McTernan’s marriage with Gillard a Labor Disaster

John McTernan, is a 457 Visa Holder, said to be a gracious guest worker – and according to him this is  “hardly f***n’ relevant”

John McTernan has been and continues to be a divisive figure.

The advice given to our PM, the same advice that has caused even greater divides across the nation is being taken by the PM to be good advice,  and yet the PM still uses this advice given her by John McTernan.

Today he was asked about his guest worker status in Australia.

ABC News Online reports that it asked Mr McTernan the direct question – are you here working on a 457 Visa.   The Prime Minister of Australia’s Head of Communications answered the query from the Australian Broadcasting Commission with 3 words.   “Hardly f*ck*n relevant”.

I think the people of Australia are entitled to make that judgement John.  Let’s look at your past:

2000-2001, he was a special adviser as Head of Policy to the First Minister Henry McLeish of the Scottish Executive.  It would be wrong of me NOT to mention Mr McLeish resigned as First Minister in 2001 amid a scandal involving allegations he sub-let part of his tax-subsidised Westminster constituency office without it having been registered in the register of interests kept in the Parliamentary office. The press called the affair Officegate.

Nice advice here Mr McTernan, what else have you done that may in fact be f***n’ relevant:

He was Political Secretary/Director of Political Operations at 10 Downing Street for Tony Blairfrom 2005–2007, where he provided political management and support for the development of the government’s political strategy.

In 2006 Blair was criticised for his failure to immediately call for a ceasefire in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.  The Observer newspaper claimed that at a cabinet meeting before Blair left for a summit with Bush on 28 July 2006, a significant number of ministers pressured Blair to publicly criticise Israel over the scale of deaths and destruction in Lebanon.  Blair was criticised for his solid stance alongside US President George W. Bush on Middle East policy.

In March 2010 the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments revealed that 14 months after resigning as Prime Minister, Blair had served as a paid business consultant to an oil firm with interests in Iraq.  The news raised concerns that he had profited financially from contacts he made during the Iraq war.

Blair was sometimes perceived as paying insufficient attention both to the views of his own Cabinet colleagues and to those of the House of Commons.His style was sometimes criticised as not that of a prime minister and head of government, which he was, but of a president and head of state—which he was not.  Blair was accused of excessive reliance on spin.  He is the first British Prime Minister to have been formally questioned by police, though not under caution, while still in office.

It would seem there is some coincidence with Mr McTernan and his advice, and the Political end of those that employ him.

In 2007 McTernan was seconded to the Scottish Labour Party to run its campaign for the May  Scottish Parliament general election.

It seems Mr McTernan had a bad year as he managed to turn a 8% lead in the Polls before the election into a loss for Labour  come election day.  I sure hope he is giving this same advice to his current charge here.

In 2007 he worked on the November 2007 Australian Labor Party general election campaign.

The KRudd/Gillard pairing had run a long campaign with the Unions against John Howard and his Government.  So effective were the lies told prior to the election, there was a 23 seat swing against the Coalition Government at a time when Australia’s debt was  brought back to $0, and we actually had a surplus of around $29 billion.

In September 2011, he was appointed as communications director to Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.

In November 2011, the now former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Peter Slipper, was installed by the Gillard minority Government.  It is believed that McTernan was instrumental in helping to achieve this. At the time it was considered ‘a master stroke’, ‘a brilliant strategic move’ on behalf of the Prime Minister because it meant the Opposition would have one less vote in the chamber. Numbers were very tight in the House of Representatives, with Labor being dependent upon the single Australian Greens member and supportive independents to pass legislation and retain government.

McTernan has been referred to as ‘Gillard’s Brain’. As Chief Media Advisor/Communications Director, reminiscent of Karl Rove, who as George W. Bush’s chief strategist became known as ‘Bush’s brain’. McTernan, keen to repeat the success of his strategy in the UK is believed to be using similar tactics to coach the Australian PM and her ministers in media situations. He is believed to be the brain behind a central media narrative for Labor to frame the Opposition as ‘negative’.

On 9 October 2012, in response to a motion by Tony Abbott to have Peter Slipper removed as Speaker of the House of Representatives over sexist comments made in private text messages, and in the context of the ongoing Alan Jones shame controversy, Ms Gillard publicly addressed for the first time the issue of sexism against her, and raised allegations of misogyny and sexism against Opposition leader Tony Abbott.  While the speech was criticized by mainstream Australian media political correspondents it received widespread positive attention from social media and international news coverage being described as a “masterful, righteous take-down” and “badass”.   John McTernan is alleged to have been the mastermind behind Julia Gillard’s parliamentary speech, which has been seen by some media analysts as part of a broader political strategy by Labor in the lead up to the 2013 Australian federal election.

However,  McTernan’s strategy was defeated through the professional and insightful work and speeches by Julie Bishop Deputy Opposition Leader, which destroyed the ability to directly attack male MP’s and this tactic was beaten.

So the era of lies, misinformation, inducement, sexual abuse allegations, and totalitarian management styles are almost behind us.  Once again this Government is seeing there façade eroded and people seeing straight through to what lurks underneath and are not happy with the depth to which this Government have been willing to go to retain their tenuous hold on our reins.

It also has left exposed Mr McTernan and his dirty tactics Political advice.

Labor has had 2 senior MP’s resign. A Senator they stage kicked out of the Party who investigation of 5 years was delayed until the Victorian Police finally received it. He has now been charged with 160 charges of fraud.  The Political tussle between Krudd and Gillard continue,  The Carmody Inquiry still has Mr Rudd in the frame to be interviewed in regard to the shredding of evidence from his time as Top fixer for the Goss Government.  The appointment of failed and retired ex NSW Premier Bob Carr as Foreign Minister. Of course the PM’s own involvement in the AWU scandal when she helped her married boyfriend to create a Company to siphon funds stolen from AWU funds. It just goes on and on.  This Labor Government has become the Blueprint for all that stinks in Politics and will be dealt a significant blow in their loss on 14 September 2013 election.  It is likely they will be able to call the election within the first 2 hours of Polling closing in this election.

Yes Mr McTernan your dirty politics is not wanted here, and neither is your disgraceful attitude towards the Australian Public.