you, Nationals MP for Page Kevin Hogan. Act like a real man and get domestic violence services in the Northern Rivers region more funding - structured to increase annually - guaranteed for the next ten years.
Saturday 24 November 2018
Tweets of the Week
Here’s the moment where the NSW Parliament voted tonight to introduce new laws to fast track children from foster care into adoption. As the Bill passed, you could hear loud jokes from Liberal members about wanting to “hurry up so we can get out of here and enjoy Christmas” pic.twitter.com/WW1p1bTbD1— Padraic Gibson (@paddygibson) November 22, 2018
“These reforms were sprung on the legal, community & Aboriginal sectors with no notice. What limited consultation occurred in 2017 made no mention of many of these reforms, & those that were raised were opposed by a majority of stakeholders,” Leach said” https://t.co/JIkJATdluz— Ray Wilton (@raywilton4) November 23, 2018
Friday 23 November 2018
This was Australia’s faux prime minister Scott Morrison proudly pointing out that he had been fundraising at considerable taxpayer expense
This was
Australia’s faux prime minister Scott
Morrison proudly pointing out that he had been fundraising at considerable
taxpayer expense in order to fill the election campaign coffers of the the Liberal
Party of Australia.....
The Courier-Mail, 19 November 2018, p.6:
While he was on the
Queensland blitz early this month, Mr Morrison confirmed he attended
fundraisers. Many of the donations came from Rockhampton and the Sunshine
Coast.
“I’m meeting with
supporters all around Queensland and I don’t make any apologies for that,” he
said.
“We’re raising funds for
our campaign to make sure Bill Shorten never becomes prime minister in the
country.” Mr Morrison was the special guest at Liberal National Party
fundraising events in several regional towns.
Here is what
he was not boasting about this month……
Seven years before he
was sacked as managing director of Tourism Australia – amid serious concerns
about his management practices – Scott Morrison was the subject of criticism in
a New Zealand audit report examining his activities as head of NZ’s Office of
Tourism and Sport.
A 1999 New Zealand
Auditor General’s report challenged the future Australian prime minister’s
handling of an independent
review of the Office of Tourism and Sport (OTSp) where he was managing
director.
The OTSp was a
quasi-independent body offering policy advice to the New Zealand government and
experienced the loss of a number of board members and officials during Mr
Morrison’s tenure. He finally resigned from the job in 2000 a year ahead of his
contract schedule and returned to Australia….
During Mr Morrison’s
time at the helm of OTSp in the 1990s, New Zealand’s then Tourism Minister,
Murray McCully, praised his input and defended importing him for the job.
“Australia actually
happens to do a bit better than we do out of both tourism and sport,” Mr
McCully said at the time.
But the Auditor General
and the NZ Labour Opposition questioned his performance.
In New Zealand in 1999,
the Auditor General found Mr Morrison had launched a PriceWaterhouseCooper
review of OTSp which precluded contributions from senior staff and the board.
He had said the review
was independent of them, but it seems they were not aware of this.
“Mr Morrison’s
explanation came as a surprise not only to (the office’s CEO and board members)
but also to the Minister himself,” the report said.
“These people had
regarded the PWC report as the review referred to in the purchase agreement.”
The Auditor General’s
report said the board should have been told it had a duty, under the
review arrangements, to commission its own “independent” review.
“It seems that at no
point did Mr Morrison do so,” the Auditor General found.
In June 2000, the New
Zealand Herald quoted the Labour Opposition’s tourism and sport spokesman
Trevor Mallard as blaming Mr Morrison for problems with the OTSp and the
minister.
“And a key reason for
that was that it was run by Mr Morrison, an Australian who was seen as Mr
McCully’s ‘hard man’,” said the report.
“Australian standards of
public sector behaviour ‘are lower than ours,’,” added Mr Mallard.
He was quoted as saying:
“My experience with Australian politicians is that rules and ethics are not as
important to them as they are to New Zealanders.”
Mr Morrison did not
respond to the claims but was supported by the Tourism Minister as “highly
regarded”.
He had lifted the energy
levels and the competence levels substantially above those previously servicing
tourism and sport, said Mr McCully.
Australian Labor is
closely examining the Prime Minister’s career before he was elected to
Parliament in 2007 and the New Zealand experience could be raised.
His next job after New
Zealand was as NSW Liberal Party state director but was linked to the party’s
2003 election failure.
Mr Morrison became
Tourism Australia managing director in 2004 but left in 2006, again ahead of
schedule….
Ever since Scott
Morrison was sacked from his job as managing director of Tourism Australia in
2006, the reasons for his dismissal have been kept secret.
At the time and since,
public speculation has variously attributed the now prime minister’s removal to
a personality clash with his minister, a falling out over changes to the
organisation’s structure, and a dispute over the agency’s contentious “Where the
bloody hell are you?” campaign.
But an auditor-general’s
report completed 10 years ago, which has escaped public scrutiny until now,
reveals that in the period leading up to Morrison’s dismissal, his agency faced
a series of audits and a review of its contractual processes ordered by the
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, amid serious concerns about its
governance.
The auditor-general’s
inquiry into Tourism Australia – which followed these reviews, and was
conducted after Morrison’s departure – reveals information was kept from the
board, procurement guidelines breached and private companies engaged on
contracts worth $184 million before paperwork was signed and without
appropriate value-for-money assessments.
THE AUDIT REPORT OMITS
THE NEXT EVENT IN THE CHRONOLOGY OF RELATIONS BETWEEN THE MINISTER AND TOURISM
AUSTRALIA – THAT BAILEY SACKED MORRISON THE SAME MONTH.
The Australian National
Audit Office (ANAO) report examines three major contracts that Tourism
Australia signed while Scott Morrison was managing director. It criticises
processes in all three cases but especially the contracts for global creative
development – advertising campaigns – and media placement services.
Ten years since the
audit, and 13 years since the contracts were signed, those two completed
contracts appear not to be listed on the government’s AusTender website, where
all contracts are required to be available for public viewing.
Searches, including by
AusTender staff, have failed to locate them on the site this week. Procurement
rules say they must be reported within 42 days of the contracts being entered.
The 2005 request-for-tender documents announcing the proposed contracts are
listed…..
The audit report
criticises extensively the agency’s processes for drafting, executing and
managing the contracts, the opaque accounting processes involved in aspects of
them and poor communication with the board and regional offices, including by
service providers. It details Tourism Australia’s failures at the time to
adhere to guidelines – the signing of a contract without incorporating
measurable performance indicators and non-existent risk assessments or
value-for-money analysis.
Tabled in parliament on
August 6, 2008, the report was one of more than 40 the Audit Office had
produced in the previous 12 months.
It escaped public
attention at least partly because it was not among the handful that
parliament’s joint committee on public accounts chose to examine further in its
role as chief audit scrutineer. At the time, the committee was chaired by then
Labor MP Sharon Grierson with then Liberal MP Petro Georgiou as her deputy.
When the report was
tabled, Morrison was a member of the public accounts committee, which was
tasked with considering it for review. He resigned from the committee six weeks
after the report was tabled and, it is understood, some months before the
committee formally considered it. The Saturday Paper does not suggest
Morrison influenced the audit’s treatment. Grierson says that as Tourism
Australia had accepted its three recommendations, and nobody on the committee
raised any issues, the report was not officially examined further – standard
procedure in dealing with the volume of audits each year.
The Saturday Paper lodged
detailed questions about the audit report with Morrison’s office but was told
he was not able to answer them in the time available.
Performance reviews of
the two key contracts between 2005 and 2007 – contained in the audit – revealed
Tourism Australia had failed to disclose to its own board that it had
underspent $3.9 million on one of the contracts in 2006-07.
It was found that in one
case invoices had been raised before the contract was signed and that in
another case the price paid in some areas of a contract was “more expensive
than the benchmark”.
The audit report does
not mention then tourism minister Fran Bailey’s sacking of Morrison in July
2006, nor any of the alleged preceding tension between them that has been the
subject of public speculation since.
But The Saturday
Paper understands the events and issues the audit report outlines played a
significant role in Morrison’s removal. Unconfirmed news reports have since
alleged that he received a payout of more than $300,000.
Asked to comment this
week on the report’s contents in relation to Morrison’s dismissal, Bailey would
only repeat the one comment she has made before: “I reiterate that it was a
unanimous decision to get rid of Mr Morrison by the board and the minister.”
She added: “I have
always treated confidential matters as confidential.”……
The
Guardian, 18
November 2018:The Morrison government has extended emergency three-month funding contracts to 16 more financial counselling, legal aid and charity groups to keep them open over the Christmas holiday period after it cut their funding with little warning.
The move was made
without fanfare, logged quietly on the Department of Social Services website on
Wednesday evening.
It comes as the social
services minister, Paul Fletcher, faces continued criticism for his
department’s decision to overhaul funding arrangements for key community
services groups in the lead-up to Christmas.
In some cases, barely
two months’ notice has been given to groups to prepare for dramatic cuts in the
new year – a time of year when thousands of Australian families have
traditionally needed more emergency assistance and financial counselling.
On Wednesday
evening, the Department of Social Services (DSS) released a document on its
website saying it would extend emergency three-month funding contracts –
covering the period 1 January 2019 to 31 March 2019 – to 16 organisations that
had lost their funding in the latest round of grants:
FMC
Relationship Services
EACH
Uniting
(Victoria and Tasmania) Limited
VincentCare
Victoria
Odyssey
House, Victoria
Mallee
Family Care Inc
Anglicare
SA Ltd
Centacare
Catholic Country SA Ltd
The
Trustee for The Salvation Army (NSW) Property Trust
Southern
Youth and Family Services Limited
Vietnamese
Community in Australia NSW Chapter Inc
The
Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Q.)
C
Q Financial Counselling Association Inc.
Prisoners’
Legal Service Inc
Agencies
for South West Accommodation Inc.
CentreCare
Incorporated
Neither the government
nor the department has drawn attention to the funding extensions……
Wednesday 21 November 2018
Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells goes full Trump in the Australian Senate
On 21 September 2016,
the Special Minister of State, Senator the Hon Scott Ryan, asked the Committee
to inquire into and report on all aspects of the 2016 Federal Election and
related matters.
The Committee is
conducting a review of cyber manipulation of elections, specifically
considering:
the
extent to which social media bots may have targeted Australian voters and
political discourse in the past;
the
likely sources of social media manipulation within Australia and
internationally;
way
to address the spread of deliberately false news online during elections; and
measures
to improve the media literacy of Australian voters.
This simple
statement appears to have sent Liberal Senator
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells out into the twitterverse hunting the Jabberwocky.
What she actually
found was the Twitter accounts of a
number of ordinary Australians commenting on politics and life as well as one
group account involved in political activism.
To all of
whom she ascribed dark ulterior motives, asking “Who has either the inclination or
the resources to, in the main, retweet 240 times a day, year upon year?”
A sentiment
which made this Twitter user chortle knowing how easy it is to rack up tweets.
This was the
senator in full flight……
Senator
FIERRAVANTI-WELLS (New South Wales) (19:14):
Tonight I again wish to examine how political influence campaigns are being run using multiple Twitter accounts. I recently informed the Senate about the activities of Sleeping Giants Oz, an anonymous, politically motivated Twitter campaign, imported from the US, whose heavy reliance on unverifiable Twitter accounts makes its actual size deceptive. The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters is currently looking at cybermanipulation of elections, including considering the extent to which social media bots may have targeted Australian voters and political discourse in the past; the likely sources of social media manipulation within Australia and internationally; and ways to address the spread of deliberately false news online during elections.
Tonight I again wish to examine how political influence campaigns are being run using multiple Twitter accounts. I recently informed the Senate about the activities of Sleeping Giants Oz, an anonymous, politically motivated Twitter campaign, imported from the US, whose heavy reliance on unverifiable Twitter accounts makes its actual size deceptive. The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters is currently looking at cybermanipulation of elections, including considering the extent to which social media bots may have targeted Australian voters and political discourse in the past; the likely sources of social media manipulation within Australia and internationally; and ways to address the spread of deliberately false news online during elections.
A
submission to JSCEM from Digital Industry Group Inc, which includes
representatives from Facebook, Twitter and Google, concludes:
Fortunately, the experience of DIGI members and the use of their platforms in Australia, to date there is no evidence to suggest that election manipulation has been a widespread problem in Australia as it has been in the U.S.
Similarly a submission from Twitter says:
Fortunately, the experience of DIGI members and the use of their platforms in Australia, to date there is no evidence to suggest that election manipulation has been a widespread problem in Australia as it has been in the U.S.
Similarly a submission from Twitter says:
During
the 2016 election, we were not made aware of any activity related to the
suppression or interference with the exercise of voting rights in Australia.
These reassurances seem at odds with a recent report in The Australian that Twitter accounts linked to the Internet Research Agency, the infamous Russian troll factory, have spread politically charged posts about Australian politics, including the 2016 federal election and last year's same-sex marriage survey.
However, tonight I wish to outline to the Senate how the Australian Labor Party is benefiting from another influence campaign also being conducted via the Twitter sphere. This campaign employs a calculated and malicious strategy of spreading misinformation and political spam via a large web of mainly anonymous but also automated Twitter accounts. These accounts post similar-to-identical pro-Labor, pro-union, anti-coalition content. They primarily engage by retweeting posts from like-minded accounts, creating an echo chamber of reinforcing noise. Twitter is full of anonymous accounts that often exist only to push partisan and frequently toxic debate by interests groups, including fake news. Twitter permits automated retweets and it is easy to make a Twitter bot that will automatically 'favourite' and/or retweet tweets that contain particular words or hashtags.
Many of the accounts to which I refer have tweeted or retweeted hundreds of thousands of times and continue to do so hundreds of times a day, cranking out pro-Labor, anti-coalition messaging on an industrial scale. Often they admit a union connection or Labor viewpoint, together with an eclectic mix of other interests which collectively cover the entire gamut of left-wing concerns. Some accounts run lies and smears against the coalition or needle coalition candidates and parliamentarians while promoting Labor initiatives or running interference for Labor. They are frequently a vehicle for unfounded and defamatory allegations, low-grade research or catalogues of alleged coalition misdeeds which wouldn't be publishable by or rate any interest from the mainstream media. Some recycle media stories which boost Labor or are unflattering to the coalition. For example, @virgotweet, [easily identifiable Queensland retiree] which mainly retweets 80 times a day, recycles old news about alleged coalition scandals and presents it as if new. They typically follow or are followed by a mix of Labor figures and also engage with Twitter feeds of other leftwing organisations. The aim is to discredit the coalition, to promote allies and to distort public opinion by massively amplifying messages which feed into like-minded networks and engage both anonymous and real Twitter users.
These reassurances seem at odds with a recent report in The Australian that Twitter accounts linked to the Internet Research Agency, the infamous Russian troll factory, have spread politically charged posts about Australian politics, including the 2016 federal election and last year's same-sex marriage survey.
However, tonight I wish to outline to the Senate how the Australian Labor Party is benefiting from another influence campaign also being conducted via the Twitter sphere. This campaign employs a calculated and malicious strategy of spreading misinformation and political spam via a large web of mainly anonymous but also automated Twitter accounts. These accounts post similar-to-identical pro-Labor, pro-union, anti-coalition content. They primarily engage by retweeting posts from like-minded accounts, creating an echo chamber of reinforcing noise. Twitter is full of anonymous accounts that often exist only to push partisan and frequently toxic debate by interests groups, including fake news. Twitter permits automated retweets and it is easy to make a Twitter bot that will automatically 'favourite' and/or retweet tweets that contain particular words or hashtags.
Many of the accounts to which I refer have tweeted or retweeted hundreds of thousands of times and continue to do so hundreds of times a day, cranking out pro-Labor, anti-coalition messaging on an industrial scale. Often they admit a union connection or Labor viewpoint, together with an eclectic mix of other interests which collectively cover the entire gamut of left-wing concerns. Some accounts run lies and smears against the coalition or needle coalition candidates and parliamentarians while promoting Labor initiatives or running interference for Labor. They are frequently a vehicle for unfounded and defamatory allegations, low-grade research or catalogues of alleged coalition misdeeds which wouldn't be publishable by or rate any interest from the mainstream media. Some recycle media stories which boost Labor or are unflattering to the coalition. For example, @virgotweet, [easily identifiable Queensland retiree] which mainly retweets 80 times a day, recycles old news about alleged coalition scandals and presents it as if new. They typically follow or are followed by a mix of Labor figures and also engage with Twitter feeds of other leftwing organisations. The aim is to discredit the coalition, to promote allies and to distort public opinion by massively amplifying messages which feed into like-minded networks and engage both anonymous and real Twitter users.
These
accounts often show signs of direct user engagement via unique tweets and
topical comments, which is indicative of their close maintenance and operation.
A key account called @Talaolp
tweets rather than retweets an unremitting torrent of Labor propaganda. It
claims it is:
… sharing information about the Liberal Governments, State and Federal, their deception, lies and misinformation to the Australian Public.
Based in Western Australia, @Talaolp has tweeted 230,000 times in the last five years. That's about 125 times a day. Some of its anti-coalition material is scurrilous and intended simply to smear. It typically posts to three other accounts: 'Sir Clyde of Nob' @Nobby15 [‘Sir Clyde of Hansard, West Australian retiree], 'Big Al' @banas51 and 'Mari R' @randlight.
Sir Clyde of Nob, supposedly a retired IT specialist also based in Western Australia, has tweeted 790,000 times over the last nine years, an average of 240 times a day. It mostly retweets, but every seventh to eighth engagement, on average, is a personal tweet or comment on a post, showing frequent personal intervention. It retweets TALAOLP extensively and boasts about its Twitter reach, in a recent week receiving over 1,600 mentions, 1,500 likes, almost 400 retweets and 230 replies. Big Al, who describes himself as a 'lefty' and a 'hard worker', has retweeted over 200,000 times in the last four years, an average of 135 a day, namely retweeting a broad fare of left-wing commentary. Mari R, who says she wants Bill for PM, has retweeted almost 450,000 times over the last seven years, an average of 175 times a day.
Another such account is MSM Watchdog, supposedly dedicated to 'Exposing unconscionable attacks on the poor'. This account has tweeted 447,000 times over the last five years, an average of 240 a day, predominantly retweets of predictable anti-coalition and pro-Labor material. But MSM Watchdog was stung into life by my recent speech on Sleeping Giants Oz, claiming that the Liberal Party hates social media because 'they are hopeless at it.' If being good at it means flooding the twittersphere with propaganda up to 100,000 times a year, I'll take that as a compliment. MSM Watchdog retweets far more frequently than Sir Clyde of Nob. Some days it only retweets hundreds of times; other days there are also some personal tweets and comments. Both accounts appear to be operated closely by individual users but are almost totally reliant on retweets as a method of amplification. Who has either the inclination or the resources to, in the main, retweet 240 times a day, year upon year? I suggest that the description of many accounts as being operated by unionists offers a clue.
Another account, 'Old and Cranky' [Queenslander who loves football] , which describes its owner as a 'true believer still looking for the light on the hill'—good luck!—has tweeted 329,000 times in the last four years, an average of 225 a day, of antigovernment messaging. Its last 3,200 engagements are all retweets. Similarly, 'Gold Coast Nurse' , which describes its owner as a proud union delegate and member, tweeted 88 times a day in the last five years and has also not tweeted an original thought in its last 3,200 tweets.
What I have described tonight is the Twitter equivalent of a Labor union telephone tree, a Twitter tree, though perhaps a better analogy would be a jungle, and the law of the jungle applies when it comes to its content. An organised union operation backed by Labor volunteers is the most likely source of this influence campaign, but the anonymity of accounts means we can't be sure exactly who they are. These accounts were active during the 2016 election. They're in full swing and, unless checked, will be active during the next election. Twitter's submission to JSCEM claims:
We focus on developing machine learning tools that identify and act on networks of spammy or automated accounts automatically by tracking account behaviour. This lets us tackle attempts to manipulate conversations on Twitter at scale, across languages, and different time zones.
I submit that Twitter is on a steep learning curve and still has a long way to go, and I would suggest it review the activities of the accounts to which I have referred as well as many other high-volume accounts like 'Wowbagger' and 'Fair Dinkum Troublemaker' [Queensland retiree].
As we approach the next election, we need to be aware that political interest groups as well as potential state actors are trying to amplify their messaging and distort debate, including by disseminating fake news using social media platforms. In relation to state actors, I again note that a US intelligence report assessed that:
Moscow will apply lessons learned from its Putin-ordered campaign aimed at the US presidential election to future influence efforts worldwide, including against US allies and their election processes.
Clearly, there is much to be on guard about as we approach the next election. I will be forwarding this speech to JSCEM as I believe it adds qualitative material. [my yellow highlighting]
… sharing information about the Liberal Governments, State and Federal, their deception, lies and misinformation to the Australian Public.
Based in Western Australia, @Talaolp has tweeted 230,000 times in the last five years. That's about 125 times a day. Some of its anti-coalition material is scurrilous and intended simply to smear. It typically posts to three other accounts: 'Sir Clyde of Nob' @Nobby15 [‘Sir Clyde of Hansard, West Australian retiree], 'Big Al' @banas51 and 'Mari R' @randlight.
Sir Clyde of Nob, supposedly a retired IT specialist also based in Western Australia, has tweeted 790,000 times over the last nine years, an average of 240 times a day. It mostly retweets, but every seventh to eighth engagement, on average, is a personal tweet or comment on a post, showing frequent personal intervention. It retweets TALAOLP extensively and boasts about its Twitter reach, in a recent week receiving over 1,600 mentions, 1,500 likes, almost 400 retweets and 230 replies. Big Al, who describes himself as a 'lefty' and a 'hard worker', has retweeted over 200,000 times in the last four years, an average of 135 a day, namely retweeting a broad fare of left-wing commentary. Mari R, who says she wants Bill for PM, has retweeted almost 450,000 times over the last seven years, an average of 175 times a day.
Another such account is MSM Watchdog, supposedly dedicated to 'Exposing unconscionable attacks on the poor'. This account has tweeted 447,000 times over the last five years, an average of 240 a day, predominantly retweets of predictable anti-coalition and pro-Labor material. But MSM Watchdog was stung into life by my recent speech on Sleeping Giants Oz, claiming that the Liberal Party hates social media because 'they are hopeless at it.' If being good at it means flooding the twittersphere with propaganda up to 100,000 times a year, I'll take that as a compliment. MSM Watchdog retweets far more frequently than Sir Clyde of Nob. Some days it only retweets hundreds of times; other days there are also some personal tweets and comments. Both accounts appear to be operated closely by individual users but are almost totally reliant on retweets as a method of amplification. Who has either the inclination or the resources to, in the main, retweet 240 times a day, year upon year? I suggest that the description of many accounts as being operated by unionists offers a clue.
Another account, 'Old and Cranky' [Queenslander who loves football] , which describes its owner as a 'true believer still looking for the light on the hill'—good luck!—has tweeted 329,000 times in the last four years, an average of 225 a day, of antigovernment messaging. Its last 3,200 engagements are all retweets. Similarly, 'Gold Coast Nurse' , which describes its owner as a proud union delegate and member, tweeted 88 times a day in the last five years and has also not tweeted an original thought in its last 3,200 tweets.
What I have described tonight is the Twitter equivalent of a Labor union telephone tree, a Twitter tree, though perhaps a better analogy would be a jungle, and the law of the jungle applies when it comes to its content. An organised union operation backed by Labor volunteers is the most likely source of this influence campaign, but the anonymity of accounts means we can't be sure exactly who they are. These accounts were active during the 2016 election. They're in full swing and, unless checked, will be active during the next election. Twitter's submission to JSCEM claims:
We focus on developing machine learning tools that identify and act on networks of spammy or automated accounts automatically by tracking account behaviour. This lets us tackle attempts to manipulate conversations on Twitter at scale, across languages, and different time zones.
I submit that Twitter is on a steep learning curve and still has a long way to go, and I would suggest it review the activities of the accounts to which I have referred as well as many other high-volume accounts like 'Wowbagger' and 'Fair Dinkum Troublemaker' [Queensland retiree].
As we approach the next election, we need to be aware that political interest groups as well as potential state actors are trying to amplify their messaging and distort debate, including by disseminating fake news using social media platforms. In relation to state actors, I again note that a US intelligence report assessed that:
Moscow will apply lessons learned from its Putin-ordered campaign aimed at the US presidential election to future influence efforts worldwide, including against US allies and their election processes.
Clearly, there is much to be on guard about as we approach the next election. I will be forwarding this speech to JSCEM as I believe it adds qualitative material. [my yellow highlighting]
One Twitter response....
@nobby15 @AnnieOdyne @MrNixonsWife @MSMWatchdog2013 @DresserMelissa Meanwhile at Botsky Central, the Bots were working frantically to get the message out- Senator FW is on to us... pic.twitter.com/CSvjo0O3NQ— Sir Clyde Of HANSARD (@nobby15) November 16, 2018
Saturday 17 November 2018
Sunday 11 November 2018
Australian Politics 2018: the emperor's new clothes
i360 sits on the
bleeding edge of technology, delivering innovative products and services
through the strategic use of data, software and analytics. Bringing together
this unique set of data science, marketing and analytical capabilities, i360
drives innovation and results for our customers in both the political and
commercial spaces…..Using predictive
modeling and state-of-the-art grassroots tools, i360 helps candidates and issue
advocacy organizations target the right individuals with a strategy guaranteed
to make an impact whether at the local, state or national level. [https://www.i-360.com]
It’s no
secret that the Liberal Party of
Australia has contracted the services of data miner and political
micro-targeting analyst i360,
a conservative-aligned platform funded by hard right US billionaire brothers Charles
and David Koch.
i360’s services were used in this year’s South
Australian state election and it is rumoured these services will be available to Liberal
Party sitting MPs during the 2019 federal election campaign.
It’s no
accident that interim Prime Minister and Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison (who
had a Kiwi grandfather and a mother who was a New Zealand citizen by descent)
has suddenly turned himself into a virulent ‘ocker’ - complete with an Aussie beer or
meat pie in hand, thumbs forever standing to attention when cameras begin to
click, spewing forth g’days and fair dinkums ad nauseum while sporting a cheap Australian flag lapel pin on his
business suit jacket. Togged out in hi-vis vests whenever possible. Wearing a veritable parade
of caps for less formal media moments as a "good bloke' and nicking the moniker “ScoMo” from
other Facebook users for his own public relations purposes.
No recognition of his own multicultural background for Scott Morrison - it might offend the One Nation supporters he is so obviously wooing!
No recognition of his own multicultural background for Scott Morrison - it might offend the One Nation supporters he is so obviously wooing!
One has to
suspect he is personally getting a calculated makeover by a professional
image manager. If the image advice is coming from Finkelstein and Kunkel they are definitely not earning their salaries.
The problem
for Morrison is that he has been a federal MP since 2007 and was a Cabinet
Minister from September 2013 until he became prime minister in August this year, so his underlying character is widely known to the national electorate.
A man without a genuine empathetic bone in his body; single-mindedly ambitious, self-righteous, arrogant, prevaricating, unwilling to accept responsibility for the consequences of his ministerial decisions, a shameless dog whistler and, a victim blamer from way back who believes that political or business success and/or personal wealth are visible manifestations of God's approval of the individual and consequently lacking success and wealth indicates moral failure.
His track record as Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (18.9.13 to 23.12.14), Minister for Social Services (23.12.14 to 21.9.15) and Treasurer (21.9.15 to 26.08.2018) precludes him from ever being considered a good bloke.
His track record as Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (18.9.13 to 23.12.14), Minister for Social Services (23.12.14 to 21.9.15) and Treasurer (21.9.15 to 26.08.2018) precludes him from ever being considered a good bloke.
So it was
inevitable that the artifice of his new persona would be mocked……
The
Guardian, 7
November 2018:
He didn’t want the job,
it was handed to him – just ask him. But now that the mantle of greatness has
been thrust upon him, Scott Morrison,
ScoMo to you thanks, is going to take that mantle, put a surf cap from Mick
Fanning’s mum on it and serve it meat and three veg. Fair dinkum. He’s the
nation’s daggy dad and, just in case you weren’t aware of it, he’s going to
stone the flamin’ crows and show you just how ridgy-didge he is. Below are some
memorable quotes. But who said them? Our 30th prime minister, or an Australian
icon?
Top of Form
1. "That’s why you keep backing it in. If
something is working well, you should back it in. And that’s what we are doing
here."
Scott
Morrison
Alf
Stewart from Home and Away
2. "The right is
constantly procreating while the left is grooming a dead dog."
Scott
Morrison
Cleaver
Greene from Rake
3. "No wonder the
country’s in a mess."
Scott
Morrison
Ted
Bullpitt from Kingswood Country
4."We’ve got a
future CEO of the farm down here, I reckon. He’s pretty keen on the ice
cream."
Scott
Morrison
Bill
Heslop from Muriel's Wedding
5. "This is me
doing what I do – I’m out, I’m listening, I’m hearing and I’m doing."
Scott
Morrison
Kenny
Smyth from Kenny
6. "It’s a simple
rule: pants first, shoes second. That always usually works for me."
Scott
Morrison
Alvin
Purple from the movie of the same name
7. "Feels good to
be on the road again. Feels like a drug. Not an illegal drug, a good
drug."
Scott
Morrison
Russell
Coight from All Aussie Adventures
8. "Mate, I think
I’ll take you down to Canberra and let you give the boys a bit of a
rev-up."
Scott
Morrison
Barry
McKenzie from The Adventures of Barry McKenzie
9. "People don’t
hassle me. It’s always very friendly anywhere in the world."
Scott
Morrison
Paul
Hogan
10. "Lily and I had
a great time yesterday doing the hot lap with Mark Skaife and coming down it
was a bit like doing the Wild Mouse."
Scott
Morrison
Steve
Irwin
11. "And yeah, fair
dinkum, we should be supporting Australian businesses."
Scott
Morrison
Darryl
Kerrigan from The Castle
Image Credit:The Guardian
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