Labor has written to the Australian Federal Police to ask them to look into Speaker Bronwyn Bishop’s decision to take a taxpayer-funded helicopter trip from Melbourne to Geelong to attend a fundraiser for Ron Nelson, a Liberal candidate in the Victorian state election.
The suggestion is that supporting a party fundraiser is not part of the duties of the speaker of the Australian parliament. Continue reading Saturday salon
Rodney Tiffen thinks he can.
And Senator Abetz says legalising gay marriage would lead to polyamory and argues issue should be rejected out of hand because Opposition Leader Bill Shorten supports change.
The story of the week was perhaps The Abbott Government’s paying people smugglers to turn back a boatload of asylum seekers to Indonesia.
Indonesia’s foreign ministry says it believes the payments were made. It seems pretty obvious that they were. Continue reading Saturday salon 20/6: late edition
As you can see from this lovely picture, there are actually nine of them.
In 2012, Ms Kirner was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for her work in advancing equality for women, and for her political achievements in the 1980s and 1990s. Continue reading Saturday salon 6/6
On Q&A Hockey was asked by a young woman why pads and tampons should carry a GST while “condoms, lubricants, sunscreen and nicotine patches are all tax-free”. Of course economic orthodoxy says they should all be taxed, but Hockey agreed with her and has undertaken to put the matter to the states. Continue reading Saturday salon 30/5
The Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse continues to amaze, this time with the horrific abuse in the Diocese of Ballarat. At the same time we find that the Catholic Church will continue to use the so-called Ellis defence, whereby it can’t be sued for compensation because it does not technically exist as a legal entity. Continue reading Saturday salon 23/5
1. Mark Bahnisch in conversation with Paul Barclay
Last night I joined ABC Radio National’s Paul Barclay in conversation with Mark Bahnisch discussing his book Queensland: Everything you ever wanted to know, but were afraid to ask at the Avid reader bookshop. Continue reading Saturday salon 9/5
An open thread where, at your leisure, you can discuss anything you like, well, within reason and the Comments Policy. Include here news and views, plus any notable personal experiences from the week and the weekend. Continue reading Saturday salon 25/4 (Anzac Day)
