Prior to a National Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Scott Morrison had another brain fart. In a silly attempt to reduce the problems with supply chains induced by his long wished-for opening up of ‘the economy’ and its predicted concomitant massive increase in infection rates of the Omicron variant of the Sars-Cov-2 virus, he floated the idea of allowing children (under 18s) to drive forklifts1.
This was supposedly part of a reduction in regulation of transport and associated sectors of the economy. He said: “There are other changes that need to be made and they’re at a state level, and I’m continuing to pursue those with the states,” but that “there are changes that we need to make around the age of forklift drivers, to get quite specific.”1
To mix metaphors (or similes), this brain fart went over like a lead balloon with the states at the National Cabinet meeting. The government of the Australian Capital Territory issued a statement noting: “Sensible and safe measures to alleviate workforce shortages have been supported but allowing 16-year-olds to drive a forklift was unanimously rejected by all states and territories.” In the three eastern mainland states, at least, forklift drivers require a special ‘high-risk work’ licence which are only available for people who are over 181.
There was apparently no communication from Morrison to any of the states prior to the National Cabinet meeting where this topic was ‘discussed’2. This is standard practice from Morrison to try to bludgeon the states into submission and to big note himself. However, this time, the unanimity of the states seemingly surprised him and forced him to back down completely. For a malignant narcissist like Morrison, there was no way he would have admitted that his proposal was knocked back by the states. In his vain attempt to avoid responsibility, Morrison said that national cabinet had “agreed to proceed no further with the issue of 16-year-old forklift drivers” and “we had a good discussion about that today and it is not something we believe, collectively … we should be pursuing at this time.”2
Morrison continues to amaze in his pathetic avoidance of responsibility for anything and his willingness to accept plaudits for other people’s efforts, but not blame for his own failings, which have been shown to be monumental.
Sources
The bloke is a freaking bluff, bluster and bullshit lunatic. Does anybody now take the fool seriously? Ey jen?
This is proof that he is not fit to be PM and should be kicked out of office at the next election. But this is not going to happen. Imagine 2 neighbours talking to each other across the fence sometime around May, one of them a pensioner.
Slick: “What’s in the Daily Telegraph today, Sam?”
Sam: “There is an article about the PM on page 13. See that huge picture of him?”
Slick: “What about it?”
Sam: “He’s showing that he’s one of us. See, look at that baseball cap, and that beer in his hand. He gets my vote, for sure.”
Slick: “But he does nothing but stuff up since he became PM. He has done nothing but send the country backwards, and his party still has no policies.”
Sam: “Of course they have policies.”
Slick: “Name me one they have introduced.”
Sam: “Ummm…”
Slick: “Exactly. At least Labor promised to fix the NBN, establish an ICAC with teeth, and abolish the Cashless Debit Card.”
Sam: “That card is designed as a precautionary measure for untrustworthy people like you. It’s not your money, it’s the taxpayer’s.”
Slick: “I don’t want it. It is designed to dictate what you can spend it on and where you can buy it. If you have looked at the website for the Say No 7, you would have found that out by now.”
Sam: “I am still going to vote Liberal in 2 weeks. At least I will get my tax cuts.”
Slick: “Do you know what these involve? It involves cutting funding from essential services. Besides, you might not get a tax cut; they are designed for the rich.”
Sam: “Let me be the judge of that.”
Slick: “*sigh* there is no hope for you people.”
Glenn,
I am sure most of us know people like that. The politically disengaged are a danger to themselves and to us.
just quietly but Nadesalingam Murugappan (from Biloela) has a forklift licence 🙂
Clive,
I am sure that many, many people will have pointed that out to Morrison.
it’s a bit funny (*or insert one of Arthurs more appropriate synonyms here*) but Scamo has been bagged for his failure to be specific, (for bleedin obvious reasons). So, it seems one bright young thing, on his vast team of writers/advisors, (or one of the numerous hastily assembled focus groups), had an epiphany, “lets say something specific” he/she said “It’ll be fun” he/she said. Meanwhile over in Sits Vacant there’s a fresh opportunity for a ‘bright young thing’ 😀
Clive,
That would be using ‘bright’ in the sense not of intelligence, but in the sense of bright red with embarrassment.
Addendum: perhaps the numerous hastily assembled focus groups were really Mr Hawkes ‘what to do with the Joker’ groups.