Recent entries
- Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads'
- "I'll pay the fee," says Hinch
- 'Pathetic' and 'dangerous' sentence
- US Defence's 'news' irks Hinch
- Richmond denies St Kilda incident
- It's 'No, Prime Minister' from Hinch
- Greens' downfall imminent?
- Back-watching time for the PM?
- RSS Syndicate this blog (XML)
What we're talking about
- Christine on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' isn't it funny how DHS don't recognise the psychological effects of domestic violence on children and continue to allow ... more
- Warrior princess on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' There is a family In the Cairns Area who are Foster Carers.Atherton Child Safety have threatened the carers and own ... more
- duncan on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' i have spent time with this family. it is a house full of love. "mum", grandfather and older sblings.this cannot be an issue ... more
- Tracey on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Family Law is different from the rest of the law in this country.. Ie. Family Law is based on probability: ie if it might ... more
- carol annetta on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' having known this family for some time i am disgusted with the treatment she has received. it seems more of a witch hunt ... more
- Maureen Hillary on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Derryn,I have counselled traumatized parents as a result of DHS staff.There are great staff workers who care but they ... more
- Janet Tavener on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' I am a visitor to this country.My attention was drawn to the case of these children and their foster mother by a relative of ... more
- sam on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Happening in Tasmania also.Wewon a court case over 8 months ago and due process still hasn't been done.We spent 17,000 ... more
- Anne Glover on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' I just cannot believe what the DHS has put the Foster Mother, and the children through - I thought the DHS was supposed to ... more
- Tracey on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' DHS are the most disgraceful organization I have ever had the displeasure of becoming involved with. They are so ... more
- Vicki on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Hi Derryn,I have known this carer since primary school, she has always put others above herself. Being a carer myself I know ... more
- Gran'ma Pam on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' As any of us with any sense know, these children should NEVER have been taken from this lady (mum) in the first place, they ... more
- Dominic Lombardo on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' I see my daughter every six months DHS are conducting a vendetta against me I have not been told why I can only see her ... more
- cassy houghton on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Hello Derryn,Firstly i would like to thankyou for your support and the willingness to help this beautiful family.I ... more
- Warrior princess on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Im a carer also in Qld. I see this happen way too much from our Government. They are starting to use Carers own children as ... more
- paul on "I'll pay the fee," says Hinch I believe what Liberal Party has done is stupid. But I feel for candidates like Joh Bauch and James Buonopane who want to ... more
- Andrea on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Why are these public servants allowed to blatantly flout the law without the same consequences the rest of society faces? I ... more
- birth mother on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' i am the birth morther of these 4 children and i just want to say dhs dont care they just want the kids in care so they can ... more
- Frances Goff on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Derryn, Firstly, Happy BirthdayHaving worked in a primary school for 15 year I have seen some terrible things regarding DHS ... more
- Karen on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Hi Derryn, I have known these children through "the system".for all of their lives. I have had regular contact with them ... more
Election Soap Opera
Maybe it was inevitable after such a crazy weekend of political shenanigans that we end up at the Rooty Hill RSL Club.
That’s where Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott – their parties neck-and-neck in the latest opinion polls – will square off on Wednesday night in front of 200 supposedly uncommitted voters in an old-fashioned town hall-style meeting.
A mini-debate in place of the second debate that obviously now won’t happen.
What a weekend. It started with that excruciatingly contrived reconciliation between the stabber and the stabbee: Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd.
The Sunday Age headline captured the frosty moment: 'With friends like these… Gillard gets a cold shoulder and a hot handshake'.
The body language between the former prime minister and his successor spoke more than words in the 50 seconds of footage that a TV cameraman was permitted to shoot as they studiously examined a map.
The 'hot handshake' referred to the confrontation Julia Gillard had when ambushed by that bitter boofhead Mark Latham—who was once her leader. Once had her support as he campaigned for the job she is now campaigning for.
It was a replay of the jut-jawed bullying bovver boy bone-crusher handshake that Latham inflicted on John Howard during that campaign.
To her credit Julia Gillard was not rattled or over-powered by Latham whose behaviour promoted an apology from Nine Network chief David Gyngell and criticism from network guru Laurie Oakes.
But the presence of Latham and Rudd brought more distractions for a campaign in trouble. And I notice Ms. Gillard has dumped 'moving forward' as her mantra and now repeatedly refers to the 're-election of the Gillard Government'. Re-elected? It hasn’t been elected once yet.
The man who did win for Labor in 2007 has climbed out of his sick bed to campaign for the Gillard team. Kevin Rudd says his motivation is to stop Tony Abbott from 'sliding into office'. He accused Abbott of trying to 'avoid scrutiny'. And yet Rudd himself has twice now refused to face the media and answer any questions himself.
On the Liberals’ side, they held their official launch in Brisbane yesterday. It says something about the flatness of it all when National Party Leader Warren Truss had the best lines. Warren Who?
He quipped 'Labor’s governing is akin to loitering without intent'.
Tony Abbott’s speech? They would say it was 'measured and responsible and prime ministerial'. I would say it was flat, plodding, and, if delivered any slower, he would have stalled. No fire in the belly at all. His 'stop the boats' pledge would have won votes though.
There he was in a dark suit against a dark blue flag. I thought: 'If you can’t light a campaign launch how can you throw light on anything'. It looked like a talking head with ears!
And the schmaltzy, 'stand up for Australia,' theme song sounded like a throwback to a margarine commercial in the 1960s.
And so, with the polls neck and neck, it’s onward and upward – to the Rooty Hill RSL.
PLAYING NOW: Derryn Hich speaks to Canberra correspondent Latika Bourke.
