It's all rather ironic given that Kristina was born in Las Vegas and speaks with an American twang, while John Alexander was born in Sydney 66 years ago and played tennis professionally for Australia in the 1970-80s...  The whole citizenship thing is a crock.

Crock or not, Section 44 hasn't somehow changed to make this big kerfuffle. It's the pollies not doing their due diligence (or choosing to try and ignore it) that's caused this. They only have themselves to blame.

I was sorry to see Jacqui Lambie go, she had trouble getting her message though but I did have some respect for her plain-speaking on things like forced income management for people on the dole - at one stage income management was going to preclude people on the dole from being able to buy tobacco and alcohol. She (quite rightly in my opinion) pointed out that the government had absolutely no right to tell the unemployed that they can't smoke or drink at all and she combined with other senators to vote that down.

We need more people like her in parliament, people who actually have a lived experience of life outside of lawyer's offices, politicans offices and the cossetted world of Canberra.

QLD Premier Anna Palaszczuk says she would rather be in opposition than do a deal with One Nation (ABC);

While she has previously made similar comments, the Queensland Labor leader delivered her most emphatic statement on the matter to date at the Sky News event on Thursday night.

"Sometimes you've got to stand on your principles and I will stand on my principles," Ms Palaszczuk told the audience.

"If that means going into opposition, we'll go into opposition.

Ms Palaszczuk's comment was prompted by a question from a female audience member.

The woman said she was beginning to consider voting for One Nation and wanted to know whether either major party would work with Mr Dickson and other One Nation MPs if they held the balance of power.

Given their extremely slender hold on power I guess this means that QLD will have a LNP/One Nation coalition government if One Nation wins enough seats?

Malcolm is getting a welcome relief from the headlines with the gay marriage thing but the loss of his majority is looming in the background (Courier-Mail);

GEORGE Christensen will go rogue in 16 days.

The rebel Nationals Member for Dawson has sent a letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull threatening to cross the floor and vote against an already-wounded Government that has lost its majority.

Mr Christensen has given himself a good-behaviour deadline of December 4 and after that he will cause “political damage” to get a commission of inquiry into the banking sector and restore penalty rates — two issues he has been vocal on since being elected to federal Parliament.

And Mr Christensen is not pushing an agenda, yesterday Queensland National senator Barry O’Sullivan said he would introduce a banking royal commission bill later this month.

“I can tell you that there are quite a lot of excited backbenchers in Government ranks, who are now contemplating what they may do with serious issues that they want aired and debated in the Parliament,” he said.

Sounds like there's some serious problems brewing for the LNP; despite Scott Morrison and Truffles doing their best to stop any banking Royal Commission it appears at this point that it will be a certainty before Christmas. I was also surprised that Christensen supports the reinstatement of penalty rates for the lowest paid workers; perhaps an acknowledgement that the decreasing wages of workers are biting hard in his electorate.

Admittedly not a Federal matter, but I wonder what Mr M Turnbuckle thinks about the by-election in the Victorian State seat of Northcote.
The Libs didn't field a candidate, and the Greens took a seat that Labor had held for 100 years.

Given their extremely slender hold on power I guess this means that QLD will have a LNP/One Nation coalition government if One Nation wins enough seats?

Hardly surprising given One Nation was born out of the Liberal Party and will support the LNP's predictable policies.

Truffles Turnbull has delayed parliament sitting for an extra week - parliament will now resume on December 4th and not on the 27th of November as previously advised. Poor Truffles, he doesn't want to go back because he knows that he's finished. Kind of reminds me of Hillary Clinton's shock loss last year when she shuffled around in her nightie for a week and refused to be seen in public...

Meanwhile News.com.au is suggesting that a quick poll of Bennelong voters has found Kristina Keneally and John Alexander neck and neck at 50/50 with the seat seemingly within Labor's grasp despite a strong Liberal response against the former Premier.

Turnbull really is pathetic isn't he? delaying Parliament for a week, I have heard that the Labor party will be in Canberra on Monday, as a sign that they are ready for work, this will show up the Coalition terribly

Kind Regards

Turnbull really is pathetic isn't he? delaying Parliament for a week, I have heard that the Labor party will be in Canberra on Monday, as a sign that they are ready for work, this will show up the Coalition terribly

Kind Regards

Awful, the official excuse was that the senate needs extra time to debate the gay marriage act; unofficially of course we know that Malcolm is hiding away, shuffling around in his nighty at his Potts Point home, trying to compose himself enough to be seen in public. They're also about to let down the banking industry vampires big time with the vote on a Royal Commission now almost inevitable with the assistance of members of their own party who will cross the floor. What do you do if you're the parliamentary Liberal Party? Sack him? Get someone else? Or just wait for the inevitable drubbing...?

Fairfax published an article the other day speculating on the make-up of a Shorten cabinet... ugh. Another one who wins government by default.

Another one who wins government by default.

And that has long been the Australian way - a government will be reelected until it demonstrates that is so incompetent that anyone can do better.

Hmmm- the New England by election is on Dec 2, Parliament will resume on Dec 4th, come on Truffles, the gigs up, it's a numbers game isn't it, he will have the numbers when it resumes... do I have that wrong??

Kind Regards

Hmmm- the New England by election is on Dec 2, Parliament will resume on Dec 4th, come on Truffles, the gigs up, it's a numbers game isn't it, he will have the numbers when it resumes... do I have that wrong??

Kind Regards

Oh God! I'm not sure anymore... I don't think Truffles knows either. He's too busy deciding on whether to go to Coles or not with makeup on...

Mal,has flagged personal income tax cuts, in the May budget.

Is this a final act of desperation?

Delaying sitting next week because it will be difficult. Everyone else has to front up to a hard day from time to time.  Mal, please  aquire a spine and some testicles and do the job you covet some much.

Tony, open up the knife draw, that only seems fair.

Mal,has flagged personal income tax cuts, in the May budget.

Is this a final act of desperation?

Delaying sitting next week because it will be difficult. Everyone else has to front up to a hard day from time to time.  Mal, please  aquire a spine and some testicles and do the job you covet some much.

Tony, open up the knife draw, that only seems fair.

It won't work, the public can clearly see right through his BS, the public never wanted him as PM in the first place, so come on Truffles, do your best, it won't work, he has to rank surely as one of this country's worst ever PM'S!

Kind Regards

Speculation from Julie Bishop (no less) that there's a Liberal MP who is going to resign from the party when parliament resumes in a few weeks - unless Malcolm is replaced and NOT by Julie Bishop. She has urged the MP, whoever they are, to come forward and speak to either her or Malcolm about their woes and not defect from the LNP.

High farce. What a shame the victims are the people of this once great nation...

I would generally love to see the Libs squirm, but as you have rightly pointed out Don, this is at great cost to us all, and as I see it, right now, there is no viable alternative.  

Speculation from Julie Bishop (no less) that there's a Liberal MP who is going to resign from the party when parliament resumes in a few weeks - unless Malcolm is replaced and NOT by Julie Bishop. She has urged the MP, whoever they are, to come forward and speak to either her or Malcolm about their woes and not defect from the LNP.

High farce. What a shame the victims are the people of this once great nation...

I heard this this morning, hmmm, wonder who it could be???

I heard this this morning, hmmm, wonder who it could be???

It is someone in the Liberal Party, not the Nationals - so it can't be George Christensen. Whoever it is has promised that they will resign on the first day of parliament coming back and sit as an aligned Liberal independent... they sound as fed up with Truffles as the rest of us are.

Speculation from Julie Bishop (no less) that there's a Liberal MP who is going to resign from the party when parliament resumes in a few weeks - unless Malcolm is replaced and NOT by Julie Bishop. She has urged the MP, whoever they are, to come forward and speak to either her or Malcolm about their woes and not defect from the LNP.

High farce. What a shame the victims are the people of this once great nation...

Andrew Bolt knows the identity of the person, and he is willing to go ahead with this threat as well, unless the things that you have stated take place, I think we are in the final death throws of the Malcom Waffles Govt!

Kind Regards

Andrew Bolt knows the identity of the person, and he is willing to go ahead with this threat as well, unless the things that you have stated take place, I think we are in the final death throws of the Malcom Waffles Govt!

Kind Regards

Andrew Bolt said on his show this evening that the MP in question was a "he" - so that narrows in down. Slightly.

I can only hope Truffles Lobster Turnbull's government is in its final blowfly spins before carking it, I saw him on the telly tonight walking though a warehouse in high-viz and he looked dreadful, like someone who had just been punched in the gut. He really doesn't seem to enjoy being in that job that he coveted so much...

I just laugh every time a "never worked a day of their life" pollie wearing hi vis or a hard hat.
Should just give them a T shirt with "w@nker" on it instead.

Todays Telegraph doesn't name the probable defector but does list 4 probable replacements for Trumble - Bishop, Morrison, Abbott or Dutton, with Dutton seeming to have the best credentials but not liked by the media.

I just laugh every time a "never worked a day of their life" pollie wearing hi vis or a hard hat.
Should just give them a T shirt with "w@nker" on it instead.

Todays Telegraph doesn't name the probable defector but does list 4 probable replacements for Trumble - Bishop, Morrison, Abbott or Dutton, with Dutton seeming to have the best credentials but not liked by the media.

Dutton isn't liked by anyone. I met him once at a meet and greet thing for the employment services industry some years ago when he was Minister for Employment and he seemed really annoyed to have to be there, like it was below him.

My personal pick would be Bishop only because she's liked by the public and seems to be at least halfway competent - but apparently she isn't liked by the "drys". Abbott is done and dusted, there's no way he's coming back despite the barracking from Andrew Bolt and Ray Hadley et al. They really need to take into consideration that he was terrible at the job the first time around and that not much has changed - the other factor also being that the public ended up hating Abbott with a passion. He might be a nice guy in person but as a Prime Minister he was simply not engaged with the public or his own party.

Morrison seems like a possible interim choice, maybe the only choice acceptable to the "drys" in the party?

I have heard that it normally takes a couple of goes to dispose a sitting leader, I.E a spill motion doesn't always work the first time around, sometimes you have to get some big bolt cutters in there to prize them out, in Truffles case, you may need some Chloroform!

Kind Regards

I have heard that it normally takes a couple of goes to dispose a sitting leader, I.E a spill motion doesn't always work the first time around, sometimes you have to get some big bolt cutters in there to prize them out, in Truffles case, you may need some Chloroform!

Kind Regards

Its a really strange phenomenon isn't it, they all need to be pried out of the big chair even though they might know they're not doing a good job. Hawke had to practically blasted out even though his own party was sick to death of his enormous ego - I think his "no child will live in poverty" thing made him look out-of-touch with the general public. Johnny Howard refused to go - in part because he sincerely believed he was still liked by the public but also because Costello (the obvious successor) lacked the gonads to take him on. Howard's involvement in the unnecessary Iraq war followed by his insistence on implementing WorkChoices against the advice of many in his own party sealed his fate and the public became the executioner at the 2007 poll.

Truffles is just following a time-honoured tradition of refusing to believe that he's doing a bad job despite the fact that he's been looking positively dreadful in the last few weeks - I could swear his skin has turned a pale shade of grey recently. Maybe he needs some foundation and a nice shade of lippy to make him more telegenic? I dare say if he thought it would work he would do it.

As if to prove how little he cares about his electorate, Barnaby Joyce refuses to show up to a debate between the candidates for the seat of New England and instead goes to a Canberra shin-dig hosted by his best buddy Gina Rinehart - who in turn presents him with a $40,000 cheque for being such a lovely bloke that she likes being photographed with (ABC);

Mrs Rinehart personally handed him the inaugural National Agricultural and Related Industries prize, calling him a "champion of farming." Mr Joyce initially accepted the giant novelty cheque, saying he intended to spend the money on his property.

"All I'm thinking about now is things I'm going to do on my own farm to be quite frank," he told the audience.

But after being roundly criticised by his opponents, including Labor, who labelled the award "smelly", Mr Joyce's office has released a statement saying he would "politely decline" it.

So he only realised afterwards that it really looked bad to skive off from his electorate to get an over-size novelty cheque from Gina's Hancock Prospecting... perhaps insight isn't his strong point?