Convoy of No Confidence - they're the Australian version of the Tea Party...

[Violet_Crumble]

http://the-riotact.com/truck-convoy-into-canberra-monday-22-august-fyi/52157

I don't have a problem with most protests, even if they are by homophobic and racist twits with a complete ignorance of how the Australian political system works. What I do have a problem with is this bunch of idiots deliberately timing their arrival in Canberra for the morning peak-hour rush and one of the organisers being quoted in a WA paper as intending to gridlock Canberra and cause massive disruption. If that timetable at the Riot Act is correct, then both routes I can take to work are going to be clogged by morons in big trucks. They're incapable of telling the difference between the people who actually live here and the politicians the rest of Australia inflicts on us poor locals every time Parliament sits. I held my nose and went and looked at the site that's organising this, and they adore Pauline Hanson, think Bob Brown wants to start a world government, hate Muslims, think young Afghan refugees are cowards coz they won't go back to Afghanistan to fight in a war that 'true Australians' are fighting on their behalf, and think the current Australian government is illegitimate...

Combine them and the politicians, and I'm not sure how much concentrated stupid Canberra can handle in one day. And it's scary that there's people out there that admire the US Tea Party...

[Esra Star]

1. Yes it's a bugger when you get stuck

On the positive side, we (Australians) are allowed to protest.
Their opinions may be misguided, but on the positive side, they do have opinions.
I think we can look forward to alot of anger in the coming years.
I just hope all the AK47's remain buried......and eventually forgotten.

[Violet_Crumble]

2. I've opted to bus it into work on Monday...

The angry truckers aka 'Real Australians' aren't allowed to park at Parliament House and are being sent to Bruce Stadium and being bussed in from there. Which has a far bigger impact on my drive in to work than I originally thought. Everyone where I work got an email today warning us of delays on Monday through to Tuesday afternoon and asked us to take alternate routes to work. My problem is there is my alternate routes are all going to be affected as well. So I'd rather sit on a bus and read a book while it sits inching forward at Glenloch Interchange than risk my propensity for road rage. I do like the idea someone at RiotACT had of sticking big signs at every entrance to Canberra speaking to them in their own language and saying 'Fuck off! We're Full!'

I honestly don't mind protests from folk whose opinions make my toes curl, like the Homophobes Against Gay Marriage who protested at Parliament House last Monday, but put any obstacles between my and getting to work, and I get irritated. I'm making a point of getting to work on Monday (so I can plan my small Costco provided contribution to the union-endorsed toilet paper pyramid in the foyer protest against the shoddy pay offer) just so the angry truckers can't use productivity losses to Canberra businesses as one of their wins...

The reality is probably going to be that there'll be no more than five trucks coming in from numerous directions and it'll all be a big fizzer and the local chardonnay/latte pedal-powered 'Unreal Australians' counter-protest will have a bigger turnout :)

[Matilda]

3. Hundreds of protesters, according to the ABC

Hundreds of protesters have gathered on the lawns of Parliament House calling for the Federal Government to hold a new election over the carbon tax.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-22/convoy-converges-on-canberra/2849352


So, hundreds are going to force millions of Australians to go to an early election? Don't think so.

If he didn't have the support of the Murdoch press and the right-wing radio jocks, Abbott wouldn't be able to rustle up enough for a backyard barbie.

Scary, how many people are prepared to follow a man who has no policy other than his own desire for power.

[Violet_Crumble]

4. According to Alan Jones we're forgetting the Lost Convoy...

That'd be the two kilometre long convoy of trucks that the leftie, Gillard-loving Canberra police stopped at the NSW border and banned them from going any further. Imagine how the numbers would have swelled if they'd actually existed anywhere but in Jones imagination! Anyway, despite the convoy organiser and ACT police saying there was no trucks stopped from coming into the ACT, and the obvious fact that a two-kilometre line of trucks is a bit big for anyone but Jones not to have noticed, he's sticking to his story...

http://www.theage.com.au/national/convoy-hits-canberra-but-no-signs-of-a-blockade-20110822-1j6dz.html

Jones is a repulsive toad, and what he did today trying to turn the crowd on a journalist from the Sydney Morning Herald was revolting. Thank goodness the crowd was so tiny or it could have gotten really bad...

http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-fee-me-and-alan-jones-how-question-of-money-turned-crowd-nasty-20110822-1j6fu.html

Anyway, like quite a few Canberrans today, I had a far smoother commute to work than I normally do and once the convoy organisers take the time to learn that the word 'democracy' doesn't mean 'forcing a change of a democratically elected govt coz I don't like them and I'm going to whine a lot and drive a massive truck round Canberra until I get what I want!', I'd like them to consider attempting to blockade Canberra every Monday morning so I can experience quiet roads on a weekly basis :)

[SwissTony]

5. The Brisbane Times website mentions 80 trucks.

A whole 80!! If 5 people were in every truck, that's be 400 people. Hard to g)auge from the photos on those websites, but it sure ain't huge. (Any wide shots available?) I've seen more people at the local under-12 footy.

And Jones is a creep with previous wrt taking money.

[Violet_Crumble]

6. Here's a pic that shows the crowd

Thoroughly underwhelming, and there's been some articles in our local paper today about The financial impact on small businesses who stocked up big after convoy organizers told them there'd be thousands in the convoy. Not to mention the cost to the ACT in unnecessary traffic management, road signs, and putting extra police and emergency personnel on duty to cope with the influx that never arrived.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/acts-huge-convoy-bill/2267088.aspx

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/convoy-no-show-hurts-stocked-up-pubs/2267087.aspx

[SwissTony]

7. Thanks for the photo, VC. Looks like the Canberra Primary School Fair

I read somewhere that one guy was going to spend $4500 on fuel each way coming from The Kimberley. What a waste of money. And it's dreadful that so many small businesses were affected. And as you say "Not to mention the cost to the ACT..."

Dumb asses.

[Violet_Crumble]

8. He'd be getting a tax rebate for that $4500 fuel bill...

If yr interested in delving into the nucleus of nuttiness that were the organisers of the Convoy of Confusion, their website is good for a few belly laughs. They've even got their own version of the US Birther conspiracy theory going!

http://justgroundsonline.com/forum/topics/federal-politicians-s44-of

The highlight was this post:

'Reply by Ruth Bonnett on July 7, 2011 at 8:21pm
Can we get an injunction to stop her government from making decisions until this is sorted?'

I know, Ruth! How about you guys organise another Convoy of Not Understanding the Constitution? Tell people thousands of trucks are going to blockade Canberra promising to stay until this is sorted, and only end up with a few dozen and go home the same day with yr tail between yr legs. Do it on a Monday morning so lots of people stay off the road and I can get another dream commute into the city like I did day before yesterday!

[SwissTony]

9. VC, have you been naughty??

Or is there a kindred spirit?

Ruth is not the sharpest dill pickle you'll ever meet, is she? Sweet.

I'll check out the birthers tomorrow.

[Violet_Crumble]

10. No, I'd get banned within minutes if I posted that on their site...

A few Canberrans ventured over there before their tiny convoy arrived in Canberra and were asking things like if they didn't want to cause disruption, why were they timing their arrival with peak hour traffic. They got banned after being called trolls, shinybums, latte drinkers etc etc. Their lack of tolerance for anyone who doesn't see things their way is just as great as their lack of understanding of how our political system works...

[Matilda]

11. But isn't that typical of right-wingers?

Don't debate the issues; attack the person.

[Matilda]

12. During Question Time today a group of seniors in the public gallery

started heckling the government during discussion of the carbon tax. They were ejected on the orders of the Speaker, but when interviewed outside, three of them said they listened to 2GB "all day long". That alone is enough to question their intelligence.

According to Anthony Albanese, some of these hecklers had been seen earlier in the dining room with a group of Liberal MPs.

I find the abuse of the Parliament by Abbott ugly and very disturbing - I truly wonder whether he's losing the plot. I believe he would, and probably has, organised a rabble in cahoots with Alan Jones, and this is not democracy, but an abuse of it.

Like it or not, Julia Gillard is the leader - for the moment - and Abbott is showing a complete lack of judgment and grace by not accepting the situation. It doesn't give me any confidence for his ability to govern the country, and even conservatives should be concerned at what he might do, as he seems to have no real concept of how to work effectively within the system. In other countries, this is the type of man who would engineer a military coup – I see little difference between his mentality and that of Frank Bainimarama, for example, only a difference in opportunity.

[Esra Star]

13. Everything about Mr Rabbott is ugly

He looks unfortunately neanderthal, and then has a habit of leaving his mouth open.

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.