Same-sex marriage plebiscite: same same but different

Same sex plebiscites, plus why it’s probably not a great idea to take share-picking advice from Nick Xenophon.

Will he or won’t he? Bill Shorten plays coy on whether Labor will support a same-sex marriage plebiscite, National Press Club, yesterday:

Once Labor goes to the lowest common denominator and say “we lose”, you and everyone else moves on and we stop having the debate about the vote in parliament and I don’t want to let the government off the hook on that.

Scott Morrison, 6PR Radio, yesterday:

How this decision is made and if this decision is made then I think all Australians will have a greater sense of comfort (in) the fact it was they (who) made it and that decision was not forced on them by others.

Former High Court justice Michael Kirby sees a bigger problem, ABC radio, Monday:

It will mean any time that there is something that is controversial, that’s difficult for the parliamentarians to address or they don’t want to address, they’ll send it out to a plebiscite.

The Australian’s Paul Kelly says that despite the dangers a plebiscite is the only way to go on same-sex marriage, yesterday:

A responsible parliament will vote the plebiscite bill. This is because it is the government’s only declared means to resolve the issue and the government was re-elected.

Nick Xenophon puts his tray table up on Qantas, December 5, 2013:

The one job that needs to go more than anyone else’s is Alan Joyce’s … the only way for Qantas to get out of this nosedive is for Alan Joyce and the board to resign.

Good thing the Qantas board didn’t take the senator’s advice. The Australian reports, yesterday:

Qantas has reinstated its long absent dividend after the airline posted a record $1.52 billion profit for the 12 months to June 30 … The record profit has prompted Qantas to pay about 25,000 of its staff a one-off $3000 “Record Result Bonus” if they are covered by an EBA that includes the company’s 18-month wage freeze provision.

We’ve been here before. Headline, Sydney Morning Herald website, yesterday:

Climate change: Warning of extreme events and a move into uncharted territory

The Herald reporting on more uncharted territory, November 10 last year:

“We’ve had similar natural events in the past, yet this is the first time we’re set to reach the 1-degree marker and it’s clear that it is human influence driving our modern climate into uncharted territory,” Stephen Belcher, director of the Met Office’s Hadley Centre, said in a statement …

We’ve been here for a while. The Age in an early deployment of the phrase, November 7, 2006:

Labor premiers have jumped on the latest grim drought assessment by a government agency as evidence of “uncharted territory” caused by climate change …

We’ll take that as a comment. Federal Assistant Minister for Vocational Education Karen Andrews on the opposition’s budget proposals, Sky News, yesterday:

In the space of 24 hours we have gone from wibble wobble, wibble wobble to hot potato, hot potato.

Is it because your paper isn’t the National Enquirer? Paul McGeough on Clinton scandals, Fairfax Media websites, yesterday:

Hillary Clinton has an extra toe — why is no one investigating?