Wholesale degeneration is now unleashed in Aussie politics. Prime Minster Scott Morrison’s rape protection racket is leading it. The Guardian:
A former candidate for the Greens party has alleged Frank Zumbo, an office manager for the former Liberal MP Craig Kelly, behaved inappropriately towards her when she was a teenager, saying she felt compelled to speak after similar allegations by young interns were published by Guardian Australia.
Embattled Defense Minister Linda Reynolds, who has clearly done a deal with ScoMo to keep her mouth shut about him knowing everything in return for keeping her job, is now headed for hospital:
Perhaps a shared room with the alleged rapist is in the offing?
Meanwhile, card-carrying loon, Craig Kelly, has cut ScoMo’s majority to one, though he is promising supply but will block any push for net-zero 2050, at Domain:
That is why the sudden resignation of Craig Kelly will not rock the government. Morrison is in for turbulence with only 76 out of 151 seats in the lower house – the sort of majority that made Malcolm Turnbull’s life hell. But Morrison does not have Tony Abbott on this backbench.
More jobs for the mates, too, at Crikey:
Not content with running a protection racket for appalling serving ministers in its muppet cabinet, the Morrison government is now promoting former disgraced ones as well.
And no, I’m not talking about former federal Liberal president Nick Greiner going to New York as consul general this week, nor the litany of diplomatic posts — from George Brandis in London to Arthur Sinodinos as US ambassador. They undoubtedly remain distinguished servants of the people.
I’m talking about the expected appointment of discredited former minister Bruce Billson to the position of small business ombudsman to replace the respected Kate Carnell whose terms ends next month.
Finally, Josh Frydenberg has done a dirty deal with Facebook:
The Morrison government agreed to last-minute changes to its proposed media bargaining code on Tuesday in order to bring Facebook back to the negotiating table with news companies. The amendments pave the way for Google and Facebook to avoid the code altogether if they can satisfy the government they have struck enough deals outside it.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said amendments to the code had been brokered during intensive negotiations with Facebook’s global chief, Mark Zuckerberg. The company last week banned Australian users from sharing or viewing news articles in protest against the proposed laws, but Facebook agreed to reverse the decision on Tuesday.
That sounds a lot like money for the mates and stuff everybody else.
Expect it all to get much worse as Morrison’s rape protection racket trashes all behavioural normatives in the year ahead.
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal.
He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.
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