I have very little time and a whole lot of fury, so here goes.
Driving home from Lismore this afternoon I heard Tanya Plibersek, Deputy Leader of the Labor Party and the Opposition, deliver a lecture on how the protesters at Parliament House yesterday threatened our democracy and prevented debate by interrupting question time for some forty minutes.
I’ve read the same drivel from Tim Watts MP, and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.
To describe question time as either *democratic* or a *debate* is as fanciful as just about anything I’ve heard lately.
Politicians in the HoR were prevented from engaging in the abuse, vilification, insult, lies, duplicity, theatrics, dissemination of misinformation and the hypocrisy that constitutes question time in the Australian parliament. As far as I know, such behaviour is neither democratic nor can it be dignified with the title *debate.*
It’s more than a bit rich when politicians who are responsible for the imprisonment, suffering and deaths of refugees who legally sought sanctuary in this country, attempt to claim the high moral ground on the alleged disruption of democracy by people protesting those same politicians’ inhumanity, and callous courting of xenophobic votes.
The only people who have denigrated our federal parliament are the politicians who work in it. The only people who have denigrated our democracy are the very people to whom it is entrusted.
Both the ALP and the LNP have broken international law, domestic law, and committed and continue to commit atrocities against people who legally sought asylum in this country. They belong in The Hague, every last one of them.
Not one of them gets to lecture the citizens of this country about alleged threats to democracy caused by us protesting their perfidy.
There is no difference between the stand taken by Plibersek, Watts and Shorten, and that taken by any perpetrator who points the finger of guilt at the whistle-blower rather than him or herself. It is a more serious crime to protest in the HoR than it is to torture refugees?
And please note, *torture* is the word used by the UNHCR and Amnesty International to describe successive Australian governments’ treatment of refugees.
The situation on Manus and Nauru is acknowledged throughout the world to be intolerable. If you’ve got those crimes against humanity on your conscience, you have no moral ground left on which to stand.
No Place For Sheep 
Listened to same Tanya speech this morn and felt same fury..well said J
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Linda, I’m furious. Furious.
LikeLike
Trioli’s leading question was – did she and other pollies feel shame…Tanya’s response was to tell us if we wanted to be part of the democratic process…go get elected…. yarse… of course…twonker
LikeLiked by 2 people
Get elected and be a baby trading and torturing cunt like the rest of them.
LikeLike
That is a disgusting thing for Plibersek to say. We are part of the democratic process, elected or not.
LikeLike
YES.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Whilst it is true that on this issue the parliament has failed the people, consider that the major Parties have other issues requiring attention – education, the economy, health, welfare, defence, foreign affairs – and that the Opposition had carefully crafted questions with which they hoped to expose the government’s incompetence in these areas.
They too are entitled to feel frustrated and obstructed by this protest.
That said, I agree with you and your righteous fury on this issue. If it were the only issue, the government should fall and the Opposition stand corrected.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I think I need to write another post to respond, DQ! In part, I agree with you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good old Doug, always find a way to prop up the facist ALP.
LikeLike
It’s “fascist” Marilyn. And while I nearly agree with you on this issue there are other issues. Tear down the ALP and see where you end up. Fascist is just the thin edge of the wedge.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We are going to end up with a lunatic like Trump.
LikeLike
Something needs to be done to Question Time. Every question either lets forth a torrent of abuse about Bill Shorten or it provides a government minister with an opportunity to recite how much they’ve achieved. Frankly, I think the demonstrators did everyone a service when they caused it to be shutdown.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I agree, Barry. QT is a farce.
LikeLike
Yes; the change to the rules a few years ago was supposedly an attempt to prevent Ministers from waffling on and limiting the avoidance of questions. The rule makers clearly underestimated the ability of politicians to say nothing whilst blaming their predecessors. The disaster that was Bronwyn Bishop as Speaker masked just how poorly the rules work.
The House should go back to the rules they had under Keating and Howard; they seemed to provide a reasonable balance (at least in hindsight!)
LikeLiked by 3 people