Will Labor wake up?
That question could well cover a number of current ALP policies – or lack there of – but let’s concentrate on their unholy alliance with the Greens for the moment.
With the Greens’ unwillingness to compromise on the asylum seeker issue last week apparently being the straw that broke the camel’s back, at least one Labor MP, former Defence Minister and chief government whip, Joel Fitzgibbon, says it’s time to take the Greens head-on.
Mr Fitzgibbon’s anger with the Greens echoes the frustration privately expressed with many Labor MPs who believe that Ms Gillard should tear up the agreement with them.
I don’t think that would save Labor the next election, but it might save them some future credibility.
Tim Blair on the Greens:
Too many observers treat the Greens as a political movement rather than as a political party. Until very recently, when the Greens’ senate balance of power made it unavoidable, the Greens have dodged the scorching cynicism commonly aimed at other parties and politicians.
In fact, the Greens may be the most cynical of all parties in the current parliament. They exploit public perceptions of them as caring and altruistic in order to pursue agendas that are economically destructive and, in the case of asylum seekers, cost lives.
Now that Bob Brown has left the scene, perhaps these prissy care-fakers will receive the examination they’ve well and truly earned. The next election should not be a judgment restricted to Labor and the coalition.
Indeed.
PS
With a number of Labor MPs unhappy with the Greens’ alliance, can we also infer they are unhappy with the carbon tax? After all, this was a tax the PM promised not to impose, only to do so after the election at the Greens’ insistence.
PM Gillard under fire for linking marriage to bestiality
Labor MPs have distanced themselves from the embattled Prime Minister over recent comments suggesting marriage could be linked to bestiality.
In her speech to the Parliament, Wednesday, PM Gillard suggested that legalizing marriage would lead to a “slippery slope” resulting in increased cases of homosexuality, polygamy, and pedophilia.
“It’s a slippery slope,” she said. “I mean, when you open the door to marriage, then what next? Do we now legalize bestiality, also?”
The PM added, “And my greatest concern is for the welfare of the children. Do you really want them growing up in an environment that could potentially lead to cases of child abuse?”
Liberal commentators were quick to seize upon the PM’s remarks.
Controversial columnist R. McDonald wrote Thursday, “Well it’s quite obvious why the PM would say such a thing; she isn’t married!”
However, the defiant PM was quick to defend herself.
“No, that is correct. I don’t believe in marriage. Whether it be between a man and a woman, a man and a man, or indeed a woman and a beard, there’s really no telling what it could lead to. Most importantly, it’s about what it could mean for the children. Therefore, I stand by my decision not to have any.”
Other liberal commentators have come to Gillard’s defense arguing that although her comments were off base, she shouldn’t have been punished with such a “knee-jerk” reaction.
Further weighing into the debate, the Greens leader Christine Milne said that “whales are people, too.”
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