The Office of Former President & Senator Polnut - Deregistration

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

This has been an interesting first full week of Senate activity. Despite the very close divide in the numbers, there has been good-natured progress toward getting some difficult Bills through.

I was very pleased to see my first two Bills before the Senate - The Support for Carers Bill 2014 and the Energy for the Future Bill 2014. I continue to work with my Senate colleagues to try to do what we are actually sent there to do, work for you.

I'm just going to say this in closing - I am tired of hearing hackneyed ideological talking points, whether it's about capitalism or the power of the almighty market. I'm not wasting my time in the Senate arguing with the wind, let's get real, let's base ourselves in fact and evidence.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

PRESS RELEASE

I wish to confirm that I will be voting to confirm Senator Tryion to serve as Vice President for the remainder of this term.

This is not a vote of confidence in the Labor Party nor in the Administration, but one in Senator Tryion who I believe will do a good job in the role and consider the fundamental importance of his role in the care and concern of the Atlasian people.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

PRESS RELEASE

Mideast Discrimination Bill

I today watched in utter horror at the disgusting and deliberately regressive legislation passed by the Mideast Assembly.

Atlasia has a proud history of equality in our society and passed on through law.

This Bill is not pro-marriage. It is a deliberate move by social regressives to promote discrimination and hatred. It wants to brain-wash children that there is something wrong in being gay, being in a loving and committed relationship with another person and wanting that relationship recognised with full equality with heterosexual couples.

There are many children in the Mideast, who are raised by caring and supportive parents of the same gender, some, may even be married. We have gone a long way in showing children that recognising difference is a good thing and valuing it, is a virtue. This Bill seeks to undo all of this.

To use Government funds, funding provided by all taxpayers, to promote one single idea of what marriage is and most dangerously of all, what it 'should' be, is reckless, irresponsible and plain wrong.

I urge my friend, Governor TJ to not sign this Bill.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

It decides which marriage is to be 'promoted' - when the other is legal under Atlasian law.

You can parse this however you like, doesn't change what it says and what it does.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

As someone who was once on the Court, I think Mechaman is correct; there's a pretty solid argument that it is unconstitutional.

As someone who has not been... I think the argument for unconstitutionality is very strong.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Any suit against the bill will fail, because the law does not violate equal protection or rights clauses. Gay couples are still getting married in Atlasia.

You are missing the point.  This bill is instructing our public schools to preach that non-traditional family structures are inherently inferior to your ideal family structure.  That is in effect a government endorsement of cultural supremacy, something I'm sure we can find a passage against.

Now if this was a private institution preaching such values. . . . . . . then there would be no case.

No, the bill is not instructing schools to preach that other unions are inferior, its instructing schools to outline that marriage, as it is defined in the bill, is a solid foundation for family life. Same sex marriage may also be a solid foundation, but that's not in the bill. School teachers would be misinterpreting the statute if they then preached that same sex marriage is inferior.

...and that is the point.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

This is a test for the Governor. He cannot sit on his hands and resign his authority by just letting this happen.

Governor, make a decision.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

PRESS RELEASE

Action Against the Mideast Hate Bill


I continue to urge Governor TJ to show leadership in the Mideast, by vetoing this Bill. I believe by sitting on his hands and allowing it pass without any input from him, would be a significant negative mark against his good record and will in Atlasia. As a former Governor of that region, it pains me to see such a backward step.

I am asking all Atlasians, who are concerned by the implications and intimations of this Bill, to join me in a protest against this regressive garbage that has no place in Atlasia.

The Speaker argues that it is not discrimination to argue for one specific form of marriage, and using taxpayer funds to do it. When by explicitly outlining that there is one encouraged and 'endorsed' marriage in the Mideast, when the other is legal and recognised, is inherently discriminatory.

It doesn't take the Regional or Supreme Court to figure that out, but if it comes to that, it will.

This weekend, let's have our voices heard loud and clear and ensure that if the Governor hasn't made a decision, perhaps we can convince him to do the correct thing.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Mr. Fmr. Pres./Sen., sir, would you hypothetically support the use of the guillotine in this instance?

I don't support the use of guillotine in any circumstances...

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Thank you Windjammer, that's very kind of you.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

PRESS RELEASE

Secretary of External Affairs


I was as perplexed as most Atlasians to see the President's decision to nominate Speaker Hifly to serve as Secretary of External Affairs.

Now, I will stress that as someone who has served as President and as Secretary of External Affairs, that the task of filling a Cabinet is tough and the job of serving as Secretary of External Affairs is one of the most thankless in Atlasia. However, I believe strongly that the person who serves in that role be someone who reflects the best of us as we deal with some unpleasant actors.

The Speaker's position on a number of issues, do not rule him out completely, they to undermine his ability to speak to a number of issues and our ability to show global leadership. I also believe it undermines this president's ability to project, what I believe was his agenda, of a positive and progressive foreign policy.

I believe we need to have a real conversation about the Speaker's suitability for this high-profile and delicate role. It is not helpful to have further accusations of conspiracy or deliberate destabilisation. I believe in the importance of the SoEA and ensuring that the best person for the job, considering the challenges of it, is in place. It is not unreasonable to harbor doubts and significant concerns.

While I urge the President to re-consider the nomination, I respect the President's prerogative to nominate and he will be given a hearing in the Senate unless the President decides otherwise.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

PRESS RELEASE

Terror Attacks

Like all Atlasians, I have watched with horror and disgust at the events in Germany and here in Nyman, at the White House itself.

Firstly, we need to find out how someone was able to get that close to the White House. It is fundamentally inexcusable and requires an investigation of the highest order.

This is a stark reminder of the ferocity and tenacity of the evil of Islamic State.

I believe that what they want is to be treated as an equal in terms if military capability and using that to propagandise and recruit for some grand battle against us and the West as a whole. The measures before the Senate to starve IS and supporting local forces in the territorial dispute is the right course of action.

I think the cause of the world should now be to work together, to make IS impotent. There are legitimate military measures that can be considered, but in the end, what IS is most afraid of, is being ignored or forgotten, not being beaten on the field of battle.

It is also a reminder that we in Atlasia have felt the luxury of complacency for too long. We have heard lectures about imperialism and pacifism at all costs. But this is real and while I don't believe the answer is war, we cannot reside our ivory towers while the land around us burns.

I send my thoughts and best wishes to all that have been affected by these events.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

STATEMENT

The President

I will make this brief.

I am disgusted by the decision made by the President tonight in dismissing the GM. We have a system of controls and drivers in this country. While the GM is appointed off the President's nomination, they are also based on an idea that the President will be hands off.


It's the way I and my predecessors and successors as President have approached that relationship and their constitutionally-based responsibilities.

This is a vulgar abuse of our system of Government. The GM's role is to make things interesting, and yes, to make this occasionally difficult for the President. I believe the President and flagrantly over-stepped his authority. I hope the usual suspects do not descend and defend the President at all costs and regard this as some vast conspiracy. Because this is all of the President's making.


The Senate needs to consider what steps it now takes.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

STATEMENT

Chaos


I want to take this opportunity to urge my fellow Atlasians to not buy into the plans of those who only wish to disrupt or even destroy the system of government we know and value.

If you're not happy, get involved and fix it.

I will do everything I can to guard against this attention-seeking behaviour.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

PRESS RELEASE

Visiting areas of discontent


The instability we have seen over recent days has alarmed me. It has only served to re-enforce the idea that we in government need to work so much harder to make sure people know that their Senate and their Federal Government does care about them and their concerns.

Over the next few days I will be visiting areas across my home region of the Northeast to make sure my message is heard, loud and clear.

You matter, your concerns are heard and we are here.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Take it elsewhere ...

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

PRESS RELEASE

Islamic State Economic Support Bill


A few weeks ago, I presented a Bill to the Senate that had one purpose and one purpose alone. To ensure that those who financially support, directly or indirectly, the activities of Islamic State or its satellites in this country are stopped from doing so.

However, additions have been made to the Bill that speak to our broader presence in the Middle East and sadly has turned into a opportunity for certain Senators with axes to grind to grandstand. The current amendment calls for a phased withdrawal out of Saudi Arabia, starting no later than the middle of next year.

There have been, frankly, deeply concerning allegations that this amendment, based on my personal experience as both President and Secretary of External Affairs is some kind of cover to aid on Presidential candidate over another. Let me make this clear for all concerned.

This amendment reflects reality, it provides a clear path and timetable for our military presence in Saudi Arabia to end. But it also reflects the need to do so responsibly and in accordance with agreements we have made with those countries. Despite protestations about how this must be done without any conditions, this is not the way these things work and there is a reason why it is done this way.

This is not a back-door to enable reversal, it is an amendment based in reality and the protocols of international relations. Something we cannot abandon because it doesn't serve our broader 'cause'.

If this amendment fails or stalls, I will move that this element be removed to enable this Bill to be discussed on its original intent - to financially weaken Islamic State. The issue of broader Middle East engagement should be debated separately if it continues to knee-cap this important Bill.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

PRESS RELEASE

Upcoming Priorities

The new few weeks will see a flurry of activity, particularly noting that we have elections at all levels across the country this coming weekend.

However, the work of the Senate will continue. I am thrilled to see that the Bills I introduced to deal with addressing our future energy challenges as well as weakening the horrors of Islamic State have, despite a lot of occasionally contentious debate, been supported.

Sadly, the Bill addressing the continuing urgent needs of carers has been shelved yet again, awaiting the input of our GM to give us a proper idea of its costs. Undertaking work without this input would have been irresponsible in the extreme.

Going forward, I will be personally focused on a number of issues that are of a fundamental importance to our nation and the world. However, these are issues often side-stepped in our Senate in favour of something more incendiary or 'exciting'. I do hope my colleagues will engage seriously and fully on these matters going forward.

In the next few days, in the light of recent reports showing that half of the world's animal population has been lost in only 40 years and that we are facing a real-time count-down to the extinction of species, such as the Northern White Rhino, I will present Bills dealing with...
* Increasing support for biodiversity practices at the regional and local level, and
* Using our weight to move to cripple the illegal animals/animal product trade.

This is an area where there is true scope for the Senate and the Atlasian Government to do something both here and abroad. Not for a cold reason of reward, but because it is the right thing to do.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

PRESS RELEASE

Future plans

Senator Polnut will be announcing his intentions in relation to the December at-large election by Friday 7 November.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

PRESS RELEASE

Election Results


I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all those who won their races over the weekend.

As Chair of the TPP, I would like to thank all those members of the People who worked so hard and achieved such pleasing results.

I send my best wishes to President-elect Lumine and remind him that while I voted for him, I am a progressive and will find myself in opposition to him. But what I promise him and my colleagues in the Senate is that I will be holding his feet to the fire and I remain committed to working for all Atlasians to get the best policies in place.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

PRESS RELEASE

What's been achieved


As I weigh up my plans for the future, I wanted to let people out there who might not always pay attention to the Senate debates the progress of the issues and Bills that I have sponsored.

The Energy for the Future Bill created some tensions across political lines. This Bill is designed to address the issues raised during the dramatic debate over energy in the last Senate term. But it addresses them without the need for such unnecessary and unsupported actions.

The Bill focused of a number of fronts - making sure energy companies are playing their role in developing the technology of the future. It commits a specific portion of the national carbon tax to create the National Energy Fund which will support and manage increases in low-income energy support as well as incentives for households to undertake their energy-efficiency practices.

Ending Financial Havens for Islamist Terrorism did not end up exactly as was planned. My intention was a clean Bill that made sure that those within Atlasia who support or benefit financially from the actions of Islamic State would no longer receive that support. However, it became a much larger debate about  our role in the region, up to an including a very passionate debate over our withdrawal from Saudi Arabia. This Bill's passage is still a very positive move that hopes to stem the tide of funding from groups like IS.

Now we come to the disappointment. The Support for Carers Bill was yet again side-lined due to the lack of a GM to give us the solid numbers on this important step to support those who do such a tremendous job caring for our most vulnerable. I am committed to see this Bill or something like it passed while I am in the Senate.

My current sponsored Bill before the Senate is the Protecting Biodiversity for the Future Bill. This Bill is designed to support existing and develop new measures to enable regional government to improve the biodiversity of the regions. I outlined the impacts that we know about, both ecologically and economically of poor land management and invasive species. It also outlaws the shipment and supply of products derrived from endangered species. This Bill doesn't promote much excitement or ideological fire, but it's a sensible step to protect our biodiversity and assist in reducing the existing economic footprint.

This is not a massive list of Bills, but that's never been what I was in the Senate to do. My goal is not to shower the Senate with Bills, like a wishlist, that have no chance of passage. These are Bills designed to address specific problems and using the strength and scope of the Federal Government to move to solve them, or at least, move things in the right direction.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

PRESS RELEASE

Future plans

Senator Polnut will be announcing his intentions in relation to the December at-large election later this evening.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

STATEMENT

Future plans

Ladies and gentlemen of Atlasia,

I am nearing the end of my first full elected term as an At-Large Senator. So, my mind has turned to what I've have done and what I believe I can still do for the Atlasian people.

I am proud of my achievements in producing evidence-based, solution-focused legislation.

I have weighed the options and discussed the matter over the past few weeks. So I can say confidently, that I believe that I have much more left to do and will be seeking the endorsement of the Atlasian people for another term as one of their Senators.

I will also announce my intentions to not seek another term as Chair of the TPP. I believe that my first and total responsibility should be to the Senate and serving their interests.

I will have more to say, naturally, in the coming weeks.

The Official Campaign Launch will take place on Sunday 16 November 2014

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

The campaign launch has been delayed until the At-Large Special has been resolved.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

PRESS RELEASE

The Pacific

I will be making an emergency visit to the Pacific region tomorrow to determine what steps the Federal Government may be required to undertake to get it working again.

I will meet with Pacific Government officials in San Francisco and make a recommendation to both my fellow Senators and the President.