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Barnaby is sorry. Sorry for using a terrible analogy at an anti-wind turbine rally in the Illawarra on the weekend. Sorry for likening votes to bullets, ballot boxes to magazines. Sorry for comparing the democratic act of voting to loading a gun and shooting it to be rid of three senior members of the government.
But he's not sorry for the bizarre turn of phrase he used after trying to deflect criticism of his heated rhetoric on morning TV before turning on wind farms: "It is like saying the fertilising capacity and the beauty of dog turd on your lawn in the middle of the morning works as well ... absolutely disgusting. Nobody wants them."
There's colourful language and there's incomprehensible language. Barnaby does a roaring trade in both. And that begs two questions. After so many years - so many faux pas, scandals and drunken misadventures - why is he still in parliament? And why is is he still on the frontbench, even in opposition?
![Barnaby Joyce at the Lake Illawarra rally on July 28. Picture by Adam McLean Barnaby Joyce at the Lake Illawarra rally on July 28. Picture by Adam McLean](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/pMXRnDj3SUU44AkPpn97sC/91777b7d-83a3-49e1-962a-beec944dc317.jpg/r0_307_6000_3694_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
To answer the first question, one has to assume the people of New England love him and are prepared to forgive the embarrassment he must rain down on the electorate. You can imagine them in the pub after the planter box incident: "Yes, he's Barnaby, but he's our Barnaby." And, of course, voters have every right to elect - and re-elect - the yokel of their choosing.
The second question is a little more complicated. It might seem counter-intuitive for the Coalition to keep Barnaby on the frontbench where his frequent naps and apparent disinterest are highly visible. But keeping him there means he can't make mischief on the backbench, where in an attack of relevance deprivation syndrome while unsupervised he might launch a plot to unseat the current Nationals leader David Littleproud.
The decision to keep Barnaby front and centre is entirely up to the Coalition but the rest of us should be worried. What happens if the Coalition wins government next year? Even the remote possibility Barnaby might once again become a minister should send a shudder down any spine still attached to a brain.
Even sober - as he reportedly has been since the planter box episode - Barnaby still suffers from acute foot in mouth disease. Trying to cosplay as a friend of the environment by opposing wind and solar farms, while using violent analogies about guns and ballot boxes, was bound to get him into trouble. Bound also to see him once again saying sorry for his stream of unconsciousness that came out as words.
If there's any value in Barnaby's missteps, it's this. He makes his fellow opposition frontbenchers look sane and level-headed by comparison. But that's a big price the rest of us have to pay by suffering his unhinged antics.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Is it time for Barnaby Joyce to ride into the political sunset? Are you entertained or appalled by his antics and gaffes? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Authorities have warned Australians to limit sexual partners and get vaccinated as the nation experiences a surge in Mpox cases. Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is usually spread from person to person by prolonged physical or intimate contact with someone who has mpox, especially with skin rashes, lesions, sores or scabs.
- Moderating inflation, boosting renewable energy and looking after vulnerable Australians form the basis of Anthony Albanese's election pitch as his new ministry meets for the first time. The second Albanese ministry was sworn in by the governor-general on Monday before it met for the first time at Parliament House.
- Shark attack survivor Kai McKenzie said the generosity of the community over the past week has "meant the world" to him. Mr McKenzie, a beloved figure in the Bonny Hills and Port Macquarie surfing community, was attacked by a three-metre great white shark while surfing around 11am on Tuesday, July 23 at North Shore Beach.
THEY SAID IT: "It's time to let science and medicine, not politics and rhetoric, lead us to good, sound policy." - Eliot Spitzer
YOU SAID IT: Scientific achievements will outlast any sporting triumph yet it's sport that grabs the limelight.
Simon writes: "Always enjoy reading The Echidna, and I felt like shouting 'Gold! Gold for the Echidna! Gold!' after reading John's column on the ridiculous over-emphasis on sport in Australia. I'd much rather see our scientists, engineers, and volunteer workers celebrated and recognised as they are far more deserving than the average sportsperson grinning at me from a cereal box. The Olympics are such a waste of money, and we should be valuing people who advance our knowledge or make the community a better place, instead of a bunch of sports people chasing a piece of metal."
"Compared to virtually all other scientists, our medical researchers including Georgina Long, Richard Scolyer, Peter Doherty, Ian Frazer, and Fiona Wood are relatively well recognised for their achievements by the media and in honours lists," writes Ian. "Other scientists/engineers who have achieved arguably just as important an impact in non-health ways such as the Australian inventors of Wi-Fi, waste disposal methodology, and photovoltaic technology, for example, are virtually unknown by the public. Similarly un-honoured are the significant and ongoing accomplishments of scientists in many other fields beavering away on issues crucial to the environment and society."
Drew from Penguin writes: "Recognition for scientists and their science? Absolutely! It might just to increase the number of young people who make science related learning and career decisions. And alongside increased public recognition, let's extend funding timelines so our scientists can put more time into research and much less into grant writing."
"Thanks for your morning column, which I enjoy so much," writes Cathy. "I am in the unique position of being the parent of a former child cancer sufferer who fell into the small percentage of kids with their type of cancer for whom the gold standard treatment did not work, both distressing and unfortunate. Through discussing a novel therapy with our team, the kid recovered but the fallout on them has been ongoing, so cure is not the only game in town, we need to pick up our game around kids' survivorship. I'd also like to know more about cause, not just that a disease can be treated. I think every parent wants to know what they could have done better in terms of prevention."
Kaye writes: "I certainly believe we celebrate brawn over brain. Still remember how I felt when my daughter's primary school teacher drew me aside and whispered in my ear that my daughter had achieved a higher score in a test of mental ability than any other child at that school had ever done. However, I was told I must not tell anyone, as if the news got out other children would feel shamed. Had she broken any athletic record - run or swum faster, jumped higher - she would have been lauded and rewarded. No wonder we've become a not so clever country."