12 January 2009

The unspeakable in pursuit of the unedible - Hargreaves v. Coe Round 1.

| johnboy
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Gungahlin Al has been in touch to point out that the the disgracefully slovenly ACT Legislative Assembly Hansard service has finally spun it’s laggardly wheels and the December sitting is now available. Al forwarded me this exchange:

    MR HARGREAVES: But the wish list that they had was an interesting one and I will go through a few of them. One was waiting lists for aged care accommodation. Yes, we were going to do that some time ago. Another was a land bank for aged persons accommodation care. We have already got that. Another was multiunit properties. We have already got that; it is in Housing ACT. In fact, I could take a couple of people around on a tour if they want one.

    Mr Coe: I’ve asked you for that.

    MR HARGREAVES: Did you say something, young fella?

    Mr Coe: I’ve asked you for a tour.

    MR HARGREAVES: I would not give you a tour of the old-people homes because you will frighten them.

    Mr Coe: Thanks. Good on you; you’re a real professional, minister.

    MR HARGREAVES: You, my dear boy, would not know the meaning of the word. My dear fellow, you were still in a sandpit when we were in here looking after the people of Canberra, and I will be here the day you go back to the sandpit. You are just such an absolutely appalling addition to this place. You should take some advice from some wise people such as Mr Doszpot.

    MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ms Burch) Can we get back to the subject, minister.

    Mr Coe: Great use of the MPI! Great use of it!

    MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Mr Coe, please.

    MR HARGREAVES: Mr Coe, you are a stand-up joke.

    MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Finish now.

    MR HARGREAVES: In fact, I suggest that you go and use some public transport. (Time expired.)

I suppose that if we must be represented by both Messrs Hargreaves and Coe it’s nice that they can at least be rude to each other for our entertainment.

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sexynotsmart said :

I am fed up with prunefaced 50-somethings belittling those of us with 30-something years walking the Earth.

Off topic:
Prunefaced 50 – somethings ?…What the hell is that ?
As far as I know, I have only one wrinkle and that gets taken care of regularly.

Belittling those 30 – somethings ? …Don’t you think * some * deserve it ?
Their favourite and most important words from vocabulary are :
MOBILE PHONE
LIFESTYLE
TEXTING
IMAGE
and last and best …IT’S ALL ABOUT ME !

dont get me started

BerraBoy68 said :

Skidbladnir said :

Doszpot for tosspot!
My bad, that was a typo. I meant Tosspot.

Aww, c’mon fella’s… Steve’s a long time family friend so I’m honour bound to defend him. He is a really good guy. By coincidence, his daughter will be my sons teacher this year (yay)!

Having friends as MLA’s certainly stirs up some inner termoil but I’ll stand by Steve. I am nothing if not loyal!

OT – I’m normally Labor but Hargraves does himself, the party and teh assembly no credit in that exchange.

known steve for many years, almost worked for him at one stage. I was happy to see him get a ticket into the greatest comedy show in canberra. I hope he takes notes on how not to be a popular MLA…

One MLA acted very dignified….and the other MLA very childish.

Skidbladnir said :

Doszpot for tosspot!
My bad, that was a typo. I meant Tosspot.

Aww, c’mon fella’s… Steve’s a long time family friend so I’m honour bound to defend him. He is a really good guy. By coincidence, his daughter will be my sons teacher this year (yay)!

Having friends as MLA’s certainly stirs up some inner termoil but I’ll stand by Steve. I am nothing if not loyal!

OT – I’m normally Labor but Hargraves does himself, the party and teh assembly no credit in that exchange.

Doszpot for tosspot!
My bad, that was a typo. I meant Tosspot.

This is a disgrace. How dare the Minister suggest that Mr Doszpot is “wise”!

barking toad said :

Our minister John was obviously in a testy mood.

Perhaps he had to pay for lunch. And chose a cheap and crook red to boot.

I don’t think he regards any red as “crook”. Unless it’s a non-alcohol one.

I have a niggling feeling that the original quote was “the unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible”.

Coe needs to invite Hargreaves out behind the bike sheds I reckon.

The only possible explanation for Hargreaves behaviour is that excess alcohol consumption really does kill brain cells?

Maybe he could take Todd Carney under his wing and employ him as his permanent drinking buddy/driver.

Hargreaves is great. So entertaining! Made working in an ACT Gov ministerial worthwhile, especially after lunch. May the sparring continue, and the postings of such exchanges be as regular as Hansard will allow.

sexynotsmart11:57 pm 12 Jan 09

Why o why did this have to involve Alistair Coe? Of all the people I’d prefer not to leap to the defence of…

But recently I’ve got on the generation bandwagon thing. It must be something to do with horoscopes or the like, because IME the frequency of The Aged taking lines that this has increased over the past year or so. I am fed up with prunefaced 50-somethings belittling those of us with 30-something years walking the Earth. If you can’t justify your argument without resorting to “experience”, you should probably just shut up.

It’s enough to make you vote for the Kevorkian Party. Or someone who will limit subsidised pharmaceuticals and healthcare under PBS and Medicare to under 45s. The Inuit had the right idea with doddering old fools – leave them on an ice floe and let nature take its course.

But perhaps I’ve taken a short-term view here. Citizens of the Clever Country should always look to improve performance, whatever the matter. This may be an excellent opportunity for Mr Hargreaves to learn some real putdowns. Maybe even improve them from “lame” to “devastating”. Are there any arty-theatrical types who could volunteer their time to help?

And please count me in if you do. I haven’t heard a new “yo momma” line for over a year now. And my last email to blackadder@bbc.co.uk bounced.

Very amusing exchange.Hargreaves lost me (and I suspect many others) prior to the last election over his “it’s only busy for 20 minutes every morning and evening” comment in relation to the GDE.
Trying to put down Coe because he’s young does not do him credit either.

Deadmandrinking8:27 pm 12 Jan 09

And sorry to double post, but Alistair Coe is a twat. Surely he easy enough to pick apart without having to resort to schoolyard tactics.

Deadmandrinking8:20 pm 12 Jan 09

He repeats himself too much to be witty. ‘My dear boy’ ‘my dear fellow’ blah blah blah. Where’s the creativity? It’s old-man I-have-to-try-and-be-witty-because-I’m-useless talk.

Mr Coe, I think you’re already getting a tour.

Who are the dickheads that voted for this guy? Come on give me a reason why you voted for him.

Hargreaves is an absolute disgrace. I just can’t understand why Canberrans keep voting for the prick.

That’s not a deadsh.t, that’s a f*ckwit! A deadsh.t is harmless, but this senile old bastard is actually taking the votes he was given and playing silly buggers with them!

Seriously, who do these people think they are? How dare they even bother standing for office if this is their intention? Hell is too good for sub-human butt-monkeys like this!

‘Bout time for a no-confidence motion in the worthless old bastard.

Woody Mann-Caruso6:48 pm 12 Jan 09

What an utter deadsh.t. Lost opportunity to suggest that the real reason he doesn’t want to take Coe on a tour is that they’ll mistake old man Hargreaves for one of their residents, sedate him and then strap him to a bed. “The nurses are taking my money! What smells like mustard?”

John Hargreaves is clueless. I remember a time when ACT police were so desperate for numbers and equipment the few patrols we had sometimes had to share portable radios and torches. Morale (and member safety) was understandably low. Our then Minister responded to our concerns by making a press statement about how the ACT had more police numbers than the previous year. .yadda..yadda..yadda.. nothing to see here, move along, move along.

How this pompous prat remains in the legislative assembly astounds me. If he has nothing to hide, he should give Mr Coe a tour.

And now Jeremy Hanson has issued a Media Release calling “Shenanigans” on Minister Hargreave.

Election stunt? How cynical of him!

I’ve found that when you immerse yourself in politics you quickly lose all perspective, particularly with regard to manners.

If that exchange had taken place anywhere other than in our Legislative body, it would represent a truly appalling attitude and behaviour.

It’s not even clever. At least back in the day, politicians used to be witty in their insults.

Name calling and put downs… Mr Hargraves you are sounding like you need some advice from some wise people. And to think we are paying for you to behave like this.

Now if only they could be rude to eachother for our benefit

And if any MLA wants to raise into Hansard, the speed (or lack thereof) for the ACT Govt staff in processing the Hansard, I will give them the shiniest of shiny pennies[1]

[1]: Penny may be purely metaphoric in nature, and may be replaced with equivalent amount of beer, wine, or tasty tasty fruit juice[2], should I ever run into you at a social function, and entirely at my discretion.
[2]: Whatever your poison is, but you’d have to do much more than just mention it to get an entire pint.

nice to see the older ministers helping out the new ministers with positive advice and support…

Hilarious!!

: D

barking toad5:08 pm 12 Jan 09

Our minister John was obviously in a testy mood.

Perhaps he had to pay for lunch. And chose a cheap and crook red to boot.

I love it 🙂

Vic Bitterman5:02 pm 12 Jan 09

hargeaves probably had the shakes and needed a ministerial wine, or three, before driving home.

Remember, he’s our drink driving minister.

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