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
The 'Gang Of Two' in charge
It is good to be back. Anything much happen while I was away?
Actually, before I went on leave two weeks ago I wrote something on my website which turned out to be pretty prescient. I wrote: ‘They say a week is a long time in politics so what will the next fortnight bring? Will those Labor pollies in marginal seats… try to pressure Rudd into softening the war on the mining companies or will they be eager ears for any Gillard promoters.’
Eager ears! When the union heavies and the factional leaders produced their latest polls showing a Rudd-led election campaign would lead to an Abbott in The Lodge they couldn’t desert him fast enough.
As I wrote on the 3AW website last week, as this extraordinary political assassination took place, within hours the corpse had been removed, the knives cleaned, not a trace of blood left on the floor, and – if you believed the way Julia Gillard portrayed herself in interview after interview the government had ‘lost its way’ and her sole motivation for stabbing her leader was ‘in the national interest’.
She said she had to act in the ‘best interests of the Australian people’. Not in the interests of getting re-elected. Greg Combet could even say, with a straight face, that the opinion polls had not been a factor. Yeah, sure.
What Gillard has to do now is counter the Opposition argument that they have merely changed the jockey and kept the horse. Even if the jockey is showing in the polls that she is a more trusted and believable one. Today’s polls show a huge jump in support for the Government as her honeymoon takes hold.
What Gillard has to neutralise is the suspicion that, by her actions, she’s just another brutal politician who thinks loyalty is negotiable. That, as the late Richard Carleton said of Bob Hawke when he knifed Bill Hayden: ‘How does it feel to have blood on your hands?’ That issue will fade.
The bigger issue is that the now discredited Gang of Four has become the Gang of Two. Gillard and Swan were an integral part of unpopular policy campaigns.
The pink batt fiasco, which was fatal as well as expensive. The school gym rorts, the scrapping of the ETS, the mining tax imbroglio and the $40 million spent on advertising it.
Gillard and Swan – now PM and Deputy PM - not only endorsed those causes, they championed them.
Gillard was the driving voice in the Gang of Four to jettison the ETS. Swan was the mining tax maestro. Reportedly he was the holdout even as Rudd planned a compromise last Friday – the day after he was dumped.
On Friday, standing on the same spot where Kevin Rudd had quivered and crumbled the day before, Julia Eileen Gillard said: ‘I offered myself because I felt I had an obligation to hard-working Australians’.
Like Joan of Arc, she did it all for you.
Hinch on 'poisonous politics'
BLOG: Most would agree the Rudd government lost its way, the reason Julia Gillard stepped up to lead the country. But when - moreso than how - is the question Hinch investigates. Read more.
When do words become policy?
Both the Federal Government and Opposition are playing down the latest opinion poll results which show the switch to Julia Gillard has revived Labor's hopes. Read more while listening to political doyen Laurie Oakes and 3AW's Neil Mitchell.
Blog comments
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Nicely said Hinch.
She didn't do it for us, she did it to advance her career!
Diane Wednesday 30 June, 2010 - 10:15 AM -
I was never a person that liked Mr Smiley,Kevin Rudd,but to see this man being stabbed in the back by Gillard and Swan,actually almost brought me to tears. We are back to the days when the Labor party was controlled by the factions and the unions.
A very sad day for our country.william Tuesday 29 June, 2010 - 11:13 PM -
If the Liberals had adopted their "wait and see" policy to the GFC so many businesses would have gone to the wall and so many ordinary Australians would have applied for bankruptcy the huge surplus would have been eaten up in one financial quarter. Rudd was arrogant and perhaps a little crazy but he saved Australia. Gerry Harvey and the South African miners should be kissing his feet.
mylene Tuesday 29 June, 2010 - 8:26 PM -
When will Australians learn about our the way our political system operates ? We do ot have a USA Presidential system . We are a party based system . We select a political party that party has the right to select the best leader for the job . Power is not a right it is a privelege . when a leader stops consulting , asking for feedback , looking at different perspectives it really is time to question HIs/Her skills . Australians like a team based approach , we like our inclusive system . Do we really want a Presidential system ? I doubt it !
Mish Tuesday 29 June, 2010 - 1:36 PM -
She won't get rid of Garrett and Conroy. She will not dismantle Penny Wong's department which is costing us over a million dollars a year in salaries and office space - and they do nothing. And keeping them in power will mean ongoing interest rate hikes and ultimately higher inflation - sadly this is what the ALP always deliver to hard working Australians - a lower standard of living.
Carlton crew Tuesday 29 June, 2010 - 11:42 AM -
I think we are lucky that the Libs left this country in a powerful financial position prior to the GFC ( which is no way yet over) If Labor stays in goverment we will be like Spain etc with too much debt and high taxes that stifle investment in this country. Gillard stumbled into the top job undeservedly so.
alexas Tuesday 29 June, 2010 - 11:28 AM
