Thread by @iMusing

good morning from unceded Darug lands☀️today on #Insiders are Guardian politics editor Katharine Murphy, murdoch politics editor Samantha Maiden and 9fax (AFR) columnist Jennifer Hewett. The interview is with Anne Ruston, a woman, and Morrison government social services minister.

opening spiel: “keeping the faith”.
what’s the Morrison perspective, skip?
well, the prime minister wants to “end religious discrimination” lol #Insiders

Morrison tried to marshal “his troops” but apparently failed. The montage is on Coalition chaos and disunity. Canavan appropriating an abortion campaign principle gets a run. Lambie’s goddamn bloody adult does too. Soundtrack is house of fun (Madness?) #Insiders

“backbenchers worry” that they might lose their seat but the framing is about [Liberal Party politicians’] principles. Bridget Archer gets the hero treatment. Morrison panicking and hating on the NSW ICAC does too. #Insiders

#MakingNews NSW VIC and the ACT have changed iso restrictions in response to Omnicron. Two cases in the UK. More appropriation, the anti-rape principle, #TimesUp, to promote Morrison’s “troll” distraction. This in a week more private texts were leaked. #Insiders

panel. Why is life so tuff for Scott Morrison? Maiden says yes it is that time of year. Clip of Archer on crossing the flaw. Why? To save her job, and Murphy says the government is “on the clock”. She says the integrity commission is “stuck in cabinet”. #Insiders

some politicians want to unstuck the integrity commission from cabinet, says Murphy. Hewett recaps the nonsense about (pro-) religious discrimination being “more important” than the non-existent “national integrity commission”. #Insiders

Hewett also says Sharma and Zimmerman are trying to save their seats. #Insiders

the gaslighting of Archer. Maiden says it is a story of three rooms. Claims Frydenberg was being nice. At first. Archer asked for some time to calm her nerves and was switcherooed into a room - by Frydenberg - with Morrison and Paine. #Insiders

Rennick crosses the floor and gets stuff, Archer crosses the floor and gets a lecture about Berejiklian, says Maiden. Murphy says Morrison is stressed and his office is in “management mode”. They are not very good at it then (me). #Insiders

just take a breath, says Murphy to Morrison. Stop. Don’t produce seven different versions of reality, she says. Hewett says it has been a terrible week for the government and repeats the myth of Morrison’s “public appeal”. He barely scraped back into office. #Insiders

long clip of Morrison attacking the NSW ICAC. Clip of Perottet on the NSW ICAC. Perhaps some more corrupt white males have a view on corruption? #Insiders

the lie that “the people of NSW” still have some sympathy for Berejiklian. The people who don’t never get a look-in. Murphy says she went of her own accord, the investigation did not fall out of the sky. She calls Morrison’s partisan screaming “bizarre”. It is routine. #Insiders

it is natural for Morrison to defend Berejiklian, says Hewett. The panel speculate about Betejiklian’s possible future career for a bit. Maiden calls Morrison’s anti-anti-corruption hysteria “corrosive” and says “it works on a number of levels” in NSW. #Insiders

it is not ICAC or nothing, says Speers. There are various versions of integrity commissions. What’s going on behind the scenes, Katharine? Murphy says not withstanding Berejiklians popularity, political integrity is “red hot” in “the real world”. #Insiders

he needs to produce a bill or produce an explanation, says Murphy on Morrison’s pro-corruption position. He is blaming Labor, she says. They are on the clock.
Will they move on it this sitting? No, says Hewett [abridged]. #Insiders

interview segue is a clip of Scott saying he is “pleased to be there to support Bridget”. Are any men who cross the floor given this “support”, asks Speers. Well I think it is perfectly reasonable, says Ruston. He always meets with backbenchers with different views. #Insiders

Ruston says we always want as a government to resolve concerns. She sounds like a bot. She tries to blame Labor for the Morrison government failing to establish an integrity commission. The exposure draft has been out for 12 months, she says. #Insiders

they are asking for the Labor Party’s support, says Ruston. The draft bill prevents people “being convicted in the court of public opinion”, she says, which is not a thing. Why they do not just table and debate and vote on pass their own fucking bill is not addressed. #Insiders

so you are sticking to the original model but you will not introduce it unless Labor say how they will vote? Ruston spouts more lies. Again, the fact that Morrison does not have the numbers is overlooked. #Insiders

this latest version of the Morrison government seeking control over peoples lives on social media. In a week when the murdoch press took out the Australian cricket captain. Nothing on how this bullshit contradicts his phoney freedom comms. #Insiders

Speers quotes the e-safety commissioner - she is saying it is impractical, he says - and potential tech giant responses like exiting Australia. Ruston battles on, trying to pretend the Morrison government is not just trolling the left (they are). #Insiders

should taxpayers fund individuals who feel they have been defamed? We a selling a very strong message that we are very serious about this insists Ruston, very seriously. The shit she is spouting is very very embarrassing. #Insiders

the new plan will be in place when the existing plan expires, says Ruston about the 2011 violence against women policy. It will be publicly released, consultation, blah blah. Nobody mentions the cause, violent men. #Insiders

have you released the money you announced? Has it been delivered to DV services? Ruston says the mo etc has been promised and “will be” delivered and frontline services are the responsibility of the states. Sounds almost as serious as anonymous trolls oh wait #Insiders

back to panel. Speers says let’s pick up on this story that the prime minister is going to announce today. Yes, let’s speculate about and legitimise what the chief bully, Scott Morrison, will say later about online bullying. Murphy says it is serious too. #Insiders

characterising the platforms as publishers? Morrison said no last year and now says yes this year. Murphy calls this political flip flopping “a seachange”. #Insiders

and we are just one jurisdiction, Murphy adds. These are global companies. Maiden picks up on this point too, wondering aloud how Aust accounts registered overseas etc. she also wonders if they are trying to set up a publicly funded defo kitty for politicians. #Insiders

to this Speers claims Morrison has “some success” with big tech on the ad stuff. Hewett poo poos the back door defo slush fund thing and says it will be at most a test case. It is more about the announcement, she says. Ya don’t say. #Insiders

could the same be said about the religious discrimination bill? asks Speers. What’s that skip? Is it possible the Morrison government is making a song and dance about a thing that causes real harm for campaign purposes? #Insiders

clip of Morrison saying what “should not” be done by schools, rather than what is in the actual state and federal laws that his beloved bigotry bill overrides. #Insiders

clip of Zimmerman contradicting the prime minister. Did he get pastoral support for correcting the record on anti-discrimination law that Morrison misled the public on, straight to camera? Who can say. #Insiders

the “key conflict in the bill” as Murphy calls it, is in fact the prime minister lying about religious me emotions and legal protections to discriminate. “This bill is creating and enhancing rights to discriminate”, she says, correctly. #insiders

and what is the mischief to be cured? Maiden says the bill is “to some extent virtue signalling”. She says Morrison government Attorney General, Michaela Cash, has done one [racist Sydney radio] interview and no press release on the bigotry bill. #Insiders

it it such an important bill why isn’t the prime minister standing up in the parliamentary courtyard with the attorneys general Michaelia Cash and giving a press conference on it, says Maiden. #Insiders

omnichron. Yes it is a big deal, says Hewett. Speers repeats the phoney Morrison freedom comms. Murphy says Morrison was popular when he put government in our lives (March 2020). Speers tells us what the prime minister wants to make the focus (of his current campaign) #Insiders

clip of Dutton weirdly talking about fascism (“the 1930s”) to flog the China fear horse. They want us to be tributary states, he says. There is a political element to what Peter Dutton says, agree Maiden and Hewett. Incredible analysis. #Insiders

Hewett says we talk loudly and carry a very very small stick lmao #Insiders

#TalkingPictures with legend photographer Alex Ellinghausen is up. Cartoonist of the year is Glen Lelevre. Alex is a back to you David man. #Insiders

https://twitter.com/InsidersABC/status/1464729497580699650

#Finalobservations 1 is an absent Murphy. Sam Maiden says the women in the workplace report Respect@Work recommendations are coming up again and this will be interesting in the parliament. #Insiders

#FinalObservations is Hewett boldly stating that Berejiklian will stand in Warringah and when the election will be but I missed whether she said “March rather than May” or the other way around. Happily, it makes exactly zero difference to pundits what they predict. #Insiders

the outtake is that awkward clip of Frydenberg and Joyce struggling to open a bottle of water. Speers says small tasks are tricky “when you have a busted finger”. Unclear which one has the sore finger like a little von Trapp. #Insiders

this has been another edition of watching #Insiders so you don’t have to👋🏼👋🏼👋🏼

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I should clarify that the “Anne Ruston, a woman,” joke is referencing Kunts for Klicks.

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