Lexi,

Senate and other enquiries are supposed to be set up on the basis of some evidence, and is used to expand the evidence base, find the root causes and recommend actions. If there was no evidence as you mentioned, this committee set up by the greens and labor looks simply like a party political beat up.

There is now evidence that Thomson corruptly tried to use his influence to get his ex wife a job.

SM,

If a Senate Committee can't do it's job properly -
because of denied access to relevant departmental files
and Officer's notes that could have cleared the accused
of any wrong-doing - then one needs to ask the question -
WHY?

Clearly this was done deliberately by the then Government
to protect Mr Ruddock from further scrutiny.

That's why Justice wears a blindfold.

"That you would use such language to attack me, and not any of the other clearly biased posters would imply that you are a labor stooge."

I think Labor have been failing miserably of late. I rather liked their original mining tax proposal, however when the slightest bit of criticism came Rudd's way, they buckled under pressure.

It's all been downhill since then and they are failing miserably to garner confidence.
My main fear is that they will sink so low, that the vastly more incompetent, populist rabble that is the opposition these days, will begin to look like a viable proposition.

Sound like the words of a Labor stooge?

I attack you, Shadow Minister, because you are by far, the most biased poster here.

You've utterly failed to respond to any of my points - you can't acknowledge that the opposition is screwing things up too, and when pressed you totally evade acknowledging this.

So yes. You're a stooge and I'm not. I can criticize both sides. Every other poster here has expressed some frustration with BOTH sides of the debate.

You can't. Therefore, you're a liberal stooge and we're not. That's the difference.

TLTR

Yup, You do sound like a labor stooge.

You don't criticise Labor directly, only chide them for not vigorously pursuing their more ridiculous policies, neither have you or any of the other labor tragics acknowledged that the reason that Labor is in the doldrums is because of their incompetent handling of just about every policy they have touched, even the ones that had potential.

This ad hominem attack on me personally can only be due to your inability to refute what I say either through lacking the material or intellect to do so.

The latest saga with Thomson shows that not only is labor incompetent but devoid of scruples. If you wish me to show even handedness by treating criminality with the same weight as petty indiscretions then you are sorely mistaken.

No, ShadowMinister.

I do chide Labor for a number of policies. Conroy's internet filter is one of the most abhorrent policies I've ever seen and I've criticized Conroy on many occasions in these threads. The factionalism within Labor ranks is ghastly and gives rise to party apparatchiks over real professionals.

That being said, Abbott has demonstrated he doesn't stand for anything except getting office and destroying the carbon tax. Everything he's done has been populism in its rawest form.

You state: "This ad hominem attack on me personally can only be due to your inability to refute what I say either through lacking the material or intellect to do so."

Careful when you use words like 'can only'. There are many potential reasons. In this very post, I refuted your accusation that I'm a labor stooge using examples and logic.

Here's a logic bomb for you - I make these attacks on you due to the content of your posts. It's not you per se, it's the fact that your posts show an inability to fairly critique both sides.

I'm saying your posts reveal your goal is not intelligent discussion to enlighten or debate. You have a very clear axe to grind. You have a motive. You have a goal. You do not seek to engage people, nor listen.

You are only here to put down one side of politics and by doing so, promote the other. There's only one way you can prove my hypothesis to be false and that's to admit the coalition also have many problems, or that Labor is not all bad, in more than an offhand manner.

If you did so, genuinely, I would withdraw my hypothesis that you are only here to act, in effect, as a public relations hack for the coalition.

But, you can't. So my logic stands, and it's you who are failing to refute my arguments. Also note that while you've insulted my intelligence, I've not insulted yours - merely your onesided diatribes, claims which I'd be willing to withdraw if you were capable of proving them false.

TRTL

"That being said, Abbott has demonstrated he doesn't stand for anything except getting office and destroying the carbon tax. Everything he's done has been populism in its rawest form."

Is absolute rubbish, and singular proof that you are guilty of exactly what you accuse me of. Your claim "I refuted your accusation that I'm a labor stooge using examples and logic." is incorrect for the reasons I gave.

While the coalition may have issues, none of them are stuffing up the country I love, and I reject the puerile notion that because I attack labor that I am a liberal stooge. I have a great desire to see Labor kicked out of office, mostly because as an Australian I am ashamed of what passes for our government, and while Abbott might not be the leader I would choose, he has single-handedly driven the stake through the heart of the party responsible.

I am a member of no party, and my contempt for Labor is shared by about 50% of the population of whom virtually none are liberal members / stooges / hacks.