Turnbull to become Australia's fifth PM in eight years

[RandallS]

"Australia will have  its fifth prime minister in eight years after the ruling Liberal Party  on Monday voted out Tony Abbott in favor of longtime rival Malcolm  Turnbull, following months of infighting and crumbling voter support."

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[Sobekemiti]

"Australia will have  its fifth prime minister in eight years after the ruling Liberal Party  on Monday voted out Tony Abbott in favor of longtime rival Malcolm  Turnbull, following months of infighting and crumbling voter support."

Read the Article

 
I can't say I'm going to grieve over Abbott's demise; he was a terrible, terrible Prime Minister. Turnbull might not be much better, but at least he stands a chance at being competent. And he understands the Internet, which shouldn't be remarkable, but it is. So there. :/

[RandallS]

I can't say I'm going to grieve over Abbott's demise; he was a terrible, terrible Prime Minister. Turnbull might not be much better, but at least he stands a chance at being competent. And he understands the Internet, which shouldn't be remarkable, but it is. So there. :/

Was Abbot as bad as (US Senator) Ted Stevens who described the Internet as something like a series of tubes?

[Sobekemiti]

Was Abbot as bad as (US Senator) Ted Stevens who described the Internet as something like a series of tubes?

Well, there is a long-running joke down here due to Abbott once saying that Turnbull had invented the Internet.* Yeah!

But I don't think we'll get much tech-literacy in politics for a while, not until the Old White Dudes give way to a younger generation who have actually grown up with this stuff.


* Turnbull was involved with an Aussie ISP for a while. But he didn't invent the Internet.

[Melamphoros]

But I don't think we'll get much tech-literacy in politics for a while, not until the Old White Dudes give way to a younger generation who have actually grown up with this stuff.

 
I think that's true everywhere, especially in regards to social media.

[Altair]

I can't say I'm going to grieve over Abbott's demise; he was a terrible, terrible Prime Minister. Turnbull might not be much better, but at least he stands a chance at being competent.

 
I was celebrating this yesterday, but now I'm pissed off again. Australia is the last English-speaking nation that still doesn't have same-sex marriage; Abbott was rabidly opposed, and so he prevented the parliament from having a free vote on the issue. (If that ever were to happen, SSM is expected to quickly pass into law, finally bringing Australia into line with the rest of the Western world.)

So, since I've read that Turnbull has long advocated in favor of SSM (Aussies, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe even more than that, he advocated for a free vote in parliament on the issue), I was celebrating yesterday.

Today, this:

"Although a public vote on marriage equality will be unnecessary, costly and divisive, new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has today confirmed he’s sticking to the Liberal party room’s plan to put it to the people after the next election."

A nationwide vote on a minority's civil rights is a stalling tactic. And a backstab.

http://www.samesame.com.au/news/12754/PM-Turnbull-on-marriage-Every-single-Australian-will-have-a-say

[RandallS]

"Although a public vote on marriage equality will be unnecessary, costly and divisive, new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has today confirmed he’s sticking to the Liberal party room’s plan to put it to the people after the next election."

A nationwide vote on a minority's civil rights is a stalling tactic. And a backstab.

Politics as usual, by the looks of it.

[Sobekemiti]

I was celebrating this yesterday, but now I'm pissed off again. Australia is the last English-speaking nation that still doesn't have same-sex marriage; Abbott was rabidly opposed, and so he prevented the parliament from having a free vote on the issue. (If that ever were to happen, SSM is expected to quickly pass into law, finally bringing Australia into line with the rest of the Western world.)

So, since I've read that Turnbull has long advocated in favor of SSM (Aussies, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe even more than that, he advocated for a free vote in parliament on the issue), I was celebrating yesterday.

Today, this:

"Although a public vote on marriage equality will be unnecessary, costly and divisive, new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has today confirmed he’s sticking to the Liberal party room’s plan to put it to the people after the next election."

A nationwide vote on a minority's civil rights is a stalling tactic. And a backstab.

http://www.samesame.com.au/news/12754/PM-Turnbull-on-marriage-Every-single-Australian-will-have-a-say

 
It's completely stupid, because all they need to do IS AMEND THE FKING MARRIAGE ACT. No referendum or non-binding plebiscite required. There have been 12 Bills put before Parliament already in the past decade or so about legalising SSM, but none of them have passed. Some haven't even been voted on.

And it's fair to say that having to listen to idk how many weeks leading up to the vote of dickheads arguing against SSM is going to be painful and, as a queer person, I don't want to go through that. Poll after poll has shown majority support for SSM, as high as 70%. It's got to the point where we just want them to do it now, not argue about it and ~let the people decide~. We've already decided.

Turnbull is one of those infuriating politicians who's socially progressive, but economically conservative, which is why he has a broad appeal to non-Liberal supporters. I can't recall if he argued for a free vote, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did. But the conscience vote issue has been really controversial in the Liberal party, because you've got that division between wets and drys, and the more rabid right-wingers won't stand for SSM at all, let alone a free vote. I believe Abbott put forward the referendum/plebiscite idea to stall, and keep them all happy. But it just stalls it out, and means nothing happens.

I do sort of feel sorry for Turnbull, though. I can't imagine he's going to get much of his own way now he's PM since he'll have to keep his party happy. He may have got the leadership 55-45, but it's not an overwhelming majority, and Abbott's supporters (and Abbott himself) are still around. It could all end in tears anyway, if Abbott decides to destabilise the party like Rudd did after Gillard usurped him, and Turnbull turns out to be just as shit as the last time he was party leader. So while we're free of Abbott's fking terrible PMship (and it was fking terrible; Turnbull can't possibly be any worse), we've got someone now who's potentially competent, and might get through more of the bad shit because he can charm his way into getting it through, just to keep his job.

tl;dr it's shit, and can they just legalise it already we decided we supported it ages ago, love, a queer Aussie voter.

[RandallS]

But the conscience vote issue has been really controversial in the Liberal party, because you've got that division between wets and drys, and the more rabid right-wingers won't stand for SSM at all, let alone a free vote.

"Wets and drys" -- in the US that's people for selling alcohol (wet) and people against selling alcohol (dry). Is that the same in Australia? It hasn't been a big issue in most of the US in years. Not even the most socially conservative politicians here seem to want to bring back Prohibition.

[Sobekemiti]

"Wets and drys" -- in the US that's people for selling alcohol (wet) and people against selling alcohol (dry). Is that the same in Australia? It hasn't been a big issue in most of the US in years. Not even the most socially conservative politicians here seem to want to bring back Prohibition.

Nah, it's nothing to do with alcohol. It's more to do with flavours of conservative, the wets are more socially progressive than the drys. And the current Liberal party has more drys than wets, which is why they have such stupidly far right policies woooo.

I have no idea where the terminology came from, tbh, but that's what it means down here.

[RandallS]

I have no idea where the terminology came from, tbh, but that's what it means down here.

Thanks for that explanation as I've never have guessed that.

[Sobekemiti]

Thanks for that explanation as I've never have guessed that.

 
Not a problem. It's sometimes hard to know how widely known these sort of terms are. Straya sometimes uses words in rather interesting ways.

[SunflowerP]

I have no idea where the terminology came from, tbh, but that's what it means down here.

 
From the UK, and specifically Margaret Thatcher, apparently, or so says Wikipedia.

Sunflower

[Sobekemiti]

From the UK, and specifically Margaret Thatcher, apparently, or so says Wikipedia.

Sunflower

 
Thanks for that, I had a feeling it was UK related in some way, but I couldn't remember any specifics.

[Castus]

"Australia will have  its fifth prime minister in eight years after the ruling Liberal Party  on Monday voted out Tony Abbott in favor of longtime rival Malcolm  Turnbull, following months of infighting and crumbling voter support."

Read the Article

Mixed opinions on this. Turnbull's history with the ARM is stomach-turning; but tbh I think he'll probably be more competent than Abbott -- at least, that's what my friends in Oz are saying.