Thread by @iMusing

good morning from unceded Darug lands☀️today on #Insiders are press gallery veterans Laura Tingle (now ABC) and Paul Kelly (murdoch sinecure for life or something). The interviews are with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and LOTO Peter Dutton. And John Howard.

opening spiel: the GG is about to declare Charles III king of Australia. Speers says the death of QEII is a profound moment “for Australia”. It would be more profound if nobody declared Charles III our king lol #Insiders

she visited Parliament House, where Speers is now, he says again, 11 years ago. He then claims collective “affection” for QEII on behalf of 25 million people, which is simply incapable of being accurate. She was there through [lists some atrocities without blame] #Insiders

the montage is Queen lol the actual ones #Insiders

*montage soundtrack #insiders

#MakingNews is the ceremony to proclaim Charles the King. Again, the GG here will make the same proclamation at midday. Also making news: covid soars in aged neglect facilities. #Insiders

straight to the interview with Albanese. We are both in dark suits. He recites his itinerary for attending the funeral in England and then the memorial service here the next day. Cites protocol. #Insiders

PUBLIC HOLIDAY! DRINK. #Insiders

will Albanese take Pacific Island leaders with him to London? He is working through these arrangements. There are still covid restrictions in place. Will they be on YOUR plane tho? Not necessarily but the entire RAAF fleet is on standby. #Insiders

will there be a catch up week of missed parliament sitting days? Apparently so. Albanese offers a reason - that it would be difficult to sit thru “adversarial” processes in the “Westminster system we inherited” when its boss dies. This is almost funny, or could be. #Insiders

let’s talk about the Queen. Albanese recites the trope that she visited lots of places in the colony. No word on any act of material value nor acknowledgement of whose land she walked on. #Insiders

on her non-interference in the republic referendum campaign. Oh well that’s okay then. Not that Albanese could realistically raise her *ahem* interference in other relevant matters but still. Reciting “16 prime ministers” straight after is jarring #Insiders

the threshold is so low. She spoke to everyone in the room. Was good humoured. She knew things about places. #Insiders

and King Charles? He has been outspoken on the urban environment, and Albanese shares this interest in urban economics and climate change impacts. So you are cool with KingCharles speaking out on climate change [paraphrased]? It should not be seen as political, says AA. #Insiders

now is not the time to debate our system of government. You know, the debate we had 25 years ago and QEII did not interfere #Insiders

we know you are a republican tho? Albanese sidesteps this quite neatly. He says the ceremonial matters will be attended to first [abbr] #Insiders

what about for *Indigenous Australians* who see the Queen as the personification of the crown?

Fact check: the monarch IS the embodiment of the Crown, which DOES assert sovereignty over unceded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders lands. #Insiders

Albanese says people are entitled to their opinions.
Fact check: invasion and colonisation are violent, racist structures. Not opinions.

Asked about a portrait, he says a portrait of the head of state is “appropriate”. #Insiders

poor old JWH starts out with the myth of consent to being governed [by primogeniture ffs their true colours, always] and then re-prosecutes the shifty way he scuttled the republic referendum. And projects his opinion onto the dead, as tories invariably will. #Insiders

JWH name drops a private Secretary - no, not the one who facilitated executive removal of a lawfully elected government - and then says the system has been “improved” since the Dismissal. #Insiders

says QEII came thru the Dismissal “with flying colours as a constitutional monarch” and then tells an anecdote that may or may not be true but is on the record, according to JWH, about what Gough said. Classic tory legacy dominance in overdrive here. #Insiders

moves on to her presumed popularity, without any evidence of course. #Insiders

the [republic] debate never stops that’s fair enough in a democracy says JWH. He asserts her “personal popularity” again. He could cite Lowy institute research on this, but why bother when the entire political class are singing from the one song sheet.#Insiders

the 73 year old heir to the throne was “well prepared” says Howard. Again, the bar is so, so low. #Insiders

is Howard going to the funeral? He is not invited. #insiders

now Dutton, the interview pre-recorded “a short time ago”. Extremely telling how fluent and sincere he sounds when singing the praises of a foreign monarch. Clearly a royalist. #Insiders

He supports a public holiday😂😂tough call hey Dutts. He thinks people have been respectful and will be respectful with the gift of a public holiday. If Australians getting drunk is respectful, I guess. #Insiders

what Dutton thinks of Charles. He met Charles and Camilla that one time. Cool, cool. Asked about Charles on climate change, Dutton starts talking about power costs in a foreign country and then mentions charity and duty. #Insiders

are you saying he should be dropping advocacy on climate change? No, says Dutton, and verbals what Charles said yesterday. Then mentions William Prince of Wales. He is VERY fluent on this royal stuff. Prestige and mystique, he says. Right into it. #Insiders

you are not a Republican, says Speers, why does Australia need a king? Dutton deflects. That’s a debate for another day. We need a king as much as a queen because the system has served “us” - his demographic - “well”. #Insiders

a “transformation” and “very significant day” says Dutton, but what has transformed or is significant he does not say - because there is nothing. All this is procedural pomp only. Nothing actually changes, in terms of law and governance, or sovereignty. #Insiders

at 9:42 we go from the David Speers show to the panel. Tingle says she is the ultimate media symbol, the first leader whose entire reign has been documented in real time? On television? I missed the exact context sorry #Insiders

there is no vacant space at the top of our government. Sworn officers of the crown are out there doing what they do in its name. #Insiders

ugh this dreary repetition. Kelly recites all the same stuff. Popularity, duty, devotion. Then he gets on with the important matter of muddying future republic waters. But what KIND of republic, says Kelly. #Insiders

a quote from the Keating statement, which was at least intellectually interesting. Keating wanted to progress the republic, says Kelly, and then says our polity is divided and we need stability or something. #Insiders

clip of Charles on how he will be saying less, publicly, about his various interests and charities and that succession arrangements are in place. His call, says Tingle. But climate change climate change, says Speers, wanting his conflict journalism moment. So respect. #Insiders

he will not operate as he did as Prince of Wales because now he is king, says Kelly.
Startling insights here. #insiders

he has a long association with Australia, says Kelly.
So? What kind of association? Compared to where? Any material impacts? Or just passive endorsement of unlawful assertion of sovereignty by the Crown? #Insiders

distinguishing symbolism from actual system of government, Tingle says the question is whether we want an actual change is the current arrangements. She says more pressing is the question of a First Nations Voice to parliament. #Insiders

erasing the dismissal of the Whitlam government and the lasting damage it did to the polity, Speers repeats the lie of “stability”.
We have seen how “easily” convention can be “trashed” under the previous government, says Tingle👏🏼👏🏼#Insiders

“somehow the idea of an Australian head of state has lost momentum”, says senior murdoch operative. It’s a mystery, Paul. “Progressive politics has changed”, he says. Rudd and Gillard did nothing to progress the republic, according to tenured murdoch man. #Insiders

#TalkingPictures is up.
Hearing Australian prime ministers “got on well” with QEII. No public interest dividend is identified.

Ita is a back to you David laydee. #Insiders

https://twitter.com/InsidersABC/status/1568750040297897984

#FinalObservations 1 is Kelly saying Charles had a passion as a young man to live here as Governor General. It was not to be and the fact he will next visit as King is quite the change. If this “change” carries any actual meaning, Kelly does not say. #Insiders

#FinalObservations 2 is Tingle reading something out but I missed the source, link here.

https://twitter.com/insidersabc/status/1568751607197872131

the outtake is a clip of Teresa May telling an anecdote about dropping cheese on the floor chortle chortle #Insiders

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

I am paying forward this week #JusticeForTanyaDay

https://twitter.com/jordana_s_/status/1567683340983242752

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