The Abbott Government

[Tink]

You realize this all happened in Rudd's tenure... don't you?

Ergo, why doesn't Rudd offer his apologies?

Abbott has been handed a poisoned chalice by your disgraceful Fabian mates IF, all in his first two months. Then you leftist muppets have the temerity to crtiticise as if Abbott is responsible.

Just appalling behaviour. You lot have no honour and should be ashamed of yourselves.

Agree.

I just happened to turn on the TV and there was Gillard on the evening news saying, he shouldnt do it again.
Why is she even getting air time.

Mind you, Channel 10 should be shot down with the Labor followers in there, no wonder they are going broke.
On the other channels, they cut her short.

 

[IFocus]

This is getting really path.............sigh

OK, OK Howard never had any spying going on he is a good guy, Abbott would never dream of having any spying under his watch he is also a good guy.

Wait there is more there is no joint parliamentary committee that looks at intelligence agencies nothing to do with the Coalition.

Wait there is even more its all Labors (bad guys) fault that Abbott is incapable of resolving a very basic issue between Australia and the most pro-Australia administration that we will ever seen in Indonesia.

Its still Labor's fault when SBY telegraphs the steps Abbott can take for it to go away..........what s Abbott move on this.....nothing.

What will happen when we get a real Indonesian administration.

But wait there is more its all the ABC's fault that Abbott is a boof head who cannot get pass being in opposition and lets the above situation spiral out of control and now give credence to radical elements in Indonesia to do harm to Australians.

Transpotter has been to Indo sounds like no others here have they have a pretty simple set of rules to fix issues..................nothing like the way we do here.

Abbott has failed on all fronts repeat he has failed on all fronts here.


Keep shooting any one who reports the news and call it propaganda........all except the good guys (News )

 

[Whiskers]

Abbott's pre-election rhetoric... the public broadcasting of some dumb policies without discussing it with Indonesia FIRST, ie to turn back the boats, buy fishing boats and intent to enter Indonesia to spy on the smugglers networks (which includes a good chunk of government officials) potentially can... to use Alexander Downers words, cost us very dearly.

It doesn't take much to join a couple of pretty close dots to realise the Indos thoroughly resented his abuse of their sovereignty and uped the ante with Snowdens spying info.

Rudd has officially resigned as of yesterday, so we might hear something from him soon.

Lawmakers to meet with Edward Snowden

Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post | National | Fri, November 22 2013, 9:15 AM

Members of the House of Representatives will fly to Russia to meet with US National Security Agency (NSA) whistle-blower Edward Snowden, who is living in Moscow under temporary asylum, to clarify allegations that Australia had attempted to tap the phones of Indonesian officials, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Russian parliamentary leader Nikolai Levichev, who visited the House on Thursday, said the Russian government would allow the lawmakers to meet with Snowden.

“Through Levichev, Moscow has given us the green light to talk directly with Snowden,” legislator Tantowi Yahya of the House’s Commission I overseeing defense, foreign affair and information, said on Thursday.

Earlier this week, the Australian media published contents of a “top-secret” document, allegedly leaked by Snowden, suggesting that Canberra had tapped the phones of President Yudhoyono, his wife and some of his Cabinet members for at least 15 days in 2009.

Tantowi, however, could not yet disclose exactly when the House delegation would fly to Moscow to meet with Snowden. “We need to work out matters related to the Russian Embassy in Jakarta first. Whenever clear access to Snowden has been given, the Commission I members will be ready [to go to Russia],” he said.

Levichev and a number of members of Russian parliament have been in Jakarta since Wednesday.

House deputy speaker Priyo Budi Santoso, after receiving the Russian guests at his office on Thursday, said their Russian counterparts were there to discuss the ongoing bilateral spat between Jakarta and Canberra over the snooping debacle.

After the meeting, Levichev told journalists via an interpreter that Russia had denounced the alleged wiretapping by the US and Australia. “It is shameful that the wiretapping was done to the leader of a friendly nation instead of terrorists,” he said, as quoted on the House’s official website dpr.go.id. He added that the tapping not only violated diplomatic protocol, but also violated human rights.

“We have heard a lot of calls from the US for the world to uphold human rights and practice good diplomatic relations,” he said. “But then they committed actions that contradicted their own preaching.”

Other issues discussed with the visiting lawmakers, Priyo said, were the conflict in Syria and the territorial dispute in the South China Sea. “We appreciate Russia’s efforts in helping resolve the tension in Syria. Russia says the future of Syria must be determined by the Syrian people alone without interference from other nations. That is the same as Indonesia’s position on the matter,” Priyo said.

Also on Thursday, Vice President Boediono received Sun Chunlan, the secretary of the Communist Party of China’s Tianjin chapter, at his office.

The two discussed the possibility of cooperation between Indonesia and China, particularly in Tianjin, according to Antara news agency. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/11/22/lawmakers-meet-with-edward-snowden.html​

A noticeable softening tone from Morrison, a bit of a dent in his tough talk in the last feeding of the chooks... probably too little too late though.

Has Abbott sent back that letter, promptly yet! He probably realises now that since he started telling Indonesia what he was going to come over there and do, via the media... that he needs to choose his words very carefully as his letter will likely end up in the media as well.

Meanwhile, if the Indos do get a private viewing of Snowdens file... wow, that'll likely put a bit more of a dent in his tough talking (to appease domestic politics) armour.

Seems like some pretty cuddly talking going on between Russia and Indo, behind our backs. Must make Abbott and Morrison green with envy!

What next... Russia doing military training and exercises with Indonesia!

 

[IFocus]

Barry sums it up perfectly some thing you wont get from News a balanced view.

So far, Abbott’s best is not good enough

A Labor government created the problem with Indonesia, but only the Prime Minister can fix it. So far, he has done nothing other than place fresh impediments in the path of a solution, writes Barrie Cassidy.

Tony Abbott insists he'll have a foreign policy with a Jakarta focus and not a Geneva focus. To this point, Geneva will be well pleased.

To be fair, the Prime Minister was placed in a no-win situation by the previous government on the Indonesian spy scandal.

But that is no excuse for making a bad situation even worse. There were so many options to consider short of an apology, and he took none of them.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-21/mcrae-indonesia/5107232

 

[IFocus]

Ergo, why doesn't Rudd offer his apologies?

Just out of interest what would Rudd apologising do as he doesn't represent the Australian government?


Hint......nothing.

 

[wayneL]

Just out of interest what would Rudd apologising do as he doesn't represent the Australian government?


Hint......nothing.

Mercifully, you are correct, Rudd no longer represents the oz gu'mint. But what puzzling is that having worked that out, you lot can't work out that Abbott was not responsible, just having to clean up the disaster left by your mob of incompetents.

 

[Logique]

On another subject, it's probably time for the 'stick insect' to offer her resignation again. Inappropriate comments, and the office has been damaged.

What was she thinking? What is the Queen supposed to think?

 

[Calliope]

On another subject, it's probably time for the 'stick insect' to offer her resignation again. Inappropriate comments, and the office has been damaged.

What was she thinking? What is the Queen supposed to think?

Like another taxpayer funded organisation, the ABC, she is not biased. She just prefers her son-in-law's policies to Abbott's. She obviously sees herself as representing Shorten, rather than the Queen.

 

[drsmith]

Mercifully, you are correct, Rudd no longer represents the oz gu'mint. But what puzzling is that having worked that out, you lot can't work out that Abbott was not responsible, just having to clean up the disaster left by your mob of incompetents.

Isn't it interesting that Kevin Rudd announced his resignation from Parliament last week and this week the spying allegation from under his watch emerged.

Coincidence or something more ?

 

[banco]

Isn't it interesting that Kevin Rudd announced his resignation from Parliament last week and this week the spying allegation from under his watch emerged.

Coincidence or something more ?

Given the leak came from Snowden's goodies only a feeble minded person would think it was more than a coincidence.

 

[drsmith]

On another subject, it's probably time for the 'stick insect' to offer her resignation again. Inappropriate comments, and the office has been damaged.

What was she thinking? What is the Queen supposed to think?

Tony Abbott's letting this one through to the keeper.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...n-appropriate-pm/story-fn3dxiwe-1226766774462

In terms of dealing with Labor's legacy of disasters, it's understandable that this isn't a propriety.

My view is that the GG should have waited until she was out of office before expressing personal opinion on issues that are clearly in the political domain.

 

[Julia]

Its still Labor's fault when SBY telegraphs the steps Abbott can take for it to go away

I do agree on this. SBY did everything but put the words he wanted in Mr Abbott's mouth. He made it entirely clear that he didn't want a full scale rift because of the spying stuff, but that he needed to shore up his dignity and have reassurance of the genuine friendship with Australia via the receipt of - not an apology at all - but even some temporising like "we'll look into what procedures were in place at the time", thus reinforcing the fact that it wasn't the Coalition authorising such personal intrusions.

Seems to me that Mr Abbott, unintentionally, because of his somewhat dismissive "we do not comment on intelligence matters" has ratcheted up the problem, causing genuine personal offence to SBY, along with embarrassing him domestically where it's important for him to look strong.

At the very least, imo he should have phoned SBY and made some mollifying noises instead of confining his rather arrogant sounding response to comments in the Australian parliament.

On another subject, it's probably time for the 'stick insect' to offer her resignation again. Inappropriate comments, and the office has been damaged.

What was she thinking? What is the Queen supposed to think?

I couldn't believe this. Totally inappropriate. Hell, she only had a few months to wait until she was a private citizen when she can say what she wants.

I'd always quite liked her, but recently have heard her delivering the "Boyer Lectures" on Radio National.
It was a load of self-congratulatory schmultz.

 

[ghotib]

I do agree on this. SBY did everything but put the words he wanted in Mr Abbott's mouth. He made it entirely clear that he didn't want a full scale rift because of the spying stuff, but that he needed to shore up his dignity and have reassurance of the genuine friendship with Australia via the receipt of - not an apology at all - but even some temporising like "we'll look into what procedures were in place at the time", thus reinforcing the fact that it wasn't the Coalition authorising such personal intrusions.

Seems to me that Mr Abbott, unintentionally, because of his somewhat dismissive "we do not comment on intelligence matters" has ratcheted up the problem, causing genuine personal offence to SBY, along with embarrassing him domestically where it's important for him to look strong.

At the very least, imo he should have phoned SBY and made some mollifying noises instead of confining his rather arrogant sounding response to comments in the Australian parliament.

+1

The Australian govt. has come across like a bullying gang of smug thugs with about as much diplomatic finesse as Ja'mie and her gaggle of private school prefects. Just hope they're faster learners.

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

Mr.Abbott and his Government, seem to be doing quite a good job with the Indonesian kerfuffle with SBY. These days will pass and the phone tapping sorting out will occurr, as it should, off camera and in private.

It's not as if we had charged in to liberate a trodden-under minority, like the Timorese, abandoned to Jakarta, by the ALP, in some very dubious deals. After that intervention, relations with Indonesia returned to normal.

The resignation of Rudd was interesting, and it is difficult to believe it was not tied to Rudd's tapping of SBY and his wife's Nokia phones. The spying allegations surfaced less than a week after Rudd resigned. The ABC and the Guardian spared releasing the details during the election, so as to give Rudd and the ALP a leg-up.

I see Rudd's going, as the first spark of the ALP Bonfire of the Vanities, when all the ALP fudging of vital issues and their mismanagement will be exposed by Tony Abbott, slowly and surely, over the next 3 years.

The Bonfire of the ALP Vanities has commenced, it will flame and grow, and unless they wake up and realise their irrelavent Green policies are anethema, they will not get re-elected for a generation, or two.

It is such a good feeling to have a good Government running the show, secure borders and a realisable plan for the future.

gg

 

[Whiskers]

On another subject, it's probably time for the 'stick insect' to offer her resignation again. Inappropriate comments, and the office has been damaged.

What was she thinking? What is the Queen supposed to think?

Abbott seems to have publically at least, taken it in his stride.

I smell a rat though. Bryce has had a very close affinity for Labor from her Qld days. At her speech opening parliament, she seemed like she was begrudgingly reading a prepared speech with as much enthusiasm as a child fronting up to the dentist.

Her latest speech must be probably the biggest slap in the face of a PM by a GG since the Kerr Whitlam days.

Thinking of crises, it would pay to keep an eye peeled for Shorten using his 'connections' to provoke one with the debt limit if Abbott and Hockey don't take the $400bn on offer as it appears the current $300bn limit will be reached abt Dec 12.

It would seem that Abbott will have to back down on this one too, or severely cut spending to keep functioning with current debt limit, or delay or risk loosing the vote on a 'supply' bill a-la Whitlam and... enter the Shorten back room deals factor, the GG again. The irony is chilling!

That would not be good for Aus!

 

[Tink]

Agree with you, Logique.

First time in history that a GG has given a slap in the face to a PM.
That must be the thanks you get for asking her to stay and finish her term.

Good on Abbott for taking it in his stride, makes her look the fool.

 

[orr]

Good on Abbott for taking it in his stride, makes her look the fool.

??? This was a god send for Abbott, there's no one who needed a distraction from the tightening squirrel grip the the serious media had on his budgie smugglers over a balls up of his own making with regard SBY's phone taps. To quote 'Lord Downer' today on the issue ...'a crisis in need of creative solutions'

And good on Governor Quentin for doing little more than stating the bleeding obvious... But I might just have a higher opinion of Australian born kids than the forelock tuggers here.

 

[AAA]

??? over a balls up of his own making with regard SBY's phone taps..

What has Abbott ballsed up here. What should have Abbott done differently here. I can't think of a single response fron Abbott that is a sure thing to resolve this problem without further repercussions.

 

[MrBurns]

over a balls up of his own making with regard SBY's phone taps.
.

Oh you mean he should have dropped to his knees in a gesture of grovelling servitude like Rudd would have done ?

I think Abbott is doing the right thing and I think most Australians with any backbone would agree.

As for the GG she did say it ever so nicely, but it shouldn't have been said at all.

 

[macca]

Agree with you, Logique.

First time in history that a GG has given a slap in the face to a PM.
That must be the thanks you get for asking her to stay and finish her term.

Good on Abbott for taking it in his stride, makes her look the fool.

I would think it may also be the first time in history that a GG has had to swear in a Govt while her son in law leads the opposition. That must have really been irritating