Integrity in government and a robust Federal Integrity Commission is supported by a clear majority of Australian citizens including in those Liberal-held seats where centre-right independent candidates are targeting the incumbents across Australia. However, the Morrison Government is deeply reluctant to legislate for such an independent, robust federal body. Independent Member for Indi in regional […]
PODCAST: Bird’s eye view of #MackellarVotes for #transitzone
As the next federal election looms, there’s much more focus now on centre-right candidates running against Liberal incumbents in blue-ribbon seats across Australia, especially inner-urban seats in Sydney and Melbourne, but also more generally. In this latest edition of @transitzonepod we continue our side-bar series on grassroots democracy and the growing independents’ movement, modelled by […]
Haines declares war over Federal Integrity Commission
The independent MP for Indi, Helen Haines, has accused the Prime Minister of “pulling the wool over our eyes” on a Federal Integrity Commission (FIC) by proposing an MP “protection commission”, and pledged to force Coalition MPs to vote on her bill during parliamentary sittings beginning next week. She also linked climate policy with the […]
Annastacia Palaszczuk Responds to ‘Extortion’ Accusation – @qldaah #qldpol #auspol
On Sunday ABC Insiders, Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s accusation was re-aired that the Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was engaging in holding the federal government to ‘ransom’, ‘extortion’ and ‘shakedown politics’ by asking the Commonwealth for more support for the national hospital system as the country neared its covid-19 vaccination targets. David Crowe supported the government […]
The Celebrity Journalist Narrative of Queensland’s Border – @Qldaah #qldpol #auspol
As former federal member for New England Tony Windsor well put it recently, celebrity journalists dislike Twitter because they can’t control the narrative. The Queensland Pfizer and vaccine hesitancy conspiracy theory One such example is the perpetual story that Queenslanders and Western Australians are laggers in the covid-19 vaccination rollout and that they have now […]
PMO Backgrounds Against Political Opponents – @Qldaah #qldpol #auspol
Backgrounding against the Palaszczuk Government prior to the state election A hot microphone at a press conference in Queensland on Friday, September 4, 2020 exposed just how the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) attempts to influence journalists against their political enemies. Nine News Queensland journalist, Lane Calcutt, confirmed he was not relaying the PMO questions they […]
Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young Granted Extraordinary Powers – @Qldaah #qldpol
Misunderstood by many media commentators & some politicians is the declaration of a public health emergency such as for covid-19. In Queensland this grants extraordinary powers to the Chief Health Officer (CHO), Dr Jeannette Young. “During a public health emergency, the Chief Health Officer can issue Public Health Directions to assist in containing, or to […]
The Savage Burns of One Steven J Miles, Queensland Deputy Premier – @Qldaah #qldpol #auspol
Queensland’s new deputy premier Dr Steven Miles began his rise to national prominence in August, 2020. The mild-mannered philosopher first entered state parliament as the member for Mount Coot-tha (now Murrumba) riding the wave of the ‘Palaszlide’ – the stunning 2015 election victory that saw Campbell Newman’s Liberal National Party (LNP) government ousted from power […]
Igniting an independent backburn: Margo Kingston finds hope in the grassroots for #AusVotes
AS I CONSIDER how to contribute at the next federal election, I thought I’d republish, with permission, a chapter I wrote for the Fremantle Press anthology Women of a Certain Rage, in January 2020 after the failed 2019 ‘Climate Election’, amid the worst bushfires Australia had ever seen, before COVID changed everything. #AustraliaBurns: Rage, A Climate […]
Queensland Criticised For Doing Well – @Qldaah #qldpol #auspol
What Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk actually said about the covid-19 national plan this week. The Australian has accused the Queensland premier of ruining holiday plans reporting that she had said, “lifting border restrictions even after vaccine coverage reaches 80 per cent would be a “backward” step.” However, Thursday’s press conference didn’t exactly pan out like […]