Australian Liberal party knows medicine better than doctors

[mr friendly guy]

From the climate change deniers who know climate science better than real scientists, now we find out the Coalition knows medicine better than real doctors. Aren't we blessed to have such learned people NOT running the country. Why can't these experts just shut up and listen to the word of GAWD?

Linky

Opposition presses Craig Thompson on tummy trouble Save this story to read laterby: BY MALCOLM FARR NATIONAL POLITICAL EDITOR
From: news.com.au
March 19, 2012 11:20AM
Craig Thompson granted sick leave for stomach pain
Opposition grants a pair - but only for today
Three opposition MPs take extended sick leave


LABOR'S problem MP Craig Thomson will consult a specialist doctor today as the Opposition demands full medical details before granting a leave pass from Parliament.
Opposition Whip Warren Entsch today said Mr Thomson would get a “pair'' - a matching reduction in the Coalition's House of Representatives numbers - for today only.

If he wanted to be away longer he would have to divulge his most private medical information, a demand never made before.

Mr Thomson wants to be away all week and has a doctor's certificate to that effect, but the Opposition leadership has made unprecedented demands for more details on his condition.

In effect, the Opposition is claiming either that a doctor has issued a false certificate, or that it is better at diagnosing a condition than a trained medical practitioners.

“It says abdominal pain. It has no further information,'' Mr Entsch said of the medical certificate on ABC radio today.

Mr Thomson's absence would not alter relative numbers because independent Bob Katter, who usually votes with the Opposition, will be in Queensland all week helping his newly-formed party in the final days of the state election.

The increased pressure on Mr Thomson, whose actions when national secretary of the Health Services Union are under investigation, is simply the Opposition being as ruthless as it can.

Mr Entsch is carrying the argument in public for the Opposition but the tough stand has been demanded by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Manager of Opposition Business in the House Christopher Pyne.

Labor is furious at the sudden change in parliamentary practice and the insistence by the Opposition that it knows better than a doctor.

Government Whip Joel Fitzgibbon tweeted over night: “Instead of a fluro vest and a nail gun Tabbott's stunt tomorrow will involve a white coat and a stethoscope to test Craig Thomson's health!''

There have been at least three Opposition MPs absent on extended sick leave over the past year - Judi Moylan, Alby Schultz and Mark Coulton. In no instance did the Government demand even a basic medical certificate before allowing a pair.

It has long been accepted practice on both sides that no certificate is needed, and that MPs can be taken on their word.

Trade Minister Craig Emersion today said the Opposition should be reasonable and accept the certificate, and wait for the investigations into Mr Thomson's past to be completed.

“It's entirely reasonable for people to allow those investigations to take their course and not pre-empt them,'' he said.

Let me make it easy for any Liberal apologists. When I write a medical certificate it consists of either

a. This person has a MEDICAL CONDITION and will not be fit for work until <insert date here>. or
b. This person has been hospitalised from <date range> and not fit for work until <insert date here>.

In other words, my description is even more vauge than on Craig Thompson's certificate, which supposedly gave abdominal pain.

“It says abdominal pain. It has no further information,'' Mr Entsch said of the medical certificate on ABC radio today.

This article is being quite generous to Mr Entsch. The replays on ABC shows Mr Entsch saying "Abdominal pain. Whats that?"

Hmm. Let me think about that one Mr Entsch. This is just a wild guess, but maybe it means Mr Thompson has pain in the abdomen. Geez, whats next. Leg pain, what is that?

Maybe Entsch is trying to ask what is the aetiology (in violation of patient confidentiality) but he lacked the language skills to ask properly (since abdominal pain is a symptom, not a diagnosis per se). So he gets mocked for his blatant stupidity.

When a right wing union - the Australian Medical Association has to come out and argue for patient confidentiality then we know the Conservatives have lost the plot further. What are they trying to do? Change themselves into an equivalent of the Tea Party, but only down under.

[LadyTevar]

Gee, that sounds like MY workplace

[Alkaloid]

What are they trying to do? Change themselves into an equivalent of the Tea Party, but only down under.

Yes? They have seen that the Repubs ran a more or less successful campaign against Obama by trying to deny him the ability to make any moves at all, and copied it. Because voting is compulsory in Aus they can't flat out copy the tea parties 'energise the base' method, they have to keep lurching right and scare people into voting for them. Fringe members will occasionally do crazy stuff, like shout can't stop the boats, can't stop the guns! and the like, which normally wouldn't matter too much, but they got themselves into a position where the leader of the party is also a crazy fringe who thinks stuff like this is smart.

[mr friendly guy]

What are they trying to do? Change themselves into an equivalent of the Tea Party, but only down under.

Yes? They have seen that the Repubs ran a more or less successful campaign against Obama by trying to deny him the ability to make any moves at all, and copied it.

Well Fraser did this to Whitlam in the 70s. Of course Fraser admitted he wouldn't have tried it if the ALP government wasn't riddled with scandals. I doubt the current ALP really has anything approaching a scandal, no matter how the Liberals blow it up. Remember Utegate scandal a few years ago, with Malcolm Turnbull coming off with egg on his face?

[Alkaloid]

Well Thompson is the closest Labor has to a scandal right now, so that's the Libs are gunning for him any way they can. Just stupidly.

[weemadando]

What do you mean closest thing to a scandal?

JULIAR HAS STILL NOT ACCOUNTED FOR HER FAILURE TO PERSONALLY INTERCEPT ALL THOSE GUNS BEING SMUGGLED IN BY COMPLICIT MEMBERS OF THE POSTAL SERVICE.

JULIAR HAS ALSO JUST BOWED DOWN BEFORE HER TRUE MASTER BOB BROWN AND IS LETTING HIM TAX OUR FEARLESS LEADERS GINA AND CLIVE.

[bobalot]

What I find strange about the Liberal party ditching parliamentary convention (and decency) and denying people parliamentary pairs for medical reasons (and even a funeral) is they don't realise that this will come back to eventually bite them.

If they win the next election (at this stage, appears likely), they still be unlikely to control the senate. Labor will not forget this behaviour, and will cripple the senate by denying pairs. Nobody (including the public) will have any sympathy for the Coalition, as they broke the convention.

Mal Colston defected from Labor during the early years of the Howard government. It took Labor over 10 years but they got their revenge through Peter Slipper. Tony Abbott and co seem to think they will never require a pair in the future, which sits at odds with the last 100 years of parliamentary history.

[Alkaloid]

It's short sighted, but not unusually so for this mob. I wouldn't be surprised if half of them think they will be well out of politics by the time Labor recover enough seats that pairing will matter.

[mr friendly guy]

I am not surprised that the Coalition ignores human decency. After all their leader is a racist, homophobic bigot who thinks he has a right to dictate to women how they control their own bodies, and previously they had John "Children overboard" Howard as a leader. I am surprise that the Coalition however has ignored parliamentary convention. I am also not surprised they will try some short sighted sheenanigans, although I am more amused at their attempt to demonstrate superior medical knowledge.

Warren Entsch can feel free to bring up the point of the medical certificate when he gets his own medical degree, and more importantly, actually has physically examined the patient (in this case Mr Thomson). But given that he apparently doesn't know what abdominal pain is, I don't think he will get very far in medical school. Actually I don't think he will get far into any intellectual pursuit which doesn't involve talking bullshit.

[Korto]

What I find strange about the Liberal party ditching parliamentary convention (and decency) and denying people parliamentary pairs for medical reasons (and even a funeral) is they don't realise that this will come back to eventually bite them.

Eventually? It gave them a damn good nip straight away, as it turned out a labor minister, Craig Thompson, was expecting a baby about the same time that the Carbon vote was expected. There was the amusing show of Abbott practically swallowing his tongue trying to stay tough and hard-line with "NO PAIRS!" while not losing what female vote he had left by forcing a woman to give birth without her husband there for it.

For those who don't want to die wondering, he decided an exception could be made for childbirth. Took him a while to work that out, though.