Praise from Mark Buckley. That should keep Morrison awake at night.

Mark Buckley, not Mathias Cormann. No need for fear. Credit where it's due, I say. Fair to a fault, I am.

Steve Kates reminds us (well me anyway) that we are dealing with - more correctly they are dealing with us - "totalitarian mentalities which must always lurk behind everyone who runs for political office".

I know it's hard to associate this thought with the smiling, avuncular Scott Morrison. But, Adolf Hitler could smile quite nicely as could Mao; even Xi Jinping has an almost permanent smirk on his face; although that could be because he has slipped in a sneaky fart that nobody is ever going to blame the Chairman for Life for.

Yes certainly a better effort than his fire fighting ones.

Credit where it's due. And I agree with the tone and expressed sentiments of the article.

But I'll reserve judgement for Scomo, when I see, how he and his divided cabinet handle the economic recovery.

I'm willing to wager he will fold under pressure from his own far-right and fling all the noble Christian sentiment to the wind?

Given he is just not tough enough to stare down the Minority cohort of hard-right malcontents inside the coalition?

That said there is a mood for change and some seemingly socialist sentiment washing through our community/parliaments?

Let's hope it's not yet again to fall? Due to, compromised and conflicted career pollies. Who will just return to the business a usual, political paradigm?

And as they do? Make almost certain that we here in Oz, join in the coming (initiated in Donald Trump's America) global depression.

And where we have just two choices, join it, or, chart a new, completely SELF-RELIANT course, using Keynesian economic theory, cooperative capitalism and new nuclear power as either nuclear waste/thorium burning SMR MSR"s

Just imagine the huge and unparalleled job creation with the R+D and rollout of the above, almost self-funding economic paradigm.

And if rolled out as cooperative enterprise, ensure that every one dollar invested does the work of seven and returns a profit of 2.5 dollars for every 1 invested

Does anyone believe we have just one political leader with enough ticker to take us and the divided self-serving rabble, we'll have either government or political parties, more interested in the usual bun fight and power struggles that has of late, been the only noteworthy hallmark of political leadership and government in this country? Or the emergence of a true leader with the balls to unite the party and the country?

Take care and stay safe.
Alan B.

Scott Morrison has done an excellent job of handling this crisis, the worldwide consequences of Covid-19 however are unfortunately, likely to be long-term and devastating on many many fronts.

World wide debt has reached unsustainable levels, it is so high now that it will never be able to be repaid. We are spending far more than we are earning, which is very popular and enjoyable while it lasts.

Governments and Central Banks around the world have been negligent and irresponsible by implementing policies such as those advocated by John Maynard Keynes, and by manipulating Interest Rates, which has directly led to this out-of-control escalation in global debt.

Thousands of years of history however tell us that this can only end badly and this pandemic will likely provide the trigger that finally initiates it.

The fundamentals are far worse than they were in 1929 and 2008 but the sad reality is that the Reserve Banks have run out of ammunition, but that will not stop them from trying, by printing even more money that no-one has earned, etc., in a desperate attempt to ‘control’ the situation. This will only make it worse.

There is point in this process however when people loose that crucial, fickle element, ‘confidence’ in the system and the Central Banks will then loose ‘control’ of the situation. This is when a ‘Recession’ becomes a ‘Depression’ with all the resulting long-term disruption and trauma that inevitably ensues.

If governments since Howard, when we had a surplus, had been more prudent (much harder and more unpopular), our economy would be in much better shape now to meet this present crisis than it is.

Australia has the hapless honour of now having the world’s second highest level of debt.

Many have been lulled into a sense of false security and complacency, however we may shortly be rudely awakened from our reverie to find a very different, difficult and devastating real world.

Personally I think that it would have been a very
difficult job for any government or leader to
undertake what was necessary with this pandemic.
I think our government has done an excellent job
as have our leaders - both local, state, and federal.

I'm also proud of the way they listened to the
medical experts and the way the nation has responded.
For the first time we are seeing party politics put to
one side and people working together for the good of
the country and us all. People actually coming together.

It just shows what is achievable when we unite instead
of fight. Hopefully there will be more of this in
the future.

Hi Foxy,

Yes, Morrison has pulled all governments, state/territory and federal, together while the Chief Half-Wit in the US has dithered ('It's not much worse than the flu'; 'it will all be over by Easter' ) and given back-handed support to the idiots who want - in the US ! - to lift restrictions now:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/medical-workers-stand-anti-lockdown-protesters-200420145258308.html

In Australia and NZ, we've almost reached the relaxation phase with very few new cases and deaths, while in the US, they could well hit two million cases and 100,000 deaths in the next month. But all that means nothing to these weird people who care so little about other American - even about health-workers, for Christ sake - and, ultimately, are too pig-ignorant to really care about themselves.

And now Trump wants to suspend immigration - not flights into the US (which he could have done two months ago) but immigration. Is that code for Latin Americans ? Is he somehow trying to blame Latinos for the virus ? It's not enough to blame the Chinese and state governors ?

I wonder how he is going to blame the Europeans ? Or Canadians ? Anyone but himself and his half-witted followers ?

God help America.

Joe

Fair to a fault, I am.
askbucko,
Yeah, amazing what realising which side the bread's buttered on can do to someone's mind !

Dear Joe (Loudmouth),

I no longer watch American news. I find it too depressing.

But then watching Malcolm Turnbull's interview last night with
Leigh Sales was a shocker as well.

I'll try to read the book and see what impression that makes.

My husband has managed to buy a copy of it as an early
birthday present for me. One heck of a book. Close to 700 pages.
Still, being in lock-down - I've got the time.

LM,

Doublethink is a process of indoctrination whereby the subject is expected to...simultaneously accept two mutually contradictory beliefs as correct"

"If I was an African, I wouldn't want to go anywhere near a sh!thole country like the US." LM 19/4

"And now Trump wants to suspend immigration " LM see above.

So Trump is a bastard who has made the US a shithole that no one wants to go to, why simultaneously stopping all those people who want to go there from doing so.

Doublethink lives!!

I sometimes wonder if Trump Derangement Syndrome is more fatal to the mind of some than KungFlu.

individual, what side is the bread buttered on? What do you mean by such a remark? Is this to do with Morrison's lunch? Did I miss something?

Dear Joe (Loudmouth),

For further entertainment in lock-down, here's a gift
that keeps on giving:

http://www.businessinsider.sg/trump-quotes-since-becoming-president-2018-6

I can only broadly agree with the Author.

Morrison was having a shocker to start with. Allowing 15,000 person event at Hillsong to proceed and to announce he was off the the footy after telling us all how important it was that we all did our bit was pure spin.

He was being left for dead by state leaders, particularly Andrews and seemed to be playing catchup constantly.

Then there was one particular press confrence where he just seemed to leave the ideology at the door and really start addressing the enormity of what he was facing. It was the first time I felt we were going to be alright. The treasurer was suddenly using terms like doing it the Australian way when talking about everyone receiving equal amounts of subsidy payments. It was a deep dive into a socialist mindset which I could only applaud.

Yes there will be many critics of the both of them in years to come as there was toward Rudd and Swann, particularly from the hard right, but they can all go and get stuffed.

This had been the making of the man and while there is a chance he might revert to Scotty for Marketing right now he is hitting all the right notes. The ultimate test is whether he will be able to resist the calls to ease restrictions early, particularly as we have a looming flu season to contend with.

I hope he does stay the course.

'He was being left for dead by state leaders'

Yeah Steelie like your friend Anna who flew to Townsville to open a new packed stadium. But as usually very loose with the facts.

Did I miss something?
askbucko,
No, not a thing, you were incredibly quick in finding the side with the butter in record time !

individual, you are a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, eaten by an anomaly.
I presume you are accusing me of being a welfare recipient, forever grateful to S.Morrison, for giving me money, in this time of plague?
Is butter a metaphor for money? We must pursue this matter, as you clearly cannot see the wood for the trees (another metaphor), as I continue to be baffled.

askbucko,
haven't you heard the saying which side the bread's buttered on ? It applies mainly to fence-sitters & hypocrites !

individual stated,
"haven't you heard the saying which side the bread's buttered on ? It applies mainly to fence-sitters & hypocrites!"
No it doesn't. At least get your insults right! It refers to people who change their opinion to suit the paymaster. Sort of like, in terms you will understand, sucking up to the boss.
Hoping that clears that up for you. No wonder I can't understand you, you struggle with basic abuse.
Not to mention that you don't seem to follow an argument very well.
Mark Buckley