Barnaby Joyce (Image: AAP)

No moderates on a dead planet Fresh from a new round of news regarding the “Voices of” movements targeting “moderate” Liberal seats with independent candidates comes the headline (this time in the Nine papers) “Moderate Liberals urge government to raise climate targets”, dusted off and following as sure as an echo.

Just as the press gallery is often happy to cross the halfway line to meet Prime Minister Scott Morrison on matters of policy and rhetoric, there is a lacuna in this coverage. At what point do the “moderates” making these calls have to account for the party they’ve belonged to and, more to the point, voted with, for years? It’s not mere inaction — Liberal moderates have been plenty active, voting against greater action on climate change nearly 100% of the time.

Joyce words Former attorney-general Christian Porter had been on the backbench for less than 24 hours when acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce started laying the groundwork for him to return to a leadership position: “You’ll have a bit of time on your hands but you can use it effectively, and I’m sure he will,” Joyce said. “If he does it effectively, I believe he should be given another chance at some future time in a senior role.”

Of course the words “acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce” is suggestive in itself. Why should Porter’s experience be any different from the following:

  • Joyce, who returned to the Nationals leadership and deputy prime ministership in June after leaving the jobs in February 2018 amid unresolved (and denied) sexual harassment claims
  • Bridget McKenzie, who returned to the ministry with Joyce, 18 months after taking the fall (on a narrow technicality) for the sports rorts affair
  • Michaelia Cash, whose role in the AWU raid scandal did not prevent her becoming attorney-general when Porter had to vacate the role to sue the ABC
  • Alan Tudge, whose progress to culture war mouthpiece in education experienced no drag at all on account of the carpark rorts scandal. He is one of the many ministers to see no consequences for the ongoing robodebt disaster, which ruined thousands of lives and cost the government hundreds of millions of dollars
  • Linda Reynolds, who remains a minister (albeit demoted) after it was revealed she’d called alleged rape victim Brittany Higgins a “lying cow”
  • Angus Taylor spent 2019 putting together a catalogue of scandals: grassgate, watergate. The forged documents deployed against Sydney mayor Clover Moore, which necessitated a police investigation, pioneering the leaving of an approving comment on your own Facebook post believing you’re logged in as someone else. It has cost him, seemingly, nothing
  • Former health minister Sussan Ley who must have wondered why she bothered quitting after a 2017 expenses scandal. By 2018 Morrison had made her minister for regional development and environment minister by 2019.

Apocalypse Mao The anniversary of 9/11 drew some interesting takes, but few more “left” field than from the circle of old Maoists gathered around famous Melbourne magus Albert Langer, at the blog c21st Left. Headed by Latrobe vet Barry York, the c21st left gang was pro-Iraq and Afghan wars and pro-Gulf war in 1991, arguing that the US was simply “bumping off” a few ex-client fascists which would open up new possibilities. (The anti-war movement was “pseudo-left”). We’ve now seen where those new possibilities lead.

On the 20th anniversary, it has released a rock song. The sarcastic Blame It On the USA somewhat backtracks from the Maoists earlier position of, er, blaming it on the USA. This is called dialectics and explains Maoism’s huge success in Australia. There is a three-chorder under heaven and the situation is excellent. 

Tech that A side note in the Porter scandal is the ongoing, Three Stooges-like face slapping that the government regularly deals the tech industry. Taylor has taken over the Industry, Science and Technology portfolio from Porter, making him the sixth Coalition minister in the portfolio since the Libs took office, and all up the eighth minister in eight years.

As AirTree cofounder Daniel Petre — who wrote a blistering piece to this affect in Smart Company told InnovationAus: “Whoever gets it wants to get the fuck out of there as quickly as they can.”