The Media storm over the PM visit:

PM Gillard has arrived in the west, you’d pretty much have to be living under a rock not to notice the media storm surrounding the PM’s visit. Earlier today I was listening to a podcast from an MP in WA who was also fascinated by the big ‘to-do’ around the visit when similar trips to other states including Adelaide recently barely got a headline.

But first: The Panel on Q & A last night was great, Christine Milne was terrific as was Bill Shorten, I was disappointed in Tim Ferguson because I simply didn’t get any sense of his real interest in standing for the senate other than to make and poke fun at politicians, who by the way really don’t need outside help doing that on the whole.  I find Julie Bishop dull but she did delight in her single one liner against the Labor Party however for the most part she appeared to be simply trying to get as many of the LOTO’s one liners as possible… I wonder at times if there is a bonus for Liberal MP’s to see who gets the most in. Perhaps it’s three word bingo?

So let’s look at some of the issues raised both in Q & A and in the Lateline programs.

Bill Shorten certainly handled himself well, in an audience of 45% + Liberal voters Labor MP’s really have to be prepared for some harassment, whether rightly or wrongly the MSM really hammer them on an almost hourly basis so they are pretty hardy. Christine Milne is quite the speaker, I find her message is very often clear and succinct and her answers straight from the hip, clearly a style I prefer. Ruslan Kogan was clearly out of his depth and should have perhaps declined the invite; alas I’m sure some of his employees or family will have been chuffed to see him, although I felt his contribution to the discussion bordered on nought and sadly the contributions of Tim Ferguson, who I enjoy as a comedian, were nearly as valuable.

The Core issues raised last night were Asylum Seekers and Scott Morrisons disgusting comments on asylum laws… and behavioural protocols…a definition of which  was sought but not found. . Julie Bishop did say she felt Morrison had spoken quite reasonably in her view which is (imo) indicative of the entire opposition and their views on anyone not rich enough to fly in and disappear as overstayers. Her defence of Abbott on climate change was concerted yet unconvincing while I completely agreed with the views Christine put forward and my favourite tweet of the night was “Australia should look after the planet regardless of whether other countries have a carbon tax (Lordy19) and on that I thoroughly agree. Disability services , I believe Shorten handled quite well and with genuine interest and commitment

Q & A had some real in-depth and insightful questions from the audience last night, I was quite impressed especially with Wendy!

We then moved onto Lateline where our illustrious Mayor was being interviewed regarding the PM’s visit to Western Sydney.

Can someone tell me why is this such a big deal, the PM has been to Liverpool before, even recently with the opening of the Ingham institute where our local Mayor found the time to wear his chains and smile in the background to all the media he could. So the sudden interest poses some interesting questions, why is this visit so much more media worthy, so what!! she’s staying at a hotel in Rooty Hill, and it isn’t news to anyone with a brain that Labor is struggling at present, so given she clearly has the time and scheduled appointments she should be addressing the concerns of the people of the west…. What disappointed me most about her visit is that she is endorsing and supporting the Wesconnex project that will in effect not benefit anyone further west than Strathfield (or thereabouts) and the developers, when she could have pushed for the rail link to the north west to accommodate double level trains where the proposed private company will only build tunnels that will accommodate singles… moving fewer people. Or better still fund the extension of the Edmondson Park  line to Penrith or Blacktown to relieve the thousands of western Sydney residents who brave our overcrowded roads on a daily basis and bringing jobs to the west. The plans are there,  I saw them years ago, they are acquiring much of  the land and it would open up all the area to job creation in one felled swoop. Clearly her advisors don’t see a bigger picture for Western Sydney beyond the supposed quick fixes and media events and somewhere to dump crap no one else wants where she is on par with O’Farrell and his state counterparts. For the record, we are NOT the place to dump everything no one else wants, whether it an freight hub, toxic waste, airport, cemeteries or what ever…

Ned did raise the important issue of the Intermodal and how as a city we’d prefer the  business park we were initially  promised however Emma Alberici moved quickly on to other topics including Ned’s former allegiance to Labor and Mark Latham, he’s not the only Lib on Liverpool Council to change commitment mid stream, Cllr Hadid was a staunch Labor man for many years, only his former mentor was Paul Lynch .  Again Scott Morrisons appalling comment regarding reporting asylum seekers to police and registering them like they are criminals… sadly Ned’s comment that they need to live by the rules didn’t distance himself from Morrisons suggestion where they were to be subjected to  ” different rules”  simply because they are asylum seekers, a topic that reaches new depths in whistle blowing & fear mongering. On this both Julie and Ned stood the party line.

For those who missed Ned’s big moment here is the link: http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2013/s3703302.htm?

For those who missed Q & A…here is the link too:  http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s3695401.htm