by PAUL COLLITS – TO HAVE one former Liberal minister say something pathetically inept, self-serving and deceitful might be regarded as a misfortune.
But to have two do so within twenty-four hours looks like carelessness.
The subject, again, tediously, is Novak Djokovic’s absurd and useless denial of entry to Australia.
- Karen Andrews’ pathetic attempt at narrative-protection demonstrates the Liberal Party’s core game plan.
- She’s attempting to demonstrate that the madness advanced by her former Government was the right policy.
- When in fact it is, and remains, a sickening indictment of the Liberal Party.
Mercifully, the Liberal butt-covering dills who kept Djokovic out in 2022 are now languishing on the opposition benches, where, on the form of the past two days, they might well stay for quite some years.
Mind you, who can be sure the new Labor Government will see sense on the issue?
IDIOTIC
Following Albo’s recent claim, in the context of the lifting of yet more idiotic COVID restrictions from our backs, that governments should stay out of people’s lives. So, there is hope.
Would one of the lives the Government should stay out of be Novak Djokovic’s? One might hope so. With a huge apology for stuffing him around last time. And compensation.
Back to the Liberals.
First, we had Dan Tehan making the absurd claim that Djokovic should be prevented from entering Australia in January 2023 to play tennis, on the grounds that the Australian immigration system’s integrity was at stake. What integrity?
Now we have Karen Andrews, former Home Affairs Minister, weighing in. Ludicrously, Andrews briefly considered running for the Liberal leadership following the recent election. We dodged a bullet there.
According to an ABC report, the Shadow Home Affairs Minister said it would be a “slap in the face” if tennis champion Novak Djokovic was granted a visa to play at next year’s Australian Open.
“The Serbian tennis player was banned from entering Australia for three years after his visa was cancelled and he was deported in January, but has reportedly shown interest in playing at next year’s tournament,” the ABC continued.
“Speaking to Virginia Trioli on Mornings, Karen Andrews, who was Home Affairs Minister at the time, said he should not receive special treatment.
“It would be a slap in the face for those people in Australia who did the right thing… if all of a sudden, Novak Djokovic is allowed back into the country, simply because he is a high-ranking tennis player with many millions of dollars,” she said.
Karen Andrews’ introduction the home affairs (in 2021) was arresting: “Disrespectful, humiliating and demeaning: Australia’s new Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews accused of bullying”.
MISDEMEANOURS
This, of course, was in the middle of a debate about bullying and other alleged crimes and misdemeanours in the Parliament.
It seems Karen’s own home affairs were not all they might have been. Nonetheless, she has prospered, unlike others so accused.
But what of the substance of her “argument” here? Is she right?
Should vaccinated Australians – diminishing by the minute if “keeping up to date with your vaccines” is taken as the definition – feel insulted if the world’s greatest tennis player (or one of them) comes down-under in January to play in the Australian Open?
If so, why should they feel insulted? There was never a medical reason for excluding Novak in 2022. Fact.
COVID vaccines do not, and never did, prevent the spread of the virus. Healthy people don’t spread COVID. Never did.
Those at risk of catching the virus and suffering harm were only ever the very old, the frail and those with co-morbidities. Not too many, then, among elite tennis professionals. Djokovic never posed any threat to anyone’s health.
The Liberal Government knew this, of course. The Government simply didn’t want anyone to notice that its own vaccine madness had no basis in medical science.
If there were no medical grounds for excluding Djokovic, the reasons must have been otherwise. The Government feared being exposed for its own lies about the efficacy and safety of the vaccines. It is simple as that.
If the Government didn’t know then that Novak’s entry into Australia posed no threat, Andrews must know it now.
If not, she is simply not keeping up with COVID developments. With real science.
The official science is what she probably feels she needs to defend. She is lying.
FORCE
There is now incontrovertible evidence that international lockouts did nothing to prevent the spread of COVID. King Canute cannot stop the spread of viruses. Nor can Karen Andrews. Nor can Border Force.
To make a case, Andrews needs to demonstrate that the COVID zero madness advanced by her Government was the right policy. Naturally, she doesn’t do this. She cannot.
And naturally, the ABC did not press her.
The mercifully departed Immigration Minister at the time admitted that the exclusion of Djokovic was about optics, not health.
The Morrison Government didn’t want to have in Australia one who might be seen as an anti-vaxx poster boy. They had to maintain the false narrative, at all costs.
The real fear of the Morrison Government was that its COVID narrative, underpinned by the vaccines-as-get-of-political-jail-free card, might be compromised. Might actually be noticed. Questioned.
The big oops moment must never, ever happen. Letting Djokovic in looked like a defeat. This was, and remains, a sickening indictment of the Liberal Party.
Karen Andrews’ latest pathetic attempt at narrative-protection clearly demonstrates the Liberal Party’s core ongoing game plan. It is to protect its grim COVID legacy at all costs. “We saved lives.”
It has no basis in logic or morals or evidence. It should sicken those who are vaguely embarrassed at the utter abandonment of rational public health policy and humanity.
BLUNDER
What should vaccinated Australians make of Andrews’ latest blunder?
Not much. Vaccinated Australians might ask, what about the promise of protection from the vaccines against COVID? What of the promise of safety? In view of all of the vaccine deaths and injuries?
What of the recent abandonment by all governments of COVID restrictions, despite the ongoing presence of the virus and the continuing deaths? What of the lockdowns? The vaccine mandates which still keep many out of their jobs?
Good questions, Karen. But you go on. Just blame Novak Djokovic. Deflect.
It saves serious reflection. And admitting your own gross culpability in the greatest political crime in Australia’s history.PC
The Libs are dead and gone 🙁 Sorry Mr Dutton and Senator Alec Antic but their demise is imminent! UAP, ON, DLP, RUA, A1, And so many others are taking your place! And if they all take the time to realise it forming a coalition of those into one Party would be a very wise move as a fair percentage of their Policies are aligned to conservative valued thinking and ideals! So the sooner those “fine” libs and Nationals get together and realise their ship has sunk and changed alegiencies the better 🙂
Time and again this line of thinking fails the electoral test. Fringe parties on the Right have an absolutely dismal record, as recently demonstrated by Australian Liberty Alliance and Corey Bernardi’s attempt. It’s no better on the Left. Scotty from Marketing would be able to explain why; it takes a very long time to establish a political brand with a record in government that voters will back nationally with a view to forming a federal government. Put in these terms, the sheer impossibility of success should become clear, although we know it won’t. The solution for the practical and astute is to join the LNP, fill your local branch with your mates, and start to influence politics at the state level.
“[…] start to influence politics at the state level.”
Have left-wing “liberal” apparatchiks *promised* the members a seat at the table? Will they respect the wishes of the branches? Will they abide by the rules? Maybe you should talk to Lincoln Parker…
“Nationals MP Matt Canavan is encouraging Australia to efficiently use coal-fired power stations amid warnings of higher energy prices.
The Greens in Germany have decided to kickstart nuclear power heading into winter, while Japan recently launched a low-emissions coal-fired power station.
Mr Canavan told Ben Fordham Australia doesn’t have the same technology.
“We’ve got the world’s best coal, but we don’t have the world’s best coal-fired power technology.””
An example of a very well informed and talented MP who occupies a back bench seat in Parliament.
HELE (High Energy Low Emissions) technology produces lower emissions than most coal fired power stations in Australia however the latest is Ultra Super Critical Boiler technology with lower than HELE emissions. And with due consideration for the enormous high quality black coal reserves in Australia and good quality brown coal the most cost effective electricity generators remain coal fired. Before the NSW Labor Government started privatisation and earlier the NSW Coalition Government closed the NSW Electricity Commission and transferred the assets to government owned private companies there were completed plans to upgrade and add new generator units at a number of the coal fired power stations.
Coal should remain our main electricity generator fuel but add Modular Nuclear Generators, built in a factory and shipped to installation location, particularly to replace the many commercial individual Diesel generators off the grid area in country Australia, some Roadhouses have more than one operating and receive substantial fuel deliveries regularly via road train transport. It is also possible to remove the coal fired boiler system and replace with Modular Nuclear.
Former Senator Cory Bernardi, now a Sky News presenter, said recently that unless a Member of Parliament and party member toes the party line there will be no opportunities for promotion to a cabinet portfolio or other more senior role. And if the MP dares to speak publicly contrary to the now far too often woke globalist nonsense that has become the party’s platform too that MP becomes an outsider inside.
This is a terrible situation, from my observations and interest in politics and current affairs I cannot recall a time when the sovereignty of our nation has been infiltrated by foreigners, when our elected representatives behave like puppets and ignore, for example, the economic vandalism of public climate and warming hoax based hidden political agendas, power and wealth creation, crony capitalism.
Consider electricity supply which is primarily a state government responsibility, power stations and transmission lines mostly now privatised were owned and operated by state governments and Australians with access to the world’s largest electricity grid enjoyed reliable baseload and peak demand periods electricity at a very affordable price for all consumers providing a secure foundation for economic prosperity. Today the woke fools ignore the realities of engineering and squander taxpayer’s monies, including incentive subsidies for unreliable electricity sources and now a dedicated specialised transmission line to improve transmission efficiency for those intermittent operation toys. MPs claim they are cheaper and will lower electricity prices, yet electricity prices continue to rise with a 35 per cent rise predicted for 2023.
Of course they are not cheaper, to begin with installations require vast areas of land compared to the land for a power station, and they need feeder transmission lines to connect to the main grid plus “firming” back up ancillary equipment at high cost. And then an average of 20 years working life before removal and replacement expenses are incurred, a power station has an accountable working life of 50 years and well maintained can continue for 80 years or more.
And now the woke fools want to reduce natural methane gas emissions from farm animals but ignore all the other natural sources, a repeat of the ridiculous carbon dioxide emissions targets that ignore natural emissions well exceeding the emissions of human activities. Of course there is climate change, Earth Cycles since time began, about 130,000 years ago the climate zones here in Australia gradually changed and rainforests were replaced by eucalyptus that tolerates droughts and flooding rains. And in between times a major ice age and the little ice age that ended around 1800. And, who would guess, a warming cycle followed.
Clueless Libs is an accurate description now, and the Liberals In Name Only (LINO left) dragging the woke fools to the left to look not much different to Labor Greens on policies. But the Coalition are good managers of finance and treasury aren’t they.
Face it Libs, the Labor media management spin doctors are far too clever for your side. PM Morrison and earlier PM Abbott were smeared, denigrated, suffered character assassination and you Libs dared not to engage and counter the deceptive behaviour of Labor. In fact you don’t even bother to attack, during the election campaign in May 2022 Opposition Leader Albanese claimed he had been economics adviser to Labor PM Hawke. A Sky News journalist checked and discovered that claim was false, he never worked for Hawke, he was a staffer for Cabinet Minister Uren and worked at his Sydney electorate office. Albo still trades on being from a humble beginning, a single mother brought him up in a public housing rental property. Partly correct, but he fails to mention that they lived with his age pensioner grandparents in the property they rented. Many more examples but the end result is that many voters believe Labor’s deceptive marketing campaigns, many even believed that the Morrison Federal Government was responsible for handling bushfires and floods, but natural disasters are primarily State responsibility, State SES, in NSW the RFS, etc. All services funded by State Budgets and reporting to State Cabinet.
So after a lifetime of voting Liberal and when appropriate National I am now completely disgusted with the Coalition.
Recall that the Biloela family were granted permanent residency despite entering the country illegally and making false claims of being persecuted by Sri Lankan authorities even though he returned to that country multiple times?
That’s the “integrity of the immigration system” I guess.