Andrew Wilkie in yesterday’s Weekend Australian;

“I think Julia Gillard is better than that. She doesn’t need to go there. She doesn’t need to run a campaign based on smear and fear,” he said

Well she can hardly run a campaign on ALP achievements Andrew – smear and fear is all she has.

Defence is in the gun again over emails denigrating women. General  Morrison, Chief of Army is cranky and  told reporters that a broader group of about 90 Defence personnel – overwhelmingly from the Army – may be on the periphery of the group involved in the email exchange.

…. he said the Australian Defence Force Investigative Service (ADFIS) told ADF chief David Hurley about the matter on April 10.

General Morrison was overseas at the time but was told when he returned soon after. Defence Minister Stephen Smith was also informed at the time.

I presume we have been sitting on this for two months waiting for an ideal time to announce the torrid details and today was definitely an ideal time to change the subject after yesterday’s ALP embarrassment over a derogatory menu. Based on Tweets from a lib hater who would “rather be raped by a pitbull with aids than live in Abbott’s Australia”  it all went pear-shape after the author stated the menu never left the kitchen and it was a joke between himself and his son.  This became known last night but fully ninety minutes later the ABC were still on the case reveling in Pilbersec going on and on about that terrible Abbott and his team. She had to know by that time so she was simply lying and the ABC, who also would have known there was nothing in the story, encouraged her. I still haven’t heard any apologies or withdrawal from the ALP desparates or the ABC and I don’t expect any. Catallaxy Files has a pretty good coverage of the affair – be sure to read the comments if you haven’t seen them yet. You can just see them at ALP HQ…. “quickly we need a distraction – Defence Minister isn’t there a report you have been sitting on for two months? – let’s announce that! And  Defence saves the day again. It makes sense, doesn’t it?

AUSTRALIAN security authorities will independently reassess the veracity of Egypt’s 1999 case against a convicted jihadist terrorist who was held in a minimum security detention centre for eight months. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said he would not pre-empt the case against the man, identified as Maksoud Abdel Latif, and the evidence brought against him in Egypt would be examined.

“There is no evidence that he has committed any offence here in Australia and the circumstances of what happened in Egypt in 1998-1999, they’ll all be examined, as is absolutely appropriate, in the course of examining claims that he is making and deciding what is to be his future,” Mr Dreyfus told Sky News.

“We have the rule of law in our country. We have proper investigative practices in our country.”

Publicly accusing another nation of not having the rule of law nor proper investigating practices is not a good look for an Attorney General of a first world country even if he is a member of a third rate government.   Dreyfus is only trying  to deflect attention away from the debacle occasioned by the ALP’s open border policy and budget restraints on Customs, ASIO and the AFP. Anyone with skin in the game or an interest in Australia’s security have been warning all and sundry that to let people into the country when they come via boats, having destroyed identity papers en route,  is dangerous.  These boat people are not all they make themselves out to be. Afganis fleeing military service while Diggers are dying in Afghanistan;  Tamils (who invented the suicide bomber) looking for a better life on our social security, and, as is apparent in this case, terrorists escaping justice, are all among the mix. And, do you really think there is only one terrorist among the tens of thousands of illegal arrivals since Rudd opened the borders? Unlikely. There are hundreds of questions to be asked about the ALP’s handling of the illegal entries.  With authorities swamped and budgets tightened it must be almost impossible to vet each arrival.  With the government overwhelmed by their own incompetence they have folded and have released thousands of unknown people into the community. There isn’t even a semblance of control. Julia Gillard announcement of a probe of the case is tantamount to offering a bandaid to double amputee.  It wont help and by the time the results are out we will most probably have another government.  Still, considering all she wants to do is get the matter off the front page then it will likely work for her in the winter of her political life. One hundred days to go – what else can go wrong?

JULIA Gillard has been warned that the government’s strategy to win votes through its big-picture education and disability policies is being swamped by community anger over asylum-seekers, as senior Labor figures all but write off enough seats in three states to guarantee Tony Abbott a comfortable victory. If NDIS is ever funded then it will be a plus for the country but if it is,  it will be by the Libs and I still believe Gonski is a sop to the Teachers Union. To me, it typifies Labor’s propensity to just throw borrowed money at  problems.  There is a lot more to education than more dollars. With the exception of left wingers, the human rights push, the ABC and a good proportion of their viewers, the country is outraged over the asylum seekers.  This represents a huge majority and I would suggest that even a good proportion of rusted on ALP voters are angry as well. Now her own people are telling her and that is being reported in the press – not a good look.  Why on earth should she need to be told it is a problem?   The ALP heavyweights must be rolling their eyes at her lack of political acumen.   Doesn’t someone brief her every morning on what the people are saying or thinking? Maybe she only gets her news from the ABC. If you just watch the ABC you would be largely unaware of the extent of the boat arrivals.  After the election, and presuming Abbott wins, you will know of every boat that comes near our coastline under the byline of “Abbott fails to stop the boats”