As most of you would be aware by now, Malcolm Turnbull has won the Liberal leadership after defeating Brendan Nelson 45 votes to 41. Nelson won the post-election vote 45 votes to 42: not sure where the missing vote went (UPDATE: Kevin Andrews was overseas and didn’t vote – hat-tip to Dovif in comments).
Also:
• The latest weekly Essential Research survey has Labor’s lead back at 58-42 after a fortnight at 59-41. Also included are questions on approval of Kevin Rudd, the future of the Coalition and federalism.
• Peter Brent asks what became of the government’s green paper on disclosure, funding and expenditure issues, which was due in July.
• The Australian Electoral Commission has published comments on objections to the redistribution of Western Australian electorates.
• Bryan’s back.
793 Comments
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Doug and the Queen of Queensland courtesy of ‘the Flying Peanut’.
The way to solve the republic issue is to have our own Queen or King.
Any suggestions on how we pick the Australian Royal Family? How about a lottery? A series of Death Matches? A toss up between the Brownlow and Border Medalist with the winner to take on the Dally M award winner?
The Commonwealth is not a state. The Queen is Head of the Commonwealth.
Should Scotland vote for independence in the next few years…
What happens to the Union Jack… I think we might end up with a red asterix on a white background in the corner of our flag!
William, the Green Paper Mumbles was looking for on electoral reform might be here:
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/em/taxlawbill%202/index.htm
Queensland’s constitution has this to say.
http://constitution.qld.gov.au/home.htm
No 498
You can continue to shout nonsense, but the Queen is not our head of state. She is the sovereign.
According to this, the numbers were as follows. what’s all this secret ballot stuff!
The defections for Turnbull were; Briggs (Downer was Nelson), Tony Abbott, Hawke, Bronwyn Bishop, Fierravanti-Wells, Louise Markus, Colbeck, and the two new Victorian senators (replacing Nelson supporters). Two went the other way, Mitch Fifield and Tony Smith. Those numbers don’t add up. Someone is lying or the facts are wrong.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24359640-2,00.html
No 502
As was said in R v Governor of South Australia, the Governor-General is the Head of the Commonwealth.
The sovereign is Head of State GP
given that our choices for next monarch are Charles the Tampon, William the Playboy and Harry the Nazi, i can be forgiven for wanting another option
No 501
There is no “issue”. The vast majority of Australians are content with our current constitution. The whole notion of a republic is just a play-thing of an irrelevant former prime minister.
510 We know that GP but Howard is no longer in power and it is time for a change.
The signal-to-noise ratio on the “Head of State” argument seems to be pretty low. So much heat for so little meaningful result.
When leaders or potential leaders say they have the numbers, often two candidates will say they have the numbers, they are all correct.
Phone call from candidate A to voter 1 – “Of course you have my vote, mate”
Phone call from candidate B to voter 1 – “Of course you have my vote, mate”
With the Liberal Party “secret ballott” system, nobody really knows. If you voted for Nelson it may be wise to leak the fact you voted for Turnbull. No-one can prove you wrong.
With the Labor “show and tell” system, someone knows if you are telling fibs.
Exactly what I was about to say, Diogenes. Debate the republic by all means, but we’re not getting anywhere with this sovereign versus head of state business.
Sorry William
No 514
The only reason why I raise the argument is for the simple reason that it precludes the nonsense that our head of state is not Australian.
No 513
Secret ballots are absolutely necessary when any vote takes place such that no-one is pressured to vote one way or another.
At least the GG is a QUEENSLANDER.
Also, note that the idea of a sovereign above a head of state is not unique. I refer you to the constitutional arrangements of Andorra.
Yep, secret ballots – another great innovation, brought to you by the Australian union movement.
(Poster formerly known as zoom – for some reason not allowed to call myself that!!
Nice pad you’ve got here, William).
BREAKING NEWS: Steve Fielding has done a deal with the government to get the Luxury Car Tax bill passed!
517 GP so why don’t the Liberals have a secret ballot in Parliament then. Is the open vote so they can be pressured to vote one way or another?
Why are you all debating the Republic?
I agree with William, this isn’t the place for discussions like this one.
And if you google ‘Head of State’ and ‘Andorra’ you get the two co princes, who then appoint the Head of Government.
So Andorra doesn’t prove your case, GP – their Head of States are their sovereigns.
GP
I agree that in the vast majority of cases secret balots are the way to go, but in politics I feel I should know how my local member (Alex Somlyay) voted in the leadership ballot.
Surely our democracy is better served by this?
No 520
That’s wrong zoomster. The idea of a secret ballot dates back to Ancient Greece.
Hope it’s true, and a decent deal
No 524
Wrong zoomster. Read the Constitution of Andorra. Sovereignty is vested in the people.
521 evan that is good news one down two to go. Just Alcopops and the Medicare levy surcharge tax.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24360144-5003402,00.html
No 527
Shame on Senator Fielding for supporting class warfare.
In the the wee hours this morning, between sleep and consciousness, it seemed so clear to me that Malcolm Turnball was my dog and that if he didn’t stop digging up my plants I had recently interred I would simply stop him being Leader of the Liberal Party by way of punishment (obviously a “No Malcolm! Bad dog! Go home” would suffice). I then drifted back into sleep with a satisfaction borne when one finally finds a resolution to an ongoing problem.
I was not so satisified when I finally did wake up and realised that 1. My dog was not Malcolm Turnball and therefore 2. I could not deprive him of the Liberal Leadership and 3. I needed some other method to stop my dog digging up my plants.
The funny thing is that at no angle, not even with eyes half squinted, does my dog remotely resemble Mr Turnball.
Nothing like a bit of class warfare.
Welcome to shock and awe.
Yeah, Johnny never did that with his private school funding…
Does anyone know how to change the Display name?
525, Ruawake, you might possibly find out by asking the members office? Back when the Labour team had the vote between Beazely and Rudd for leader, I was able to make a phone call to my then members office and query the members vote from the staff over the phone. They weren’t prepared to tell me before the fact but after the fact, they were perfectly willing to tell. I believe that subsequently, that vote was posted for public consumption somewhere anyway.
Can’t believe that so much already established fact is STILL being debated here (Head Of State etc.).
Turnbull, to me, has a fatal weakness, not uncommon in the current Liberal Party: his attitude is basically that the voting public made a mistake and elected a bunch of incompetents/usurpers and merchants of spin to take over the running of the country.
This man needs to understand that the voting public’s decision was a very deliberate and well-contemplated one, over a period of nearly 12 months. The Coalition are not regarded by them as a “government in exile”. The Labor Party is not regarded by them, the voters, as illegitimate occupiers of the Treasury benches. Their election was one of the most devastating and comprehensive defeats ever handed to a government in the history of Federation.
Turnbull’s constant talk of “winning the next election” is anathema to the public, who want to see outcomes based on sound policy development, not self-obsessed, denialist fantasising from the Opposition about rectifying the mistake they and their friends in the Press allege, or imply was made last November.
Turnbull and his mates in the Coalition had better start working within the framework of Labor as a legitimate government or else they really are doomed to a very long time in Opposition until they get their thinking gear around the core issue of their loss to Labor and their position in Australian politics as just one of many participants, not the born-to-rule aristocrats they fancy themselves as.
Ms Gillard has introduced new Workplace laws:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24360390-601,00.html
They actually seem quite reasonable for a Labor government.
Ruawake @ 501 wasn’t our queen and king Sir Robert Helpman and Johnny O’keefe respectively? ;P
Tom
No 532
It is not class warfare to fund private schools. You might recall that your idol, dismissed former PM Gough Whitlam, championed the idea.
From the article linked above:
That’s it? This was all over $40 million out of half a billion?
Shame on Fielding indeed.
As a principle I don’t think it is either, but the level at which it is done can be, and was with Howard.
If they seem reasonable to you GP……i’m worried!
No 525
Why does it matter which way your local Member voted in a leadership ballot?
So the conservatives are now bashing Steve Fielding? How dare he discriminate against Porsche drivers in Vaucluse! LOL
No 539
More than 30% of students attend private schools, so if you are debating the level at which they are funded, you are therefore arguing that these students should receive less money which is a ridiculous idea.
Every dollar spent on education is a dollar well spent. Even Julia Gillard recognises this.
Actually I think what’s been mentioned in the article sounds reasonably good too. The one warning for unfair dismissal is probably a good balance, and the wild cat strike penalty makes sense as well.
GP @ 541
Because I believe in transparency in parliament. I can find out how someone voted on every issue except the leadership of the Liberal Party.
No 542
The LCT is a heinously unfair tax because, as the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries has noted, its effect is concentrated on cars between 57k and 70k, not the relatively few Porsches sold at over 200k.
Not less money for private per se, just that the public system should have been given more at the same time. Instead private school funding rose significantly while the public system got very little in comparison.
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