The Abbott government has become a comedy of errors and Captains Calls and it would seem that the light at the end of Abbott’s tunnel is in fact a train, one called the Turnbull Express.

Much of the Coalition’s issues is blamed on the hostile Senate where legislation passing is dependent upon the support of independents and minor parties. A talent that Julia Gillard and her Senate team excelled at, and that Tony Abbott and “Team Australia” have utterly failed at.

With things so tight in the Senate each and every vote is vitally important for the Coalition in its quest to push forward with their great unfair budget, and to ensure they have the Senate blessing when they attempt to break their election promises.

Unfortunately by the Coalitions own standards one of the Liberal members in the Senate has what the Liberal Party has referred to in the past as a “tainted vote”.

By the standards that Tony Abbott and the Coalition held when they were in opposition any vote from George Brandis agreeing with them should see Liberals fleeing for the Senate door.

Many may recall the circus scenario that ensued when Craig Thomson one made the decision to vote with the Coalition on a bill in parliament. This decision by Thomson resulted in the childish spectacle of Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne charging for the parliament doors like a couple of blokes dashing for the dunny after a dodgy curry.

The issue was that Thomson had been accused of a crime, not found guilty nor even faced court, just accused. Being accused is apparently enough by Coalition standards to have your vote considered “tainted” and one that should not be counted.

George Brandis and his department have been referred to the Federal Police for investigation on matters that some allege could be “corrupt and unlawful conduct”. Quite serious allegations and seemingly backed up by the comments by the secretary of Brandis’s department Chris Moratis who Fairfax claim stated;

“that Professor Triggs was told a senior role would be available if she resigned after being told she no longer had the confidence of Attorney-General, George Brandis.”

That has all the appearance of a bribe.

For the Coalition not to consider the vote of Brandis tainted would seem rather hypocritical.

Professor Gillian Triggs has lost the confidence of the government, in particular the confidence of Tony Abbott and George Brandis. However I’m reasonably confident that Professor Triggs isn’t losing too much sleep over they’re lack of confidence considering this is a government that likely can’t even remember the good old days when they may have had the confidence of the country. Confidence in this government is all but a distant memory.

Professor Gillian Triggs is the President Of the Human Rights Commission and what has earned her to scorn of the government is to release a report on the plight of children in detention. Despite the fact that it condemned Labor as much as it did the Coalition.

You see the Coalition think they have a strong selling point in National Security due to the slowdown in asylum seekers. The report released by the Human Rights Commission doesn’t exactly hold their methods in high esteem.

An open-minded look at National Security would question the question logic of the chest-beating of Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott.

On their watch we have Australia’s only terrorist attack after a Liberal Government weakened bail conditions and let the Martin Place gunman roam the streets. This gunman was able to commit his heinous act despite 18 calls of warning about him to the National Security hotline. Calls the friends and families of Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson no doubt wish had been taken as seriously as the government claims the threats are being taken.

It is also a government which has seen Australian customs become a virtual travel agency for Aussie Islamic State wannabe fighters traveling to Syria. We have teenage boys from Bankstown doing Islamic State promo videos on YouTube, and Khaled Sharrouf gracing the front page of our newspapers with his seven-year old son holding a severed head, after leaving the country with a virtual Bon Voyage from those claiming to be National Security heroes.

Anyway perhaps the Coalition have someone else in mind for President of the Human Rights Commission.  Someone like Andrew Bolt or perhaps Sophie Mirabella may have the Coalitions confidence, one thing is certain they don’t like the high standards of Professor Triggs and clearly want her to leave by the nearest door.

What is perhaps the most alarming aspect of this alleged bribe to seek the resignation of Professor Triggs is the office it came from.

The Attorney General’s office should be beyond reproach in legal matters, after all George Brandis as the Attorney General is the highest ranking law official in the country.

Instead the Attorney Generals office has been the source of controversy over its wishes to soften the laws against hate-speech, defending the right to be a bigot. It has also been the object of ridicule after Brandis told us all that he wanted to strengthen National Security laws by allowing agencies to have access to our meta-data despite not being able to explain what meta-data actually is.

Now we have what would appear to be a bribe being offered to remove an official he does not approve of. It begs the question could the reputation of the Attorney General’s office possibly sink and lower?

When did they say good government starts again?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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