31 July 2006

The votes Simon Corbell means, and the votes he doesn't

| johnboy
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I’m hoping something comes online soon, but I just heard Simon Corbell explaining why his vote against the Government (of which he is a cabinet minister) at the ALP’s conference on the weekend was not a major issue.

Apparently his breaking of Cabinet solidarity was not a big deal because he had to vote with his faction. He thought his faction was wrong, but voted with them anyway against the Government.

It seems this sort of thing is normal in the principled world of the ALP.

So, in future, how are we to know what he actually means when he supports things?

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Chris S: You mustn’t have been around very long. Katy G has been hammered many a time here. When people think she has stuffed up, they comment on it.

I won’t take the bait, I’ll just say that in the time that I knew him alot of repsect was lost. Mr Corbell has a way of presenting himself to be a man trying to better himself and I think he genuinely believes he does well for the community. But his personal issues I feel sometimes cloud his judgement. Regarding KG, I do not know her personally or otherwise. Having once been a strong labor supporter, I find it sad that there is in reality no side to support any longer.

ON Simon’s background, people who went to NSW Uni in the 90s remember Simon from Young Labour. He was a bit of a light weight then I think. They were amazed when he became an ACT minister.

Evee and LG, Simon Corbell has held some fascination for RiotActers, due to his inconsistent and illogical decision-making while in public office. Katy Gallagher has not been subject to the same scrutiny, as she seems to be much more highly regarded.

evee, we’d be very interested in your views, provided that they relate to his public performance rather than anything personal (well, perhaps just a bit personal…). It is often these behind-the-scenes views that reveal much more about a person, and why they behave the way they do, and/or if they are dispaying a consistently appalling pattern of behaviour.

all this Corbell bashing, Ms Gallagher did the same thing and used the same excuse.

As tallian said, as the former education miniter (until just before the budget) Gallagher would have been involved in creating the policy – or the function review made the decisions without input from the department. either could be true

He has no concept of ethics or morality. Speaking from personal experience, I know this about Corbell. I would like to say more but I won’t, for now.

Laurie Short11:02 am 01 Aug 06

If you choose to be in the Left faction you are effectively bound on policy positions. Consequently you get the hypocrisy evidenced in the voting of the Ministers on the weekend. This is markedly different from the right and independent factions in the ACT (and hence some of the scattered voting patterns of those groups on policy issues). There is a time-honoured way out though for left members who do not agree with a particular position and that is to leave the room and not vote.

barking toad9:07 am 01 Aug 06

“…stanhope runs the whole show….”

That is more worrying than sad simon’s pathetic voting

Thumper is right on the mark – Corbell can now have his cake and eat it too. He has said what his personal views are, so if ever he’s challenged, he can say with hand on heart what he believes.

However, he has also played footsie with his faction, thereby ensuring that he continues to get endorsed. Win-win for Corbell.

However, for most thinking people with some skerrick of ethics and morality, such a situation would be untenable.

However, Corbell, through his noted and well-used ability for cognitive dissonence (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance) is able to put aside all doubts as to what is right and what is wrong.

Corbell has displayed this ability for self-deception and self-delusion consistently in his planning and former health portfolios, and will continue to do so at an even more extreme level as Attorney-General. The bloke’s a fruitloop.

Corbell and the ALP spin team must be kidding. He basically explained it to the media in terms of I voted that way – breaking cabinet solidarity – because my faction requires it. But as he emphasised its OK – I don’t agree with the way I voted. And this fellow expects us to believe him about the Epicentre matter.

The Libs FOI requests are drawing blanks

Either they’re telling porkies to the FOI requests or it really is “cobbled together late in the budget process as a bogus justification of the slash and burn decision taken”

You decide.

So where does one’s loyalty lie in the ALP? To the factions obviously. No doubt the same factions pulling Stanhope’s strings and stopping him doing anything about his renegade Cabinet ministers (well that and a complete lack of alternatives).

What about Katie Gallagher too? Surely all the policy around the wondrous reforms of the education system must have been well and truly underway while she was still education minister? Not just cobbled together late in the budget process as a bogus justification of the slash and burn decision taken,

Corbell is a twit

It’s what you get when you run with a low rent party hack as a candidate – somthing the ALP is consistently forced to do because of their long track record as a policy free zone and their ability to quash real ideas with factional mantra.

To those who doubt me – I will give a half-decent bottle of red to the first person who can demonstrate that Corbell can walk and chew gum at the same time!

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