En Passant

From Reefgate to the Banking Royal Commission and Joyce versus Husar to Cash and the AWU raids, the case for a Federal ICAC is comprehensive, writes John Passant in Independent Australia.

Barnaby is not dead; he is just resting on the backbench. Michael McCormack will have to accept that Joyce is the power behind the throne, I write in Independent Australia.  

#BarnabyGate has exposed the reality of the ineptitude of the Turnbull Government and the end is near, writes John Passant in Independent Australia

[Deputy Prime Minister Joyce (left) and Prime Minister Turnbull at the New England by-election, December 2017 (screen shot via @9NewsSyd).]   If a thorough investigation into the potential abuse of power and misuse of public funds in the Barnaby Joyce affair isn’t undertaken, then both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister should resign, […]

Cartoon by Mark David / @markdavidcartoons Turnbull continues to backflip as the Coalition’s tenuous majority and his leadership remain under constant strain, I write in Independent Australia.

  Barnaby Joyce’s High Court expulsion from Parliament is just a byproduct of the Constitution’s racist Section 44, says John Passant in Independent Australia

Fresh from alienating new mothers in its Budget, what better strategy can the government come up with than pissing off the dog lovers of the nation? In a Joyce move, the terrier Barnaby has unleashed a real winner. He’s the pistol. Boo.

It is a pity that Barnaby Joyce, a man of tact, diplomacy, nuance and subtlety, isn’t going to Indonesia to fix things up. I know I am disappointed that Barnaby is missing out on this great opportunity, and I am sure the Indonesians feel the same way. [Sarcasm alert.]

Barnaby Joyce: “This is not thousands of dollars. This is hundreds of dollars.” Like the $900 Peter Slipper claimed for his alleged wine tour you mean? Treat Brandis and Joyce like Slipper. Put them on trial too.