Humphries doesn’t like the Govenment’s plan to help improve literacy in poor children, because Canberra is a rich person’s town.
“Canberra will lose because, with our city’s high socio-economic status and an education system already meeting the Gonski benchmarks, little extra funding can be expected for Canberra schools”, Senator Humphries said.
Humphries also points out a [...]

Senator Humphries announced a press conference this morning at 11.45 to discuss last night’s party meeting and the Senate pre-selection.
We attended with a smattering of reptiles and, as the wind was blowing a hooligan, proceedings were moved inside.
I’ve recorded the whole shebang for posterity.
A particular highlight is at the end when he’s asked how the [...]

The ABC reports that despite all the sound and fury of the Pogos* Zed Seselja still had the numbers the second time around for the winnable Senate seat in the ACT.
The Canberra Liberals, in the wake of this shambles are really going to have to extract their digits to hold out the Greens’ Simon Sheikh [...]

Not to be outdone by Labor’s ridiculous spill/no spill circus, the local Liberals have stepped forwards remind us that they are just as much a parody of a real political party by bringing in lawyers to settle this whole Zed Seselja versus Gary Humphries malarky.
For those who have blissfully avoided or managed to forget the [...]

Liberal Senator Gary Humphries has put forth a complain about his leader not getting an invite to the Centenary formalities:
Senator Gary Humphries today expressed his regret that the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, had not been invited to play a role in a ceremony to mark a century since the official naming of Canberra.
The [...]

The Canberra Times is still quoting combatants as neutral officiators in the Humphries v. Seselja deathmatch wracking the Liberal Party for the winnable Senate seat.
But the story does at least clear up that the big meeting to decide on overturning Zed’s preselection victory is to be held on 27 March.

The ABC has bad news for the Zeddites:
But hundreds of members were barred from taking part in the vote and many are challenging the result.
They claim the process unfairly favoured Mr Seselja.
They successfully petitioned the Liberal Party Executive to agree to hold a vote on whether to overturn the preselection process and hold a [...]

The Canberra Times has a confused account of where the pre-selection War in Heaven (apparently conducted in the afterlife) for the Liberals Senate spot is up to.
Many Pogo* members excluded from voting by Zeddite manipulation (including Big Bob Winnel) have now got themselves some voting rights and it appears there will be another pre-selection vote.
Meanwhile [...]

The ABC has the unsurprising news that Senator Gary Humphries will take an opportunity if it comes his way:
A top level Liberal Party meeting will consider a motion to have the result set aside because of concerns that many members were denied a vote.
Senator Humphries was asked on Monday whether he would renominate if the [...]

After Zed’s victorious campaign against the Pogos over the weekend he has now turned his mighty gaze onto the residents of Lanyon Valley and is wondering why Labor hasn’t given them a pool yet.
In the Assembly today, Mr Seselja will call on the ACT Labor Government to outline when they will develop more community facilities [...]

Political circles are getting very excited by the Canberra Times reporting on Tony Abbott’s remarks last night on the pre-selection race.
Bearing in mind that the Times is basically the Mouth Of Gazza at this point in the race Abbott’s remarks are not as clear cut as they at first appear:
Mr Abbott praised Senator Humphries’ political [...]

The Canberra Times has an intriguing story on Simon Corbell announcing to the Assembly that his Office of Regulatory Services is investigating the Canberra Liberals.
This is curious.
In the article the Liberals say they know nothing about this.
The ORS media release page has nothing on this at the time of writing.
So Simon is in special communication [...]

Two moderately illuminating stories in the Canberra Times today on the Liberal Senate seat stoush.
The first is Gary Kent (former party president of the Gazza school) fulminating on all the things he coulda shoulda woulda gone and done, and still might if he had the numbers which he probably doesn’t.
This bit is worth repeating [...]

Crikey have had a poke at the Gary Humphries knifing.
It’s interesting to consider that at the Parliamentary level the conservative Zed is squeezing the numbers of the moderates.
The grip of the big-C Conservatives on the federal Coalition may be about to tighten, with moderate ACT Liberal Senator Gary Humphries likely to be rolled in a [...]

The ABC brings word that Monday is the deadline for Liberal party nominations to run in this year’s federal election.
Which means Zed Seselja’s Hamlet act is drawing to a close.
Will he run at the lacklustre Gai Brodtmann in the southern electorate of Canberra?
Will he get into a preselection brawl with sitting Liberal Senator Gary Humphries?
Will [...]

Liberal Senator Gary Humphries is deeply concerned at cuts to the pot plants in the Department of Immigration and Citizenship:
For example, answers to Questions on Notice received from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship reveal that in just over four months DIAC has removed over two thirds of the plants that formerly adorned their offices.
“Despite [...]

The ABC has the risible news that the former GetUp! frontman Simon Sheikh wants to run Green for an ACT Senate Seat.
He thinks Liberal Senator Gary Humphries’ seat is vulnerable.
I really don’t see Gary’s core constituency flocking to Simon Sheikh.
UPDATE 23/10/12 09:32: The Liberals’ Eric Abetz is taking this as a gotcha moment:
“Simon Sheik’s [...]

Some needed hard questions from Liberal Senator Gary Humphries over yesterday’s odd paediatrics announcement:
An eleventh hour pledge from the Federal Government of $5m for paediatric services – available only if ACT voters re-elect a Labor government on Saturday – was announced yesterday.
However, it was revealed in Senate Estimates last night that the Health Department knew [...]

Senator Humphries is making a point of the Government’s reductions to the public service:
The Australian Bureau of Statistics yesterday released figures that show public service job vacancies in Canberra have slumped to their lowest levels in 15 years.
“The ABS has belled the cat – Labor can’t continue denying that jobs are going from Canberra”, Senator [...]

Following Senator Cory Bernardi’s unfortunate outburst the Liberals have had to have a reshuffle as the body is taken away and the blood cleaned up.
ACT Senator Gary Humphries has let it be known he’s been moved into Youth and Sport, something he seems to be taking some glee in, and it will put him back [...]

As has too often been the case in recent years we’re buggered if we can make sense of what Senator Humphries is trying to achieve.
He’s opposed to the NBN and yet disappointed construction has gone slowly? Just happy to be able to give Senator Lundy the bird?
Yet again, Labor’s broadband promises to Gungahlin are [...]

Senator Gary Humphries has accused the ACT Labor government of ignoring the costs of the carbon tax on Canberran hospitals. Most of Australia has by now released information about the additional costs to hospitals, but the ACT is yet to do so.
“The ACT Labor government says it is still conducting analysis to examine how much [...]

Senator Humphries has the chilling news that the Lanyon Centrelink shopfront is being closed in July with horrible consequences for the city as their clients are forced further afield to secure their hand outs!
“The Lanyon Centrelink has been servicing customers since 1999 and today we find out that that service will be gone by this [...]

Liberal Senator Gary Humphries is drawing our attention to the low level of health funding for Canberra under the Medicare Locals system:
The Medicare Locals system will see $493 million go to coordinating primary healthcare delivery across Australia but only 0.85% of that amount will find its way into the capital’s healthcare system.
“About 1.5% of Australians [...]

Senator Humphries enthusiasm for a well funded National Capital Authority has culminated in an intriguing media release.
Having noticed that some of the Centenary’s motherhood statements bear a passing resemblance to what the NCA might have, Senator Humphries goes on to assert that reduced funding to the NCA compromises the Centenary.
All these goals overlap with [...]

Chief Minister Gallagher has announced she’s reached an agreement with NSW to jointly bid for the gargantuan G20 summit in 2014 (whereby the leaders of the 20 most powerful countries in the world will all need motorcades and 5 star hotels simultaneously).
“Late last year I wrote to NSW Premier, Mr Barry O’Farrell, proposing that our [...]

Today’s latest effort by Liberal Senator Gary Humphries is built on a novel contention.
Based on data from the ever reliable Property Council he appears to be arguing that the size of the public service should be dictated by sentiment in the Canberra property market.
Some naive souls like your correspondent might think that minor trifles; like [...]

Has Senator Humphries’ office hired Jeff Manny?
The Senator’s latest epistle makes the interesting leap that a decline in building approvals is “confirming that Canberra is becoming less and less liveable”, which seems a bit of a stretch.
He then rabbits on about efficiency dividends reducing the appeal of moving to Canberra, despite his party’s intention to [...]

Liberal Senator Gary Humphries has gone stark raving mad and is calling for Canberra to host the G20 Summit in 2014.
Months after the announcement that Australia would host the summit of world leaders, plans for Australia’s hosting are proceeding with no explicit role for the national capital coming into consideration from the Labor Government.
Canberra looks [...]

Simon Crean has announced the release of the review of the National Capital Authority by the king of reviewers, Dr Allan Hawke.
“Dr Hawke’s report provides important advice on how we can achieve this in the lead-up to the Centenary of Canberra in 2013.”
The report’s recommendations include:
– Simplifying the planning system and better recognising the role [...]

Liberal Senator Gary Humphries has announced his discovery of plans to cut jobs at the Health Department:
A response to a question on notice from the Minister for Health and Ageing tabled in the Senate today has revealed that the Department of Health and Ageing is to shed 420 jobs next financial year.
The response says that [...]

Simon Corbell has announced the release of a review into all the ways the emergency alert system went wrong during the Mitchell Fire.
What strikes me as particularly clear is that anyone with a basic knowledge of primary school maths and the wit to apply it could have predicted these limitations and yet it was never [...]