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John McTernan, the porridge-eater face of Gillard adviser bastardry, and 457 rorting.

JULIA Gillard's office is flouting Freedom of Information rules and refusing to hand over documents relating to the hiring of her communications director John McTernan, a Scotsman on a 457 visa for foreign workers.
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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...or-john-mcternan/story-fn6tcxar-1226667858681

909038-110924-john-mcternan.jpg
 
PM's office breaches FoI rules for spin doctor John McTernan

by:HEDLEY THOMAS, NATIONAL CHIEF CORRESPONDENT
From:The Australian
June 22, 2013

JULIA Gillard's office is flouting Freedom of Information rules and refusing to hand over documents relating to the hiring of her communications director John McTernan, a Scotsman on a 457 visa for foreign workers.

The Office of the Information Commissioner told The Weekend Australian yesterday that it had formally rejected the Office of the Prime Minister's request for more time to process the documents. Ms Gillard's office has already been granted two extensions

The Weekend Australian in early April sought all documents relating to the hiring of Mr McTernan in 2011 as chief spin doctor for the Prime Minister. His previous job on a 457 visa was as "Thinker in Residence" in Adelaide for Mike Rann's state Labor government.

Other documents sought related to any efforts taken to identify a suitable person in Australia for the role, such as advertising, the engagement of recruitment agencies or direct contact with media outlets and highly qualified local journalists.

A former key adviser for the Labour Party in Britain, Mr McTernan has been blamed over some of Ms Gillard's most divisive political strategies, including class warfare and misogyny.

Deputy opposition leader Julie Bishop said the delay was unacceptable, adding: "Is the Prime Minister covering up a rort of a 457 visa in her own office?"

The Weekend Australian asked Ms Gillard's office if the documents were being delayed because they could show that Mr McTernan's appointment was one of the results of allegedly widespread 457 visa rorting.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inv...r-1226667858681
 
IFocus said:
Nope thats still to come with the Abbott Government :)
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LOL - this labor lot that you keep supporting are going to be hard to beat for the ignominious title.

Gillard now denying FOI requests for McTernan and I also understand she has denied them over the infringements on her PM's car which is provided by taxpayers.

I can just imagine your furore if Abbott did this...:D:D:D
 
Paul Kelly's views on the status of the Rudd/Gillard civil war including the role of the GG,

Note, however, that Gillard was the architect of minority government. Remember that if Gillard is deposed by caucus it is Gillard who writes first to the Governor-General.

The normal process is to inform the G-G the party has elected a new leader and advise the G-G to commission that new leader as prime minister. Might, however, Gillard be tempted to include in her letter, advice that Rudd be commissioned "on the basis of confidence from the parliament"? Why not? It would be perfectly proper.
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This could perhaps be Julia Gillard's last line of defence.
 
Doesn't look like we'll have the chance to vote her out, the way it's going they may have to take her away in a straight jacket.

Voting Rudd out will still be some closer for us all.
 
What a tangled web the spider is weaving for the fly (Rudd).

After reading the link below, the Governor General should disolve parliament and call an immediate election of both houses which will put and end to brawling that is going on in the Labor Party.

While all this is going on the Nation is suffering, so in the best interest the Nation and the voters the GG should show some courage and do what she should have done weeks ago.




http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opi...governor-general/story-e6frg74x-1226667814873
 
Tony Windsor at last gets it right.

IF members of Julia Gillard's inner circle think caucus numbers have shifted and her leadership is in desperate trouble, they conceal it well.

"Same old movie," one of them said yesterday. "Same ending."

Gillard will prevail, in other words, and Kevin Rudd will once again be sent packing.

It is a view shared by independent Tony Windsor, who has told friends he believes Rudd is "all piss and wind".
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http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/op...-signify-nothing/story-fni0fha6-1226667790823
 
noco said:
After reading the link below, the Governor General should disolve parliament and call an immediate election of both houses which will put and end to brawling that is going on in the Labor Party.
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As I understand the GG's position, she has no authority to just take the initiative like this.

If you read Paul Kelly's article, you'll see the options he describes as being available.
 
Julia said:
As I understand the GG's position, she has no authority to just take the initiative like this.
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Absolutely she can't. She has the power to do it of course but it would cause a constitutional crisis and it's unlikely HM would approve of it anyway. As long as the government has the confidence of the lower house, and can pass supply, she cannot do anything.
 
McLovin said:
Absolutely she can't. She has the power to do it of course but it would cause a constitutional crisis and it's unlikely HM would approve of it anyway. As long as the government has the confidence of the lower house, and can pass supply, she cannot do anything.
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Her are some interesting facts on the powers of the Govenor General of Australia.

She can dissolve parliament if she wants to but she would have to break convention just as Sir John Kerr did in the Whitlam reign.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor-General_of_Australia#Role_in_parliament
 
Calliope said:
Rudd is just a weak, sniveling, gutless, two-timing, opportunistic, hypocritical rat.
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That's a bit rough, apparently he is the peoples choice.:D

IFocus, will slap you, Kev got Labor into power in the first place.

Gillard had to kowtow to the three stoogies and enact most of the Greens policies, to get a guernsey.:D
 
Julia said:
Even "The Age" has joined the chorus of demands for Ms Gillard to step down, essentially on the basis that the entire focus is on Labor's leadership debacle, rather than Tony Abbott's policies.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/ed...illard-should-stand-aside-20130621-2oo6e.html

I'm almost starting to feel sorry for her.:eek:
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I like this comment that followed the article in The Age.

The Age led Labor here to the brink of annihilation and now it turns on Gillard for following its call??
- It was the Age who berated Howard's asylum seeker policies as inhumane, leading to the current failed policies and over 1,000 deaths
- It was the Age who fanned climate alarmism and called for the Carbon Tax
- It was the Age who celebrated the misogyny speech and egged on Gillard to fight a credibility-destroying gender war
- It was the Age who excused endless deficits and mountainous debt that will burden us for a generation
By all means the Age can choose a side on key issues (if it does so transparently rather than pretending to be objective), but I'm amazed that the Age would then turn on the politician that headed the Age's call. Labor faces total annihilation entirely because it has adopted policies championed by the Age.
 
We all need to pause and just have an election.

The government is not governing right now, and hasn't for some time.

Calling an election so early was just plain stupid and wasteful to the economy.
 

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