I had to laugh when I read that Chris Evans is jumping ship. Only this week I had a meeting with one of Melbourne’s VC and I was making the point that Evans seems to have been completely uninterested in his higher education portfolio responsibilities, a claim that was denied by the others at the meeting.
Let’s fact is, Evans has been a disaster.
- He is just the typical ex-union official/party hack who now retires on an obscenely high guaranteed parliamentary pension (which is in marked contrast with the comrades he once represented);
- He was the minister who declared the facility at Christmas Island to be a white elephant – oops, spoke too soon; said he was proud to ditch the Pacific Solution only to see it reintroduced by his government; and oversaw a massive influx of boat arrivals (including some who didn’t make it) even though his beloved ‘push’ factors had been there all along.
- He was absolutely hopeless as the Workplace Relations Minister, only achieving a few more appointments for Labor mates down at Fair Work Australia and elsewhere. During the Qantas dispute, he was nowhere to be seen – taking it easy in Perth – and Bill Shorten did all the running.
- He has achieved nothing as Higher Education Minister apart from overseeing a signficant cut to research infrastructure funding and the ditching of the recommendations of the admittedly flawed funding model proposed by the Lomax Smith report.
Good riddance, I say. And there are a few more like him.
And as for Dreyfus as AG? One minute Labor lawyer doing dodgy planning law, now the AG. And how bad has he been in his role assisting Climate Change Clown, Combet.
The one real talent in the Labor Caucus is Andrew Leigh and he has been given nothing. I guess too smart and not factionally aligned. A real pity.
Couldn’t agree more. As I said last night – he won’t be missed.
Hopefully Andrew Leigh will be included in the leadership group after the next election. He is genuinely smart and has interesting ideas. He also has a work ethic so will use the time in opposition to actually work out some policy and won’t be seduced by his own bullshit. Unlike the current mob who used opposition to snipe but not reflect.
Sinclair Davidson
2 Feb 13 at 12:40 pm
When you compare Wayne Swan’s credentials with Andrew Leigh’s, you really wonder how Swanny is Treasurer.
Andrew
2 Feb 13 at 12:49 pm
Ask Bill Ludwig.
H B Bear
2 Feb 13 at 12:59 pm
That, followed by Sinc’s comment, nearly made me swallow my tongue. Leigh is a fierce opponent of personal liberty and free speech and, apart from that, comes across as an insufferable smartarse. He may well have Keating’s instincts, but what use is that if he has the heart of a Nazi?
Tom
2 Feb 13 at 1:02 pm
He inherited a solution, and created a problem..
My reply to his immigration “enquiry” came back with
“Your work experience in Detention are out of date and wont be considered”
So his office was too cowardly to allow dissenting views to be listed/published.
Hes a fucking idiot.
thefrollickingmole
2 Feb 13 at 1:02 pm
They leave school, go to uni, get a degree, join a union office, get elected to parliament, get the parliamentary money and leave.
stackja
2 Feb 13 at 1:04 pm
I realise it’s hard to soar like an eagle when you are surrounded by turkeys, but unless his talents have been placed in the witness protection program I don’t see it.
Infidel Tiger
2 Feb 13 at 1:07 pm
Tom @ 1.02 pm
My thoughts entirely!
His dodgy gun law paper was the first time I read any of his stuff. Enough said.
Eddystone
2 Feb 13 at 1:07 pm
All the lefty intellectuals/pseudos have been heralding the great intellect of Andrew Leigh.
He’s been either appalling or anodyne since entering parliament.
The contrast with the Liberal Party’s Kelly O’Dwyer during the same time frame is stark and not all flattering for Leigh.
JamesK
2 Feb 13 at 1:14 pm
I wonder if Chris Evans, the A.L.P.’s “Federal Minister for Higher Education” has the intelligence to appreciate the supreme irony of holding such a Ministerial role in a Party whose membership is so profoundly dumb that they STILL cannot spell their Party’s name correctly despite 100 years of trying.
You can’t get much dumber than that!
Up The Workers!
2 Feb 13 at 1:14 pm
Judith – having read his firearms bloviating… sorry, no.
And he has not impressed much since. Even hard work in a bad cause strikes me as no recommendation. After all, Jeffrey Dahmer also worked hard at his ‘craft’.
Mk50 of Brisbane
2 Feb 13 at 1:14 pm
Hey, Eddystone, you have any experience with Howa-Hogue rifles?
Mk50 of Brisbane
2 Feb 13 at 1:15 pm
As Labor’s NEXT Minister of Higher Education, I suggest the all-singing, all dancing, ‘Dr.Emo’.
‘Dr. Emo’ has a Ph D. in Economics. An economist is just like an accountant, but without the bookcooker’s numeracy skills or sparkling personality.
‘Dr. Emo’ is devoted to hunt out stupidity and ignorance from all levels of the A.L.P.
He is so dedicated, he swallowed not one, but BOTH of Juliar Gillard’s contact lenses from the glass beside her bed, but EVEN THEN he couldn’t see any evidence of stupidity in the Party.
That’s dedication from a bloke who would make a perfect counterpart to Wayne Swan in Treasury.
Up The Workers!
2 Feb 13 at 1:27 pm
Andrew Leigh. Now come on, let us be serious. I know he is respected in the ACT by Labor luvvies but that is all he has. Another Labor prole who has never lived in the real, tax paying, family supporting real world.
Mother G
2 Feb 13 at 1:44 pm
The tax payer funded opinion sites – The Drum and The Conversation – go off air over the weekend. If they doesn’t to be part of the new media they need to work a bit harder. But I guess most of those involved wanted 9-5 jobs.
Ken N
2 Feb 13 at 1:50 pm
This is the beginning of the world’s longest train crash.
When it ends it will look like a fully armed military helicopter crashed into one of Ingham’s chook sheds ….. blood, shit, guts and feathers everywhere ….. V Messy!!
Party like it’s 1975!!
Leigh Lowe
2 Feb 13 at 1:51 pm
Leigh, we can party a whole lot harder than ’75 because we’re not replacing the PM with someone like the utterly deplorable, worthless, spineless, Mugabe-loving socialist, trouserless Malcolm Fraser.
Ubique
2 Feb 13 at 2:11 pm
Ubique, I’m hoping Abbott doesn’t turn into a 21st century version of Fraser. Trouble is he’s a busybody statist at heart and probably no friend of liberty. Few Australians are, as they have no concept of it.
Eyrie
2 Feb 13 at 2:18 pm
‘Fraid not Mark.
They look the goods though.
Try asking on Australian Hunting Net.
Eddystone
2 Feb 13 at 2:49 pm
“unless his talents have been placed in the witness protection program I don’t see it.”
That’s basically what has happened. He’s way down the pecking order, and has to provide support for his party superiors, not point out their errors. He also can’t advocate evidence-based policy if the party line won’t allow it.
“Another Labor prole who has never lived in the real, tax paying, family supporting real world.”
Jarrah
2 Feb 13 at 3:12 pm
Please, FFS – enough of the soft soaping of my local ‘member’ andrew leigh.
He’s a moron.
This is the imbecile who put his name to a supposed evidence based study of the ALPBC that proved they weren’t biased to laybore and the greenfilth, he tolds ya!
The smug git (for insufferably smug he is) needs to watch out as well.
If ever there was an election where laybore could lose leigh’s seat, this is it.
If only the liberals had a quality candidate they could run…
Rabz
2 Feb 13 at 4:09 pm
Leigh was also the author of that stupid paper that claimed theIr ABC was too right wing.
Judith, what on earth have you been smoking?
Johno
2 Feb 13 at 4:11 pm
I’d love to have a guaranteed income of a few hundred grand. I could really focus on getting my businesses off the ground.
I guess I will need to keep doing it the slow way: convincing people to give me money.
Jacques Chester
2 Feb 13 at 4:11 pm
Oh and the Mole™ has furnished me with some rather interesting anecdotes relating to the political smarts of ‘Dr’ leigh (for a ‘doctor’ he is) that have further adversely coloured my view of him.
To note leigh has an outsized ego is apparently a massive understatement.
Rabz
2 Feb 13 at 4:13 pm
This is supposed to be evidence of a life in the real world?
FMD you’re off the reservation if so. I hope it was confirmation of never actually having dealt with wealth creation and jobs and not a defence of his CV.
brc
2 Feb 13 at 4:27 pm
Andrew Leigh? Not while I’m still listening to the Tatts.
Philippa Martyr
2 Feb 13 at 4:33 pm
So did Angry get in on the Nats ticket?
I’m voting 1 LDP but I’m prepared to vote below the line as well.
.
2 Feb 13 at 4:42 pm
You sticking your hand up Rabz?
Driftforge
2 Feb 13 at 4:51 pm
Judith, no need to worry about other politicians retiring on “obscenely high guaranteed parliamentary pensions”.
I’m told the Great Helmswoman is soon to announce that the existing parliamentary pension scheme will be dropped in August, and replaced by the one (as amended) which covers most Australians.
The Glorious Leader’s rationale is that the change will infuriate Caucus which will confirm her consistency. The stampede for the door will be touted by Fairfax as confirming the Sun Queen’s reputation for sound judgement.
HRT
2 Feb 13 at 5:08 pm
Believe me drifty – I’ve considered it.
The problem is, if anyone was stupid to enough to go after me or my family with any kind of grubby and/or malicious intent*, they wouldn’t live to regret it.
Consequently, I’ve had to accept that my running for public office is not an option.
*i.e. standard layba pardee/fauxfacts/ALPBC/greenfilth practice – they have nothing else.
Rabz
2 Feb 13 at 5:18 pm
You’d only have to make an example once… Actually, scratch that, we are talking about green ilth here.
They never learn.
You have a point.
Driftforge
2 Feb 13 at 5:30 pm
Not only has Labor gone back to John Howard’s highly effective Pacific soultion, but they have set it in concrete.
Labor values in action.
johno
2 Feb 13 at 5:37 pm
“Prior to entering politics, Leigh was a professor in the Research School of Economics at the Australian National University.”
In a certain department of the NSWPS, an academic with no experience outside university, was placed as head IT architect. Unsurprisingly, he used theory to make decisions, ignoring expert advice that in the real world it won’t work. Despite being repeatedly proven wrong, that his brilliant theories were doomed to failure, he persisted.
Sounds like he would have been a shoo-in for the Climate Change Commission, or politics. With smoking ruins in his wake, his ALP qualifications would be exemplary!!
The Beer Whisperer
2 Feb 13 at 6:14 pm
“Leigh was also the author of that stupid paper that claimed theIr ABC was too right wing.”
Hilarious how much the right-wing echo chamber mirrors a game of Chinese Whispers.
The study mainly judged bias by counting how often left-leaning or right-leaning intellectuals were mentioned in various forms of media.
Personally, I think this method was quite flawed. Were the mentions positive or negative? Were the mentions just regurgitations of think tank press releases? Were the intellectuals being contacted for their contribution to the policy debate, or just because they could be relied upon for a good quote or contentious rebuttal?
I think the findings derived from that part of the study can be easily dismissed. However, they also looked at endorsements and donations, and found:
Jarrah
2 Feb 13 at 6:26 pm
“This is supposed to be evidence of a life in the real world?”
It’s evidence of living in the real, tax-paying, family-supporting world. It’s pretty rarified stuff (and are we really going to start condemning people for being high achievers?), but being a lawyer, researcher and teacher are hardly ‘unreal’.
Jarrah
2 Feb 13 at 6:31 pm
Being a lawyer without a practising certificate is not being a lawyer at all.
Rococo Liberal
2 Feb 13 at 6:41 pm
Jarrah do you believe the ABC is biased toward Greens/Labor?
jupes
2 Feb 13 at 6:41 pm
OK, Ubique, let’s make that a rule.
“This party shall never be led by a Malcolm ever again. Amen.”
I am going to piss myself coming up to Julia’s apocalypse, when the usual ABC flunkies start pleading for Turnbull to be made leader, on the back of Abbott holding a 2PP advantage of 54:46 or better.
Leigh Lowe
2 Feb 13 at 7:57 pm
As Chris Evans still had 3 more years in the Senate and would not have been included in this years election, his resignation gives the Liberals a bonus opportunity spot in the Senate to gain a majority in both houses!
Maurice
2 Feb 13 at 11:02 pm
Vomit worthy.
.
2 Feb 13 at 11:27 pm
I am well aware of the paper’s methodology and its findings. That’s why I called it stupid. Leigh thought it was worth doing and worth publishing.
johno
3 Feb 13 at 7:45 am