Lies, damned lies and full quotes
The Opposition Leader unloads on the PM — but it could come back to haunt him
Who was that masked man? Bill Shorten speaking at the National Press Club, yesterday:
Today Mr Turnbull’s mask finally slipped … It will go down as the defining moment of the campaign … Malcolm Turnbull has simply said, “Don’t bother, it’s a lie.”
Malcolm Turnbull on the campaign trail, Banyo, Queensland, yesterday:
The other point I would make is that what political parties say they will support and oppose at one time is not necessarily ultimately what they will do.
The Huffington Post Australia commenting on the bombshell remark, yesterday:
Bold and brave words from a man seeking re-election with a message that his team is more stable, trustworthy and responsible than the opposition.
Ah, but what about the rest of the answer? More from Turnbull, yesterday:
You have seen the Labor Party has opposed many measures of ours at which they have subsequently supported or subsequently changed their position on. The best known of those is obviously the School Kids Bonus, which they made an iconic issue and launched petitions and campaigns and said they were going to fight all the way to election day to restore it and then did a very quick backflip on that.
Democracy is too important to be left to the people. Geoffrey Robertson QC in The Guardian, Tuesday:
Our democracy does not allow, much less require, decision-making by referendum. That role belongs to the representatives of the people and not to the people themselves.
Yes, clever and learned sorts who know all about how referendums work. Robertson continues, yesterday:
In Australia, for example, a referendum proposal must pass in each of the six states (this would defeat Brexit, which failed in Scotland and Northern Ireland).
Australian Electoral Commission website, updated June 6, 2011:
At the referendum the proposed alteration must be approved by a “double majority”. That is: a national majority of electors in the states and territories [and] a majority of electors in a majority of the states (i.e. at least four out of six states).
The Anglo-Australian QC with a more optimistic take on the will of the people. The Guardian newspaper, November 6, 1999:
Opinion polls in Australia show that a large majority of citizens reject the hereditary principle and want a republic …
Saving the folding stuff. The ACT government’s Fleur Flannery on preventing waste, ABC News website, Monday:
Quite recently I was quite concerned that toilet paper was going missing and so we do regularly audit down to how much is bought, how much is consumed both in public toilets and also all the depots … People have told us that perhaps millions of dollars of portable and attractive assets have gone missing in recent years.
But what if he comes to Australia? Britain’s Daily Mail, yesterday:
Jamie Oliver today claimed he would quit Britain if Boris Johnson becomes prime minister after leading Vote Leave to a shock Brexit win.
Traffic jam on the privilege highway. Headline, Inner-West Courier, Tuesday:
WestConnex takes its toll on women