In a further attempt to remove any scent of humanity the libs are trying to get rid of Petro Georgiou, they are a disgrace and the very definition of "Un-Australian"!
Petro Georgiou has acted in the finest Liberal traditions, writes Tony Cutcliffe.
WHEN federal Liberal backbencher Petro Georgiou wrote for these pages in May last year ("Why we need a new policy on refugees", Opinion, 26/5/05), he began by declaring it was time for Australia to show "compassion and accountability" in the way it treated asylum seekers.
He will have been aware that his stand would provoke yet another attempt to wrest the seat of Kooyong away from him. The preselection nomination by the ambitious young Joshua Frydenberg shows just how far the Liberal machine has strayed from its roots in the relatively short time Georgiou has been in Parliament.
As member for Kooyong, Georgiou occupies the seat once held by the much respected founder of the Liberal Party, Sir Robert Menzies. Among Liberals, Menzies is not just respected, he is absolutely revered for his values and for his political legacy. John Howard even went so far as to install Menzies' old desk in his Canberra office.
Georgiou has had a distinguished career in public policy. He worked for former prime minister Malcolm Fraser, during which time he was instrumental in establishing the multicultural broadcasting flagship SBS. He continued to utter Menzies' war cry by providing key strategic support to Jeff Kennett, who presided over the reconstruction of Victoria's collapsed economy.
Why then are the knives out for Georgiou when it seems that the spirit of Menzies would embrace him and all the things he stands for? Why are superannuated pinstripes such as Hugh Morgan reported to be leading the charge, when Georgiou has reliably supported structural reform in the interests of public good? How is it that former senior Liberal Neil Brown is reportedly moving against Georgiou, who has been a courageous champion of human and civil rights?
A scan of Georgiou's previous stands uncovers much of the motivation for others who might want to bring him down. Former communications minister Richard Alston, now comfortably ensconced as high commissioner in London, is reported to be one of the political assassins. Georgiou upset Alston's applecart in 2002 when he and others refused to allow Alston to use the parliamentary Liberal Party as a rubber stamp for Alston's legislation. Others will be upset by Georgiou's stand for the civil rights of same-sex couples. He will have upset yet others by opposing the trampling of civil rights in anti-terrorism legislation.
To the ghostly applause of Menzies, Georgiou has stuck his head up time and time again for forgotten people in the same way that Menzies championed the so-called forgotten people of his era. Georgiou has marched for the cause of Aboriginal reconciliation and has steadfastly promoted harmonious and constructive multiculturalism.
In 1999, Georgiou annoyed others in his party by reminding them of Menzies' particular commitment to social justice and equity of opportunity. He implored his own party to keep this in mind when considering its options in welfare and social reform. He urged others to remember that those who had been relegated to the community's margins rarely had a choice in the matter. Despite potential political benefits, Georgiou also opposed non-compulsory voting because it wouldn't benefit the broader population.
Reading the demands of national identity, Georgiou worked diligently for the cause of a republic in the referendum, setting himself apart from the egotistical supersizing that ultimately shattered the "yes" case. However, it seems that Georgiou's determination to protect the rights of defenceless refugees, particularly their children, has brought on him the faceless opprobrium from which his challengers draw their comfort. He steadfastly refuses to bow to the bunyip bluebloods who would have his head.
The Liberal leader at the time of Georgiou's original preselection was Alexander Downer, who described Georgiou's selection as important for broadening the base of a party that had become "too narrow in years gone by". The same Downer is now reported to be up to his garters in the putsch against his parliamentary colleague. Sadly, even former governor-general Sir Zelman Cowen appears to have forgotten his former vice-regal manners and entered the fray.
Contrary to some of the spin, the challenge to Georgiou is not a measure of his departure from the party's best interests: it demonstrates how far his party has moved from the enduring principles of its founder whom it purports to venerate.
Tony Cutcliffe is a director of the Melbourne-based community forum the Eureka Project.
By Jewel Topsfield and Orietta Guerrera March 22, 2006
PRIME Minister John Howard will back Liberal moderate Petro Georgiou, who challenged him over the mandatory detention policy for asylum seekers, in the looming preselection battle for the seat of Kooyong.
A spokesman for Mr Howard yesterday said the Prime Minister supported all sitting members — the same position as Treasurer Peter Costello.
Mr Georgiou is facing a challenge from Joshua Frydenberg, a former senior adviser on security and justice issues to Mr Howard, who is now a director of global banking at Deutsche Bank.
Mr Frydenberg is being backed by influential members of the business community, including former Business Council of Australia chairman Hugh Morgan and former Allens Arthur Robinson chairman Michael Robinson.
His push is also supported by senior Victorian Liberals in the Kooyong electorate, who have claimed Mr Georgiou has presided over dwindling fund-raising, party membership and declining voter support at five successive federal elections.
Mr Georgiou's supporters include former premier Jeff Kennett, former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and senior state Liberal Ted Baillieu.
Mr Baillieu said Mr Georgiou was popular and should win the preselection.
"Petro has enormous support both amongst the membership and in the broader electorate," Mr Baillieu said earlier this week.
Liberal MP Bruce Baird, who was part of a group of backbenchers led by Mr Georgiou who negotiated with Mr Howard to get children and long-term detainees out of detention, said it would be a tragedy if Mr Georgiou was not preselected.
"Without his drive and determination there would be a lot women and children sitting in detention centres," he said. "He provides the conscience of the party and a strong humanitarian interest in human rights and civil liberties," Mr Baird said
On the streets of Camberwell yesterday, there was strong support for the sitting member of 12 years — even among Labor voters.
Liberal voter and Hawthorn resident Violeta Imberger said Mr Georgiou was popular among her friends, and enjoyed a good reputation. "He's from a migrant background, and that background gives you a school-of-hard-knocks outlook," Mrs Imberger said.
"You've seen the hard side of life; you haven't got there because you're from a well-heeled family.
Long-time Camberwell resident Michael Taveira said that while Mr Georgiou and his work weren't always visible around the electorate, he would still vote for him.
"I think he's done an excellent job — on mandatory detention, his work on migration, and in general his liberal attitudes," Mr Taveira said. "Small 'l' liberal — he's one of the few who's genuinely left in the party."
One Labor voter, who asked not to be named, said if any Liberal MP could win his vote it would be Mr Georgiou.
"I'm not at all a Howard supporter — so I'd much prefer him to Howard."
Nominations for preselection close today and in six weeks local members and party officials will decide Mr Georgiou's fate.
I hope he makes it, he is a good bloke..............I do wonder,though,what chance he has with Howard behind him....
Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.
Howard's backing Georgiou about as much as Beazely backed Crean.
Funny isn't it how both liberal and labor are trying to get rid of the people that actually have the guts to stand-up and speak out when they disagree with something. And Crean and Georgiou are probably the two best people in both parties.
A letter in yesterday's Age. Be warned Australia, these are the future leaders of the Liberal Party ..
(This Barendse guy sounds like a young Tony Abbott)
Quoted Text
By Suzanne Carbone and Daniel Ziffer May 4, 2006
THE future of our nation is in safe hands if the next generation of student politicians is any guide. A Tuesday night function in the city turned into a vomit-soaked event that required the attendance of police, thanks in part to the president of the Australian Liberal Students Federation, Julian Barendse. A private event run by an accounting students' society for about 50 people was disrupted by a small group of gatecrashers. Observers say the group of between four and six people was unruly and was repeatedly asked to leave. Bond Lounge Bar owner Phil Anderson confirmed the disturbance, which began just after 7pm and dragged on for more than an hour. The function was expected to be peaceful, so Anderson had not hired security. But the group became rowdy and interfered with the event's sponsors. "So they asked me if I could have a word to them," Mr Anderson said. The phrasing went along the lines of "tone it down", but it didn't work. Mr Barendse was allegedly ejected, but about 7.30pm he ventured back in and nabbed some of the banners belonging to the sponsors. "The guy who we'd ejected was still out the front ... (and) was getting beers from inside from his mates," Anderson said. When told to dump the drinks and move on, he said, Mr Barendse ran back into the club and threw up several times. A cubicle-side chat failed to move the 23-year-old student politician, so Mr Anderson sought help. "I didn't really want to call the police," he said yesterday. The police arrived and asked Mr Barendse, an ex-president of the Melbourne University Liberal Club, to leave. He didn't, so they took him outside. "He was saying, 'I'm being assaulted, I'm being assaulted,' " Mr Anderson said, as another member of the errant group videotaped the fracas. The police told him to go, but "he kept walking back in". They eventually clapped handcuffs on him, but what happened afterwards is unknown. A police spokesman could not elaborate due to the "large number" of similar incidents in the city. Mr Barendse, who works part-time for federal member for Casey Tony Smith, yesterday declined to discuss the events. He said only: "This must be the first accounting function that's ever been newsworthy." We agree.
x452. . you would feel so much better if you did not look to these people to solve the daily problems you face. . . they have proved unworthy for decades. . and still people turn out to vote on polling day.
DEMOCRACY = Voters deciding by Poll on who will be the local member that "Big Business" will push around.
On topic though, we were a group of people who thought we could change the world for the better. We were all idealists and decent, hardworking people. Don't tar everyone with the brush of a few.
x452. . you would feel so much better if you did not look to these people to solve the daily problems you face. . . they have proved unworthy for decades. . and still people turn out to vote on polling day.
I face? I am actually not facing any problems at the moment.
Unfortunately me not voting or not caring about politics isn't going to help those in in this country that need help the most, the poor and disadvantaged.
If we were all well off or wealthy then yes politics would not matter and we wouldn't have to give a toss about the tossers that run this country.
We were all idealists and decent, hardworking people. Don't tar everyone with the brush of a few.
It's a shame your kind never make it. It's always the dishonest, immoral, elitist pr*cks that ever get anywhere - howard and abbott are prime examples.
There was a brilliant article on Abbott and his path to politics in the The Age Good Weekend a few weeks ago. Wish I could get it in softcopy format to post here ...
It's a shame your kind never make it. It's always the dishonest, immoral, elitist pr*cks that ever get anywhere - howard and abbott are prime examples.
...
But it's not just the Liberal Party, x452. There are people in every political party that are just like that.
And for the record, I don't vote Liberal these days.
But it's not just the Liberal Party, x452. There are people in every political party that are just like that.
And for the record, I don't vote Liberal these days.
Yes you're right. I chose the libs as an example because they're the Government of the day.
They seem to have a certain strangle hold on this country that I just cannot understand.
I watched "Insight" on SBS last Tuesday night and the topic was "The problem with the Labor Party", and there were voters in the audience completely disillusioned with the Labor Party, rightly so, however some of their reasons for voting Liberal astonish me because they are nothing short of dumb.
One guy said he votes for John Howard because he's a "leader". Well not really, using devisive and "fear" politics to rule your country like a dictator and make huge decisions against the wishes of the people (Iraq, IR Reform) do not make you a "leader".
Another person said the Liberals are better managers of the economy, now anyone that knows anything about economics knows this Government is enjoying a good economy because the previous labor government set it up, and John Howard does NOT have any control of interest rates. They are determined by international economic forces (since the dollar was floated), the U.S. also has relatively low interest rates at the moment.
Another woman said she feels "safe" under John Howard. I don't know why because by joining the Iraq war he has made Australia a terror target whereas prior to that we weren't even a blip on their radar!
A letter to The Age:
Quoted Text
Bring back Keating, I just love the bloke! Monday night's appearance on the 7:30 Report by Paul Keating rekindled in me an excitement in politics that I haven't experienced in what seems an eternity. I love the bloke. Here is a man who was a true leader, a man with a vision for Australia, a man I was glad to follow. Here was a man who knows what he is talking about and isn't afraid to express it. Here is a man with a sense of humour unlike the dull, grey, humourless, lacklustre people who currently occupy Parliament House. Those who are enjoying the benefits of a strong economy should fall to their knees and give thanks to Paul Keating. OK, a good number of Australians dislike Keating intensely, but history will judge him as one of our best and most visionary leaders. If only we could have him back. He'd eat the present mob (on both sides) for breakfast. Ian Braybrook, Castlemaine
The Young Liberal Movement is dedicated to the Liberal philosophy, which recognises the supreme importance of the individual in society.
We are committed to ensuring that society is responsive to the needs of all members of the community.
We believe in freedom of the individual, tolerance of others, and initiative and personal responsibility.
In a Liberal society the role of Government is to create an environment within which every individual has the opportunity and is free to achieve their full potential.
We believe that the voluntary co-operation of groups and individuals within society increases the scope of human endeavour.
As Liberals, we believe that a free enterprise system of economic organisation maximises initiatives, and enhances and individual's freedom and material welfare. We support minimal Government interference in people's daily lives, except where this is shown to be against the public interest or where the lack of Government intervention would work against these principles.
Concentration of political and economic power threatens the freedom of individuals by limiting their choices and reducing their ability to attain their own goals. Equitable distribution of political and economic power encourages individuals to contribute effectively to the decision making process.
The Young Liberals believe that businesses and individuals — not government — are the true creators of wealth and employment.
We believe in equal opportunity and tolerance, and in the encouragement and the facilitation of wealth so that all may enjoy the best possible standards of living, health and education.
...So basically it's everyman for himself and the richer you are the higher your standing and nothing else matters just get to the top any way you can even if it means climbing over the backs of others to get there....The last line is priceless I don't think this statement could be any further from the truth especially with the likes of the federal government in mind.
Hackers raid Liberals' official site By staff writers October 10, 2007 11:26am
THE Liberal Party website was hacked this morning to make Prime Minister John Howard appear to enjoy engaging in a lewd homosexual act.
Under the heading, The Liberal Party of Australia, the website read: John Howard Says "I like to s... d...!"
A spokesman for the Liberal Party's federal secretariat said that officials were investigating the matter. "It appears to be a hoax, but we're checking it out," the spokesman said.
The loophole in the site's security appeared to have been closed by 11am.
The site was a victim of a HTML injection attack, whereby the hacker exploits a security flaw in the site structure to alter the content displayed to the user. It is a simple hack but can be a precursor to more malicious Cross-Site Scripting, or "XSS", attacks, which allow data to be sent to a user's computer.
One hacker contacted by NEWS.com.au said the attack was "perfect" for what it achieved but it appeared "it would be very hard to do anything more than a basic injection of text ".
This was not the first time that liberal.org.au has been attacked.
During the 1998 Federal Election campaign, a Labor Party employee was linked to the hacking of the Liberal’s website where many links led to pornographic content.
The hacker also wrote derogatory comments about several Liberal frontbenchers on the site.
At the time, the attack was described as Australia’s first “electoral cyber warfare” incident.
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