Julia's Reign

[Scotty]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-02/thomson-admits-authorising-escort-payments/2820882

The minority government is on the edge:

"It is alleged that over a five-year period, the Member for Dobell withdrew $101,533 in cash advances from his union credit card. Further, it is alleged that he used his union credit card to fund his election campaign for Dobell," he said.

He said Mr Thomson allegedly spent more than $104,000 on his election campaign without authority from the union, which led to him filing a false disclosure report with the Electoral Commission.

"It was alleged by Fairfax media that on at least four occasions he used the credit card on prostitutes," Senator Ronaldson said.

"Is this what the hard-working members of the HSU expect their union dues to be spent on?

"Is it right that the money mums and dads gave to the union to represent them in the workplace be siphoned off for such activities?"

Senator Ronaldson said Mr Thomson had not been forced to resign because a by-election could destroy Labor's minority Government.

"In normal circumstances, the Member for Dobell would not be allowed to continue, but in the so-called new paradigm where the Government only has a wafer-thin majority, the Prime Minister lacks the courage and the leadership authority to deal with the Member for Dobell appropriately," he said.

 

[Scotty]

Barnaby hits back at those that mocked him for his predictions:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nat...hos-laughing-now/story-e6frgd0x-1226110443720

When asked on ABC radio whether the government had prepared for a potential US default, our Treasurer could point to no specific actions taken. But we do have parts of Treasury modelling climate change. The Treasurer believes I have been captured by "Tea Partiers". Disagree with him on climate change you're a denier, disagree with him on economics you're a Tea Partier.

Ken Rogoff, obviously another of Swan's Tea Partiers, but also moonlighting as a professor of economics at Harvard University, has been warning about these problems since we were first introduced to the term sub-prime. The Global Financial Crisis involved ordinary people and silly governments taking on too much debt. There was nothing unique about it, the same process has been repeated over and over again with tulips, railroad stocks, Florida real estate, dot-com investments and our modern example, collateralised debt obligations.

A couple of years ago Rogoff wrote a book titled This Time Is Different, showing actually it's almost always the same. Public debt crises are more common than economists tend to acknowledge and financial crises in particular place extreme stress on government finances.

Rogoff wrote a paper a couple of months ago titled A Decade of Debt in which he measured the increase in public debt in different countries since 2007, when we voted in these current economic luminaries. No surprises, Iceland and Ireland, are one and two but Swan got the bronze, Australia is third, with a 150 per cent increase in our public debt since 2007. As I previously said we can't keep going on like this, but we are. We have just extended our debt ceiling to $250 billion.

 

[Scotty]

http://www.news.com.au/national/lab...16381753?from=igoogle+gadget+compact+news_rss

The plot thickens with Labor's supporting of MP (Moana Pasifika) Craig Thomson.

LABOR paid more than $90,000 of MP (Moana Pasifika) Craig Thomson's legal bills and gave him a loan on top because if he had failed to pay and been declared bankrupt, it would have brought down the Gillard Government.

Sources said the party caved in because if he were bankrupt he would be ineligible to remain in Parliament, putting the minority Gillard Government at risk, the Herald Sun reported.
"We paid because if he hadn't paid his bills he'd be bankrupt," a senior Sydney Labor source said.
Being bankrupt would render Mr Thomson ineligible to remain in parliament.

NSW Labor gave Mr Thomson more than $40,000 for legal bills incurred when he started, and dropped, a defamation suit over allegations his former union credit card was used to procure the services of prostitutes.

But Labor sources confirmed the figure was actually more than $90,000, with tens of thousands more given in the form of a loan.

 

[Moses]

http://catallaxyfiles.com/2011/08/18/from-hansard-august-17-2011/

Senator RONALDSON (Victoria) (13:28): I would like to follow up my comments on 15 June this year in this chamber and also follow up the comments of Senator Brandis in relation to the Craig Thomson matter. Honourable senators will know, from my contribution last time around, that I referred to the use of Mr Thomson’s mobile phone to ring an escort agency and said that his credit card was used to pay for the services of an escort and also that his licence number was on the credit card slip. But a new piece of information, which has come to light courtesy of Michael Smith from 2UE, is I think probably the most damning indictment yet of this succession of evidence that we are seeing in relation to Mr Thomson and Mr Thomson’s veracity in relation to this matter. I will read out this from Mr Smith’s blog on 2UE

I just rang the number that appears on Craig Thomson‘s mobile phone records on the night that the $2,475 was paid to Keywed Pty Ltd, trading as Sydney Room Service escort agency.
The phone was answered ―Sydney Room Service.
I said ―I‘m Michael Smith, I‘m from 2UE and we‘re doing a story on the use of credit cards for escort services. Can you tell if your clients need to show any further ID if they pay for your services with a credit card?
The lady who didn‘t want her name used said, ―Yeah, if you pay with a credit card you must produce photographic ID.

I repeat that:

… if you pay with a credit card you must produce photographic ID.

It goes on:

That‘s a standard practice throughout the industry. I said, ―Are your staff instructed to check the photographic ID against the face of the person in front of them, the person who signs the credit card voucher? She said, ―Yes, absolutely. They know that if that‘s not done they don‘t get paid. It happens 100% of the time.
She explained to me that it had been standard practice for years and that driver‘s licence numbers were also recorded on the back of the vouchers for further proof.

 

[Moses]

Good excuse

 

[Scotty]

Even worse, is that this guy is the head of the economics committee for the house of reps. He is charged with questioning guys like Glen Stevens, yet he is basically broke himself, and was also secretary for a union that is now apparently broke as well! Imagine how someone like Glen Stevens would feel having to answer questions from this fool. (And I understand that Glen Stevens is a devout Christian, just to rub further salt into the wound).

In saying that, I guess Glen Stevens would find the questions quite easy to deflect!

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nat...n-broke-auditors/story-fn59niix-1226120004762

The government is under pressure from the Opposition to remove Mr Thomson as head of the House of Representatives economics committee.

 

[rugbyskier]

Looking on the bright side of this Thomson scandal, at least there's one member of this government capable of organising a root in a brothel.

 

[Baldric]

Looking on the bright side of this Thomson scandal, at least there's one member of this government capable of organising a root in a brothel.

Nice one.

 

[antipodean]

Looking on the bright side of this Thomson scandal, at least there's one member of this government capable of organising a root in a brothel.

Nice one Craig.

 

[rugbyskier]

Nice one Craig.

You're welcome. How's the ankle going?

 

[antipodean]

Progress has slowed from my earlier self-diagnosis unfortunately. Can walk reasonably well now but running will be some time yet. Hoping to make it back to play Command & Staff College. Knew I should have come skiing earlier in the season.

 

[Scotty]

The Health Services Union has now referred this matter to the police. I can't see any way out of this for Thomson, and the only way the Labor government will get through it is if the investigation drags out until the next election.

I am sure the HSU would already have known about this matter, but it is only pressure from the media, and now its members that seems to have made it take this step.

 

[Bowside]

Sad to see the labor party have such a fall from grace. I can no longer defend certain elements of it. Needs to refocus its direction and creed.

Also going to be sad when Abbott is prime minister.

 

[Cutter]

Also going to be sad when Abbott is prime minister.

That will be a tragedy.

If Brown is guilty, I hope he goes down big time. I also hope anyone protecting him goes down. It's just a pity Tony Abbott will likely be the beneficiary of this.

 

[Scotty]

That will be a tragedy.

If Brown is guilty, I hope he goes down big time. I also hope anyone protecting him goes down. It's just a pity Tony Abbott will likely be the beneficiary of this.

Brown?

 

[Elfster]

Brown?

Perhaps the prostitutes were for Bob Brown???

 

[rugbyskier]

Perhaps the prostitutes were for Bob Brown???

I doubt it, the escort agency's name was Bad Girls, not Bad Boys.

 

[Mr Doug]

For those who want neither Julia Gillard nor Tony Abbott as PM, perhaps a 'Private Members Bill' banning all pollies born outside Australia from assuming the position! If that were to happen, I would like to see a clause which also prevents any MP (Moana Pasifika) whose surname starts with "Turn", and ends with "bull"!

 

[chief]

Indeed, but there is one thing particularly disturbing I think for Liberal Party pollsters. And that is Abbott's low satisfaction ratings. That means when he becomes PM, it will be easy for him to fall from grace.

 

[cyclopath]

For those who want neither Julia Gillard nor Tony Abbott as PM, perhaps a 'Private Members Bill' banning all pollies born outside Australia from assuming the position! If that were to happen, I would like to see a clause which also prevents any MP (Moana Pasifika) whose surname starts with "Turn", and ends with "bull"!

When Turnbull is 95 and slower witted, he'll still be sharper than those 2 on their best days. Politics aside.