tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82086428564901411292024-03-13T15:39:30.255-07:00Creatures of the DeepPolitics in the depths...Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-60848832000071611782014-02-11T04:19:00.002-08:002014-02-11T04:29:34.505-08:00Interview with the Federal Industry Minister: Decoded<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The Federal Industry Minister, Ian MacFarlane, was interviewed about Toyota closing it's local manufacturing operation on '7.30' tonight. It was not something that anyone associated with that industry would have derived much pleasure from.<br />
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Looking a bit like a tough from an Australian TV drama set in the 50's, or a rogue potato that had somehow found a body, McFarlane spelled out the Government's hardline position, without actually saying much at all. As always, it sometimes helps to have someone (me in this case) to cut through the jargon and unearth the messages that were actually being communicated.<br />
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The following is a series of quotes from the interview - which you can watch <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2013/s3942680.htm" target="_blank">here</a> - followed by a translation of the Minister's responses.<br />
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INTERVIEWER: In the wake of the Toyota closure, the Prime Minister has talked about transitioning from good jobs to better jobs. It sounds good, what does it actually mean?<br />
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FEDERAL INDUSTRY MINISTER: What it means is, over the three years that we have in front of us, that we need to work with industry, but also make sure that we work with business, to create a framework, then create the business investor confidence to ensure that the new jobs are created by new industries.<br />
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<i>Decoded: I was handed some talking points before the interview which I memorised, but didn't really understand.</i><br />
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INTERVIEWER: You say that you've got three years but why are you so confident about that timeframe? The situation in the market is changing rapidly and Ford has already decided to lay off workers earlier this year. Have you got a plan in place if the timeframe changes?<br />
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FEDERAL INDUSTRY MINISTER: Well, this discussion that we're having at the moment is about the Toyota closure. And I met last night with Mr Toyota and Max Yasuda, the Australian manager, and they were categoric that they would run the full term.<br />
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<i>Decoded: Not only is there no plan if the timeframe changes, but I couldn't believe that the head of Toyota is actually called Mr Toyota! Just to be sure, I asked him several times, 'Is your name really Toyota? Really?... Really?' He said it was. It filled in some time, anyway.</i><br />
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INTERVIEWER: All right, let's talk about those jobs because those numbers are huge as you know. Up to 50 000 jobs in the automotive industry, according to the Australian Industry Group, up to 200 000 people whose jobs depend on the sector. Where are those new jobs coming from?<br />
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FEDERAL INDUSTRY MINISTER: Well those new jobs will come out of innovative industries and we have set up a panel to have a look at both the economic impact in Victoria and another panel to look at South Australia and both of those panels have taken submissions and we've seen industries, take last week for example, industries based in South Australia, that aren't attached to the automotive industry, that are world leaders in their class, world leaders, employing hundreds of people, exporting product as well as supplying the domestic market.<br />
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<i>Decoded: I can talk for a really long time without breathing in. If the job crisis gets bad enough, I may never breathe in again. </i><br />
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INTERVIEWER: Yes, but I think what people are looking for here are some details. We're talking about thousands of jobs, ten of thousands of jobs, not hundred of jobs. Where are those jobs coming from?<br />
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FEDERAL INDUSTRY MINISTER: Those jobs are going to come partly from the normal job creation that occurs in Australia, remember that in the forward estimates there are 630 000 net new jobs that will be created in Australia, so some of those people will be soaked up in those areas, but we will have to work hard with the Victorian Government, and with the South Australian Government if it wants to cooperate, in bringing new industries and establishing new operations and re-orienting companies so that they can expand their operations.<br />
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<i>Decoded: We expect quite a few former auto industry workers will find jobs at their local Charcoal Chicken. Plenty of them still around, last time I looked. And chicken remains popular. But we are also, unequivocally, absolutely, still committed to laying as much of the blame for this as possible on the respective state governments of Victoria and South Australia.</i><br />
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INTERVIEWER: You've been talking about transitioning Toyota and the component parts industry into an export industry, are you going to give those industries time and the help they need to do that?<br />
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FEDERAL INDUSTRY MINISTER: Well, I mean, in terms of how we deal with this, everyone understands the process and I have to say Sarah, this shouldn't be news to anyone.<br />
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<i>Decoded: What is she on about? What day is this?</i><br />
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INTERVIEWER: Is there going to be money in the budget for the transition?<br />
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FEDERAL INDUSTRY MINISTER: Well... there will be money. But let's cross the bridges as we come to them.<br />
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<i>Decoded: There may or may not be money, but there will be bridges... Many bridges.</i><br />
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INTERVIEWER: I think what people are looking for is a clear indication that this work has already been done. That this should not have come as a surprise. People are looking for the plan for the restructure and for the funds for the restructure that are going to be forthcoming.<br />
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FEDERAL INDUSTRY MINISTER: Well we are doing the work. We started the work the day I was sworn in as minister. I announced that I would immediately be instigating a process for the car industry. Now, issues have come on perhaps faster than people have expected but we are in a process to create long term sustainable jobs, we will train them as part of my portfolio and we will offer the training that people need.<br />
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<i>Decoded: All of this stuff came like a bolt out of the clear blue sky. But still, we're not fortune tellers are we? Although some former car industry people may like to look at this as a career option now.</i><br />
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INTERVIEWER: Thanks for joining us.<br />
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FEDERAL INTERVIEW MINISTER: Thanks Sarah.<br />
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<i>Decoded: I'll miss the ABC when it's gone.</i><br />
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Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-45571249979833209162013-09-20T22:49:00.002-07:002013-09-20T22:53:14.771-07:00A Brief Word Against Compulsory Voting<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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'The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.'</span></h3>
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- Winston Churchill</span></h3>
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Since 1924, voting at elections in Australia has been compulsory.<br />
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All citizens over the age of 18 are required to register with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) and attend a polling place to lodge a ballot paper on election day. It is a firmly entrenched part of Australian life and often cited as one of the key achievements of the free, egalitarian country that we live in. The elections are open to everyone and everyone participates.We take it seriously enough to fine people who opt out.<br />
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But the time has come to re-examine this tradition and see if it still serves a purpose. Or, even if it is actually working against the aims that caused it to be initiated in the first place.<br />
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Firstly, a set of figures, supplied by the AEC.<br />
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<b>Category<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Votes<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>%<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Informal Votes</div>
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799 852</div>
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5.89</div>
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Registered But Didn’t Vote</div>
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1 124 025</div>
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7.64</div>
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Not Registered to Vote</div>
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1 500 000</div>
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10.20</div>
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<b>TOTAL<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>3
423 877<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>23.23<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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This shows the number of people who did not participate in the recent Federal election; either by incorrectly marking their ballot, not showing up on polling day or not registering in the first place (this last an estimate based on population data). So a staggering 23%, nearly a quarter of the voting age population, did not cast a valid vote. One person in ten is not even on the electoral roll.<br />
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These figures alone seem to shake the foundation of the argument for compulsory voting. Everyone isn't participating. The system that we have in place is not forcing much more of the electorate to vote than may be expected under a voluntary system.<br />
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Now consider these figures:<br />
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This shows a random assortment of democratic countries from around the world that have a voluntary voting system, with participation rates from the most recent elections held in each. Some of the rates listed show essentially the same outcome as what we currently achieve in Australia. New Zealand, a country with whom we share much in terms of heritage and cultural custom, has almost exactly the same voting rate under voluntary provisions, as Australia does under a compulsory system.</div>
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But even a casual glance at the unscientifically assembled figures above indicates that if Australia were to switch to a voluntary system, voting rates would probably decline. Countries with similar political systems to Australia, like the UK and US, show participation rates 15 - 20% below the current rate in Australia. And this forms the basis of much of what is said in defence of our compulsory system; voluntary system = fewer people voting = bad.</div>
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But just because fewer people may vote, it doesn't necessarily follow that the system overall is weaker. </div>
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Let's say that Australia introduces a voluntary system of voting and the rate of participation declines to 65%, a reduction of 12% and a likely outcome in my estimation. What this means is that out of eight people who vote currently, 7 will continue to do so. And one might grab a snag from a polling place on election day and then carry on somewhere else:</div>
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The key question then becomes: Who is this sausage loving iconoclast?<br />
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Someone not much interested in politics or policy. Someone who hasn't paid much attention to the debate around the campaign and who doesn't care about the issues. Someone who doesn't mind who wins and thinks it doesn't matter anyway. Maybe a One Nation supporter.<br />
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And if the above list is too much of a gross generalisation, then the likely non voter would at least have to be more likely to be one of these things. In any case, I think that this apathetic 1/8th of the population is someone that the other 7/8's can likely struggle on without, when it comes to choosing the country's leadership.<br />
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When compulsory voting was introduced in 1924, Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Major Matthew Baird commented that compulsory voting:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>'... would not make apathetic electors take a more intelligent interest in elections.'</b></div>
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The same argument remains true today. And if you accept the logic of this position, how then can you insist that someone with an apathetic disinterest should be forced to participate in the process? What useful purpose does it serve? They may vote informally, they may submit a donkey vote, they may vote for some random nut who likes kangaroo poo, but their vote will be un-informed and so not worth the time and effort required to force them to submit it. If they want to line up and submit a vote for 'Kodos' then they should be allowed to do this. But if they don't then they shouldn't be forced to.<br />
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<br />
Which brings us to a consideration of the cost.<br />
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The 2010 Federal Election cost a mind boggling $161 000 000.<br />
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A reasonable proportion of this was spent on maintaining electoral rolls and attempting to jockey people who either hadn't registered to vote or who hadn't kept their enrollment up to date, to do these things. To say nothing of the costs of compiling data around who then didn't vote and forwarding this on for enforcement action (hapharzrdly applied, it must be said). While a voluntary system of voting would still entail significant costs, they would be reduced. So is this the best use of $161 million available to us? To ensure that Joe Sausage-Lover can line up and write 'Fuck' on a ballot for an election he couldn't care less about?<br />
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I've always felt that the answer to this question, is no.<br />
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We should never lose sight of the fact that we enjoy a high standard of living in Australia. Our economy is strong, wages are high and people are free to do much as they please. Among the advantages we enjoy in this country are the open, fair and democratic elections that underpin our Government. The argument that this fine system would be somehow reduced if our voting method became voluntary is false. A voluntary voting system simply allows for one additional choice, a much needed one when faced with deciding between candidates as mediocre as Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd.<br />
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And decisions of this nature seems to be a fate compulsory for all of us.<br />
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Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-29192492325014209762013-09-18T04:44:00.000-07:002013-09-18T04:44:33.236-07:00Gillard Bashing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As our new Prime Minister named his first blokey cabinet and instructed them to start implementing his 16 point plan to do... whatever, some parts of the local media took to their mediums to take exception to the way Tony was being treated. More specifically; the terrible, unfair abuse that was being poured on the poor bloke's head.<br />
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Typical of this was a ferocious <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/comment/welcome-to-the-abbottoir-20130915-2tsrm.html" target="_blank">article</a> in The Age on Monday, where Paul Sheehan bridled at the 'closed minded' and 'insidious' people who dared to criticise the PM or label him 'sexist' or a 'homophobe.' Never mind that Abbott himself had said that Australia's women should tend to their ironing and that gay folks make him feel uncomfortable, neither of these statements meant you were allowed to suggest bigotry or bias. To do so was to declare yourself a 'hater' in Sheehan's view and, much worse, a creature of the degenerate left underground. Possibly even a member of 'GetUp!' or 'Change.org'.<br />
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And Sheehan isn't alone in this view.<br />
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In the wake of Abbott's victory, newly emboldened right leaning pundits are leaping at the chance to decry any attempt to criticise their newly installed boy at the Lodge. They paint Abbott's critics as aggressive and unbalanced and fume that these left wing nut jobs just won't give poor old Tony a fair hearing. In this telling, the anti Abbott views that have been aired are based on exaggerated caricatures that willfully distort Abbott's personality, statements and policies. It is stated that this scurrilous behaviour is the expected refuge of the left, when they've been beaten like gongs in an election, and implied that such base tactics would never be tolerated on the conservative side.<br />
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So before the winners completely re-write the history books, it may be useful to revisit the way conservative elements in Australia responded to our first female Prime Minister, and Abbott's predecessor, Julia Gillard.<br />
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You have been warned. From this point on, this page becomes extremely ugly:<br />
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<b>‘Every person in the caucus of the Labor Party knows that
Julia Gillard is a liar. The old man (Gillard's father) recently died a few weeks ago of
shame. To think that he had a daughter
who told lies every time she stood in the Parliament.’</b></div>
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<i>2GB radio broadcaster Alan Jones, addressing a Young Liberals group at Sydney university, 28 September 2012</i><br />
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<b><i>'</i>The Australian tax payer even pays for the toilet paper she
uses. Does she go down to the chemist to
buy her tampons? Or is the Australian tax payer paying for those as well?’</b><br />
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<i>Tony, talkback caller on Alan Jones' program, 28 February 2011</i><br />
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<b>‘Look I can say this but you can’t. She’s a menopausal
monster and she needs to resign.’</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Bonita, talkback caller on Jones' program, 14 July 2011</i></div>
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mean anyone who chooses to remain deliberately barren… they’ve got no idea what
life’s about.’</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan, 'Bulletin' interview, May 2007.</i></span></span><br />
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<b>‘She has chosen not to be a parent… she is very much a
one-dimensional person.’</b></div>
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<i>Liberal Senator George Brandis, ABC Radio, January 2010. Brandis was appointed Attorney General in Tony Abbott's first cabinet this week.</i></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tony Abbott addresses an anti carbon tax rally in front of a sign referring to<br />Julia Gillard as a 'Bitch'. Gillard told Abbott in Parliament that 'I was offended.'</td></tr>
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<b>'You've got a big arse Julia, just get one with it.'</b></div>
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<i>Germaine Greer, 'Q and A', March 2012.</i></div>
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<b>'On what should have been one of the proudest days of
Gillard’s political career, she bungled it with a less than flattering haircut
and a frumpy ’80s tapestry print jacket… Get yourself a stylist your own age.’</b></div>
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<i>Anita Quigley, 'Daily Telegraph,' December 2006.</i></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Menu used at a Liberal fundraiser in the Federal seat of Fisher. The owner of<br />the restaurant, Joe Richards, took responsibility and said he meant it as a 'joke.'</td></tr>
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<b>‘It’s designed for non-productive old cows. Julia Gillard
has got to watch out.’</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>David Farley, Australian Agricultural Company CEO,
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2012. Fairley also later said his comments were meant to be a 'joke.'<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>‘Tim’s
gay. That’s not me saying it… but you hear it. He must be gay, he’s a
hairdresser.’</b></span></span></div>
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<i>6PR radio presenter Howard Sattler airs the rumour that Gillard's partner Tim Matheson is a homosexual, 13 July 2013.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>‘She has showcased a bare home and an empty kitchen as
badges of honour and commitment to her career. She has never had to make room
for the frustrating demands and magnificent responsibilities of caring for
little babies, picking up sick children from school, raising teenagers. Not to
mention the needs of a husband or partner.’</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Janet Albrechtsen, The Australian, July 2010.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGdQsXsU_LviDcfORFdPH7NWZEL_QXlBKTILJKPTZ1zOCTgkufuTcy3lzJHDeDD4TOOjIzT1jTjwmlCv-6Tw1qJzgZv9aX_HW0gACArX91nBD65W07AnwI7GVt6i2c_wlVKXm4j3FZW4/s1600/let+me+know+of+you+feel+any+pressure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGdQsXsU_LviDcfORFdPH7NWZEL_QXlBKTILJKPTZ1zOCTgkufuTcy3lzJHDeDD4TOOjIzT1jTjwmlCv-6Tw1qJzgZv9aX_HW0gACArX91nBD65W07AnwI7GVt6i2c_wlVKXm4j3FZW4/s400/let+me+know+of+you+feel+any+pressure.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anti Gillard cartoons by Larry Pickering, two from a long series. Pickering generally depicts Gillard<br />nude and always wearing or carrying a large strap on dildo. Pickering is a free lance cartoonist, but<br />his anti Gillard drawings have been used by pro Liberal corporations and other conservative groups.<br /></td></tr>
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<b>‘Like This If U Hate Julia Gillard and want to help me kill
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<i>Title of anti Gillard facebook page, one among a great many.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>‘Someone needs to assassinate Julia Gillard NOW before she
totally destroys our way of life.’</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Mark of Panania, comment published on the 'Herald Sun' website, 10 July 2011.</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">Other comments used to describe Gillard on the supposedly moderated Herald Sun website:</span></span><br />
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<b>'dictator'</b></div>
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<b>'shape-changing vampire'</b></div>
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<b>'trollop'</b></div>
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<b>'shrew'</b></div>
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<b>'mongrel'</b></div>
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<b>'bitch'</b></div>
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<b>'slitty-eyed' </b></div>
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<b>'fungal
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<b>'given up all attributes of what
it means to be a human being'</b></div>
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<b>'Australia’s very own Jezebel'</b></div>
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<b>'her milk is sour' </b></div>
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<b>'pure evil' </b></div>
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<b>'slimy con-artist' </b></div>
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<b>'slag of the lowest
order' </b></div>
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<b>'lying slag without one ounce of integrity or decency'</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>As quoted by 'Crikey.'</i></div>
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<b>Footnote... For a little context:</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">'What Prime Minister Julia Gillard is dealt is no
different and no worse, say these
people, than the flak directed at Tony Abbott or, in the past, at John Howard
or Paul Keating.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">One person who wrote to me summed up the supposed
equivalence: "Just two words. Budgie smugglers".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Yet there is a huge difference between an
opposition leader being caricatured by cartoonists wearing an item of clothing
he used to regularly don (in front of the media) for swimming, and a prime
minister being depicted wearing a huge strap-on dildo, as one cartoonist does routinely,
an item we can assume is not in her wardrobe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">There is an entire vocabulary of words that
describe, and demean, women - bitch, barren, childless, hag, slut, witch, cow -
and have been used recently in reference to Julia Gillard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The attacks on Gillard all too often have sexual
and violent overtones to them. She is drawn grotesquely naked, her head is
Photoshopped onto a voluptuous naked female body, she is depicted offering
sexual favours in return for votes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">There are constant calls for her to be
"shot", to be hanged or otherwise disposed of in violent fashion and
while these threats are not as such gender-specific, I would argue that the
vehemence with which they are expressed is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The core difference between the way male and
female politicians are treated is that men might be mocked or scorned –
"Little Johnny", "Mr Rabbitt", "Kevin747" - but
they are not threatened and they are especially not subject to sexual
intimidation. Women in politics increasingly are.'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><i>Anne Summers, ABC 'Unleashed' website, September 2012. Anne Summers is a journalist and activist who advised the Keating government on women's issues.</i></span></div>
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Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-54081757056370864352013-09-10T14:29:00.002-07:002013-09-11T01:05:14.411-07:00Abbott: In His Own Words<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Going in to last weekend's election, Tony Abbott asked us to trust him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This made sense. He hadn't released much policy detail and his costings came at the last minute, so he recognised that a vote for him would be a leap of faith for many. He must have also felt that in terms of trustworthiness he compared favourably to Kevin Rudd, a man who had told the nation that he would never return as Labor leader 'under any circumstances,' and then had returned in that position when the circumstances had suited him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Abbott's team sought to portray him as solid, honest and reliable. A man of his word. A kind of, you may not agree with him but you know where he stands, approach.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And so it seems appropriate to have a look at his record and see where he does stand; in his own words, from his own mouth, straight from the public record. A selection of quotes:</span><br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">WOMEN</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'I think it would be folly to expect that women will ever dominate or approach equal representation in a large number of areas simply because their aptitudes, abilities and interests are different for physiological reasons.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(March 15, 2010: 'Four Corners' interview).</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Now are you suggesting to me that when it comes from Julia, no doesn't mean no?'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(August 3, 2010: Abbott makes a joke out of sexual assault, commenting on what he said was Julia Gillard changing her mind about debating him).</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'While I think men and women are equal, they are also different and I think it's inevitable and I don't think it's a bad thing at all that we always have, say, more women doing things like physiotherapy and an enormous number of women simply doing housework.'</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(August 6, 2010).</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'They're young, feisty, I think I can probably say they have a bit of sex appeal.'</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(August 14, 2013: Abbott's response when asked to name positive attributes of the Liberal candidate for Lindsay, Fiona Scott, and her predecessor, Jackie Kelly).</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'I was oblivious, absolutely oblivious, to the fact that I had said something that could be remarked upon.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(September 5, 2013: Abbott comments on the negative response his 'sex appeal' remark generated).</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ABORTION</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Abortion is the easy way out. It's hardly surprising that people should choose the most convenient exit from awkward situations.' </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(March 17, 2004).</i></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'The problem with the Australian practice of abortion is that an objectively grave matter has been reduced to a question of the mother's convenience.' </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(March 17, 2004).</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">INTEREST RATES</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'The Australian people need to understand that every interest rate rise over the next 12 months is due to the irresponsible spending spree of the Rudd government.' </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(December 1, 2009).</i></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'If interest rates go down it's because this government is presiding over an economy that is in much more trouble than the government has previously been prepared to admit.' </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(August 6, 2013).</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">CLIMATE CHANGE/CARBON PRICE</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'If Australia is to greatly reduce its carbon emissions, the price of carbon intensive products should rise.' </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(July 27, 2009).</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Cost of living for families is unnecessarily higher because of the carbon tax.'</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(2013: excerpt from 'Our Plan: Real Solutions for All Australians', a policy manifesto heavily spruiked by Abbott). </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'A new tax would be the intelligent... way to deal with reducing emissions.' </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(July 27, 2009. Abbott's speech, 'A Realists Approach to Climate Change,' is <a href="http://www.tonyabbott.com.au/LatestNews/Speeches/tabid/88/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/7087/A-REALISTS-APPROACH-TO-CLIMATE-CHANGE.aspx" target="_blank">here</a>).</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'The carbon tax hits households, threatens jobs and damages the economy without, it turns out, ever significantly reducing Australia's domestic emissions.'</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(September 2, 2013). </span></i></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'We do want to reduce our emissions and those targets stand.' </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(December 1, 2009. The day he was elected leader, Abbott re-committed to the Coalition's target of reducing carbon emissions to 5% below 1990 levels by 2020).</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'We will get as much environmental improvement, as much emissions reduction, as we can for the spending that we have budgeted.'</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(September 2, 2013 Abbott confirms that he will not allocate additional funding to emissions reduction, even if his Government missed their long promised target. The target had been official policy since the Howard era). </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'The climate change argument is absolute crap.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(February 2, 2010).</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
<br />'Just ask yourself what an emissions trading scheme is all about. It's a so-called market in the non-delivery of an invisible substance to no one.'</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
<i>(July 15, 2013)</i>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">THE ENVIRONMENT</span></h3>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Environmentalism might hurt the environment.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(2009: from Abbott's book, 'Battlelines').</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'More energy efficient buildings and more research into geothermal and tidal power could lead to greater carbon dioxide reduction than the proposed ETS.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(Battlelines).</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'On day one, the Treasurer will notify the Clean Energy Finance Corporation that it should suspend its operations and instruct the Treasury to prepare legislation to permanently shut down the corporation.'</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(August 2013, Press release, announcing Abbott's plan to disband the CEFC, one of the Government's largest environmental agencies. Among the CEFC's responsibilities; improving the energy efficiency of public buildings and investing in alternative energy). </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">TAX INCREASES</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Whether it's a stealth tax like the emissions trading scheme, whether it's an upfront and straightforward tax like the carbon tax, there will not be any new taxes as part of the Coalitions policies.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(December 1, 2009).</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Four months later, in March 2010, Abbott announced his generous Paid Parental Leave Scheme, to be largely funded by 1.5% new tax on large businesses.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Sometimes, for very important reasons, for very good reasons, you have to make departures from principal.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(March 2010, when questioned on his sudden reversal on tax policy).</i></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2JTgCCQovjmwWCGq46BvEuokz8ZEYcPzF7VZqCPw2_22bC4KKKzto_gxGPma6MJ-yIyQn-ef1C5ZdwXhuPv0Y0ofopnaviGWZq2uZOXXQl1QXSXnbYlR2azeGLxR6b-piUKGv2ym3UA/s1600/ipad-art-wide-abbott_p1-420x0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2JTgCCQovjmwWCGq46BvEuokz8ZEYcPzF7VZqCPw2_22bC4KKKzto_gxGPma6MJ-yIyQn-ef1C5ZdwXhuPv0Y0ofopnaviGWZq2uZOXXQl1QXSXnbYlR2azeGLxR6b-piUKGv2ym3UA/s400/ipad-art-wide-abbott_p1-420x0.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">'You can trust most of the things I've said. Allright, you can</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">trust some of the things I've said. Look, just trust me, ok?'</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">HOMOSEXUALITY</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'I'd say I probably feel a bit threatened. As do so many people.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(March 8, 2010. Abbott's response on '60 Minutes' when asked how he felt about homosexuality).</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'There is no doubt it (homosexuality) challenges, if you like, orthodox notions of the right order of things.'</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(March 9, 2010. When asked to clarify his comments on '60 Minutes').</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'I think there are lots of terrific gay relationships... but I don't think marriage is the right term to put on it.'</span><br />
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<i>(August 15, 2010: Response to a question on 'Q and A').</i></span><br />
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'The marriage ended. For Chris it was replaced by something else that is marvelous. She has regrets but she did something that was brave, authentic, something she felt had to be done. I can respect that even if in every sense I can't understand it.'</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(April 7, 2012. In 1992 Abbott's sister Chris separated from her husband and came out as a lesbian. In this interview Abbott described his close relationship with his sister).</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">WORKCHOICES</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Workchoices was a political mistake, but may not have been an economic one. Workchoices wasn't all bad.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(2009: excerpt from Abbott's book 'Battlelines').</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'I have an election to win. It's the 2010 election and... Workchoices is dead, it's buried, it's cremated.'</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(July 2010: radio interview).</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Obviously, I can't give a guarantee about every single aspect of workplace relations legislation.'</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(July 2010: from the same interview).</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'What this policy promises are sensible, careful, prudent, collegial changes to the system.'</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(May 2013, Abbott announces his new Industrial Relations policy).</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">BOAT ARRIVALS</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Jesus knew that there was a place for everything and it's not necessarily the right thing for everyone to come to Australia.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(April 5, 2010).</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'I don't think it's a very Christian thing to come in the back door rather than the front door.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(July 10, 2012)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'It's much better and more sensible to spend a few thousand dollars in Indonesia then to spend $12 million dollars processing the people who ultimately arrive here.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(August 23, 2013, Abbott announces a new policy to buy boats from people smugglers in Indonesia, to prevent them from using the boats to bring refugees to Australia)</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'We may not buy boats back.'</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(August 29, 2013).</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">PUBLIC TRANSPORT</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'In Australia's biggest cities, public transport is generally slow, expensive, not especially reliable and a hideous drain on the public purse. Part of the problem is inefficient, overmanned, union dominated, Government run train and bus systems. Mostly though, there just aren't enough people wanting to go from a particular place to a particular destination at a particular time to justify a vehicle larger than a car, and cars need roads.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(2009: excerpt from 'Battlelines').</i></span></div>
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'We have no history of funding urban rail and I think that it is important that we stick to our knitting and the Commonwealth's knitting when it comes to funding infrastructure is roads.'</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(August 14, 2013. Abbott announces that a coalition government will provide $1.5 billion to Victoria to build its 'East-West Road Link' project, and $0 to Victoria to fund its 'Metro Rail Tunnel' public transport overhaul. 'Infrastructure Australia,' the Government's key advisory body on major projects, had rated the rail project of more value; economically, commercially and socially.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ONE NATION</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>In 1998, then Parliamentary Secretary Tony Abbott helped set up a private fund to be used to pay for legal action against the One Nation party. Abbott had located a disgruntled former One Nation member, Terry Scharples, who accused One Nation's directors of electoral fraud. Abbott arranged for Scharples to get free legal representation and also promised to reimburse him, from the fund, for any out of pocket 'costs' he encountered during the case he brought. Abbott kept his involvement quiet.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Tony Jones</b>: So there was never any question of any party funds, or any other funds, from any other source, being offered to Terry Scharples?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Tony Abbott:</b> Absolutely not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(July 31, 1998: 'Four Corners' interview).</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Scharples started his case and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson was eventually convicted and jailed. Her case was overturned on appeal and she was freed after three months served. An investigation by the Sydney Morning Herald uncovered Abbott's role.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Kerry O'Brien</b>: On July 11, you met him (Scharples) again and you handwrote him a guarantee, didn't you?... Then on July 31 you told Tony Jones, you gave him an 'absolutely not' denial about any kind of funds going to Terry Scharples.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Tony Abbott</b>: I said that I had not offered him money and I stand by that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Kerry O'Brien</b>: You offered him costs?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Tony Abbott</b>: Well, I said that he wouldn't be out of pocket. </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(August 27, 2003: 'The 7.30 Report' interview).</span></i><br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIA</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Now I know that there are some Aboriginal people who aren't happy with Australia Day. I think... Aboriginal people have much to celebrate in this country's British heritage.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(April 5, 2010: 'Q and A')</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'There may not be a great job (for Indigenous people) but whatever there is, they just have to do it. And if it's picking up rubbish around the community, it just has to be done.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(June 2010).</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Self determination has set up Aboriginal people to fail.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(July 2010).</i></span></div>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">CAN WE TRUST WHAT HE SAYS?</span></h3>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tc5ljcri6Nk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">'CreaturesFact' rates a number of Abbott's public statements: Mostly False. And many of them are rated: Completely Batshit.</span></div>
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Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-30222901839782048222013-09-07T22:05:00.004-07:002013-09-07T22:19:36.643-07:00Aftermath<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
As expected, Sunday finds Australia with a new Government elect.<br />
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The Liberal-National coalition lead by Tony Abbott moved to a comfortable victory early on Saturday night, with the result 'called' by some sections of the punditry as early as an hour after polling closed (and heroically called by former Liberal minister Nick Minchin an hour before it did). It was a far cry from 2010, when the nation was left hanging on election night and had to wait through several weeks of horse trading before a formal result was declared.<br />
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There was no such suspense this time.<br />
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With counting still underway, the AEC shows the following scorecard:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnb53FWQUqOqE4z5lXQKmeyDaSME7RZNFYb3wgHlLeXQun2UMB_L7qE7J-30p2xa26c426sIU26jP-5lV4EP0FDV14zvyvGsuURzcSoU-v4QKD40vAFX7g2EjzWKzv348WlbNv2tLj3mU/s1600/results.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnb53FWQUqOqE4z5lXQKmeyDaSME7RZNFYb3wgHlLeXQun2UMB_L7qE7J-30p2xa26c426sIU26jP-5lV4EP0FDV14zvyvGsuURzcSoU-v4QKD40vAFX7g2EjzWKzv348WlbNv2tLj3mU/s400/results.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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About six of the seats indicated above are still officially 'too close to call', while the two listed as not yet determined (Fairfax and Indi) may be delayed for some time, due to the complexities of the preference allocation in each. But the overall result is clear enough.<br />
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Tony Abbott has won the election. Not with the landslide predicted by some of the more hysterical elements of the media, but with a clear majority. The outcome neatly reverses the result in 2007 when Labor came to power (2007 results: Labor 83, Coalition 65, Independent 2).<br />
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With the overall result clear cut, the question now becomes... what next? The immediate focus was on Rudd and Abbott.<br />
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Neither leader distinguished themselves on election night, both delivering self serving speeches that sought to immediately re-write history.<br />
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Rudd began by congratulating himself; saying that Labor had 'fought the good fight.' News to anyone who had witnessed his turgid and un-enlightening campaign, full of off-the-cuff policy ideas and negativity. He also supplied his expected folksiness and cliched phraseology; he mentioned 'the good people of Australia,' he said 'the things that unite us are greater than the things that divide us', he said 'Gees' (twice). He reminded everyone that he isn't going to be much missed, either by the larger electorate or by his colleagues (The Age this morning carried a story where members from both sides of politics called for Rudd to resign from Parliament, immediately).<br />
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For his part, Abbott offered up the most ungracious victory speech I can remember seeing in Australian politics. He started by saying that he had defeated Rudd... and then he said it again. And then he smirked and said that Labor's vote was the lowest it had been for a hundred years. The only thing he didn't say was 'In your face, cunts!' He looked like a man so focused on crushing his opponent that he didn't know why he was doing it. He was as disingenuous in victory as Rudd had been in defeat; claiming Australia was 'once more open for business', news to everyone who has gotten a job or invested money in the last six years, and that he would look after 'our forgotten families,' odd considering that the whole apparatus of Government now seems designed to take money from people without kids and hand it over to people who do, regardless of their respective incomes.<br />
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At least Rudd has now dropped from sight. Abbott was back this morning, Lycra clad and grinning like a hungry shark as he went for his daily bike ride, an alarming image that we will all just have to get used to:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9xe9LMVt87Nlnt9XcA5GZsbRt2eDxunC7Z2gmg_rcit46ew_9mruIXFet6cwXV_G8K2UT60o11vS9lDBwTJIP2Kw4DIbZztKU23nx5A0oboU8XiKp7Rvw2UayzZR8NXL9VpttJzuOn8/s1600/abbott+bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9xe9LMVt87Nlnt9XcA5GZsbRt2eDxunC7Z2gmg_rcit46ew_9mruIXFet6cwXV_G8K2UT60o11vS9lDBwTJIP2Kw4DIbZztKU23nx5A0oboU8XiKp7Rvw2UayzZR8NXL9VpttJzuOn8/s400/abbott+bike.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Rudd, vanquished; Abbott, obscene. So much for our leaders.<br />
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But beyond these two, there were more interesting lessons to be drawn from what happened on September 7. Some of the highlights:<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">1. GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGNING STILL WORKS</span></h3>
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The sole Green in the House of reps, deputy leader Adam Bandt, delighted his supporters by holding his seat of Melbourne. And not only holding it, but increasing his primary vote from 36% in 2010 to 43%, and so moving the seat to the edge of safe territory. The result came on the back of the Liberal Party's decision to preference against Bandt, which many pundits thought doomed his campaign. But the Greens were determined to fight, and did so by running an enthusiastic, old school, grassroots campaign. Swarms of young volunteers targeted the electorate, dividing it up into sub-districts and then hitting these hard with door knocks, letters, events, fund raising and well thought out, positive advertising (all aided by a generous donation from the Electrical Trades Union), tactics as old as organised politics itself. The hard working Bandt was a tangible presence in his electorate, and reaped the benefit on polling day.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">2. BAD CANDIDATES DEFY TRENDS</span></h3>
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Labor didn't fare as badly as expected in Western Sydney but still lost ground and seats; Robertson, Banks and Lindsay were all once safe Labor seats that are now in the conservative column. But Labor's most marginal seat in the area - Greenway, held by just 0.6% - not only did not fall, but actually recorded a swing to Labor of nearly 3%, a very unexpected result. That it did so was largely down to the Liberals choice of candidate; the hapless Jaymes Diaz. You might remember him from such career ending disasters as this:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/SkZmA-ibxUY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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If only it had been a 1 Point Plan he would've been a cert. Diaz went to ground after his nationally televised embarrassment and was pretty much unseen from this point onwards, a fatal impediment for a candidate seeking election to public office, regardless of how unpopular the Government. When he did resurface, he didn't fare much better:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/US2wQrMnCow?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Candidates this bad are rarely seen outside of One Nation. Diaz's nightmare came to a fitting end when his brother crashed the campaign car in the parking lot outside of Liberal headquarters on election night.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kymCJQ-oyJu_CQg22llUUCqSlnpecwX2ZKWMirUNtj9A4AGhSeQKQiioJlOXf4yu8rxla8mDMs-IQ1VsULDyGEftiLHeFF6szNGapuDj8mK7RK7ETidoBD69zYGtNqpTOGN0FHl9F3w/s1600/diaz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kymCJQ-oyJu_CQg22llUUCqSlnpecwX2ZKWMirUNtj9A4AGhSeQKQiioJlOXf4yu8rxla8mDMs-IQ1VsULDyGEftiLHeFF6szNGapuDj8mK7RK7ETidoBD69zYGtNqpTOGN0FHl9F3w/s1600/diaz.jpg" /></a></div>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">3. WESTERN SYDNEY IS NOT AUSTRALIA</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhewzqbhoC282-sT8X8QAg3eGRxkAT6J_MJmLhmLPTWD_Ab7pxKisy8i7BsEKT6JFOr0CBWj10p6vFLfTIdjFePzD3DzFmBCmliRzLYWacqprSzjbQBrKqMyNqOqcz7kGt5wSjQ2CMfagk/s1600/rooty+hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhewzqbhoC282-sT8X8QAg3eGRxkAT6J_MJmLhmLPTWD_Ab7pxKisy8i7BsEKT6JFOr0CBWj10p6vFLfTIdjFePzD3DzFmBCmliRzLYWacqprSzjbQBrKqMyNqOqcz7kGt5wSjQ2CMfagk/s400/rooty+hill.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not the capital of Australia, despite what you've been told.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
Overall the Labor Party would be comfortable with how they went in Western Sydney; they poured resources in, Kevin Rudd visited repeatedly, some of the furniture was saved. But the cost of this strategy can be seen when looking at the wider electoral map, something that ALP strategists appear not to have done often enough. While the Government only lost a few seats in Sydney, and none at all (as at time of writing) in their other trouble spot, Queensland; South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania swung hard to the conservative side. A decade ago, all five of Tasmania's lower house seats were safe Labor, and over this time Victoria and South Australia were the two states where they'd fared the best on the mainland. Now Labor appeared set to lose 4 out of 5 seats in Tassie - on the back of double digit swings, the largest in Australia - three more seats in Victoria and one in South Australia. In other words, half of the seats they lost as they tumbled towards defeat were from these three overlooked states. The lesson is clear. Western Sydney is important in electoral terms; millions of people live there, the population is growing and there is a high concentration of seats, but it is not the whole country. And you ignore the rest at your peril.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">4. DISUNITY IS DEATH</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
I wrote about this yesterday, but it seems worth repeating. The biggest single impediment to Labor winning a third term was the grim spectacle of them hacking at each other in public over the last four years. Losing candidate in Forde, former Queensland Premier Peter Beattie, summed it up:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltvFlaBB6hv7KwBuxMdsVEX1zewyBas6oRfgCgQVSalWtqeK-lTSxLBYkvILQ9gHTbYwSUxENYduFke_zcvPMpPQTqhCJrYe6tS8g7bp1AmOBg1mk2QdoTVTtxG_VfBI9HfjdjJSc770/s1600/quote+beattie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltvFlaBB6hv7KwBuxMdsVEX1zewyBas6oRfgCgQVSalWtqeK-lTSxLBYkvILQ9gHTbYwSUxENYduFke_zcvPMpPQTqhCJrYe6tS8g7bp1AmOBg1mk2QdoTVTtxG_VfBI9HfjdjJSc770/s320/quote+beattie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard bear most responsibility for this, but there would be few within parliamentary Labor that weren't guilty of stirring the pot, gossip mongering and leaking bullshit to the press. Considering that he is not universally popular with his colleagues, Abbott did a remarkable job of keeping his troops together and their message (however misguided) consistent, both of which are key steps towards successful political leadership. The Labor Party have an opportunity now to elect a new leader largely free of baggage and start again. But the electorate's memory is long and the damage that they have inflicted on themselves is enormous.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">5. MARGINAL SEAT POLLING IS GARBAGE</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3eCaybuyX-A_tMr1bdvaQF3ytHkf8RLVOkAQNTB7TTalY19DcvF7yfdQUrmpL66E8UzOUOhJp48PnaHdctiyAVSniiipa3uJ0vPJaAaLeRaCXSVbExtX2yoli_OLprs3f2L0rsOYTdS4/s1600/poles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3eCaybuyX-A_tMr1bdvaQF3ytHkf8RLVOkAQNTB7TTalY19DcvF7yfdQUrmpL66E8UzOUOhJp48PnaHdctiyAVSniiipa3uJ0vPJaAaLeRaCXSVbExtX2yoli_OLprs3f2L0rsOYTdS4/s400/poles.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What's all the fuss about?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
In the end, the big national polls were pretty accurate. Nielsen and Newspoll both called it 54 - 46 to the Coalition and Galaxy had it 53 - 47 (the actual result was 53.4 - 46.6) two party preferred. Which marked another in a series of elections were the national polls have proved startlingly accurate. All of the polling organisations listed above use a large sample size and have thorough methodology to make these polls as valid as possible. But this cannot be said for other polls, some organised by the same companies, that littered the political landscape this year, the worst of which seemed deliberately misleading. Most inaccurate were a series of polls taken in key marginal seats, many of which showed wildly improbable results. Some of the worst examples:</div>
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* A Longeran poll in August that predicted Kevin Rudd would lose his seat of Griffith. Rudd retained the seat comfortably.<br />
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* Newspoll's throughout August that showed Labor losing four, five or all of their seats in Queensland. As at time of writing, Labor has lost no Queensland seats, although Capricornia and Petrie are still in dispute (with Labor ahead in both).<br />
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* A JWS Research poll in August that showed Treasurer Chris Bowen losing his seat of McMahon by 3% and high profile former Treasurer Wayne Swan his seat of Lilley by 4%. Both seats were retained easily.<br />
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* A Newspoll a week before the election that predicted Labor would lose ten seats in Sydney, some by double digit margins. Labor lost three Sydney seats.<br />
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In contrast to the accurate national polls, the marginal seat polling was done with little or no scientific rigour; sample sizes as small as 200 were used (electorates contain around 100 000 voters) and calls were often made only to landlines, ruling out a large chunk of the electorate, or via automated 'robo-calls', which sensible people refuse to take. Nevertheless, the results of these totally meaningless exercises were discussed in the same earnest fashion as the polls that some effort had gone into, to the detriment of the campaign coverage. It is hoped we won't see a repeat of this rubbish in three years time, but this is probably to hope for too much.<br />
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And so with the election already fading into the rearview, a pause will fall across the field of battle. The victors will gloat a little longer, the losers will blame each other and life will continue for most people, much as it did before.<br />
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Labor's new leader will be elected sooner rather than later and then we will have a clearer idea of where the next three years will take us.<br />
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Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-83423357427972083202013-09-06T18:55:00.001-07:002013-09-06T18:55:11.672-07:00The End<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Yesterday, all of Australia's newspapers bar one endorsed Tony Abbott as our next Prime Minister.<br />
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Today, the only paper that bucked this trend, Melbourne's <i>The Age</i>, has a front page story showing the Coalition leading 54 - 46% in their latest round of polling. Analysis attached to these results points to a Labor rout, even in Victoria where the Government's vote has largely remained steady in spite of volatility elsewhere.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUe71K9WgKajmvxw6IkZxfbHzZZC3Vn0SuEJCGwK8ByKBI-LGphPqUebGPS4TD7qXslPw8cWwj_b-pFy3dNESMQ8rJTHD-RJY8MQzTvrf7c27Vjo8kT2GyzeTL-CwXv6jqxshLyEAuCk/s1600/cartoon2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUe71K9WgKajmvxw6IkZxfbHzZZC3Vn0SuEJCGwK8ByKBI-LGphPqUebGPS4TD7qXslPw8cWwj_b-pFy3dNESMQ8rJTHD-RJY8MQzTvrf7c27Vjo8kT2GyzeTL-CwXv6jqxshLyEAuCk/s400/cartoon2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Kevin Rudd's political career appears to be coming to an end, while Abbott's is about to reach a height unimaginable until very recently. Their colleagues will almost certainly be looking for new seats in the House of Reps when parliament sits again.<br />
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Some Labor excuse making has already begun.<br />
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The Murdoch press were out to get them. And Abbott and his befuddled shadow treasurer, Joe Hockey, hid their figures. Even when they released them, they hid them, which is quite a feat if you give it some thought. And Abbott lied; publicly stating Australia faced a 'budgetary emergency' even while promising billions in new spending and overseas commentators called Australia's economy 'the envy of the world.'<br />
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But none of these reasons really explain the result that the Labor side are facing today. To rebut the above points:<br />
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- The Murdoch press is always hostile to the left.<br />
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- Opposition of both stripes obfuscates on detail.<br />
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- Politicians lie. See some of Labor's claims in this election for more examples of this.<br />
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The root cause of Labor's woes is simpler, and all the more frustrating for them as being largely of their own devising. You can sum it up in one sentence, hatefully supplied by former Prime Minister John Howard.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkKGdY0O323BeMJqsgrE6_Cr_kBqxx_51humWvrphxJ8ceMqoX8dpGNBYemrU-byaE39L3X0C-IyxNZjSypGlRVQ8P4z1TtPPaYwQXllr4L7Mz_r9pJkshPCkdBm7CXglJzmac1e5xd2s/s1600/john-howard-angry-5600787.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkKGdY0O323BeMJqsgrE6_Cr_kBqxx_51humWvrphxJ8ceMqoX8dpGNBYemrU-byaE39L3X0C-IyxNZjSypGlRVQ8P4z1TtPPaYwQXllr4L7Mz_r9pJkshPCkdBm7CXglJzmac1e5xd2s/s400/john-howard-angry-5600787.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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In 1987, Howard lead a disjointed and unruly Liberal Party to the Federal Election against Bob Hawke's Labor Government. Howard had been deputy to Andrew Peacock until 1985, but Peacock had suspected Howard of agitating against his leadership and had tried to force the party to remove him. When Howard refused to budge, the resulting showdown found Howard replacing Peacock as leader, but left with a determined core of Peacock supporters dedicated to undermining him. Years of instability followed.<br />
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Sound familiar?<br />
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Howard was beaten comfortably in 1987 and left one of his few enduring legacies to Australian public life. Commenting on his defeat, he said, 'Disunity is death.'<br />
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And so it goes for the ALP, in 2013.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHhTmz4rpM49BEyLN7zwZ4UVzq7Fqn5XHnmmz5CLASkhWSK3ozObN3m5PjSt16CuVebUeFIyhmQYhyGuC-IJIPW0gMGehFzC_9fUvibSKvIXPDXjl-HiT3BStcvH60PmvlmEKRiUGUedg/s1600/787564-rudd-and-gillard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHhTmz4rpM49BEyLN7zwZ4UVzq7Fqn5XHnmmz5CLASkhWSK3ozObN3m5PjSt16CuVebUeFIyhmQYhyGuC-IJIPW0gMGehFzC_9fUvibSKvIXPDXjl-HiT3BStcvH60PmvlmEKRiUGUedg/s400/787564-rudd-and-gillard.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such happy times...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Having spent most of the last four years doing a fair impression of a dog chasing its own tail, Labor should not be surprised that voters want rid of them altogether. Looking back on their time in Government, its hard to imagine that ALP power brokers wouldn't consider the bloody coup against Rudd in 2010 a terrible mistake. They did it to avoid what they felt was a looming disaster in that year's election, and then ended up with a terrible result anyway. Worse, they were saddled with the restrictions of minority Government, which ultimately forced them into a number of unpopular policy positions they could otherwise have avoided or handled differently. Julia Gillard's time as PM was forever tainted by the method of its inception.<br />
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The other unforeseen outcome from 2010 was Tony Abbott's elevated status as a result.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOC6SfpDfjheJx_sDzInHAZ8sJC2u6qipDOm0LHK8iN9rh_DltzditUXGwCKFHmiHFE_7FywXtRi8ombfhhYoldxkGjI8UTM99bPAy0PBBdPX1N6sPJ4ZPxkr4ki84FngLHSFjMXNY-TA/s1600/Abbott_puppies_130906_AAP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOC6SfpDfjheJx_sDzInHAZ8sJC2u6qipDOm0LHK8iN9rh_DltzditUXGwCKFHmiHFE_7FywXtRi8ombfhhYoldxkGjI8UTM99bPAy0PBBdPX1N6sPJ4ZPxkr4ki84FngLHSFjMXNY-TA/s400/Abbott_puppies_130906_AAP.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abbott announces his plan for offshore processing of puppies...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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When he was elected Oppostion leader, by one vote, in late 2009, the Coalition's position could hardly have been worse. Malcolm Turnball's troubled leadership had left Labor in a dominant position and seemingly set for a crushing election victory, whenever Rudd (still sitting above a 60% approval rating) decided to call it.<br />
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Fast forward one year and not only had Rudd been taken out of the game altogether, but the Liberals had clawed their way to a dead heat in the poll itself. Even though Labor managed to reform Government, just, the 2010 election capped one of the greatest turnarounds in Australian political history. The unexpectedly close result propelled Abbott from a nationally derided greenhorn to a political powerhouse in one stroke.<br />
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His one tangible achievement has been to keep things on track since.<br />
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Amongst all the crazed claims and misleading announcements during this election, there is one thing that is undeniably true. Tony Abbott has kept much the same course as he did three years ago; he has stuck to his simplistic catchphrases, he's kept much the same policy ideas (and cribbed watered down versions of Labor's more popular ones) and his supporting team is back and now seem comfortably familiar. He's even wearing the same outfit (light blue tie, dark blue suit).<br />
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The contrast to Labor is stark.<br />
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For the second election <i>in a row </i>their candidate is not the one we voted for last time. And this is a scenario so incredible, so fantastic, that if you hadn't been paying attention these last few years you would think it couldn't be possible. Incumbency is the one advantage normally enjoyed by all Governments seeking re-election, and Labor have nullified this because they just couldn't find a way to put personal enmity aside and work together.<br />
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It's difficult not to think the ALP are going to get what they deserve.<br />
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It's also difficult not to think that the country gets the Government that it deserves. Which is something that everyone will have to start facing up to from Sunday.</div>
Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-64964255189015766592013-09-05T01:35:00.000-07:002013-09-05T01:43:25.390-07:00Hate Speak<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Despite the best efforts of the major parties to keep the election campaign devoid of content, a few issues have finally surfaced. And one of these has brought to light some very ugly people, with very ugly views about their fellow citizens.<br />
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I'm talking about this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilWQM0GHQXAmxTaIlHQkwwo3QzvqZj-rlc7Mu9gslO8i6HoRfw55wdVG3fADiOodKxus_yWg1BjI8kVi7tDF5FlaqtfDR6YMGiQBz8pkT11Pxp8rfrRYh1ts95vPfLASaZ2T2d9cxtT40/s1600/moreton+electorate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilWQM0GHQXAmxTaIlHQkwwo3QzvqZj-rlc7Mu9gslO8i6HoRfw55wdVG3fADiOodKxus_yWg1BjI8kVi7tDF5FlaqtfDR6YMGiQBz8pkT11Pxp8rfrRYh1ts95vPfLASaZ2T2d9cxtT40/s400/moreton+electorate.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1rrGziGChXL-SRfr4rrRvurb56ZHo7Z5ylM5L2EiyF1QK4PQ7taZjLYgmn2PgMjR-20k2Mw9vudzKKNByESE6o_JqwNTm0IQ6wWoOSO1OTlSZy2Dsy0fx6M5K8QkmOPeYuhVvqBKvZSQ/s1600/pamphlet-729-2-620x349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1rrGziGChXL-SRfr4rrRvurb56ZHo7Z5ylM5L2EiyF1QK4PQ7taZjLYgmn2PgMjR-20k2Mw9vudzKKNByESE6o_JqwNTm0IQ6wWoOSO1OTlSZy2Dsy0fx6M5K8QkmOPeYuhVvqBKvZSQ/s400/pamphlet-729-2-620x349.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Like a cancerous growth, the flyers displayed above have sprouted in marginal electorates across Australia. Shamelessly depicting distressed looking children alongside an emotive cry for 'mum and dad,' the flyers trade in the basest kind of public discourse imaginable; the language of fear and hatred.<br />
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The frankness of the homophobia on display is shocking. The message from these flyers is unmistakable in any way; gay people are abnormal and their abnormality corrupts children. The collapse of society follows shortly afterwards.<br />
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The second of the flyers above is the work of Jim McCormack, a long standing member of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) and the Australian Family Association (AFA). Contacted by The Age newspaper <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/children-featured-in-election-antigay-marriage-push-20130904-2t4dt.html" target="_blank">regarding</a> his work, Mr McCormack was unapologetic about distributing printed material designed to encourage discrimination. He explained that he stood by his ads and had acted out of concern 'for children in the future.'<br />
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This AFA website uses less noble sounding language. In a section titled 'Keep Marriage 1 Man + 1 Woman,' the AFA President, David Perrin, speaks of an 'unrelenting attack' from marriage equality campaigners and charges his followers to do what is necessary to defend the equation outlined in the heading. Perrin's language, like the whole of the AFA website, is aggressive, hostile and inflammatory. The only thing missing is a call to round up a posse and light a few torches.<br />
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The views of McCormack and the AFA are mirrored in sections of our polity.<br />
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The 'Rise Up Australia' party, an extreme right group headed by church minister Daniel Nalliah, takes a strong anti-gay stance. Running candidates for the Senate in all states and the ACT, Rise Up's website lists defence of 'traditional' marriage amongst its 26 policies. Their website also states that they will:<br />
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Laughably, two points after this blatant piece of bigotry, Rise Up offer their support for 'the protection of Human Rights.' The conclusion you can draw from this is clear; any homosexuals have given up their right to be considered human.<br />
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Nortoriously homophobic NSW Senator Fred Nile draws different conclusions. The Christian Democrat Party (CDP) that Nile leads has this graphic on their website:<br />
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So for Nile, it's more a matter of economics. Gay people are stealing straight people's money! Luckily the CDP 'will change that.' In 2013 it's hard to believe that an opinion like this could be held by anyone, and certainly not by anyone who wished to be taken seriously. Yet Nile is a long term member of the upper house in Australia's largest state and ahs helped shape policy there for decades.<br />
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And then there is the re-entry of former Prime Minister John Howard to the campaign this week. Touring marginal seats around <a href="http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/special-features/former-prime-minister-john-howard-campaigning-in-adelaide-says-children-are-better-off-with-mum-and-dad-not-being-raised-in-gay-marriages/story-fnho52jl-1226709998617" target="_blank">Adelaide</a>, Howard offered his view that marriage equality was 'nonsense.' He insisted this opinion wasn't discrimination because:<br />
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In other words, it's not discriminatory because... well, he doesn't say. Perhaps he thought it was obvious.<br />
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Throughout his Prime Ministership, John Howard denied that he was a homophobe. Much as he denied that he was racist, xenophobic or bigoted. Sure, gay and dark skinned people made him feel uncomfortable and he laid out policies designed to marginalise them and make their lives less equal then everyone else's, but that never meant he was prejudiced. He always said that he was simply upholding a traditional position. Maintaining the status quo. Not messing with something that wasn't broke. And any one of a thousand more wooden, thought deadening sentences that he used to lull his audience into a mild coma so he could get on with the job. Based on his quotes in <i>The Advertiser</i>, he clearly hasn't felt the need to come up with a new strategy.<br />
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This same mentality is at play in the people behind the examples of hate speak listed at the start of this article.<br />
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Jim McCormack, David Perrin, Daniel Nalliah and their supporters would have you believe that they're not prejudiced either. Or, at the very least, they will lay claim to this, while putting written and verbal material into the public sphere that proves the exact opposite. Their defence in every instance is the same as Howard's. And the same as people put forward to defend the White Australia policy, the denial of Indigenous rights and unequal treatment of women. These too were all traditional parts of Australian life at one time and overturning them took agitation, upheaval, much effort from good people. Minds had to be changed and new ideas promulgated. All of these things are now either gone or on their way out. None of them are missed.<br />
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Kevin Rudd has had a dismal election campaign and is probably headed for defeat this coming weekend. But on one issue at least, he showed signs that he was more than just a big plastic bag stuffed with focus group analysis.<br />
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For the first time in a long time, the Labor leader got on the reform side of an issue, and it looked good. This was his finest moment since his return to the leadership, and the only one anyone associated with his turgid campaign will want to recall later.<br />
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Replacing ill founded and unfair traditions with new ideas is called progress. If politics does not have this as a goal, what is the point of any of it?<br />
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Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-70891633596975698112013-09-04T01:45:00.000-07:002013-09-04T01:49:35.694-07:006 vs. Half Dozen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There’s a long <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/rudd-calm-in-fight-of-his-life-20130903-2t3ck.html" target="_blank">interview</a> in The Age today with <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/approaching-the-summit-20130903-2t3fb.html" target="_blank">each</a> of the major party leaders, capturing their mood and views as they make the final turn for the run home to Saturday.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> And it’s instructive to read them, back to back, as taken together they give quite an insight into both the mindset of Rudd and Abbott, as well as the state of politics more generally in Australia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Neither interview contains much in the way of policy, and so mirrors the campaign that surrounds them. Rudd again mentions Abbott’s ‘$70 billion’ worth of cuts to Government spending and services; a claim that has been revealed as essentially a figment of Rudd’s imagination by Polifact, the ABC and nearly every journalist who’s bothered to take an interest. And Abbott offers only the same un-frightening generalisations that the media have been happy to let him get away with to date; he wants a ‘stronger’ Australia and doesn't want ‘to leave anyone behind’ while he builds it, sentiments that would probably apply to anyone currently alive. I mean, could we find a public figure who’s against these things? Even Bob Katter and Clive Palmer aren't mental enough to demand a weaker Australia and a tougher time for punters stuck at the bottom.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If only...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So much for policy. Which makes sense really, as the major parties long ago made peace with the fact there’s little difference between the two of them anymore. At least, on the big questions about how the country is to be run.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Which brings us to other considerations. And here the differences between the two men can be more starkly defined.</span>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Truthfully, Rudd comes across as a bit bonkers. The first chunk of his interview is given over to raving about the Murdoch press being out to get him which, while undoubtedly true, isn't worth his time complaining about. This is simply part of life on the left side of politics in this era, where Murdoch still holds an inordinate amount of influence, and there’s little that can be done about it. Murdoch’s media instruments aren't doing anything illegal and the sensible course of action, for a party leader anyway, is to get on with the job and just ignore it. By banging on about evil empires and conspiracies, Rudd just makes himself sound like someone who’s watched too much </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Homeland</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and not gotten enough fresh air. Rudd’s underlings should soldier the burden of whacking back at the billionaire tyrant, he should be talking solely about health, Gonski, broadband, disability insurance and far above everything else, the economy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">‘Most country’s would envy Australia’s economy,’ writes US economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stieglitz, yet Rudd spends far more time jumping at shadows then he does claiming some credit for this. I mean, is this really what he wants to run with in the closing days of a losing election campaign? ‘These bullies are out to get me!’ Shouldn’t Rudd be pointing out how Labor helped insure the strength of our economy, and then raising legitimate questions about how a change of Government would effect this rosy picture? After all, this tactic worked a treat for John Howard for a decade (until people got sick of his tracksuit and senile drawl). But Rudd seems no better at communicating his party’s successes than he was 3 years ago.</span>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In contrast to the jittery, rattled sounding Rudd, Abbott presents the very definition of calm confidence. A comparison that has served him better and better, the longer the campaign has dragged on. Abbott clearly expects to be Prime Minister </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1269214796" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">on Saturday</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, in a way that he can’t have in 2010, when he was always behind in the polls and only rated a fool’s chance of causing an upset. But behind the slick demeanour, lurks an alarming void. As well as having no policy information on hand to enlighten us with, Abbott seems determined to try and remove all traces of a personality from his public utterances as well. His interview consists entirely of the same well worn phrases that he’s been rolling out for three years, batting the interviewers questions away and presenting the blandest possible face of a potential Coalition government. With Rudd at least, you can see motivation behind his will to power; the Labor leader clearly values himself highly and nothing short of the top job will do (he also has a never ending list of enemies to get even with). Abbott would pretend that he’s not even motivated on this level. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Why does he want to be Prime Minister? ‘To build a stronger country, without leaving anyone behind.’ This is the logical extension of his ‘Stop the Boats’ mantra: a reasonable sounding phrase that means precisely nothing. The truth of Abbott’s position as heir apparent is that no one has the slightest idea what he’ll do if he is elected, and that includes his colleagues. Consider the most expensive policy put forward by any party in this election; Abbott’s paid parental leave scheme. Costed at billions per annum, Abbott announced this policy on National TV, having consulted almost no one in his shadow cabinet about it beforehand. The absence of detail from the Opposition leader, and his well documented fickle nature and fondness for snap decisions, should be alarming to everyone, reinforcing why Abbott is keen to smile and nod his way through to September 7.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Abbott revolution: Day 1</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Age also asks both leaders to identify their opponents best quality, which again highlights personality differences between the two men.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rudd nominates Abbott’s love of his family and their closeness as a group. In other words, he places no value whatsoever on Abbott’s contribution to public life and has instead chosen to praise the safest, blandest, least controversial thing he could think of. And this then serves to reinforce the image Rudd would like to cultivate of himself; that of a family man and a regular bloke. ‘I love families! Families are great! They are so great that even that cunt Abbott loves them. Even though he wants to steal $70 billion of their entitlements!’ Rudd has reached a point in his political life when he can include the words ‘working families’ in response to a question on any topic.</span>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Abbott offers a more interesting choice, by selecting to highlight Rudd’s time served as Prime Minster. ‘A serious country does not elect nobodies to the Prime Ministership,’ Abbott says, offering a perspective on his own campaign, where he has sought to portray himself as ‘Joe Nobody,’ the affable bloke from next door. Abbott’s respect for Rudd’s time as PM displays his old school love of title and position and maybe offers a small clue to how he will position himself, post election, assuming he is successful. If Kevin Rudd isn’t a ‘nobody’ then his feat of knocking him off is magnified. Abbott’s victory speech will probably include a reference to ‘Kevin Rudd, the greatest political operator who’s ever lived!’</span>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But neither Rudd nor Abbott offers anything much new, and certainly nothing that is newsworthy, in either of their interviews. Both appear to be stuck in the grove they’ve been in for the last five weeks; Rudd frustrated but unsure how to control his destiny, Abbott obfuscating but increasingly confident no one will catch him out.</span>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mercifully it will all soon be over. And life can then continue, almost exactly the same as it has for the last three years. What does Bill Shorten think of it all? We’ll probably know soon enough.</span>
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Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-51881817681309447172013-06-27T02:30:00.000-07:002013-06-27T02:30:33.579-07:00The Send Off<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: small;"><i>THE SETTING:</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">My workplace; the inner city office of a large corporation,
chock full of dead eyed, middle aged suburbanites, spinning their wheels while
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>CAST OF CHARACTERS:</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Three colleagues of mine, who sit in my immediate vicinity:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-indent: -18pt;"> - CATHY: Thirties, portly, talks incessantly,
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-indent: -18pt;"> - JEN: Early twenties, hyperactive, very into her
job, addicted to reality TV and junk food.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-indent: -18pt;"> - EMMA: Mid twenties, slim, recently preggers, plays
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>THE SCENARIO</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">A conversation I overheard this morning between the three of
them, as I fiddled with my email settings, discussing the Labor leadership drama
of the night before.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: Did you watch <i>House Rules</i> last
night?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: Yeah. But, I mean, really.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: What?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: Well it was interrupted because of that business in
Canberra.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">(General groans from several people nearby).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: Oh my God. I couldn’t believe that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">EMMA: I don’t want to talk about politics.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: They stopped the show right in the middle and switched
to some press conference.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: I was so annoyed!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: I was just sitting there going, ‘Julia, get the hell
off the TV!’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: I know.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: ‘I don’t want to watch this!’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: I know.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: Aargh!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: I know it’s meant to be important or big news or
whatever. But… really?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: I want to watch <i>House Rules</i>! I need to know
what’s happening.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: Yeah!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: But I can’t understand why they’d go back to the other
bloke anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: Rudd?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: Yeah. Why would they go back to him now?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">EMMA: I really couldn’t care less. They’re both terrible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: Well, I think Julia hasn’t been going too well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">EMMA: No one likes her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: And they were worried about losing, I guess.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: But it just seems… weird. To go back to someone that
they got rid of before. Why not just stick with him in the first place?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: Yeah. I don’t really understand it either.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">EMMA: I don’t like him either. I think he’s creepy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: Or just stick with her, since they got rid of him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">EMMA: I really hate the whole thing. I’m just sick of
hearing about it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: Yeah, I know.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">EMMA: I hate politics!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: It doesn’t even make any difference who the Prime
Minister is.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: Yeah.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: I mean, who cares? I just… I hate hearing about it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: Me too. I’m sick of it already.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: It makes no difference, just get it away from me!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">EMMA: They’re all the same.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: Well, at least Rudd is in favour of same sex
marriage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">(General murmurs of agreement)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: But I don’t understand how anyone could be against
that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: That’s right.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: It’s just… how does it affect anyone else? If people
want to get married then… just let them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">EMMA: Yeah. It’s no one else’s business.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: It seems like a weird thing to be against.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: Yeah. I just don’t understand why you’d be opposed to
it. Like, I’ve never really heard a reason to be against it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">EMMA: Why would you want to stop people getting married?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: Yeah, I don’t know either. But you know that Abbott
is against it?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: Yeah.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: That’ll never change if he gets elected.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: Yeah. And he probably will win.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: Yeah.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: Anyway, who cares.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: Yeah.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">EMMA: I don’t want to talk about politics!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">CATHY: Well anyway, you know that <i>House Rules</i> came
back on after the Gillard thing?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JEN: Oh yeah! I nearly turned it off it dragged on so long.
But yeah, it came back on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">CATHY: I was so happy!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</h2>
</div>
Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-57307951508397990222013-05-01T05:33:00.003-07:002013-05-01T05:35:50.571-07:00The Prosaic Response<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXK9rtrC6vktYayxRJz-wb8gFtxIqMCqgact7rgQYYgtw61tfBPWINbrd5gGUabB-a4PmBtYQWImOTXjRX6ZMgbuLZXzZhK5m9d0N_WSUlSqTVIi7J_VNmHWi08IaywUc2Ej2i6qZjWOk/s1600/gillard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXK9rtrC6vktYayxRJz-wb8gFtxIqMCqgact7rgQYYgtw61tfBPWINbrd5gGUabB-a4PmBtYQWImOTXjRX6ZMgbuLZXzZhK5m9d0N_WSUlSqTVIi7J_VNmHWi08IaywUc2Ej2i6qZjWOk/s400/gillard.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
It's been a long time.<br />
<br />
One year and one day since I last wrote something on this blog, about the state of the nation's politics. My last piece was a lengthy hand wringing about the thorough ineptness of the Prime Minister and her handling of the Craig Thompson affair, something that was dominating the news and my frontal lobes at the time.<br />
<br />
I ended by describing Julia Gillard's standing in this way:<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Her credibility is at an end, her popularity is non existent and it's difficult to see how Labor can keep going, with things as they are, without doing something.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
At the time, I imagined she would not be Prime Minister for much longer.<br />
<br />
So it's some tribute to our PM that a year later she is still in the job. A tribute not just to her determination and steely nerve, obvious to even her harshest critics, but also to her sheer bloody mindedness in still wanting the office that she holds after all that has happened.<br />
<br />
For if I was mistaken in my assumption that Labor would change leaders, I was not mistaken in thinking that they would do something. It's just that, in the style of modern Labor, what they did over the last twelve months made absolutely no sense whatsover. My error was in thinking that they were capable of a course of action that would.<br />
<br />
To summarise what has happened inside the ALP over the past twelves is a torturous exercise, so I'll keep it to dot points:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Gillard's primary leadership rival, Kevin Rudd, brought on a challenge that none of his supporters were ready for and which he lost comfortably.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Kevin Rudd's supporters brought on a challenge that their nominal leader, Kevin Rudd, was not ready for and that, in the end, he didn't even show up to. </li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The resulting turmoil from two destructive, haphazard leadership challenges cost several senior ministers their positions, among them some of the Government's best performers, and caused the rest of the caucus to hide in the nearest cupboard.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The carnage of the first three points prevented the ALP from mounting any sort of concerted attack on Tony Abbott who was, after all, meant to be their common enemy.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The relentless awfulness of the first four points made the leader of the Labor Party about as popular as a relentlessly advertised internet gambling site, both inside and outside her party.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>All of the points listed above served to simultaneously entrench Julia Gillard as Prime Minister, as no one else now wants the job, and diminish her prospects of victory in October.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Quite a list of achievements, for twelve months. It makes you wonder how the business of Government carried on at all, with all the members of the Parliamentary Labor Party spending their time putting thumb tacks on each other's chairs and spraying each other with 'Fart Gas'.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQstMPsnB01QYUYVLDnBZM4md_qJO2dK-UjPVSZZc3E-7hPs02IxzEpsWjPXauKLW9JIE6dvnoULpklIx4B0Nvd6rztRlvQlKj-hRoZ8A0MIXq4I25UIT_9tMWTX1W8We1VWy-mGMRUuc/s1600/fart+gas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQstMPsnB01QYUYVLDnBZM4md_qJO2dK-UjPVSZZc3E-7hPs02IxzEpsWjPXauKLW9JIE6dvnoULpklIx4B0Nvd6rztRlvQlKj-hRoZ8A0MIXq4I25UIT_9tMWTX1W8We1VWy-mGMRUuc/s1600/fart+gas.jpg" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But sooner or later, however reluctantly, the ALP had to turn their hands to politickin'. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The budget is due in less than two weeks and, in an election year, this assumes added importance, as it sets the agenda for everything that is to come. The budget serves as a road map for what the Government sees as policy priorities (and gives them one last chance to splash some money around) and, conversely, guides the Opposition into areas of criticism and opportunity. For a struggling Government, like the incumbent, it also provides a chance to let a little sunshine in and spin a positive yarn around what they're about. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But any die hard Labor types who were hoping for a little joy and optimism from Budget 2013, probably had their eyes opened by the Prime Minister's speech to a <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/revenue-collapse-hits-the-budget-the-gillard-speech-in-full-20130429-2ioaa.html" target="_blank">think tank</a> in Canberra on Monday. She could hardly have dampened the mood more if she had let fly with a big can of 'Fart Spray' across the room. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Tuesday May 14 will be no old fashioned pre-election budget.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>There is serious, persistant weakness in global growth.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Global weakness creates important economic pressures in Australia.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>The amount of tax revenue the Government has collected so </i><br />
<i>far this year is 7.5 billion </i><i>dollars less than was forecast last October </i><br />
<i>(and) this will increase to 12 billion dollars by </i><i>he end of the financial year.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
In other words; our financial forecasts were optimistic and, not only will we not have a truckload of money to spend on new stuff for the election, we don't even have the money that we already committed to spending last year. So expect no new goodies, and a fair delay on the ones you thought were already in the post.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And this spells serious trouble for the Government. For bringing in an austerity style budget in an election year is normally just a form of political suicide; as the elections of 1996 and 1983 demonstrate. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Gillard doggedly plodded along through the rest of her nationally covered speech, gamely trying to cover some of this grim news up by recounting the fine position Australia finds itself in overall; low public debt, low unemployment, high wages, good credit rating, high standard of living (although she struggled, as always, to explain how the general swell-ness of everything matched up to the bleakness she had mentioned in her previous sentence)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Gillard even tried to explain current fiscal demands with a new rhetorical tactic, in the form of a metaphorical anecdote (and by 'new' I don't mean just by her, this is probably a unique tangent in the history of public oratory).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Imagine a wage earner, John, employed in the same
job throughout the last 20 years. For a period in 2003 to 2007 every year his
employer gave him a sizeable bonus. He was grateful but in his bones knew it
wouldn't last.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The bonuses did stop and John was told that his
income would rise by around five per cent each year over the years to come. That's
the basis for his financial plans.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Now, very late, John has been told he won't get
those promised increases for the next few years – but his income will get back
up after that to where he was promised it would be. What is John's rational
reaction?<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>To respond to this temporary loss of income by
selling his home and car, dropping his private health insurance, replacing
every second evening meal with two-minute noodles. Of course not.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>A rational response would be to make some
responsible savings, to engage in some moderate borrowing, to get through to
the time of higher income with his family and lifestyle intact and then to use
the higher income to pay off the extra borrowing undertaken in the lean years.</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Commenting in The Age, Michael Gordon highlighted the oddity of the Prime Minister's preferred option for handling a scenario like this; borrow money to maintain your lifestyle until your income started rising again? That way seems to have a good chance of </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">spiraling</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> out of control. I mean, what if your income never comes back up again? You know what happens then...</span></span></div>
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Most people I know would have a much more prosaic response to be being told their wages were going to be frozen for five years; they'd start looking for a new job. </div>
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And for our Prime Minister, facing hostile press, polls and public, this should be a very worrying metaphor indeed.</div>
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Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-75890106595483055312012-05-30T21:45:00.001-07:002012-05-30T21:45:22.350-07:00The Adventures of Tony Abbott, PM in Waiting: Prince Tickets<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /></div>Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-10961530436079165452012-05-24T15:48:00.000-07:002012-05-24T15:48:09.724-07:00The Adventures of Tony Abbott, PM in Waiting: The Pie Defence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /></div>Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-22804582313103234722012-05-23T15:23:00.003-07:002012-05-24T14:13:26.576-07:00The Adventures of Tony Abbott, PM in Waiting: The Thompson Saga<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /></div>Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-85894190272391362432012-05-21T15:49:00.003-07:002012-05-21T15:49:56.971-07:00The Adventures of Tony Abbott: PM in Waiting (part 2)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /></div>Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-32251465741868253392012-05-20T00:41:00.001-07:002012-05-20T00:42:15.939-07:00The Adventures of Tony Abbott: PM in Waiting (part 1)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXtSuh3bPN_blxHX1kjBewUw0Tcn-kCZDvapPa8hhNRcQYbF3vbbccTciKK17Y-ZLGBM9nBKxqSjPW_mcG76rZSkZo_Klj-Y2pnCbdBK3tMH9rrrK6pglBVflUJxRohEdcEFEumN5e7VE/s1600/comic1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXtSuh3bPN_blxHX1kjBewUw0Tcn-kCZDvapPa8hhNRcQYbF3vbbccTciKK17Y-ZLGBM9nBKxqSjPW_mcG76rZSkZo_Klj-Y2pnCbdBK3tMH9rrrK6pglBVflUJxRohEdcEFEumN5e7VE/s640/comic1.png" width="540" /></a></div>
</div>Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-24342445221272650172012-05-09T14:30:00.001-07:002012-05-10T01:07:23.223-07:00The Federal Budget 2012 - Reactions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
With the Federal Budget announcement behind us, we can turn our attention to the next stage in the process: analysis.<br />
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There are many typical components to this each year. There are the weary talking heads, the dot point heavy charts, the cartoons of the Treasurer cutting up a cake and dropping a piece called 'Hope' on the floor while the Prime Minister strangles a cat called 'Opinion Polls,' each a familiar and comfortable sight to politics watchers.<br />
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Still another annual element of the Budget coverage is commentary from the people it effects; the regular folks, the real people, the joes from the suburbs. These are people particularly beloved by our newspapers, as they trawl around trying to find anyone made especially better or worse off by the Government's recent brace of initiatives. The papers normally feature some sort of photo spread of different demographic stereotypes from among the regular folk in the budget aftermath, a pictorial representation showing what these different groups wanted, what they got and how they felt about it afterwards.<br />
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And as I've always said, why spend time coming up with some new concept of your own, when you can much more easily pilfer someone else's...<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">BUDGET 2012 - THE REACTION</span></b></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7fPVn2yanIFZK-cKDo_NzZLJ9MGZmXMKIKs_cpUj43t3eMorFimaksTLjHRQyOaDX6f77kJyhzS3qrzFyY-g0FHp4O5eoxqYMQnCLet9Oboxw7XW5QSjPHHJU6GPI4RiWoBg2KugA_g/s1600/Family1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7fPVn2yanIFZK-cKDo_NzZLJ9MGZmXMKIKs_cpUj43t3eMorFimaksTLjHRQyOaDX6f77kJyhzS3qrzFyY-g0FHp4O5eoxqYMQnCLet9Oboxw7XW5QSjPHHJU6GPI4RiWoBg2KugA_g/s400/Family1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><i>Dan and Jen Klimpson, with daughter Sasha-Brionne. Household income $100 000, paying mortgage in East Struggletown.</i></b><br />
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<b>WHAT THEY WANTED: </b>A hundred thousand dollars dollars paid to them six monthly, indexed at 4800% of the Consumer Price Index. Discounted or free child care, study benefits, car rego, medical treatment, Foxtel. A disproportionate say in how the Government spends its money.<br />
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<b>WHAT THEY GOT: </b>All of the above, in addition to a surprise announcement of a new public holiday, only for people with kids, to be called 'Family Day.'<br />
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<b>THEIR REACTION: </b>'It's really disappointing to see that once again this Government has overlooked and ignored the working families that are the backbone of this nation.'<br />
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<b><i>John Taylor, 38. Unemployed for 8 months, formerly a middle manager at a small shoe company. </i></b></div>
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<b>WHAT HE WANTED: </b>Proper cost of living increases for his unemployment benefits. Funding to help provide affordable inner city accommodation for poor people. Hope.</div>
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<b>WHAT HE GOT: </b>A share in a small packet of Aldi brand rice crackers, to be distributed evenly among Australia's 5 000 000 dole recipients. A pledge from the Treasurer to personally visit each unemployed person in Australia and give them a punch in the face.</div>
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<b>HIS REACTION: </b>Well, who cares? Unemployed people don't count.</div>
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<b><i>Caroline Yan, 23. Third year of an International Studies Degree at Monash University.</i></b><br />
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<b>WHAT SHE WANTED: </b>A working light bulb in every class room and a new high def flatscreen for the student union office.<br />
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<b>WHAT SHE GOT: </b>A reminder of how little Australian Government's care about education.<br />
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<b>REACTION: </b>Bought a cask of wine and watched 'Mad Men' episodes downloaded from Pirate Bay.<br />
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<b><i>Martin and Chameena Cox-Kupinder, and son Atticus. Household income above $250 000. Paying mortgage in Cityfringe.</i></b></div>
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<b>WHAT THEY WANTED: </b>Bonus payment when purchasing an investment property AKA a 'Fourth Home Buyers Scheme.' A Government funded nanny. Lower taxes.</div>
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<b>WHAT THEY GOT: </b>Promise from the Government to only speak of the non means tested payments that they receive in a hushed tone.</div>
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<b>THEIR REACTION: </b>'When are people going to recognise that $250 000 is not a high income in contemporary Australia?'</div>
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<b><i>Maxine Alexander, 37. Owns clothing store in Hawthorn.</i></b><br />
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<b>WHAT SHE WANTED: </b>A return of the Howard Government.<br />
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<b>WHAT SHE GOT: </b>Nothing much that would prevent that, or the nearest equivalent, from happening.<br />
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<b>HER REACTION: '</b>The sooner we get a posse together to light the torches and burn that witch, the better!'<br />
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<b><i>Bill Farmer, 67, lives on a combination of Government and private pensions.</i></b></div>
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<b>WHAT HE WANTED: </b>Better support services for older Australians. Easier access to medical treatment. Friendlier staff at his local MP's office. A cup of tea.</div>
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<b>WHAT HE GOT: </b>Oh... er... shit! Er... turn the lights out, pretend we're not home.</div>
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<b>REACTION: </b>'Well, back in my day, you never even had to deal with these wallopers. Course, round here, in those days, this was all fields. I remember...'</div>
<br /></div>Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-10726960881113051792012-04-30T06:14:00.000-07:002012-04-30T14:32:00.569-07:00How and WHY!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
It's hard to know where to start. Where to trace the threads back to. How it all happened.<br />
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To say nothing of why. Why why why why WHY (shrieking) WHYYY!!! WHHHYY!!! WHHHHYYYY!!!!!!<br />
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In fact yes, best say nothing whatever of 'why,' for that's clearly too painful. Besides which, my girlfriend's asleep and she has a cold and I don't want to wake her up. And 'why' may be unknowable in any case.<br />
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Come to think of it, I don't feel much like focussing on 'how' either. That's really not much better than 'why,' and with 'how' you're just going back over painful details that were bad enough the first time around. So yeah, let's forget that one too.<br />
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Which leaves us with what, exactly? Oh right... 'what,' exactly.<br />
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'What' at least has the advantage of simplicity.<br />
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The Federal Labor Party appears to be in ruins at this time.<br />
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The signs are everywhere.<br />
<br />
Our Prime Minister, the fiestiness she has shown since she saw off Kevin Rudd's leadership challenge nowhere in sight, anxiously ringing her hands as she made yet another public backflip to the press yesterday. The tired, miserable expression on the faces of her senior ministers as they then tried to defend what she had just announced. The leery headlines in the Murdoch and, yes, even the more sensible outlets among the media as they called for Gillard's resignation and wondered just who the ALP might throw up as their next leader. The obligatory K.Rudd story, where unnamed sources (with the initials K.Rudd) confirmed that the little fella would be willing to step into the leadership breach, if asked (or, more realistically, if the palace guards haven't lifted the drawbridge and barricaded the doors by the time he arrives).<br />
<br />
And, perhaps most chilling of all, the tone of voice of my Labor inclined work colleagues, as they huddled around the water cooler and tried to comprehend the reality of Tony Abbott, PM:<br />
<br />
'We're <i>fucked </i>aren't we?'<br />
<br />
Which seems as good a summation of the ALP's current state as any.<br />
<br />
If an election were held now, the Labor Party would be obliterated by a holocaust so total, that the one in 'T2' would seem like a sunny day at the park in comparison:<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="271" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/13249411?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="480"></iframe></center><center><a href="http://vimeo.com/13249411">Terminator 2 - nuclear attack</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2259835">cpucomplexx</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Only the very safest Labor seats would be safe, if the current state of the polls is to be believed, and after what happened in the recent election in Queensland, where Labor candidates on margins of 15% lost their spots, not even all of those. The Libs, you would think, would probably fancy their chances in any seat in the nation right now.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
So, while I already stated that I wouldn't get into the how and the why of this parlous state of events in this piece, in the spirit of the Gillard Prime Ministership, let me do exactly that.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Yesterday, our PM went to the press to announce that she had asked federal Labor back bencher Craig Thompson to stand down from the the ALP and sit in Parliament as in independent. Thompson, the parliamentarian currently under investigation for fraud and misconduct from his time as head of the Health Services Union, had been toughing it out, denying the allegations while waiting for the investigation into his affairs to be concluded. In doing so, he had had pretty staunch support from his Prime Minister, who had made numerous public comments about the 'presumption of innocence' and 'not commenting on an ongoing police investigation' and who had given every indication that nothing short of Thompson being charged with something criminal would get her to withdraw that support. As mentioned, this had been her very solid, very unchangeable, very public position, repeated on the record any number of times...</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
...until yesterday, when her new public position was that Thomson no longer deserved his place in Labor caucus and would be removed from it until the investigation was over. He would not be asked to resign from parliament, or forced to do so, and he could still sit in Parliament and vote for the ALP if he felt like it but, and this was crucial, he would have to sit in a different spot to the rest of them. A new chair, you see. And... a new desk! Access to his old chair and desk would be withheld, until it was known whether or not he would have to go to prison.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Gillard said she had asked Thomson to do this to 'uphold the dignity of the Parliament.'</div>
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And this brings us back to where we started; with outrage from the Opposition, mockery from the press and numb shock from Labor's dwindling band of supporters. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
While the removal of Thomson is the right idea, the PM has gone about it in such a way that she has come out of the affair with her reputation severely tarnished. Under normal circumstances, Thomson would have been forced to resign a long time ago. While the police investigation is still ongoing, based on the information already in the public domain Thomson is, at the very least, hopelessly incompetent. At worst, he is a petty criminal and will be professionally ruined, as well as having to serve some jail time. Either way, he's not the sort of person that a large political party can afford to count among it's number. But because of Labor's perilous numbers in parliament, they sit on a majority of one even with Thomson, Gillard felt she had to defend him, tying his fate to hers. Once she stood by him, and stated she would not act until the police had done, it was really too late for her to change her mind. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
If Gillard had wanted Thomson out of the party, even temporarily, then the time to act was early, so as to underline her authority and allow some claim to the high moral ground. Since she didn't do this, then she really needed to wait until there was some evidence of wrongdoing before having Thompson removed. By procrastinating, defending Thomson and then abandoning him, and then lurching to a sort of half way punishment, Gillard has managed to create the impression, once again, that she has no idea what she is doing. Worse, what she has underlined instead of her authority is the impression in the minds of the public that she makes decisions day to day, or even minute to minute, based on whatever she thinks is politically expedient and doesn't believe anything that comes out of her own mouth.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
There's more than a hint of the 'Real Julia' debacle from the last election campaign about all of this. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
There, Gillard sort-of called a halt to her faltering campaign about halfway through and attempted to reset the whole thing, claiming she had thrown off the shackles of her evil spin doctors and media staff. We were set to see 'The Real Julia' from that point onwards. Sadly, while her election campaign didn't change that much, this has actually proved to be the case, as there are echoes of the The Real Julia approach in many of her decisions since, a lot of them conforming to a fairly obvious pattern.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Make a decision.</li>
<li>Defend it aggressively.</li>
<li>Abandon it suddenly, for no obvious reason.</li>
<li>Do the opposite of what you originally stated.</li>
<li>Never mention any of it again.</li>
</ul>
<span style="text-align: left;"><center style="text-align: left;">Craig Thomson is merely the latest example of this process.
</center></span>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
But there are plenty of others - carbon tax, mining tax, people's forum, green loans, refugee processing in East Timor, cash for clunkers, Peter Slipper... sweet jesus, I haven't even mentioned him! - enough, you would think, to bring Gillard down as leader. Her credibility is at an end, her popularity is non existant and it's difficult to see how Labor can keep going, with things as they are, without doing something.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Whether that is replacing Gillard with another leader, or merely outing her as Tony Abbott's long term secret friend and double agent, only time will tell.... But not that much time, you wouldn't think.</div>
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</center></div>Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-62956802639934740242012-04-11T04:27:00.000-07:002012-04-11T14:29:20.026-07:00Das KAP-ital<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<br />
They love a populist politician in Queensland.<br />
<br />
My own experience observing Australian politics is long enough that I caught the greatest of them all, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, right at the end of his thousand year reign of terror (actually 19 years, but I'm sure it felt like a thousand for a good number of people who lived there), somewhere between that moment of corrupting absolute power and the police powers of the anti corruption commission. Sir Joh distilled politics down to a very simple business; offer inane gibberish to the public while your acolytes pillage the state Treasury and an expanded police force gives a hardline interpretation of the word 'order.' He didn't really need policies, as his police and security agencies meant there was no opposition, so his connection with populism is looser than it might have been, largely down to his folksy manner and his deluded 'Joh for Canberra' campaign of 1987 (which effectively derailed John Howard's election chances that year, so it's impossible to hate the bloke). Said Joh, when his campaign for Prime Minister had petered out, 'I never wanted it anyway.'<br />
<br />
More exciting than Joh, and nearly as resiliant, was his populist suiccessor, the exciting Queensland soap melodrama that was Pauline Hanson.<br />
<br />
From this distance, where Hanson only shows up occasionally on telly, and usually in something like 'Dancing with the Stars,' it's hard to remember exactly what a big deal she once was. Elected to Federal Parliament in 1996 on the back of an anti-Labor swing of 19%, this being the election where Keating lead Labor over a cliff, Hanson immediately made a name for herself in her maiden parliamentary speech, where she denounced multiculturalism, immigration, tolerance, dogs, buses, vegetables, schools, immunisation, Medicare, television and most of the other things that modern Australia is founded on. This proved so popular, initially, that at the Queensland State election of 1998 she lead the 'One Nation' party she had formed around herself to 10 seats and the balance of power. But this triumph was short lived. Shortly after this, people suddenly remembered that they liked dogs and television and, most importantly, their foreign born neighbours and that the person telling them to hate all of those things was, actually, nothing more than a petty tyrant in a fright wig. Hanson soon lost her seat, then her party, and even spent some time in jail for electoral fraud, before retiring to a life as a grade D celebrity, where she was infinitely more suited.<br />
<br />
Now Queensland has produced a new populist political leader for us to enjoy.<br />
<br />
Although 'new' may not be the most accurate way of describing the gent in question; a silver haired veteran of 38 years in State and Federal politics by the name of Bob 'The Mad' Katter. Also known as the bloke in the hat.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBXg5d7F30w_vb6Eqnc6y7KImLGBsDQrTOJldH3yLjbZk_LICkcMcQscjwyTG6A0kh7Sq0SU7rVjzeu4Mf7Fhk79qzmxtlRYsOxbDW-Ig04KZ7f6vs6dGRy-OHWtYpmyAJdnZ3HwmA2RY_/s1600/986765-politician-bob-katter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBXg5d7F30w_vb6Eqnc6y7KImLGBsDQrTOJldH3yLjbZk_LICkcMcQscjwyTG6A0kh7Sq0SU7rVjzeu4Mf7Fhk79qzmxtlRYsOxbDW-Ig04KZ7f6vs6dGRy-OHWtYpmyAJdnZ3HwmA2RY_/s400/986765-politician-bob-katter.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Katter came into State politics, as a National Party member of Sir John's government, in 1974 and moved to Canberra in 1993, winning the far north Queensland seat of Kennedy (formerly held by his father). In 2001 he left the National Party behind, annoyed at the government's removal of sugar subisidies for his constituents and tired of Federal National leader Warren Truss' gormless face.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3WpY8VeyZSjqQ-gCE6aJO11WYCnJOTldop-qM2Y9xq4uEinM32ITtqKGvRQPdDQ60BIfNdrdVU7ISbfHaFDHOaHE1myz0muLGRh7HWxyKy1pkUGyu8c1XJxMPryTeS69wHvQ_aCsmsYM/s1600/Warren_Truss-420x0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3WpY8VeyZSjqQ-gCE6aJO11WYCnJOTldop-qM2Y9xq4uEinM32ITtqKGvRQPdDQ60BIfNdrdVU7ISbfHaFDHOaHE1myz0muLGRh7HWxyKy1pkUGyu8c1XJxMPryTeS69wHvQ_aCsmsYM/s320/Warren_Truss-420x0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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He subsequently won his seat as an independant, and has now been re-elected as such three times (2004, 07 and 10). Despite the Nationals throwing gobs of money and effort at it to try and wrest the seat back, Katter won nearly 70% of the two party preferred vote in 2010 and now has one of the safest seats in the country. Sitting on such a buffer, it's no wonder the man's confidence is up.<br />
<br />
Which brings us to Katter's latest venture: Katter's Australia Party (or KAP):<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ViwNJx7cdLw" width="500"></iframe></center><br />
<br />
Apart from the video, the newest player on the Australian political landscape has quite a smart <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.ausparty.org.au">website,</a> from which we can discern a few key points:<br />
<br />
1) The man's name is in the title for a reason. This is very much KATTER'S Australia Party. On my visit to the site today, I counted five pictures of The Mad just on the home page; walking, yelling, scowling and, caution advised, even grinning. An ad to the right of these offered the chance to buy a book telling the 'passionate' history of Australia. The author of this was... Bob Katter. A separate section within the site itself is called 'Where's Bob?' and is dedicated to recording people's encounters with the great man; photos, anecdotes, hat sightings (no caution here, this is freakin' <a href="http://www.ausparty.org.au/my-ausparty/wheres-bob">hilarious!</a>).<br />
<br />
2) Unlike Sir Joh, The Mad has got plenty of policies, on everything from food production in Queensland, to selling Queensland's public assets, to rebuilding Queensland's infrastructure. Hmmm... there's something about this that I can't quite put my finger on. And this is where populism really kicks in. KAP's policies are a mix of pre 60s Labor, Menzies era social conservatism and a straight out demand for pork barrel cash for the bush. It's very us against them, although the enemy shifts around a bit, and sometimes isn't defined at all.<br />
<br />
3) Apart from policies, the site also has a separate section about the party's principals. Which I liked, as it seems to reflect the very nature of politics; Principals: What we'd like to do if we lived in a fantasy world where the usual rules of politics didn't apply; Policies: What we will try and do in this world where they do.<br />
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4) KAP is short of a few bob. They're not short of Bob, but they are short of money, at least based on the number of 'DONATE NOW' links that dot the website.<br />
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Of course, it's easy for me to sit here and make fun of a squeeky voiced old codger on a bit of a power trip. The Mad will always attract detraction,such is the nature of his political persona. But he is to be underestimated at his opponents peril.<br />
<br />
No one really expected him to keep his seat as an independent against a well entrenched and well financed operation like The Nats, but he did, much to their annoyance. And his new political party, which has been derided by pundits considerably more serious than myself, has already had some small measure of success. In the Queensland state election of a few weeks ago they captured two seats (one to The Mad's son, Rob), a small number to be sure, but only five less than the Labor Party managed. If they keep their focus as tight as it is now - local candidates and issues - they could certainly do some damage in far north Queensland at the next Federal election. This forthcoming election, likely to feature two widely disliked leaders in Abbott and Gillard, throws open a number of opportunities for a small time populist on the make. Very much in the Queensland tradition.</div>
</div>Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-34430923881043209872012-04-03T07:19:00.008-07:002012-04-18T07:04:11.166-07:00Nothing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.inkhouse.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/story3.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.inkhouse.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/story3.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 375px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 500px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
If you paid $654 for something, you'd be expecting something pretty nifty in return.<br />
<br />
An iPad 3, for example. Or maybe a weekend away somewhere sunny, with dinner at a nice restaurant and a few drinks. <br />
<br />
Conversely, if you paid $654 for something and got... nothing for it, not a sausage, you'd be pretty fucking ropable. That iPod spaced hole on your coffee table would remain just a hole and you'd be ready to break something.<br />
<br />
But then, let's imagine, having endured this dud transaction, you were then told that this wasn't a one off, but that you'd actually signed up for an <i>annual</i> payment of $654. A once yearly sting for which you would receive... nothing. Not a bean. Not a skerrig. Not even a free magnet calendar for your fridge. Well, if this happened, then 'ropable' and 'break something' probably wouldn't cut it. If you had a temperament like mine, you'd probably just burst into flames on the spot.<br />
<br />
And so here's the bad news.<br />
<br />
If you live in Victoria, then this is precisely the deal that your last two Governments have stuck you with.<br />
<br />
Only it's not $654 that we'll be paying each year for... nothing. It's $654 <i>million.</i> For this is the amount that the 'AquaSure' consortium, builders of Victoria's new desalination plant, will receive from us taxpayers in the 2012-13 financial year, in return for which they will need to deliver us with... nothing.<br />
<br />
And by nothing, I mean NOTHING. Nothing as in the way Seinfeld was about nothing:<br />
<br />
GEORGE: I think I can sum up the payments for you with one word; Nothing.<br />
<br />
RUSSELL DALRYMPLE, PRESIDENT OF NBC: Nothing?<br />
<br />
GEORGE: (Smiling) Nothing.<br />
<br />
RUSSELL: (Unimpressed) What does that mean?<br />
<br />
GEORGE: The payments are for nothing.<br />
<br />
RUSSELL: All right, tell me, tell me about the water. How much water?<br />
<br />
GEORGE: Oh, no. No water.<br />
<br />
RUSSELL: No water? Well, what are we paying for?<br />
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Good question Russell, what indeed?<br />
<br />
The $654 million is not for the plant, which we have already paid $5.7 billion dollars for and which may even be finished at some point in the future (as of this writing it is more than a year overdue and no revised date of completion has been announced). And it's not for any actual water. As reported by 'The Age' earlier this week, the state Government has placed an order for 'Zero litres' of recalibrated drinking water for the next financial year. Meaning that our very high tech, $5.7 billion water plant is going to be sitting unused for the next twelve months, the only noise coming from it the sounds of some high priced tradesmen trying to finish building it.<br />
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So if it's not for the plant and it's not for any actual water, what exactly have we bought with our $654 mill?<br />
<br />
In reality, there can be no better answer given than this $654 million annual payment is stipulated in the contract signed by the Government and AquaSure. The consortium demanded it as part of their terms for building the facility and the Government signed off on it. The spectacularly dreary <a href="http://www.partnerships.vic.gov.au/CA25708500035EB6/WebObj/ProjectSummaryforVictorianDesalinationProject/$File/Project%20Summary%20for%20Victorian%20Desalination%20Project.pdf">project summary</a> on the Government's Public-Private partnership website - for the good of your health I don't recommend clicking that link and reading it - simply states that the Government will pay for any water used and;<br />
<br />
<i>...a security element that is paid to the extent the Project delivers water that is ordered, or is capable of delivering 150 GL per annum of desalinated water at the required quality.'</i><br />
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In other words, it's just a fat wad of our cash that goes straight into the consortium's pocket. And all they have to do to earn this, based on the above, is have the plant ready to produce water, whether we actually end up buying any or not.<br />
<br />
So, a better question than what are we getting for our $654 million is probably, how on earth did we get stuck with such a crapulent contract? In these difficult financial times, when Government's from both sides tell us repeatedly and very loudly that they have no money for anything, how is it that we're lumbered with paying $654 million dollars annually, for twenty years, for nothing.<br />
<br />
It seems almost too incredible to be true.<br />
<br />
The Labor Government that produced this outcome for the state is, of course, little more than a fast fading memory. Although a few of the players behind the deal are still on the scene. Former Water Minister Tim Holding, who signed the Aquasure contract on behalf of the Government, was asked about it this week and he said that he thought Melbournians would be 'thankful' for the desalination plant in future years, despite the costs. <br />
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You can now see why he's an ex Minister. <br />
<br />
But this is not to say that the current, Liberal, Government is free from blame for this debacle. After all, it was their scare campaign over water in 2006, with Big Ted Baillieu himself first proposing a desalination plant, that triggered this mess in the first place. Labor were initially firmly opposed to the idea - quite apart from the cost, desalination is environmentally unfriendly in a number of ways - but they waivered in the face of a concerted media campaign. A nationwide drought had a grip on the public imagination, water catchment levels were hovering around 25% and as Opposition Leader, Big Ted was happy to tell the press that Victoria would soon look the surface of the moon. <br />
<br />
Labor's panicked response to the Liberal's effective campaign directly lead to them rushing into the poorly thought out Aquasure deal. They were keen to get in bed with someone, anyone, who could deliver a desalination plant as quickly as possible, and they were willing to spend large amounts of our money to do it. <br />
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Now, of course, the drought has broken, catchment levels are in the sixties and panic about water security seems like a mass delusion brought on by too much exposure to the Herald Sun and Neil Mitchell (sadly, a common occurrence in this state) For his part, Premier Ted is happy to shrug his shoulders and say, in his bored, listless fashion, that Labor fucked things up, just like they always do. And just be thankful that he was able to step in and... (yawns)... something something.<br />
<br />
A more energetic Premier might think about doing something to fix a massive problem, and drain on the state's resources, that they were partly responsible for creating. But this is unlikely. Energetic is not Big Ted's style. And, in any case, the Liberal Party will be quite happy to pay $654 million a year to have such a big stick to whack the Labor Party with. For political party's at least, opportunities like this are truly priceless.<br />
<br />
But there are options if anyone wants to follow them up. With all the <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/a-year-late-and-a-financial-disaster-desal-companies-come-clean-20111027-1mm7k.html">problems</a> that Aquasure have had building the blasted thing, the consortium has already lost a billion dollars over the construction of the plant, you'd think they could be tempted out of their contract, for the right offer. The state could buy them out, pack them off and then sit on what has already been built, in the off chance that we may get some use out of it in the future.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://images.theage.com.au/2011/10/27/2735084/Desal7-420x0.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.theage.com.au/2011/10/27/2735084/Desal7-420x0.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 374px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 500px;" /></a><br />
<br />
A one off chunk to save $654 million dollars a year? It's worth considering. And would probably be a vote winner. It's something for the ALP, held out of Government by only one seat and facing a Premier who has a hard time staying awake, to seriously think about.</div>Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-91686228559961498172012-04-02T06:06:00.006-07:002012-04-02T14:26:25.427-07:0027 Percent<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB5xryhisRvay2gDRl_-rYHe1UBUN5m0JBCyVq7SV9QNT4T-RKLxKLEy1dhdeoNRDunO4-GBm_bYArwaIXO0y-sV7jT-lqFj2yNrJo3FkSj_7A9E8EwqsVE3s1X7kw5KvmU7VjFc-geyAs/s1600/klemperer.dresden.firebombing.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB5xryhisRvay2gDRl_-rYHe1UBUN5m0JBCyVq7SV9QNT4T-RKLxKLEy1dhdeoNRDunO4-GBm_bYArwaIXO0y-sV7jT-lqFj2yNrJo3FkSj_7A9E8EwqsVE3s1X7kw5KvmU7VjFc-geyAs/s1600/klemperer.dresden.firebombing.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />'There was a firestorm out there. Dresden was one big flame. The one flame ate everything organic, everything that would burn. It wasn't safe to come out of the shelter until noon the next day. When the Americans and their guards did come out, the sky was black with smoke. Dresden was like the moon now, nothing but minerals. The stones were hot. Everyone else in the neighbourhood was dead. So it goes.'<br /><br /> KURT VONNEGUT<br /> <i>- Slaughterhouse 5</i><br /><br /><br />I wonder if this is how members of the Queensland ALP felt like, the survivors, as they emerged from wherever they hid during the recent state election. A handful of them had miraculously made it, while the flames of an angry electorate consumed the majority. Like Billy Pilgrim, they must have been stunned by the ferocity of the death storm that had been suddenly sprung on them. Unlike him, they probably weren't wearing silver combat boots and a stage curtain (at least, not publicly).<br /><br />Now they have to face up to a similar question as the one Pilgrim faced after the city he was a POW in was burnt to the ground: What next?<br /><br />For the Queensland ALP, answering this will not be easy.<br /><br />It's easy to forget, but the Australian Labor Party is a Queensland invention, like XXXX and Sir Joh Bjelke Petersen. It was founded in 1891 in Barcaldine, QLD, by striking shearers who decided they'd had enough of sitting around on strike without pay and that, if they were going to sit around doing nothing, they may as well do that in Parliament and get handsomely paid for it. This was such a logical idea, that the Party grew rapidly, to the extent that Andrew Dawson was able to form a Labor Government in Queensland only 8 years later. It was the first Labor party government of any sort, anywhere in the world.<br /><br />Flash forward a hundred odd years, and this proud and deep rooted institution has been reduced to such a state that calling their elected representatives a 'rump' is probably too kind. Their numbers are so few, only seven Labor parliamentarians will sit in the state legislature, that they will need a considerable improvement at the next election to even get to a position of being a 'rump.' Rump-hood is about the best that their new leader, whichever hapless sucker inherits that position, can look to the future and hope for.<br /><br />Seven seats.<br /><br />Out of a parliament of 89. The rest went; Liberal-National 78, Independent 2, and the Mad Katter's new <a hreh="http://www.ausparty.org.au/">'Loopy Fru-Fru Party'</a> 2. But more on the Mad Katter later. <br /><br />It is nothing less than the greatest landslide obliteration in Australian political history. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8cJ0E4b43aqpls0Rxx5k2qX3nkcEfkqCffAleGNUhxVYkyrhbhS2Unb0arfFV3Auijl_Mblp4ELFiYob9Y0ZpLUaW48BGoCjXHd5sTpPwSK14WV7vspci-cbVSt9NRKKY0gIFRhXfIM/s1600/QLD.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8cJ0E4b43aqpls0Rxx5k2qX3nkcEfkqCffAleGNUhxVYkyrhbhS2Unb0arfFV3Auijl_Mblp4ELFiYob9Y0ZpLUaW48BGoCjXHd5sTpPwSK14WV7vspci-cbVSt9NRKKY0gIFRhXfIM/s400/QLD.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726917578229817090" /></a><br /><br />The sheer one sidedness of it makes it hard to absorb all at once; Labor lost more than 40 seats, on the back of a 15.6% statewide swing against it, with ten senior, high profile ministers shown the door. The former Premier, Anna Bligh, suffered a 10 point swing against her, but her margin was such that she still held her seat by 5 percent... and then promptly announced that she was leaving politics immediately, giving the voters one last chance to give her party a booting at a subsequent by election. Which they probably will (Bligh's primary vote was only 0.5% ahead of the LNP candidate, making this seat ripe to switch sides as well).<br /><br />As results go, the above catalogue of horrors is the sort of thing that makes the anti-Keating 'waiting with baseball bats' Federal landslide of 1996 look like a solidly credible effort. After all, the Keating lead ALP managed a primary vote of 37% in that one, considered an unmitigated disaster at the time, but which is some <i>TEN POINTS</i> higher than what Bligh and co just managed.<br /><br />And there lies the rub for Federal Labor.<br /><br />After Bligh, looking stunned and ill, shuffled away from the media pack for the last time to go on a ninety hour bender, senior Labor figures in Canberra stepped in to try and staunch the wound.<br /><br />'It's a disappointing result, but we congratulate the new Liberal-National government and look forward to working with them.'<br /><br />'Today is a tough day but the voters have spoken and you have to respect that.'<br /><br />'Despite what happened in Queensland, Federal Labor will continue to do what it does every day; work hard to enact our agenda in support of workers and families.'<br /><br />'This was an election fought on state issues, which are not really for the Federal Government to comment on.'<br /><br />None of the above quotes need attribution; firstly because they're not real quotes, but, more importantly, because any number of Federal Labor figures made public comment offering variants on these themes. The result was bad, it was grim, but it was a state result based on state issues and it was nothing to do with Canberra. The Prime Minister even lead off her response by saying that 'Anna Bligh had lead a good government,' which made you wonder if she hadn't finally developed a sense of humour. She'd be hard pressed to find too many Queenslanders who shared that viewpoint currently.<br /><br />But whatever the tough/calm/mildly deluded comments that members of the Federal Government offered up, you wouldn't want to put too much stock in them. Secretly they all must be terrified. For even before this tidal wave of anti-Labor feeling, they were in trouble in Queensland.<br /><br />There are more marginal seats in Queensland than in any other state, enough so that the next Federal election could be won and lost in that state, alone. And then there's K.Rudd, the nation's most prominent Queensland politician, who'd just been sent to the back bench after his supposed colleagues had aggressively stomped on him. And Queensland's booming mining industries and economy make it a focal point of discontent over the carbon tax.<br /><br />But, perhaps most worrying of all for the Federal ALP, is that two digit figure; 27 percent.<br /><br />This is the primary vote number that Queensland Labor polled the day before the electorate buried them in a landfill with the other garbage. It turned out to be an accurate prediction. The figure that produced that stunning swing and the loss of all those seats and the end of numerous careers and the consignment of the state party to oblivion for a decade or more, if not forever...<br /><br />... this is also the same primary vote figure that Federal Labor <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/labors-dire-poll-result-far-from-a-oneoff--its-problem-with-voters-is-entrenched-20120402-1w8v7.html">polled nationally</a> yesterday.Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-44490665950546589862012-03-21T00:45:00.005-07:002012-03-21T01:48:04.968-07:00Five Hundred Million<a href="http://forward-now.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/consultant_Problem.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 505px; height: 480px;" src="http://forward-now.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/consultant_Problem.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />The Federal Government of Australia is broke.<br /><br />Flat broke.<br /><br />We know this because they keep telling us about it, loudly and insistently. And repetitively. Loudly, consistently, repetitively, vigorously and forcefully. There's no money available for nothin,' and they won't let you forget it. In In fact, it could be the only issue that Labor have communicated to us effectively over the last four and a bit years. <br /><br />Whether the issue is something big, like the proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme, or something smaller, like thousands of public servants keeping their jobs instead of being sacked, the Government's response is usually the same.<br /><br /><br /><h3>GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN:</h3> <i>'Well yes of course we'd like to build that/pay for that/let those fucking weasels keep their jobs, but this Government is committed to a position of budget responsibility. And that means that any spending the Government does must be done responsibly, and with full knowledge of the Budget bottom line and our public commitment to keep it in surplus, regardless of how counter-productive/insignificant/produced by creative accounting.'</i><br /><br /><br />From the time this Government came to office they've been at it; razor gang-ing this or that into fiscal oblivion. And some of this was undoubtedly right.<br /><br />Putting a means test on the Baby Bonus, for example, was definitely a good idea. As will be doing the same thing to the Private Health Insurance Rebate, assuming they summon the nerve to actually do that. You'd be hard pushed to find many people opposed to the idea of denying these payments to people earning more than $150 000 a year (outside of the people already earning that figure, that is).<br /><br />And some of it was undoubtedly wrong. Letting the public service shrink, for example, is not such a great idea, particularly during an economic downturn when more people than ever are relying on Government services and benefits. Nor is allowing vitally important and neglected areas like mental health and dental care to continue to go unfunded a very smart idea, at least in the long run. <br /><br />But the reasons given for these cutbacks, both good and bad, is generally the same. The Government might like these projects, they may even want to enact or keep some of them, but they just can't afford to. There's no money for any of it. They're just flat broke.<br /><br /><br /><h3>GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN:</h3> <i>'And we understand that that may make us unpopular. We understand that. But that doesn't mean we can change our position or that we will free up money just to earn a few brownie points. This government isn't about brownie points. Or any sort of biscuit points for that matter. We're a non biscuit government committed to a tough bottom line and fiscal responsibility and a budget surplus that you could take a date to the movies with and still afford the tram home afterwards.'</i><br /><br /><br />With this in mind, it may surprise you to hear that this same Government, your Government, the one with its pockets turned inside out and barely enough cash to keep the lights on, spends $500 million a year on consultants. <br /><br />That's right, FIVE... HUNDRED... MILLION.<br /><br />And by 'consultants,' we're talking about some of the worlds largest firms, companies like 'KPMG' and 'PriceWaterhouseCoopers.' Sprawling, multi national companies with fancy letterheads and those big tower blocks in the heart of whatever city you live in, the sort where security guards will chase you away if you hang around too long in the lobby.<br /><br />These massive, very profitable, firms get FIVE... HUNDRED... MILLION... dollars of our taxes every year to provide the Government with... what exactly.<br /><br />In a <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/government-consultants-reap-500m-a-year-20120319-1vftb.html?skin=text-only">story</a> on the topic in 'The Age' earlier this week, the journalists investigating were unable, really, to find out exactly what this money was for. In the publicly listed contracts where the fees and services were described, the payments were often listed as being for 'management services' or 'professional services.' In other words, no one has the faintest idea. <br /><br />Unnamed public service sources indicated that the 'consultants' employed with this money were mostly used for policy development and implementation advice, a function that the public service itself had served, pretty tidily, for more than a hundred years. At a fraction of the cost. This reliance on consultants for this sort of work is something that has been building over a long period of time, and is now spiralling wildly out of control.<br /><br />It probably doesn't need to be added, but I will, that Labor was elected in 2007 with a promise to slash spending by Government departments on outside consultants.<br /><br /><br /><h3>GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN</h3> <i>'Well, what I will say is this. Quite clearly, quite clearly, quite clearly, no, if you'd just let me finish. What we are looking at in this situation, is a particularly specific type of situation and one that needs to be examined with a full comprehension of this and all other situations. Further, can I just say that these remarks have been misquoted and taken out of context and that this press conference is over!'</i><br /><br /><br />Five hundred million dollars.<br /><br />The figure itself is significant, and worth considering.<br /><br />This is more money than the Government spends annually on the Bureau of Statistics, who employ 3400 full time staff.<br /><br />It is also the same amount that Finance Minister Penny Wong <a hnref="http://www.news.com.au/money/federal-budget/penny-wong-plans-cuts-to-public-service-travel-and-recruitment-to-reap-465m/story-fn84fgcm-1226042984568">announced,</a> last year, that Government departments would need to cut from their spending for the year ahead. Most of these savings are expected to come from job losses.<br /><br />I would wager that few would be lost at KPMG or PwC.Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-6366228293173375132012-03-07T17:27:00.002-08:002012-03-07T20:58:59.316-08:00The FingerThe nurses of Victoria had been waiting a long time for a break. Finally, two days ago, they got one.<br /><br /><a href="http://images.3aw.com.au/2012/03/07/3103901/Mbaillieu424.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 424px; height: 283px;" src="http://images.3aw.com.au/2012/03/07/3103901/Mbaillieu424.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />If you're not from Victoria, or are but are a kind of shut in with no television, internet or friends, that's a picture of the Premier's cousin, Marshall Baillieu, giving the finger to a handful of protesting nurses. The Baillieu's, Big Ted was inside as well but out of sight, were at the Baillieu library at the University of Melbourne, where the Premier was launching a biography of his late relative William Baillieu, millionaire businessman and 21 year veteran of Vicotrian State politics. The previous sentence indicating exactly how entrenched the Baillieu's are in public life in this state. A half dozen nurses showed up to heckle the Premier through a megaphone, as part of an ongoing campaign of industrial action relating to their new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement. <br /><br />For 120-odd days now, the Australian Nurses Federation has been wrangling with the Liberal Government, trying to obtain a reasonable EBA for their members. The Government has offered only a 2.5% annual pay increase, less than the current rate of inflation and so effectively a pay cut, and has stated repeatedly that they will not budge from this without 'productivity offsets,' code for 'job losses.' Having recently offered teachers and, particularly, police much more generous deals, the Government has decided to play hardball with nurses and has stuck rigidly to this position. The ANF, for their part, want an 18% increase over three years, and a pledge that 'nurse-patient ratios' will stay the same, code for 'no job losses.' With the Government offering no compromises and the union unwilling to accept a plainly inadequate offer, the two sides have gone round in circles, no nearer to an agreement despite months of dialogue.<br /><br />Big Ted was on ABC radio on Monday morning, summing up the Government's position. Sounding bored and distracted, like he often does, like he was watching something going on through the window, our Premier offhandedly gave us the contradiction that lies at the heart of the Government's offer. 'Everyone is all for the nurses,' Big Ted said, 'but we have a budgetary responsibility to make sure pay rises are affordable.'<br /><br />In other words, 'We're frightened of the cops and I made some rash promises to the teachers so we're going to give you a kicking to pay for their pay rises. Now kindly go away.'<br /><br />Enter Marshall Baillieu.<br /><br /><a href="http://images.theage.com.au/2012/03/06/3101925/Nurse05_20120306153324794889-600x400.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://images.theage.com.au/2012/03/06/3101925/Nurse05_20120306153324794889-600x400.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />As a furore developed around images of a brummy, spoilt, toffy nosed old git insulting some of the states hardest working people, the wheels of the Government suddenly started to turn. David Davis, state Minister for Health, was immediately made available to meet with ANF secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick, who eagerly accepted the opportunity. Spruiking this meeting on Jon Faine's breakfast radio show on Wednesday, the host asked Davis why it had taken him four months to decide to pick up the phone, to which the minister couldn't provide an answer.<br /><br />Which is to say, he offered many answers, none of which addressed the question:<br /><br />FAINE: So why has it taken so long for you to arrange a meeting with the union?<br /><br />DAVIS: Jon! Jon! Jon! Let me just say that this meeting is important and it is of <br /> the utmost importance that it take place.<br /><br />FAINE: Right... But why has it taken so long to arrange?<br /><br />DAVIS: Jon! Jon! Jon! Ok, all right, let me just say that this meeting, this very<br /> important meeting, has been scheduled and it is of the utmost importance that<br /> it be achieved and scheduled and I am committed to making sure that it is<br /> achieved. And scheduled.<br /><br />FAINE: Right... But why did it take you so long to do it?<br /><br />DAVIS: Jon, the Government has a very clear agenda in this case. We've always been<br /> clear about our intentions, and our agenda is a matter of public record. Your <br /> listeners should have no doubt about the clarity of our agenda.<br /><br />FAINE: Yes, but I'm asking you why it took you so long to arrange this meeting?<br /><br />DAVIS: We won't respond to ratbaggery Jon. The government won't be held to account by<br /> lunatic fringe elements and people wearing hats. If I can impress on you one<br /> point only then let it be this; the day of the lunatic hat wearer is over!<br /><br />Which is not the real transcript, but the real one would probably make you want to smash something.<br /><br />But the nurses have a break and a meeting with the Health Minister, and their chances of getting some sort of acceptable pay offer appear to be much higher than they were at the start of the week. Which is the good news.<br /><br />Less good is the real lesson that we can draw from this. Which is; regardless of the justness of your cause and the integrity of your protest, to get any sort of action in Australian politics you really just need some old bugger to give you The Finger.Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-10032621970929826442012-02-03T13:37:00.001-08:002012-02-14T02:40:33.987-08:00Australia's Worst PersonFor years I thought this had to be John Howard. <br /><br />The rat like cunning, the hatred of gay people, black folk and anyone not born in Australia who couldn't prove their links back to an Anglo Saxon origin. To say nothing of the mangling of the language, the GST, no apology, middle class welfare, Tampa, Cornelia Rau, Workchoices and the ridiculous veneration of his holy trinity of Bradman, Gallipoli and Menzies.<br /><br />Really, when it came to considering Australia's worst, the bloke had form.<br /><br />But... he got old and having been unceremoniously booted out of his seat in 2007, he retired from politics and public life, save for the odd occasion when he pops up as the guest of a right wing think tank, giving his views on contemporary society and reminding us all just how awful he was. <br /><br />Post Howard, public life in Australia has been somewhat lacking for villains. <br /><br />Kevin Rudd gave it a shot, at least among his colleagues, but he was so awful that they did away with him before he could really entrench himself in the position. And the woman who ousted him, Julia Gillard, just doesn't have enough elan, enough panache, to really cut it as a villain. She simply plods along, largely reviled and abused on all sides, nodding her head earnestly as people call her a witch and promising to do better next time. As for her opponent, Tony Abbott has the panache for villainy, but not enough substance to make people really care what's he up to, like a baddie in a 'Police Academy' movie.<br /><br />Where then to turn, to try and find Australia's Worst Person, if we're not to find them in their traditional breeding ground; Federal politics? A reasonable back up option might be the business community, and so perhaps we should consider...<br /><br />... Gina Rineheart.<br /><br />Head of mining company 'Hancock Prospecting' (founded by her late father Lang Hancock) since 1992 and Australia's richest person, Rineheart has, until recent times, kept a low profile and herself out of the news. But in these recent times, Rineheart has lurched awkwardly into public life, exposing, at least on occasions, the dark heart that lies within and making a pretty fair case that she could be Australia's Worst Person.<br /><br />Consider the evidence:<br /><br />1. In 2010, the then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd proposed a new tax on inflated profits in the mining industry. Fuelled largely by China, mining in Australia is enjoying a decade long boom, as our non renewable resources are dug up and shipped overseas at record prices. The companies that do this digging and shipping are, in most cases, largely owned by overseas interests, meaning that a good chunk of the revenue generated by this industry flows back out of the country. In other words, we are selling off a very valuable but finite resource and most of the money is going elsewhere. Hence Labor's 'Super Tax' policy, designed to claw back a bit of this cash so that the Government can use some of it to build things - roads, schools, hospitals - for the benefit of people that actually live here. Something that Ms Rinehart definitely did not want to see. The new tax threatened the gi-normous profits her company rakes in each year, and so we were treated to the grim spectacle of one of the world's wealthiest people taking to the back of a flat bed truck to demand that she be allowed to keep a disproportionate share of her income. <br /><br /><a href="http://images.brisbanetimes.com.au/2012/02/04/2937757/ZAH_rinehart_LW_151011_20120204184524109288-420x0.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 460px; height: 325px;" src="http://images.brisbanetimes.com.au/2012/02/04/2937757/ZAH_rinehart_LW_151011_20120204184524109288-420x0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Rinehart, and her fellow wealthy CEO's from the industry, would spend $22 million on an advertising campaign against the tax, claiming (quite inaccurately) that's its introduction would mean the end of the mining industry in this country. But, it has to be said, that her approach was successful, as bad polling followed in the wake of the advertising, Labor would dump both Rudd and the policy.<br /><br /><br /><br />2. Having bested her regulatory enemies and sent the Government away to whimper in the corner, Rinehart was free to do what she pleased with her mining interests. Free, for example, to sell a massive chunk of Western Australia to a Korean mining company, as she did earlier this year. South Korean steel company 'Posco' now own 15% of the Roy Hill iron ore mine in WA, which Rinehart sold to them for $1.5 billion. So she has a little walking around money, even if we don't, as the cash will flow to her pocket and bypass the tax system almost entirely. Thank goodness we got rid of that tax, eh?<br /><br /><br /><br />3. With the above two events having generated some fairly negative media coverage, eventually, Rinehart then took some pin money, a lazy $200 million , and increased her stake in Fairfax media to 13% (up from 5%). While a long way short of a controlling interest, Rinehart's stake make her one of Fairfax's largest private shareholders. With the publisher of 'The Age' and 'The Sydney Morning Herald,' wobbling somewhat, as part of the general malaise in the newspaper industry, they could be ripe for someone with deep pockets, guess who, to take over in the near future. Rinehart also owns 10% of Channel 10, and sits on their board of directors, meaning that she is quickly turning into one of Australia's largest media owners. You don't need to have seen 'Citizen Kane' to know what happens when wealthy business people with no scruples get involved in running the media.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />4. With her wealth skyrocketing and her grip on the nation's airwaves inexorably tightening, there is a rumour about that Rinehart may move into politics proper. If this proves to be true (and I honestly doubt it, since she can influence our elected officials so easily now, why bother with campaigning every three years?), you would probably want to be very concerned. At least, if an article Rinehart <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/what-australia-can-learn-from-singapore-20110310-1boi9.html">wrote</A> last year is anything to go by. In it, Rinehart outlines some of her ideas as to what sort of country Australia should be; low taxing, small government, brutal on criminals, favourable to low paid guest workers, people like herself free to drive around the streets in Hummers running poor people over and doing pretty much anything else they feel like. It's such a chilling vision, she should perhaps consider moving to the States and running for President as a Republican.<br /><br />So what do we think? Do we have a new champion? Australia's Worst Person?<br /><br />I'll print the tee-shirts...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcmE5UQsET6n3I5DVlgkzG0_qPGOHXbyEY-BBc-F92Ve2T1ds5HQ5KBE3cQTDR04BY7BtCngbzBONt0YcwEeSks2lLQtk4hM_FTa9kPTNSCUwpmd2QA7IQs0V9B9yRHveLWNvJhVr4lI4/s1600/gina.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 372px; height: 420px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcmE5UQsET6n3I5DVlgkzG0_qPGOHXbyEY-BBc-F92Ve2T1ds5HQ5KBE3cQTDR04BY7BtCngbzBONt0YcwEeSks2lLQtk4hM_FTa9kPTNSCUwpmd2QA7IQs0V9B9yRHveLWNvJhVr4lI4/s320/gina.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708937301039007842" /></a>Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-53790275528390352822012-01-11T12:25:00.000-08:002012-01-11T13:00:40.280-08:00American Election 2012: Singalong Edition<a href="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Darth-Vader-Star-Wars.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 330px;" src="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Darth-Vader-Star-Wars.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />As 2012 slowly shakes off 2011 and starts to evolve into it's own fully formed year, it's probably worth taking note of what will be one of this year's defining events: the 2012 US Presidential Election.<br /><br />Well, you may as well take note of it, as it will be impossible to avoid it. <br /><br />With the global obsession with American culture showing no signs of flagging, and poltiical candidates showing an ever greater reliance on social media and the internet, the US election is now something that goes far beyond battleground states like Ohio and Florida. It's now everywhere and anywhere, an enormously expensive, theatrical game of high stakes poker played out by power suited men and women who have decided that this is the year to chance their arm and try for the top job. It's a bit like the 'West Wing' really, although without all the robust policy debate, and a bit like a reality TV show, although without the really ace prizes.<br /><br />And, as such, it's totally captivating. Certainly much more so than our locally produced version of the same thing, which seems to be composed entirely of two dour, thoroughly unlikeable gits telling an indifferent public how much they hate everything.<br /><br />But the Yanks infuse their election cycle with a large degree of splash and showmanship, so as to try and keep people's attention. Which is probably needed, as their election campaign runs on much longer than you would think is necessary. It is now January, with the election set for November 7, and the Republican candidates have been at it, and each other, for about 3 months. Longer if you factor in the time they spend fund raising and organising before the politickin' actually begins. <br /><br />But before we get down to any sort of serious analysis of how the US election may unfold this year, it's probably worth highlighting another prominent feature of politics in the states.<br /><br />Nuttiness.<br /><br />That's right, things always get a little nutty, a little fruity and a little weird on the campaign trail in America. This can come from the candidates themselves or the public, but the light hearted, high spirited, loopy fru fru spirit is never far from the surface in any Presidential campaign. <br /><br />Two examples.<br /><br />In the recently concluded Republican Primary in New Hampshire (won by front runner Mitt Romney), second place fell to veteran congressman Ron Paul, from Texas. Known as something of a maverick and an outsider, Paul has campaigned on a platform of aggressive individual rights and the fundamental destruction of the apparatus of modern American Government. His second placing was something of a surprise, considering the radical nature of his policies, but even more surprising was his choice of theme music at his celebratory after party:<br /><br /><center><embed src="http://www.npr.org/v2/?i=145020769&m=145020807&t=audio" height="386" wmode="opaque" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" base="http://www.npr.org" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></center><br /><br />Very few, if any, political candidates had thought to employ the Imperial Theme from Star Wars on their side before.<br /><br />On the other side of the aisle, President Obama is set to face an uphill battle for re-election, with a struggling economy and high unemployment reflected in his lowly approval rating. With the figures as they are at this moment, no US President has been re-elected with such low poll numbers or with so many people out of work.<br /><br />Nevertheless, Barack's formidable fund raising and campaigning skills mean he cannot be discounted. Doubly so while his opponents are flirting with nominating Darth Vader as their candidate. Also worth considering is the fervent personal following Obama inspires in people, which manifest itself in many different ways:<br /><br /><center><iframe width="500" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AijEQN6AuRs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><br /><br />The bloke that posted this, 'barackdubs,' has got a million of these!<br /><br />Roll on 2012!Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208642856490141129.post-65996452053377360852011-07-15T18:21:00.000-07:002011-07-15T22:39:11.362-07:00A Horrible Cunt<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWuVPcx9868I9Wm0lM1W4gbieBDH013K-Vd-dYOB96JGz-HXBjayWksVy14QAnqH91xrG-r-114WGECJmfoXSxoMncaBD96XG-4Z9y6iSulZzM8pKtqaXRmsgZibZGkFPLv4fHP3s_1W_/s1600/rupert_murdoch_time.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 374px; height: 500px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWuVPcx9868I9Wm0lM1W4gbieBDH013K-Vd-dYOB96JGz-HXBjayWksVy14QAnqH91xrG-r-114WGECJmfoXSxoMncaBD96XG-4Z9y6iSulZzM8pKtqaXRmsgZibZGkFPLv4fHP3s_1W_/s1600/rupert_murdoch_time.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Being a horrible cunt has its advantages. <br /><br />Take Rupert Murdoch as an example of this. <br /><br />The billionaire tyrant has taken his horrible cunt qualities - lack of empathy, sociopathic morals, veneration of profit over all other princiapls - and turned them into a multi billion dollar media empire that spans the globe and make the lives of countless people in the public eye thoroughly miserable. He is undoubtedly one of the world's richest and most influential people. Not bad for a bloke who started with one newspaper (left to him by his father) in the global backwater of Adelaide. <br /><br />Or take me, as another example. <br /><br />A keen follower of news and current events, I've taken my horrible cunt qualities - vindictiveness, callousness and a hefty serve of schadenfreude - and converted them into a relentless enjoyment of watching that horrible cunt Rupert Murdoch's media empire crumble (at least a little bit). I feel no shame or guilt about doing this, having harboured great fear and loathing towards the billionaire tyrant for as long as I can remember (fear, loathing and plagiarism being still more of my horrible cunt qualities). <br /><br />It has to be said, though, that I am probably not the only one enjoying this.<br /><br />There must be millions of us really, around the world, waiting breathlessly for each new revelation about the grotesque behaviour of journalists and editors employed at the newspapers of Mr Murdoch, each seemingly worse than the last. It's a story that could have come straight from one of Murdoch's own tabloids; powerful people abusing doe eyed victims, screaming headlines, shock and scandal, celebrity and money and a gaggle of frenetic journalists pumping the story like wild eyed junkies, racing each other to get the next scoop.<br /><br />No wonder Murdoch's papers sold so well. His readership has been enjoying this sort of stuff for years! <br /><br />And the fact that it is the mouldy old bastion of serious journalism and lefty-ism, England's <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/">'The Guardian,'</a> that is turning the screws on Murdoch only adds to the deliciousness of it all. <br /><br />Things have moved so quickly and unraveled so fast for Murdoch that it is difficult to know exactly where it will all end. Just a few months ago he was so powerful and influential (and entrenched) in the fabric of British life that he was almost a bit like an aging, wizened sun; something everyone there paid attention to each day without ever really noticing. He owned not only the country's largest selling daily newspaper ('The Sun') but also the largest selling Sunday paper ('The News of the World') and the most prestigious (London's 'The Times') as well. In addition to this, approval of his takeover bid of satellite TV channel <a href="http://www.sky.com/">'BSkyB'</a> looked to be a mere formality, which would have made him England's foremost broadcaster as well as a newspaperman. <br /><br />His influence in England, already enormous, looked set to reach new levels of dominance. The only thing left after the 'BSkyB' takeover would have been for Harry Potter to show up and battle him to the death.<br /><br />And then it all went wrong, big time.<br /><br />In 2006, it was uncovered that Clive Goodman, a reporter for the 'News of The World' ('NoTW'), had illegally accessed the mobile phone voice mail boxes of members of the royal family. He'd done this in collusion with a private investigator hired by the paper and, once this was uncovered, both men were sacked, prosecuted and jailed. While creating waves at the time, this incident was still viewed as fairly minor and was largely glossed over with the usual 'one rogue reporter not representative of our standards' comments from News Corps HQ. <br /><br />The billionaire tyrant muttered something under his breath, his British newspaper staff went back to their then principal job of <a href="http://www.euronews.net/2011/07/12/gordon-brown-how-the-murdoch-press-attacks-got-personal/">destroying</a> Labor Prime Minister Gordon Brown and life went pretty much back to normal.<br /><br />But this scandal was far from over. It continued to percolate away in the background, as other members of the media (chiefly 'The Guardian') dug away at it, slowly uncovering evidence and sources and garnering testimony from a growing number of disgruntled ex News Corp employees (who, what do you know, didn't have much love for Uncle Rupert). All of this background research and effort exploded spectacularly a few weeks ago.<br /><br />First it was revealed that the phone hacking operations at the 'News of the World' had not been down to 'one rogue reporter' but had, in fact, been standard business practice. An expanding number of celebrities were revealed as having had their phone messages accessed by NoTW staff, several of them (inclusing the actress <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/world/europe/08london.html">Sienna Miller</a>) taking News Corp to court and suing for damages. Almost simultaneously, it was also revealed that NoTW had paid <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/07/08/news-of-the-world-police-paid-30-000-in-envelopes-at-a-drive-through-by-news-of-the-world-staff-115875-23255556/">corrupt police officers,</a> as well as private investigators, to help them with this hacking operation, sending shockwaves through the British police force.<br /><br />And before the outrage over this had even died down, an even bigger scandal came to light. 'The Guardian' reported that in 2002 NoTW reporters had accessed the voice mail box of Milly Dowler, a 13 year old school girl who had gone missing at the time. Not only did the reporters <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jul/04/milly-dowler-voicemail-hacked-news-of-world">hack into her message bank,</a> but they then <i>deleted messages</i> from it, so as to create space for more. Police at the time thought that the girl herself was accessing her messages and so assumed she was still alive somewhere (she was subsequently found murdered).<br /><br />The horrified public response to this incident is still reverberating in England. <br /><br />A sweeping tide of disgust and revulsion spewed forth from other media outlets, members of the public, politicians and pundits. Advertisers immediately abandoned the newspaper and some departed News Corp publications altogether. A number of journalists and editors previously employed by the paper have been arrested and appear headed for jail (among them former editor Andy Coulson, until January this year the British Prime Ministers press secretary). The 168 year old paper itself has been closed and it's current staff made redundant. <br /><br />Of course, Murdoch himself cannot be specifically blamed for any of these incidents. The time has long since passed where Rupert had any hand in the day-to-day running of his newspapers. But what is obvious is that he has created and cultivated a vile mentality within the arms of his corporation. One that rewards brazen success, regardless of how this is achieved, with no recourse to ethical behaviour or thought for the effect the companies reporting has on it's targets.<br /><br />Once the NoTW scandals had come to light and become a serious problem, Murdoch did become personally involved in handling the crisis. But his efforts to 'fire break' the scandal by shutting the paper and distancing himself from what happened do not appear to be working. As he lops off one head of this snake, another appears in it's place. <br /><br />This week, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/07/12/ni_brown_bank_blagging/">an interview</a> where he accused both 'The Sun' and the 'The Times' of a relentless campaign of harassment while he was still in Government, including; the now expected phone hacking, spying on his friends and family, illegally accessing his son's medical records and hiring actors to impersonate him so as to gain access to his finance and personal records. It's not difficult to imagine Brown, never a favourite of Murdoch's and so someone who suffered obscenely distorted coverage from his papers, having a good laugh in private after airing his accusations and so adding to his old tormentors grief. <br /><br />For grief is probably as good a word as any to sum up where Murdoch finds himself now (assuming it is proper to assign a human emotion like 'grief' to an inhuman entity like the billionaire tyrant). One of his best selling papers is closed and favoured associates under arrest or with their reputations in tatters. His remaining British papers are now both tainted and have an ugly smell emanating from them. His 'BSkyB' bid has been <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/13/rupert-murdoch-gives-up-bskyb-bid">officially abandoned</a> and would, in any case, have been held up for years by a now hostile Parliament. Indeed, his former friends at the top of Government now castigate his company daily in the press. There is talk of Murdoch selling his other papers and abandoning the UK altogether. Maybe retreating to America... where the FBI have <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14162545">already commenced</a> an investigation into allegations that Murdoch's US newspapers hacked the phone records of victims of the 9-11 terrorist attack. I'll leave it to you to imagine what will happen to Rupert in America if that is proved to be true, but in my mind it involves burning torches and pitchforks:<br /><br /><center><iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Zw5pmDgWMaU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><br /><br />'KILL THE MONSTER!'<br /><br />Hell, I'm ready.<br /><br />I guess being a horrible cunt has it's disdvantages too.Dannohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08798384197071991895noreply@blogger.com0