There have been hints all week.
No one has been game to come out and put it into words. 
So I will say it. The unthinkable is happening in our Parliament.
The ultimate in workplace bullying.
It seems as though Tony Abbott is attempting to drive Craig Thomson to his death!
I’ll go back a little. A decade and a half to another Labor MP; Greg Wilton. The only member of Australia’s Parliament to commit suicide whilst serving in the House. It was a sad and emotional time for all concerned.
The current acting Speaker of the House, Anna Burke said, “I’m angry and I’m sad to be here today. I’m angry at myself for not being a better friend. I’m angry at those who play politics with human life. I’m angry at the national press who profess their insincerity….
Tony Abbott said, in his contribution to the Condolence Motion, “We didn’t reach out to him enough in his life, and we shouldn’t wait until they’re gone to appreciate them. Obviously, Mr Speaker, Greg Wilton was not gentle on himself. The best thing we could do would be to rededicate ourselves to being kinder and gentler to each other, as he would have wished.”
Back in the present, in his overpowering lust for the keys to the Lodge and his Prime Ministerial seat at the dispatch boxes is Tony Abbott showing Australia his psychopathic tendencies?
Is he suffering a mental aberration?
The first signs may have appeared after Abbott went to Afghanistan and said of the death of our troops there, “Shit happens”. When asked to explain,
he showed what may be the first signs of his mental instability in a 24 second silence, complete with nodding head. (As an aside, get your copy of this interview now as it appears to be disappearing from You Tube. A little rewriting of history could be going on here!)
The political and media pressure on Craig Thomson has been ramped up over the past month to an incredible degree. The man is being vilified and condemned in the Murdoch Press, in its sycophants, the Fairfax and ABC organisations and in a large part of the Social Media. Death threats from the public are just another part of this vilification. All for “CRIMES” he has apparently committed.
Which crimes he has apparently committed are uncertain as he has not been charged with any despite several police investigations. Yes, there have been “FINDINGS” by a non-judicial body on questionable standing and they have now been passed on to judicial bodies. There are still no crimes for which he has been charged and certainly none of which he has been found guilty. Yet the pressure, in the press and in the Parliament is increasing.
The Opposition, led by an Abbott/Pyne Junta,
has been calling on the Government to “pair” his vote so it doesn’t benefit from Thompson’s “tainted” vote. Over the past fortnight that has changed into calls for Thomson to resign. Pyne’s apoplectically red-faced tirade during the week was a stand-out example.
It has only been during this past week that some have started to publicly say that they are concerned for Mr Thomson’s health. Thompson has been goaded into saying, “To say he has sympathy and then to angrily call for me to resign in the same breath, shows just how insincere Mr Abbott is. Again it shows he is unfit to be a leader and unfit to be an MP.”
In a political atmosphere where violent themes, words and similes have become commonplace. From “Executing a Prime Minister” to “Kicking her to death“, simply driving a man from his elected position seems to be small stuff.
Put sufficient pressure on him and he will resign.
That this pressure could harm a fellow human being does not seem to
bother Tony Abbott.
Mal Washer, a Liberal MP and a doctor is concerned for Mr Thomson’s mental health because of the immense emotional pressure he was under. He said, “We don’t want to see someone do something dreadful to themselves,“
In the same article, when asked about the stress on Mr Thomson, Mr Abbott told reporters in Canberra: “I have sympathy for anyone who is in trouble and obviously Mr Thomson is in a lot of trouble at the moment.“
Asked whether the coalition had gone in too hard, Mr Abbott said: “The coalition has done its job.“
From the outside it seems that regardless of the result and the warnings from others of a gentler disposition, Abbott will keep pushing Thomson until he goes over the edge.
Thomson out of the Parliament. That is what he wants. And it seems any damage to Craig Thomson is irrelevant.
Even if it leads to Tony Abbott having to stand up in the House and again saying, in his pseudo-sympathetic voice, “The best thing we could do would be to rededicate ourselves to being kinder and gentler to each other, as he would have wished.“
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ADDENDUM
Now Abbott’s overwhelming ambition and possibly diminished mental abilities seem to have led him into another awkward situation. He said on Friday, “The best thing for everyone – to take the pressure off him, to take the pressure off his family – would be for (Mr Thomson) to leave the parliament.”
That pressure is being applied by Tony Abbott himself.
Under Section 28 of the Crimes Act it is an offence for anyone “who, by violence or by threats or intimidation of any kind, hinders or interferes with the free exercise or performance, by any other person, of any political right or duty”.
No doubt we shall see the result of this outburst over the next few weeks. Possibly with more head-nodding and some extended silences.
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