The mission: extortion, pure and simple … a deal on royalties or no mine. On Friday, Premier Palaszczuk produced the smoke of refuting any royalties holiday, now we wait for Monday for the mirrors … a rort re-written. Now Canberra is on the spot.
Also, the bookies dilemma … what are the odds on how long Shari Tagliabue will keep her job at the Townsville Bulletin?
Jackbooters sought by the Townsville City Council management – Adele The Impaler Young advertises two positions for professional management spies …
… and an inspired ode to political correctness from a Magpie reader ..
Adani Does A Banquo’s Ghost At The Cabinet Table
You’d think that someone immersed in the Labor Party’s standard modus operandi would know about ambit claims, when one party makes an outlandish claim seeking no less than the earth from another party, in the hope that they might get a hectare or two in the end. But it would seem this standard political and business practice is completely lost on Premier Alphabet.
The oily Adani shysters didn’t take long to realize that the Palaszczuk Government is high on the honker right now, on the nose so much that premier Alphabet faces electoral annihilation for her dithering incompetence.
Game of Drones
And that she would be a soft target for a bit of extortion. So, as an ambit claim, they put in a bid for a seven year ‘royalties holiday’ for their dud Carmichael mine venture, amounting to an interest free $320million ‘loan’. Now remember, it is known to most that bidders are kidders, and they probably hoped for maybe a year, possibly two.
It is almost certain Adani executive were astounded when Anna Palaszczuk rolled over without a whimper to have her tummy tickled (as Bentley so astutely pointed out last week). And she remained supine until her deputy, Treacherous Trad, laid in a dainty size 10 Blundstone to her ribs. It wasn’t right, Trad argued, and in any event, broke a ‘core’ election promise not to use public money for the project – which in essence was what the royalties deal would do. Trad’s left faction would block it.
Now, instead of examining this argument – which in itself was pretty well undebateable – the Murdoch media went into full foam-flecked lunacy at Trad for revealing what is basically a rort on not just Queenslander, but all Australian taxpayers in general. She is the leader of the party’s left-wing faction who won her Brisbane seat only with the help of Greens preferences. And there can be no doubt that but for this obligation of payback and self-preservation, she would have let the deal go through to keeper and toed the party line. Bentley certainly sees De Natali orchestrating the rumpus.
Palaszczuk was completely blind-sided by her ultra-ambitious deputy, whom she can’t sack because of factional deals. She spent the week in a flustered flap, looking foolish and not in charge, until yesterday, she said Adani would pay full freght on the royalties.
Then came the usual political insult to the intelligence … there would be no ‘holiday’ , she grandly claimed, but there would be instead a ‘deferment’ of royalty payment, with interest accruing until repayment started.
In other words, Adani got what it had wanted all along … what amounts to a loan from Bruce Taxpayer to kick off their venture. That was a loan laughed out the door by Adani’s own government, Indian and International banks and the Australian Big Four, who all deemed a financial suicide investment.
The Lock The Gate Alliance believes Monday will reveal that The Magpie’s analysis is on the money.
“As far as we can see, there’s still a deferral, so they’ve changed their language, they’re calling it a deferral in royalties,” a spokeswoman said. “It’s still a massive loan to Adani using taxpayers’ money.” a Lock The Gate Alliance spokeswoman said.
And like her, and any intelligent onlooker, The Magpie will be looking for the devils in the detail of any agreement … if it is ever revealed to us mug punters, and not hypocritically shunted off behind closed covers stamped Commercial In Confidence. It’s our money involved, so we’re entitled to know.
They obviously breed a cleverer class of crooks on the banks of the Ganges.
This Time The Astonisher Really Has Astonished
We all know the Bulletin’s sloppy approach to reporting news – well, their version of it – is regularly good for a laugh and hoot. But The ‘Pie’s jaw dropped – really it did – when he read Shari Tagliabue’s column in today’s (Sat) paper.
Shari Shazza Tagliabue
In a nutshell, Shari put forward a well argued analytical view of an argument you rarely see in a News Ltd publication … but not only that, it was presented right next a diametrically opposed iditorial along the standard Astonisher lines. What the hell is going on? Has she been ordered to try and put The Magpie out of business?
It was indeed breath-taking almost unbelievable stuff. And there can be no mistaking who Taggers was talking about when she wrote: ‘Childish name calling is a puerile attempt to brainwash the population into thinking a handful of promised jobs in an industry no one is interested in funding or backing is the way forward.’ This written in a paper whose stock in trade is name calling and journalistic jingoism on this subject and most all other subjects. And was written even in the edition that carried this biased anti-Green, pro-Adani, front page.
Ms Tagliabue – who, one must think, has had a better job offer – also asked ‘When did caring for the future of our land, our ocean, future generations and , yes, jobs – sustainable ones – become such a liability … and (people who used to call themselves green) until ‘green’ was hijacked by politicians who have frankly done the cause for a clean planet no favours at all.’ Oops, Shazza, you forget the word has also been hijacked by the people who own the paper you work for. If there is a job offer out there, it sure as hell won’t be with News Ltd, maybe the Guardian.
But as he man said on TV, wait, there’s more, as the Tagliabue torrent rolls on. ‘What is far more deserving of criticism is focusing solely on one specific issue in our region – jobs – and pretending that a coal mine will not only solve our woes but that the cumulative effects namely climate change an d health issues, won’t effect us.’ You reading this, Mullet?
Onya Shazza, the Red Badge of Courage coming your way – that’ll impress them down at Centrelink.
This amazing column is a direct challenge to the one-sided megaphone iditorial policy of Ben Bog English. This all the more verging on unbelievable when contrasted with the adjacent iditorial (one suspects written by the Deputy Iditor Damien Tomlinson – the paper’s Andrew Bolt Lite – now there’s an apple that didn’t fall far from the ultra right wing tree, eh, Max?).
Onya, Shazza! So read this Magpie statement here right now, because you won’’t see it again in this neck of the woods … GO OUT AND BUY THIS WEEKEND’S BULLETIN AND GO STRAIGHT TO PAGE 40. Enjoy. And be Astonished. There, Ben, don’t say The ‘Pie doesn’t do his bit for your circulation.
Seen Another Way
Here’s another way of looking at the Adani stand-over tactic of ‘no royalty holiday, no mine, ergo no jobs, and political oblivion’ tactic. Let’s take just one aspect of the original deal we were not meant to find out about until it was too late (thank you ABC, an extra cents coming your way).
Queensland foregoes $320M in mining royalties in order to secure the establishment of the mine and ancillary jobs. Maybe 2000 jobs tops, and maybe not even that, but let’s say.
The bottom line of all this if the royalty holiday is granted to this shifty mob, we mug punters will be shelling out $160,000 PER JOB CREATED in what amounts to a finder/placement fee to Adani. Not even Rabeah Krayem could manage that – not that he wouldn’t try.
If such a rort comes to pass, even with different words, it is because instead of being a negotiator with all the aces (after all, we’ve got the coal and Adani want it), Anna Palaszczuk has clearly signaled she has panicked into needy mode with a looming state election centering on employment. What shady. greedy twister wouldn’t try to sink in the fangs?
And each job is equivalent to $160,000 donated to Anna Alphabet’s re-election campaign.
Darker deeds Ahead For The Townsville City Council?
TCC CEO Adele Young
TCC CEO Adele ‘The Impaler’ Young continues apace with Mayor Mullet’s scorched earth policy, with the new council ‘restructure’ – read ‘mass sackings’ which have been applauded by the Bulletin – formally put in place during the week. The slash and burn is presented in a very convoluted and restricted way to the public, but 186 permanent temporary positions are gone and other staff can apply for redundancies. That’s on top of those already shunted off or walking.
The council management’s numbers version of all this is lovingly and approvingly documented in the Astonisher, but what isn’t mentioned (not that The ‘Pie could find) is this, from the ‘job vacancies’ on the TCC website.
Silly old ‘Pie was under the impression that this is what Section and department heads were meant to do, handle complaints and keep a check of their staff. So what’s been going on? Have w not been told of the reason for crying need, has there been massive corruption involving the stationery cupboard? And more importantly, what WILL BE going on when the trench-coats arrive?
It could be seen that reporting directly to The Impaler is the start of a structure of fear and intimidation plain and simple. There would be a mile of honeyed words worthy of Yes Minister if The Astonisher or even the ABC got around to asking about this, but the bottom line is this is empire building … and one suspects the Labor back room boys aren’t too distant from the insidious move. The ‘Pie gets a funny feeling that Mayor Mullet had better watch her back, too, she hasn’t been beyond a bit of hanky panky either, The ‘Pie is unreliably told.
Good luck, Townsville.
Mixed Message Of The Week
Barking dogs are understandably a constant course of neighborhood disputes, and attempts to get Fido to pipe down rarely work. But it would appear that a photo accompanying an Astonisher story on the topic illustrates a foolproof way to mute the mutt, although one doubts the cops are too keen on the idea.
No doubt some of the elderly readers (are there any other sort left?) reached for the smelling salts, but it maybe the photographer suggested this drastic pose when she was told the dog’s name was Rupert.
Some Of Life’s Little Mysteries Explained
It was a week of accelerating weirdness in the bAstonisher.
First this, as commented by The Magpie during the week.
May 23, 2017 at 9:26 am (Edit)
As a commenter said here recently on another matter – WTF with a capital fuck.
Aside from the unintenbded yukyukery of the headline, why in God’s name would anyone boast that a tragic catastrophic event was good for business? Indeed, why mention it at all, unless you’re a dying, floundering publication?
Disgraceful.
Despite the Tony Raggatt by-line, that story was obviously a straight-fom-Holt St HQ release with the latest guffaw from that little trollop EMMA (Enhanced Media Metrics Australia – emphasis on the ‘enhanced’) which expects us to believe this dying publication is read every weekday by 80,000 people, almost half the population!. The reliable Roy Morgan people put the figure at about 43000 Monday to Friday, and even that is hard to believe.
Then there was the head scratcher when the paper referred to a demand by Mayor Mullet as ‘bizarre’, which certainly seemed appropriate in the context. The ‘Pie wasn’t alone in wondering about such an unusual swerve in allegiance by the Astonisher, given the Bulletin’s unquestioning adulation for all things Jenny. it seemed a strange. Mayor Mullet had questioned the legality of coral in a Cairns Aquarium, one of the undoubted hot button items forefront of mind for Townsville readers.
Then Magpie mate Peter dropped in a copy of the Cairns Post he picked up on a recent trip north, and lo and behold, it was all explained – the story was lifted intact from the Cairns Post where the yarn originated.
You can expect more of this boring cross over stuff as News Ltd cut staff, and look outside their circulation area to fill space. Like this leap frogging which was premium Content recently.
A Cairns woman killed in Brisbane in an accident? What next … Rocky bloke gets speeding fine in Mackay? Airlie Beach grey nomads get flat tyre in Innisfail? This paper really has its finger on something, but its not the pulse.
Then this bizzare suggestion of its own, in its desperate search for readers.
Note the careful wording, which only implies he learnt of his Origin situation through reading his fate on the on-line Bulletin’s free device, which of course he didn’t: Walters does what every other selector/coach does in selection matters, and gave him a personal phone call. Morgan confirmed on Fox Sport that Walters had called him personally on the phone.
Bet Morgo is lapping the Premium Content for subsctibers. Like this.
C’mon, you dolts, wadda ya waitin’ for? This is PREMIUM stuff.
Oh, and BTW, the next circ figures for the Bulletin – which will tell us if the by now hundreds of thousands of dollars the paper has spend on trying to sell digital subscriptions has paid off – will be posted here on August 13 (that’s for the previous six months to June).
The Moron Medal For Mayors
And, no, it’s not Our Mullet. The hands down winner of the medal, awarded for empty headed fuckwittery, goes to this bloke …
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate
… the Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate. He gets the gong to his answer to the dopey question if he thought, in the wake of the Manchester bastardry, that there would be heightened problems for next year’s Commonwealth games. Instead of the correct answer , to wit’ How the fuck would I know, I’m just a mayor and you’re just looking for something sensational’ … he gave them something that raised serious questions about which planet he has just arrived from.
he asked why they would both, saying ‘Look let’s be honest, Australia, we haven’t hurt anyone.’ he added hat the terrorists were a bit busy in Europe and we were a long way away.
Geez, he would’ve made a great keynote speaker at the Uluru reconciliation gabfest over the past week.
Speaking Of Mayors …
Want to hear Mayor Mullet explain herself about using ratepayer money to shout a Bulletin reporter who works with a billion dollar multinational company a trip to India? Who wrote nice things about her in return?Then be at Molly Malone’s on Monday June 5th, 5.30, where Mayor Mullet says she’ll be there with the Powerpoint presentation she made to council about her Adani trip to India. The ‘Pie has seen it, and no mention of this question has been broached, so best someone ask her.
After this post, good bet she’ll find a reason not to be there.
Spooky Moment Of The Week
Remember seeing this pic of Prez Trump and pals in Saudi Arabia?
Well, actually, you didn’t, that bloke on the left is Sauran, the necromancer from lord of the Rings. Returning from the outhouse, He mistook the Middle East for Middle Earth. But he didn’t look out of place at all, but this was the real pic ,,, which actually looks just as unreal.
But it’s been a magical mystery tour forThe Trumpet, who gets things a little confused at times.
A PC Message From A Commenter … Er, that’s for Poetically Correct.
After The ‘Pie’s dust-up about political correctness last week. A reader was moved to pen the following bit of clever doggerel.
Kingswood
May 22, 2017 at 1:57 pm (Edit)
I’m offended
I’m offended by the smell from next door’s bins,
I’m offended by the squeak of the front door’s hinge,
I’m offended by the pc brigade,
I’m offended by their pompous rage,
I’m offended by hilux utes,
I’m offended by butch dyke brutes,
I’m offended when my grass turns brown,
I’m offended now my cactus’ drowned,
I’m offended when mums let babies cry,
I’m offended when there’s no blue in the sky,
I’m offended when politicians lie,
I’m offended by Trump’s choice in tie,
I’m offended by cold onion rings,
These are a few of my offended things.
Well, Kingswood, here’s something else to offend you … too close to the truth to be funny, really.
But To Leave On A Lighter Local Note
The ‘Pie rather liked this comment exchange during the week, when someone suggested The Magpie should run for mayor.
The Magpie
May 21, 2017 at 8:57 pm (Edit)
That would be the definitive donkey vote.
- Hee-Haw
May 22, 2017 at 10:35 am (Edit)
As a regular(ish) contributor to this blog could I claim copyright on the donkey vote comment please
- The Magpie
May 22, 2017 at 10:38 am (Edit)
Sorry, The ‘Pie made an ass of himself. Wasn’t thinking, been too busy braying for grain.
That’s it for this week. Donations to help defray costs of the blog are always appreciated, if you’re in the mood, Donate button below.
