Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/10/09/political-officers.html
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Life in Oz is comfortable, hence the majority are too apathetic to overcome their ignorance. I say majority because, after all, the current set of arseholes in Canberra were “democratically elected”, whatever the fuck a democracy is.
Yes, I’m an Aussie but at least I’m trying to understand what’s happening.
Australia is just the litmus test for these policies. Be sure they’re coming to a 5 eyes country near you.
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In other news, the “Hammered” neo-nazi music festival will go ahead in QLD for its tenth year, after QLD premier Daniel Andrews said he was “powerless to stop it” because there are no laws to stop it. Simply powerless, he says!
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Minor point, but the festival, and Daniel Andrews, are both in Victoria, not QLD.
Other than that, well said.
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Meanwhile, the actual QLD Premier is seeking to criminalise all forms of effective protest.
They’ve got the powers if they want them. They just choose to reserve them for the left.
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Cory, I’ve got to take some exception to your opening statement and I pointed this same problem out way back in June
Someone told me it takes an hour to refute an argument, so start the clock…
Australian politics are a revolting mess of unstable governments
Ok, so I won’t debate “revolting” because that’s fairly subjective.
But “unstable”?
The Liberal Party (right-leaning) has been in power for six years, since 2013 and were awarded a third three-year term this year. Prior to that, the Labor Party (left-leaning) was in power since 2007 (six years). The Liberals were in power from 1996 (10 years), and prior to that, Labor since 1983 (13 years, albeit changing leader in 1991).
This is the opposite of “unstable”.
dominated by xenophobic, climate-denying far-right oligarchs,
You can probably argue mining magnates Gina Reinhart and Clive Palmer (a man so vain he named a political party after himself, then lasted one term with a couple of mates), are Oligarchs. Their influence is hard to nail down, however according to Australian Parliament Records mining industry donations peaked in 2010
and the only check on their power is the fact that Australian governments are so riven by internal strife and unhinged authoritarianism that they tend to collapse on a quarterly basis, triggering new elections and/or leadership contests.
So there’s a few things going on here.
First, the check on power is a nationwide election every three years. There are also state and territory elections.
The only time an election has been triggered in Australia due to political strife was in 1975 when the Labor government was dismissed by the Governor General (AKA Queen’s representative as she’s head of state). At all other times, the government of the day has called an election.
Yes, Australia has had six Prime Ministers in 10 years. And yes, there’s been internal divisions within the party in government.
However, the government has never collapsed, not even on a quarterly basis. Each government completed their three year term and we had an election.
So my time is up, and here’s my question to you: You’re a damn good writer. Why are you relying on these kind of misrepresentations to make your point?
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I see that they’re playing the child pornographers card again, because that never gets too old.
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Wrong country my friend 
Same playbook.
Like ALEC and the State Policy Network, where the same crappy model bills are submitted in states across America, the IDU does that internationally.
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I’m so sorryRick, it’s 1.30 am and I’m brain-fragged; I just can’t see the point you’re making. Please forgive me if I’ve missed something obvious?
Political parties on the right, around the world, keep making the same “If you want strong encryption, then you’re a child pornographer!” argument. I think they share notes on the same stupid ideas. (I’m sure BoJo had Stephen Harper’s notes on Proroguing.)
Heavy handed control of a scientific conference is also straight out of the Stephen Harper years, with his War on Science.
Wouldn’t it have been better for Bruce Schneier and others to boycott the conference in response to the censorship of others? Or perhaps use their time only to highlight/present the work of those that were censored? Maybe organize a competing “free” protest event?
Yup.
https://twitter.com/amyremeikis/status/1171985835798872064?s=21
Every shitty thing that happens in US politics is echoed in Oz politics a few years later.
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