Quote of the Week

“There is a litany of stories from those on the CDC [Indue Cashless Debit Card] about it not working at places where it is meant to and the fees involved, fees for rent transfers, fees for shopping at Coles, fees and defaults of up to $26 because Indue hasn’t paid loans on time. Despite all of this there is much more to come on the CDC agenda.” [Mel Mac writing in The AIM Network, 13April 2020]

Cartoon of the Month

David Pope

St. Patrick's College statement standing by its decision to revoke honours given to former student Cardinal George Arthur Pell

St Patrick’s College Statement on Royal Commission findings – May 7, 2020

Edmund Rice Education Australia, the St Patrick’s College Board, the Old Collegians Association and the executive of St Patrick’s College acknowledge today’s release of the full and unredacted findings of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse – Case Study 28 and Case Study 35.

The important work of the Royal Commission provided the opportunity for many victims and survivors of abuse to have their stories told and their voices listened to, and for systemic historic failings across many organisations to be exposed.

It also provided the opportunity for reconciliation and for ongoing solidarity around the journey towards the hope of healing. St Patrick’s College remains unwaveringly committed to this course.

In 2019, the College revoked honours which it had previously bestowed upon Cardinal George Pell. This included renaming a building and removing his status as a Legend of the Old Collegians Association. St Patrick’s College stands by these decisions.

At all times the College’s highest priority is the welfare and wellbeing of our students. They remain at the very centre and heart of all we do.

See Parliament of Australia:

• Un-redacted Report of Case Study No. 28: Catholic Church authorities in Ballarat (PDF)
• 
  
• Un-redacted Report of Case Study No. 35: Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne (PDF)
• 
  
• Un-redacted Volume 16, Religious institutions Book 2 (PDF)

Look out for this noxious weed in the Northern Rivers regions!

If you have seen this #weed in the #ClarenceValley contact @nswdpi immediately. #GraftonNSW #Maclean #Yamba #ToxicWeeds https://t.co/42mUfpOv6H

— Clarence Valley Council (@CVCNSW) May 6, 2020

Australian Prime Minister 'Scotty From Marketing' Morrison fails to universally impress

The Washington Post, 6 May 2020:

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison at Parliament House in Canberra on April 29. (Lukas Coch/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

“Morrison’s sudden popularity and salvation from mediocrity is not of his own genius. And hardly deserved. And there are several reasons why…..

Despite bush fires being a common feature of the Australian summer, the Morrison government was unprepared. It had ignored expert advice — including from former fire chiefs and emergency responder leaders who warned for months that the coming bush fire season was not only likely to be catastrophic, but that they didn’t have the equipment, including water-bombing aircraft to fight it. The government also rejected scientific research that predicted the effects of climate change would make bush fires more ferocious than in the past and voted against an opposition attempt to declare a climate emergency.

And then the prime minister went on vacation.

As the biggest natural disaster in Australia’s living memory unfolded, Morrison went to Hawaii. And when it became public, the prime minister’s office tried to cover it up. When he finally returned home, two days earlier than planned, it was not because New South Wales had declared a state of emergency or that two volunteer firefighters had died, but because of the negative publicity. Morrison had taken an image hit…..

Now there is the covid-19 pandemic. While volunteers were still extinguishing fires on Jan. 25, Australia recorded its first case of the novel coronavirus. As the number of cases began to climb, health experts were apoplectic at the Morrison government’s refusal to initiate a federal lockdown or cancel sporting matches. Instead, Morrison spruiked his own plans to see his beloved Cronulla Sharks play in the opening weekend of the National Rugby League.

Even when the federal government finally did impose the first stage of restrictions on March 22, it didn’t deserve all the credit. The state’s premiers, in particular Victoria’s popular leader Daniel Andrews, threatened to go it alone if Morrison refused to act.

The initial stages of the emerging pandemic — like with the bush fires — are further proof that the Morrison government’s instincts are always political and not service-oriented or moral. A true leader should not need to be poked into action by health professionals, regional leaders or even a terrified public….”

Read the full article here.

NSW Northern Rivers online cattle sales power on during COVID-19 pandemic

The Northern Star, 5 May 2020, p.2:

Livestock sales at Casino and Tamworth delivered a total of more than $175,000 worth of stock to online bidders last Friday. 

This result was thanks to an increasing number of bids being made online via StockLive during the auctions at the Northern Rivers Livestock Exchange (NRLX) and the Tamworth Regional Livestock Exchange (TRLX). 

Blake O’Reilly, from Ray White Livestock Gurya, who purchased on behalf of clients at Casino, has been purchasing via StockLive since before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He said there had been a growth in the number of clients watching online. 

“The number of vendors and buyers who are now watching and bidding online at StockLive-partnered auctions has grown significantly since COVID,” he said. 

“Having the online platform working in with the physical auctions strengthens the marketplace and gives a true price for the stock, taking the risk of purchasing. 

“The platform is especially useful for the increased number of sales using ring selling, which gives the purchaser full vision of the livestock being sold.” 

Brad Willis, NRLX Manager, said despite a planned Telstra outage in Casino and Lismore, the auction went ahead successfully, with 360 viewers, 23 registered bidders, 141 bids taken online, and 13 lots sold to numerous buyers. 

StockLive Manager, Libby Hufton, said the number of inquiries from saleyards across all regions continued to grow with more than 15 saleyards using StockLive’s platform. 

“We continue to see the number of buyers and viewers grow each sale we have at these yards. It is a credit to the facility operators, agents and vendors,” she said.

Translating Australia's hard right prime minister in 2020

Scott Morrison makes sure his press conferences are transcribed for posterity at the Prime Minister Of Australia’s Media Centre in a manner which meets with his approval.

There is often some hours lag before a version of any particular press conference is posted online. Though sometimes, as occurred on 5 May, Morrison is not happy with how a press conference panned out and subsitutes a media statement instead.

Probably hoping that nobody will remember to report this:

The Prime Minister concedes #COVID19 infection rates will rise in Australia as restrictions ease to get the economy moving. “Of course, you will see numbers increase,” he says. “That is to be expected.” ⁦[National Affair Editor Hugh Rimington, @10NewsFirst, 5 May 2010]

Due to the time lag at Morrison's media centre, mainstream media usually fills the gap on their own online platforms.

These are the opening paragraphs of a news report on the press conference of Tuesday 5 May 2020.

SBS News, 5 May 2020:

Addressing the media on Tuesday after a historic national cabinet meeting that featured a brief appearance by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Mr Morrison reiterated that one million Australians had lost their job in a single month as a result of the pandemic.

"We now need to get one million Australians back to work, that is the curve we need to address," Mr Morrison said.

"As long as these restrictions are in place, they are costing our economy some $4 billion each week ... it certainly puts enormous pressure, as it should, on the timetable as we seek to move Australia back to that safe economy."…..

For some of the growing number of people who are irritated or angered by the Liar From The Shire’s carriage, demeanor, opinions, obfuscations, downright untruths or chronic refusal to answer journalist’s questions, this barebones news reporting sometimes suffices.

For others, real time social media descriptions of Morrison’s press conferences are preferred.

Here is one example…...

Ingrid M @iMusing, 5 May 2020, Thread commencing at approx. 2:29pm:

prime minister is up. He is focusing on the topic of “getting Australia back to work” today. Heavy breathing. Opening spiel is as usual self-congratulations.

a million out of work, says Morrison. He tips a nod to the Treasurer. Lies that “children are unable to go back to school”. He means many children are not *in classrooms*. The $4 billion a week cost of restrictions figure is going to do a lot heavy lifting here.

getting a million Australians back to work, more than a million Australians have had their claims for jobseeker processed. So given eligibility requirements and the number of pre-roni unemployed people, there are well over one million unemployed now.

Morrison has a slide show. Babbles out a list of sectors and jobs figures. Arts and recreation services, hospitality and food services, the agricultural sector, restaurants and cafes are closed. Note the absence of humans from this rhetoric.

oops, spoke too soon. The grower and the chef got a mention. Morrison says the job losses will be greater in Victoria because the restrictions are stronger so now we can begin to see where that $4 billion a week is. How unpolitical of him.

confidence. I love it when some economist explains the confidence variable to politicians. They never get it, as a predictive nor explanatory factor. Astrology for white dudes.

Christian Porter is up, as IT minister today. Workplace “safety” legislation is his brief, an area the Liberal Party is renowned for deliberately dismantling - see the double dissolution election Turnbull called using the ABCC bill.

babbles a bit about a dynamic and fluid environment whatever. The safe work Australia website is being re-built? Expanded. It will provide a “granular level of detail”. Porter has swallowed a buzzword list today.

I guess the queries function and info on the safework Australia website will be as efficient as jobkeeper application processes ie it will work for applicants whose application is consistent with Liberal Party ideology and political objectives and a clusterfuck for everyone else.

next up is covid committee chair and mining industry CEO Nev Power. Maybe no construction giant grifters whose greed kills workers were available to speak on workplace safety today.

unions are the main repository of workplace safety expertise btw but we have a business guy and couple of politicians from the party of business here instead.

the Morrison goldfish gulp and malapropic garbling is worse than usual today. Why is he so tense?

questions. Who is Greg? He starts with the fucking nonsense the Trump administration is spewing to try and cover for its monumental public health failures.

Morrison obliges by repeating the semiotic anti-Chinese racism terms a number of times.

schools. Morrison says “not opening schools fully is costing jobs and it does cost the economy”. So he has stopped lying about using schools for his political-economic objectives, at least.

Power adds lots of words and not much meaning on businesses adapting as restrictions are eased. Recall the vast majority of businesses - outside hospo - were not closed by official roni restrictions but by going to the wall (or into “hibernation”).

K Murphy asks about the trans Tasman travel bubble and contextualises with federalism - state and territory border closures. Morrison is very defensive. He is essentially telling premiers and chief ministers to open the borders. He *forgets* the trans-Tasman part of the question.

after being reminded, Morrison pretends to answer the trans-Tasman travel bubble question. But other than fetishising the alleged firstness (it isn’t) of the NZ PM being at National Cabinet, there is nothing specific to announce. “We are working co-operatively together” he says.

they have a stronger biosecurity regime and so do we? says Morrison. What does that mean?

Coorey. He is told this is about a covid safe economy (there’s the slogan for the near), Morrison tells him. The $4 billion a week gets another outing. Grattan. Gets a stream of self-congratulatory gibberish. We have tripled our ICU capacity. Okay.

Probyn: you have talked about pubs and restaurants.

Morrison: no I didn’t.

Probyn: well Neville was. When can the two Andrews, I mean the two Dans, legally have a drink together?

Morrison: they can now, just not in a pub. Andrew.

Nev and I, says Morrison quickly. Subtext: don’t wedge me, mate. Andrew.

PvO. His friend was stood down today.

PM indulges some bullshit federalism rhetoric. National cabinet has more to discuss about easing restrictions. Flattening the curve has come at a price.

Looks like no agreement on anything at all was reached in national cabinet today.

asked again about schools, Morrison says it wasn’t on the agenda today. He is happy to “encourage non-state schools by bringing forward funding”. The Premier of Victoria can make decisions about state schools, that’s his bailiwick.

Yes, Morrison said bailiwick.

asked whether he was against Barilaro contesting Eden-Monaro because Barilaro would have been a destabilising force if he won (the Sunday Savva thesis) Morrison says no and no.

okay I’ve had enough. Tl;dr: national cabinet was an unproductive and discordant session today, Morrison is therefore delivering a set piece with his biz CEO mate, which is essentially gaslighting workers and babbling bullshit.