Brackswatch BIT
Due to pressing commitments relating to the State Election itself, Brackswatch has not been updated in a long while. This said we intend to continue until 2010 to keep Steve Bracks accountable, regardless of the anonymous quips that flood our comment sections.
The battle has already begun.
Labels: Brackswatch, Election
After a brief soccer related hiatus, where rankings moved in opposite directions to Australia's form, Brackswatch returns with a series of gaffes, reminicent of the Ernie Eels Incident.
One was
confusing Bert Newton, a doyen of television, for some guy called Bob Newton, possibly confusing him for same Bob in Chesire, who is a police desk supervisor.
The other was confusing Socceroos Superstar Harry Kewell, for his on field persona, Harry Cool, although Cool did lose it when he launched a verbal barrage at official Markus Merk.
Finally, too busy spruiking the Victorian in Geoff Ogilvy rather than his extrordinary performance at the US Open, he called him Peter.
Would Steve Remember Your Name?
Labels: Brackswatch, Gaffe
100 Post Mark:Brackswatch Continues
This marks the 100th post since the inception of Brackswatch quite some time ago, the fifth of March last year. Rest assured that we will continue to keep Steve accountable for his mistakes and spin, which is only going to get worse as we approach November 25th.
In other news, we have been informed that our
Wikipedian friends have
removed the link from
Steve Bracks' page to here. I wasn't even aware that we were linked in the first place.
Labels: Brackswatch, Wikipedia
Brackswatch Tops Bracks
Put Bracks Victoria into the
Google Search engine, and the first two results belong to brackswatch, before a Steve Bracks release from October 05.
Labels: Brackswatch
Brackswatch Ranked by Honor Network
For the ranking of the month of April, Brackswatch
has been placed at number 23 on the rankings of the
Honor Network, for Libertarian & Conservative blogs in Australia and New Zealand.
Labels: Brackswatch
Neo-Con: Brackswatch
Neo-Con: BrackswatchOur thanks for the link on your homepage, we will return the favour
Labels: Brackswatch, Media Commentary
The Age Goes To Town: The Undemocratic Premier
Normally, Team Brackswatch tries its best to paraphrase, and sum up articles to make a point, because, like most, we think long diatribes are boring and drawn out. But Paul Austin's effort in
The Age today has us collectively nodding our heads.
(Our
Bold)
The contempt with which the Bracks Government treats the Victorian Parliament is something to behold. Trouble is, so few Victorians actually do behold it that the Government seems to believe it can get away with it.
The list of this Government's offences against the Parliament is long: it ensures the Parliament sits infrequently; when Parliament does sit, the Government seeks to ensure that the political "news" of the day happens elsewhere; and the one period of each sitting day when the public and press galleries are likely to be well populated, question time, is treated by the Government too often as its plaything and too rarely as a means of seriously reporting to the people on the activities of their representatives.
The list is hardly unprecedented, but the point is that Steve Bracks promised something better. During the 1999 election campaign, Bracks, taking the usual licence of opposition leaders, said of Liberal premier Jeff Kennett: "If he could pass a law to outlaw elections, the premier would do it . . . If he could close down the Parliament completely, rather than the least number of sitting days he has now, he'd probably do that as well. Imagine if he is re-elected with a big majority and what he'll close down next - not only no debates, probably no Parliament." A year into his term in office, Bracks was still talking up the ideal of a rigorous Parliament. Issuing a policy in October 2000 on "ensuring openness and probity in Victorian Government contracts", Premier Bracks said: "We believe that government is only doing its job properly if it allows the Parliament, the community and the auditor-general to scrutinise its activities and hold it to account."
But, as so often with this Government, the fine words were not matched with firm actions. In the election year of 1999, when Victoria was ruled by that anti-democratic Mr Kennett, the Parliament sat for 37 days. In this election year of 2006, with Victoria ruled by that champion of democracy Mr Bracks, the Parliament will sit for 38 days. Opposition Leader Robert Doyle, unsurprisingly, accuses this Government of paying lip service to parliamentary democracy. But his argument is backed by figures showing the Parliament sat for 15 fewer days during the first six years of Bracks than it did during the last six years of Kennett.
A "sitting week" for the Victorian Parliament means Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday only. A "sitting day" can be so short as to leave you wondering whether it was worth turning on the lights: on April 4 this year, the upper house convened at 2pm and adjourned at 5.23pm.
On the days when the Parliament does sit before lunch, Bracks often absents himself from the building during the morning to make the Government's good-news announcement of the day at a TV-friendly location. Then, during question time from 2pm, he arranges for a Labor backbencher to ask him a "Dorothy Dixer" question about said announcement so the Premier can bring the Parliament up to speed.
As for the idea that ministers should account to the people via the Parliament for the allocation of public money and the good governance of their portfolios - well, sometimes the very concept appears foreign to this Government. Space permits only one example, but readers inclined to trawl through Hansard (www.parliament.vic.gov.au) will quickly find others.
During question time in the lower house on April 4 (the same day as the upper house sat for a little over three hours), Opposition health spokeswoman Helen Shardey referred minister Bronwyn Pike to "reports that the Wangaratta area manager of Rural Ambulance Victoria was allowed to resign after it was discovered he had forged signatures to get jobs for unqualified mates". Shardey specifically asked Pike: "Why has this man still got a car owned by Rural Ambulance Victoria, and why are Victorian taxpayers still paying to put petrol in it?"
Pike's "answer" occupied several minutes, but not once did she mention the area manager, or his car, or who was paying for his petrol. Even the (Labor) Speaker had to ask Pike after she resumed her seat, "Has the minister completed her answer?" Pike: "Yes."
It did not seem to occur to Pike that, while giving a brief summary of the recent history of the RAV and talking up the investment her Government had made in the service, she might have also said words to the effect that the questioner had made an allegation about serious misuse of public money and the minister would have her office or department investigate immediately and would report back to the Parliament at the first opportunity.
Perhaps we should not be surprised that the Bracks Government is happy to belittle the Parliament. After all, this Premier has shown few signs that he regards the lifting of standards in public life as part of his brief.Last month, when The Age revealed that Police Minister Tim Holding (among others) had been using his taxpayer-funded, chauffeur-driven ministerial car in a Labor Party preselection battle, some political observers thought this might be the subject of a rebuke, or worse, from the Premier. Not a bit of it. Asked his response,
Bracks said through his spokeswoman, Alison Crosweller: "Ministers, along with opposition leaders and their deputies, have access to a driver and a car which can be used at their discretion. This is the case in all other states and the Commonwealth Government."
In other words, don't expect the Bracks Government to seek to set a good example on the use of ministerial cars, and don't expect Bracks to enforce higher standards on his ministers.
Steve Bracks doesn't lament the declining relevance of the Victorian Parliament. He contributes to it.
Update: WeekByWeek gives a mathmatical explanation of sitting daysLabels: Brackswatch, Election, Legislative Assembly, Legislative Council, Media Commentary, Parliament
Special Mention...
To our visitors from
- Australian Parliament House server
(15:10-15, This afternoon) - The Victorian Parliament server
16:46-7, This afternoon)
It makes it all worthwhile for you guys to be having a stickybeak.
Labels: Brackswatch, Visitors
Reader Mail
Steve Bracks is one of the best premiers this State has ever had. He is a far better leader, and it much more intelligent than Robert Doyle and the opposition. Is this state is so much turmoil that you would slam Steve Bracks all day? We have just had a hugely successful commonwealth games, which will boost Victoria's tourism, therefor bringing in money to our community. Because of Steve Bracks and what the state govenment has done, our capital Melbourne was voted the worlds most livable city. He must be doing a terrible job...
Submitted by author@deakin.edu.au 27 Mar 2006 16:49
We take all submissions to Brackswatch seriously, but this one was a little overdone. The very point of Brackwatch is: WE DON'T LIKE BRACKS. Let's expand a little:
one of the best premiers this State has ever had:
Is he really? Once you take out Kennett, Bolte and Hammer he might be still be surpassed by the likes of Cain and Kirner. Let's not confuse incumbance with greatness.
more intelligent than Robert Doyle and the opposition: Bracks may be politically savvy (remember the Teflon Premier?) but that doesn't make him intelligent. See all stories on Brackswatch for more. Nor do I think that Bracks is more intelligent than the entire Liberal party room. Bracks has people to help him too.
Is this state is so much turmoil that you would slam Steve Bracks all day? I can answer that one easily. You need only scrawl through the pages of this site, and other sources of news to see that there are problems with Bracks. Hence Brackswatch. Gentle Deakinite, you may be happy to go with the flow and agree with everything Bracks does. We don't. As for all day, I don't spend my day running this website, it is a collective effort. Even between us, we don't go all day.
hugely successful commonwealth games: Bracks was elected in 1999, three years after the 2006 bid was made by the immediate past premier (IPP). Said IPP was always big on major events such as the Grand Prix, the (sadly departed) Heineken Classic, International Cycling, Gymnastics, Fashion, Swimming the list goes on. This reputation was created by the IPP, and the PP (Present Premier) has ridden on the coattails of greatness.
boost Victoria's tourism, therefor bringing in money to our community. There are no guarantees when it comes to money coming into our community. Many country people would argue they've been given short shrift by Bracks for not getting their fair share. Country Victoria is still part of his electorate and
our "community", lest Bracks forget.
Building activity in Victoria also faces a slump, in spite of the games.
our capital Melbourne was voted the worlds most livable city: Unfortunately no longer,
Vancouver is the most liveable city. Melbourne is still one of the
most liveable.
He must be doing a terrible job...YES!
Labels: Brackswatch, Guest Post
Bracksed
Six years ago, Bracks came to power, not on his own strength, but merely riding the crest of a backlash against his predecessor to power. Facing real problems, Bracks' hasn't come up with real solutions, protecting
More and more of Bracks' cardboard cut-out solutions are beginning to be exposed, and Victorians are waking up to the grim reality that
we've all been Bracksed - fed paper mache solutions to the real and present problems facing our State. Bracks' time has begun to run out - he is being exposed.
Labels: Brackswatch
