So this is what Abbott's tweaking at the edges looks like

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says that an election promise which will change the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to remove an obligation set out in Fair Work legislation is not changing the Fair Work Act, so he wasn't lying to the Australian people 5 days ago when he said "an incoming Coalition government would not seek to change the Fair Work Act at least for the three years of the next term of Parliament."
Today's effort was a clumsy sophism; "This is a savings measure and it will be achieved by amending the electoral act. It does not require any change to the Fair Work Act."
This is how one section of the Fair Work Act would probably read under an Abbott Government.
Looks mighty like change to me!

Fair Work Act 2009

Subdivision F—Liability for costs of protected action ballot

464 Costs of protected action ballot conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission

(1) This section applies if the protected action ballot agent for a protected action ballot is the Australian Electoral Commission.

(2) The Commonwealth is liable for the costs incurred by the Australian Electoral Commission in relation to the protected action ballot, whether or not the ballot is completed. [superseded]

(3) However, except as provided by regulations made for the purposes of subsection 466(1), the Commonwealth is not liable for any costs incurred by the Australian Electoral Commission in relation to legal challenges to matters connected with the protected action ballot. [superseded]

UPDAAATE!
I see that someone in the blogosphere has begun to put about the story that Tones was only talking about general union elections and not protected ballots so that didn't involve changing Fair Work law at all.
But if one goes to the AEC website this pops up:
"Under the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 (the Act), the AEC must conduct all elections for office in registered organisations unless an exemption has been granted by the Fair Work Australia. This includes all elections and amalgamation ballots for trade unions and employer organisations that are registered under the Act. These elections are usually conducted by means of postal voting, and a wide variety of electoral systems are used."
Yep, Tones is really out to change Fair Work law.

Bread and Circus: Australian media tries to run the election campaign agenda

Letter from Loughnane to Bitar
Click to enlarge

The Gillard Government's re-election team appear intent on starving Tony Abbott of oxygen in the federal election campaign now underway in Australia.

With only one leaders debate on the schedule (instead of the hoped for three) and that apparently right in the middle of the Sunday night feeding-the-kids time zone for many families, both the mainstream media and the Coalition must be fuming.

The attempt to corner Gillard by applying public pressure has badly backfired on both. The media has lost two more opportunities to ponder at length on vagaries of The Worm and Abbott additional televised chances to send his often outrageous claims nationwide without being restricted by a news/current affairs format.

Posted in Crikey on 19 July 2010 along with a letter (above left) from the Liberal Party Secretariat:

Statement from Press Gallery President Phillip Hudson on election debates

The Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery committee looks forward to both the Labor Party and the Liberal Party delivering on their previous promises to participate in three leaders' debates during the formal election campaign.

In particular, we look forward to a guaranteed debate on the first Sunday of the campaign (which is four or more days after the issue of the writs) and, most importantly, a debate on the last Sunday before polling day.

We believe this will allow a proper debate about all the issues and scrutiny of the promises made during the formal campaign launches.

We believe the debates must be designed for television, internet and radio broadcast and there must be no restrictions on the use of audience response meters or other devices.

The members of the Press Gallery are ready to participate in and facilitate these three debates.

Phillip Hudson

Press Gallery President

2010 Election Campaign Day 5 - an abundance of focus group speake

FOWARD! ACTION! PROTECT! VALUES! TRUST! TOGETHER!

He said......She said......They said........

Cartoon from FotoSearch

Monckton gets legal letter from university threatening to sue and then calls up flying monkeys

Viscount Monckton is not amused and this is the commentary which had him so hot under that ermine collar: Abraham presentation.
While this piece by his lordship is part of the reaon the University of St. Thomas is riled and threatening legal action {see above image}.

Watts Up With That has since published Monckton's call to the flying monkey brigade to make Abraham retract or the uni takedown the critique.

A spectacularly unsuccessful move on his part.

If you want to back the scientific view go to Support John Abraham.

Of course Monckton has troubles with his claims in other areas and the House of Lords has very firmly shot down his claim to be a non-voting member of the house here and here.

The sad fact of the matter is that his father was one of the Lords tossed out when the House was reformed and even though he is an hereditary peer the Lords themselves firmly rejected Monckton when he tried to join their numbers via Crossbench Hereditary Peers’ By-elections in 2008 and 2009.