I dispute the 'bullying' aspect of the late Senators' misfortune. If however as is reported by highly esteemed former Murdoch journo Nikki Savva below certainly sheds new light on to this sad story.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/the-kitching-saga-is-one-stoush-the-pm-should-have-resisted-20220323-p5a71a.html

Kitching lost the trust of many on her own side. She was suspected of leaking and undermining colleagues, not only by briefing media – so far Chris Uhlmann and Andrew Bolt have publicly revealed Kitching told them she was concerned Wong would be weak on China – but Coalition MPs, former Liberal Party officials and even senior staff in the Prime Minister’s office.

Politicians leak. And they do have friends across the aisle. But the breadth and depth of hers fed the distrust. The crunch came in June last year when then defence minister Linda Reynolds said in Senate estimates she had been forewarned by a Labor senator she would face questioning over the alleged rape of former staffer Brittany Higgins


The story goes on, but I'm not adding more to it in here.

Mike.

It's almost as though Penny Wong wants us to believe that she has never heard of Kevin Rudd.

Laura Tingle wrote an article regarding the 'leaker' allegations and there's no substance to it whatsoever - Kitching warned Linda Reynolds (a Liberal) that she was be questioned about the (alleged) rape of Brittany Higgins, but she did that because she had a close personal relationship with Reynolds and wanted to give her a heads up. Not the same thing as leaking - not at all.

Leaking is when you go and brief the media about secret government (or opposition) business. In Mark Latham's "Latham Diaries" he mentions how as Labor leader he caught Kevin Rudd red-handed leaking to the media giving him a deliberately false 'inside story' that was only hours later thrown back at Latham by the media believing they had a juicy scoop.

Now THAT'S leaking.

Exactly, someone needs to remind Penny Wong of that.

The Federal Budget is on tonight, prepare for Josh Frydenburg to get the big wallet out in preparation for the oncoming onslaught at the Election.

Laura Tingle wrote an article regarding the 'leaker' allegations and there's no substance to it whatsoever - Kitching warned Linda Reynolds (a Liberal) that she was be questioned about the (alleged) rape of Brittany Higgins, but she did that because she had a close personal relationship with Reynolds and wanted to give her a heads up. Not the same thing as leaking - not at all.

Leaking is when you go and brief the media about secret government (or opposition) business. In Mark Latham's "Latham Diaries" he mentions how as Labor leader he caught Kevin Rudd red-handed leaking to the media giving him a deliberately false 'inside story' that was only hours later thrown back at Latham by the media believing they had a juicy scoop.

Now THAT'S leaking.

Seriously?  Do you think communicating tactics to a government Minister is acceptable behaviour, however you want to define it? In political terms it's a capital offence and in spite of her untimely death, she deserves all the criticism she got for it.  It's little wonder she couldn't be trusted.  The most appalling outcome in all of this is the government's spin, supported by the Murdoch press, that the Labor Party was responsible for her death.  They're parasites.  It will give me he greatest of pleasure to see the LNP consigned to the dustbin of history on election night.

Seriously?  Do you think communicating tactics to a government Minister is acceptable behaviour, however you want to define it? In political terms it's a capital offence and in spite of her untimely death, she deserves all the criticism she got for it.  It's little wonder she couldn't be trusted.  The most appalling outcome in all of this is the government's spin, supported by the Murdoch press, that the Labor Party was responsible for her death.  They're parasites.  It will give me he greatest of pleasure to see the LNP consigned to the dustbin of history on election night.

So she's not allowed to be friends with anyone from the other side of the bench - full-stop? It was hardly earth-shattering stuff to let Linda Reynolds know that she was to be questioned about the (alleged) rape.

You obviously agree with the ear-bashing that Penny Wong gave the late Senator Kitching on toeing the line on China. No independent thought allowed, no friends outside of the Labor Party.

Got it.

Laura Tingle wrote an article regarding the 'leaker' allegations and there's no substance to it whatsoever - Kitching warned Linda Reynolds (a Liberal) that she was be questioned about the (alleged) rape of Brittany Higgins, but she did that because she had a close personal relationship with Reynolds and wanted to give her a heads up. Not the same thing as leaking - not at all.

Leaking is when you go and brief the media about secret government (or opposition) business. In Mark Latham's "Latham Diaries" he mentions how as Labor leader he caught Kevin Rudd red-handed leaking to the media giving him a deliberately false 'inside story' that was only hours later thrown back at Latham by the media believing they had a juicy scoop.

Now THAT'S leaking.

Seriously?  Do you think communicating tactics to a government Minister is acceptable behaviour, however you want to define it? In political terms it's a capital offence and in spite of her untimely death, she deserves all the criticism she got for it.  It's little wonder she couldn't be trusted.  The most appalling outcome in all of this is the government's spin, supported by the Murdoch press, that the Labor Party was responsible for her death.  They're parasites.  It will give me he greatest of pleasure to see the LNP consigned to the dustbin of history on election night.

Err, being questioned about the Higgins events isn’t leaking political tactics, more like maybe police tactics, but it’s all moot anyway, Reynolds probably knew she was going to be questioned anyway. If I was still working in the game I probably would know I was going to be questioned too, I most likely would have been still inside an office not far away, and I’d have exactly NFI what happened, but I would know I would be asked.

‘Leaking’, not of the Rudd magnitude mind you, is quite common in politics, way more common than anyone that’s never been involved at Parliament could know. I worked for a high ranking government Senator and Minister and their policy adviser and media adviser both had their opposition counterparts on speed dial we generally always knew what each other were doing.

Yes, it’s true, both sides of politics are constantly ‘tipping each other off’ especially in regards to media appearances and policy announcements. Why? Simple, Canberra has a small media circle, they don’t cope so well when you double book them. If you don’t have the opposition knowing of your policy and press announcements, holding a presser after you, they won’t know to complain, if they don’t complain you can’t complain about their complaints, if that doesn’t happen the public won’t see the back and forth, they’ll disengage and the whole exercise becomes a waste of time.

In Parliament it’s nowhere near as ‘us and them’ as they make it look for elections and TV, it’s generally very long hours of very boring stuff, and when Parliament was done we would often catch up with out opposing ‘colleagues’ hitting the piss, to b!tch about our bosses and Nick Xenophon, not all unlike every other job.

Seriously?  Do you think communicating tactics to a government Minister is acceptable behaviour, however you want to define it? In political terms it's a capital offence and in spite of her untimely death, she deserves all the criticism she got for it.  It's little wonder she couldn't be trusted.  The most appalling outcome in all of this is the government's spin, supported by the Murdoch press, that the Labor Party was responsible for her death.  They're parasites.  It will give me he greatest of pleasure to see the LNP consigned to the dustbin of history on election night.

So she's not allowed to be friends with anyone from the other side of the bench - full-stop? It was hardly earth-shattering stuff to let Linda Reynolds know that she was to be questioned about the (alleged) rape.

You obviously agree with the ear-bashing that Penny Wong gave the late Senator Kitching on toeing the line on China. No independent thought allowed, no friends outside of the Labor Party.

Got it.

Of course she's allowed to be friends with the other side, but not to disclose tactics which her side were proposing.  She probably deserved the ear-bashing she got from Penny Wong, when she was such a loose cannon who had lost the trust of her colleges.  It demonstrated her lack of loyalty to her own party.  Independent thought should be kept in the party room.

Of course she's allowed to be friends with the other side, but not to disclose tactics which her side were proposing.  She probably deserved the ear-bashing she got from Penny Wong, when she was such a loose cannon who had lost the trust of her colleges.  It demonstrated her lack of loyalty to her own party.  Independent thought should be kept in the party room.

The issue of the supposed rape of Brittany Higgins was just rubbish - for reasons that I've already talked about on this board. The late Senator obviously didn't like the ALP using it as click-bait against the government either and she warned her friend. Not a hanging offence in my opinion, I thought it was really low of the ALP to do that too. Higgins was using her alleged rape as a weapon against her employer - she should have been sacked on the spot for going to the Minister of Defence's office after hours with no excuse but she blackmailed them.

And Kimberly Kitching didn't like Dan Andrew's Belt and Road deal with China - she was right about that too. God forbid we should have Labor Senators with the integrity to stand up for things that are wrong when they see them rather than just blindly follow the party line.

Vale Senator Kitching - she had ethics unlike the rest of those 'mean girls'. Especially that duplicitous Wong.

Classic!

I really don't this is acceptable behaviour in the slightest

I really don't this is acceptable behaviour in the slightest

If they're trying to make him look like Charlie, they could have at least taken the time to draw in the hair.

Morrison seems to be copping it from all sides at the moment with the local member (NSW) for Ballina accusing him of politicising the distribution of emergency funding for those unfortunate enough to be affected by the northern NSW flooding.

Of course she's allowed to be friends with the other side, but not to disclose tactics which her side were proposing.  She probably deserved the ear-bashing she got from Penny Wong, when she was such a loose cannon who had lost the trust of her colleges.  It demonstrated her lack of loyalty to her own party.  Independent thought should be kept in the party room.

The issue of the supposed rape of Brittany Higgins was just rubbish - for reasons that I've already talked about on this board. The late Senator obviously didn't like the ALP using it as click-bait against the government either and she warned her friend. Not a hanging offence in my opinion, I thought it was really low of the ALP to do that too. Higgins was using her alleged rape as a weapon against her employer - she should have been sacked on the spot for going to the Minister of Defence's office after hours with no excuse but she blackmailed them.

And Kimberly Kitching didn't like Dan Andrew's Belt and Road deal with China - she was right about that too. God forbid we should have Labor Senators with the integrity to stand up for things that are wrong when they see them rather than just blindly follow the party line.

Vale Senator Kitching - she had ethics unlike the rest of those 'mean girls'. Especially that duplicitous Wong.

Well, that's one of the more shameful comments I've seen in a long time.

Of course she's allowed to be friends with the other side, but not to disclose tactics which her side were proposing.  She probably deserved the ear-bashing she got from Penny Wong, when she was such a loose cannon who had lost the trust of her colleges.  It demonstrated her lack of loyalty to her own party.  Independent thought should be kept in the party room.

The issue of the supposed rape of Brittany Higgins was just rubbish - for reasons that I've already talked about on this board. The late Senator obviously didn't like the ALP using it as click-bait against the government either and she warned her friend. Not a hanging offence in my opinion, I thought it was really low of the ALP to do that too. Higgins was using her alleged rape as a weapon against her employer - she should have been sacked on the spot for going to the Minister of Defence's office after hours with no excuse but she blackmailed them.

And Kimberly Kitching didn't like Dan Andrew's Belt and Road deal with China - she was right about that too. God forbid we should have Labor Senators with the integrity to stand up for things that are wrong when they see them rather than just blindly follow the party line.

Vale Senator Kitching - she had ethics unlike the rest of those 'mean girls'. Especially that duplicitous Wong.

Well, that's one of the more shameful comments I've seen in a long time.

There's nothing whatsoever shameful about it, it's the truth.

I woke up today with a scary thought. There is no party I would want to vote for this election. Do we vote for Scotty from marketing no vision no plan and untrustworthy or do I vote for a lame duck without experience in albo ?

I woke up today with a scary thought. There is no party I would want to vote for this election. Do we vote for Scotty from marketing no vision no plan and untrustworthy or do I vote for a lame duck without experience in albo ?

I would probably vote for the DLP (and they also have some nutty policies).  But they just got deregistered in the Federal arena because they don't have enough members...

The country has been fleeced by the liberal and national parties for so long. They have been taking our wealth and lining their pockets with it. Corruption is so out of control now it has become a joke with no federal ICAC at all to look. At the same time The treasurer has been amending laws to let big corporates off the hook and watering down legislation to require less disclosure by big business.

I really don't this is acceptable behaviour in the slightest

Clearly it's an S for sell-out (what haven't the Liberals sold off yet?) and an upside-down sickle from the Chinese flag.

I really don't this is acceptable behaviour in the slightest

Clearly it's an S for sell-out (what haven't the Liberals sold off yet?) and an upside-down sickle from the Chinese flag.

Photo shop?

Considering the spending on defence industries is what's supposed to be saving our economy it's disappointing to see they won't even deliver on that - FlightGlobal;

Canberra has moved to axe its acquisition of 12-16 General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) MQ-9B SkyGuardian unmanned air vehicles (UAVs).

Manufacturer GA-ASI says that Australia’s Department of Defence (DoD) has advised it of the decision.

“The cancellation is disappointing for a number of reasons,” says GA-ASI president David Alexander.

“Project Air 7003 offered a cost-effective, multi-domain capability that is deeply relevant to Australia’s future strategic environment. Equally disappointing, our many Team SkyGuardian Australia partner companies have invested in the start-up and future support for this capability in Australia and will lose considerable sovereign capability opportunities following this decision.”

In response to a query from FlightGlobal, the DoD had this to say about the decision: “Based on advice from Defence, the Government has decided to not proceed with Project AIR 7003 – Armed Medium Altitude Long Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft System. The decision allows Government to allocate that money to expand our response to attacks against Australia online through the REDSPICE program. A mix of other joint capabilities, such as [Northrop Grumman] MQ-4C Triton and [Gulfstream] MC-55A Peregrine aircraft, Teaming Air Vehicles and [Boeing] Apache Helicopters, will conduct roles expected of the SkyGuardian.”

So it's being cancelled so they can build an un-needed submarine port in Sydney? Great idea.

Yet another blow for South Australia with the drones supposedly to be constructed and based here - also the drones themselves feature prominently in new advertising promoting "Defence Industries: Built in our own backyard".

Not anymore they're not. And it doesn't make sense to cancel a weapons program that was proven so successful in the Middle East.

Clive Palmer throws in another curve-ball:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-07/clive-palmer-major-party-preferences-last-federal-election/100974310

I'm thinking his mob might poll 5-10% at the election.

Scott Morrison is expected to visit the Governor General tomorrow and call the election, the election should be on the 21st May this year.

So what 5 weeks of hearing Morrison tell us what a great job he has done ?

6 week election campaign....  It'll drag on like a Dan Andrews Victorian lockdown.

It will be the first party to 76 seats, that is who will win the election, , there is also the slim chance of a hung parliament.