The Unspeakable in pursuit of the Unelectable
Labor politics, Political lies - - Posted on June, 30 at 10:51 pm by Helen
A while ago there was a thread on Club Troppo about some of the annoying tropes that people come up with while arguing on the internet. RTS blogger Ken Lovell mentioned the common assumption that if you criticise the Liberal party, either State or Federal, you are a Labor supporter and have a portrait of Kevin Rudd / whichever State premier applies hanging in your parlour. Nothing could be further than the truth for this leftie luvvy, and many of my compatriots too. While I don’t think the Rudd government is by any means perfect (more on that some time), I’m chewing my own limbs off in irritation at our dreadful Victorian Labor party and their apparatchiks.
They’re bad enough day to day- every trip to work is a reminder of their awfulness - but election time is when their Right-dominated uglies really crawl to the fore. We recently had two byelections, one in Gippsland (won by the Nationals, as always) and one in Kororoit, part of the Western Suburbs (won by Labor’s Marlene Kairouz, but with a 16.5% swing away from Labor). The last time we had a State election in these here parts was 2006, when Barista reported angrily that he’d received letters purporting to be from a “concerned citizen”, stating that the Greens planned to shut down an excellent local school, MacRobertson Girl’s High. The claim was false, and the “concerned citizen” was actually a front for the Labor party. The letter was authorised by Stephen Newnham, State secretary and campaign director of the Labor party.
At the same time, Newnham was running an astroturf website, using various smear tactics agains the Greens party, and obviously designed to look youthful and edgy and NO WAY the work of a Labor party campaign manager. Oops, look at the bottom of the page.
This time around, Kororoit was being contested by Les Twentyman, who is a youth worker who has gained quite a lot of respect in the neighbourhood, so again, S. Newnham makes with the smear, as the AGE reported:
First, Labor distributed a leaflet saying “A vote for Les Twentyman is a vote for the Liberals”. In fact, the reverse was true: Twentyman’s preferences were directed to Labor. Then Brumby’s party told Kororoit voters that Twentyman, a much-lauded youth worker and former Victorian of the Year, was “placing your kids at risk” because he wanted to “build heroin injecting rooms in your suburb”.
All this because Twentyman has said that if the number of heroin-related deaths were to rise to 1999 levels, safe injecting rooms might need to be reconsidered. What Labor’s Kororoit leaflet didn’t say is that in 1999, the Labor cabinet — including Brumby — supported safe injecting rooms. The way Labor won this election reflects poorly on Brumby. The fact his party felt the need to resort to such tactics suggests Labor feared an even bigger swing.
But in Gippsland, the Greens - remember they were the original targets of S.Newnham’s sleaze - got the treatment again, because they had the temerity only to direct half their preferences to Labor. The ungrateful wretches, after all he’d done against for them! So he went on record as saying “This is an act of treachery!”
Folks, that is chutzpah par excellence!
What about the new MP for Kororoit, Marlene Kairouz? apparently she was helped along by Family First preferences (and favoured by the Labor right) because she’s anti-choice.
Just what we need. Honestly, I don’t see how anyone with progressive politics can vote for this lot, on any issue. You know what? I wish the Liberals had won this one, just so the Laborials would stop treating us like idiots. And S. Newnham? Not. Helping.
Update 1/7: This is interesting. But the paradigm seems to be “Newnham’s getting too wingnutty, maybe we should replace him with someone else from the Right.” Plus ca change.
Posted in Labor politics, Political lies |
June 30th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
The quote in the leaflet from Twentyman was from one of the local papers, about a month ago. He couldn’t really get away with saying it was view from ten years ago.
Anyway, politicians telling lies. It’s what we should all expect.
July 1st, 2008 at 12:28 am
I think you will find,that this Newman character does everything he does for money.It maybe true that The Greens candidates and Twentyman ,or whatever his name is doesn’t.I am anti-graffiti mainly,there would be no case for me to vote Labor because of that,when simply,its a cause of catching the culprits.It doesn’t mean I am opposed to Art,but that wouldnt make me vote Greens.Unless you have some sort of evidence that the Newman stuff change peoples’ attitudes at the vote booth,forget about it!The next election will not let them have the same excuses.And everyday is a chance to KingHit the bastards,until the hour of the next vote count.They have chosen their fantasies about how reality as it is should be shaped by their self-worthiness,but there are ways legally to block even that, that has legal acceptance.
July 1st, 2008 at 12:52 am
The Victorian Labor Party have been trying to treat voters like idiots for some time now on this very issue. At the last state election they carped on about how the Greens and the Liberals had done a deal because they were annoyed that the Greens had decided to issue split/open tickets in some of the electorates. There was no deal done and in fact the Liberals only directed preferences to Greens in front of Labor in 4 seats.
Remember Peter Garrett going into one of the Labor V Greens marginal seats saying that a vote for the Greens is a vote for the Liberals. Trully pathetic!
July 1st, 2008 at 9:54 am
Of course anything happening in Victoria pales into insignifiance compared to the state of the party in NSW. The latest is $5500 fine for causing annoyance or inconvenience to participants in World Youth Day. Despite the fact nothing else works in NSW the papal visit is going ‘to run on time’ and the methods of Benito are going to be used.
July 1st, 2008 at 11:56 am
crossposting my comment from cast iron balcony
S Newnham is a first class creep by all accounts - I once saw him on Stateline and he emanated evil.
Mind you, with all the skulduggery, he was correct in claiming that the Greens are totally against selective schools and would have turned MacRob into an ordinary school. This is something that the voters of Albert Park were entitled to know - however for a ‘concerned citizen’ to do it rather than the ALP is just fraud. It wouldn’t be that hard to legislate against, make sure that a party logo was attached to this sort of stuff.
As for why Labor should get Greens preferences, well in the preferential voting system that we all love, I still want my vote eventually ending up anywhere but the Liberals.
July 1st, 2008 at 11:59 am
philip, I think you will find people like Newnham are motivated by something baser than money - power and influence and the game of politics gets their juices running. These are generally quite capable people who are certainly ruthless enough to succeed in private enterprise, where they’d make a lot more money with less work, but would not have the thrill of the game.
Pity, he’d do less harm as a realestate agent!
July 1st, 2008 at 1:34 pm
he was correct in claiming that the Greens are totally against selective schools and would have turned MacRob into an ordinary school.
“Ordinary school”. This is deliberately framed as “mediocre school of the type produced under the current system of underfunding and neglect”. This is NOT what the Greens would have meant.
July 1st, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Good points Helen. Some of the Laborites who support archaic & climate/environment destructive industries & habits need to pack their bags. It’s one thing protecting your patch & those workers on it from exploitation, it’s another undermining parties like The Greens who can help during the howling winds of CHANGE. Change will be incremental. And even GREENS need to rethink some of their alliances. It will be TOUGH politics fought by tribes in alliance from various backgrounds & roots. It seems to me that Mr. Newnham has taken a WRONG TURN.
Good to see Bob Brown talking about the efforts of his group & Bob Hawke on the Franklin Dam issue. I’m sure Anna Bligh as the NEWish Premier of QLD is also REMEMBERING & preparing for spring cleaning. I know that my National Party, occasionally swing to Labor, family-in-law detest the thought of a certain dam being constructed. Shame they didn’t vote for Andrew Bartlett or The Greens.
Funny thing about many Aussies tho…they don’t want something until it’s gone…& in the process they can’t think of alternatives, they just whisper ideas from the mainstream media & pretend it’s their idea.
July 1st, 2008 at 3:35 pm
What wilful said
July 1st, 2008 at 5:05 pm
I think the electors of Albert Park deserved to know what was in store for MacRob. Wishful thinking about the State secondary education budget notwithstanding.
July 1st, 2008 at 11:34 pm
“What wilful said”
and so every other comment is worthless. what a load of BS AS.
Some of you Aussies need to WAKE UP. Put some f’ckin’ effort in.
July 2nd, 2008 at 1:48 am
Hey, Nask, Aussie Sheila and Wilful are perfectly allowed to voice their opinions. Although I think they’re wrong
1) Albert Park is not Victoria. If you’re saying “this has great utility for the people of Albert Park, therefore it’s good policy”, I’m not terribly convinced.
2) It has proved extremely tough to get governments since the 1980s to take public school funding seriously, but I think if things go a certain way they will be forced to. I don’t believe for a moment that all those struggling aspirationals fund their three kids’ private educations simply from their normal budget, and if there’s a real shake-out in terms of credit and mortgages then the same thing will happen as with the trains but with schools. If that happens it won’t be pretty, but the aspirationals won’t be able to fit all their kids into the few selectives.
To think that no Australian government at either state or federal level would ever give priority to the education of its young people is a profoundly depressing and negative outlook (much as I agree about the lack of political will on the part of the current lot.) I can only hope that you are wrong.
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:15 am
1) Albert park electors are allowed to be informed, no? Or is democracy really that inconvenient?
2) MacRob has been selective since well before the 1980s.
And constant complaining about the state of education in Australia is pretty boring. I’m no expert, but I seem to recall a substantial upgrade to schools under Bracks/Brumby, and Australian kiddies still do rather well on international metrics. Of course you can wish for a better funded system. But what other part of the State budget are you going to cut? Education, health and police take up essentially all of the budget.
Personally I would agree that the cops are overfunded, and there is waste to be found, but compared to the fantasy amounts claimed for education under the Greens, that’s all small change. And the people seem to keep voting for that relative mix, ultimately despite it’s flaws (including S Newnham) its the best system we’ve got.
Oh, nasking, your contribution #9 added about as much as AS’s #7, so I’m not sure what your point was in being critical.
July 2nd, 2008 at 3:11 pm
“Hey, Nask, Aussie Sheila and Wilful are perfectly allowed to voice their opinions. Although I think they’re wrong”
Yes, I was obviously coming off a bad day Helen & playing it straight outa the Hulk’s guide on ‘How to make friends & influence allies by stomping up & down whilst roaring out with sparking brain absolutely worthless sh*t’…;)
Aussie Sheila has contributed many insightful comments over the years & I should know better. Feel free to use me as a dartboard for the rest of the day…:)
and Wilful, I’m not sure what my point was either. Must’ve been thinking I was in a parallel universe somethin’…might’ve had somethin’ to do w/ a journey to the stores yesterday & venting frustration on the wrong thread/place?
Please accept my offer of honey.
It’s been a long year.
“Of course you can wish for a better funded system. But what other part of the State budget are you going to cut? Education, health and police take up essentially all of the budget.”
Perhaps the States need to focus on education & hospitals & such should be handed over to the Federal govt? Or vica-versa.
Or even better, up the GST on luxury goods & give it to the States to pay their school bills, expand public education/childcare services & increase maintenance of buildings and so on.
The rich in this country have gotten away w/ murder the last decade or so. It’s about time they paid their dues. The public schools provide them w/ heaps of workers…& taxes pay for the roads, street lights & other infrastructure thay take for granted. And now Labor is offering them more. Still, at least THEY didn’t get a tax cut this time.
It’s TIME the less than privileged people out there got an OPPORTUNITY to educate their kids in environs that the wealthy have demanded for so many years. If class division continues in this Country we’ll end up w/ escalated crime, suicide rates…more black-markets, drug/gun-running, heroin-driven prostitution and other less than positive pursuits, to counter the inability of people to access decent, well paid jobs/careers & homes.
The ENVY FACTOR is evident in parts of America everyday…plenty of angry people/militias/criminal gangs wondering how they can make moolah the easy way & undermine the government &/or tax office in the process. Or just let off steam by mowing innocent people down.
And the predominantly Right-Wing Supreme Court is stupid enuff to try & wedge Democrats by ensuring the NRA can add to the flood of guns in that Nation just as it hits an economic downturn & workers panic about their livelihoods. Yes, instead of focusing on providing the ANGST-RIDDEN w/ more affordable & worthwhile education & health-care, the Right fart on about their love for GUNS, EXECUTIONS…& HATRED for gay marriage.
What a beautiful country. So beautiful that heaps of Aussies want to emulate the worst of it.
July 2nd, 2008 at 4:01 pm
1) Albert park electors are allowed to be informed, no? Or is democracy really that inconvenient?
Wilful, let me just say this once more: The letters sent by the Labor machine were not information, they were disinformation. The letters stated that the Greens planned to shut down MacRobertson. They had no such policy. I’m sorry if I did not make this sufficiently clear in the OP.
July 2nd, 2008 at 4:48 pm
And yes, helen, that is what the greens wanted to do. That’s OK, that’s a policy they can have. Personally I think selective schools are a good thing, and so do the people of Albert Park, but if the Greens don’t then they can argue the case.