David Speirs

 

Image : David Speirs 
Today we discovered David Speirs is the new Liberal Party leader. He was their environment minister. I knew nothing about him. This is why we need local and broader news coverage. We hear about the same select few politicians and we hear the same messages about them. We need to know all our politicians and who they are. One family member did know him from when he was an MP for Bright. She lived in his electorate at the time. She said she heard nothing from the Labor MP at the time but knew a lot about David Speirs because he kept his electorate informed and was across his social media skills. He was excellent for a year for all the  things they needed doing in the area and then , she said, he became a pea brain and she had no idea what brought about the change. He has since become the MP for Black which basically covers coastal areas and has worked hard on the environment there which is something the people in that area would value. He won his seat back with a 6.5% swing against him to Labor. Whether this was part of the state swing to Labor in our recent election or a swing against David Speirs is yet to be discovered. The Labor candidate for Black , Alex Dighton, is strong and competent. 

David Speirs was elected as party leader with a significant number of votes so he does have the support of his party. Like Premier Malinauskas he is fit, enthusiastic and can be a very good listener. If we have two positive people at the head of our state we shall benefit from that and they ought to be able to form a good alliance because they have common ground. Enough of the adversarial politics. Time to work together and collaborate for the benefit of all and then, when the time comes, may the best person win. 

He has a Facebook page  and his website is here. 

Das Schiff Esperanza

 Image : Amazon

Das Schiff Esperanza (The ship HOPE) is a powerful radio play written in 1953 by Fred von Hoerschelmann. It has lost none of its power and relevance in all these years. It was on our South Australian Year 12 curriculum for German for years and may well still be. I wonder how many ex German students think of it. It was way ahead of its time as were his other plays. Every time I hear of the untimely and awful end to some more asylum seekers, I think of this play. The ship's captain was making money by taking asylum seeks onboard who hoped and dreamed of making a new life in a new land. The brilliance of Hoerschelmann is that he can economically and succinctly capture the mood and far reaching implications of anything being said or done. The asylum seekers are tricked to being let off the boat saying they have to swim the last bit since the boat is not able to dock. They drown, of course, and the boat comes back for more asylum seekers. In the end, through a twist of plot , something far reaching and indelible happens in the own captain's life. Poetic justice. This radio play plays out time and time again. The asylum seekers in 2013 climb aboard the ships full of their hopes and dreams and somehow it all falls apart and the best we can do is bat them back and forth across the political divide.At no stage does the world get together and look seriously about managing this in a humane way. Yes, there will be undesirables amongst those who seek refuge and, yes, it is hard to house asylum seekers in large numbers. It is not a political issue. It's a humanitarian one. We need to address this far better without all the talk and squawk and come up with a proper regional plan and a proper global plan. I have no time for the predatory boat smugglers and the radio play has played a role in that. People need to get out and read more so we don't avoid dealing with reality in a competent manner.

Christine Milne new Green's Leader

Christine Milne is the new Green's leader because the longstanding leader Bob Brown  has retired. It was such a surprise to see her talking on Capital Hill tonight because I had no idea the Greens had changed leader. I started listening and then I started listening some more and then I started listening intently. I don't know her so this was our first meeting. If first impressions count then I was well pleased. She was well prepared. She was very clear and direct. She had an agenda which she could articulate so I knew what she was on about. She had done her homework and knew what she was talking about. Above all she was calm, confident and able to be clear about what the Greens stood for and that she would be discussing that more . It was time to change. Bob Brown has given a lot to our country and our  political parties by way of some essential environmental awareness and reform in particular. He did stand for something. He lost his clarity around 2004 with the tsunami . He used to be a master of timing but he got that one wrong really. Not in essence but in timing. He then revamped himself but his message was no longer really clear. As a result the Greens' issues have slid into the background and that is something we cannot afford to happen. My impression tonight was that Christine Milne would get the party onto a good track and then give us back the strength of a party which really cares about our living conditions, sustainability, and environment. The quality of where we live is as important as how we live and what we do to live. I wish her well and look forward to hearing more of her.

Queensland votes

Image: Duckpond

Duckpond has a good run down on the situation so far in Queensland. Queensland does have a situation, that's for sure, and we'll sit back and watch it play out. Anna Bligh has done the right thing by pulling out. She has worked non stop for the state, she has put in hours and hours of her time and her skills are extremely high level. She really is not valued and thinks this is all her fault. She is right to walk away and to stop any further besmirching of her capabilities and the incredible effort she has put in.. I guess Queensland might feel better now it has a proper man doing the job. The representation of women has now fallen to around 20% so that is a pretty clear indication of what they think of women politicians and the right of girls and women to participate in the democracy which has  been lauded all week. On the good side, I thought it was a very civilised affair and the commentary on ABC24 was very sane and informative too. Queensland now has a government which is probably 78 LNP seats out of 89 and so there is effectively no opposition. The LNP has a leader with no parliamentary experience and it has quite a few new parliamentary members with no parliamentary experience and the number of women representatives is considerably down. Nearly 12% of the vote went to Bob Katter's newly formed parted and the Greens don't appear to have a seat so there will be no  discrete environmental representation. So the message is  - we don't want Labour, we don't particularly want women, we don't want Greens and we don't want experienced politicians. We want a lot of new people and the  only party we want to run the state is the LNP and yet the LNP doesn't have 50% of the vote. It might make it to 50 but even so this is a very strange picture. So, we'll sit and watch, shall we?

Bob Carr our new foreign minister

Photo: Daily Telegraph

Bob Carr has now been sworn in as our new foreign minister in the cabinet reshuffle. He was premier of New South Wales and has been high profile and successful for a long time. He is not everyone's cup of tea but I like him for lending some colour to our landscape - as you can see from his sartorial splendour left. I must say I like our politicians in Canberra dressing up and showing some real pride in being leaders of our country. They are in high profile, very responsible positions so it would be a great way to give some of our hard working designers and fashion industry a bit of a lift. Besides, it lends some style to what ought to be a job which engenders dignity and inspiration. Enough of the fashion stakes. What about our new foreign minister? He is a strong speaker, a good thinker, a person who will take the time to explain his point of view and who can argue strongly for and against an issue or speaker. He is well versed in public speaking and it shows. He has a real degree of comfort when he speaks and he can use his humour well because he is in command of what he says. As such I see him as an asset on the international front but I am wondering what the rest of the world will think of him. He is not quietly diplomatic like Kevin Rudd. He is clear in his speech and uses evidence to back up what he is saying. He chose to retire as premier of New South Wales. He was a premier I got to know really well through the media because he spoke up strongly for his state and on issues which were of importance to us. He doesn't expect you to agree all the time because he knows you can offer another and just as valid point of view. His strong personality will serve him well in his new position but his way of straight talking might come as a surprise to some. It's his way of saying things which I like. He comes out with some classic lines and so it's a refreshing change from the bureaucratic yadda yadda or the pat statements or the jingoistic approach to politics. It's the sort of change we need so that we realise we can argue strongly  and we don't always have to agree. It will mean we have had a really well thought out debate.

Caucus Summer Collection 2012

When you lead a team there will always be those who would put poles in your back, poles in your chest and poles in your side. There will always be those who do not support you. All you can do is attempt to get them onside but carry on regardless if you don't. The nay sayers and black hatters will always be there. A 71-31 win at the caucus vote was pretty impressive for any leader. When your opponent is well liked and respected and has some high level skills, then it is a remarkable result. It is unfortunate it had to be done this way but when you have two really competent leaders in one party and they both have good things to offer, there will be a power struggle and in the end the party has to decide and they did. Julia Gillard is not at all flimsy. She has stood up to an onslaught of of challenges and one at a time she has been able to rise above them and keep a clear head. Her resilience is remarkable as is Anna Bligh's and one day both those women will be given credit for their capacity to endure exceptional circumstance. They are worthy leaders and they are able to withstand the battering of life in Australia and Australian politics. If Kevin Rudd will now use his talents and skills to continue his own good work for the party in his state and his country then he will see that he is still able to lead but not in the way he thinks. He actually needs to be flexible in his thinking. His sporting loss means he can walk away and get on with his new life and new Kevin in that comfortable, assured manner we like. That said, I'd now like to appreciate the fact our politicians got out on the runway today with some pretty dapper clothes. Conservative, yes, but they were impeccably dressed and it is something I'd like to see continue. I do not expect Canberra to be the fashion capital of Australia but I'd like to see our politicians show, as they did today, that Canberra is worthy of quality clothing, good cut, a certain je ne sais quoi and a dash of panache when it comes to dress. Clothes do not maketh the man but a certain standard and style of dress is what we need and what has been missing. Perhaps I am with Mr. Slipper and his attempt to put a level of finesse into our federal parliament. I do like what I saw today. Even our reporters showed a real sense of occasion with their dress and demeanour. I like it and it suits us!

Kitchen Cabinet

Kitchen Cabinet  is a delightful half hour show where you get to dine with politicians and Annabel Crabb. I managed to catch up with it today and thought it capitalises perfectly on something we do well - lunch. We are very good at relaxed dining.  It breaks through  the stereotype, barricaded media representation of   politicians and we see them on our own turf - lunch. I could never have imagined myself watching a programme with Amanda van Stone and Christopher Pine and yet having lunch with them and Annabel Crabb was convivial. It was proof again that we actually want to see our politicians as people and not media images. We want to engage with them. I guess that is the impact of social media and Facebook , in particular. We can know people in a more detailed way these days if we want to and we know them warts and all . It isn't a problem. It's good. A media image is exactly that - an image and neither we nor the politicians have been able to sustain it in any kind of viable way - hence our hung parliament. If we were more accepting of the fact people are people and can be quite lovely or quite horrible depending on where and when,can say one thing and then another, then we'd go a lot further. Analysis paralysis through media scrutiny has made it impossible for some really good people to survive. Already they are writing off Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd. There's a scenario, a narrative and then people are bashed into the shape. So to have a chit chat and a leisurely lunch was so refreshing. I could see Amanda van Stone was in command, that her face changed to very serious over political questions and she just talked away. Christopher Pyne was full of banter and not one nasty word. He was just very sociable and straight forward. He is never like that when I see him. It was the stuff of a good Australian lunch - some good stories, some lovely food, an appreciation of the food and then the valuing of being in the company of others. There is a real disconnect between what the media engineers as the story and the real story. It is pretty presumptuous to write someone off. Besides, if I walked into work tomorrow, challenged my boss for her position , lost - I'd still be in my job doing my job and taking pride in that. What my colleagues or anybody else think is none of my business.Amanda van Stone and Christopher Pyne talked about that quite well because she was very much disliked and it put a really human face on it.  My business is to do my job well and be responsible for that. If I lost a challenge, well, the job is still there and needs doing and I am still there with control over my own destiny. No one would be describing me as terminal. No one would be talking me down - we'd have lunch and sort out the next step. Life goes on with or without the hackneyed phrases.

The divine oracle of the polls

Image: News

I feel like saying divine orifice. Honestly. I am waiting to hear we have brought out the sacrificial goat or virgin to seal it all. The media always point to the polls as though there is something divinely , mystically right about them. They are a small sampling of the population. They are by a biased media because so much of it is owned by one interest . They are not at all independently or scientifically constructed and yet we have polls in our heads. Polls , polls, polls. Polls are another form of media manipulation as are comments. It is far too easy to create a bias one way or the other and , frankly, polls are not helping us at all and we know it. There is no way we should be running our country and its people by polls.

So, the media today have reported much with regard to the Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard power struggle . We still have no idea what it would look like should Tony Abbott become PM. Mr. Abbott tried to give us an idea but the media have avoided this notion completely even though they are quite happy to claim certainty with regard to a Labour defeat at the next election. I love the crystal ball gazing which goes on.  To be honest, I have enjoyed what has been brought to me today via the media. I feel like I am getting to know my politicians in a very real way and a way which has been denied me until this hung parliament. Julia Gillard took Kevin Rudd into her cabinet because it would have been foolish not to. He is highly competent, hugely popular and the job as foreign minister suited him and us well. She battled those early days with great courage because the way she was treated had our mouths gaping and that is the thing we are still talking about now in SA. Perhaps it is because we were the first state to give women the vote. We are always conscious of how systems and institutions can harm and disadvantage women and it's one of the first things we note. So we are talking still about the way she was treated, what she had to put up with, how men just assume they can be Prime Minister. Remember when Costello wanted to be Prime Minister? Bad luck. John Howard was the Prime Minister and his party did not want to remove him. We vote in the party. The party decides on its leader. Labour is showing us this time that you can actually do that out in the open and it's quite nice being included. It is better than being excluded. We've noticed the Labour strategist just expects Ms Gillard to give up being Prime Minister because Kevin Rudd wants to be Prime Minister. He is popular. He is certainly very popular in his home state of Queensland.  Yet you don't judge your good boss by how popular they are nor if they can draw a crowd in the street. Sometimes bosses are unpopular when they try to bring about structural change and it is not fully understood what that means. Popular is important but John Howard stayed in power for far too long and I don't think anyone would claim that popularity was what kept him there. So I think we need to think a bit harder here. We have two really good politicians and it is a shame they are in the same place at the same time but history will depict it more clearly. Their style is different and they both represent something we want to see. We want a Prime Minister who can give us a good image internationally and both of them can do that. We want a Prime Minister who can effect the changes we need. They can both do that. Is it really about Tony Abbott? So where's that part of the picture?

Gillard vs Rudd vs Abbott

Image: Cheezburger

Both Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd care about their party, that much is clear and it is also clear they care about Australia. I watched the whole thing unravel today because I could and because  it was really hot and I wanted something quiet to do. They were both calm and composed. They were both confident and capable and they both delivered rational, well thought out speeches. Kevin Rudd probably thought he was evening the score a bit? It's not a war. It's not a crisis. They are both strong, skilled people who represent the same policies but have a different way of approaching things. A differing leadership style. I really valued the input we had today from other party members. You could see there was no animosity and they would be glad to relieve the air because they had all reached the stage where the power struggle between Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard needed to be resolved. Julia Gillard is representing our nation, her party and then has the responsibility of being the first female Prime Minister in Australia. Given that countries like America and France haven't been able to achieve that, then it is a very unique flag for her to be flying. It really is important in a free nation that girls and women can see themselves holding the top job and that there is a model for that. Kevin Rudd is still flying the flag that Australia did clearly elect him in  and gave a very firm and resounding defeat to John Howard. Much was made today of how Australians will send their leaders packing with a baseball bat. That is so wrong. We hate people taking to others with a baseball bat. It is anathema to us. It is more the feeling of a grand final victory that we achieve. We also need to be constantly reminded we only elect the party. We do not elect the leader and there is room for debate on that, but as it stands, the leader is picked by the party we elect. At one stage we really wanted Kevin Rudd back. Then we went through a phase of wanting to see Kevin Rudd go up against Malcolm Turnbull. We have since seen a female Prime Minister go through the hoops and rings of fire and then grow into the job of being a female Prime Minister and it is not the same as having a male Prime Minister yet we are still  coming back to the mindset the only right way is to do it the men's way. I don't have a problem with exploring how to get a woman to succeed in this job. I do not have a problem with having a party sort out its balance of power and for me to know how that is happening. The media brought us all the information but it was focussing on what would happen if Kevin Rudd won and then if Julia Gillard kept her leadership position and then the belief Labour was now in the position of being well set up to lose the next election. This was echoed by Adam Brandt of the Greens. That's where it stopped. With all this ill founded and idle speculation. I was really surprised they were not looking at how we would look under an Abbott Government. Much was said about how Tony Abbott would win the next election but nothing was said about what that meant in terms of changes, policies, likely ministers etc etc and yet that was examined in detail with regard to the Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard scenarios. If it is such a certainty why hasn't the media got onto it?

Labour of love

Has she cancelled her trip? 

Hope not, why would she?

 Oh, because of the Rudd situation. 

What? Prime Minister Gillard cancel her trip to Adelaide because some man is having a situation? Oh right.

That is how my morning started. People actually thought that she , Prime Minister Gillard, would just drop all her womanly interests to pursue the interests of some man. This is what a woman Prime Minister in Australia has to contend with. Julia Gillard  does, and with good grace, but she had to get the ruler out and rap the desk when some journalist just kept baa-ing out his questions. Whoever it was was ridiculous. He was so pushy, but the headlines read something along the lines of HER losing it? What? WHAT? The men politicians have been busy running to the media saying what she ought to be doing , or thinking, or how disappointed they are. I don't know how she puts up with it. Incredibly patronising. She doesn't need a brain she has all these men thinking for her.  Okay for Kevin Rudd to perform on video before the whole world landing us with his news, but Julia Gillard is not allowed to call a ballot on Monday to try and clear this matter up. That is a lot of warning. He gave none. Normally you would go and have a conversation with your boss if you were going to resign. 2012 and you have to develop positive, functional  relationships with all work colleagues. I have a lot of time for both of them. Kevin Rudd is a very caring, competent man who was hugely popular as a Prime Minister but the media confused everyone about who he was and what he was doing. He is a bit of a one man show but he has some very high level international skills which we need as a nation  to float ourselves world wide to gain the benefit of knowledge, trade and international relations. Julia Gillard has worked very hard to show us we can have a woman Prime Minister - that girls and women are just as entitled to want the top job. How many men are still suggested and how many men feel so entitled? There has been so much more discussion and open debate since we have had this government and the hung parliament . It has allowed us to learn about the politicians who lead us and the ins and outs of policy making. We are now getting good at animated debate based on information and fact. Still we come back to the easy out of the dumb cluck narrative. These two people are very competent politicians. Neither should be lost to politics and Australia needs to wake up to that  and learn. Our lunch time discussion at work was so far from the media tripe that I was glad to see we have come such a long way with our hung parliament and all that has happened. Most people are horrified with the way Julia Gillard has been treated as a woman in leadership. We were roaring with laughter because people thought her trip to Adelaide would be cancelled over some man. This is 2012. 2012, people. Get rid of the 1950s narratives and stop it at once. We thought Tony Abbott had made the best decision of his leadership by keeping quiet for once and we were all wondering where Malcolm Turnbull was because he still has a lot of clout in the community as someone we all value, labour, liberal or green ,as a politician who is of great value to us. We are fed up with the way our woman Prime Minister is being treated and blamed for everything. Must be her fault. Must be her fault. Classic abuse line. We all know it. We like Kevin Rudd. What we like better is seeing a woman lead our country and being allowed to. She has actually shown us it's possible but we are back to the argument that it takes a proper man to do the job. The media has been on and on and on about this and now it's happening they are having a lovely time at the expense of two really good politicians whom we can ill afford to lose. What happens Monday, happens on Monday, but I'd hate to see us throwing ourselves back into the knee-jerk formulaic, jargonistic thinking of a couple of years ago.

Banning political donations 'may be invalid

"Nobody makes them take that money. We don't need the law to change to clean up the problem in New South Wales."

The issue has come up in New South Wales and the Greens are lobbying for political donations to be stopped. It could just apply to NSW but it would make sense, as is suggested in this article that we apply it nation wide. Internationally even. Political campaigns and lobbying have as much become a victim of consumerism as anything else in our money talks world. In that sense large sums are expected to be squandered to put on some kind of political show. I think we all need to think about what this means. The money which goes into political campaigns would be far better used in research, infrastructure support, feeding the hungry....any number of worthwhile things. I don't believe that we as voters need all this money to be spent. So we need to have a hard look at things. Why do politicians think they have to dispense with large sums to keep popular and to get voted in? Why are we so stupid as to vote for the biggest spender? Give us an itemised list of what politicians need to spend to get heard...and then let us be embarrassed, all of us, and make a decision to put that money to better use.

Banning political donations 'may be invalid' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)