Comments on: Fischer’s costly new job in Rome rewards Mr Nice Guy

By: JamesK

JamesK — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

P’haps the Ruddmeister was concerned about Amanda’s sleeves rolled up no nonsense approach to diplomacy: ” C’mon Your Holiness cough up the dosh. It’s not as if you’re a few quid short. These working family australians were buggered by your priests. They deserve a fair go…etc”?

By: Binstead

Binstead — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Keane’s statement that Sheridan’s “…main reason for believing that an ambassador to a religious fundamentalist micro-state is that everyone else does it, including the Yanks” is clumsy and I suggest the missing subject is to be found in the grab-bag of Catholic-hating invective.

By: Tom McLoughlin

Tom McLoughlin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

By the by, isn’t Amanda Vanstone doing this job, and if not why not? The Vatican is smack bang in the middle of her Roman posting. Is Fischer replacing her?

By: Jon

Jon — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

I thought Fischer was Catholic. I hope we wouldn’t make a Chinese dual-citizen our ambassador to China. Don’t we need someone who wouldn’t feel conflicted if it became necessary to give the Vatican an earful. If we need an ambassador, which I doubt, we could at least get an unconflicted one.

By: Venise Alstergren

Venise Alstergren — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

An ex-Country Party/National Party, (whatever name they are currently running under) and the Vatican. Are the biggest oxymoronic contradictions I’ve ever heard. These rural Parties represent now, and will represent always Socialism for the Farmers. “Stuff what other parties and other people want. We stand for the farmers to get every social benefit, and every last cent out of the great Australian (half-witted public) that’s going” Smashes fist onto the bar and knocks over a couple of cans. “Nobody else should get anything at all. And see that line of men over there? You can’t really see them as they are meant to be invisible. Well, they are all the men who represent the farmers. The Country Party, The National Party, (whatever name they are currently running under). Well son, they get fifty percent, straight off the top. There’s nothing small about them. Why one of Ginger’s mates got himself a cushy job at the Vatican….It’s where the Pope lives, stupid”

By: Tom McLoughlin

Tom McLoughlin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

In my experience the Nat MPs are generally the most gracious on a personal level. And the most ruthless on actual policy around say environmental resources. It’s a real disjunction for a greenie from the personal to the business of political change. Conversely Libs and ALP are more willing to consider their urban voter base concerns with the environment but might not have that easy squattocrat assuredness of their place and position in the scheme of things. Make no mistake the Fischer sticht was wrapped up record levels of forest destruction, attempts to promote Jabiluka U mine, bucketloads of extinguishment etc. To ignore all this is a joke really, and mutualism of the overpaid political classes at the expense of transparency to the voters. I always recall a local landmark around his part of the world ‘Poisoned Waterhole Creek’. Mmm. Talk about real Australian history and how the squattocracy got their wealth.

By: Albert Ross

Albert Ross — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

What’s there not to like about this? We get rid of Fischer a rather nasty capital C conservative and a country member from our shores with the added bonus that we are rid of his “vixen and fixin’s to boot”. Perhaps he can use his supposedly avuncular style and mangled syntax to get the the RCs to really take on the issue of their sexual molestation of minors and then when they have finished that do something about the appalling poverty in South America and elsewhere that they fail to tackle on anything but a superficial bandaid level.

It is hard to comprehend what he will do with his time. Frequent trips to the opera I suppose.