These Liberals are pathetic.

They have a lay-down misère hand against Gillard, Wilson, Ludwig and union-centric Labor on financial and public corruption crimes - but they do nothing about it.

It would cost you zero Christian and Josh.  All the evidence is here.  But you go out of your way to conceal Gillard's crimes and protect her because of who she is.

At the same time you pretend you're serious about pursuing crooks with yet another spending announcement.

They're not serious about crime when it involves protected persons under the parliamentary old mates act.

Here's Frydenberg and Porter with their pretend-to-get-tough on crime spending spree.

The Hon Josh Frydenberg MP
Treasurer

The Hon Christian Porter MP
Attorney-General

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE

16 November 2018

$51.5 MILLION BOOST TO PURSUE CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS FOR FINANCIAL MISCONDUCT

The Liberal National Government is providing an additional $51.5 million to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) and the Federal Court of Australia to enable further prosecutions of criminal misconduct by banks and other financial institutions and to ensure civil claims are dealt with effectively and expeditiously.

ASIC’s increased enforcement activity, stemming from the additional $70 million in funding from the Liberal National Government, is expected to give rise to more prosecutions by the CDPP and more civil corporate misconduct cases before the Federal Court. This includes cases highlighted by the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry.

As part of this funding boost, an additional $41.6 million will be provided to the CDPP over eight years. This funding will allow the CDPP to consider more prosecutions put forward by ASIC and hire additional prosecutors to manage the increased caseload. This additional funding will also allow the CDPP to prosecute cases faster to ensure individuals and companies that have broken the law face justice sooner.

A further $9.9 million will also be provided to the Federal Court of Australia over four years to fund the appointment of additional resources including two new judges to support civil cases. These appointments will enable the Federal Court to accommodate an increase in disputes with financial institutions as well as civil claims resulting from ASIC’s increased enforcement activity.

The Government has also asked the Attorney-General’s Department (AGD) to conduct a review of whether the Federal Court’s criminal jurisdiction should be expanded to include corporate crime. Any criminal prosecutions for misconduct by banks and other financial institutions are currently heard in state courts and hence have to compete with state cases for resources and scheduling. The creation of this additional criminal jurisdiction in the Federal Court would allow these prosecutions to be prioritised and penalties for breaches of the law to be handed out faster. The AGD will consult with relevant stakeholders including the states in undertaking the review and provide its report to the Government in January next year.

Further, the Government will establish a Committee of Regulatory Enforcement Strategy chaired by the Attorney-General’s Department and comprising representatives from the relevant agencies that regulate the financial services sector. These agencies will meet on a regular basis to discuss enforcement matters in the sector and provide feedback to the Government on regulatory and civil enforcement policy.

These initiatives and the additional funding underscore the Liberal National Government’s commitment to ensuring that these agencies and our broader justice system are appropriately resourced to effectively hold banks and other financial institutions to account for misconduct. A strong financial sector which is trusted by Australians is part of the Coalition’s plan for a stronger economy.

Today David Speers asked Zed about the benefits that might flow from moving our Embassy to Israel's capital.

It should have been a free kick, but Zed, you sound a bit flaky old mate.

I think we can do better than "It goes to our values" - whatever that means.

You might want to keep a few of these up your sleeve for next time Zed.

Jerusalem is the capital of the host country, Israel but we're not there.

The Israelis have their Embassy in our capital city.

Israel's parliament, the Knesset with its 120 democratically elected members is in Jerusalem.

The host country, Israel, wants us to move our Embassy to its capital, Jerusalem.

Israel's Prime Minister has thanked our PM for considering the move - link here.

In 2015-16 (latest figures available from DFAT) we enjoyed $1.3BN in bilateral trade with Israel.

We have no trade with Palestine - we just dole out aid to the joint.

Israel is our ally.

Every year Israel celebrates Anzac Day at Mount Scopus in Jerusalem.

Even the Palestinians say the move would strengthen The West, particularly President Trump.

https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2018/10/palestinian-deep-concern-on-pms-jerusalem-comments-it-will-only-embolden-trump.html

This pictorial history would be a great place to start your studies.

Fair dinkum.

Plenty of countries in the Middle East where you can go Peak-Ramadan to your heart's content.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/parramatta/cumberland-council-juggle-budget-cuts-to-benefit-ramadan-celebrations-over-australia-day/news-story/ad3be63b89294b165724c5224b87966f

This piece was first published in the leadup to the Abbott-Majority-Destroying electoral catastrophe - Turnbull's only election campaign.

Now that he's proven his character flaws and deadly resolve to destroy the party, what's taking the Liberals so long in expelling him?

The punters guide to Malcolm Turnbull's form in leading the nation

Sunday, 01 May 2016

Turnbull was true to form at last night's Bar Association speech.

He was never going to go quietly.

Here's Brad Norington writing in The Australian today.

In a scathing assessment of the government he formerly led as prime minister, Mr Turnbull said the Liberals and the ­Coalition as a whole were not capable of achieving a genuine consensus on the issue of climate change and the problem as a consequence was that “everybody loses”.

Mr Turnbull provided his frank comments last night to a packed room of lawyers, judges and some former colleagues ­including Attorney-General Christian Porter, as guest speaker at the formal dinner of the Australia and NSW Association annual conference.

In a question and answer-style address in which he was asked about authenticity and his commitment to action on climate change, Mr Turnbull said: “The truth is … the Liberal Party and the Coalition is not capable of dealing with climate change.

“It is just a fact I regret to say. It is like a third rail. We have at the present time in the Coalition, a group of, a constituency, that is the best way to describe it, who believe we should get out of (the Paris Agreement), that climate change is a fraud, the more you have the better, and are literally on another plane.

“They are not prepared to play ball with everybody else.”

Mr Turnbull said the anti-­climate change group in the ­Coalition and his own party took the attitude that if “if you don’t do what we want, we will blow the show up, and that is essentially what you’ve seen — and so the problem is that everybody loses”.

Mr Turnbull also last night seemed to go further than his ­interview on the ABC’s Q&A program last week, saying his forced exit as prime minister was “terrible” for the government, the country and the Liberal Party.

Asked about the prospect of Peter Dutton as prime minister, he said: “If Peter Dutton was the answer, you’d have to ask what was the question.”

ENDS

He knew what he was getting into both times he knifed someone for the leadership.

He was prepared to lie about his big headline issue in order to get the prime ministership.

The damage he wrought at the helm isn't over, it's not a negative legacy, it's an enduring, active, festering, consumptive malignancy.

Thanks to Macca's website.

I think you've cleared this up for most of us.

Thanks to Miranda Devine and Gray Connolly for the tip about this wonderful piece of history.

Gray describes it thus:

An internal Tory HQ memorandum of 14 February 1950 discussing the political skill, deft campaigning, and sheer hard work of a Miss Margaret Roberts, who, as Margaret Thatcher, would late become the British Prime Minister in 1979.

What a marvellous leader.

Just beautiful.

Thank you Sir Elton and John Lewis & Partners.

What a half-wit.

I hope that people who are crashing the US border are in fear of the officers-of-the-law who are trying to stop them.

These law-officers are keeping the peace!

So what if the crooks fear them!

Kamala Harris, the dull-witted Democratic Senator from CA, referred to ICE, as the KKK.

We can't tolerate this rhetoric officials doing their job to keep us safe.

Imagine her thoughts of police or anyone outside her bubble.pic.twitter.com/JlrthyjreG

— Clive⚖️ (@clivebushjd) November 16, 2018

I know I said posts would be light today - and I know I have to knuckle down and get the DPP submission done - but some things just have to be shared.

Refugee life on Nauru can include holidays in Fiji, business ownership, free housing and healthcare and jobs in government departments and at the local hospital, The Australian was told during a four-day visit to the ­Pacific island nation to interview refugees and government officials.

Nauru’s President Baron Waqa said refugees who resettled in the US had contacted his nation’s Departmen­t of Justice and Border Protection and asked to come back. He said that did not surprise him because Nauru was a cheap place to live, warm with a relaxed lifestyle. “The US — it’s a difficult place to live, a lot of competition for work and jobs,” he said.“They call America the land of the free and all that but (there are) a lot of catches and they soon find out that it’s not that easy.