Australian Politics
ABC star Laura Tingle sparks outrage after labelling Australia racist
Typical Leftist hatred of her own country. I see falsification of her assertion in front of me most days. In the cafe where I eat several times a week it is common for me to see Asian women on the arms of Caucasian men and EVERY day my pink skin is greatly atypical of my fellow diners. The patrons are clearly greatly varied in origins -- a real United Nations -- and I have NEVER seen an aggressive incident there. Asians, Indians and Middle Easterners are all frequent diners there and nobody bothers anyone else or shows any attitude to anyone else
A high-profile ABC presenter has come under fire for labelling Australia 'racist' and been accused of bias after pinning the blame on the Opposition.
The national broadcaster's chief political correspondent Laura Tingle made the comment during a discussion panel for the Sydney Writers' Festival on Sunday.
'We are a racist country, let's face it. We always have been and it's very depressing,' she told her audience at Carriageworks.
Tingle repeatedly accused Liberal leader Peter Dutton of fanning the flames after he called for a reduction in immigration to ease the strain on the housing market.
Her comment has sparked criticism with Tingle accused of breaking her responsibility of remaining impartial as a political reporter.
Tingle was appointed to the ABC board as the staff-elected director in 2023 and is obliged to 'act in good faith at all times and in the best interests of the ABC'.
In March, ABC chair Kim Williams shared a blunt message saying staff should leave if they broke the national broadcaster's code to be balanced.
Tingle said she couldn't remember the last time a major party leader was seen 'to be saying … everything that is going wrong in this country is because of migrants'.
'[I] had this sudden flash of people turning up to try and rent a property or at an auction and they look a bit different - whatever you define different as - (and) that basically he (Dutton) has given them licence to be abused, and in any circumstance where people feel like they're missing out,' she said.
Tingle accused Mr Dutton of 'dog whistling' and said his call to cut immigration didn't make 'rational sense'.
Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Jacinta Nampijinpa Price told 2GB Ben Fordham Live on Monday that Tingle's comments 'create division'.
'I'm really disappointed in this continued narrative that is being pushed within our country that does not provide any sense of pride for our children,' she said.
'It absolutely creates division and we had enough of it during the referendum.
'Leading journalists, well supposedly leading journalists, like Laura Tingle should know better than to use that sort of rhetoric.'
Senator Price also accused Tingle of political bias, despite her duty to be impartial as a political reporter.
'She says "we're a racist country, let's face it, we've always been, it's very depressing",' she said.
'That is not a reflection of the country, that is her opinion.
'Laura has demonstrated her bias and I think Kim Williams (chairperson of the ABC) needs to explain why having someone so blatantly partisan sitting in the top political commentator position is acceptable.'
Fordham went on to read a list of comments sent in by listeners who unanimously disagreed with Tingle.
'I live in a block of units with neighbors of Indian Filipino, Chinese and African backgrounds, not an issue, just sensational people. Laura is wrong,' one of the comments read.
Another added: 'Laura tingle's warped and miserable view of this country ignores the fact that people come here in drones because it's the opposite of the picture painted by her'.
Environment and Water minister Tanya Plibersek told Channel Seven's Sunrise program she did not believe Australia was racist.
'I think it's a fantastic multicultural country but we have to protect against incidents of racism which occur in our community as they do in every community,' she said.
'My parents came to Australia after the Second World War from Europe and I am so grateful every day that Australia took them in and that we were born here and able to grow up in this fantastic country.
'Of course, there are Australians who have experienced racism. Of course that is absolutely true.'
Tingle also attacked shadow treasurer Angus Taylor's address to the National Press Club on Wednesday, which she moderated.
'I said to him (Taylor), "so you are saying we're relying on migration for growth … what does that imply about growth if you are going to cut migration?",' she said.
'He (Taylor) said something about Labor and the unions buying up all the houses, which I really didn't follow.'
Tingle also appeared at the Melbourne Writers Festival this month during which she accused Australian journalists of asking 'questions that are simply unanswerable, in the name of political or media sport'.
She appeared less critical of Labor: 'It's not just about whether they got rid of Scott Morrison, they are actually trying to govern, they are trying to run a government, they are actually trying to do policy.
'Whether you think the policy is s**t or not, that's another issue.
'We are not running the sort of stupid ideas that we are seeing out of the Coalition now from the platform of government.
'All of this absolute crap that used to run from government on a day-to-day basis, don't underestimate the value of not having to put up with that.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13462219/Laura-Tingle-Australia-racist-ABC.html
*************************************************Our F35s have STILL not been fixed
After 18 years of fixes they may never be. Trying to make them do everything has led to a complexity that may be too great for it ever to work properly. The F-35 first flew long ago in 2006 and entered service with the U.S. Marine Corps F-35B in July 2015, followed by the U.S. Air Force F-35A in August 2016. It has flown successfully with the Israeli airforce but Israel faces very little air opposition
The very idea of a "stealth" aircraft is idiotic. Nothing could hide the huge heat output of a modern jet engine. It may not be detected on the way to its target but as soon as it turns around to go home it will be detectable and able to be shot down by even simple missiles. It is as much a single-use device as a ballistic missile -- only slower. It could be used safely to fire missiles from a long standoff but even B52s can do that
The perilous state of Australia’s air defence was dramatically revealed earlier this month in a series of US government submissions.
And what makes the crisis more serious is that the deficiencies that impact Australia are duplicated in the US, plus with European and other allies.
Thanks to Australia’s premier defence research organisation Air Power Australia and US reports over many years, I have been highlighting to my readers the deep technical problems confronting Australia’s $20bn, plus investment in the Joint Strike Fighter F-35.
Air Power predicted these problems would arise because the planes developer Lockheed Martin supplied planes to Australia and other US allies before the serious shortcomings had been overcome.
Rather than believe the experts, the various Australian parliamentary defence committees believed Australia’s defence officials who were concealing the shortcomings (last year those and other past defence officials were discredited by Defence Minister Richard Marles).
Australia’s current defence officials must be staggered at the mess that is unfolding in the US as gradually the truth comes out.
Accordingly, “cap in hand”, defence officials will need to confess to Treasurer Jim Chalmers that he needs to allow for huge outlays to rectify the serious technical problems in the aircraft that have been supplied to Australia by the US.
The official cost of our JSF-F35 aircraft is about $19bn (the real cost is around $27bn) and it may now need to be doubled. But even if and when that cash is sent to the US, in any conflict situation the plane will still be no match for Chinese aircraft, so represents a serious risk to crew and ships that require protection.
A new book “Trillion Dollar Trainwreck” has been published which details the incredible mismanagement by US and world defence officials plus the high marketing pressure applied by the plane’s developer, Lockheed Martin. Despite the past warnings, last month’s revelations take the crisis to a new level.
The shortcomings of the JSF -F35 can be broadly classified into two areas.
The first is the software that controls the intricate operation of the aircraft. These base problems have existed for many years and, as I understand it, they started as base computer hardware deficiencies.
Instead of being rectified at the source which would have required admitting a huge error, Lockheed and its contractors tried to rectify the deficiencies with different software, which is always a hazardous path.
Not surprisingly, the so-called “Tech Refresh 3” software changes are constantly being delayed.
Lockheed wants another year or so, but given the inaccuracy of previous estimates and the complexity of the task it represents a guess.
But then comes the fundamental deficiencies in the plane itself. This rectification program is called “F35 block 4 upgrade” and covers 80 “improvements”.
This is not an easy process because, according to Airpower Australia, the JSF -F35 does not have an ideal shape for the tasks that were required of it in the original planning.
US defence officials admit that this correction program will take until the 2030s to be to completed, but it can’t start properly until “Tech Refresh 3” is completed, whenever that might be
In the “F-35 block 4 upgrade” more than 80 improvements will require test and evaluation, not including power and thermal testing of the JSF F-135 engine.
Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt told the US Congress in budget testimony that “Block 4” is being reimagined and some elements of it planned to be fielded this decade will be will slip into the 2030s.
Six aircraft have been set aside to be devoted to the testing, but Lockheed and its contactors have been allocated another nine aircraft to try and speed up the process, particularly as the original six are ageing because of the delays.
The view of Lockheed Martin has been that the problems could be overcome, and so over the last ten years the aircraft and its problems have been sold around the world.
But the delays in fixing the problems are causing buyer resistance, particularly from the US itself.
Official reports reveal that at least 70 aircraft (about the size of Australia’s fleet) have been built but remain on the tarmac and not delivered. The actual number maybe around 100.
The multi-billion dollar outlays in these stocked aircraft is going to strain the Lockheed balance sheet, so a bizarre plan is being devised so that the JSF-F35 community will pay money for these deficient aircraft which will be called “combat training capable”.
The overall problem is so serious, but many in the JSF-F35 Community will take these aircraft, which delays admitting error and takes the burden off the Lockheed Martin balance sheet.
But it is only papers over the problem and the truth must come out.
Thankfully, Australia has stopped buying the aircraft, so we will not have to send cash to the US for so-called “combat training capable” aircraft.
But we have 72 aircraft that require both the “Tech Refresh 3” and the “Block 4” upgrade. Because Lockheed Martin will take well into the next decade to complete these programs (if the task can be done) no one knows what that it will cost, but it is not unreasonable to expect that our official outlay of $19bn will double And it could be a lot more. We should never have accepted the aircraft until the deficiencies were overcome.
To the great credit of Israel, they would not take the JSF F-35 aircraft unless their technology experts could revamp the whole aircraft.
I would ask readers to forgive me for making fun of a serious subject, but perhaps the US needs to send a note to the Chinese asking them not invade Taiwan until Lockheed fixes JSF-F35 deficiencies. In our comedy exchange, the Chinese might reply that delaying doesn’t help because even when all the deficiencies are fixed, the plane is no match for the top Chinese aircraft.
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Australian government lets criminals, abusers make themselves at home
Leftist madness
Earlier this month, a Sudanese migrant who self-identifies as Aboriginal received the good news that he would be allowed to stay with his newly adopted tribe.
His protection visa had been revoked because of a string of convictions for violent, drug-related offences, including family violence. Yet RCWV, as he is known in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s records, is among scores of serious criminals who avoided deportation thanks to Direction 99 – an extraordinary edict issued by Immigration Minister Andrew Giles in January last year.
Direction 99 allowed RCWV to appeal on the grounds that he became part of the Australian community in the 15 years he has spent here. Never mind that eight of those years were spent on a violent drug- and alcohol-fuelled crime binge or that a year and 12 days were spent in prison. The Tribunal took Giles’s edict at its word and decided RCWV should stay.
His long record of knife crime, car theft and serious driving offences could have proved fatal. In 2014, he caused an accident that resulted in the victim having life-threatening injuries and being admitted to intensive care. He was also found guilty of breaching apprehending violence orders, stalking and a violent attack on his partner, an Aboriginal woman identified as A.
Yet under Direction 99, RCWV convinced the Tribunal his 10-year relationship with that same partner and the three children he has fathered in this country were grounds on which he could stay.“ I self-identify as an Aboriginal person and consider Australia to be my country,” he wrote in a submission to the Tribunal. “I have been accepted by the Indigenous people of this country through its customs and tradition in a smoking ceremony.
“I also learnt a lot about Aboriginal culture, was taught how to paint Aboriginal art and have also played digeridoo (sic) in the past.”
The applicant, who was born in Khartoum and spent the first 20 years of his life in Africa, accepted he could not claim biological descent. However, the Tribunal found that an Indigenous partner, Indigenous children, and the honour of being recognised at a smoking ceremony were “indicative of his having solid ties to Australia”.
As Paul Garvey revealed in his story in The Weekend Australian, Direction 99 was a decisive or contributing factor in almost all of the Tribunal’s decisions to revoke the cancellation of criminals’ visas in recent months. Of the 40 decisions Garvey reviewed, 28 applicants managed to get their cancelled visas returned. Of those, 27 cited the “strength, nature and duration of ties to Australia” as a factor in that outcome.
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Furious anger from Leftist journalist
Anger is what the Left do. It is not a good base for rational thinking
The Guardian Australia’s political reporter Amy Remeikis was getting extremely worked up at the Sydney Writers Festival on Sunday over various policies, telling the audience members she will come bashing on their front doors if they don’t hold the nation’s politicians to account at the next election.
“If you do not hold your politicians to account at the next election, I swear to God this will not be the only rant you hear from me,” she warned the crowd, who applauded wildly at the idea of a home visit from the journo.
“I will come to everyone single one of your houses and yell out over your kitchen tables, because for God’s sake, this is the only thing the matters.”
Er, what? Remeikis is entitled to her own opinion, of course, and she has plenty of space to air her views on the Guardian’s website each week.
But she is also in the privileged position of being a senior political journalist at a supposedly professional, mainstream media organisation.
How is it OK for her to don her activist hat at a writers festival? Does hysterically lecturing a bunch of (mostly) oldies about political dos and don’ts add anything to the public discourse?
Imagine for a moment if a political journalist from News Corp or Nine pulled a similar stunt. The public outrage machine would explode.
We put questions to the Guardian Australia’s editor-in-chief Lenore Taylor about Remeikis’s fiery diatribe, but we didn’t hear back.
Remeikis appeared on the festival’s panel on Sunday alongside former Labor hack and ABC presenter Barrie Cassidy, the national broadcaster’s Laura Tingle and Bridget Brennan, and Sydney Morning Herald columnist Niki Savva.
The Guardianista also issued a stern warning that climate disasters are headed our way, and declared the “heating of the planet” is to blame for the recent Singapore Airlines incident that left one person dead and at least 70 people injured after the plane hit severe turbulence.
“I can guarantee you there is going to be another huge natural disaster in the next year or so, everything is pointing towards it, we are going to get them more and more frequently,” Remeikis stated as fact.
“I know people laugh about this but turbulence is going to increase because of climate change, it’s already happening, the Singapore Airlines flight where that poor person died … that is another part of climate change because we are literally heating the planet.”
Remeikis didn’t cite her source, but hey, the internet is full of surprises!
Remeikis labelled Peter Dutton’s nuclear policy as a “dead cat to try and delay energy transition”, and she wants it gone. Now. And she said Anthony Albanese needs to ditch gas ASAP.
“It’s so disappointing that you still have the government going ‘yeah, we’re also going to do gas to 2050’ because we don’t need to,” she told the adoring crowd.
“We are going to be having the most horrendous conversations in five years time about how we live in this country, how we try and save the islands around us that are already going under water, how we actually plan a future for our frickin’ children. I mean do you think about the world they are inheriting?”
The hour-long panel was filled with plenty of anti-Dutton and anti-Coalition content, with Savva also taking a swipe at the Opposition Leader for “vent(ing) about the number of migrants that are coming into Australia”.
“To my mind it’s a tool that he uses to say, ‘if you can’t buy a house it’s because there’s too many migrants’, ‘if you can’t get in to see your GP it’s because there’s too many migrants’.”
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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
https://immigwatch.blogspot.com (IMMIGRATION WATCH)
https://awesternheart.blogspot.com (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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Evelyn Rae, a conservative Australian political commentator
Margo Robbie -- a beautiful australian
My son Joe at ANU
One of the happiest pictures ever -- Cleo Smith, aged 4
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