Category: Federal
-
Alex Mitchell’s Weekly Notebook – Turnbull’s mission to woo wets, dries and Murdoch
It is not unusual for political leaders to mould their parties in their own image. In the Australian context we need only mention Robert Menzies, Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke and John Howard. These politicians moulded the course of their respective parties, redirecting policies and priorities. As a result they changed the way Australians thought and…
-
Alex Mitchell’s Weekly Notebook – Oz drawn deeper into Middle East graveyard
Twelve months ago the Tweeters and Facebookers were in full cry demanding the bombing of Damascus and the public execution of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. They were also howling for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges following the downing of Malayasia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine. At the same time,…
-
Alex Mitchell’s Weekly Notebook – Some final words on the Tony Abbott nightmare
Abbott’s sour farewell speech in Canberra confirmed his inappropriateness to be prime minister. Can anyone remotely imagine Bob Menzies, Malcolm Fraser or John Howard telling the nation “We are not the Labor Party” when leaving the prime ministership? But Abbott was still boxing shadows and the anti-Labor fantasies he acquired in his adolescence when he…
-
Alex Mitchell’s Weekly Notebook – After Abbott’s demise, the heat is now on Bill Shorten
This week began with a mutinous insurrection by Liberal Party MPs against their own leader, Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Ghostly memories of the overthrow of Bob Hawke (1991), John Gorton (1971) and Margaret Thatcher (1990) floated by. By the end of the week Malcolm Turnbull was the new PM, Abbott was cactus after one year…
-
Alex Mitchell’s Weekly Notebook – It’s bombs away for Abbott’s by-election
Bolshevik leader V I Lenin once said that during political discussions and world diplomacy “there is a time for the brush and a time for the razor”. Prime Minister Tony Abbott, aka “The Mad Monk”, has decided to use both the brush and the razor simultaneously. His token humanity – offering residence to 12,000 Syrian…
-
Alex Mitchell’s Weekly Notebook – Joe Hockey will be thrown overboard from sinking Oz ship
Wednesday, 2 September 2015, deserves a special status in Australia’s calendar as the day when things started to unravel: growth in the second quarter fell to 0.2 per cent, the Aussie $ dropped under 70 cents to a six-year low and is heading towards 50 cents, the share market crashed to a new post-GFC low…
-
Alex Mitchell’s Weekly Notebook – Abbott’s plunge into the Syrian cauldron
To save his own political skin and to win next month’s khaki by-election in Canning, WA, Prime Minister Tony Abbott is on the brink of ordering the RAAF to bomb Syria. Any bombing raids would be illegal and they are not sanctioned by a UN resolution. The rationale will be that it is a humanitarian…
-
Alex Mitchell’s Weekly Notebook – Lycra-clad Abbott has run out of time and puff
The disintegration of the Abbott government is now being serialised on the nightly news. Every day brings a new instalment of Cabinet disunity, policy stuff-ups, backstabbing and hilarious attempts by Cabinet ministers to talk about how well they’re doing. Question time has stripped Abbott of his braggadocio and any pretence that he is a national…
-
Alex Mitchell’s Weekly Notebook – Why the Mad Monk is building a climate of fear
According to the Mad Monk, aka Prime Minister Tony Abbott, every single Australian is now a potential target of the “death cult”, i.e. ISIS, ISIL, IS or Daesh. There could be a bomb attack on any crowded venue in our capital cities at any time, he says. Australians should place themselves on a war footing…
-
Alex Mitchell’s Weekly Notebook Bye bye Bronny – behind the sacking of the Speaker
The sacking of Speaker Bronwyn Bishop is a significant blow to the hard right coterie supporting the “Mad Monk”, aka Prime Minister Tony Abbott. She is a factional warrior and a bag lady for the Liberal Party’s NSW division. She joined the Liberals at the age of 17 and camped in the Senate from 1987…