Pokies:
John Hunwick writes: Re. “Gillard duds Wilkie, and what’s left of her own credibility” (yesterday, item 1). Again Bernard Keane has assessed the situation perfectly regarding the standing of Labor.
From Rudd’s backing away from the carbon tax, to Gillard’s pre-empting of decisive action on gambling, Labor has acted expediently rather than with any real sense of values and compassion. Well, if that party wants to stand by the voting at election time (or on current polls), then let it, because at the next election it will see that it has lost most of its credibility and the voters will be reluctant to review that decision for any number of years.
Vote for Labor next time? No way!
David Adler writes: The comments in Bernard Keane’s article can be summarised in The Song of Pokie Reform (to the tune of the Hokey Pokey — what else?):
You put your reforms in
You take your reforms out
You put your big foot in your mouth
Then you have to pull it out
You do the Wilkie Pokie
And you turn around
And that’s what it’s all about
Chorus:
Oh Wilkie now looks like a jokie
Oh Wilkie now looks like a jokie
Cause Gillard’s played him like a Pokie
And that’s what it’s all about!
John Richardson writes: Re. “Big compo for ALP’s pokie clubs, but industry declares no conflict” (yesterday, item 2). I wonder how strong the allure of the Lodge really is for Tony Abbott? As everyone in Australia seems to understand (apart from Liberal powerbrokers), Abbott will never become prime minister via the ballot box: indeed, the very best thing Julia Gillard has going for her is Tony.
If I was Tony, I’d be focused on attaining the prime ministership by simply capturing the numbers in the House of Representatives. I reckon Tony should have a chat with Andrew Wilkie and offer to support his poker machine reform agenda, in return for Wilkie’s support of the coalition in government. Having picked up Wilkie’s support, how easy to have a chat with “slippery” Peter Slipper (who strongly supports poker machine reform) and offer him a guarantee of preselection in a safe Liberal seat in perpetuity, as well as the role of Speaker in an Abbott government, in return for him resigning as Speaker of the Gillard government and returning to the fold.
While Clubs Australia might be mightily upset by such a development, Tony would pick up the Lodge, along with enormous popularity from the bulk of Australians, who see the dreadful machines as licensed theft. Tony’s crew would pop across to the government’s leather and an extra bonus would accrue to the Coalition through the potential crippling of Labor’s prime source of revenue, the poker machines in the Labor Clubs.
Alternatively, Tony can continue to say “No” and Julia will continue to do as she pleases.
Costa Concordia calamity:
Jim Hart writes: Re. “The locals are adamant: cruise skipper ‘had head up his arse’” (yesterday, item 11). After your tabloid-worthy “Capt Chicken” headline about the Costa Concordia on Friday we might have hoped for something a tad more objective on Monday. And what do we get? Crikey‘s headline revelation that “The locals are adamant: cruise skipper ‘had head up his arse'”.
Which is bad enough except that it wasn’t even a local, was it? Only at the end of the story do we get the source: “American tourist Luigi Cassone came for a look at the disaster at the weekend and had no doubt Schettino was responsible.” And this tourist is in no doubt: “This guy had his head up his arse.”
Well OK he does have an Italian-sounding name so maybe that makes him an authority on shipping as far as your in-depth on-the-spot reporter is concerned.
You should pay more attention to the comment from Beryce Nelson (yesterday, comments) who makes a well-argued plea for facts not fantasy, and give less air to Josephine McKenna’s dockside vox pop.
The ALP:
An anonymous Crikey reader writes: Re. “While Labor fights in Qld, its young leader joins GOP campaign” (yesterday, item 5). Regarding yesterday’s character assassination of Chaiy Donati.
It is somewhat rich of a publication that with such hubris conducted ‘The Quality Journalism Project” would fail to mention the political affiliation of the author.
As a member of an ALP faction opposed to that of Mr Donati, Andrew Crook has passed off an internal personality difference as fact. Nothing in that article was designed to inform but rather was a mixture of salacious gossip and innuendo designed only to publicly undermine a young person’s reputation.
Congratulations Crikey — what low depths you have plunged to.
A CHALLENGE TO CRIKEY READERS — as Mr Crook has proven that a) nothing is off limits and b) that anything and everything can be considered newsworthy — why not click on the anonymous tip of button and vent your respective spleens.
The question is — will you publish this?
Crikey says: Andrew Crook is neither a member of an ALP faction nor a member of the ALP.
Correction 1:
David Roe writes: Re. “Video of the Day: Gabby Giffords resigns” (yesterday, item 9). Crikey published: “Democrats Senator Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head by a gunman a year ago, announced her resignation via video today to focus on her recovery.” Gabby Giffords is not a US Senator.
Correction 2:
Kim Lockwood writes: Re. Yesterday’s Editorial. Crikey wrote:
“…but really just meant they were asking if they should test the truth of candidates’ sound bites as part of their reporting, as opposed to just repeating the statements ad nauseum.”
It’s ad nauseam, not ad nauseum. It comes from nausea. The thing induced by most politicians, several news moguls, some screen actors and assorted “celebrities”.
Being able to offer any politician a safe seat is part of the problem which voters can fix by simply exercising their own votes for change. Over time voters have lost site of the fact, they can control who is in Parliament, by numbering below the line and directing their own preferences! Edward James
Edward James, it’s perfectly true that voters can exercise their own votes for change. The trouble is that lots of voters have no intention of changing. It seems amazing how much voters can stand – witness NSW Labor supporters for years and years (until at last enough of them dragged their arses to another position) – and my observation is that disgruntled voters somehow have to discover their own ‘gruntle’, no one can tell them about it.
HUGH (CHARLIE) MCCOLL. Rusted on voters are a sad reality, just like donkey voters which the two parties not much preferred rely on. There are I’m told Labor voters on the Central Coast in NSW who believe I am a rabid Liberal National supporter. No doubt they never noticed me outside NSW State Parliament for over four hundred days and many nights while i was calling for action on the corrupt Gosford City Council. That was well before five people died wrongful deaths at the bottom of Piles Creek Somersby. I have spent over thirteen thousand dollars publishing allegations, during the run up to the last State election. The most important among them was Gosford City Council misled the State Coroner during his inquiry into the death of five people at Piles Creek Somersby. There are photos of John Robertson and John Hatzistergos reading my published double page allegations. What is not surprising for me is the Liberal National coalition wont say a word. Because the two parties not much preferred have party members too close to what is being alleged in these published allegations reproduced here http://bit.ly/EJ_PNewsAds. I used to write “we the peoples have the power to shake the base of politics” Now I encourage voters to vote for change and change again and keep doing it putting dead wood politicians dead last so they finish in the street not on opposition benches enjoying expensive RnR at taxpayers expense. Until we return to parliaments and local councils which are populated with representatives who want to provide the proletariate honest open representative government. People can be encouraged to change when they ask for advice about who to vote for. I believe over half the voting population is too pre occupied trying to pay their bills and feed the kids. They are jaded by the constant lies offered by political allsorts over many years. Edward James
anonymous check facts before launching
@ Lawyercat. Can you tell readers the facts? Edward James http://bit.ly/EJ_PNewsAds