Australian Politics General...

[sptrawler]

I do think they often try but there are powerful interests with self serving agendas.

Both inside and outside politics.
In W.A both Barnett and McGowan made a stand, both decided it was too hard and chose to step down.

They both copped a lot of flack, but both did a hell of a lot for the State and the State is worse off for their early departure IMO.

 

[Smurf1976]

This video is about house building in the US but the same concepts apply to anything physical and they apply here in Australia.

It's the reason technical people like me cringe as soon as the non-technical administrator people get involved. They're nice enough personally but they just don't grasp or accept that direct constant supervision is required if you want it done properly. They don't accept that because if they did, well you may as well just employ your own actually competent trades and have them do it.



Now if you have competent people well then they realise things like, you know, if you're buying a boat then you need somewhere suitable to dock it. If you're giving someone a heap of money to do something then you need to check that they're doing it. And so on.

 

[JohnDe]

The stat's are that the Whyalla steelworks have been trashed by a capitalist, so if the government has to bail them out they might as well own it, otherwise the same thing will happen when the next capitalist tries to run the place into the ground then expects to be bailed out.

You are only following the headlines, Whyalla has been in trouble since the 80’s, when our markets were opened to cheap imports to help third world countries like China get on their feet. I have family and friends from Whyalla, the successful one all left in the 90’s.

 

[SirRumpole]

You are only following the headlines, Whyalla has been in trouble since the 80’s, when our markets were opened to cheap imports to help third world countries like China get on their feet. I have family and friends from Whyalla, the successful one all left in the 90’s.

That is certainly a big part of the problem, but times gave changed and we need to change with them. Obviously there is no such thing as a level playing field and the fools who thought there was have stuffed our industrial base.

 

[Smurf1976]

You are only following the headlines, Whyalla has been in trouble since the 80’s, when our markets were opened to cheap imports to help third world countries like China get on their feet. I have family and friends from Whyalla, the successful one all left in the 90’s.

I take the point but that's coming to an end. That's really what's going on in the US, the whole Trump thing is basically a firm rejection of that and the world order is rapidly changing at present.

Ultimately Australia needs some sort of viable economic base going forward and the clock's firmly ticking on mining.

 

[sptrawler]

Nah, Cook was stupid, Chalmers was smart enough not to say something stupid about someone who we are buying subs off, just dumb $hit.
I can see it now, Vance comes to Garden Island for a visit and the media put the mike in his face and say, this is the Premier he thinks you're a knob. Lol
Then we have a Rudd moment of trying to back fill the hole your mouth dug. Priceless.

Well at least he has realised his stuff up, or someone pointed it out.

Cook sorry for JD Vance comments, but notes ‘there was a lot of applause’​

“It was a light moment in the event earlier today, perhaps an unprofessional moment,” the premier admitted. Follow our live coverage here.

 

[moXJO]

Been reading a lot of political comments round the place and everyone feels like it's getting worse. Scratch the surface on Labor policies and they are not solving anything. Things like importing in 1 million immigrants while only 140000-160000 houses were built and zero government ones (they just refurbished apparently).

Anyway I stumbled across hypernormalization. I'd heard the term before but must have dismissed it as "brain too full". Write up here so I don't have to type it.

HyperNormalisation is a concept that describes how governments, corporations, and the media create a fake but stable version of reality to maintain control, even when everyone knows things are broken. It was popularized by British filmmaker Adam Curtis in his 2016 documentary HyperNormalisation.

Where the Term Comes From

The term was originally used by Alexei Yurchak, a Russian anthropologist, to describe the last years of the Soviet Union. By the 1980s, everyone—citizens, politicians, and even the government—knew that the Soviet system wasn’t working, but they all continued pretending it was normal because they couldn’t imagine an alternative. This fake "normal" reality became more real than the truth itself.

How It Works in Modern Society

Curtis argues that a similar thing is happening in the West today:

1. Governments & Elites Create a Simplified Reality – Instead of dealing with complex problems (e.g., global finance, wars, political instability), they create easy-to-understand narratives—like "good vs. evil" or “freedom vs. terrorism.”


2. The Media & Tech Companies Reinforce It – Instead of questioning the system, they amplify safe, controlled narratives that make people feel informed but actually limit their understanding.


3. People Accept It Because They Feel Powerless – Many know something is wrong, but instead of trying to change the system, they accept the "fake normal" because it's easier than confronting the chaos.



Examples of HyperNormalisation Today

The Financial Crisis (2008-Present): Instead of fixing the global economy, governments just printed more money and bailed out the rich, creating a fake sense of stability.

War & Foreign Policy: The U.S. and its allies portray interventions as spreading democracy, while critics see them as controlling resources and power. The public accepts the simplified version.

Social Media & News Algorithms: People are fed curated news that reinforces what they already believe, making it harder to see a bigger picture.


Why It’s Dangerous

HyperNormalisation makes real change almost impossible because:

It hides real problems behind fake solutions.

It makes people feel powerless to change the system.

It keeps corrupt elites in control by preventing mass resistance.


Bottom Line

It’s not about a single conspiracy—it’s about how complex systems maintain themselves by keeping people distracted and passive. Instead of solving deep-rooted problems, the system pretends everything is normal while quietly getting worse.

 

[moXJO]

Well at least he has realised his stuff up, or someone pointed it out.

Cook sorry for JD Vance comments, but notes ‘there was a lot of applause’​

“It was a light moment in the event earlier today, perhaps an unprofessional moment,” the premier admitted. Follow our live coverage here.

Why would he say this during tariff negotiations.

 

[qldfrog]

Why would he say this during tariff negotiations.

Low moral standards or IQ..i bet the first, TDS and believing following the propaganda distilled by both News limited and their ABC is risk free.
And it is: he could not care less about economy or financial cost to the state.
But if the bleating brainwashed sheeps agree with the well rehearsed carrot hair crazy story, he is a winner in local popularity, and that is all what matters for an Australian politician..of any side

 

[Smurf1976]

That this comedy is alarmingly close to the truth is a big part of why we're in so much difficulty.

Suffice to say I can relate to the half bald man who threatens to walk out just a little too well......

 

[sptrawler]

I see the wretched ghost can't help himself, yet again he can't follow his own advice and retire quetly.
As if the Government hasn't got enough problems, navigating its way through this period.

Trump slams Turnbull as ‘weak and ineffective’ before call on tariffs

Malcolm Turnbull, who argues Donald Trump is playing into China’s hands, responded to the US president’s social media barb: “I’m a quivering leaf.”

www.smh.com.au

‘Weak and ineffective’: Donald Trump lashes out at former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull

US president’s late-night social media post came after Turnbull criticised Trump’s leadership as ‘chaotic’

www.theguardian.com

 

[IFocus]

Turnbull is on the money but we are in a world of truth equals fake news strangely this may help us miss tariffs or conversely get another 25% added on meanwhile the Cult keeps cheering and making excuses.

 

[sptrawler]

Turnbull is on the money but we are in a world of truth equals fake news strangely this may help us miss tariffs or conversely get another 25% added on meanwhile the Cult keeps cheering and making excuses.

So situation normal, just the other cult are in office this time. Lol

If you look through the Trump related posts, the majority aren't cheer squad ranters.

 

[moXJO]

Turnbull is on the money but we are in a world of truth equals fake news strangely this may help us miss tariffs or conversely get another 25% added on meanwhile the Cult keeps cheering and making excuses.

Why are you looking at this as a bad thing?
Australia has needed to grow up for decades. Trump was the best thing to happen.
Trump has said he is for "America first". Now we can distance from the yanks.

Australia can either b1tch and whinge or finally start being serious about what we are doing. We have just floated for 2-3 decades with window dressing policy. Now we are forced to act on some pretty big areas. I don't care what the US is doing. I'm concerned where Australia is headed.

This was a known with Trump. We all knew he would put US interests first and the rest of the world would be out.

 

[Smurf1976]

This was a known with Trump. We all knew he would put US interests first and the rest of the world would be out.

That Australia took no action and continued focusing on a purely domestic agenda, and a trivial one at that, despite knowing full well what was coming sums up the problem.

We’ve been coasting for a very long time, a point that’s been widely noted here and pretty much everywhere long ago.

 

[sptrawler]

Why are you looking at this as a bad thing?
Australia has needed to grow up for decades. Trump was the best thing to happen.
Trump has said he is for "America first". Now we can distance from the yanks.

Australia can either b1tch and whinge or finally start being serious about what we are doing. We have just floated for 2-3 decades with window dressing policy. Now we are forced to act on some pretty big areas. I don't care what the US is doing. I'm concerned where Australia is headed.

This was a known with Trump. We all knew he would put US interests first and the rest of the world would be out.

That Australia took no action and continued focusing on a purely domestic agenda, and a trivial one at that, despite knowing full well what was coming sums up the problem.

We’ve been coasting for a very long time, a point that’s been widely noted here and pretty much everywhere long ago.

Absolutely spot on Mo and smurf, how many tax reviews has Australia had and nothing has been done since the GST in 2000.

Meanwhile we build our whole economy on flipping houses to each other and the Govt covers the loses with taxpayers money, meanwhile there is no spare cash to build a sustainable economy that supplies long term jobs.

 

[orr]

This was a known with Trump. We all knew he would put US interests first and the rest of the world would be out.

America Ubarallus..

Yeah… there’s a few that saw it coming.
Paid attention to an earlier ‘trail run ‘… incompetent’s let it fail then and seems we’re off to a familiar sort of start.

 

[moXJO]

America Ubarallus..

Yeah… there’s a few that saw it coming.
Paid attention to an earlier ‘trail run ‘… incompetent’s let it fail then and seems we’re off to a familiar sort of start.

Time for Australia to be brave. Hopefully not stupid.

 

[IFocus]

Why are you looking at this as a bad thing?
Australia has needed to grow up for decades. Trump was the best thing to happen.
Trump has said he is for "America first". Now we can distance from the yanks.

Just being realistic from a Australian perspective we have lots of US bases, military infrastructure, weapons, aircraft , maybe submarines etc etc we are totally locked in to the US like no other country for our security then we have Trump who is disregarding the reasons for western alliances after 80 years at the very moment Australia is exposed to a rising China. Trump is not the answer never will be he has set the US on a chaotic ideological course that nobody has a clue what the outcome will be history is clear that chaos creates opportunity for bad actors.

 

[sptrawler]

Just being realistic from a Australian perspective we have lots of US bases, military infrastructure, weapons, aircraft , maybe submarines etc etc we are totally locked in to the US like no other country for our security then we have Trump who is disregarding the reasons for western alliances after 80 years at the very moment Australia is exposed to a rising China. Trump is not the answer never will be he has set the US on a chaotic ideological course that nobody has a clue what the outcome will be history is clear that chaos creates opportunity for bad actors.

Australia in general does nothing but bag the U.S and the U.K, actually you are usually more vocal than most, now all of a sudden the U.S does what you and your chorus have asked they do and butt out, and you have a meltdown.

As I said Howard was bagged by the left for supporting the U.S, I asked on here recently when there was heaps of vitriol against the U.S, "if not the U.S then who do we turn to" and it was followed by more slagging off against the U.S.

The same with the U.K again it is the familiar faces that constantly deride them, well I guess it is time for Australia to grow a pair, pull on their big boys pants and actually start and work out a long term plan that isn't as dependent on being looked after.

As the old saying goes, you have to be careful what you wish for. Well you have got your wish the U.S has pizzed off and taken its ball home and the U.K has a left wing Govt that doesn't know where it is going, so now maybe the Australian politicians might have to earn their money.

There will obviously be a new paradigm so Instead of making stupid disparaging comments from the sidelines, as per Turnbull, Cook, Rudd etc, then wondering why they end up with a blood nose, they will actually have to do their job.
Our modern politicians will have to learn to be statesmen and women, rather than a peanut gallery, they are certainly going to have to earn their money now the days of sitting back and cruising are over. IMO

Interesting times, politicians actually having to think past the current election cycle, should be a whole new experience for them.
Having to work with oppositions, to get bilateral party agreements that ensure projects have good continuity, should improve question time and reduce wastage no end.