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If only Oz were run by gender whispering, coal-phobic teens, Aunty would be happy

A sound alternative. Michael Black, abc.net.au, September 11:

Four vocal high schoolers have provided a sound alternative to the federal (government on Q&A) …

Their energy policy? Coal is frightening. ABC’s Q&A, September 10:

Holly Cooke: We’re not going to have a planet Earth if we don’t get (an effective policy on climate change) …

Dylan Storer: If we build more renewables we’re actually going to get cheaper power … But we can’t say we’re reducing emissions … (and export) coal … that gap between … the Liberal and National Coalition … it’s really affecting our power prices, because, I mean, we just saw another Prime Minister that got kicked out by the coal industry.

Cooke: … it was so frightening to see our now Prime Minister bring in a lump of coal into the parliament …

Q&A star. Nine News, September 11:

Fifteen-year-old Dylan Storer stole the show … (and) drew rapturous applause multiple times … There were loud cheers when he responded to a question over Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s recent comments about … “gender whisperers” in schools. “If his opinion was ‘let kids be kids’, really I don’t see what the problem is having these so-called gender whisperers.”

Compulsory invasion study. Charis Chang, news.com.au, September 11:

(Asked) whether learning the history of the Aboriginal people should be made mandatory for students at all levels, most of the panellists agreed that it should … (Dylan Storer said issues with poor indigenous school) attendance … “all really relate back to the way Australia was settled, colonised, invaded” … The thoughtful answers were met with applause and had … viewers encouraging him to be the next prime minister … His name was trending on Twitter afterwards.

ScoMo no. Neil McMahon, The Sydney Morning Herald, September 11:

(On) Q&A … a panel and audience of … youth challenged the … political leaders to inspire … something other than the urge to throw up. Everyone was invited to join in, even the deputy leader of the National Party, whose most recent leader … Barnaby Joyce — inspired morning sickness … (Bridget) McKenzie … attempted to explain just how attractive Scott Morrison was to People She Had Recently Met In The Bush. ScoMo! Morrison is apparently an idea, a concept, a brand, an opinion-poll cell-dweller whose personal appeal ranks somewhere close to being run over by a bus while on your way to the hospital … the young people were having none of it.

ScoMo yes? Simon Benson, The Australian, September 10:

Scott Morrison has emerged as the favoured prime minister over Bill Shorten and a more popular leader than Malcolm Turnbull … He leads Mr Shorten as the preferred prime minister 42 to 36 per cent … the highest for a PM since March 2016 …

ABC Q&A, September 10:

Oscar Wilson: Five prime ministers in 10 years … how can we be expected not to feel disenchanted with democracy when we come to voting?

Toughen up, cupcakes. Joff Lelliott, abc.net.au, August 23, 2013:

The first decade of Federation saw the prime ministerships of Barton, Deakin, Watson, Reid, Deakin … Fisher and Deakin yet again … it took until 1910 for a prime ministerial change to be triggered by an election … Since Federation … 27 people served as prime ministers in 33 different terms … Just four … (began) and ended prime ministerships courtesy of the public … 29 … started or finished without the public casting a vote.

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/cutandpaste/if-only-oz-were-run-by-gender-whispering-coalphobic-teens-aunty-would-be-happy/news-story/10a169983c98dc832c0fecc444d4b87a