What follows is based on the 2/7/19 report by The Australian's Rachel Baxendale, ALP pick of Israel critic stirs backlash.
Think, if you will, of the content of Baxendale's report as a case history:
Victorian politician Enver Erdogan, reportedly of Turkish Kurdish origin, began his political career as as member of Labor's Socialist Left on Melbourne's Moreland City Council at the time of Israel's Operation Cast Lead (2008-2009) onslaught on the Gaza Strip. To his great credit, Erdogan reacted instinctively to the carnage in the Gaza Strip by successfully moving a motion on council condemning the 'Israeli massacre in Gaza.'
Around a year later (?), when asked (by whom is not disclosed, but one assumes the usual suspects, Erdogan is reported to have said: 'Of course I fully support Israel's right to exist as an independent state and I support a two-state solution'. Keep in mind that whatever conversation Erdogan had at the time, and with whom, this is an out-of-context quote.
However, we then find Erdogan switching from Labor's Socialist Left to the most right-wing faction of the Labor Party, the Shop Distributive & Allied Employees Association (headed by Joe de Bruyn and known colloquially as The Shoppies) as part of a current stepping-stone to parachute him into an upper house seat in the Victorian state parliament.
This follows a recommendation of the Victorian ALP's administrative committee. In making the recommendation, the administrative committee would be bypassing normal rules that would have given local members full voting rights. Erdogan has reportedly declared that if elected, he would move to the southern metropolitan bayside area 'promptly.'
Note that, but for the following data, which I quote in full from The Australian's 2/7/19 Baxendale report, such 'parachuting' would have excited little or no controversy in and of itself:
"'There is deep local disquiet over the parachuting in of Mr Erdogan, a controversial figure with no connection to the southern metropolitan region,' said one local member, citing Mr Erdogan's motion on Israel as being of particular concern. 'If Mr Erdogan spent valuable council time on a conflict unrelated to council matters, what might he get up to in the Victorian upper house?'
In the same report, Erdogan is described as now 'close to former member for Batman David Feeney.' Note that Baxendale's later 5/7/19 report, Council colleagues troubled by Labor's hopeful new MP, has little to add to her earlier report except to assert that 'factional allegiances mean it is highly unlikely anyone other than Mr Erdogan will succeed...'"
On Feeney, see my 18/5/16 post The Appalling David Feeney MP, where I record him as follows: "The Palestinians should abandon their campaign to destroy Israel [by] abandoning the so-called 'right of return' for the descendants of the 1948 refugees'."
My point in raising the issue of Enver Erdogan is not that he is unique in his political shape-shifting, but rather typical of a system in which toeing the party line requires that any principles a would-be politician may have had prior to embarking on a political career, are invariably cast aside in the interest of carving out a career in party politics. This leads to the hypothesis that it is precisely this kind of behaviour that has brought our political class, whether at local, state or federal level, whether Labor, Liberal, or any other political party, into disrepute with younger voters. As the 2018 Lowy Institute poll, for example, reveals:
"Only 47% of Australians aged 18-44 years of age say 'democracy is preferable to any other kind of government." Or, to put it the other way around, 53% of Australians aged 18-44 see no point in Australian democracy.
Showing posts with label ALP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ALP. Show all posts
Monday, July 8, 2019
Monday, May 20, 2019
The Hyping of Hawke 2
Here's Paul Kelly's version of the late former PM Hawke's contribution to the Gulf War (August 1990 - February 1991), otherwise known as Operation Desert Shield:
"In early 1991 after Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait and his defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions, Hawke authorised Australia's most important military commitment since Vietnam. For Hawke, the argument was irrefutable - it was a repelling [of] aggression, it involved support for the alliance since US President George H W Bush was spearheading the action; but, more decisively, it meant support for the UN authorised position. In November 1990 the Security Council passed its 'war resolution' approving 'all necessary means' to reverse the invasion. Australia's contribution was a modest three ships. Hawke had considered five but, worried about casualties, opted for caution. For the Labor Party and the Left - still shaped by the Vietnam experience - this was a turning point. Many feared a disaster but the war was short and successful. While Australia's contribution was small, the significance of the decision was great - the nation had moved beyond the psychology of Vietnam." (Lover, fighter & peacemaker, The Australian, 17/5/19)
Needless to say, Kelly's is a caricature of the reality, designed solely to burnish the image of St Bob. The following data has been culled from The Case Against Australian Participation by Janet Powell & Richard Bolt, in Australia's Gulf War (1992). (Powell was the parliamentary leader of the Australian Democrats, 1990-91.) I set it out here by way of rebutting each of Kelly's propaganda points in the order in which they are raised:
Saddam's alleged "defiance of UNSC resolutions":
"In fact Iraq had in several statements demonstrated sufficient realism to comprehend that it would have to withdraw for the crisis to end. Its recent history shows reversals of apparently intractable positions as the pressure of circumstances demanded; for example, in handing back territory won from Iran during their recent war... This was clear from a leaked UN transcript of Secretary-General [Peres] de Cuellar's 13 January meeting with President Saddam Hussein, in a last minute bid to avert war. Despite public claims that the Iraqi leader had refused to even discuss withdrawing the transcript reveals that President Hussein 'produced a map of Kuwait and asked... 'Where should Iraq withdraw to?' But he also said that open discussion of withdrawal 'as war was looming' would be damaging to him. Contrary to the rhetoric of war advocates, a negotiated settlement backed by sanctions would not have required that Iraq be appeased with unprincipled enticements to withdraw. Assurances could have been given that withdrawal, payment of compensation, and the dismantling of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction would be followed by increased efforts to convene a Middle East peace conference, and agreement that the World Court should adjudicate on Iraq's claims over the disputed Rumaila oilfield on its border with Kuwait... Such assurances were ruled out simply to reduce the prospects of success in the contrived eleventh hour-hour negotiations initiated by the United States." (p 32-3)
"It was a repelling of aggression":
"The Australian Government justified its commitment of naval forces as a contribution to the enforcement of sanctions, which it claimed could not be effective without policing. However, other successful sanctions regimes, such as that against South Africa, were not enforced. And the multi-national naval task force in the Gulf was far larger than needed for enforcement... In fact, the predominantly US naval force was structured from the outset to give the Bush Administration the option of launching war against Iraq. It was based on Operation Plan 90-1002', an existing contingency plan for an oil war in the Middle East... Sanctions enforcement was thus a convenient pretext for deploying warships in anticipation of war." (pp 29-30)
"It meant support for the UN authorised position":
"The US-led blockade usurped the Security Council, which has the power to authorize a blockade where sanctions 'have proved to be inadequate'. The UN Charter requires that the military forces contributed to a blockade by member countries be subject to the 'strategic direction' of the Council's Military Staff Committee. Because sanctions had not proved to be inadequate, with diplomatic pressure serving an effective means of sanctions enforcement, and to avoid the shackles of the Military Staff Committee's control, the Bush Administration bypassed the United Nations by citing Section 51 of the UN Charter, which upholds nations' right of collective self-defence. President Bush obtained an invitation from the Emir of Kuwait to impose a blockade in defence of his country. Prime Minister Hawke fully supported the United States by announcing on 10 August that Australia's deployment of two warships and a supply vessel was primarily to 'enforce the blockade on Iraq and Kuwait'. But no request for Australian help had been received from the Emir of Kuwait (it arrived some time later) and no blockade had been approved by the Security Council. This was such a blatant breach of the UN Charter that it was later disowned by Senator [Gareth] Evans. After weeks of wrangling, the Security Council finally gave its retrospective blessing for the sanctions to be enforced by those countries that were already doing so. However, its Military Staff Committee was not placed in overall command; this was a US, not a UN blockade." (p 30)
"The advocates of war cited Security Council Resolution 678 as evidence that this was a UN war, consistent with its Charter's provisions for military action. But 678 was worded to leave all decisions on the war... to the US. The Security council had simply rubber-stamped a decision of the Bush Administration. As UN Secretary-General Peres de Cuellar said as his alarm at the loss of life grew, 'This is not a United Nations war'." (pp 36-37)
"The war was short and successful":
"The pre-war suffering of Iraqi civilians was magnified economically by the war, as the [US-led] coalition systematically bombed Iraq's civil infrastructure: power stations, water purification plants, communications facilities, roads and bridges. Thousands died from the direct effect of the blasts - homes, hospitals, markets, mosques... were incidentally destroyed - and many more from the resultant collapse of health and transport services, the loss of clean water, and food shortages. The most authoritative estimate so far is that 9,000 to 21,000 Iraqi civilians died from the effects of the war. The resultant civil uprising crushed by the Iraqi leadership left 20,000 Iraqis dead, with another 15,000 to 30,000 refugees dying on the road or in camps. The war 'resulted in the largest movement of people in the shortest amount of time in any modern war', as millions fled their homes. The civilian death toll is mounting as normally treatable diseases - diarrhoea (causing infant death from dehydration), typhoid, gastroenteritis, hepatitis, meningitis, polio and cholera - sweep the country. A Harvard University team estimates that 170,000 Iraqi children will die from the after-effects of the war.... Finally, the slaughter of Iraq's armed forces raises serious humanitarian questions. Some 100,000 to 120,000 perished with half dying in the last few days, many while retreating to Iraq. They were mostly a dictator's conscripts who faced execution for deserting, and whose lives could have been spared by reliance on sanctions." (pp 34-36)
Then there's this uncritical, almost casual assertion of Kelly's that deserves attention: "The nation had moved beyond the psychology of Vietnam." The nation had moved, or Hawke had moved? Was this necessarily a good, or a bad thing? Should not the lessons to e learnt from of our uncritical and overzealous involvement in Vietnam have been uppermost in the mind of any prime minister worth his salt, let alone in that of a Labor prime minister? All of these matters are, of course, bypassed in Kelly's hagiographical account. More broadly, could it not be said of Hawke that, by involving Australia in America's first assault on Iraq, he helped pave the way for Liberal prime minister John Howard to involve Australia in America's war on Iraq in 2003?
Finally, just to highlight Hawke's (and Bush senior's) hypocrisy on this matter, consider these pertinent words of Powell's:
"This was not a war which saw the United Nations at last fulfill its Charter, free of Cold War shackles, but one in which the United Nations was hijacked by the United States in pursuit of largely national interests and in violation of the spirit of the UN Charter. Contrary to Mr Hawke's claim, this was not a war which carried a message that big nations cannot invade small ones and get away with it. Syria is still in Lebanon, Israel is tightening its grip over the Occupied Territories, the United States has not renounced its unlawful invasion of Panama, Indonesia's annexation of East Timor remains appeased by the United States and Australia, Turkey still occupies Cyprus, China is in Tibet, and so on. None of these countries are under threat of sanctions, let alone war, despite numerous UN resolutions which have not been complied with. The Gulf War was an oil-based exception to this pattern of appeasement." (p 38)
To be continued...
"In early 1991 after Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait and his defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions, Hawke authorised Australia's most important military commitment since Vietnam. For Hawke, the argument was irrefutable - it was a repelling [of] aggression, it involved support for the alliance since US President George H W Bush was spearheading the action; but, more decisively, it meant support for the UN authorised position. In November 1990 the Security Council passed its 'war resolution' approving 'all necessary means' to reverse the invasion. Australia's contribution was a modest three ships. Hawke had considered five but, worried about casualties, opted for caution. For the Labor Party and the Left - still shaped by the Vietnam experience - this was a turning point. Many feared a disaster but the war was short and successful. While Australia's contribution was small, the significance of the decision was great - the nation had moved beyond the psychology of Vietnam." (Lover, fighter & peacemaker, The Australian, 17/5/19)
Needless to say, Kelly's is a caricature of the reality, designed solely to burnish the image of St Bob. The following data has been culled from The Case Against Australian Participation by Janet Powell & Richard Bolt, in Australia's Gulf War (1992). (Powell was the parliamentary leader of the Australian Democrats, 1990-91.) I set it out here by way of rebutting each of Kelly's propaganda points in the order in which they are raised:
Saddam's alleged "defiance of UNSC resolutions":
"In fact Iraq had in several statements demonstrated sufficient realism to comprehend that it would have to withdraw for the crisis to end. Its recent history shows reversals of apparently intractable positions as the pressure of circumstances demanded; for example, in handing back territory won from Iran during their recent war... This was clear from a leaked UN transcript of Secretary-General [Peres] de Cuellar's 13 January meeting with President Saddam Hussein, in a last minute bid to avert war. Despite public claims that the Iraqi leader had refused to even discuss withdrawing the transcript reveals that President Hussein 'produced a map of Kuwait and asked... 'Where should Iraq withdraw to?' But he also said that open discussion of withdrawal 'as war was looming' would be damaging to him. Contrary to the rhetoric of war advocates, a negotiated settlement backed by sanctions would not have required that Iraq be appeased with unprincipled enticements to withdraw. Assurances could have been given that withdrawal, payment of compensation, and the dismantling of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction would be followed by increased efforts to convene a Middle East peace conference, and agreement that the World Court should adjudicate on Iraq's claims over the disputed Rumaila oilfield on its border with Kuwait... Such assurances were ruled out simply to reduce the prospects of success in the contrived eleventh hour-hour negotiations initiated by the United States." (p 32-3)
"It was a repelling of aggression":
"The Australian Government justified its commitment of naval forces as a contribution to the enforcement of sanctions, which it claimed could not be effective without policing. However, other successful sanctions regimes, such as that against South Africa, were not enforced. And the multi-national naval task force in the Gulf was far larger than needed for enforcement... In fact, the predominantly US naval force was structured from the outset to give the Bush Administration the option of launching war against Iraq. It was based on Operation Plan 90-1002', an existing contingency plan for an oil war in the Middle East... Sanctions enforcement was thus a convenient pretext for deploying warships in anticipation of war." (pp 29-30)
"It meant support for the UN authorised position":
"The US-led blockade usurped the Security Council, which has the power to authorize a blockade where sanctions 'have proved to be inadequate'. The UN Charter requires that the military forces contributed to a blockade by member countries be subject to the 'strategic direction' of the Council's Military Staff Committee. Because sanctions had not proved to be inadequate, with diplomatic pressure serving an effective means of sanctions enforcement, and to avoid the shackles of the Military Staff Committee's control, the Bush Administration bypassed the United Nations by citing Section 51 of the UN Charter, which upholds nations' right of collective self-defence. President Bush obtained an invitation from the Emir of Kuwait to impose a blockade in defence of his country. Prime Minister Hawke fully supported the United States by announcing on 10 August that Australia's deployment of two warships and a supply vessel was primarily to 'enforce the blockade on Iraq and Kuwait'. But no request for Australian help had been received from the Emir of Kuwait (it arrived some time later) and no blockade had been approved by the Security Council. This was such a blatant breach of the UN Charter that it was later disowned by Senator [Gareth] Evans. After weeks of wrangling, the Security Council finally gave its retrospective blessing for the sanctions to be enforced by those countries that were already doing so. However, its Military Staff Committee was not placed in overall command; this was a US, not a UN blockade." (p 30)
"The advocates of war cited Security Council Resolution 678 as evidence that this was a UN war, consistent with its Charter's provisions for military action. But 678 was worded to leave all decisions on the war... to the US. The Security council had simply rubber-stamped a decision of the Bush Administration. As UN Secretary-General Peres de Cuellar said as his alarm at the loss of life grew, 'This is not a United Nations war'." (pp 36-37)
"The war was short and successful":
"The pre-war suffering of Iraqi civilians was magnified economically by the war, as the [US-led] coalition systematically bombed Iraq's civil infrastructure: power stations, water purification plants, communications facilities, roads and bridges. Thousands died from the direct effect of the blasts - homes, hospitals, markets, mosques... were incidentally destroyed - and many more from the resultant collapse of health and transport services, the loss of clean water, and food shortages. The most authoritative estimate so far is that 9,000 to 21,000 Iraqi civilians died from the effects of the war. The resultant civil uprising crushed by the Iraqi leadership left 20,000 Iraqis dead, with another 15,000 to 30,000 refugees dying on the road or in camps. The war 'resulted in the largest movement of people in the shortest amount of time in any modern war', as millions fled their homes. The civilian death toll is mounting as normally treatable diseases - diarrhoea (causing infant death from dehydration), typhoid, gastroenteritis, hepatitis, meningitis, polio and cholera - sweep the country. A Harvard University team estimates that 170,000 Iraqi children will die from the after-effects of the war.... Finally, the slaughter of Iraq's armed forces raises serious humanitarian questions. Some 100,000 to 120,000 perished with half dying in the last few days, many while retreating to Iraq. They were mostly a dictator's conscripts who faced execution for deserting, and whose lives could have been spared by reliance on sanctions." (pp 34-36)
Then there's this uncritical, almost casual assertion of Kelly's that deserves attention: "The nation had moved beyond the psychology of Vietnam." The nation had moved, or Hawke had moved? Was this necessarily a good, or a bad thing? Should not the lessons to e learnt from of our uncritical and overzealous involvement in Vietnam have been uppermost in the mind of any prime minister worth his salt, let alone in that of a Labor prime minister? All of these matters are, of course, bypassed in Kelly's hagiographical account. More broadly, could it not be said of Hawke that, by involving Australia in America's first assault on Iraq, he helped pave the way for Liberal prime minister John Howard to involve Australia in America's war on Iraq in 2003?
Finally, just to highlight Hawke's (and Bush senior's) hypocrisy on this matter, consider these pertinent words of Powell's:
"This was not a war which saw the United Nations at last fulfill its Charter, free of Cold War shackles, but one in which the United Nations was hijacked by the United States in pursuit of largely national interests and in violation of the spirit of the UN Charter. Contrary to Mr Hawke's claim, this was not a war which carried a message that big nations cannot invade small ones and get away with it. Syria is still in Lebanon, Israel is tightening its grip over the Occupied Territories, the United States has not renounced its unlawful invasion of Panama, Indonesia's annexation of East Timor remains appeased by the United States and Australia, Turkey still occupies Cyprus, China is in Tibet, and so on. None of these countries are under threat of sanctions, let alone war, despite numerous UN resolutions which have not been complied with. The Gulf War was an oil-based exception to this pattern of appeasement." (p 38)
To be continued...
Friday, May 17, 2019
Shorten: 'We Can't Waste Talent'
Good grief!
First this:
"Those close to Shorten and Labor's foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong say things are shaping up well for former foreign minister Julie Bishop - should she want a job... Wong has already described Bishop as 'a very effective diplomat'... Another name in the race, even if by his own suggestion: former communications minister turned gambling lobbyist Stephen Conroy." (Chatter reaches fever pitch on plum overseas postings, CBD, Kylar Loussikian/Samantha Hutchinson, Sydney Morning Herald, 14/5/19)
Then this:
"Labor leader Bill Shorten has left the door open to offering former foreign minister Julie Bishop a job if Labor wins government. In a pitch to West Australian voters at a business breakfast yesterday, Mr Shorten praised the high-profile Perth Liberal, saying he thought of her 'very highly'. Asked if she would be offered the position of ambassador to the United States when it becomes vacant next year, Mr Shorten first acknowledged Ms Bishop had said she wants to work in the private sector. He then added: 'I'll certainly be talking to her. I know that her and Penny [Wong] have a very good working relationship... I will always rate her highly. I'm not going to put a name against a label because we haven't even won. But I'm saying to you unreservedly here, I've got a lot of respect for her. Chloe and I know her well. She's a good person... we can't waste talent'." (Shorten considers Bishop for US ambassador role, Judith Ireland, Sydney Morning Herald, 16/5/19)
Bishop? Conroy? Any more spent LibLabs out there, desperately seeking relevance under a possible Shorten regime? I shudder to think.
Bishop first. Her reported comment of January 2014, in Israel, questioning the illegality of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, namely, "I would like to see which international law has declared them illegal," should rule her out, both on the grounds of ignorance of international law and common knowledge, not to mention elementary decency. She it was, too, who withdrew Australian funding from the Palestinian Authority on the grounds that it could be given to "Palestinian criminals" in July last year. As the head Labor Zionist, Shorten's words are predictable, but what does Bishop and Wong's alleged "very good personal relationship" tell us about the latter?
Conroy? Good God! Assessed by the astute Bob Carr as having "an umbilical attachment to Israel," Conroy, alone in the Labor Party in 2003, endorsed the Bush/Blair/Howard war of regime change in Iraq.
First this:
"Those close to Shorten and Labor's foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong say things are shaping up well for former foreign minister Julie Bishop - should she want a job... Wong has already described Bishop as 'a very effective diplomat'... Another name in the race, even if by his own suggestion: former communications minister turned gambling lobbyist Stephen Conroy." (Chatter reaches fever pitch on plum overseas postings, CBD, Kylar Loussikian/Samantha Hutchinson, Sydney Morning Herald, 14/5/19)
Then this:
"Labor leader Bill Shorten has left the door open to offering former foreign minister Julie Bishop a job if Labor wins government. In a pitch to West Australian voters at a business breakfast yesterday, Mr Shorten praised the high-profile Perth Liberal, saying he thought of her 'very highly'. Asked if she would be offered the position of ambassador to the United States when it becomes vacant next year, Mr Shorten first acknowledged Ms Bishop had said she wants to work in the private sector. He then added: 'I'll certainly be talking to her. I know that her and Penny [Wong] have a very good working relationship... I will always rate her highly. I'm not going to put a name against a label because we haven't even won. But I'm saying to you unreservedly here, I've got a lot of respect for her. Chloe and I know her well. She's a good person... we can't waste talent'." (Shorten considers Bishop for US ambassador role, Judith Ireland, Sydney Morning Herald, 16/5/19)
Bishop? Conroy? Any more spent LibLabs out there, desperately seeking relevance under a possible Shorten regime? I shudder to think.
Bishop first. Her reported comment of January 2014, in Israel, questioning the illegality of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, namely, "I would like to see which international law has declared them illegal," should rule her out, both on the grounds of ignorance of international law and common knowledge, not to mention elementary decency. She it was, too, who withdrew Australian funding from the Palestinian Authority on the grounds that it could be given to "Palestinian criminals" in July last year. As the head Labor Zionist, Shorten's words are predictable, but what does Bishop and Wong's alleged "very good personal relationship" tell us about the latter?
Conroy? Good God! Assessed by the astute Bob Carr as having "an umbilical attachment to Israel," Conroy, alone in the Labor Party in 2003, endorsed the Bush/Blair/Howard war of regime change in Iraq.
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
'An Outbreak of Pro-Palestinian Sentiment'
"Bill Shorten is under renewed pressure to haul anti-Israel Labor MPs into line as an outbreak of pro-Palestinian sentiment within the opposition threatens to disrupt his election campaign." (Jewish leaders demand clarity on Israel stance, Richard Ferguson, Paige Taylor, The Australian, 16/4/19)
Let's hope it's highly contagious!
Let's hope it's highly contagious!
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
What's Bill Doing?
Ah yes, Bill Shorten and the Pratts:
"Bill Shorten rebuffed an invitation to catch up with Rupert Murdoch in January and also passed on the opportunity to meet him this month after the media mogul flew into Sydney with son Lachlan. But the Opposition Leader has no such qualms about breaking bread with Anthony Pratt, Australia's richest man and generous political benefactor. On the second day of the federal election campaign... Shorten made a detour to Pratt's Sydney luxury apartment overlooking Circular Quay and Sydney Harbour. He was there for lunch with the cardboard box king who... has a net worth of $12.9 billion..." (No time for Murdochs as Shorten meets Pratt, Kylar Loussikian, Sydney Morning Herald, 13/4/19)
Loussikian goes on to review Shorten's relationship with the Pratt family, including the recent fundraiser at the Pratt mansion in Melbourne's Kew, on which I posted earlier this month.
However, the only clue we get to what this all means is the following: "And as one Labor staffer put it: 'Someone's got to pay for the fliers'."
Typical of the blinkered mainstream press, however, the question of what's in it for Pratt is never asked. How telling is that?
"Bill Shorten rebuffed an invitation to catch up with Rupert Murdoch in January and also passed on the opportunity to meet him this month after the media mogul flew into Sydney with son Lachlan. But the Opposition Leader has no such qualms about breaking bread with Anthony Pratt, Australia's richest man and generous political benefactor. On the second day of the federal election campaign... Shorten made a detour to Pratt's Sydney luxury apartment overlooking Circular Quay and Sydney Harbour. He was there for lunch with the cardboard box king who... has a net worth of $12.9 billion..." (No time for Murdochs as Shorten meets Pratt, Kylar Loussikian, Sydney Morning Herald, 13/4/19)
Loussikian goes on to review Shorten's relationship with the Pratt family, including the recent fundraiser at the Pratt mansion in Melbourne's Kew, on which I posted earlier this month.
However, the only clue we get to what this all means is the following: "And as one Labor staffer put it: 'Someone's got to pay for the fliers'."
Typical of the blinkered mainstream press, however, the question of what's in it for Pratt is never asked. How telling is that?
Sunday, April 14, 2019
Lie Back & Think of Two States
The Labor candidate for the WA seat of Curtin, Melissa Parke, "has pulled out of the contest after reports she told a public meeting last month that Israel's treatment of Palestinians was 'worse than the South African system of apartheid'." (Labor's candidate for Curtin, Melissa Parke, withdraws from federal election race, abc.net.au, 12/4/19)
Parke didn't pull out - she was pushed out. And what's more, she was pushed out not for any wrongdoing on her part, but simply for stating the bleeding obvious.
The details of the push are still murky, and will likely remain so, but this will come as no surprise:
"ECAJ chief executive Alex Ryvchin said he had conveyed his concerns about Ms Parke to several Labor figures." (Jewish advocates label WA Labor's star pick for Curtin 'extreme and divisive', Nathan Hondros, watoday.com, 10/4/19)
Yet another example of the malign hold of the Israel lobby over Bill Shorten's Labor Party.
Presumably, the ideal Labor candidate/politician is one who does no more than mindlessly chant the 'two-state' solution mantra.
But, of course, the Israel lobby has an even greater hold over Morrison's Liberal Party.
Scott Morrison's principal private secretary, Yaron Finkelstein, described as "in charge of the political strategy of the office," and "a former advisor in the Howard government, and later the chief executive of heavyweight of Liberal campaign firm Crosby Textor," (Power behind the leaders, Sydney Morning Herald, 12/4/19) has some very interesting baggage indeed:
"The NSW Liberal Friends of Israel group was launched at NSW Parliament House in Sydney this week [15/8/12]... Chairman Yaron Finkelstein told J-wire: 'All Liberal State and Federal Members of Parliament from NSW have been asked to join the Liberal Friends of Israel, and be active participants in its programme of events which include intelligence and policy briefings, visiting speaker functions and ongoing Australian/Israeli political exchanges'." (NSW Liberal Friends of Israel, Henry Benjamin, jwire.com, 15/8/12)
Did anyone dare decline?
Parke didn't pull out - she was pushed out. And what's more, she was pushed out not for any wrongdoing on her part, but simply for stating the bleeding obvious.
The details of the push are still murky, and will likely remain so, but this will come as no surprise:
"ECAJ chief executive Alex Ryvchin said he had conveyed his concerns about Ms Parke to several Labor figures." (Jewish advocates label WA Labor's star pick for Curtin 'extreme and divisive', Nathan Hondros, watoday.com, 10/4/19)
Yet another example of the malign hold of the Israel lobby over Bill Shorten's Labor Party.
Presumably, the ideal Labor candidate/politician is one who does no more than mindlessly chant the 'two-state' solution mantra.
But, of course, the Israel lobby has an even greater hold over Morrison's Liberal Party.
Scott Morrison's principal private secretary, Yaron Finkelstein, described as "in charge of the political strategy of the office," and "a former advisor in the Howard government, and later the chief executive of heavyweight of Liberal campaign firm Crosby Textor," (Power behind the leaders, Sydney Morning Herald, 12/4/19) has some very interesting baggage indeed:
"The NSW Liberal Friends of Israel group was launched at NSW Parliament House in Sydney this week [15/8/12]... Chairman Yaron Finkelstein told J-wire: 'All Liberal State and Federal Members of Parliament from NSW have been asked to join the Liberal Friends of Israel, and be active participants in its programme of events which include intelligence and policy briefings, visiting speaker functions and ongoing Australian/Israeli political exchanges'." (NSW Liberal Friends of Israel, Henry Benjamin, jwire.com, 15/8/12)
Did anyone dare decline?
Thursday, April 4, 2019
We Shall Not See His Like Again...
... hopefully:
"Victorian Labor MP Michael Danby left the parliament yesterday as he had entered it - a champion of Israel, of the world's persecuted..." ('Straya, what a country' Danby bows out, Richard Ferguson, The Australian, 3/4/19)
Forget the Murdoch propaganda about "the world's persecuted," which, it goes without saying, excludes one of the most persecuted and tormented people on the planet - the Palestinians - Danby's role has, first and foremost, been one of keeping Labor Party MPs on the Zionist straight and narrow.
As The Australian Jewish News once put it:
"Jewish voters needed a Jewish MP... to keep in line a Labor opposition flying with an unsecured left-wing, and after November 2007, to act as a watchdog within the new Rudd Government... He corrals his parliamentary colleagues and forces them to think long, hard and seriously about matters that often conjure knee-jerk reactions. 'During a recent political controversy, we had 11 federal MPs get together on an Israel issue. Mike Kelly [MP] convened them and I organised with the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), who had a delegation up there, to sit down with us and we strategised together', Danby said. That is like America - people being part of the normal run of Australian politics and that's the way it should be'." (See my 1/3/09 post Nipping at their Heels)
Danby reportedly had this to say in his valedictory speech:
"'As all of the wog kids who are now members of parliament, on both sides, will intrinsically appreciate, our presence also says something about the pluralistic, inclusive nature of most Australians. We all made it'." (ibid)
One cannot help wondering whether any MPs present were moved to reflect on the blatant contradiction inherent in Danby's tribute to Australia's pluralism and inclusivity on the one hand, while, as an ardent Zionist, supporting just the opposite in occupied (river to sea) Palestine on the other.
Not to mention how many Labor MPs may be glad to see the last of this yapping terrier "watchdog".
"Victorian Labor MP Michael Danby left the parliament yesterday as he had entered it - a champion of Israel, of the world's persecuted..." ('Straya, what a country' Danby bows out, Richard Ferguson, The Australian, 3/4/19)
Forget the Murdoch propaganda about "the world's persecuted," which, it goes without saying, excludes one of the most persecuted and tormented people on the planet - the Palestinians - Danby's role has, first and foremost, been one of keeping Labor Party MPs on the Zionist straight and narrow.
As The Australian Jewish News once put it:
"Jewish voters needed a Jewish MP... to keep in line a Labor opposition flying with an unsecured left-wing, and after November 2007, to act as a watchdog within the new Rudd Government... He corrals his parliamentary colleagues and forces them to think long, hard and seriously about matters that often conjure knee-jerk reactions. 'During a recent political controversy, we had 11 federal MPs get together on an Israel issue. Mike Kelly [MP] convened them and I organised with the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), who had a delegation up there, to sit down with us and we strategised together', Danby said. That is like America - people being part of the normal run of Australian politics and that's the way it should be'." (See my 1/3/09 post Nipping at their Heels)
Danby reportedly had this to say in his valedictory speech:
"'As all of the wog kids who are now members of parliament, on both sides, will intrinsically appreciate, our presence also says something about the pluralistic, inclusive nature of most Australians. We all made it'." (ibid)
One cannot help wondering whether any MPs present were moved to reflect on the blatant contradiction inherent in Danby's tribute to Australia's pluralism and inclusivity on the one hand, while, as an ardent Zionist, supporting just the opposite in occupied (river to sea) Palestine on the other.
Not to mention how many Labor MPs may be glad to see the last of this yapping terrier "watchdog".
Friday, March 29, 2019
Pre-Election Fundraising at the Pratt's 2
Sarah Ferguson: They're [the Israel lobby] still a very small group of people. How do you account for them wielding so much power?
Bob Carr: I think party donations and a program of giving trips to MPs and journalists to Israel.
***
We covered Morrison's fundraiser at the Pratt's in my 15/3/19 post Pre-Election Fundraising at the Pratt's. The Australian's Business Review, you'll recall, concluded it's Margin Call entry on the subject thus: "Bet you the Visy billionaire [Anthony Pratt] is back in the manor when ascendant Labor leader Bill Shorten and his troops arrive for a reciprocal fundraising event in a couple of weeks."
As predicted, he was! Now here's Margin Call's account of Shorten and troops, cap-in-hand:
"He's on track to be our next prime minister, but Labor leader Bill Shorten is still shy about tucking his knees under the table of Australia's richest family. Just over six weeks from the federal election, Shorten last night entered the billionaire Pratt family's historic mansion Raheen via the secret stable doors, a laneway entrance normally reserved for deliveries. Maybe the leader of the worker's party thought it was the tradesman's entrance?
"For Shorten, it was a return to the Melbourne home of the billionaire family's matriarch Jeanne Pratt, her son Anthony Pratt and his wife Claudine, after a long absence. The politician was previously a frequent guest via his first marriage to Debbie Beale, a god-daughter to Jeanne and her late husband Richard Pratt. But last night Shorten was back in the Pratt fold, with the doors of their Kew home Raheen thrown open for a left-of-centre political fundraiser featuring a powerful clutch of Melbourne business types. Amazing how the sniff of victory can pull a crowd, even at $5000 a head.
"While their leader didn't want to be photographed, his deputy Tanya Plibersek arrived through Raheen's imposing main gates to be greeted by her packaging hosts at the arched front door. Very civilised. Almost Treasurer Chris Bowen, who has become quite chummy with Anthony Pratt of late, had slipped inside much earlier. Their Labor colleague Clare O'Neill had a bumpier entree. The shadow minister for financial services... and her VW family wagon were turned back at the Pratt's threshold and directed to a car park on the street. Retiring Member for Melbourne Ports Michael Danby also drove himself in his Ford Territory.
"Rich-lister businessman Peter Scanlon was in for the night, as was former Tennis Australia chair Harold Mitchell and one-time Packer lieutenant and now Ellerston Capital chief Ashok Jacob. Former Telstra chair Bob Mansfield and leading Melbourne lawyer Mark Leibler, both at Prime Minister Scott Morrison's fundraiser at Raheen a fortnight ago, were back to play the other side, as was rich-lister and Jeanne's son-in-law Raphael Geminder. Former Victorian premier and industry super fund CBUS chair Steve Bracks came in a heavily tinted car with driver. Will Shorten soon make his New York dreams come true?
"Outgoing member for Lilley and Labor national president Wayne Swan, looking tanned and relaxed, was in bright and early, as was Member for Isaac Mark Dreyfus and Shorten's good friend and now senator for Victoria Kimberley Kitching, who Margin Call awarded best dressed on the night in a classic navy wrap dress." (Upmarket welcome for the workers' warriors, Will Glasgow & Christine Lacy, 28/3/19)
Bob Carr: I think party donations and a program of giving trips to MPs and journalists to Israel.
***
We covered Morrison's fundraiser at the Pratt's in my 15/3/19 post Pre-Election Fundraising at the Pratt's. The Australian's Business Review, you'll recall, concluded it's Margin Call entry on the subject thus: "Bet you the Visy billionaire [Anthony Pratt] is back in the manor when ascendant Labor leader Bill Shorten and his troops arrive for a reciprocal fundraising event in a couple of weeks."
As predicted, he was! Now here's Margin Call's account of Shorten and troops, cap-in-hand:
"He's on track to be our next prime minister, but Labor leader Bill Shorten is still shy about tucking his knees under the table of Australia's richest family. Just over six weeks from the federal election, Shorten last night entered the billionaire Pratt family's historic mansion Raheen via the secret stable doors, a laneway entrance normally reserved for deliveries. Maybe the leader of the worker's party thought it was the tradesman's entrance?
"For Shorten, it was a return to the Melbourne home of the billionaire family's matriarch Jeanne Pratt, her son Anthony Pratt and his wife Claudine, after a long absence. The politician was previously a frequent guest via his first marriage to Debbie Beale, a god-daughter to Jeanne and her late husband Richard Pratt. But last night Shorten was back in the Pratt fold, with the doors of their Kew home Raheen thrown open for a left-of-centre political fundraiser featuring a powerful clutch of Melbourne business types. Amazing how the sniff of victory can pull a crowd, even at $5000 a head.
"While their leader didn't want to be photographed, his deputy Tanya Plibersek arrived through Raheen's imposing main gates to be greeted by her packaging hosts at the arched front door. Very civilised. Almost Treasurer Chris Bowen, who has become quite chummy with Anthony Pratt of late, had slipped inside much earlier. Their Labor colleague Clare O'Neill had a bumpier entree. The shadow minister for financial services... and her VW family wagon were turned back at the Pratt's threshold and directed to a car park on the street. Retiring Member for Melbourne Ports Michael Danby also drove himself in his Ford Territory.
"Rich-lister businessman Peter Scanlon was in for the night, as was former Tennis Australia chair Harold Mitchell and one-time Packer lieutenant and now Ellerston Capital chief Ashok Jacob. Former Telstra chair Bob Mansfield and leading Melbourne lawyer Mark Leibler, both at Prime Minister Scott Morrison's fundraiser at Raheen a fortnight ago, were back to play the other side, as was rich-lister and Jeanne's son-in-law Raphael Geminder. Former Victorian premier and industry super fund CBUS chair Steve Bracks came in a heavily tinted car with driver. Will Shorten soon make his New York dreams come true?
"Outgoing member for Lilley and Labor national president Wayne Swan, looking tanned and relaxed, was in bright and early, as was Member for Isaac Mark Dreyfus and Shorten's good friend and now senator for Victoria Kimberley Kitching, who Margin Call awarded best dressed on the night in a classic navy wrap dress." (Upmarket welcome for the workers' warriors, Will Glasgow & Christine Lacy, 28/3/19)
Thursday, January 17, 2019
Bob Carr's 'Run for Your Life' 1
In my post, Kevin Rudd's 'The PM Years' (3/1/19), I mentioned several recent Australian memoirs that shed light on the tactics used by the Israel lobby to keep our politicians and journalists in line. One of these, Run for Your Life (2018), by former Labor Party foreign minister Bob Carr, has its own chapter on the subject - Me and 'The Lobby'.
These days, Carr is known for his efforts to push Labor in a pro-Palestinian state direction. This position, however, developed relatively late in his political career.
A mindset of blind support for Israel seems to have characterised most of the Labor Party since the creation of Israel in 1948, through to at least the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada in 2000. (It should be noted that NSW state MP George Petersen (1921-2000), and Bill Hartley (1930-2006), state secretary of the Victorian ALP from 1965 to 1970, were honourable exceptions to this tendency.) In fact, during this period, dogmatic support for Israel could almost be said to have become one of Labor's much-trumpeted 'values'.
I will examine the process of Carr's move from received to actual wisdom on the subject of Palestine/Israel, and the Israel lobby's response to same, in follow up posts. For now, here are excerpts from Carr's account of his early days, shilling for Israel:
"I had been a long-term supporter of Israel. In 1977, as a young trade union official, I had rented a room in the Trades Hall, bought some cask wine and invited Bob Hawke to come along and launch Labor Friends of Israel. I had remained its token president ever since and was always on hand to greet delegations and troop along to the [Israel] Independence Day celebrations... In 1983 I had visited Israel with a delegation of NSW Labor people... and had found it congenial enough, if not a revelation, admirable for its strong labour institutions. We met no Palestinians and were not driven around the occupied West Bank. At that time no Israeli historians had explored what had really happened in 1948. That would occur only when Benny Morris and others uncovered the story of massacres and expulsions that had forced the Arab population to flee. We just accepted the prevailing wisdom. It had been 'a land without a people for a people without a land': this was the Exodus narrative." (pp 174-5)
If Begin and Sharon's bloody invasion of Lebanon in 1982 registered with Carr, he doesn't mention it.
"I and my Labor crowd were in the Zionist camp. I remember joking with John Wheeldon, a former Labor senator and a minister in the Whitlam government, about our special closeness to Israel - with its craggy old Labour Party in permanent power, its collectivised agriculture, kibbutzniks who were Holocaust survivors... I entertained the notion that in retirement I might sign up as a volunteer to talk about the Holocaust to counter Holocaust denial. It seemed to me self-evident that the Jews were in fact an exceptional people who - and I said this in many speeches at their community events - had made a contribution to civilisation well above their numbers. I didn't dream that in feeding this self-image I might be encouraging a strand of thinking that, among other things, had Jews enjoying a view of themselves as the 'Chosen People' and therefore entitled to uncontestable rights to the land God gave them. (ibid)
As an example of collective delusion, the ALP's historical love affair with Israel is reminiscent of many Western leftists' unquestioning support for Stalinist Russia. To be sure, at the time, the lobby will have lapped up the kind of adulation of Israel expressed by Carr and others in the party - to the point of taking Labor's support for its cause for granted. But, as the old adage goes, you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time. My next post will look at Carr's gradual awakening to the reality of Palestine/Israel.
To be continued...
These days, Carr is known for his efforts to push Labor in a pro-Palestinian state direction. This position, however, developed relatively late in his political career.
A mindset of blind support for Israel seems to have characterised most of the Labor Party since the creation of Israel in 1948, through to at least the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada in 2000. (It should be noted that NSW state MP George Petersen (1921-2000), and Bill Hartley (1930-2006), state secretary of the Victorian ALP from 1965 to 1970, were honourable exceptions to this tendency.) In fact, during this period, dogmatic support for Israel could almost be said to have become one of Labor's much-trumpeted 'values'.
I will examine the process of Carr's move from received to actual wisdom on the subject of Palestine/Israel, and the Israel lobby's response to same, in follow up posts. For now, here are excerpts from Carr's account of his early days, shilling for Israel:
"I had been a long-term supporter of Israel. In 1977, as a young trade union official, I had rented a room in the Trades Hall, bought some cask wine and invited Bob Hawke to come along and launch Labor Friends of Israel. I had remained its token president ever since and was always on hand to greet delegations and troop along to the [Israel] Independence Day celebrations... In 1983 I had visited Israel with a delegation of NSW Labor people... and had found it congenial enough, if not a revelation, admirable for its strong labour institutions. We met no Palestinians and were not driven around the occupied West Bank. At that time no Israeli historians had explored what had really happened in 1948. That would occur only when Benny Morris and others uncovered the story of massacres and expulsions that had forced the Arab population to flee. We just accepted the prevailing wisdom. It had been 'a land without a people for a people without a land': this was the Exodus narrative." (pp 174-5)
If Begin and Sharon's bloody invasion of Lebanon in 1982 registered with Carr, he doesn't mention it.
"I and my Labor crowd were in the Zionist camp. I remember joking with John Wheeldon, a former Labor senator and a minister in the Whitlam government, about our special closeness to Israel - with its craggy old Labour Party in permanent power, its collectivised agriculture, kibbutzniks who were Holocaust survivors... I entertained the notion that in retirement I might sign up as a volunteer to talk about the Holocaust to counter Holocaust denial. It seemed to me self-evident that the Jews were in fact an exceptional people who - and I said this in many speeches at their community events - had made a contribution to civilisation well above their numbers. I didn't dream that in feeding this self-image I might be encouraging a strand of thinking that, among other things, had Jews enjoying a view of themselves as the 'Chosen People' and therefore entitled to uncontestable rights to the land God gave them. (ibid)
As an example of collective delusion, the ALP's historical love affair with Israel is reminiscent of many Western leftists' unquestioning support for Stalinist Russia. To be sure, at the time, the lobby will have lapped up the kind of adulation of Israel expressed by Carr and others in the party - to the point of taking Labor's support for its cause for granted. But, as the old adage goes, you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time. My next post will look at Carr's gradual awakening to the reality of Palestine/Israel.
To be continued...
Friday, January 11, 2019
Zionist Hypocrisy Alert
As rich as Zionist pontification and bombast is in chutzpah, hypocrisy and insufferable arrogance, I dare anyone to top this example:
"The Australian Labor Party recently passed a motion at the national conference that 'calls on the next Labor government to recognise Palestine as a state'... the motion provides much-coveted Western legitimacy for the Palestinian Authority, a non-state entity whose value system is at odds with that of Australia and indeed the entire liberal democratic world. As the international community marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the PA's state-in-waiting is a brazen violator of the declaration's most basic principles yet is being pre-emptively endorsed by Labor." (Palestine policy is a real killer, Danny Eisen & Sheryl Saperia*, The Australian, 8/1/19)
So, a Canadian and an American Zionist team up to condemn the policy of an Australian political party on behalf of a terrorist entity, currently in occupation of the ancestral homeland of the Palestinian people.
Now, if you think that's rich, there's more. There always is with these bullshitters.
For a Zionist to speak of an "entity whose value system is at odds with Australia," is to raise the obvious question as to whether the practises of ethnic cleansing, apartheid, occupation, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, which define the Zionist entity in Palestine, and which have been perpetrated by it on a daily basis ever since its misconception 70 years ago, are compatible with contemporary "Australian values."
What other mob would have the hide to assert an equivalence between an apartheid state and a liberal democracy?
But the piece de resistance, the very pinnacle of Zionist chutzpah, hypocrisy and arrogance must surely be the propagandists' accusation that the Palestinian Authority is a "brazen violator of the UDHR's most basic principles." Truly, is there anything more nauseating than a Zionist orating on the subject of human rights?
One of those "basic principles" can be found in the UDHR's Article 13: "Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country."
Ever since Zionist terror gangs ethnically cleansed most of Palestine in 1948, their upstart entity has rejected the inalienable right of Palestinian refugees - enshrined in Article 13 - to return to their homeland. And this, solely in the interests of maintaining a Jews-only state so that the likes of Eisen and Saperia can go and live there - if they wish.
Need more be said?
[*Danny Eisen is co-founder of the Canadian Coalition Against terror. Sheryl Saperia is a director of policy at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies.]
"The Australian Labor Party recently passed a motion at the national conference that 'calls on the next Labor government to recognise Palestine as a state'... the motion provides much-coveted Western legitimacy for the Palestinian Authority, a non-state entity whose value system is at odds with that of Australia and indeed the entire liberal democratic world. As the international community marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the PA's state-in-waiting is a brazen violator of the declaration's most basic principles yet is being pre-emptively endorsed by Labor." (Palestine policy is a real killer, Danny Eisen & Sheryl Saperia*, The Australian, 8/1/19)
So, a Canadian and an American Zionist team up to condemn the policy of an Australian political party on behalf of a terrorist entity, currently in occupation of the ancestral homeland of the Palestinian people.
Now, if you think that's rich, there's more. There always is with these bullshitters.
For a Zionist to speak of an "entity whose value system is at odds with Australia," is to raise the obvious question as to whether the practises of ethnic cleansing, apartheid, occupation, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, which define the Zionist entity in Palestine, and which have been perpetrated by it on a daily basis ever since its misconception 70 years ago, are compatible with contemporary "Australian values."
What other mob would have the hide to assert an equivalence between an apartheid state and a liberal democracy?
But the piece de resistance, the very pinnacle of Zionist chutzpah, hypocrisy and arrogance must surely be the propagandists' accusation that the Palestinian Authority is a "brazen violator of the UDHR's most basic principles." Truly, is there anything more nauseating than a Zionist orating on the subject of human rights?
One of those "basic principles" can be found in the UDHR's Article 13: "Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country."
Ever since Zionist terror gangs ethnically cleansed most of Palestine in 1948, their upstart entity has rejected the inalienable right of Palestinian refugees - enshrined in Article 13 - to return to their homeland. And this, solely in the interests of maintaining a Jews-only state so that the likes of Eisen and Saperia can go and live there - if they wish.
Need more be said?
[*Danny Eisen is co-founder of the Canadian Coalition Against terror. Sheryl Saperia is a director of policy at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies.]
Friday, December 21, 2018
Zionists Put Shorten on Notice
If, as I suspect, federal Labor leader Bill Shorten will simply ignore his party's 2018 National Conference call "to recognise Palestine as a state," will he at least have the fortitude to resist Zionist threats such as this?:
"The Zionist Federation of Australia has written to Bill Shorten and opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong to express concerns about the party's position after they confirmed Labor would recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital only in the final stages of of a two-state solution... In the ZFA letter, obtained by The Australian, president Jeremy Leibler seeks clarification of Labor's position after Australia became one of the few countries to formally recognise West Jerusalem as Israel's capital while pledging to recognise a future Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem. 'A move by a future Labor government to reverse such an important position would be considered a hostile act to Australia's strongest ally in the Middle East,' Mr Leibler writes. 'Should Labor form government, we... urge the ALP not to reverse the decision to recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel'. Senator Wong has tweeted that Labor did not 'support unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and in government would reverse this decision'." (Labor warned against undoing Israel move, Rosie Lewis, 17/12/18)
Watch this space...
"The Zionist Federation of Australia has written to Bill Shorten and opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong to express concerns about the party's position after they confirmed Labor would recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital only in the final stages of of a two-state solution... In the ZFA letter, obtained by The Australian, president Jeremy Leibler seeks clarification of Labor's position after Australia became one of the few countries to formally recognise West Jerusalem as Israel's capital while pledging to recognise a future Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem. 'A move by a future Labor government to reverse such an important position would be considered a hostile act to Australia's strongest ally in the Middle East,' Mr Leibler writes. 'Should Labor form government, we... urge the ALP not to reverse the decision to recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel'. Senator Wong has tweeted that Labor did not 'support unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and in government would reverse this decision'." (Labor warned against undoing Israel move, Rosie Lewis, 17/12/18)
Watch this space...
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Two (State) Cheers for the ALP
Wring what joy you will out of this resolution of the Australian Labor Party's 2018 national conference on Palestine:
1 Notes previous resolutions on Israel/Palestine carried at the 2015 ALP National Conference and the 2016 NSW Labor Annual conference,
2 Supports the recognition and right of Israel and Palestine to exist as two states with secure and recognised borders,
3 Calls on the next Labor government to recognise Palestine as a state, and
4 Expects that this issue will be an important priority for the next Labor Government.
But please remember that:
a) Israel is an apartheid state - from the River to the Sea - and, like apartheid South Africa before it, has no "right" to exist as such.
b) The two-state solution has long since passed its use-by date. (The ALP's resolution doesn't even refer to the 1967 borders.)
c) Israel is firmly in the grip of Greater Israel fanatics for whom a Palestinian state, however small and compromised, is simply anathema.
d) The recognition of even a hopelessly compromised, rump Palestine depends ultimately on Labor leader Bill Shorten, AIJAC's Rambam Fellow of 2005 and a protege of the late Zionist cardboard king, Dick Pratt (a convicted price-fixer and generous donor to LibLab and assorted Israeli 'charities'). Shorten has been aptly described by Bob Carr as "umbilically attached to the cause of Israel." I need only quote here the assessment of that other umbilically-attached-to-Israel gentleman, Greg Sheridan, writing in today's Australian: "On foreign policy, the genius of the federal ALP conference is that it has not transgressed the authority of a Shorten Labor government to function properly." (Conference sidestep leaves leaders free to govern, 20/12/18)
1 Notes previous resolutions on Israel/Palestine carried at the 2015 ALP National Conference and the 2016 NSW Labor Annual conference,
2 Supports the recognition and right of Israel and Palestine to exist as two states with secure and recognised borders,
3 Calls on the next Labor government to recognise Palestine as a state, and
4 Expects that this issue will be an important priority for the next Labor Government.
But please remember that:
a) Israel is an apartheid state - from the River to the Sea - and, like apartheid South Africa before it, has no "right" to exist as such.
b) The two-state solution has long since passed its use-by date. (The ALP's resolution doesn't even refer to the 1967 borders.)
c) Israel is firmly in the grip of Greater Israel fanatics for whom a Palestinian state, however small and compromised, is simply anathema.
d) The recognition of even a hopelessly compromised, rump Palestine depends ultimately on Labor leader Bill Shorten, AIJAC's Rambam Fellow of 2005 and a protege of the late Zionist cardboard king, Dick Pratt (a convicted price-fixer and generous donor to LibLab and assorted Israeli 'charities'). Shorten has been aptly described by Bob Carr as "umbilically attached to the cause of Israel." I need only quote here the assessment of that other umbilically-attached-to-Israel gentleman, Greg Sheridan, writing in today's Australian: "On foreign policy, the genius of the federal ALP conference is that it has not transgressed the authority of a Shorten Labor government to function properly." (Conference sidestep leaves leaders free to govern, 20/12/18)
Monday, May 21, 2018
Simply the Best, Better than All the Rest
"Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese has indicated Labor would have split from the US and backed a United Nations investigation into the killing of dozens of Palestinians in Gaza, arguing Israel's actions were damaging the country's reputation." (Albanese demands vote explanation, Michael Koziol, Sydney Morning Herald, 21/5/18)
Really, if damage to Israel's reputation is Albanese's best argument for Australia voting (in the UNHRC) for an investigation into Israel's latest massacres of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, I'd hate to think what his worst might be.
Really, if damage to Israel's reputation is Albanese's best argument for Australia voting (in the UNHRC) for an investigation into Israel's latest massacres of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, I'd hate to think what his worst might be.
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
The Battle for Balmain
Like, O WOW. Just WOW:
"It's been seven long years since NSW Labor surrendered a treasured slice of its historical heartland to the Greens. Destined to be billed as the Battle for Balmain... the state election campaign of 2019 is shaping up as another litmus test for the parties' respective claims to the area as 'heartland' country. Labor invested its hopes in a fresh face, untainted by the scandals of its dying days in power, which saw it removed from government in 2011. Over the next year, Elly Howse - a 29-year-old feminist, inner west local and public health PhD student - will attempt to pull off a feat that has so far proved impossible for even veteran politicians. NSW Labor has never taken back a seat off the Greens once they have lost it." (Battle for Balmain as Labor places faith in young gun candidate, Lisa Visentin, Sydney Morning Herald, 14/5/18)
What's not to like? Go, Elly Howse!
Oh, wait a minute...
"Student recipients of the Rambam Fellowship come from Liberal, Labor Right, and Labor Left factions. For members of Labor Left who accept the Fellowship, the matter is particularly complicated as their actions contradict the faction's stance against Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. Former USYD SRC President and recipient of the Rambam Fellowship Elly Howse was said to have taken part in a sponsored trip with strong anti-Zionist views, but returned home more sympathetic to Israel. Honi was unable to reach Howse for comment." (NUS Israel trips are no spiritual pilgrimage, Rafi Alam & Xiaoran Shi, Honi Soit, 19/8/13) (See my 1/10/13 post A Transformative Experience.)
"It's been seven long years since NSW Labor surrendered a treasured slice of its historical heartland to the Greens. Destined to be billed as the Battle for Balmain... the state election campaign of 2019 is shaping up as another litmus test for the parties' respective claims to the area as 'heartland' country. Labor invested its hopes in a fresh face, untainted by the scandals of its dying days in power, which saw it removed from government in 2011. Over the next year, Elly Howse - a 29-year-old feminist, inner west local and public health PhD student - will attempt to pull off a feat that has so far proved impossible for even veteran politicians. NSW Labor has never taken back a seat off the Greens once they have lost it." (Battle for Balmain as Labor places faith in young gun candidate, Lisa Visentin, Sydney Morning Herald, 14/5/18)
What's not to like? Go, Elly Howse!
Oh, wait a minute...
"Student recipients of the Rambam Fellowship come from Liberal, Labor Right, and Labor Left factions. For members of Labor Left who accept the Fellowship, the matter is particularly complicated as their actions contradict the faction's stance against Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. Former USYD SRC President and recipient of the Rambam Fellowship Elly Howse was said to have taken part in a sponsored trip with strong anti-Zionist views, but returned home more sympathetic to Israel. Honi was unable to reach Howse for comment." (NUS Israel trips are no spiritual pilgrimage, Rafi Alam & Xiaoran Shi, Honi Soit, 19/8/13) (See my 1/10/13 post A Transformative Experience.)
Friday, March 16, 2018
Labor Voters & a Palestinian State
In the lead-up to the next Australian Labor Party national conference in July, the usual suspects, in this instance the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) are getting nervous. Solution: wheel out Murdoch hack Simon Benson to unveil ECAJ's YouGovGalaxy poll which, according to Benson, reveals that:
"Federal Labor is at risk of alienating its support base over the party's pursuit of Palestinian statehood ahead of its national conference, with a majority of its own voters rejecting the move without the Palestinian Authority striking a peace deal with Israel." (ALP voters reject Palestine push, The Australian, 13/3/18)
Sample question:
In your opinion, when should Australia recognise a Palestinian state?
Now check out the framing, particularly of the third:
Immediately, with or without a Palestinian peace agreement with Israel (ALP voters: 14)
[How about:... with or without an Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territories illegally occupied for the past 60 years?]
After a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (ALP voters 27)
[... premised on Israel's wanting one of course]
When all Palestinian groups renounce violence (ALP voters 12)
[But not Israel of course]
Never (ALP voters 12)
Don't know (ALP voters 36)
[Actually, it's the enormous number of 'dunnos' that make this last category the most interesting. Does it mean that 36% of ALP voters are deaf, dumb and blind? Or live in sheltered workshops? Or under rocks? I mean, this is 2018.]
"Federal Labor is at risk of alienating its support base over the party's pursuit of Palestinian statehood ahead of its national conference, with a majority of its own voters rejecting the move without the Palestinian Authority striking a peace deal with Israel." (ALP voters reject Palestine push, The Australian, 13/3/18)
Sample question:
In your opinion, when should Australia recognise a Palestinian state?
Now check out the framing, particularly of the third:
Immediately, with or without a Palestinian peace agreement with Israel (ALP voters: 14)
[How about:... with or without an Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territories illegally occupied for the past 60 years?]
After a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (ALP voters 27)
[... premised on Israel's wanting one of course]
When all Palestinian groups renounce violence (ALP voters 12)
[But not Israel of course]
Never (ALP voters 12)
Don't know (ALP voters 36)
[Actually, it's the enormous number of 'dunnos' that make this last category the most interesting. Does it mean that 36% of ALP voters are deaf, dumb and blind? Or live in sheltered workshops? Or under rocks? I mean, this is 2018.]
Sunday, March 4, 2018
Just Another Labor Zionist
"Michael Danby, the Labor member for Melbourne Ports, has described [Shorten-ally Kimberley Kitching MP] as 'the most intellectually impressive woman active on the moderate side of Labor politics'." (My Kitching rules, Matthew Knott, GoodWeekend, 3/3/18)
So what is it about Kitching that's got the shadow minister for Israel salivating so?
Oh, I see:
"One of the most high profile moments in her time on [Melbourne Council] came when she championed the removal of a publicly funded anti-Israel mural from the CBD. The work featured a large Star of David and described 200,000 Palestinians being killed and 385 towns destroyed since the creation of the State of Israel.'People when berserk when we took it down,' Kitching, a passionate supporter of Israel, recalls with delight. 'I must have done every talk back show in Australia that week'."
Others, of course, are not so easily impressed:
"'Kimberley is a very charming, warm, engaging, highly-intelligent moral vacuum,' a senior figure from the Labor Left says."
But there's hope yet:
"Kitching's friend John Roskam, executive director of the free-market Institute of Public Affairs think tank, says she is part of a 'dying breed' in the Labor Party. 'She represents traditional Labor Right values in a party that is being dragged to the left. She doesn't hate capitalism, she doesn't hate employers, she would view the Greens as just as much and enemy of the Labor Party as the Liberals'."
So what is it about Kitching that's got the shadow minister for Israel salivating so?
Oh, I see:
"One of the most high profile moments in her time on [Melbourne Council] came when she championed the removal of a publicly funded anti-Israel mural from the CBD. The work featured a large Star of David and described 200,000 Palestinians being killed and 385 towns destroyed since the creation of the State of Israel.'People when berserk when we took it down,' Kitching, a passionate supporter of Israel, recalls with delight. 'I must have done every talk back show in Australia that week'."
Others, of course, are not so easily impressed:
"'Kimberley is a very charming, warm, engaging, highly-intelligent moral vacuum,' a senior figure from the Labor Left says."
But there's hope yet:
"Kitching's friend John Roskam, executive director of the free-market Institute of Public Affairs think tank, says she is part of a 'dying breed' in the Labor Party. 'She represents traditional Labor Right values in a party that is being dragged to the left. She doesn't hate capitalism, she doesn't hate employers, she would view the Greens as just as much and enemy of the Labor Party as the Liberals'."
Friday, October 20, 2017
Michael Danby's Magical Mystery Tour
"Labor frontbenchers are losing patience with federal MP Michael Danby over repeated corrections he has made to his register of interests this week after it was revealed he went to Israel for speaking engagements while claiming to be too ill to attend parliament. Mr Danby has lodged three separate alterations to his parliamentary register to declare sponsored travel and other previously undisclosed interests since The Australian reported on Monday that he flew to Israel and Geneva in September last year for a busy round of scheduled conferences. Changes are meant to be lodged within 28 days of occurring, and knowingly providing false information risks referral for contempt of parliament.
"The Israel trip caused dismay in Labor ranks because Mr Danby had submitted a medical certificate stating he was unfit for parliamentary duties for a period that was later found to coincide with his travel. Bill Shorten has so far deflected media questions about Mr Danby's unsanctioned trip since The Australian's first report on the subject. However, he is reported to be not pleased after recently reprimanding the Labor MP for using his parliamentary allowance to fund an advertisement attacking the ABC's Jerusalem correspondent over her coverage.
"It is understood the Labor leader told Mr Danby this week to amend his parliamentary register so that it was correct, but the Labor MP since has been forced to make further changes because required information was missing or incomplete. Mr Danby submitted a brief change on Monday that said 'Economy fare Geneva - Ben Gurion 2 nights accomm.' The handwritten update was stamped by parliament's register on the day The Australian's first report on the subject appeared and several days after questions about Mr Danby's September 2016 travels were sent to him for a response. It did not name the trip's sponsor nor list any dates. A day later, Mr Danby replaced the update with another that said a pro-Israeli group, NGO Monitor, had helped pay for his overseas trip. This second update was worded differently: 'Economy flight Ben Gurion - Geneva 17-19 September 2016'. It reversed the order of Mr Danby's flight destination, no longer mentioned any sponsored accommodation and appeared to list Geneva travel dates when Mr Danby was still in Israel.
"Mr Danby then submitted a third register change, stamped on Wednesday, following reports in The Australian's Margin Call column that discussed interests including an undisclosed 20-year-old company directorship and a mortgage on a Fitzroy property.
"Resentment among Labor colleagues has compounded following confirmation that much of Mr Danby's Israel trip related to previously scheduled events, despite his claims to be ill. The Jerusalem Post said in its Grapevine column on September 13 last year that Mr Danby was in Israel and would hold a press conference at the Jerusalem Press Club 'on Sunday of next week'. The Post's advance notice said the press conference would be jointly hosted by Mr Danby and pro-Israeli lobby group NGO Monitor, which has Mr Danby as a member of its international advisory board. The column included details of how the Labor MP intended to speak out about an alleged scandal involving World Vision's aid operations in Gaza. Labor colleagues said yesterday that notice of a public event hosted by him in Israel 'on Sunday of next week' suggested the Labor MP's trip was pre-planned. One said yesterday: 'He's not looking like an accidental tourist here'." (MP anger over 'sick' Danby's world trip, Brad Norington, The Australian, 20/10/17)
But there's more:
"Labor's member for Melbourne Ports Michael Danby has stuck by his just-in-time approach to parliamentary disclosure all week. Yesterday he finally lifted the veil on a 20-year-old corporate directorship and a host of other freebies. It's been a game of catch-up for the two-decade federal parliamentary veteran, who has fleshed out detail on a trip last year to Israel while on sick leave from federal parliament and has now confirmed his directorship of mysterious corporate vehicle Roosevelt Nominees. The company was formerly known as Daroda Investments, which was created in 1997, just ahead of Danby's entry to parliament the next year. It hasn't rated a mention Danby's register until now. He stresses it's a 'non-trading entity'.
"Danby has also just revealed he's got shares in the once Aidan Allen-advised listed law firm Slater and Gordon... He also has membership in the Qantas and Virgin clubs. 'Membership automatically aquired (sic) when becoming an MP, the same as other MPs,' he told the Register of Members Interests yesterday. Better late than never. There's also news of the mortgage on his partner Amanda Mendes da Costa's home in North Fitzroy, which her mum lives in rent-free. No word though, on his lawyer wife's new job as a full-time member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Expect that in the 46th parliament - if Danby still has a seat by then." (Better late than never, Will Glasgow & Christine Lacy, The Australian, 20/10/17)
"The Israel trip caused dismay in Labor ranks because Mr Danby had submitted a medical certificate stating he was unfit for parliamentary duties for a period that was later found to coincide with his travel. Bill Shorten has so far deflected media questions about Mr Danby's unsanctioned trip since The Australian's first report on the subject. However, he is reported to be not pleased after recently reprimanding the Labor MP for using his parliamentary allowance to fund an advertisement attacking the ABC's Jerusalem correspondent over her coverage.
"It is understood the Labor leader told Mr Danby this week to amend his parliamentary register so that it was correct, but the Labor MP since has been forced to make further changes because required information was missing or incomplete. Mr Danby submitted a brief change on Monday that said 'Economy fare Geneva - Ben Gurion 2 nights accomm.' The handwritten update was stamped by parliament's register on the day The Australian's first report on the subject appeared and several days after questions about Mr Danby's September 2016 travels were sent to him for a response. It did not name the trip's sponsor nor list any dates. A day later, Mr Danby replaced the update with another that said a pro-Israeli group, NGO Monitor, had helped pay for his overseas trip. This second update was worded differently: 'Economy flight Ben Gurion - Geneva 17-19 September 2016'. It reversed the order of Mr Danby's flight destination, no longer mentioned any sponsored accommodation and appeared to list Geneva travel dates when Mr Danby was still in Israel.
"Mr Danby then submitted a third register change, stamped on Wednesday, following reports in The Australian's Margin Call column that discussed interests including an undisclosed 20-year-old company directorship and a mortgage on a Fitzroy property.
"Resentment among Labor colleagues has compounded following confirmation that much of Mr Danby's Israel trip related to previously scheduled events, despite his claims to be ill. The Jerusalem Post said in its Grapevine column on September 13 last year that Mr Danby was in Israel and would hold a press conference at the Jerusalem Press Club 'on Sunday of next week'. The Post's advance notice said the press conference would be jointly hosted by Mr Danby and pro-Israeli lobby group NGO Monitor, which has Mr Danby as a member of its international advisory board. The column included details of how the Labor MP intended to speak out about an alleged scandal involving World Vision's aid operations in Gaza. Labor colleagues said yesterday that notice of a public event hosted by him in Israel 'on Sunday of next week' suggested the Labor MP's trip was pre-planned. One said yesterday: 'He's not looking like an accidental tourist here'." (MP anger over 'sick' Danby's world trip, Brad Norington, The Australian, 20/10/17)
But there's more:
"Labor's member for Melbourne Ports Michael Danby has stuck by his just-in-time approach to parliamentary disclosure all week. Yesterday he finally lifted the veil on a 20-year-old corporate directorship and a host of other freebies. It's been a game of catch-up for the two-decade federal parliamentary veteran, who has fleshed out detail on a trip last year to Israel while on sick leave from federal parliament and has now confirmed his directorship of mysterious corporate vehicle Roosevelt Nominees. The company was formerly known as Daroda Investments, which was created in 1997, just ahead of Danby's entry to parliament the next year. It hasn't rated a mention Danby's register until now. He stresses it's a 'non-trading entity'.
"Danby has also just revealed he's got shares in the once Aidan Allen-advised listed law firm Slater and Gordon... He also has membership in the Qantas and Virgin clubs. 'Membership automatically aquired (sic) when becoming an MP, the same as other MPs,' he told the Register of Members Interests yesterday. Better late than never. There's also news of the mortgage on his partner Amanda Mendes da Costa's home in North Fitzroy, which her mum lives in rent-free. No word though, on his lawyer wife's new job as a full-time member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Expect that in the 46th parliament - if Danby still has a seat by then." (Better late than never, Will Glasgow & Christine Lacy, The Australian, 20/10/17)
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Like Pulling Teeth
"The Michael Danby disclosure story continues, one comically late update after another.
"Yesterday, Labor's member for Melbourne Ports fleshed out the details of his trip to Israel last year while on sick leave from federal parliament, finally revealing part of his trip had been funded by the Jerusalem-based Gerald M. Steinberg-founded NGO Monitor, which analyses and reports on the output of the international NGO community from a pro-Israel perspective.
"But still nothing on the convalesced Danby's mysterious corporate vehicle, Roosevelt Nominees, formerly known as Daroda Investments, which was created 20 years ago, before Danby entered parliament in 1998. Almost two decades on and it's yet to rate a mention on the register of members' interests. We were told last night that 'fast fingers' Danby was on the case, but the material was still to be processed by the registry office.
"And the paperwork shouldn't end there. Eventually there should be an update on Danby's Melbourne barrister wife Amanda Mendes da Costa's new job as a full-time member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, announced last month by Attorney-General George Brandis. The AAT reviews government decisions, with Mendes da Costa to be paid in the order of $305,000 a year for the job... As for the house that Mendes da Costa has in North Fitzroy, Danby tells us her mum lives in it rent-free. Still, there's a mortgage on it to Ian Narev's CBA that Danby perhaps may want to note. All in his own time.
"And what about the Qantas Chairman's Club membership and complementary Foxtel service that Danby has received but not disclosed? 'The electoral office has a Foxtel connection,' Danby told us. 'Like all MPs, I am automatically a member of the Qantas Club and it was not a sought membership.' That's an interesting interpretation of Privileges and Members' Interests committee chairman Ross Vasta's disclosure guidelines. Wonder what he makes of it?" (Danby's trip disclosure near dandy, Will Glasgow & Christine Lacy, The Australian, 19/10/17)
"Yesterday, Labor's member for Melbourne Ports fleshed out the details of his trip to Israel last year while on sick leave from federal parliament, finally revealing part of his trip had been funded by the Jerusalem-based Gerald M. Steinberg-founded NGO Monitor, which analyses and reports on the output of the international NGO community from a pro-Israel perspective.
"But still nothing on the convalesced Danby's mysterious corporate vehicle, Roosevelt Nominees, formerly known as Daroda Investments, which was created 20 years ago, before Danby entered parliament in 1998. Almost two decades on and it's yet to rate a mention on the register of members' interests. We were told last night that 'fast fingers' Danby was on the case, but the material was still to be processed by the registry office.
"And the paperwork shouldn't end there. Eventually there should be an update on Danby's Melbourne barrister wife Amanda Mendes da Costa's new job as a full-time member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, announced last month by Attorney-General George Brandis. The AAT reviews government decisions, with Mendes da Costa to be paid in the order of $305,000 a year for the job... As for the house that Mendes da Costa has in North Fitzroy, Danby tells us her mum lives in it rent-free. Still, there's a mortgage on it to Ian Narev's CBA that Danby perhaps may want to note. All in his own time.
"And what about the Qantas Chairman's Club membership and complementary Foxtel service that Danby has received but not disclosed? 'The electoral office has a Foxtel connection,' Danby told us. 'Like all MPs, I am automatically a member of the Qantas Club and it was not a sought membership.' That's an interesting interpretation of Privileges and Members' Interests committee chairman Ross Vasta's disclosure guidelines. Wonder what he makes of it?" (Danby's trip disclosure near dandy, Will Glasgow & Christine Lacy, The Australian, 19/10/17)
Monday, October 16, 2017
Not So Fine & Danby
"Danby is not a single-issue politician but is a strong supporter of Israel... " (Greg Sheridan, Its response to Danby lays bare ABC's hubris, The Australian, 14/10/17)
Apparently, last September, senior Labor MPs were looking everywhere for the shadow minister for Tel Aviv, scratching their pates and wondering, one to the other, where on earth he could possibly be, only to find he was on a Tel Aviv-related mission. Who'd have thought, they were heard to exclaim on this surprise finding:
"Federal Labor MP Michael Danby took a trip to Israel and pursued some of his favourite causes after allegedly telling his party back home that he was too ill to attend a sitting week of parliament. Mr Danby... made the trip in September last year during a two-week absence. He had supplied a medical certificate that stated he was unfit for parliamentary duties. The second week of Mr Danby's absence coincided with a sitting week of parliament. During that time he was in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, to attend a counter-terrorism conference...
"Senior Labor sources have confirmed Mr Danby's journey... was not sanctioned by the party leadership, and not known in advance. His leave was not related to representing Australia...
"A few days after attending the summit event... Mr Danby spoke at a media conference at the Jerusalem Press Club. The Jerusalem Post reported at the time that he had been invited by the pro-Israel group, NGO Monitor, to Jerusalem to address 'the recent World Vision scandal' which allegedly involved millions of dollars in aid money for Gaza that had been siphoned off to militant Palestinian group Hamas. 'If Australian money was spent on building (Hamas terror) tunnels, that is beyond the pale,' Mr Danby was reported as saying.
"Although some Labor MPs believed Mr Danby was at home in Melbourne and unwell at the time of his international trip, others thought he was on compassionate leave, spending time with his former wife, who had been seriously ill. When concerned senior colleagues called Mr Danby's mobile phone from Canberra during the parliamentary week to ask after his health, they were puzzled to hear 'international pips', they said... After further calls, they learned Mr Danby was in Israel and intended to speak out about World Vision at the Jerusalem Press Club. They attempted to persuade him not to hold the media conference, but failed.
"Senior Labor MPs have wondered how his activities could be described as parliamentary business when the House of Representatives was in session and he would normally be required to attend, if able. Questions have also been raised about whether Mr Danby's stand against World Vision, while consistent with the Israeli government's position, was in line with ALP policy. World Vision officials deny aid funds were wrongly diverted to Hamas. The manager of aid operations for Gaza has been in Israeli custody for 15 months pending a possible prosecution, with World Vision trying to secure his release.
"The Australian asked Mr Danby to comment on how he came to be abroad when he was assumed to be on sick leave during a parliamentary week. Mr Danby was also asked if any of his leave and accommodation costs in September last year were paid by sponsors, and if so, who paid. He was asked for comment on why a number of senior Labor colleagues were not aware of his overseas travel when parliament was sitting - until finding out during his absence. In response, Mr Danby told The Australian last night: 'I received medical advice to take a complete break and get away. I took that advice. Unauthorised release of private medical information is ethically wrong. None of us want our private health details released, especially when they're used to distort circumstances. No taxpayer dollars were involved in the trip.'
"Mr Danby's globetrotting in September last year was spread over three weeks, starting in Israel and including Geneva, where he spoke at a UN-linked NGO Monitor event on September 26... " (Shorten's 'sick' ally took trip to Israel, Brad Norington, The Australian, 16/10/17)
Apparently, last September, senior Labor MPs were looking everywhere for the shadow minister for Tel Aviv, scratching their pates and wondering, one to the other, where on earth he could possibly be, only to find he was on a Tel Aviv-related mission. Who'd have thought, they were heard to exclaim on this surprise finding:
"Federal Labor MP Michael Danby took a trip to Israel and pursued some of his favourite causes after allegedly telling his party back home that he was too ill to attend a sitting week of parliament. Mr Danby... made the trip in September last year during a two-week absence. He had supplied a medical certificate that stated he was unfit for parliamentary duties. The second week of Mr Danby's absence coincided with a sitting week of parliament. During that time he was in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, to attend a counter-terrorism conference...
"Senior Labor sources have confirmed Mr Danby's journey... was not sanctioned by the party leadership, and not known in advance. His leave was not related to representing Australia...
"A few days after attending the summit event... Mr Danby spoke at a media conference at the Jerusalem Press Club. The Jerusalem Post reported at the time that he had been invited by the pro-Israel group, NGO Monitor, to Jerusalem to address 'the recent World Vision scandal' which allegedly involved millions of dollars in aid money for Gaza that had been siphoned off to militant Palestinian group Hamas. 'If Australian money was spent on building (Hamas terror) tunnels, that is beyond the pale,' Mr Danby was reported as saying.
"Although some Labor MPs believed Mr Danby was at home in Melbourne and unwell at the time of his international trip, others thought he was on compassionate leave, spending time with his former wife, who had been seriously ill. When concerned senior colleagues called Mr Danby's mobile phone from Canberra during the parliamentary week to ask after his health, they were puzzled to hear 'international pips', they said... After further calls, they learned Mr Danby was in Israel and intended to speak out about World Vision at the Jerusalem Press Club. They attempted to persuade him not to hold the media conference, but failed.
"Senior Labor MPs have wondered how his activities could be described as parliamentary business when the House of Representatives was in session and he would normally be required to attend, if able. Questions have also been raised about whether Mr Danby's stand against World Vision, while consistent with the Israeli government's position, was in line with ALP policy. World Vision officials deny aid funds were wrongly diverted to Hamas. The manager of aid operations for Gaza has been in Israeli custody for 15 months pending a possible prosecution, with World Vision trying to secure his release.
"The Australian asked Mr Danby to comment on how he came to be abroad when he was assumed to be on sick leave during a parliamentary week. Mr Danby was also asked if any of his leave and accommodation costs in September last year were paid by sponsors, and if so, who paid. He was asked for comment on why a number of senior Labor colleagues were not aware of his overseas travel when parliament was sitting - until finding out during his absence. In response, Mr Danby told The Australian last night: 'I received medical advice to take a complete break and get away. I took that advice. Unauthorised release of private medical information is ethically wrong. None of us want our private health details released, especially when they're used to distort circumstances. No taxpayer dollars were involved in the trip.'
"Mr Danby's globetrotting in September last year was spread over three weeks, starting in Israel and including Geneva, where he spoke at a UN-linked NGO Monitor event on September 26... " (Shorten's 'sick' ally took trip to Israel, Brad Norington, The Australian, 16/10/17)
Friday, October 6, 2017
The Hounding of Sophie McNeill 2
Michael Danby, MP for Tel Aviv, may have bitten off more than he can chew. Here's the latest development in his campaign against the ABC's Middle East correspondent Sophie McNeill:
"Top Labor figures believe 'it's time' for outspoken federal MP Michael Danby to retire as anger over his taxpayer-funded attacks on an ABC journalist sparked fresh speculation about his future... [P]arty figures from Opposition Leader Bill Shorten down are deeply unimpressed with Mr Danby's attacks on McNeill. In a heated phone conversation on Wednesday Mt Shorten instructed Mr Danby - his factional ally - to withdraw [the latest of two ads] but it had already been sent on to the printers. The controversy has hardened the resolve of Mr Danby's critics, who want him to end his 20-year hold on the seat of Melbourne Ports and make way for someone better able to fend off the Greens. 'The expectation here is it's time,' one state source said... Federal party sources say they are fed up with Mr Danby using political capital to attack the media rather than the government. But his critics are unwilling to publicly criticise him, fearing it will cause him to dig in and run again." ('It's time': Labor MP Michael Danby under pressure after ABC attack backfires, Adam Gartrell, Broede Carmody, theage.com, 5/10/17)
Typically, the ALP has no problem with Danby's Zionism. It's just that they'd just prefer him to be a zionist rather than a Zionist, know what I mean?
"Top Labor figures believe 'it's time' for outspoken federal MP Michael Danby to retire as anger over his taxpayer-funded attacks on an ABC journalist sparked fresh speculation about his future... [P]arty figures from Opposition Leader Bill Shorten down are deeply unimpressed with Mr Danby's attacks on McNeill. In a heated phone conversation on Wednesday Mt Shorten instructed Mr Danby - his factional ally - to withdraw [the latest of two ads] but it had already been sent on to the printers. The controversy has hardened the resolve of Mr Danby's critics, who want him to end his 20-year hold on the seat of Melbourne Ports and make way for someone better able to fend off the Greens. 'The expectation here is it's time,' one state source said... Federal party sources say they are fed up with Mr Danby using political capital to attack the media rather than the government. But his critics are unwilling to publicly criticise him, fearing it will cause him to dig in and run again." ('It's time': Labor MP Michael Danby under pressure after ABC attack backfires, Adam Gartrell, Broede Carmody, theage.com, 5/10/17)
Typically, the ALP has no problem with Danby's Zionism. It's just that they'd just prefer him to be a zionist rather than a Zionist, know what I mean?
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