5.15 pm

Joel Fitzgibbon came by to stand among the potplants and say he would for six weeks consider his position.

Gillard learned well from Crean when they were friends how to move quickly and bring on the ballot before the detested adversary Beazley had time to hit the phones. They installed Latham this way in 2003 and, ten years later, she has done it again.

I go back to Shorten’s office and on the stairs meet Bill as always. He gives an amazed big grin and says he will talk to me later. My friend Walladge rings from Perth and recites Yeats to me.

5.50 pm

There is a big bottle of Black Label whisky in Shorten’s office which, sampled, proves to be mainly water — like, in a way, our old friend the Labor Party. Abbott on the television drones on to the point of pain, we wuz robbed, he gripes, and Gillard should call an election now — right now. The images of women shouting at him in the big hall recede from human memory, and they could have done him damage. And this was only six and a half hours ago. Simon’s timing was, as always, really bad for the party.

In the office, it is suggested she should forgive him, bind some wounds, give him back at least the Arts which only last week he rejuvenated.

Carr will have slept through all this. Half his luck.

http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/live-bob-ellis-spill-diary/

 

 

Julia Gillard's speech apologising from the nation to the broken-hearted women whose babies were taken from them at birth, the children who were adopted out before there was the chance of a bond developing and the fathers whose names often never appeared on the birth certificates of their own children was perhaps her finest.

Given the political events beginning to swirl around Parliament House, there was symmetry here: an echo of Kevin Rudd's first and certainly finest speech as prime minister - the apology to Australia's stolen generations in 2007.

Almost 1000 mothers, fathers, grown children and fractured families sat row upon row in the Great Hall of Parliament House, all of them silent for long stretches, to hear the apology denied them for decades. Attendants held boxes of tissues at the ready. Yet there was little weeping. Those rivers, it was possible to imagine, had flowed years ago, and most of those in the Great Hall had wrapped their anguish behind walls.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott used his own experience of years believing he was the father of a child adopted out to empathise with the gathering. His speech, however, was interrupted by several women objecting loudly to his use of the term ''birth parent''. They were real parents, human mothers, they cried, and Mr Abbott found himself piling a personal apology to the offended upon the political apology, noting that he still had some things to learn, just as the nation did when it came to forced adoptions.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/forced-adoptions-apology-was-pm-at-her-finest-20130321-2giu5.html#ixzz2OCXYLHXe

 

 

Prime Minister Julia Gillard's National Apology for Forced Adoptions, delivered in Canberra on Thursday.

Today, this Parliament, on behalf of the Australian people, takes responsibility and apologises for the policies and practices that forced the separation of mothers from their babies, which created a lifelong legacy of pain and suffering.

2. We acknowledge the profound effects of these policies and practices on fathers.

3. And we recognise the hurt these actions caused to brothers and sisters, grandparents, partners and extended family members.

4. We deplore the shameful practices that denied you, the mothers, your fundamental rights and responsibilities to love and care for your children. You were not legally or socially acknowledged as their mothers. And you were yourselves deprived of care and support.

5. To you, the mothers who were betrayed by a system that gave you no choice and subjected you to manipulation, mistreatment and malpractice, we apologise.

6. We say sorry to you, the mothers who were denied knowledge of your rights, which meant you could not provide informed consent. You were given false assurances. You were forced to endure the coercion and brutality of practices that were unethical, dishonest and in many cases illegal.

7. We know you have suffered enduring effects from these practices forced upon you by others. For the loss, the grief, the disempowerment, the stigmatisation and the guilt, we say sorry.

8. To each of you who were adopted or removed, who were led to believe your mother had rejected you and who were denied the opportunity to grow up with your family and community of origin and to connect with your culture, we say sorry.

9. We apologise to the sons and daughters who grew up not knowing how much you were wanted and loved.

10. We acknowledge that many of you still experience a constant struggle with identity, uncertainty and loss, and feel a persistent tension between loyalty to one family and yearning for another.

11. To you, the fathers, who were excluded from the lives of your children and deprived of the dignity of recognition on your children's birth records, we say sorry. We acknowledge your loss and grief.

12. We recognise that the consequences of forced adoption practices continue to resonate through many, many lives. To you, the siblings, grandparents, partners and other family members who have shared in the pain and suffering of your loved ones or who were unable to share their lives, we say sorry.

13. Many are still grieving. Some families will be lost to one another forever. To those of you who face the difficulties of reconnecting with family and establishing on-going relationships, we say sorry.

14. We offer this apology in the hope that it will assist your healing and in order to shine a light on a dark period of our nation's history.

15. To those who have fought for the truth to be heard, we hear you now. We acknowledge that many of you have suffered in silence for far too long.

16. We are saddened that many others are no longer here to share this moment. In particular, we remember those affected by these practices who took their own lives. Our profound sympathies go to their families.

17. To redress the shameful mistakes of the past, we are committed to ensuring that all those affected get the help they need, including access to specialist counselling services and support, the ability to find the truth in freely available records and assistance in reconnecting with lost family.

18. We resolve, as a nation, to do all in our power to make sure these practices are never repeated. In facing future challenges, we will remember the lessons of family separation. Our focus will be on protecting the fundamental rights of children and on the importance of the child's right to know and be cared for by his or her parents.

19. With profound sadness and remorse, we offer you all our unreserved apology.

This Apology is extended in good faith and deep humility.

It will be a profound act of moral insight by a nation searching its conscience.

It will stand in the name of all Australians as a sign of our willingness to right an old wrong and face a hard truth.

As Australians, we are used to celebrating past glories and triumphs, and so we should.

We are a great nation.

But we must also be a good nation.

Therefore we must face the negative features of our past without hesitation or reserve.

That is why the period since 2008 has been so distinctive because it has been a moment of healing and accountability in the life of our nation.

For a country, just as for a person, it takes a lot of courage to say we are sorry.

We don't like to admit we were mistaken or misguided.

Yet this is part of the process of a nation growing up:

Holding the mirror to ourselves and our past, and not flinching from what we see.

What we see in that mirror is deeply shameful and distressing.

A story of suffering and unbearable loss.

But ultimately a story of strength, as those affected by forced adoptions found their voice.

Organised and shared their experiences.

And, by speaking truth to power, brought about the Apology we offer today.

This story had its beginnings in a wrongful belief that women could be separated from their babies and it would all be for the best.

Instead these churches and charities, families, medical staff and bureaucrats struck at the most primal and sacred bond there is:

- the bond between a mother and her baby.

Those affected by forced adoption came from all walks of life.

From the city or the country.

People who were born here or migrated here and people who are Indigenous Australians.

From different faiths and social classes.

For the most part, the women who lost their babies were young and vulnerable.

They were often pressurised and sometimes even drugged.

They faced so many voices telling them to surrender, even though their own lonely voice shouted from the depths of their being to hold on to the new life they had created.

Too often they did not see their baby's face.

They couldn't sooth his first cries.

Never felt her warmth or smelt her skin.

They could not give their own baby a name.

Those babies grew up with other names and in other homes.

Creating a sense of abandonment and loss that sometimes could never be made whole.

Today we will hear the motion moved in the Parliament and many other words spoken by those of us who lead.

But today we also listen to the words and stories of those who have waited so long to be heard.

Like the members of the Reference Group personally affected by forced adoption who I met earlier today.

Lizzy Brew, Katherine Rendell and Christine Cole told me how their children were wrenched away so soon after birth.

How they were denied basic support and advice.

How the removal of their children led to a lifetime of anguish and pain.

Their experiences echo the stories told in the Senate report.

Stories that speak to us with startling power and moral force.

Like Linda Bryant who testified of the devastating moment her baby was taken away:

When I had my child she was removed. All I saw was the top of her head I knew she had black hair.

So often that brief glimpse was the final time those mothers would ever see their child.

In institutions around Australia, women were made to perform menial labour in kitchens and laundries until their baby arrived.

As Margaret Bishop said:

It felt like a kind of penance.

In recent years, I have occasionally passed what then was the Medindi Maternity Hospital and it generates a deep sadness in me and an odd feeling that it was a Dickensian tale about somebody else.

Margaret McGrath described being confined within the Holy Cross home where life was 'harsh, punitive and impersonal'.

Yet this was sunny postwar Australia when we were going to the beach and driving our new Holdens and listening to Johnny O'Keefe.

As the time for birth came, their babies would be snatched away before they had even held them in their arms.

Sometimes consent was achieved by forgery or fraud.

Sometimes women signed adoption papers while under the influence of medication.

Most common of all was the bullying arrogance of a society that presumed to know what was best.

Margaret Nonas was told she was selfish.

Linda Ngata was told she was too young and would be a bad mother.

Some mothers returned home to be ostracised and judged.

And despite all the coercion, many mothers were haunted by guilt for having given away' their child.

Guilt because, in the words of Louise Greenup, they did not 'buck the system or fight'.

The hurt did not simply last for a few days or weeks.

This was a wound that would not heal.

Kim Lawrence told the Senate Committee:

The pain never goes away, that we all gave away our babies. We were told to forget what had happened, but we cannot. It will be with us all our lives.

Carolyn Brown never forgot her son:

I was always looking and wondering if he was alive or dead.

From then on every time I saw a baby, a little boy and even a grown up in the street, I would look to see if I could recognise him.

For decades, young mothers grew old haunted by loss.

Silently grieving in our suburbs and towns.

And somewhere, perhaps even close by, their children grew up denied the bond that was their birth-right.

Instead they lived with self-doubt and an uncertain identity.

The feeling, as one child of forced adoption put it, 'that part of me is missing'.

Some suffered sexual abuse at the hands of their adoptive parents or in state institutions.

Many more endured the cruelty that only children can inflict on their peers:

Your mum's not your real mum, your real mum didn't want you.

Your parents aren't your real parents, they don't love you.

Taunts vividly remembered decades later.

For so many children of forced adoption, the scars remain in adult life.

Phil Evans described his life as a:

rollercoaster ride of emotional trauma; indescribable fear; uncertainty; anxiety and self-sabotage in so many ways.

Many others identified the paralysing effect of self-doubt and a fear of abandonment:

It has held me back, stopped me growing and ensured that I have lived a life frozen.

I heard similar stories of disconnection and loss from Leigh Hubbard and Paul Howes today.

The challenges of reconnecting with family.

The struggles with self-identity and self-esteem.

The difficulties with accessing records.

Challenges that even the highest levels of professional success have not been able to assuage or heal.

Neither should we forget the fathers, brothers and sisters, grandparents and other relatives who were also affected as the impact of forced adoption cascaded through each family.

Gary Coles, a father, told me today of the lack of acknowledgment that many fathers have experienced.

How often fathers were ignored at the time of the birth.

How their names were not included on birth certificates.

How the veil of shame and forgetting was cast over their lives too.

 

My fellow Australians,

No collection of words alone can undo all this damage.

Or make whole the lives and families fractured by forced adoption.

Or give back childhoods that were robbed of joy and laughter.

Or make amends for the Birthdays and Christmases and Mother's or Father's Days that only brought a fresh wave of grief and loss.

But by saying sorry we can correct the historical record.

We can declare that these mothers did nothing wrong.

That you loved your children and you always will.

And to the children of forced adoption, we can say that you deserved so much better.

You deserved the chance to know, and love, your mother and father.

We can promise you all that no generation of Australians will suffer the same pain and trauma that you did.

The cruel, immoral practice of forced adoption will have no place in this land any more.

We also pledge resources to match today's words with actions.

We will provide $5 million to improve access to specialist support and records tracing for those affected by forced adoptions.

And we will work with the states and territories to improve these services.

The Government will also deliver $5 million so that mental health professionals can better assist in caring for those affected by forced adoption.

We will also provide $1.5 million for the National Archives to record the experiences of those affected by forced adoption through a special exhibition.

That way, this chapter in our nation's history will never again be marginalised or forgotten again.

Today's historic moment has only been made possible by the bravery of those who came forward to make submissions to the Senate Committee and also of those who couldn't come forward but who nurtured hope silently in their hearts.

Because of your courage, Australia now knows the truth.

The report prepared so brilliantly by Senator Siewert and the Senate Committee records that truth for all to see.

 

This was further reinforced by the national consultations that Professor Nahum Mushin and his reference group undertook to draft the national apology.

Their guidance and advice to government on the drafting of the apology have been invaluable.

Any Australian who reads the Senate report or listens to your stories as I have today will be appalled by what was done to you.

They will be shocked by your suffering.

They will be saddened by your loss.

But most of all, they will marvel at your determination to fight for the respect of history.

They will draw strength from your example.

And they will be inspired by the generous spirit in which you receive this Apology.

Because saying 'Sorry' is only ever complete when those who are wronged accept it.

Through your courage and grace, the time of neglect is over, and the work of healing can begin.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national-apology-for-forced-adoptions-prime-minister-julia-gillard-in-canberra-thursday-march-21-2013/story-e6frfkp9-1226602880063#ixzz2OCWGfK9P

 

SACKED Cabinet minister Simon Crean says Kevin Rudd did send him a text asking for him to delay any leadership moves, but he didn't see it prior to his press conference last week calling for a spill.

As Julia Gillard prepares to unveil her new ministry today, Mr Crean said ''the text was sent'' but that he was at an event on Thursday morning that prevented him from seeing it.

Speaking to Alan Jones' 2GB program this morning, Mr Crean said prior to his press conference in which he urged Julia Gillard to call for a leadership spill and encouraged Mr Rudd to challenge he was called by outgoing minister Chris Bowen who said ''we need to go harder'' and that the coup needed to be mounted.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national-news/kevin-rudd-sent-me-text-but-i-missed-it-says-simon-crean/story-fncynjr2-1226605153494#ixzz2OVAA3bhH

 

Now now, the real question is why is Simon Crean talking to Alan Jones, a well-known Julia-Hater — a silly old fool who wants to put her in a shaff-bag and throw the lot out to sea?...

 

Was Simon trying to find solace, a shoulder to cry on and get pity on the liar waves?... Err, I mean the air waves?... So Kev sent you a TXT?... On a matter of great importance like a spill?... What a spiv!

 

At least, Anthony Albanese had the guts to stay on in the Julia Ministry, though some rabid livid loser, like Ferguson, called him "gutless"... What's the point of shooting yourself in the other foot when you know the enemy is Rattus Abbottus on the other side of the hill?... Talk about men behaving badly, with rancour!

 

And by the way, despite Albanese supporting Rudd for whatever reason, I would not be surprise to discover that his wife, the Honourable Carmel Tebbutt, would be in awe of Julia Gillard's strength, resolve and tactics... Carmel may have said something, as only women only know how to subtly turn a point, to Anthony that Julia may be "wrong" for whatever, dear, but subliminally infer to him that Julia was right and he better carry on as if nothing ever happened... Capiche?..

 

Ousted minister Simon Crean has given a scathing assessment of Prime Minister Julia Gillard's ability to lead the country, in a signal that Labor's leadership crisis is far from over.

He described Ms Gillard as having a ''tin ear'' for sound political strategy and engaging in ''class warfare'' by playing off interest groups, echoing opposition criticisms of Ms Gillard's position on removing payments to middle class recipients.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/crean-slams-pm-in-show-of-defiance-20130412-2hqym.html#ixzz2QG9KJT9Q

At this stage it's irrelevant whether Crean is right or wrong. The point is that anytime he opens his mouth, he is damaging to Labor... If he has a beef with some policies, he should express this in camera. At this stage he's acting like a Tony stooge... That is idiotic... Thus  Crean is an idiot who has little understanding of political wing span and has always been a second rate fiddler who falls easily into the traps set by journalists...

 

 

the monkey on his back

Let's face it. Simon Crean isn't a bad bloke, but he appears to be a resentful gentleman misogynist... He has spend a lot of his life in the back corridors of politics... His butt was often whipped by the likes of John Howard, Beazley, and Simon himself who was his own biggest disappointment when he was tapped on the shoulder. He left the leadership of the Labor party to be replaced by Mark Latham and since then Simon has tried to do the same trick to Julia...

To say that he understands the political games would be overstating it. he could not play a Simple Simon Says game without loosing it...

------------------------

Simon Says (or Simple Simon Says) is a child's game for 3 or more players where 1 player takes the role of "Simon" and issues instructions (usually physical actions such as "jump in the air" or "stick out your tongue") to the other players, which should only be followed if prefaced with the phrase "Simon says", for example, "Simon says, jump in the air". Players are eliminated from the game by either following instructions that are not immediately preceded by the trigger phrase or by failing to follow an instruction which does include the phrase "Simon says". It is the ability to distinguish between valid and invalid commands, rather than physical ability, that usually matters in the game; in most cases, the action just needs to be attempted.

The object for the player acting as Simon is to get all the other players out as quickly as possible; the winner of the game is usually the last player who has successfully followed all of the given commands. Occasionally however, 2 or more of the last players may all be eliminated by following a command without "Simon Says", thus resulting in Simon winning the game.

The game is well embedded in popular culture, with numerous references in films, music and literature...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Says

--------------------------------
... kidding himself.

In May last year, the last time a pollster asked voters to rate him as a prospective Labor leader, Crean garnered only 12 per cent, coming a distant fourth.
It's just that, as Crean sees it, he has nothing to lose.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/simon-says-labors-listing-20130412-2hqyn.html#ixzz2QLB59AYi

that's why he stirs shit...

 

Tony Wright

...

Hardly had the solemnity in the Great Hall drawn to a close, tissues fluttering and eyes dabbed, than the depth of the occasion was indeed consigned to the status of chip wrappings. Parliament was about to be consumed by self-indulgence so profound that it stripped the dignity and the humanity from what had occurred.
Labor Party elder Simon Crean would suddenly demand a ballot for the prime ministership. Number-counters would huddle in an office, their plotting all but done, and panic; and the excitement of an impending kill would sweep the house on the hill and much of the nation.
And madness upon madness, it would all be for nothing. The putative challenger, Kevin Rudd, suddenly timorous despite his months and years of self-righteous head-tossing, would baulk and stalk away.
Nothing in recent memory could emphasise more clearly the cleft that has been hewn between the people and the political class.
It is hardly original to identify a disconnection between the expectations of the wider public and those who would represent us, but the condition has evolved in the past few years to a near chronic ennui teetering on despair. We might if we were to be short-sighted diagnose its origins in the frustrations built in to a hung Parliament, the sly deals dressed up as negotiation, the occasional scent of scandal - a speaker deftly plucked from the opposition, only to be disrobed; a Labor MP protected and finally consigned to the cross-bench amid allegations of using a union credit card in bawdy houses - or the shrill and regularly confected condemnation flung from the opposition benches regarding everything from the carbon tax ''lie'' to unproven, decades-old behaviour of Gillard.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/something-has-been-broken-at-the-heart-of-politics-20130426-2ik0p.html#ixzz2Rc2nPuwc

With respect, Tony Wright, you cannot blame Julia Gillard nor Tony Abbott for Simon Crean being out of touch with reality and his timing... The old man (he is far younger than me) may be a Labor elder, but he's not very bright to launch his campaign farce on a day of sorrow... 
As well, the viciousness of Tony's conservatives (Liberals) towards Julia Gillard on ALL issues has been beyond the pale... In most instances, apart from a misogyny speech directed at Tony, Julia Gillard has held her counsel quietly and has sailed fair-mindedly, uninhibited by the scarecrows on the opposite benches... We can disagree with some policies such as those pertaining to refugees and asylum seekers, but one has to say that Tony's turning the boats around takes the cake of idiocy... This does not border on piracy... It is an act of piracy...
The media has spent the last few years to demonise ALL politicians, placing them in one single basket of crap to bring down these pollies (mostly aimed so, to damage Julia) — who mostly try to improve our lot — down to the level of the gutter/sewer press in which the merde-och rats live... If the press honchos are wondering why the readership is going down the gurgler, it's not just due to the new "social media" and the internet, but they have to realise they have sabotaged their own ship...

 

See toon at top and read the speech by the Prime Minister...

On 21 March 2013, Prime Minister Julia Gillard delivered an eloquent and momentous apology to those hurt and betrayed by forced adoptions.

 

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott also spoke on this significant occasion, but the day was marred by the turbulent events of the non-leadership challenge. Consequently, a crucial part of Abbott’s speech was overlooked.

I’m not talking here about the leader of the Opposition’s insensitive use of the term ‘birth mother’ which upset many in the audience and showed his lack of empathy as well as his apparent inability to read important documents.

It should be noted, however, with respect to that issue, that there is a whole section on the ‘language of adoption’ in the introduction to the Senate’s report: Commonwealth Contribution to Former Forced Adoption Policies and Practices.

1.9 Adoption is a difficult subject to write about in a manner acceptable to everyone affected by it. Forced adoption even more so. Mothers who were forced to give up children for adoption generally reject the terms ‘birth mother’ or ‘biological mother’, and some reject ‘natural mother’. The preferred term is often simply ‘mother’.

 

Therefore, had Mr Abbott, or his speech writer, taken the trouble to read this document he would have been well aware of the potential insult he was delivering to the mothers in that venue and to those around Australia watching on television. (For more on this issue see Barry Everingham’s article on Independent Australia)

 

But my point isn’t about something Mr Abbott said in his speech, it’s about something he didn’t say.

 

The Australian (online) newspaper reported on 21 March 2013 that:

“The Opposition Leader joined Julia Gillard today in apologising to parents and children affected by past forced adoption practices by churches, charities and governments in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.”

That statement is incorrect, as Mr Abbott, unlike Julia Gillard, did not apologise to parents and children affected by past forced adoption practices by churches.

In his speech [Warning, this link will take you to the Liberal Party website] Mr Abbott stated:

“It should never have been presumed – presumed – that some mothers were incapable of raising their child because, as everyone here knows only too well, there was presumption and there was coercion: by families, by charities, by peers, and by the conditions that governments placed upon people.”

Note that he specifically excludes churches from the list of coercers and by so doing absolves them of responsibility, or at the very least chooses to hide the involvement of religious institutions by subsuming them under ‘charities’.

In The Australian quote above, there is a distinction made between churches and charities, but Mr Abbott doesn’t want to go there. Given what we know about Tony Abbott and his faith we can only conclude that his decision to omit the role of the churches was no mere oversight.

http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/tony-abbott-and-the-sin-of-omission/

 

 

 

 

LABOR elder Simon Crean has ruled out instigating a leadership challenge this week, as tensions between the Rudd and Gillard camps hit fever pitch in Canberra.

Despite standing by his decision to call for a leadership spill in March - a move that cost him his position in cabinet - Mr Crean said he would not do so this time around.

http://www.news.com.au/national-news/simon-crean-rules-out-labor-leadership-challenge-as-tensions-between-julia-gillard-and-kevin-rudd-rise/story-fncynjr2-1226668433481

 

Meanwhile having run out of crean and other slow runner,  the News Limited website tells us that the Rudd bomb is ticking... What a sad lot of decrepit journalists — hoping for a silly self-fulfilling prediction... One of the interesting element of the press is that for the last three years they have played the game that Abbott and Gillard were "in the same basket" but for a few month now, the media led by the merde-och press has been supporting Tony with zeal... Is this an accident? NUPE... This was the plan: get Rudd to lead the Labor Party, dump on Rudd and promote Tony has been the media's agenda... But Gillard is staying put and Rudd does not have the numbers — NOR SHOULD HE GET THEM...

Be patient... The day PM Gillard gives the key of the lodge to the GG will be the day Tony might start to loose his media mojo...

 

See toon and stories from top...

 

 

Outgoing Labor stalwart Simon Crean has warned colleagues to hold Kevin Rudd to his word to ensure Labor does not again degenerate into a ''one-man show''.
While he praised Mr Rudd for pledging to consult more, saying a leopard could change its spots, he said it was now up to ''the leopard pack'' to make the necessary changes, too.

I think that is a responsibility now for the party to hold him to the new commitments that he comes with. 

 

The former Labor leader, who had publicly slammed Mr Rudd's one-man-band tendencies, before dramatically backing him in March, announced he would quit politics at the election.

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/beware-oneman-show-warning-for-labor-20130701-2p7lk.html#ixzz2Xs3rtpkL

--------------------------

 

Would Crean be able to stop saying anything about whatever for once?... The old man is full of oldie worldy bitterness, isn't he?... Hey! Let things be as you pushed them to be, old kook! You're full of your own silly bitter wisdom that got you where? Nowhere, after a life of doing a lot on the same spot... Just let Rudd enjoy the ride, no warning shots — aim your gun at stupid Abbott if you must... Crean never understood where the real enemy was, only looking at those in his own party... Silly sod.

It's not my place to stop people earning a living anywhere they can... But now we have the Guardian indulging in Annabel's political cooking... Please! Guardian! We get enough on the ABC and the Fairfax media of cuisine by pollies who have only one eyed-political crappy outlook and really can't burn a toast without making a fuss and blaming the other side... 

 

See farce at top...

 

 

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says he is "on the same page" as former trade minister Simon Crean, despite being criticised for his stance on the China free trade agreement (FTA).

Pressure is growing on Mr Shorten to wave through the deal, despite concerns from a number of unions about foreign worker provisions.

He today refused to guarantee the agreement would be ratified by Federal Parliament.

"Labor wants to make sure that the free trade agreements are putting Aussie jobs first," Mr Shorten said.

"Yes, I am different to Mr Abbott. I don't automatically sign a blank cheque and not worry about the consequences on Australian jobs."

Mr Crean, who was part of the negotiating team for the FTA when Labor was in office, said there was now "fog and disinformation" surrounding the issue.

read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-02/simon-crean-criticises-fog-and-misinformation-over-free-trade/6743294

 

Trust Mr Crean? Hell no... NO ! He was the Labor geezer who went along with Rattus (John W Howard — "Liberal" [CONservative] Prime Minister) in the destruction of unions and also caved in to go into the ILLEGAL war against Iraq... He and his mate Ruddy Shakeofthesaucebottle plotted all along the demise of Julia Gillard by undermining her AND the Labor Party at the same time. Trust Crean? I'd rather trust a rattle snake.

 

See toon at top...

 

A defiant opposition to the invasion of Iraq, and a willingness to say it to the face of the then US president, is among the moments former Labor leader Simon Crean is being remember for from a more than two-decade political career. 

The former member for the Melbourne seat of Hotham died suddenly aged 74 after his morning exercise while in Germany as part of an industry delegation. 

Mr Crean was a heavyweight of the Labor movement, first rising through the ranks of the union movement and then later leading the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

The son of a former deputy prime minister under Gough Whitlam, Mr Crean entered the federal parliament in 1990.

He served on the frontbench under four Labor prime ministers and spent two years as opposition leader

A Julia Gillard supporter when she became PM, he played a high-profile role in sparking a leadership ballot in 2013, a move that prompted Ms Gillard to sack him from cabinet. 

In his post-political life he played a significant role in Australia's trade relationships, leading both Australia's live export council and the European-Australian business council.

Mr Crean never led Labor to an election, making him the first ALP leader to not contest an election since 1916.

Labor colleague and fellow former party leader Bill Shorten paid tribute to Mr Crean's courage in opposing then-prime minister John Howard's decision to send Australian troops to support the United States in the 2003 war in Iraq.

"Being an opposition leader is very tough, but to stand against the drums of war takes a very special brand of conviction," Mr Shorten said. 

"It takes an equal amount of integrity to farewell the troops going to war — as well as giving absolute support to the troops and their families.

"In the words of US poet Robert Frost, Simon took the road less travelled and it made all the difference."

 

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-26/simon-crean-iraq-war-opposition-legacy-bush/102521946

 

 

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