The boats that 鈥渏ust kept coming and coming鈥 under Labor have been 鈥渁ll but stopped鈥, Prime Minister Tony Abbott declared to the Press Club in his widely described as 鈥渃rash-and-burn鈥 address on February 2.
鈥淭he Abbott government has stopped the boats 鈥 and only this government will keep them stopped.鈥
Tony Abbott
If you reading this after Tuesday, there's a chance we could have a new Overlord.
Liberals spooked by polls so bad that an electoral coalition between Islamic State and Ebola 鈥 or hell, even the Labor Party 鈥 could probably win the next federal election, are holding a leadership spill that could dump Tony Abbott as prime minister less than half way through his first term.
The dramatic dumping of Campbell Newman鈥檚 Liberal National Party government in Queensland and the leadership spill against Abbott have starkly revealed the ongoing popular opposition to the Coalition's program of cutbacks and privatisation. It has thrown the federal Liberals into a crisis.
This is a tremendous boost for progressive people in Australia and the anti-Abbott campaign in particular.
I have decided there鈥檚 no longer any point trying to write these columns while we have a government as truly mad as this one. What鈥檚 the point of trying to think up witty ways to mock this bunch of heartless, cruel, out-of-touch, poor-hating, Tory scum if their leader just wanders about doing bat shit insane things like 鈥渒nighting鈥 Prince Philip?
The Abbott government is very keen to tell us all that the new Productivity Commission review into workplace relations is not, in any way, a bid to revive the Coalition's deeply unpopular WorkChoices laws. Which, of course, as they keep saying, are totally 鈥渄ead and buried鈥.
There is one message refugees in the Manus Island detention centre want Australia to hear: we need help.
In a letter written on January 20, a group of asylum seekers taking part in a mass hunger strike wrote: 鈥淚n here alarms are ringing but heartless politicians are still indifferent.鈥
They said they were writing 鈥渇rom the heart of Manus鈥 as the hunger strike entered its 鈥渘inth day and it will continue鈥.
鈥淲e will continue our push until we reach our ultimate goal, which is freedom.鈥
The statement below was released by on January 20.
***
Popular concern grows for the well-being of refugees in detention, as more than 700 asylum seekers on Manus Island enter their eighth day of hunger strike, and up to 200 are suffering dehydration.
Witnessing an outpour of reports detailing increasingly desperate acts of self harm, the Australian public stands up to say enough to the torture of refugees, and calls on the Coalition government for compassion.
Releasing the interim report of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption on December 19, employment minister Eric Abetz said the findings showed the decision to hold a royal commission into unions had been 鈥渧indicated鈥.
However, the fact that almost every substantial case examined by the royal commission was already making its way through the legal system, suggests the system is working. A royal commission is a tool government can effectively employ when there is a serious failure聽by the existing regulatory system.
You know a government is in some serious trouble when a morning TV host tears the prime minister to shreds. And when the most likable member of the government appears to be Julie 鈥淒eath Stare鈥 Bishop, it has less good options than a drunk at closing time in Canberra.
A little over a year in office, and Tony Abbott's one big achievement is he has made Bill Shorten look electable.
In keeping with its crusade to privatise every public activity it can get away with, the Australian government has outsourced the management of an Ebola treatment hospital in Sierra Leone to private provider Aspen Medical.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced on November 5 that the government would allocate $20 million to operate a British-built facility in the West African country over the next eight months.
Woolworths was caught out this month selling T-shirts with the slogan 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 love it, leave鈥 emblazoned over an Australian flag.
After George Craig posted a photo of the shirt on Twitter with the caption: 鈥淍woolworths cairns, selling racist singlets for everyday low prices! #racist鈥, the T-shirt was quickly and widely condemned. Woolworths immediately pulled the stock from its shelves and apologised.
Now I know things seem pretty bleak in this country right now, but we must remember there is always hope. After all, in 1967, an Australian prime minister entirely disappeared without any warning after he went swimming 鈥 and Tony Abbott loves to swim!
So don't give in to despair 鈥 it might happen again. The key thing is to not lose all hope.
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