Thursday, November 15, 2012
Labor's personal campaign against Tony Abbott is working.
Labor's negativity pays off in the short run
Dennis Shanahan, Political Editor
The Australian
November 13, 2012 12:00AM
LABOR'S personal campaign against Tony Abbott is working.
In one of the true ironies of modern political campaigning, a relentlessly negative and obsessive campaign is being run to portray an opponent as relentlessly negative and obsessive.
In an unprecedented concentration on a leader of the opposition, the Gillard government has determinedly sought to make Abbott the centre of the story, the man in the middle, and has talked more about him than its own achievements or record.
Abbott's obsession with forcing an early election and prosecuting the highly negative case against the carbon tax the Prime Minister promised not to introduce has contributed to his highly negative profile with voters. His satisfaction rating among voters is now the worst it has been.
Yet Abbott's character hasn't changed - he's no more sexist or old-fashioned than he was in December 2009 and he has not unveiled any controversial policies of late. Indeed, he's hardly unveiled any policy at all.
Hence, Labor's strategy of declaring a gender war with Abbott as the main target has worked on his personal support and fitted neatly with Labor's recent rise from its doldrums of despair.
Heading into an election year, it's a dangerous and trying time for Abbott as Opposition Leader, but he still has the advantage of being able to point to a primary vote giving the Coalition an election-winning lead. And he still has positive policy announcements ahead of him.
For an opposition leader, that remains a powerful claim despite the clear success of Labor's personal campaign against him.
Labor Women's favourite Son and "Queen Maker" thrown out of Gay Bar
Former Speaker Peter Slipper denies he was kicked out of Sydney gay bar for being drunk
Gemma Jones
Daily Telegraph
November 14, 201210:28AM
FORMER speaker Peter Slipper has this morning denied allegations he was last night kicked out of a Sydney bar, frequented by members of the gay community, for being drunk.
A bar worker claimed on Facebook "just threw out a drunken Peter Slipper from my main bar," 2GB host Ray Hadley revealed today.
The post drew replies such as "the joys of Tuesday night celebrities" and "who's Peter Slipper?"
Mr Slipper was said to have been drunk at the Oxford Hotel bar in Oxford St, Darlinghurst - a claim he strongly denies.
"What you suggest is untrue and highly defamatory," he told News Ltd via text message.
"The claims are completely untrue."
The hotel's motto is "catering for our community" with the iconic pub supporting high-profile events such as the Mardis Gras and gay and lesbian sports organisations.
Uncensored what Peter Slipper said and the Labor Politicians who stood by him.
Where IS Rahma El-Dennaoui ? State Coroner refers case back to Homicide Detectives
Coroner refers Rahma El-Dennaoui's disappearance back to homicide police "....the child did not "simply vanish into thin air"
The Daily Telegraph
November 15, 2012
A CORONER has referred the disappearance of Rahma El-Dennaoui back to homicide police - declaring the child did not "simply vanish into thin air".
Deputy State Coroner Sharon Freund delivered her findings this morning following a long-running inquest into the toddler's disappearance.
She said there was "no conclusive evidence" to show the 20-month-old's family staged her kidnapping more than seven years ago, but there were a number of "troubling" aspects to their versions of events.
Telephone intercepts of the family's calls made during the inquest revealed "puzzling" behaviour, which the coroner said was inconsistent with what would be expected from a grieving family.
"In particular, the joking and laughing by Rahma's parents with third parties about the kidnapping and the splitting of the reward money, the specific references to avoiding talking about the inquest on the telephone and actually talking in code," she said.
Ms Freund said she couldn't support the family's calls that she find an unknown person had abducted Rahma and that the girl's relatives had no involvement in the disappearance.
But she said a number of other possibilities remained open, including that a stranger kidnapped the child to raise as their own or a criminal took her with intent to hurt the young girl.
"Rahma El-Dennaoui did not simply vanish into thin air. Unfortunately, this inquest was unable to narrow the reasons as to why and how she came to disappear."
Rahma's father Hosayn El-Dennaoui told the inquest he last saw his daughter about 2am on November 10, 2005, when she was put in a bed she shared with two older sisters. Her siblings woke to find her gone and a large hole cut in the fly screen above her bed.
The inquest heard that police now believe she probably died accidentally at home before her family disposed of the body in an unknown location.
Outside the court, Mr El-Dennaoui said last Saturday was the seven-year anniversary of his daughter's disappearance and her family still wanted to find out what happened to her.
"We would like to know - we were not involved, me and my wife, we haven't done anything to Rahma," he said.
Detective-Sergeant Nick Sedgwick, who led the police investigation into the disappearance, said enquiries into the incident had been thorough and would continue after the inquest.
"There is a frustration with a long investigation like this, but the police service won't stop until we know what happened to Rahma," he said.
In her findings, Ms Freund said the police investigation into one potential abductor - a suspected pedophile who lived close to the El-Dennaoui home - had a "number of shortcomings and issues".
There was an 18-month delay before the man's caravan, where police believed the toddler may have been taken, was forensically examined, the inquest heard.
Julia Gillard and Australia's First Cuckold in the Lodge
Bath, blowdry and barracking for the PM
SUE DUNLEVY
Daily Telegraph
November 15, 201212:00AM
WHEN he's not running her bath, fetching the newspaper or blowdrying her hair the Prime Minister's partner, Tim Mathieson, is often flopped on the couch at The Lodge watching her in parliament.
There's no misogyny at play in the home of Australia's badass PM.
Mr Mathieson has revealed he watched the PM deliver her world famous misogyny speech at home and was "pretty impressed".
"I was sitting on the couch watching and thought, I think there's a bit more going on here than normal at question time," he said.
"It sort of bolted me up in my chair, yeah."
When Ms Gillard returned home very late that night Tim was asleep but he says he woke up and drew her a bath.
"Obviously she'd had a big day," he said.
The PM's partner says he thinks her misogyny speech was "probably warranted".
"I just think when people get into question time it's all on really," he said.
The first Bludger, Tim Mathieson's daughter Staci Childs.
"She's a pretty tough lady and I kind of figure she's got respect worldwide."
Despite being the partner of one of the world's most famous feminists the "First Bloke" says "nothing has changed" in their home life since the speech - "it's all good".
Born in Shepparton the former hairdresser has often spoken of how he has to pinch himself to make sure he really is in attendance at great international events like the Royal Wedding in London.
At home at The Lodge he behaves like a very caring and solicitous partner, delivering the busy PM her morning paper and helping with an early morning blow wave for the television cameras.
"Then I have to recover during the day and sit on the couch and watch parliament which usually puts you to sleep, except for that day," he said.
Mr Mathieson revealed his quiet pleasure in presenting Ms Gillard with the morning newspapers on Tuesday that revealed the government's latest lift in the polls.
"It was good to take The Australian in to give it to her and go "not a bad look over here," he said.
"She was just going about her business, but for me it was good to wake up to that."
He says Ms Gillard appears to have had more spring in her step since she received a lift in the polls.
"It makes me a bit more happy about things, I guess," he said. "I don't follow it too much, but it's a bit easier or a bit lighter if things are going a bit better."
He doesn't attribute the government's improved poll performance to the misogyny speech and instead sees it as just part of a "natural cycle".
"It was always going to level up a bit, you know, after a period of time. Pretty much all the hard stuff has now been done," he said.
He predicts the polls will get "even closer" in the lead up to the election.
Mr Mathieson's father suffers from diabetes and he yesterday hosted a lunch for World Diabetes Day at The Lodge.
The food was specially prepared to be diabetes friendly and included one of the Prime Minister's favourite dishes - caesar salad.
A spelling glitch in the menu however described the salad as being "full of victims and a good source of slow release for protein".
Mr Mathieson is also an ambassador for Kidney Health Australia and a patron of the Australian Men's Sheds Association and says he enjoys the work he does promoting these causes.
He's spent the last year travelling to many of Australia's country towns to promote men's health and took part in the Kidney Health car rally.
"I'm really interested in the indigenous side of diabetes," he says.
He talks of trying to raise the profile of the issue with Pacific Island spouses at the Pacific Island Forum and the ASEAN conference next week.