Pot and kettle trade blows in Neal affair
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At some point, possibly not in the very distant future, the furore over Belinda Neal is going to come back and bite a Coalition MP in the backside. Neal may be one of the less pleasant individuals to grace our halls of power but the microscopic attention to which she has been subject in recent days suggests she’s achieved notoriety beyond that of even violent criminals. Annabel Crabb’s piece today summed up the hysteria perfectly. Even The Australian thinks things might have gone a bit too far. Perhaps it was the Telegraph’s recounting of unfounded gossip from neighbours of Della-Bosca and Neal that appalled even The Oz. For an opposition that’s run out of petrol on the issue of … um, petrol, “Iguanagate” (whatever will we do if there’s ever a political scandal involving Bill Gates? We can’t christen it Gatesgate) has been manna from heaven, or wherever manna comes from. The puffed-up self-righteousness of Joe Hockey in arguing the toss with the Speaker yesterday over whether questions about Neal should’ve been allowed was extraordinary coming from a senior member of a former Government that systematically trashed parliamentary accountability. But the referral of Neal’s comments about Sophie Mirabella’s forthcoming baby to the Parliamentary Privileges Committee is particularly absurd. Neal stupidly denied the remarks – denied them aggressively – but later withdrew them. Anyone want to suggest she’s the first politician to deny saying something offensive? As for Mirabella, her contribution to Australian politics since arriving in the House of Representatives seven years ago has consisted pretty much entirely of abuse pitched across the chamber from her backbench bunker. Some Coalition frontbenchers are no better. Earlier this year we saw the undignified spectacle of Peter Dutton and Steve Ciobo shrilly mimicking Justine Elliott while the latter answered a question at the Dispatch Box. It was like watching some teenage boys taunt a female teacher. Utterly charmless. And people might want to compare and contrast Neal’s behaviour with Senator Bill Heffernan’s efforts over the years, inside and outside the Senate. But never mind. Standards have now been lifted. There’s a higher bar for all Parliamentarians to get over, not merely for the way they behave in public, but for the standard of their contributions in Parliament. In eagerly pursuing Belinda Neal, Opposition MPs have lifted expectations. Neal isn’t the only dumb, aggressive politician in the place. Having been savaged for failing to meet this new, higher standard of behaviour, at least Neal will have the privilege of sitting back and watching some of her tormentors fall at the same hurdle. It will happen. |
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10 Comments
Neal lied to parliament twice on the same (albeit minor issue)and was caught out by a recording microphone. In the face of this incontrovertible evidence she then withdrew the offensive remarks made to Mirabella.
Neither Howard nor Powell KNOWINGLY lied to parliament or the General Assembly of the United Nations respectively. Both sides of politics and 99.999999999% of the world except you Miranda and a few other hopeless cases accept this. I, for one, am tired of your puerile nonsense on this board.
Jeez! You just don’t give up Miranda. Neal ‘misled’ parliament because she knowingly LIED to parliament and was caught out.
Howard did not mislead parliament because although there were no WMD’s he was advised that Iraq did in fact have WMD’S and advised parliament and the nation accordingly.
Colin Powell Soldier, Statesman and U.S. Secretary of State advised the United Nations General Assembly of the same thing. Nobody accuses him of misleading the world because he did not KNOWINGLY LIE.
Please desist from misleading this board with both your’s and Neal’s sick demon nonsense!
I know JamesK. Miranda’s almost an online version of Neal. Trying to dominate, always trying to score on some trivial point; forever difficult, frustrating, wide of the mark and offering little for no good reason. Just stultifies every story on which you’re looking for sane comment. Again, the Neal’s and Miranda’s of this world are dependably ‘present’ and reliable for one thing - dragging standards backwards.
Good for the Ruddmeister and Julia Gillard! I do hope this debacle does raise the bar for both sides. And I agree this is certainly not a party political issue and to be fair I do not believe anyone is selling it as such. Nor should they. It does seem clear, however, that Neal would not have got Labor endorsement without Della Bosca.
Correction JamesK: the reason Powell was side-lined is because he knowingly read false imformation to the UN about WMD. He has admitted it himself and complained bitterly the passages included in his speech after the CIA requested it removed as it wasn’t a FACT.
You may be happy with a PM who decides this country should go to war without a Parliamentary vote and doesn’t even bother to find out who fed him the false information- a sin of ommision-and believe that a nightclub incident is of equal importance .
So how about you quit “mis-leading” this board about the most pathetic beat-up of decade which will define the Liberal Party for years to come. It this their best-woe is us.
Oh dear-such double standards. I suppose Sophie Mirabella yellling accross the chamber ( as is her want) and calling another MP a “man hater” is acceptable !. ( The reason Neal responded).
It’s a bit difficult to drag standards “backwards” after the Howard years-we can only go forwards.
I agree with John James. The other important issue that has come up as a result of this silliness is the issue of Neal misleading parliament. Something of ‘a perfect storm’ of bad news from her perspective and all from a nothing issue.
London to a brick that Neal doesn’t hold preselection for Labor’s most marginal seat and that Della will be a millstone around Iemma’s already stretched neck!
Belinda Neal might have claimed she didn’t say what she did but she apologised eventually. This isn’t “mis-leading ” the parliament. If Aussies or the Liberal Party think that Neal referring to Mirabella’s baby as a “demon” (while Mirabella then accused Neal of putting photos in the freezer !) is as important as John Howard mis-leading the whole nation about WMDs then we really are in trouble.
Besides-who says Belinda Neal isn’t correct ?. Maybe if you think “bad thoughts” you will give birth to a demon.!. Taken literally-it isn’t even an insult to Mirabella who is too precious for words.
Tony Papafilis: Heffernan withdrew all his claims about Justice Kirby and apologised unreservedly when he DID mis-lead parliament in an extremely serious matter that makes Belinda Neal’s comments look like kindergarten stuff.
Unless you are implying Heffernan mis-led parliament a second time with his apology.
That’s the problem when you set out to create mischief-it always backfires.
Trading blows!! What is it with parties and politicians, a race to the bottom? With the exception of a handful of MPs it generally appears the key selection criteria for party endorsement are demonstrated skills in being an employment leper. In other words, if you’re a social and workplace reject there are plenty of places in our state and federal parliaments where you can find yourself a well-paid career. The media lately has been clearly battling on page space over which MP or party has scored best in being worst. We’ve lurched from Buswell sniffing seats and snapping bras to Fran Logan who now as an MP suggests to staff he’d like a three-some that as a former union official his leftist female mates would have busted his b**ls for. Then Della Bosca and Neal hit their local night club and leave not just two constituencies reeling but their staff and the public having to hire legal counsel to manage the fallout of their entertainment. Up there in pineapple territory old Premier Beattie comes out swinging air-punches because a lame-duck National MP calls for an inquiry into the old Beattie/Rose connection that he didn’t recall ran for months and through CMC’s to courts where it was decided Rose should do time for blackmailing Beattie. Orkopoulos of course is languishing in a prison cell while the person who claimed the moral high-ground on his pedophile activities still wanders the streets unemployed as the old leaflet distributor from the Liberals in western Sydney takes a few key Labor players to court for ruffing him up. Do parties hand out application forms to Corrective Services for distribution in Grafton, Long Bay, Fairlea etc?