First words in the Forty-Third Australian Parliament that Tony Abbott may repudiate

Somehow I suspect that these words may be some of the first Opposition Leader Tony Abbott will repudiate in the Forty-Third Commonwealth Parliament:

Mr Speaker, you are the custodian of the traditions of this parliament. You are the custodian of the rights of members. You are no longer a creature of party. You are no longer the creature of the executive. You are now free to be in this parliament everything that a Westminster style Speaker should be. This is your time, Mr Speaker, and I know you will use it in the best interests of this parliament and this nation.

A far cry from this previous statement by Abbott on 22 February 2008:

Mr Speaker, you are acting dishonourably.

Which may in part explain the constrained look (hinting at barely restrained annoyance) on the Speaker's face, on the first sitting day since the August 2010 general election, as Abbott proclaimed:

Mr Speaker, I never wavered in my faith that you were the best person for the job that you hold. There were weeks when others doubted. There were weeks when you must have doubted yourself what was going to emerge from this parliament. But I was with you every step of the way. I was there, I was your true friend......

Although it is more likely that the reason for this apparent coolness towards Abbott may be found in Jenkins' remark after his re-election as Speaker:

It is true to say that it has been an interesting period over the last few weeks, and you get to acknowledge those that are close to you, both family and friends. At some stage, perhaps, the true story of the last few weeks will be aired.......

As for future interaction in the House of Representatives between this pair, perhaps one should look to the past. Harry Jenkins or his deputy removed Abbott from the House during the Forty-Second Parliament at least thrice and he was requested to resume his seat on occasions too numerous to mention. One has to wonder how long it will be before he tries The Speaker's patience during this particular parliament.

Teh Drum woz wrung! Poodle doesn't win 'most loathed' prize

The Sydney Morning Herald poll early yesterday evening

Aunty ABC has been getting her knickers in a knot because Marieke Hardy over at The Drum online decided to presume that "there is nobody in the entire world who is loathed by Australia more than Christopher Pyne".

Of course Aunty should apologise to "Poodle' Pyne for getting its facts wrong.

He's only the second-most loathed person in Australia! After Andrew Bolt or Alan Jones on any given day and when the wind is blowing in from the west.

Here's editor Jonathan Green disappearing up his own nether regions in an effort to avoid whatever fall-out he imagines might come his way:

"On Monday I approved a piece by Marieke Hardy titled The Pyne experiments. I was wrong to do that.
Marieke is a very talented writer ... we value her contributions. Drum readers love her too, regularly making her Monday columns among our top 10 pieces for any given week.
I feel I let her down this time, because the assault on Christopher Pyne she filed this week was not on a par with the main body of her work. It was not up to her standards, and failed to meet the standards for argument and well-thought opinion we try to maintain on this site. As her editor I should have told her that and pulled the piece.
We’ve dropped it from our site now, and we take this opportunity to apologise to Christopher Pyne for both the attack and for its deeply personal nature. There is no formal pressure on us to do this, but we think it’s the right thing to do.
Mistakes happen in daily publishing. Sometimes things see the light of day that on reflection ought more properly have been cut, re-written or dropped altogether. I take the view that while it’s regrettable to make the error in the first place, it’s never too late to both apologise and do what you can to correct the situation.
Jonathan Green"

Telstra tries to close the gate behind those bolting brumbies

In the Clarence Valley on the NSW North Coast Telstra customer satisfaction is probably at an all time low and, in a clear case of karmic retribution, some customers are telling me that they will be abandoning their home and business accounts as soon as current contracts expire because this national telecommunications company is not supporting the community and local economy.

So it was with some amusement that I read the following in The Herald-Sun on Thursday 30 September 2010:

AFTER years of appalling service Telstra has finally conceded the customer is always right.
In a major turnaround, Telstra chief David Thodey yesterday pledged to lift rock-bottom customer satisfaction levels.
Under a $1 billion plan already under way, Telstra intends to drastically reduce complaints and resolve problems on a first-call basis.
In recent months Telstra has scrapped a $2.20 "administration fee" and shelved charges for calls to Telstra's help desk for service and support from home and mobile phones.
Some "nuisance fees" will also become a thing of the past, with Big Pond customers no longer having to pay for extra email addresses.
And in another break with the past, Mr Thodey declared there would be no flashy advertising campaigns, instead spending the money to change staff attitudes.
"What we will be focused on is changing the culture of this company, changing the way we interact with customers and giving a different experience," Mr Thodey said.
Staff are already being sat down to watch a short film that Telstra marketing chief Kate McKenzie says will teach them to stop "lecturing to the crowd" - "Something we've been guilty of in the past," the film's narrator says.
Ms McKenzie adds: "We don't want to shout at our customers, we want to have a dialogue with them."

The day before the newspaper article I received a copy of this email:

From: [redacted]
Sent:Wednesday, 29 September 2010 8:53 AM
To: 'nswtcw@team.telstra.com'; Telstra - Susan.Passmore (susan.passmore@team.telstra.com)
Cc: [redacted]
Subject: Attention Ms Sue Passmore
Importance: High

Ms Passmore

I am totally dismayed (no, disgusted!) by Telstra's decision to close its Grafton call centre.

It seems loyalty counts for nothing – only the almighty dollar counts!

Hence, I now hold serious doubts about remaining as a Telstra customer.

Please forward to me at my postal address (below) the relevant information, papers, forms, etc associated with closing my account for all Telstra services associated with my phone number and address.

[Name and address redacted for privacy reasons]

UPDATE:

TELSTRA shares crashed to a new low yesterday as the telco tried to calm staff concerns over speculation thousands of jobs would be cut.
It is believed to be part of a three-year plan to simplify the business and strip costs to bolster dwindling earnings.
Shares in Telstra fell 6c to $2.62 as David Thodey's strategy to revitalise its lumbering business failed to win over investors and as speculation on massive job cuts permeated the market.
In an internal memo, Telstra staff were told to expect more job cuts but to remain focused on improving the business.
[The Australian on 1 October 2010, as Telstra share price continues to reach record lows]

A nugget of truth?

"I gave a Bible to my daughter.

That's how you make atheists."

Dave Silverman, president of American Atheists

Telstra continues down the path to irrelevance as Thodey tries to woo MPs with canapés & cocktails

Historical share price table from Telstra website

Market share not what it used to be, share price in a downward spiral since 1999 and reaching a record low recently, dividends not as golden as they used to be, profit margins getting slimmer, a company profile which is often a public relations nightmare - and now national telecommunications 'giant' Telstra has added insult to injury by trying to lobby a federal MP who just happens to have seen Thodey's razor gang at work in her own electorate.

This is the Member for Page's response to David 'let them eat cake' Thodey in a media release on 28 September 2010:

Saffin condemns Telstra decision to close Call Centre

Page MP Janelle Saffin said Telstra Business has today shown its contempt for its employees and for Regional Australia with its decision to close the Grafton Call Centre on November 23.

Ms Saffin said with this move Telstra missed an opportunity to turn around public opinion and show it can be a good corporate citizen.

"By ignoring the unprecedented local campaign to save the local Telstra jobs, Telstra has made it pretty clear how much it values us here in the regions.

"The organisation has chosen to ignore its employees, the union, the Mayor, and State and Federal representatives and about 6000 local people who signed a petition asking to keep the centre open.

"Telstra will now find it has very poor standing in the local community and faces the loss of a lot of local business.

"This decision shows a total lack of imagination. Telstra couldn't see that expanding their operations in this region could have been a cost saving.

"I note that CEO David Thodey regularly talks about Telstra's new push to improve customer service, but the Corporation somehow believes that the best way to improve customer service is to cut jobs.

"Today in Parliament all MPs received an invitation to cocktails with Mr Thodey in Canberra next month.

"I have answered that along with more than 6000 people in the Clarence Valley, I want the 108 jobs in Grafton and not the canapés and cocktails.

"Today I have lodged a Notice of Motion in the Parliament calling for the condemnation of this appalling decision.

Daily Examiner photoshops Telstra CEO with predictable results

Never say there will be no lingering bitterness over Telstra's decision to axe around 180 jobs in the Clarence Valley and strip about $6 million in wages from the local economy.
In today's Daily Examiner David Thodey's image has obviously been photoshopped as an invitation for a bit of anatomical comparison.
I'm happy to oblige...........

BEFORE

























AFTER

Just how thick is Tony Abott et al?

Fair dinkum!

Abbott's mob put up Bruce Scott who, despite the comments that follow about the coalition parties, is more than a half decent bloke for the spot of Deputy Speaker.

And, surprise, surprise, Scott was rolled 78 votes to 71.

Gee! That was an earth-shattering surprise!

Who, apart from Abbott and his half (and that's an extreme exaggeration) brained deputy Julie Bishop would have thought Scott, with his National Party baggage would capture the imagination, let alone the votes, of the Independent MPs who had previously seen the light and jumped ship from the terminally diseased National Party and its inbred relative the Liberal Party?

It isn't just lack of money which makes for a shorter life - it's often discrimination by the health care professions

Last Monday morning I caught a news item on ABC radio concerning a study commissioned by Catholic Health Australia which reportedly showed that an affluent person lives longer than a poor person. Around three years longer.

I immediately looked down at my wristwatch and began to count the seconds - as surely as night follows day it came across the airwaves.

In this instance it was a certain Jesuit priest Fr. Frank Brennan (pictured opposite); who baldly stated "If you come from a poor, dysfunctional family without education, of course your health outcomes are going to be worse than if you are from a well-off, functional family which has a good education."

Yes, that's right, the bottom line is that it is all the fault of the dysfunctional family.

Never mind that Australian society subtlety discriminates against those who are obviously in the lower socio-ecomonic strand. That the social determinates of health and well being are a lot more complex than alleged family dysfunction.

When giving such a statement to the media don't make an effort to point out that the affluent and articulate are likely to be seen by the medical and related heath care professions as being the peers of people in these groups and, therefore more time and energy is frequently expended in exploring treatment options and providing medical care even within the public health system.

Stay silent on the fact unofficial medical service rationing is occurring in this country and that it is not often occurring to those with money. In fact it has already been admitted that living in regional Australia often results in lower life expectancy for some life threatening diseases and, there is some evidence that those with higher incomes may receive more referral to specialist doctors if New Zealand research translates to Australia as I suspect it might.

Do not even consider that such unconscious systemic discrimination (based on socio-economic status, ethnicity or diagnosis) leads to poorer health outcomes in our supposedly democratic and egalitarian society.


* A quick Google search using the term "discrimination by health professionals" displayed over 83,000 results including discussion of discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, diagnosis and income levels.

Journalism and ethics - can they ever share the same bed?

I'm still trying to puzzle this out.
After interviewing a blogger apparently on the proviso that his anonymity would be preserved, a journalist later decides to out that same blogger on what seems to be a personal slow news day.
Or was old fashioned jealousy at the root of this unethical outing?
This is James Massola in justification mode:
"As I wrote on August 7 after interviewing Jericho (preserving his anonymity) about the piece that sparked debate: "Across Twitter a conversation bubbled and crackled as journalists and readers debated the merits of reportage from the campaign trail. Such a public conversation about journalism was unimaginable five years ago. If for no other reason, the incident demonstrated why Twitter, and blogs, matter."
So why did I out Grog if I thought he should keep blogging?
As a prolific blogger and tweeter, Jericho was putting information in the public domain to provoke discussion and debate. It might have been a hobby, but by engaging directly via Twitter with dozens of journalists, Jericho and his views became part of the public debate - and in an age in which the dissemination of information has been democratised, his scribblings had an influence."
Whatcha been drinking Jimmy?