Trudy is basically right - on the surface it does seem as if the 'Liberal
Nine' have put careers ahead of principle. Still, it might be too early to
tell (as she has suggested) whether they have just beaten a tactical retreat
or if they are in fact 'Howard's Cowards'. It's one thing to vote to quash
debate, but we don't know if they will actually cross the floor or not until
an actual bill comes up for them to vote on. That'll be a better test. And
anyway, maybe 'crossing the floor' isn't the be all and end all anyway - the
two biggest floor crossers in the past were Ruddock (the Mr Burns of
Australian politics) and Robert Hill (the minister for pulling the wings off
butterflies) and look what happened to them. Whatever happens, it is hard
to imagine a less moral leader than Howard. He'll be getting my white
feather.
Tim
PS: Trudy: Have you come across the letter that Margo Kingston mentions in
her article today?:
"In a stinging letter to the Herald, the former royal commissioner into
police corruption, the NSW Appeal Court judge Justice James
Wood, was joined by three colleagues on the appeal Bench, Justices Tony
Fitzgerald, Margaret Beazley and Paul Stein, in accusing some
politicians of exploiting popular prejudice to trample powerless
minorities."
Maybe it's only in the print edition? Or maybe I missed it online?
All help appreciated. Thanks.
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