Newspoll: The Killing Machine

In the following thirty-six hours the next Newspoll will be published. If it is as poor a result for Labor as was last week's Nielsen Poll, the leadership frenzy will reach an even more feverish pitch. Frantic media packs will jostle to assail every politician entering and leaving parliament, thrusting microphones into their faces, and insisting they declare their allegiance to Julia Gillard or Kevin Rudd, or at least take a punt on whether a leadership challenge is on, and who is likely to win. The words uttered by the key players will be analyzed endlessly for nuance. Every news bulletin on radio or TV will be embellished with phrases such as 'another bad poll for Labor has renewed/fuelled/rekindled/heightened leadership speculation', with clips of comments from Labor politicians at doorstops, clips of Tony Abbott, with nodding supporters in the background, sagely reminding us how dysfunctional, divided and chaotic the Gillard Government is, and Christopher Pyne emitting his usual venom outside Parliament. It is as predictable as the sun rising in the East.

The press will have a field day. Dennis Shanahan will be emboldened to predict an even greater electoral disaster for Labor, Paul Kelly will be more pontifical than usual in telling us why, and other News Limited journalists will report the findings gleefully, and in every sordid detail. The predictive value of the poll will be assumed, as it has been for two years now, and to give the result some statistical authenticity, the result will be stated to be 'outside the margin of error'.

Should the result be much the same as the last Newspoll, the media response will be less strident. What Labor could expect would be one of Shanahan's favourite phrases: 'flat-lining', or words to the effect that Labor 'has failed to get a bounce out of Gonski', or any other piece of legislation the pundits believe ought to have given it one.

But if the result were to be better for Labor than Nielsen or the last Newspoll, it would need to be vastly better to attract any acknowledgement of an improvement. And to counter any better result, we will be reminded that the Coalition 'still has an election-winning lead', or that ‘it would still win in a landslide', or that 'Labor would still lose (insert number) of seats at an election, should it be held today'.

So whatever happens this coming week with Newspoll, the result will be painted as bad for Labor, and should it be much, much better by any chance, it will be categorized as a 'rouge poll'.

Nothing I have asserted so far will come as a surprise to any reader. I write these words simply to underscore the extraordinary influence polls of voting intention and personal approval have on our political dialogue through all forms of the Fourth Estate. They actually create the dialogue.

This coming week, Newspoll will be used as a killing machine, as it has been for many years.

Of course it was used as a killing machine in the dying days of the Howard Government, although not as powerfully as it is now. And let's acknowledge that it is not the only one. The Nielsen poll too has potency as a killing machine, as we saw last week. It precipitated a furious frenzy in the Canberra Press Gallery that went on for several days, until it became apparent that no leadership challenge was in the offing, whereupon the frenzy abated for a while. Of course there are regular Galaxy polls that seem to emerge at weekends that give good copy to political journalists for the Sunday papers, and now automated ReachTEL polls are gaining prominence and are given publicity in News Limited media. Those aiming at the heart of Labor use them all as killing machines.

But there are other polls, some longstanding. Morgan Polls have been around since 1941. Morgan conducts both face-to-face and telephone polls. The last one did not replicate the results of the Nielsen poll. Under a heading: Female support rises strongly for the Government after Howard Sattler interview with Prime Minister, Morgan wrote: “Today’s Morgan Poll shows the ALP closing the gap on the L-NP with the L-NP (53.5%, down 2.5% in a week) cf. ALP (46.5%, up 2.5%) after Perth radio host Howard Sattler interviewed Prime Minister Julia Gillard last Thursday and questioned the Prime Minister about her partner’s sexuality. Sattler was subsequently sacked on Friday afternoon by Fairfax Radio and the Morgan Poll which was interviewed after this point shows a clear swing back to the Government. A Fairfax-Nielsen poll released overnight showed the L-NP (57%) cf. ALP (43%) on a two-party preferred basis. However, it is important to note the Fairfax-Nielsen poll was conducted between Thursday and Saturday last week (June 13-15, 2013) which means many of the Fairfax-Nielsen interviews were conducted before the full impact of the Howard Sattler interview and subsequent sacking was known."

Did any of you see the Morgan Poll reported in the Fourth Estate? The only place I saw it was in the Fifth Estate, in Independent Australia. Isn't that strange? No it isn't. Fairfax would not want to diminish the potency of its own killing machine by giving credence to a poll that was at variance with its own, especially the last poll that placed Labor in such a poor light. In fact isn't it strange that we almost never see Morgan Polls given any airing in the Fourth Estate.

And there is the weekly Essential Poll that uses a methodology different from other polls, and aggregates two weeks' polling into each week's result. On June 17 it showed the same result as the previous week: 54/46 TPP, with no dip that could be attributed to the previous week's events. Of course next week it might. But where in the Fourth Estate do you see Essential Polls reported? Both Morgan and Essential seem to be personae non gratae within the Fourth Estate. The only time Essential Media Communications gets exposure is when its Director, Peter Lewis, appears on the ABC’s The Drum.

Polls, Newspoll particularly, and to some extent Nielsen Polls and Galaxy Polls, are used as killing machines by those who use them to attack political parties. This is not to imply that the polls are wrong, or unprofessionally conducted, much less rigged. But there seems little doubt that in the hands of journalists they can be, and are used as killing machines aimed at the party on the decline and ipso facto as boosters to the party on the rise. Polls supply the heavy ammunition; journalists fire it at their target. For the contemporary Fourth Estate, this suits their purpose because the polls match the stories they want to write.

What this piece argues is that commercial polls of voting intention dictate the political dialogue by allowing proprietors, editors and journalists to interpret them as they wish, and thereby create the stories they want to disseminate.

But let me address an issue that infuriates journalists. When anyone suggests they are 'making up stories', or that their stories are just ‘a media beat up', they become highly indignant, insist that their stories have real sources, that the information upon which they base their stories is real, neither imagined nor made up, and that they are simply reporting to the public the information they have sourced, which they insist is their sacred duty, as 'the public has the right to know'. So let's be clear, journalists are fed tidbits, journalists do fossick out bits and pieces of information, and journalists do have their 'sources'. That is not in dispute. What is debatable is the quality of the information they solicit or are offered, that is, its validity and its reliability. Sometimes it is of high quality, and enables them to write important articles. There are many examples we can all recall. It is when the information is of doubtful quality or simply wrong that articles derived from it are suspect or disingenuous.

But even when the information is valid and reliable, it is how the journalist evaluates its importance that determines how the story is written. A tiny piece of information, no matter how valid and reliable, does not a major story make, yet that is what the Fourth Estate too often dishes up to us. Corridor whispers, an overheard comment, a story exchanged between journalists at their favourite drinking hole, seem too often to be the basis for a big story, a prediction of major importance. Reflect for a moment on how many times senior journalists have predicted PM Gillard's political demise, how often they have suggested she step down. They still are! The media, becoming desperate as time for a change runs out, is pulling out all the stops to dislodge our PM. This weekend, Andrew Holden, editor of The Age, perhaps miffed that PM Gillard did not fall on her sword after his Nielsen poll last Monday, is now somewhat arrogantly insisting in an editorial that she must stand aside ‘for the sake of the nation’.

How many times have we been told that she will be gone by Christmas - the killing season – or by Easter, or by the time parliament rises, or when the caucus next meets, or when it has its last meeting, or by whatever date the journalist conjures up, and in any year you care to imagine. Yet she is still standing - 'she won't lie down and die'. Maybe she will meet the fate that has been predicted for almost three years now in the three months before election day. But so far predictions have all been wrong. But like stopped clocks that are bound to be right twice a day, journalists continue to hope that eventually they might be right.

Journalists in the Fourth Estate often place too much reliance on unreliable information, on invalid intelligence, on at times deliberately false information fed to them by people with a subterranean political agenda into which they allow themselves to be sucked, and thereby conned. Faulty information would not be so much of a problem to them if they sat on it until it could be checked for its validity and reliability, an exercise good journalists carry out routinely, but instead they take up their megaphones and shout their paltry and sometimes shonky messages for all to hear, and they go on doing this time and again despite them being wrong over and over. And when something really important does actually happen, they often miss it, as they did when they missed Kevin Rudd's removal until almost the last minute, and completely missed Bob Carr's appointment as Foreign Minister.

By the way, we can’t let journalists off ‘scot-free’ on the charge that they don’t make stories up. Reflect on the second half of last week. There were no more polls, and as far as I am aware no comments from Labor that could be mined for flecks of gold, yet Leigh Sales managed to spend most of her Thursday 7.30 interview of Craig Emerson fishing for leadership tidbits; Tony Jones’ Lateline featured an unnecessarily convoluted piece by Tom Iggulden that explored what might happen constitutionally if leadership changed; and on Friday, ABC news picked up on words Kevin Rudd used on Seven’s Sunrise when asked about a potential bid for leadership: ”I don’t believe there are any circumstances in which that would happen”, and wove them into a story that this was a less vehement denial, and therefore significant! Can you believe it? Yes you can. Journalists do make up some stories, and they do ‘beat up’ others. Read what Michelle had to say about the Leigh Sales interview in her blog piece: Dear Leigh Sales. I’m sure many would echo her sentiments.

It is the rush to the megaphone to shout their stories on every medium they can access without proper checking, or simply the rush to shout a story they have made out of nothing, which characterizes far too much political journalism today, and brings it into disrepute. Is it any wonder the public holds journalists in such low regard, and levels at them accusations of poor quality journalism, of 'making stories up', and of 'media beat ups'?

We all know though that there is another reason for the rush to the megaphone. Journalists, fearful about their own jobs, are mindful of the need to please, or at least not seriously upset, their proprietor and editor. They know their political agenda, which for most of the Fourth Estate seems to be the removal of the Gillard Government and the replacement of it with a Coalition government led by Tony Abbott. Every story about leadership destabilization, every story about PM Gillard being replaced, every related adverse event, is grist to the News Limited and Fairfax mills. So megaphone journalism aimed at discrediting PM Gillard and her Government is OK by these media outlets, no matter how unreliable and flimsy it is. It adds inexorably to the poor image of the PM and the Government it has been creating for years.

Let's return to the killing machines, which for News Limited is its heavy weapon, Newspoll, the most lethal killing machine of all.

Try this exercise in your imagination. Reflect on how different political journalism would be if there were no opinion polls. I realize that means exploring a fantasy world that will never become reality, but bear with me.

Ask yourself what journalists would write about leadership without polls results to underpin their stories. It is the results of the polls of voting intention and personal approval, and comparisons of the popularity of potential leaders (Gillard/Rudd and Abbott/Turnbull) that give them the material they require to write about leadership. It is the poll of who would save the most seats for Labor that energises journalist's comments about leadership. When the TPP is going against a party, particularly the one in power, journalists jump on it because, to use the words they use habitually, it 'calls into question' the position of the leader, and ‘renews/fuels/ignites/heightens leadership speculation’. If the leader is less popular than the contender, as has been the case with Julia Gillard versus Kevin Rudd, if the challenger might save more seats, that adds to the speculation. If there were no poll results, there would be no leadership speculation, as indeed is the case between polls, when speculation subsides. But the day the poll comes out, especially if it is Newspoll, which seems to have assumed superior status among the many polls, the media: print, radio and TV is ablaze with strident recitation of the results and the dire implications. It's great copy for journalists, hungry for a scoop.

Without the polls, they would have to undertake real journalism; they would have to seek sources, solicit information from those whose opinion is worthy, check its veracity, double check, analyze what the sources told them, and reach a considered conclusion about the status of the leader in question. That's arduous work; it involves 'working the phones' and 'wearing out boot leather', as their predecessors once did. Poll results obviate this weary toil. Writing up poll results is child's play, and any interpretation can be placed on any result, depending on what story the journalist wants to write. We saw Dennis Shanahan's convolutions in the dying days of the Howard Government, when, no matter how poor the results were for John Howard, Dennis could always find a ray of hope to head his analysis.

There are other polls, carried out privately by pollsters on behalf of political parties and their supporters. These are never reported publically, but are regularly ‘leaked’. The fact that they are not subject to the same methodological scrutiny as commercial polls means that their validity and reliability are not questioned. The fact that those who commission these polls choose to leak them to the media suggests that the leaking is a tactic to advantage one side or disadvantage the other, or both. That alone calls into question their veracity. While some question the validity of commercial polls on the grounds of methodology, for example the use of landlines versus mobile phones, I believe commercial pollsters are proficient and attempt to do their polling professionally, striving for representative samples of sufficient size. On the other hand, private polling, or at least its reporting, is suspect, as is the output from focus groups. I place no store on reports in the Fourth Estate of private polling.

Of course, polls would have lesser influence on political dialogue if Labor members declined to engage in public or private conversation with insistent journalists hungry to extract a morsel they might be able to fashion into a story. Although they know that whatever they say journalists will use it in whatever way they prefer, politicians seem to be unable or unwilling to tell them to get lost. And even if they stay mute, the headline is: ‘X refused to confirm or deny’, or ‘avoided the question’, leaving the news consumer thinking that something suspect is going on.

Some Labor politicians, the Rudd saboteurs, are deliberately obtuse, and repeatedly feed the story of a Rudd revival to eager journalists, all the more so when Kevin Rudd’s popularity comes out much higher with the public than Julia Gillard’s. They are a destructive force that gives journalists the tidbits and rumors, true or otherwise, that they crave, and do so for their own selfish purpose. Some of the others, who pander to the press by responding to questions and then do so incompetently, seem to be plain stupid, unaware of, or careless about the damage they are doing. Fortunately, there are those who give unequivocal messages about leadership such as Wayne Swan, Craig Emerson, Greg Combet, Bill Shorten, Tanya Plibersek and Peter Garrett, to name just a few. If only the others would emulate them.

So while we can correctly blame the media for the so-called journalism they offer, we need to acknowledge that a few malcontents do feed them bits and pieces from which they construct their stories. What is reprehensible is that most journalists endow such morsels with a credibility they do not deserve, and don’t bother to check their veracity before enthusiastically taking up their megaphones hoping for a scoop.

Stories about poll results have a profound effect over time. While one bad poll result takes its toll, bad result after bad enables journalists to paint a more damaging picture of the party that is lagging – one of a party that is doomed, fated to lose in a landslide, to be reduced to a mere ‘rump’. Add to that the long-standing media narrative that the Gillard Government is ‘the worst government in Australian history’, indeed ‘a bad government getting worse’, that PM Gillard is an incompetent, untrustworthy liar, who makes one mistake after another, that her popularity is sinking inexorably, that she is dragging Labor down to a catastrophic defeat, and you have a vivid picture of a certain loser, who by that account deserves to lose. This image feeds into the next poll and reinforces the negativity. When that poll turns out poorly, the vicious circle continues. Nobody wants to be associated with a loser, so the downward trend is amplified, again and again. This is what so many News Limited journalists want, as do many in Fairfax.

In case you think I’m in a minority in my view that polls are killing machines in the hands of antagonistic journalists, read what Letitia McQuade had to say on Independent Australia in Gillard, polls, porkies and popularity. Read this too in The Conscience Vote: Dear media, write about something else, and Truth Seeker’s Murdoch’s poll machines stuck on spin cycle, and Jeff Sparrow’s piece in The Guardian: What is the Gillard v Rudd civil war all about?.

This piece describes and deplores the malevolent influence that opinion polls of voting intention and popularity have on political discourse in this country. Poll results are ammunition for adversarial journalists to fire at politicians and parties they oppose. They use them ruthlessly to wound and kill their opponents. They use them to reinforce the stories they write, stories too often based on whispers and questionable intelligence; they use them to create a repetitive story of incompetence, of failure, of a fate worse than death at the upcoming election, of a party that must be decisively discarded. Polls are used to manipulate minds in the desired direction; with every negative poll that arrives, the more the voters are persuaded in that direction.

Sadly, amongst all this, policy issues vital to this country’s future, and that of all its citizens, are diluted or simply ignored. How on earth can the voters decide?

In the hands of journalists polls are killing machines, and the most potent of all is News Limited’s Newspoll. And they are killing not just politicians and parties, they are killing the intelligent policy debate every strong democracy needs.


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Ad astra

23/06/2013Folks We have had a comparatively quiet Sunday on leadership speculation. No polls that I’m aware of, and some inconclusive discussion on [i]Insiders[/i]. But we have a media that is waiting breathlessly for the [i]Newspoll[/i] coming out early this week, one that is bound to drive the political dialogue until week’s end when parliament rises, especially if it is bad for Labor. If it is, there will be lots more leadership speculation, some pundits will chance their hand once more at predicting how the week will end, and the more cautious will hedge their bets with a bob each way. Meanwhile Julia Gillard will be getting on with her job and assuring us she is going nowhere; Kevin Rudd will be smiling at every news camera he can find; Rudd saboteurs will be scratching their heads about what next move to make; and journalists will be both sleepless with expectation and restless with apprehension that they might be caught short again and miss a precious scoop. The week will be redolent with drama, speculation, ponderous predictions from the incautious or the overconfident, and a media circus the like of which we seldom see. So tighten your seatbelts, don you crash helmet and fireproof garb, let out your clutch in the [i]Newspoll[/i] grand prix, try to keep in front until the end, and hope the remaining weeks to September will be less frenetic.

David

23/06/2013I trust NewsPoll figures as much as I trust the word of Abbott. Zero comes to mind

Ken

23/06/2013Ad Agree that it is the media that plays up the polls to an extent that is not justified - not sure that I would go so far as to call them "killing machines". The main problem is that the media reacts to each individual poll instead of seeing them as they are - a random sample representing one moment in time. (or as you say, ignore polls that don't fit their preconceived story). Newspoll has not been very good lately. A few polls ago they gave a big boost to Labor. As I said in a previous thread, either the electorate is very volatile (possible) or Newspoll is doing something wrong. Given most other polls aren't jumping about as much as Newspoll, I lean to the latter. Of course, in any random sample, now matter how good, it is possible to end up with a biased sample in a single poll. If the polling is good, those biases should be countered over a number of polls. But it seems to be only the statisticians on the Fifth who take the time to put single polls in their wider context. The information from polls can be very informative. The classic of course being the oft repeated that Australians want more services from Government but don't want higher taxes. In the current climate, although Labor is still unpopular, most of the policies that have been implemented have wide majority support. To my mind that gives hope for September 14 - once people turn their minds to policies there will be a percentage that make the decision that, even if they do not like the PM, they do like what she has done and that may be just enough to get her over the line.

Annie

23/06/2013Enjoyed your article very much. I knew polls were weapons of mass destruction but you've clarified why. Thank you

LittleLoudGuy

23/06/2013Brilliant piece Ad. You have accurately described the polls as a weapon. They are not used to inform, they are used to direct what happens. Journalist's obsession with them is just a lazy way to get a headline.

Gordonwa

23/06/2013Another well-reasoned, thoughtful and articulate article Ad! The speculation reminds me of Doomsday cults examining the entrails and predicting the end of the world. When the world stubbornly refuses to end at the appointed time they make some excuse and entice their disciples with yet another prediction for some future catastrophic date. When all the dust and smoke clears at the end of next week and our Prime Minister is still standing tall we should be entitled to an apology by the MSM/ABC, but, like you, I doubt we will receive one. The MSM/ABC are now players in the political game rather than dispassionate reporters. As such they should declare their political interest and funding and they should be subject to scrutiny by the Australian Electoral Commission, if not the ACCC and ASCIC. But of course, they would then scream about 'Press Freedom'. Australian society is ill-served by the concentration of media ownership, especially News Ltd's 70% control which is dragging all of the media, including the ABC, to the right. The same thing happened in the US when Murdoch launched his Fox News with disastrous consequences for 'objective' reporting. Many surveys have shown that people who get most of their 'news' from Fox are more likely to believe lies.

Pikiranku

23/06/2013Hello Ad and all. We're back from another short (computerless) holiday, but I see that you've all been as active as ever while we were away. It's taken me an entire afternoon to catch up on all the commentary! Another excellent post, Ad. So many of the current concerns come back to the lack of professionalism among our journalists. If they were doing their job efficiently and intelligently, seeking answers to the questions we REALLY want asked, instead of dumbing down the entire political discourse in this country, our democracy would function a whole lot better. As for the polls, once again journos play a major part,giving them a credence they don't necessarily deserve. Too often polls have proven to be totally misleading when election time comes around (Remember how Kennett was a shoe-in before he lost to Bracks? Remember how Mitt Romney had the presidency in the bag? The recent general election in British Columbia is another example where the polls consistently showed a very different result from the final election figures). So why does the MSM embrace these figures here as though they were gospel? It's easy to believe they have an agenda. Particularly when, as you pointed out, they're so selective about the results they choose to publicise and the ones they choose to ignore. Last week, while we were away, there were some poll results running across the bottom of the screen on ABC24. There were 3 items: one announcing that the ALP's primary vote had dropped to 29%, another showing how much more popular Rudd was than Gillard, and the third related to the unpopularity of Abbott (32%) compared with Turnbull (60 something). At least, those were the items running across the screen in the morning. By afternoon the third item had disappeared, though the two which were unfavourable to JG/Labor remained. And those two were still there the following day, but the third item had vanished without trace. Coincidence? Mere chance? I don't think so.

Gravel

23/06/2013Ad Astra You are correct in your writing. It is a miracle that Labor polls as high as it does with all the complete rubbish in the msm, so we do know there are people out there who do care about policies. This will be the first election in a long time where it will be proven which is more important, policies or popularity. As many other have said, our politics is being report and treated like a reality tv show. We have a little over three months to find out how brainwashed the public is.

Patriciawa

23/06/2013 Thank you for another fine article which so clearly hones in on the way the Australian public are being brainwashed by our media today. Thank you too for the link to Michelle's site where she expressed so well the frustrations of so many of us who watched that Leigh Sales 7.30 interrogation of Craig Emerson. I found the comments on her article very interesting and one in particular expressed a thought that occurs often to me recently when I read and watch main stream media news interviews. I think that Rupert Murdoch's seventy per cent control of our print media has not given him the results he wants - ie Julia Gillard and her very effective progressive government out and the NBN Co in particular destroyed. Tony Abbott is needing far more help if he is to occupy the Lodge and replace the NBN with Fraudband. One senses an external controlling hand influencing editorial slant and panel selections determined to bring her down. I am surprised we have not read this sort of comment more often [quote]Anonymous June 21, 2013 at 7:04 PM I suspect Leigh and many of her colleagues are having their incomes supplemented by people who are not their stated employers.[/quote] http://mhsts.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/dear-leigh-sales.html

Gordonwa

23/06/2013In WA we only have one daily paper, The West Australian', which is now linked to Channel 7. I only buy the weekend 'West' because it has the TV guide for the coming week. In a casual skimming of the political news I noticed 2 errors which reflected badly on Labor but should have reflected on the quality of the reporting (or lack thereof). On page 9 in an article titled 'Rudd worth millions to Labor' it states: 'Labor is languishing at 29 percent in primary support, according to the latest opinion polls.' Note the use of the plural 'polls'. The Nielsen poll reported 29 percent, the Morgan and Essential polls were higher but these were not considered for this article. Since when did one poll become polls? Lazy reporting or deliberate bias? The second article on page 18 was entitled: 'Lawrence warns of future class divide'. Former WA Premier Dr Carmen Lawrence was urging Premier Barnett to sign up to Gonski. The paper stated: 'Only NSW and the ACT have signed up for the reforms.' They must have missed the news that South Australia signed up last week! Still, one shouldn't be too hard on the 'West' as there is a 2 hour time difference between here and the Eastern seaboard. When it's 6.00pm in Sydney it's 1955 in Perth. Curiously, before I can post this I have to input the reCaptcha words to stop spams and the words are: liblame community. That must mean something!

Sir Ian Crisp

23/06/2013Thank you Ad for another thought-provoking, controversial essay. I would like to create my very own bit of controversy by pointing the finger of blame for the ALP’s bad poll numbers at a serial pest by the name of Anthony Abbott. Just how he manipulates the polls is a science that is not well understood and I call on the well resourced and well staffed (at last count 378 investigators) TPS’s ‘Abbott Investigation Unit’ (AIU), to conduct a thoroughgoing, no-holds-barred, top level, priority enquiry into this sordid affair. Abbott: you have been warned.

Goodie

23/06/2013Great reading, thankyou so much (again). I think your description is pretty apt. The restless breathless awaiting polls. Meanwhile one of the best prime ministers australia has ever had will be taking care of business.Which she does very well.

Catching up

23/06/2013and Astra, the PM, as for is it now 42 times, will be still standing. The PM by the end of the week, will have cleared most of the deck, to allow her to be able to focus on serious campaigning. Of course thee is still some of Gonski to mop up, and the visit to Indonesia in the first week of July, should give a clear view of where Labor stands on the refugee question. I refuse to believe this PM has been sitting on her backside, doing nothing in this regard. One, it would be wrong for her to do so, Two, it is one she needs to have strong policy in. Because of the big numbers of undecided and the noise from the Rudd undermining coming to an end, it would not surprise me to see those polls turn quickly about. It would surprise me, if they went the way of Abbott. I do not have a crystal ball, and could just as easy, be wrong. One can hope. Makes more sense, that the PM handing over to Rudd. Good article. As we all know, one needs to know the methodology of any poll and the ability to decipher it. One also needs to remind ones self, they only measure what people I suspect, when we have so many, so often, they could be feeding off one another. Expect to see more academic work done, on how polls have been used over the last three or four years. Also, I suspect there is a lot of push and other dubious polling going on.

Ad astra

23/06/2013David I understand your sentiments. Ken I hope you are right and that: [i]“…once people turn their minds to policies there will be a percentage that make the decision that, even if they do not like the PM, they do like what she has done and that may be just enough to get her over the line.”[/i] Annie If you haven’t been here before, welcome to [i]The Political Sword[/i] family and thank you for your kind remarks. Do come again. LittleLoudGuy Welcome to you too to [i]The Political Sword[/i] family and thank you too for your kind remarks. Do come again. Gordonwa Thank you for your complimentary remarks. I have made the correction about which you emailed me. I believe you are right: “[i]When all the dust and smoke clears at the end of next week and our Prime Minister is still standing tall we should be entitled to an apology by the MSM/ABC, but, like you, I doubt we will receive one.”[/i] [i]Morgan[/i] and [i]Essential[/i] get virtually no coverage in the MSM. Why? I think we know. Pikiranku Thank you for your kind remarks. What you recount in your last paragraph is interesting, perhaps pointing to ABC bias. Gravel Thank you for your comment. You are right: “[i]We have a little over three months to find out how brainwashed the public is.[/i]” Patriciawa Michelle’s article was vey powerful. Goodie Welcome to you too to [i]The Political Sword[/i] family and thank you for your thoughtful remarks. Do come again. I like your Gravatar. Catching up You are to be commended for keeping up with how many times JG’s political demise has been predicted. Thank you for your remarks.

Catching up

23/06/2013Read the figure somewhere else. Cannot remember. Wherever it was, know they deserve the credit for the work, not me.

Tom of Melboune

23/06/2013If only Ad Astra was in charge of polling, then we’d get serious questions, framed in such a way to provide real answers!! Remember when Ad Astra thought political polling questions on the economy should be framed like this- [i]”The government has used its stimulus to steer the economy away from recession, and has provided us with one of the world’s strongest. The opposition opposed the stimulus. Which party provides you with confidence in running the economy?”[/i] [b]Ad Astra seriously proposed the above!![/b] and he still takes himself seriously when commenting on opinion polls! At the time Ad Astra provided his insight into polling questions, I suggested that he frame similar ones about, foreign policy, asylums seekers, health, education, industry policy. He must have been too busy.

Truth Seeker

23/06/2013Ad, you know how I feel about the polls, and you know how much I enjoy and appreciate your fine articles, so all I need to add is well said, and thanks for referencing and linking my post :-) You are an inspiration to us all (barring a couple of exceptions) and your efforts on providing interesting and thought provoking pieces makes TPS the great site that it is, so thanks :-) Cheers :-) :-)

DoodlePoodle

23/06/2013Polls who needs them - It's like the boy who called wolf!! They have predicted Julia's demise and change of leadership so many times without success that really no-one is taking any notice and even they themselves don't really believe it. The panel on insiders this morning all thought that Julia would still be there come the end of the week. For those who think "[i]We have a little over three months to find out how brainwashed the public is[/i],” be of good cheer there is now less than 12 weeks to go. I like the way that the Government are using QT to get there policies across to those who are watching. The LNP are really wasting all of their time in their ridiculous repetitive questions which the Government are able to turn into yet more opportunity to push their own wagon. We belong to a me, me, me society and I believe that when the voting public compare the policies they will vote ALP.

guddy

23/06/2013Steve Conroy was asked by Paul Kelly about Kevin Rudd being more popular than Julia Gillard. Conroys answer was that Turnbull was more popular than Abbott, Kellys response we will leave the liberal party alone as we are talking about the labour party. Conroy performance was super. I often read in other blogs that if this election is such a forgone conclusion why are the libs and media making so much noise? Their day is coming and I don't think they are looking forward to it. There is a groundswell out there and it's looking better.

Political Animal

23/06/2013Polls related to media organisations (Galaxy, Nielsen & Newspoll) can no longer be trusted, too much agenda setting behind them

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23/06/2013guddy, Political Animal Welcome to both of you to [i]The Political Sword[/i] family, and thank you for your comments. Do come again. guddy, Paul Kelly is pursuing Julia Gillard's scalp, and wants no scrutiny of Tony Abbott because he knows what's under the surface. Certainly Political Animal the organizations behind those polling organisations have an agenda. I trust though that the pollsters would refuse to be manipulated by them.

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23/06/2013Truth Seeker Thank you for you very complimentary remarks. The day of reckoning is coming for the pollsters. Let's see if they can do better than they did in the recent US Presidential elections. Doodle Poodle Even the so-called pundits can't be certain about what will happen this week, so they are hedging their bets. Time will tell how close the polls are to the reality of the election. I'm calling it a day.

Graeme

23/06/2013The Polls are right , the sooner this phoney P.M. & Useless Government get thrown out of Office the better this Country will be . Sept 14 Can,t come quick enough !!!

DMW

23/06/2013Today's episode of [b]Rear Vision [/b] on Radio National was [b]Political polling in the 21st century: hard science or the emperor’s new clothes?[/b] After hearing some grabs of variations on [i]today's opinion poll [/i] the presenter, Annabelle Quince, opened with these words: [i]Listening to the coverage of Federal politics over the past few days you'd be forgiven for thinking that politicians and journalists had abandoned policy issues altogether. All we ever seem to hear, read or watch is the reporting of opinion polls and it's not just the ABC all media increasingly focus on opinion polls and in particular those polls that rate the popularity of the party leaders or their challengers.[/i] What follows over the next 28 minutes or so is a very interesting potted history of political polling, methodoligies and how polling has changed over the last 40 to 50 years. There are some interesting bits on how various organisations have used, and misused, polling and focus groups. Also, in case you didn't know, how opinion polling was first used to topple a leader by the ALP in the Hayden/Hawke 'overthrow'. It was worth a listen and you can find it here: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rearvision/political-opinion-polls/4748882 Disclosure: My father was part of the team that set up the Morgan Poll and I have owned a company that conducted market research but not political polling.

nasking

24/06/2013 ANY LABOR PARLIAMENTARY MEMBERS WHO FALL FOR THE NEWSPOLL CRAP, OR ANY OTHER CORPORATE POLL FOR THAT MATTER, ARE PERMITTING THEMSELVES TO BE DUPED. [b]HOLD STEADY[/b]. THERE IS AN OLD SAYING: [b]FATIGUE MAKES COWARDS OF US ALL[/b] PLENTY OF THE GILLARD HATERS IN THE MSM DRIVEN BY FEAR AND DESPERATION ARE TRYING TO WEAR THE ALP AND ITS SUPPORTERS DOWN... MAKE THEM EXTREMELY FATIGUED...SCARED...COWARDLY...HOPING THEY WILL CONVINCE THE ALPers TO CUT THEIR LEADER'S THROAT...REPLACE HER WITH A MAN MORE COMPLIANT...MORE PALATABLE FOR THE MEDIA AND OTHER CORPORATE BARONS. [b]HOLD STEADY.[/b] SLEEP...IGNORE THE POLLS...AND [b]WAKE REFRESHED EACH NEW DAY[/b]... PREPARED TO [b]WIN[/b]. AGAINST A [b]PREDICTABLE ENEMY.[/b] N'

nasking

24/06/2013 [b]Poll results are ammunition for adversarial journalists to fire at politicians and parties they oppose[/b] INDEED. ANOTHER TOP POST. AD, THEY ALSO USE POLLS TO [b]DIVIDE AND CONQUER.[/b] THEY WILL FIND IT MUCH HARDER TO BRING DOWN [b]A UNITED PARTY UNDER GILLARD[/b]. IN OLDEN DAYS DESPERATE OPPONENTS WOULD TRY TO BUY OFF AND TURN INFLUENTIAL CHARACTERS IN A SUCCESSFUL ARMY... SAID TRAITORS COULD DO ENORMOUS DAMAGE... THE ENEMY INFILTRATORS WOULD ALSO USE FALSE INFORMATION, SPREAD MALICIOUS GOSSIP AMONGST THE RANKS, THE CAMP, TO TRY AND UNDERMINE CONFIDENCE, MORALE AND UNITY...TRY AND UNDERMINE THE LEADERSHIP... AND SOMETIMES THE ENEMY WOULD USE LIES AND PROPAGANDA TO TRY AND TURN THE POPULACE...CONVINCE THEM NOT TO JOIN, SUPPORT NOR TRUST THE SUCCESSFUL ARMY. THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ARMY LEADERS KNEW THIS...KNEW HOW TO MOTIVATE THEIR TROOPS...PUSHBACK AGAINST THE LIES AND GOSSIP...OUT THE TRAITORS...WIN BACK THEIR SUPPORT... DISPOSE OF THE OTHERS... USE SIMILAR TACTICS AS THE ENEMY TO DIVIDE THEM... AND CRUSH THEM... BY USING MORE INNOVATIVE, PASSIONATE, CRAFTIER...SOMETIMES RUTHLESS METHODS... BUT...TREATING THE PEOPLE IN EACH LIBERATED TOWN, COMMUNITY WITH RESPECT...COMPASSION... PROVIDING WHAT THEY NEEDED...IF POSSIBLE... AND WINNING OVER THEIR HEARTS AND MINDS. I AM RELISHING THE FIGHT THIS WEEK...[b]SHARPENING MY CLAWS[/b]. [b]AND MIND.[/b] :D N'

TalkTurkey

24/06/2013Pollsters: The Irresponsible in fabrication of the Incredible!

TalkTurkey

24/06/2013Ed Snowden Ed Snowden Ed Snowden he steal State secrets and run Venezuela! HEY! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C-DShN82mc …

lyn

24/06/2013Today’s Links Civility and its absence by @awelder For seven years I have given Anthony John Abbott nothing but what he deserves, and this will not let up until his neglected gravestone reeks of stale urine and dead weeds http://andrewelder.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/civility-and-its-absence.html Big money versus good government by @ngungun The importance of Australia’s September election is beyond any in the nation’s history. The power of money has strangled good national government before. It can also deny us the full power of the NBN at the very time when we will most need its maximum capabilities. http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/big-money-versus-good-government/ Disgusting hubris & hypocrisy from The Age by @LittleLoudGuy They don't like Julia Gillard because she is a strong independent woman who will not be controlled. They know that with each passing day a leadership change is less and less likely. Someone is desperate for it to be this blatant. http://littleloudguy.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/disgusting-hubris-hypocrisy-from-age.html An open letter by @NUSWomens Grow up and stop viewing anything the Government does for women is not directly related to the fact that we have a women as Prime Minister. http://nuswomens.wordpress.com/author/nuswomens/ What the Age should have said by @KayRollison make it their business relentlessly to attack the government, in particular the Prime Minister, and they offer no criticism of the opposition. This paper thinks the media should look at the facts, and looking at the facts, it is easy to conclude that an Abbot-led government would be a disaster. http://theaimn.com/2013/06/23/what-the-age-should-have-said/ An Open Letter to Mike Carlton by @Vic_Rollison the column you published yesterday, on the same topic as The Age’s editorial, was, I’m sorry to say, a shocker. Have you ever heard the phrase: the definition of insanity is doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result? Many of your readers might have forgotten that you wrote on this very same subject – http://victoriarollison.com/2013/06/23/an-open-letter-to-mike-carlton/ Kieran Fitzgerald @kjob85 Twitlonger time for Andrew Holden to stand aside as editor-in-chief of the Age, so that fact-based, information-driven democratic debate can flourish once again. Mr Holden should do so in the interests of The Age, in the interests of Victoria and, most importantly, in the interests of democracy. http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1rkur30 Whither dignity in an age of political hate by @LarvatusProdeo We are talking about hate, across a broad gradient of increasingly inappropriate shades, from braindead chit-chat about “rangas” to a high profile radio announcer asking the Prime Minister if her long-term partner is gay http://larvatusprodeo.net/archives/2013/06/whither-dignity-in-an-age-of-political-hate/ For the sake of the nation, the media should do its job by @crazyjane13 The Age apparently wants its readers to see it as a victim, shaking its head sorrowfully. ‘We would give you substantial policy debate. We want to discuss real issues, and get to the heart of things. If only, if only, we could do that. It’s not our fault. It’s all because of Gillard. If she was gone, everything would be better’ http://consciencevote.com.au/2013/06/22/for-the-sake-of-the-nation-the-media-should-do-its-job/ Caught in its own trap by @btckr Because of angry public reaction to The Age editorial, the newspaper had to justify its position today. The Editor-in-Chief, Andrew Holden, appeared in a video interview in the Political section of The Sunday Age, which was reported on by Urban Affairs Reporter Leesha McKenny http://truthinmediaresourcecentre.wordpress.com/2013/06/22/caught-in-its-own-trap/ Independence in the eye of The Age by David Griffiths self-serving deceitful analysis that disregards the role of The Age journalists in focusing on leadership and not reporting the policy achievements of the Federal Labor Government and pursuing a misogynist agenda. No-one forced The Age to focus on leadership http://www.australiasmassmedia.com/2013/06/22/independence-in-the-eye-of-the-age/ Ms Gillard should stand aside, we have Tony Abbott, the thinking woman’s PM by @turnleft2013 Balance, in the media, what does that mean? Both sides (and there are only two sides, Dualism: right/wrong, black/white, left/right, male/female, there are no shades of grey) as the same as each other. http://turnleft2013.wordpress.com/2013/06/22/ms-gillard-should-stand-aside-we-have-tony-abbott-the-thinking-womans-pm/ Petition Murdoch Fairfax, ABC, SBS & all other Australian Media Outlets by @FairMediaAllian The editorial published in The Age on Saturday, June 22 calling on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to step down, has spurred many of us to express our anger and dismay at the way the mainstream media are manipulating the public. http://fairmediaalliance.wordpress.com/2013/06/23/petition-murdoch-fairfax-abc-sbs-and-all-other-australian-media-outlets/ How low can Murdoch go? by @YosefAlbric Murdoch, have you ever heard of policy? Is your news empire capable of reporting anything other than non-news opinion setups that displays nothing http://yosefalbric.wordpress.com/2013/06/22/how-low-can-murdoch-go/ The Ord River: the unlucky horse shoe in the Coalition’s northern development by @Mothincarnate water is a massive problem. One critic told me about pumping water – but that is a commitment. If one is planning to move hundreds of thousands of people to the north, that is a massive, ongoing, commitment to keep the community hydrated. It is terribly hot, regardless if it is dry or monsoonal, http://newanthropocene.wordpress.com/2013/06/23/the-ord-river-the-unlucky-horse-shoe-in-the-coalitions-northern-development/ Renewable energy RUNS ON JOBS, not fossil fuel by @james00000001 Yes, rescinding the carbon tax won’t bring you wealth, or even save money, and it WON’T MAKE AUSTRALIA MORE COMPETITIVE. It will throw away tens of thousands of new energy jobs, and will further damage the already struggling manufacturing industry. http://james00000001.wordpress.com/ 2/3 Australian don’t want carbon price scrapped, or why debate on the carbon price is set to intensify by @WTDeniers the public don’t understand nor want the Direct Action Plan proposed by the LNP.Nor does it seem they willing to give control of the Senate to Abbott. However, the Coalition have locked themselves into silly “blood oath” giving themselves little to move. http://watchingthedeniers.wordpress.com/2013/06/22/23-australian-dont-want-carbon-price-scrapped-or- The Faceless Men of the Liberal Party by By Father Kevin Lee@FrancieJones Father Percy was directly appointed by Cardinal George Pell and is a personal friend of Tony Abbott. If Opus Dei and extreme right wing conservatives are setting the agenda for the Liberal Party, then the Australian people need to know who the Liberal Party is made up of before they elect them into government. http://francesjones.wordpress.com/2013/06/22/the-faceless-men-of-the-liberal-party/ Politicians, media and feminists beware: Our youth are paying attention by @LacyMartin @YaThinkN I think ‘professional feminists’ need to take a step back sometimes and look through the eyes of the passionate and naive, as opposed to their highly educated and academic selves. http://nofibs.com.au/2013/06/23/politicians-media-feminists-beware-our-youth-pay-more-atte This NBN Or That NBN? by @mwyres Turnbull often cites the UK FTTN broadband model as “the right way” to do it. As shown in the above graph – (from Ofcom, the UK’s “independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries”) – if we follow that model, everyone has to be within about 500 metres of a node, and that equates to a lot of nodes. http://michaelwyres.com/2013/06/this-nbn-or-that-nbn/ The NBN: worth voting for By @MigloMT fib that this is a $90 billion spend or even a spend at all. This has a rate of return on investment to the taxpayer. It is an investment, not a spend. It is not a luxury item; it is an essential service for the future of this country. If we do not do it, we are going to have congestion on our internet in this country like we have never seen before. http://theaimn.com/2013/06/22/the-nbn-worth-voting-for/ Unions raise doubts over Telstra's copper network; workers using plastic bags to waterproof cables By Jake Sturmer and Johanna McDiarmid The Government's NBN plan will almost completely replace the copper and deliver services over a new optic cable right to the home.The Coalition wants to run fibre-to-street hubs and then use the existing copper wires for the final link. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-23/telstras-copper-network-in-a-state-of-disrepair-say-unions/4774342 Today’s Front Pages Australian Newspaper Front Pages for 24 June 2013 http://www.thepaperboy.com/australia/front-pages.cfm News headlines http://www.hotheadlines.com.au/

Ad astra

24/06/2013LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Austin 3:16

24/06/2013Oddly enough I don't think most media institutions understand polls particularly well even those that commission them. A lot of the movement within polls is within the margin of error for that poll. As an example much is being made of Labor's primary voting dipping under 30% in today's Newspoll. That Newspoll shows Labor's primary at 29% - with a margin of error at +- 3%. It's a one point difference from the last poll. To make an issue out of a one point difference in a poll that has +-3 points error is ridiculous. The latest Galaxy Poll in Queensland showed both Premier Newman and his government had negative approval ratings. Yet the result also showed strong 2pp numbers for the LNP in Qld. You'd think figures like that would show an unpopular government with an ineffective opposition. Yet how did the Courier Mail report it - "Campbell Newman boosts LNP popularity.... " The article is not one which could be reasonably supported by the poll that generated it.

bob macalba

24/06/2013POLLS AND TROLLS....BOTH USELESS AND FULL OF POOP Graeme.. you must be new here, so to you i say 'thats nice' cheers

direct current

24/06/2013Excellent article, you tell it like it is. I have lost all respect for anything I see, hear or read on Main Scream Media. I no longer believe anything and have stopped listening,to all of them. I do wonder if the media knows the bed they are making for themselves? How long do they think they can carry on as they have been doing and how long do they think it will take for us to reengage with them and believe anything they say?? I watched, with interest, Andrew Holden trying to justify THAT editorial - "responsible newspaper" don't make me laugh!! Nasking, I'm sharpening my claws and mind too. I would like to see the ALP doing the following- 1- At every interview they should inquire when Mr Abbott will agree to a televised debate with the Prime Minister. Or is he too gutless? 2- Push hard on the Ashby affair. Tell the judges that they have until the end of the day to release the judgement and then let the AFP know they had darn well better start investigating. This travesty of treason must be brought to light BEFORE the election! 3- When rabid journalists start asking their inane questions, look them in the eye, politely, tell they are full of shite and leave.

Austin 3:16

24/06/2013Hey Sir Ian, I gotta admit I'm also curious as to how those polls are being manipulated.

TalkTurkey

24/06/2013Gillard responds to Murdoch Palmer Reinhardt and Abbott in the clearest terms pic.twitter.com/2gPrdB4RmQ i am a river to my people. “@annetreasure: Hahahhahahaa it’s glorious RT @courteneyh: @annetreasure http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2012/02/27/1226282/689361-kevin-rudd-screen-grab.jpg …”

TalkTurkey

24/06/2013Don't know why that first link didn't work. This is a repeat, will it work? pic.twitter.com/2gPrdB4RmQ

nasking

24/06/2013 ALSO SOUNDS LIKE TONY ABBOTT, HIS SO CALLED LIBERALS AND THEIR SHOCK JOCK, CHANNEL NINE, SKY NEWS, CORPORATE NEWSPAPER SUPPORTERS... REPEATED SLOGANS...DISTORTED TRUTH: Mein Kampf contains the blueprint of later Nazi propaganda efforts. As to the [b]methods to be employed[/b], he explains: "[b]Propaganda must not investigate the truth objectively[/b] and, in so far as it is favourable to the other side, present it according to the theoretical rules of justice; yet [b]it must present only that aspect of the truth which is favourable to its own side. (...) [/b] The receptive powers of the masses are very restricted.. [b]Such being the case, all effective propaganda must be confined to a few bare essentials and those must be expressed as far as possible in stereotyped formulas. [/b] [b]These slogans should be persistently repeated until the very last individual has come to grasp the idea that has been put forward. (...) [/b] Every change that is made in the subject of a propagandist message must always emphasize the same conclusion. [b]The leading slogan must of course be illustrated in many ways and from several angles, but in the end one must always return to the assertion of the same formula."[/b] WIKIPEDIA ABBOTT HAS LEARNT FROM THE MURDOCH EMPIRE AND THE JOHN SINGLETON LOT OF SHOCK JOCKS ETC... THEY KNEW HOW EFFECTIVE THIS KIND OF PROPAGANDA COULD BE...ALSO USED BY SO MANY AUTHORITARIAN GOVERNMENTS BEFORE THEY TOOK OVER... AND SADLY SO MANY DESPERATE POLITICAL PARTIES OVER THE DECADES... BUT ABBOTT IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPULSIVE USERS OF THIS STYLE...ADDICTED... BUT NOT SURPRISING CONSIDERING HE WORKED FOR MURDOCH WHEN YOUNGER... AND JOHN HOWARD OCCASIONALLY USED SIMILAR TACTICS. IT CERTAINLY MAKES YOU QUESTION THE MENTALITY AND MOTIVES OF TONY ABBOTT... AND THE LIKES OF CHRISTOPHER PYNE... AND THE SHOCK JOCKS... AND MURDOCH HIMSELF... ALL OBSESSED WITH PROSECUTING FRAUD ON THE PUBLIC... AND PROSECUTING A WAR ON TERROR...A WAR ON DRUGS...A WAR ON PUBLIC EDUCATION...A WAR ON THOSE NOT CHRISTIAN ENUFF...A WAR ON ASYLUM SEEKERS... A WAR ON OUR PM...JULIA GILLARD. N'

TalkTurkey

24/06/2013Well THIS then! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BNe6VQuCUAE4Ost.jpg:large

nasking

24/06/2013 TT @ June 24. 2013 10:17 AM TOP PIC OF THE PM...VERY APT. :D N'

nasking

24/06/2013 [b]I would like to see the ALP doing the following- 1- At every interview they should inquire when Mr Abbott will agree to a televised debate with the Prime Minister. Or is he too gutless?[/b] direct current, INDEED. BUT SADLY, THE DEBATE MODERATORS ARE OFT BIASED CHARACTERS LIKE CHRIS UHLMAN... OR MURDOCH'S SKY NEWS TYPES LIKE DAVID SPEERS AND KIERAN GILBERT... FURTHERMORE, CHANNEL NINE ETC USE THE WORM... THIS CAN BE EASILY MANIPULATED... AND THE QUESTIONS USED TO UNDERMINE GILLARD BY FOCUSING ON BOAT PEOPLE AND OTHER ISSUES THAT BENEFIT ABBOTT... FURTHERMORE, EVEN IF GILLARD DOES WELL...CAN WE TRUST THE POST-DEBATE ANALYSIS BY THE USUAL SUSPECTS? HOW'MANY GREAT DEBATE PERFORMANCES IN THE USA HAVE BEEN SPUN TO LOOK AVERAGE...LOOK FEEBLE...BY THE LIKES OF FOX NEWS? CAN THE AUDIENCE VOTE BE TRUSTED. WE HAVE A CORPORATE MEDIA HERE THAT ARE DESPERATE TO DESTROY JULIA GILLARD... SHE HAS FEW ALLIES IN THIS SECTOR. N'

Michael

24/06/2013Some of the shorter responses dive into cloud cuckoo land, but at least the Fairfax Press have had the (choose your own metaphor) to publish here http://www.theage.com.au/national/letters/gillards-inadequacies-only-part-of-the-problem-20130623-2oqpn.html comment that mostly lambasts the ludicrous 'go now Gillard' editorial. I reckon Julia Gillard will cream Tony Abbott in a fairly reported election campaign. And yes, I see the logical fallacy in that sentence. AND the challenge thrown down to the mainstream press.

bob macalba

24/06/2013Its all good folks, now the trolls are calling out for each other, quack quack quack sir ian quack quack quack,..

Tom of Melboune

24/06/2013Yes, it’s dreadful that the opinion polls are reflecting the mood of the electorate, and showing that Gillard is [b[]TOXIC[/b] with the voters. Blame - 1 The media 2 Gina 3 Rupert 4 Abbott …but let’s not contemplate that voters are actually intelligent enough to recognise a lying, incompetent politician when they see one.

Catching up

24/06/2013The latest poll tells us, that nothing much has changed. It suggests to me, that people are not listening to politics, or more so, to the media. Listening to ABC talk back. People are sick of both polls and leadership talk. They are just not interested. What they are revealing, is that many believe the MRRT should be more, and that they want NBN to stay. Both centre points of Abbott's attacks. Opinions as to who s the better managers in all political areas, at the end of the day, are subjective views. Mentioning things like NBN, CEF, Gonski and NDIS, are more objective. It is a matter of how they affect each person. Do parents really want to lose that schools kid allowance, paid twice a year. There are many other little benefits, that mean a great deal to family budget, that Abbott says will go. Another at the end of the day, will be how many really believe that Abbott can turn back those boats. If not, will we want to see things made harder for these people. The truth is that there are push factors, that are rapidly growing, with the unrest in the middle east. No sign of any abatement is seen. This week, we will see if there is any truth that the government is divided within itself, or that a small number of malcontents, are stirring up hate and revenge, in their inability to support this PM. It will be interesting to see, if Mr. Rudd even has the 30 odd votes needed to cause a spill. Mr. Rudd does have the right to challenge, if that is his wish. I do not agree, he has the right to seek revenge. I suspect not. Not even sure if Rudd cares either way. He is achieving what he set out to do, three years ago. I have learnt one thing in life, those who seek revenge, do not prosper, in the long run. If the party replaces the PM with Rudd, or anyone else for that matter, they do not deserve to win.

Ad astra

24/06/2013Folks The [i]Newspoll[/i] has come, a day earlier than is often the case, and it shows that nothing much has changed since the last one three weeks ago. This is how [i]Poll Bludger[/i] reported the result: “[i]An eagerly awaited Newspoll has both parties down on the primary vote and little change to two-party preferred. Headline grabber: Labor primary vote below 30%. “The Australian’s Troy Bramston tweets that Newspoll has the Coalition leading 57-43, down from 58-42 last time. However, the poll has Labor’s primary vote below 30% for the first time this year, down one to 29%, with the Coalition also down a point to 48% and the Greens steady on 9%. Tony Abbott’s lead as preferred prime minister has reached a new peak of 45-33, up from 43-35 at the last poll three weeks ago, but personal ratings are little changed: Julia Gillard is steady at 28% approval and 62% disapproval, while Abbott is down one to 36% and steady at 53%.”[/i] Therefore the facts are: [b]BOTH Labor and the Coalition have dropped one point in their primary vote to 29% and 48% respectively. The TPP has improved for Labor from 58-42 last time, to 57-43 this time. Julia Gillard’s approval is steady at 28% approval and 62% disapproval. Tony Abbott’s approval is down one to 36% and disapproval steady at 53%. Tony Abbott is preferred PM at 45-33, an improvement on the last figure of 43-35. All changes are within the poll’s margin of error - plus or minus 3 percent.[/b] Although the news bulletins tell us that the results are within the poll’s margin of error, which tells us that variations within that range are statistically meaningless, ABC news leads off with: [i]“Today’s Newspoll emphasizes its dire position with Labor’s primary vote down to 29%, the lowest this year,…”.[/i]” [b]This illustrates the point I made in this piece that “[i]…whatever happens this coming week with Newspoll, the result will be painted as bad for Labor…”[/i][/b] Acknowledging that statistically all these changes mean nothing at all, a journalist, wanting to ignore that statistical reality and give Labor a boost, could have written headlines such as: [i]‘Labor narrows the Coalition’s lead’, or ‘Tony Abbott’s approval drops’, or ‘Julia Gillard holds her approval despite internal party discord’, or ‘Tony Abbott only marginally improves position as preferred prime minister’.[/i] [b]Yet the media headlines are all negative for Labor.[/b] While it would be silly to paint any sort of rosy picture for Labor from these results, my point is simply that by cherry picking from the results it is possible to write an article that ‘proves’ that the changes from the last [i]Newspoll[/i] to this one are favourable to the Coalition, or conversely are favourable to Labor. Which illustrates vividly my assertion: “[i]Writing up poll results is child's play, and any interpretation can be placed on any result, depending on what story the journalist wants to write.”[/i] That is exactly what has happened today. Journalists are running true to form; placing a bet on what they will write would be a winner every time. The statistical facts are that although the overall results are unfavourable to Labor, nothing has changed from three weeks ago. Journalists might legitimately make a story that Labor’s position has not improved, or use the Shanahan phrase that it is ‘flat-lining’, but it has no entitlement to make anything at all out of the [b]changes[/b] from three weeks ago. Yet, this is what they do. Is this because they are ignorant of basic statistical concepts, or is it because the want to write stories adverse to Labor? Likely it is both.

Tom of Melboune

24/06/2013Ad Astra laments – [i] “…whatever happens this coming week with Newspoll, the result will be painted as bad for Labor…”[/i] Bizarre, the best that can be said is that the ALP is in for annihilation, obliteration, a flogging. Gillard is deeply unpopular and leads a hopelessly divided party. She won the leadership by claiming the government had “lost its way” But Ad Astra thinks there are some positives in all this!!? Ad Astra is better at penning loaded poll questions than political commentary.

Ad astra

24/06/2013direct current Welcome to [i]The Political Sword[/i] family. Thank you for your kind remarks and for your thoughtful comment. Do come again. I agree with your suggestions for the ALP. nasking Thank you for your complimentary remarks and the several thoughtful contributions you have made to this piece. [b]I AM RELISHING THE FIGHT THIS WEEK...SHARPENING MY CLAWS.
 AND MIND.[/b] Great, stirring, encouraging! DMW Thank you for your reference to polling, so relevant to this piece. As soon as I am back on full ADSL (I’m on dial-up at present), I’ll listen to the ABC item. bob macalba It looks like ToM has got a mate in Graeme. Austin 3:16 I agree with the points you make at 8.22 AM. Michael That was a more sensible editorial, perhaps in response to the many strident letters of protest at the editorial in [i]The Saturday Age[/i], all worth reading. I’m surprised they published them. Thank you for the link. TT What a delightful photo of a fiesty Julia! Abbott deserves ‘the bird’ from her every day. She gives it orally, but the gesture is just what this nasty man needs. Catching up I agree with what you wrote at 11.45 AM.

lyn

24/06/2013 Good Morning Ad, Thankyou for another magnificent article, you are amazing, [quote]Newspoll: The Killing Machine [/quote] You said “[quote]Dennis Shanahan will be emboldened to predict an even greater electoral disaster for Labor, Paul Kelly will be more pontifical than usual in telling us why, and other News Limited journalists will report the findings gleefully, and in every sordid detail” . [/quote] You were absolutely correct Ad, they did exactly as you predicted, and what was it? frantic frenzy all over 1 percentage point. I presented extra links this morning working 4 hours instead of three, I am sure you have found some interesting. Dennis Shannahan and Paul Kelly:- [quote]Tony Abbott widens gap as preferred PM over Julia Gillard in latest Newspoll [/quote]If the issue is just about the polls, and what they say about Labor's chances of winning the election and Tony Abbott becoming Prime Minister with a large majority, then the political logic suggests there should be no hesitation in removing Gillard as Prime Minister at the same stage of the electoral cycle. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/tony-abbott-widens-gap-as-preferred-pm-over-julia-gillard-in-latest-newspoll/story-fn59niix-1226668507117 [quote]When the going gets tough for the government, the government blames the media [/quote]http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/cut-paste/when-the-going-gets-tough-for-the-government-the-government-blames-the-media/story-fn72xczz-1226668470260

nasking

24/06/2013 SOME PEOPLE WORRY ABOUT ASYLUM SEEKERS TAKING THEIR JOBS... BUT IT IS BIG CORPORATIONS, USUALLY LIBERAL PARTY SUPPORTING, THAT ARE BRINGING IN 457 VISA WORKERS TO TAKE THE JOBS... OR OUTSOURCING JOBS... AND IT'S THE QLD LNP AND OTHER LIBERAL STATE GOVERNMENTS THAT ARE CUTTING REAL JOBS AND GOVERNMENT CONTRACT WORKERS. TIME TO WAKE UP. N'

Ad astra

24/06/2013Hi Lyn Thank you for your complimentary comments, and your additional links. Dennis Shanahan is so predictable, as is Paul Kelly. Dennis was bound to ‘seize upon’ (I’m now writing like a news writer aren’t I) the most favourable aspect of the [i]Newspoll[/i] for the Coalition, the PPM. He’s Tony’s man and will give him a leg up any time he can. It’s all so transparent, even the public is picking it up. Apart from the disdain he has for PMJG, why would he be promoting Kevin Rudd, who according to polls would win more seats and reduce the Coalition’s chances? He must know that the Coalition (and his newspaper) has treasure trove of anti-Rudd ads that would knock him off course. I note that [i]Newspoll[/i] didn’t do a Gillard/Rudd popularity count. I wonder why. I’m still to get to your links – it’s been a very busy morning on [i]TPS[/i]. I’m eager to work through them.

Paul of Berwick

24/06/2013Bob Ellis has an interesting take on the polls - treason! Anyway, his point is that the polls are taken on Thursday & Friday nights and only using landines - guarantees bias towards an older demographic. - http://www.ellistabletalk.com/

nasking

24/06/2013 HARRY JENKINS: [b]Then Julia as our Prime Minister and leader - the achievements of the minority parliament are down to her skills. [/b] But. There's a but. There's an onus on us to show collective leadership, to take ownership of the things we have achieved. [b]United we stand, divided we fall. That's clear.[/b] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/24/kevin-rudd-labour-politics-live INDEED. GOOD FELLA,,,SMART AS. N'

Gordonwa

24/06/2013Kate Ahearne at Fair Media Alliance has posted a petition to Change.org http://t.co/rSR2RvluQ2 Calling on Rupert Murdoch, Fairfax, ABC, SBS and all other Australian media outlets: Stop interfering with the democratic process Please support this petition and let others know about it.

Gordonwa

24/06/2013Ad, you replied to nasking's fighting words: I AM RELISHING THE FIGHT THIS WEEK...SHARPENING MY CLAWS.
 AND MIND. Great, stirring, encouraging! Too right! As we take up the fight to the MSM/ABC and to those who do not stand with us, for example Kevin Rudd and his supporters, let us all think on these inspirational words from the immortal Bard: Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host, That he which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him depart; his passport shall be made, And crowns for convoy put into his purse; We would not die in that man’s company That fears his fellowship to die with us. From Henry V (St Crispin’s Day Speech)

TalkTurkey

24/06/2013http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=9NS2bUidpWE Funny but scary too!

E

24/06/2013It seems to me that what we read and hear from MSM should not be called news when it is blatantly journalists' opinion. Surmising is not news. Journalists should preface their comments with 'I think . . .' unless they are stating facts. And polls are not what 'Australians think' but what those people polled think. Too much woolly thinking! Oh and maybe it justs suits the coalition not to improve our education system. A dumbed down society is easy to mislead. Or is it their plan to privatise our education system. The private company that runs many of our prisons also runs schools in the UK. Small government? We must remember that we have an ex boxing champ as opposition leader and he is reading from a very slim blue brochure.

Michael

24/06/2013E, hi. I picked up a spelling mistake in your post. Shouldn't it read "we have an ex boxing chump as opposition leader"?

Pikiranku

24/06/2013GordonWA Petition signed. TT You're dead right! Funny ... and scary.

42 long

24/06/2013Ex boxing CHIMP. The Mad MONK ey. Certainly walks like one. He doesn't look like any kind of champ to me. More like a potential embarrassment to us all..Signed the petition!!!!.

Ad astra

24/06/2013E Welcome to [i]The Political Sword[/i] family, and thank you for your comment. Your words are so apt! Do come again. Gordonwa I’ve completed the change.org petition with the comment: “[i]The media has become the dominant force in shaping political opinion. It manipulates opinion rather than providing the facts that would allow voters to make up their own mind. We can no longer tolerate this media domination, which is reminiscent of the Goebbels era.”[/i] I was the 96th of the 100 required. The words of Henry 5th St Crispin’s Day Speech are fitting. TT I’ll have to wait another ten days before I can play your YouTube ‘Adam vs Tony’ because I’m on dial-up, having used all my allowance setting up my new computer in Melbourne.

Casablanca

24/06/2013Just sent a supportive tweet to Laura Smyth during her ABC24 interview with Latika Bourke. I said: [quote]Laura good strong statement to Latika Bourke. Good to have you on the side of Labor voters. You have finally hit your straps![/quote] Laura is the Member for La Trobe - a marginal seat in Victoria. She sits in direct line of the cameras behind the PM in QT. Many would also remember that she was one of the two or three Rudd supporters who fronted the cameras beside him in the [quote]'Chicken Kev'[/quote] challenge of recent memory. Laura is young, bright and articulate. It is really good to see her now stating her support for her party leader and stating that she no longer supports a Rudd challenge. I hope that others will follow her lead.

Ad astra

24/06/2013Folks Since we are in polling mode, you will be interested to read today’s [i]Essential Poll[/i]. TPP has moved from 54-46 to 55-45 in the Coalition’s favour, (within the margin of error) but the rest of the answers are mostly positive for the Government, which raises the question about why the TPP remains low for Labor. Of course some will put that down to the ‘Julia factor’, but are voters so stupid that they would forsake a Government that they acknowledge has done so much good, all because of Julia? http://essentialvision.com.au/documents/essential_report_130624.pdf Casablanca That’s heartening news.

nasking

24/06/2013 YOU'D ALMOST THINK THAT PREVIOUS GOVERNMENTS WHO GOT IN BED WITH BIG INVESTMENT BANKS...AND EXPANDED WELFARE TO THE UPPER MIDDLE CLASS AND RICH...WHILST CUTTING TAXES...AND INVESTING IN EXPENSE SPORTS COMPLEXES AND EVENTS...WERE SETTING THEIR COUNTRIES UP TO CRASH... SO AUSTERITY MEASURES WOULD BE FORCED ON THE AVERAGE FOLK...AND PUBLIC SERVICES CUT...PS JOBS CUT AND OUTSOURCED...PENSIONS SLASHED...ETC... KINDA EVIL IF SO...THINK SARKOSY AND HIS PREDECESSOR: [b]FRANCE CRISIS LOOMS[/b] http://m.upi.com/story/UPI-85571372046640/ IT'S EASY TO BLAME THE LEFT FOR THE DECEITFUL METHODS OF THE CORPORATE FASCIST RIGHT IF YOU AREN'T THINKING THINGS THRU... ARE TOO DISTRACTED BY DUMB BULLYING MUSIC SHOWS...AND A FIRST LADY POSER/CELEBRITY... DISTRACTED BY VIOLENT MOVIES (AND BOY DID THEY INCREASE UNDER THE WATCH OF SARKOSY...AND LATER YEARS OF CHIRAC)... AND CYCLING RACES WITH LOTS OF PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING DRUGS' MOMENTS... AND CORPORATE FOOTBALL...STARS STARS STARS... N'

nasking

24/06/2013 [b]Of course some will put that down to the ‘Julia factor’, but are voters so stupid that they would forsake a Government that they acknowledge has done so much good, all because of Julia?[/b] Ad, LAST NIGHT THE CHANNEL NINE AND MURDOCH SHINE PRODUCTIONS WERE AGAIN IN PROPAGANDA MODE...COURTESY OF SBS... ELLEN FANNING AND 'THE VOICE' PANELIST SEAL DOING A HATCHET JOB ON PM GILLARD...RIDICULING HER VOICE...EVEN A CLIP FROM THAT INSULTING 'AT HOME WITH JULIA' WAS SHOWN... OH HOW THEY RIDICULED HER...AND GUFFAWED. THE OBSERVER EFFECT IS A PROPAGANDA SHOW MAKING MONEY FOR MURDOCH'S LOT...AND HELPING TO SPRUIK CHANNEL NINE AND OTHER FREE-TO-AIR COMMERCIAL SHOWS... WHY THE CHANGES TO SBS HAVE PERMITTED THIS IS BEYOND ME... THE PARLIAMENT HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO STOP THE ROT...BUT HAVE FAILED TO DO SO... THIS WILL COST THE GOVT VOTES...SADLY...AS GULLIBLE VIEWERS TAKE ON BOARD THIS CRAP. AS FOR THE SHOW 'THE VOICE'...I HAVE NOT WATCHED IT...BUT APPARENTLY SEAL HAS USED HIS CUSHY WELL-PAID JOB AS A PANELIST TO RIDICULE THE PM's VOICE. HE ALSO CRITICISED ANONYMOUS CRITICS ON THE INTERNET... PRETTY TOUCHY GUY FOR SOMEONE WHO GETS PAID HEAPS TO VOICE HIS OPINION PROTECTED BY BIG CORPORATES AND LAWYERS... I GUY WHO SEEMS TO HAVE NO QUALMS ABOUT GETTING HALF A MILLION FOR PERFORMING FOR LESS THAN SAVOURY CHARACTERS...IN CONFLICT-RAVAGED LANDS...ASKED NOT TO BY HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH...BUT THEIR PLEES IGNORED. MONEY CAN MAKE PEOPLE PRETTY COCKY. N'

nasking

24/06/2013 ANOTHER BIG BURDEN...THESE BAD BANKS ARE A REAL PROBLEM: [b]Deutsche Bank was one of the major drivers of the collateralized debt obligation (CDO) market during the housing credit bubble from 2004–2008, creating ~$32,000,000,000 worth. [/b] [b]The 2011 US Senate Permanent Select Committee on Investigations report on Wall Street and the Financial Crisis analyzed Deutsche Bank as a 'case study' of investment banking involvement in the mortgage bubble, CDO market, credit crunch, and recession. It concluded that even as the market was collapsing in 2007, and its top global CDO trader was deriding the CDO market and betting against some of the mortgage bonds in its CDOs, Deutsche bank continued to churn out bad CDO products to investors.[/b] The report focused on one CDO, Gemstone VII, made largely of mortgages from Long Beach, Fremont, and New Century, all notorious subprime lenders. Deutsche Bank put risky assets into the CDO, like ACE 2006-HE1 M10, which its own traders thought was a bad bond. It also put in some mortgage bonds that its own mortgage department had created but couldn't sell, from the DBALT 2006 series. The CDO was then aggressively marketed as a good product, with most of it being described as having A level ratings. By 2009 the entire CDO was almost worthless and the investors (including Deutsche Bank itself) had lost most of their money. Gregg Lippman, head of global CDO trading, was betting against the CDO market, with approval of management, even as Deutsche was continuing to churn out product. He was a large character in Michael Lewis' "The Big Short", which detailed his efforts to find 'shorts' to buy Credit Default Swaps for the construction of Synthetic CDOs. He was one of the first traders to foresee the bubble in the CDO market as well as the tremendous potential that CDS offered in this. [b]As portrayed in the book "The Big Short" of Michael Lewis, Lipmann in the mid of the CDO and MBS frenzy was orchestrating presentations to investors, demonstrating his bearish view of the market, offering them the idea to start buying CDS, especially to AIG in order to profit from the forthcoming collapse. As regards the Gemstone VII deal, even as Deutsche was creating and selling it to investors, Lippman emailed colleagues that it 'blew', and he called parts of it 'crap' and 'pigs' and advised some of his clients to bet against the mortgage securities it was made of. Lippman called the CDO market a 'ponzi scheme', but also tried to conceal some of his views from certain other parties because the bank was trying to sell the products he was calling 'crap'. Lippman's group made money off of these bets, even as Deutsche overall lost money on the CDO market.[/b] Deutsche was also involved with Magnetar Capital in creating its first Orion CDO. Deutsche had its own group of bad CDOs called START. It worked with Elliot Advisers on one of them; Elliot bet against the CDO even as Deutsche sold parts of the CDO to investors as good investments. [b]Deutsche also worked with John Paulson, of the Goldman Sachs Abacus CDO controversy, to create some START CDOs. Deutsche lost money on START, as it did on Gemstone.[/b] [b]Leveraged super-senior trades. Former employees including Eric Ben-Artzi and Matthew Simpson have claimed that during the crisis Deutsche failed to recognise up to $12bn of paper losses on their $130bn portfolio of leveraged super senior trades, although the bank rejects the claims.[/b] [b]A company document of May 2009 described the trades as "the largest risk in the trading book", and the whistleblowers allege that had the bank accounted properly for its positions its capital would have fallen to the extent that it might have needed a government bailout.[/b] [b]One of them claims that "If Lehman Brothers didn’t have to mark its books for six months it might still be in business, and if Deutsche had marked its books it might have been in the same position as Lehman." Deutsche had become the biggest operator in this market, which were a form of credit derivative designed to behave like the most senior tranche of a CDO.[/b] Deutsche bought insurance against default by blue-chip companies from investors, mostly Canadian pension funds, who received a stream of insurance premiums as income in return for posting a small amount of collateral. The bank then sold protection to US investors via the CDX credit index, the spread between the two was tiny but was worth $270m over the 7 years of the trade. It was considered very unlikely that many blue chips would have problems at the same time, so Deutsche required collateral of just 10% of the contract value. [b]The risk of Deutsche taking large losses if the collateral was wiped out in a crisis, was called the gap option.[/b] Ben-Artzi claims that after modelling came up with "economically unfeasible" results, Deutsche accounted for the gap option first with a simple 15% "haircut" on the trades (described as inadequate by another employee in 2006) and then in 2008 by a $1–2bn reserve for the credit correlation desk designed to cover all risks, not just the gap option. [b]In October 2008 they stopped modelling the gap option and just bought S&P put options to guard against further market disruption, but one of the whistleblowers has described this as an inappropriate hedge. A model from Ben-Artzi's previous job at Goldman Sachs suggested that the gap option was worth about 8% of the value of the trades, worth $10.4bn. Simpson claims that traders were not simply understating the gap option but actively mismarking the value of their trades.[/b] European financial crisis Main article: European sovereign-debt crisis Deutsche Bank has a negligible exposure to Greece. [b]Spain and Italy however account for a tenth of its European private and corporate banking business. According to the bank's own statistics the credit risks in these countries are about €18 billion (Italy) and €12 billion (Spain).[/b] [b]For the 2008 financial year, Deutsche Bank reported its first annual loss in five decades. despite receiving billions of dollars from its insurance arrangements with AIG, including US$11.8 billion from funds provided by US taxpayers to bail out AIG.[/b] Based on a preliminary estimation from the European Banking Authority (EBA) in October 2011, Deutsche Bank AG needed to raise capital of about €1.2 billion (US$1.7 billion) as part of a required 9 percent core Tier 1 ratio after sovereign debt writedown starting in mid-2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Bank#Housing_credit_bubble_and_CDO_market THEY LOVE TAKING RISKS WITH OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY... THEY LOVE A RIGGED SYSTEM... THEY LOVE BEING BAILED OUT... CORPORATE FASCISTS FOR A CONVENIENT MOMENT TRANSFORM INTO SOCIALISTS...FOR HANDOUTS... RARELY ARE THEY PUNISHED FOR THEIR CRIMES... DEUTSCHE BANK ALSO KNOWN FOR SPYING: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Bank#Housing_credit_bubble_and_CDO_market N'

nasking

24/06/2013 [b]Oh and maybe it justs suits the coalition not to improve our education system. A dumbed down society is easy to mislead. Or is it their plan to privatise our education system. The private company that runs many of our prisons also runs schools in the UK. Small government?[/b] E, IT'S A WORRY. GOOD POINT. [b]We must remember that we have an ex boxing champ as opposition leader and he is reading from a very slim blue brochure.[/b] A PUGILISTIC NIGHTMARE...BUT IT'S POSSIBLE HE'S PUNCHING OUT HIS OWN LIGHTS. N'

nasking

24/06/2013 [b]Just sent a supportive tweet to Laura Smyth during her ABC24 interview with Latika Bourke. It is really good to see her now stating her support for her party leader and stating that she no longer supports a Rudd challenge. I hope that others will follow her lead.[/b] CASABLANCA, THAT'S GOOD NEWS. LAURA IS GOOD ON TV. N'

nasking

24/06/2013 [b]Australian government shelves metadata collection plan Powerful parliamentary committee raised concerns about forcing web and phone companies to collect and store users' data[/b] [b]The government has shelved a controversial plan to force Australian telecommunications companies, internet service providers and sites such as Facebook to collect “metadata” from Australian users and store it for two years.[/b] The government had run out of time to push the plan through before the election, but, after a powerful parliamentary committee raised concerns about it, the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, confirmed more work was needed. “The government will not pursue a mandatory data retention regime at this time and will await further advice from the departments and relevant agencies and comprehensive consultation,” he said in a statement. As international debate rages about revelations in the Guardian regarding access by US and UK security agencies to the metadata of internet users, the joint intelligence and security committee report has urged any Australian government to exercise caution about plans to force metadata retention for potential use by security agencies. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/24/government-shelves-metadata-collection-plan N'

Ad astra

24/06/2013Hi Lyn I’m still working through your magnificent links and will continue this evening. I have to go out now. Don’t the Rollison girls write well. So much better that most MSM journalists, who seem to have abandoned their craft for propaganda.

nasking

24/06/2013 LYN, I DUG THAT KAY ROLLISON POST: The Liberal Party – though not of course their coalition partners the Nationals – claim to be a party of small government. Plans for direct action on climate change, maternity leave that taxes companies and therefore consumers to pay the salaries of those taking it, and plans to develop the north with public subsidies do not amount to small government. But neither does the Liberal Party spell out what small government would actually mean for the nation. This looks less like a coherent narrative, and more like a response to the special interests who fund the party. And if this wasn’t enough, during his time as Leader of the Opposition, Abbott has shown that he is not fit for the office of Prime Minister. He cannot be trusted. He openly admits that he lies to the public. He has been involved in attempts to undermine the minority Labor government that border on the illegal. It can be hard to tell from some of his statements, and those of his shadow treasurer, whether their positions reflect political point scoring, or culpable ignorance. And he has in his shadow ministry and on his back-bench some members whose views of the world are imported holus bolus from the extreme right wing of American politics. These have no place in Australia. Other sections of the media, for their own political ends, make it their business relentlessly to attack the government, in particular the Prime Minister, and they offer no criticism of the opposition. This paper thinks the media should look at the facts, and looking at the facts, it is easy to conclude that an Abbot-led government would be a disaster. We will do all we can to explain this further in the coming weeks. http://theaimn.com/2013/06/23/what-the-age-should-have-said/ THNX FOR THE LINKS LYN... I'LL PUT LYN'S LINKS UP ON FACEBOOK. N'

denese

24/06/2013so what was it 1 or 4 re newspoll well lets all decide to keep that thought to our selves, funny typo ,??? ad astra whats your thoughts now , at what point are we

denese

24/06/2013laura smyth cannot find her on twitter

nasking

24/06/2013 MEGA-RICH MANIPULATORS LIKE BATISTA MAKE YA WANNA PUKE: [b]Mr. Batista’s conglomerate, as an emblem of the nation’s industrial mettle, ranked among the government priorities now being questioned, receiving more than $4 billion in loans and investments from the national development bank. [/b] [b]While protesters have not focused much ire on Brazil’s economic elite, there has been a building resentment toward the fact that governing structures subject to corruption in Brazil remained largely the same throughout the long economic boom, as authorities channeled huge resources of the state to projects controlled by tycoons.[/b] [b]The protesters have directed much of their anger toward political leaders, some of whom are close to Mr. Batista, like the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral, to whom Mr. Batista occasionally lent his private jet and who found demonstrators camped in front his home.[/b] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/24/business/global/brazil-fortune-and-fate-turn-on-billionaire.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130624 [b]NOT SURPRISING THE AVERAGE BRAZILIAN HAS HAD ENUFF OF THESE TYPES OF LEECHES[/b]. N'

Austin 3:16

24/06/2013Interesting article by Rollison I dunno though how somebody can embrace both the notion that [quote]the definition of insanity is doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result[/quote] and support for Gillard.

Heather

24/06/2013Know there are a lot of cynics out who would want to say "what about all the mining going on in Australia?", however this is like honey for the soul...worth watching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CZQyT0I37QE#at=46

nasking

24/06/2013 ABC POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT MARK SIMKIN SHOULD GO WORK FOR THE TABLOIDS...HIS BEAT-UP STORY ON THE LEADERSHIP ISSUE TODAY REEKED OF TABLOID FEVER. APPARENTLY HE WENT TO THE SAME SYDNEY SCHOOL AS TONY ABBOTT. THERE'S NOT MUCH BALANCE USUALLY IN SIMKIN'S REPORTING. BE NICE TO GET LESS RELIGIOUS PRIVATE SCHOOL TOFFS IN THE ABC. N'

Sir Ian Crisp

24/06/2013[quote][b]Hey Sir Ian, I gotta admit I'm also curious as to how those polls are being manipulated. Austin 3:16 [/b][/quote] Austin 3:16, you must invest all your confidence in the AIU which has been activated by Ad Astra. The AIU has been recalled after spending the last 3 months trawling through Rupert's garbage bins looking for nastiness. Its brief is simple: find out how Abbott is manipulating the polls.

Sir Ian Crisp

24/06/2013Has anyone caught up with the latest Newspoll figures? The ALP now resembles a charnel house and unless the polls reverse come September someone is going to have to collect the bodies. Who wants that gruesome task?

nasking

24/06/2013 IS MELISSA PARKE A RUDD SUPPORTER? IF SO, WHY DID SHE INTRODUCE PM GILLARD AT THE BEN ELTON INTRRVIEW? THE CONFUSION NEEDS TO BE CLEARED UP. I LIKE PARKE...HAVE HER UP ON MY FACEBOOK....BUT IF SHE SUPPORTS RUDD SHE COMES OFF MY PAGE. HAVE NO TIME FOR ED HUSIC. ANOTHER WHO LOVES HIS SKY/SLY NEWS. N'

lyn

24/06/2013Hi Nasking Thankyou so much for posting "Today's Links" on Facebook. Thankyou for taking the time your work on TPS is valuable. Our bloggers are the only source of honesty and facts, as the MSM has sunk to an all time low. Just now I heard Mark Simkin reporting on ABC24, obviously nothing left to say on the leadership so he said "[quote]something is going to happen this week but they just don't know what".[/quote] Pleased to hear you enjoyed Kay's article, she is Victoria's mother there is also another girl in the family all good writers. Cheers to you Nasking :):)

bob macalba

24/06/2013petition signed

TalkTurkey

24/06/2013CURSE YOU 42 LONG! I was about to say that about the champ chump CHIMP! :) I was already grinning to myself and everything. He is the Mad Monk indeed, the most simian human I have seen since George the Orang-utan at Adelaide Zoo.

nasking

24/06/2013 GRACIAS LYN. THNX FOR THE SUPPORT. MARK SIMKIN IS A VERY ANNOYING POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT. THE ABC IS RIDDLED WITH THE RELIGIOUS PRIVATE SCHOOL TOFFS WITH SUPERIORITY COMPLEXES. YES, KAY AND VICTORIA ROLLISON ARE TWO OF THE BEST OPINION WRITERS IN AUSTRALIA TODAY. I PUT UP YER USEFUL LINKS AS OFTEN AS I REMEMBER...SO BUSY SOMETIMES I FORGET...BUT TRY TO VISIT AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE... I WANT MY FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK TO REALISE THERE EXIST MORE OPTIONS THAN THE USUAL SUSPECT MSM FOR POLITICAL ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY. YOUR VALUABLE [b]LYN'S DAILY LINKS[/b] CERTAINLY HELP. http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx KEEP WELL LYN. :D CHEERS N'

nasking

24/06/2013 LYN, I ALSO ENJOYED THE PASSIONATE AND TRUTH-TELLING ANDREW ELDER'S PIECE,,.A BLUNT AND APT ASSESSMENT OF JULIA BAIRD'S LAME SMH OPINION PIECE: Kevin Rudd is nowhere near getting the numbers to knock off Julia Gillard. This has been true every day for the last three years. Just because Rudd's supporters lack the sense and wit to stop crying wolf, it does not mean that broadcast media outlets privileged to take up space in the press gallery have a right to squeeze out other issues. Advocates trying to get stories up on defence procurement, climate change or any number of really important issues are fobbed off by the sort of people who commission Julia Baird articles - but those same people can't get enough Ruddmentum, running warmed-over stories from eighteen months ago. I realise "fuck off" isn't a very civil response. What Baird was trying to do was defend the indefensible (clogging the arteries of public debate with crap, then complaining that public debate is crap, and then blaming ... social media?), and maintain her blindness toward the failings of her 'profession'. I'm entitled to be bored and frustrated and impatient with dilettantes who wade into a debate without having thought out what's really going on here. A debate over the politico-media complex involves the media as a matter of course, which includes people Baird considers colleagues. Abbott said this week if there was a change of government in September, Parliament would be a "better place: There has been too much venom and too many baseless accusations of bad faith." While some argue his time - and team - in opposition has strongly contributed to this problem, most would agree. In 2010 Abbott actually used George H W Bush's form of words about "a kinder, gentler polity", and he delivered anything but. Simply by passing on phrases like "this criminal government" the broadcast media has helped Abbott discourage the kind of civility against which he strains, and which he finds challenging. This is what Paul Keating meant when he described Abbott's modus operandi as "give me the job or I'll wreck the joint". He simply cannot be taken at his word; yet, Baird was trained to believe that a direct quote was a solid basis for a story. Abbott would seek to insist upon niceness and respect for the simple reason that, while he can dish out spite and disrespect to others, he cannot cop it himself. He lacks the self-reflective qualities necessary to understand why what he has done unto others would be visited upon him. He would seek to recreate the kind of intellectually lazy defence shield that surrounded John Howard, where anyone who quibbled with anything he said or did however mildly - like Judi Moylan, for example - would have their concerns shouted down by being branded a "Howard Hater" by someone like Janet Albrechtsen, or Tony Abbott. If you actually look at Abbott's record he has never flourished in an environment of niceness, tolerance and mutual respect. Like taking performance-enhancing drugs away from Lance Armstrong, the guy starts to slip back into the pack really fast, and that is not the tragedy that Abbott boosters might imagine... Julia Baird should be supporting someone like Frances Jones, whose commitment to seeking out stories and presenting them well puts Baird and almost all of her broadcast-media colleagues to shame. Kevin Lee's description of his attempts to offer his services to the nation is well worth reading. His gentle, civil tone (even to Ray King) is lovely, in a way that few political screeds are... I knew Tony Abbott slightly and have never thought highly of him, as a person or as the holder of high office. I am appalled at the prospect that he might become Prime Minister and am doing all I can to head off that prospect (and it is a prospect, if not an apparition; people who speak of it as "a reality" should give themselves an uppercut). If he gets that job I will treat him no better than the incumbent Prime Minister is treated. For seven years I have given Anthony John Abbott nothing but what he deserves, and this will not let up until his neglected gravestone reeks of stale urine and dead weeds. http://andrewelder.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/civility-and-its-absence.html GOOD STUFF. I'VE NOTICED A NUMBER OF MSM CONTRIBUTORS BLAMING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THE SO CALLED 'DESCENT INTO THE GUTTER'... THEY MIGHT WANT TO THINK ABOUT THE MURDOCH TABLOIDS ALL THOSE YEARS AGO THAT SKEWERED THE VERY DECENT NEIL KINNOCK..OR WHITLAM FOR THAT MATTER... AND WHAT ABOUT THE ONGOING CHARACTER ASSASINATION ARTICLES AND HEADLINES THAT HAVE BEEN THE HOOK-INS TO PROFITABLE TABLOID HELL FOR THE MURDOCH AND OTHER UK TABLOID RAGS FOR DECADES???... PHONE HACKING PLAYING A KEY ROLE IT SEEMS. OR THE INTRUSIVE INVASIONS OF PRIVACY BY CURRENT AFFAIRS' BULLIES AND DOBBERS?...WRECKING HOW MANY POLITICAL LIVES WITHOUT AN OUNCE OF REGRET...BUT PLENTY OF KERCHING!!! AND WHAT OF THE BLOWHARD COCK JOCKS AND THEIR CHAINSAW MASSACRES ON POLITICIANS...WHILST BEING PAID HANDSOMELY...CASH FOR BLOOD-SOAKED COMMENTS? ARE WE ON THE SOCIAL MEDIA SUPPOSED TO SUDDENLY BACK OFF BECAUSE THE INCREASINGLY SOOKY HERD OF THE MSM ARE WORRIED ABOUT WHERE THE NEXT PAYMENT FOR THEIR BMWs, SILK TIES, SWANK SHOES AND HOLIDAYS TO POSH TOWN ARE GONNA COME FROM??? SCREW THAT! WE GIVE AS GOOD AS WE'VE OBSERVED FOR MANY MANY YEARS. SHITE THAT HAS BEEN INCREASINGLY HARD TO TOLERATE. WE DID NOT CREATE THE PRECEDENTS. STOP BLAME SHIFTING. KNOW YER HISTORY. SUCK IT UP MSM. IF YOU DON'T...AND GET ON WITH THE APPROPRIATE JOB OF REPORTING THE REAL NEWS...IN-DEPTH...THEN YOU ARE ON BORROWED TIME. THE READERS, VIEWERS EXPECT MORE...THEY ARE NOT ALL SLEEP WALKING NOW. N'

jaycee

24/06/2013Sir Ian Crisp wonders how polls can possibly be rigged..yet can tell us all how a horse race could be rigged a dozen ways...isn't that right Sir Ian?

jaycee

24/06/2013And you, Austin 3;16...being a fights fan...tell us all how, with sometimes millions being wagered on them, fights are never fixed! Don't be shy!

bob macalba

24/06/2013The root of all evil today http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkhX5W7JoWI was true then, is true now...chill cheers

Tom of Melboune

24/06/2013It's great to see that jaycee is still willing to prove, beyond doubt, that he is a dill.

lawriejay

24/06/2013That fart and a half Graham Richardson on Q&A doing his level best to toe the Rupert MurdochGina Hancock narrative that Australias are required to promote Tony Abbot to Prime Minister - the Skinny Man and the Fat Lady have sung ???

nasking

24/06/2013 Austin 3;16, INDEED...JAYCEE IS CORRECT...I RECALL READING IN BOB MOULD'S BOOK WHO LOVED PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING FOR YEARS AND FOR AWHILE HAD A JOB TIMING THE SCRIPTS...THERE IS IMPROVISATION...BUT I BELIEVE THE OUTCOME IS PREDETETERMINED, I HAVE NO TIME FOR FAKE SHOWS THAT PERPETUATE VIOLENCE, BLOODLETTING AND MACHO BS... WHERE THE AUDIENCE ACT LIKE SALIVATING ROMAN CROWDS BEING DISTRACTED BY GLADIATORIAL GRUESOME CRAP. PERFORMERS LIKE STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN. I ONLY ENJOYED PART OF 'THE WRESTLER' BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT DEMONSTRATED THE EXTENT OF EXPLOITATION AND VICIOUSNESS...THE NARCISSISTIC, DESPERATE PERSONALITIES INVOLVED. SEEMS TO ME THAT ENJOYING PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING REQUIRES A DEVOLUTION...RELYING SOLELY ON THE PRIMITIVE BRAIN AREAS. I THINK THE SAME HAPPENS WHEN VIEWERS GET EXCITED ABOUT FIGHTS IN RUGBY, BASKETBALL, ICE HOCKEY...AND RIOTS AND FAN FIGHTS IN FOOTBALL. PROBABLY HAS A LOT TO DO WITH CONTINUOS ABUSE OF BOOZE THAT DIMINISHES WIDER BRAIN USAGE...AMONGST OTHER THINGS. N'

nasking

24/06/2013 [b]That fart and a half Graham Richardson on Q&A doing his level best to toe the Rupert MurdochGina Hancock narrative that Australias are required to promote Tony Abbot to Prime Minister - the Skinny Man and the Fat Lady have sung ???[/b] LAWRIEJAY, SPOT ON! YOU GOT MY WIFE AND I LARFING. RICHARDSON SOLD HIS WHATEVER TO THE MEDIA OF MISERY MANY YEARS AGO...A MORE LOATHSOME ALP RAT WOULD BE HARD TO FIND. [b]The root of all evil today[/b] INDEED BOB. AND BLACKMAIL. N'

Graeme

24/06/2013What A BUNCH OF LOSERS , GILLARD IS GONE & LABOUR IS GONE . GET USED TO REAL LIFE & NOT FANTASY LAND !!! Graeme ... THIS IS THE REAL WORLD ,GET USED TO IT !!!

DoodlePoodle

24/06/2013Did anyone else notice that the comments running across the bottom of the screen during Q&A were mainly pro labor.

nasking

24/06/2013 RICHO AND SOME IN THE MURDOCH EMPIRE SEEM TO BE BIG ON SHORTEN. MY RESEARCH SO FAR REVEALS INTERESTING CONNECTIONS...SHORTEN, BEALE, PRATT, THE GG, A NAME DROPPER, KATHY JACKSON...VISY, ADACEL TECHNOLOGIES, F-35... GOES ON AND ON. STARTING TO GET A CLEARER PICTURE. YA KNOW, I SAW SHORTEN FIRST TIME AT BEACONSFIELD MINE DISASTER... I HAD AN ODD FEELING ABOUT THAT DISASTER AND SOME OF THE PEOPLE SURROUNDING IT...DIDN'T FEEL RIGHT. I'M SURE BILL IS A NICE FELLA, AT TIMES...BUT HE DOES SEEM TO HAVE THAT RUTHLESS AMBITIOUSNESS YOU SEEM SOMETIMES IN THOSE WHO THINK THEY ARE BORN TO RULE... A NICER ABBOTT? YOU TELL ME. N'

nasking

24/06/2013 FRANKLY, I DON'T KNOW WHY THE MEDIA DEAL WITH GRAHAM RICHARDSON? I FIND HIM REPULSIVE. HIS BACKGROUND STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN AND IT TELLS ME THAT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF THE MEDIA, POLITICS AND THE POLICE FORCE AND SOME IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM ARE NOT ONLY GUTLESS...TURNING A BLIND EYE...BUT ALSO CORRUPT AS SHIT. THIS COUNTRY NEEDS TO BE CLEANED UP: The Labor Heavy With Big Business Mates Sydney Morning Herald Monday October 24, 1994 KATE McCLYMONT and COLLEEN RYAN Graham Richardson and Rene Rivkin spreading out their bulky frames and soaking up the morning sun outside Joe's Cafe, Kings Cross, is a world away from Parliament House, Canberra, or even from the grime of Sussex Street, Sydney. Rivkin, the flamboyant stockbroker, an icon of the '80s now semi-retired, seems to have chosen this rather fashionable Victoria Street coffee house as his post-stockmarket base. And the fact that you can often find Richo there is a reminder that his mates aren't all paid-up members of the NSW Right - and that his interests extend well beyond party machine politics. Throughout his career, Richardson has shown a useful propensity to be able to communicate with businessmen. In the case of Rene Rivkin, it provided his introduction to the stockmarket. He acknowledges that he has actively traded the stockmarket through Rivkin and done very well. Richo, a Kogarah boy himself, also struck up friendships with many of the seriously rich of Western Australia. Laurie Connell, a contact through the'80s and a very generous donor to the party, was appointed by Richardson to the board of the National Gallery in Canberra. Sadly, the days when Connell would take guests such as Richardson and Prime Minister Bob Hawke on fishing trips, including a famous 1987 jaunt, are over now that Laurie himself is a long-term guest of the West Australian prison system. John Roberts, of Multiplex, another generous donor to the ALP, took Richo to China with him in 1987 on a business trip - Richardson helped open the doors. Richardson also enjoyed friendships with the late Peter Beckwith, Alan Bond's right-hand man, as well as Perth property developer Warren Anderson, whose friendship dates back to the '70s, when Richardson was the secretary of the Labor Party's NSW branch. And, as noted in Mates, Fia Cumming's book on the NSW Right of the Labor Party, Richardson placed a high priority on business connections from the minute he arrived in the top job at Sussex Street in 1976. According to Cumming: "In a daring departure from tradition, Richardson concluded that the only way to raise the amounts needed for modern election campaigns was to get business on side." And Richardson was good at it. As any businessman who has encountered him knows, Richardson can settle into a boardroom lunch with far more ease than any of his Labor Party contemporaries. And it is not always just "for the good of the party". He often dined in Rivkin's boardroom during the latter's stockbroking days, part of a loose group of business friends which included ad man John Singleton, property developer Robert Whyte, insurance executive Bruce Corlett and media entrepreneur Trevor Kennedy. Keating and Hawke might have been the first Federal Labor members to publicly break the ice with the business community. But Richardson could claim to actually have his finger on the pulse. In fact, his family interests were even co-owners for several years of a famous Sydney fruit shop, De Lucas in King Street. But Richardson's dealings with business figures have not always been fortunate. His role as NSW secretary was brought under scrutiny in the early 1980s when he testified before two royal commissions - the Woodward royal commission 1 into drug trafficking and the Stewart royal commission into the Nugan Hand bank. In each case his evidence concerned allegations (which remained unproved)that the NSW branch of the Labor Party was receiving funds from business in an unorthodox manner. In the case before Woodward, it was a $20,000 donation from the Balmain Welding Company run by Leichhardt Labor identity Danny Casey. In the other, it was an alleged 1.5 per cent commission for any funds deposited with the Nugan Hand Bank by various Labor-dominated councils. Daniel Patrick Casey, Deputy Mayor of Leichhardt and the owner of Balmain Welding, was one of Richardson's earliest business friends. The two met in 1973 when Richardson was a party organiser. During the 1970s, Casey had been at the centre of a heated factional debate within the Labor Party on branch stacking. In the late '70s came allegations in the NSW Parliament that he was associated with drug trafficking; although he vigorously denied them at the time, it was acutely embarrassing for the NSW branch of the ALP and its young general secretary, Graham Richardson. In 1980, the Woodward commission was reopened to examine the allegations. Richardson testified that he was a friend of Casey's and that he had borrowed$2,000 from him, which he had repaid. He was also asked whether there were any financial relationships between Casey and members of his family. The question was objected to; Richardson was not required to answer. Later that year, Richardson issued a statement saying his wife, Cheryl, had been on the payroll of Balmain Welding - she received$130 to $160 a week for two years for typing work from home. The royal commission established that Balmain Welding had numerous irregular employees and that the company had made an unusual level of unsecured loans to some suspicious characters. It also disclosed irregularities surrounding the employment of several well-known criminals, including Stan Smith, Eric Delaney, George and Wayne Thelander and Mark Madigan. Some of these people were suspected of being in the Philippines arranging drug importations at the very time they were meant to be welding in Balmain. While both Richardson and Casey gave evidence that neither knew about a$20,000 donation to the Labor Party, Casey did not emerge too well from the Woodward commission. There was no hard evidence found to connect him with drug trafficking but Commissioner Woodward refused to make a positive finding that there were no such connections. A few months after Richardson gave evidence about Balmain Welding, Australian Securities Commission records show that Cheryl Richardson started another venture - the Fresh Fruit Salad Company Pty Ltd, which operated the well-known Sydney fruit shop, De Lucas, in King Street. Her partners were John Scipelliti, a printer, and his brother-in-law, Vince Arena, a fruiterer. It appears that Mrs Richardson was a director in name only. John Scipelliti told the Herald that he and Graham Richardson were old school friends and that they had been looking for a business venture together in the early 1980s. According to one of the fruit shop's former employees, Cheryl Richardson rarely came to the shop but Richardson was in regularly checking over the books. His powers had the staff in awe. For years, the shop had been trying to have a garbage bin moved from in front of the premises. In less than three weeks after the takeover, Richo had the bin removed. The business operated for about four years but sold (according to Scipelliti) because Vince Arena, the partner who ran the business, wanted a break. Asked why it was Cheryl Richardson and not her husband who was the partner in the business, Mr Scipelliti said: "That's personal now, and if it possibly isn't obvious to you it would make more sense that he wasn't involved." He could not remember who were the beneficiaries of the trust that owned the business: "I would leave that to the accountants." John Scipelliti also had a business connection with a group associated with Balmain Welding. Scipelliti was a director of White Bay Engineering in 1978-79 along with Raymond Moore, the manager of Danny Casey's container repair business; Brian Webb, a school friend of his and Richardson's; and Mark Madigan, named in the Woodward report as "an active and successful criminal with strong associations with a number of people concerned in drug trafficking". Madigan was also listed as an employee of Balmain Welding from 1974 to 1979. Woodward did not accept this, stating in his report: "I am satisfied, knowing what I learned of Madigan that he would not in fact work for Balmain Welding any more than Stanley Smith would do so now." When Scipelliti was asked about his business association with Madigan, he said he didn't know him and that possibly the deal could have been organised by either of his school friends, Graham or Brian. He went on to say that he was involved in many deals suggested to him by acquaintances and that he and Richardson had had other projects that they were involved in but he did not want to discuss them. Richardson, for his part, said that he had a hand in the establishment of White Bay Engineering: "Casey and I decided to go into some sort of business together. I nominated a couple of directors and so did he. But it never traded or operated." Cheryl and Graham Richardson have recently registered another company, Erinrose Enterprises Pty Ltd, but it has not traded as yet. Richardson is keen to get back into the sharemarket when he gets free of his book commitments. He still checks on the market every couple of weeks but holds no shares, having sold them when he was reappointed to the ministry in March 1993. Richardson's friendship with Rene Rivkin can be traced back to 1987, when the ALP transferred its advertising account to John Singleton's agency, half-owned by Rivkin at the time. John Singleton has pointed to Richardson as being the mover behind the account change - he was the first to approach him to take on the ALP work. It was greeted as an extraordinary decision at the time because both Singleton and Rivkin were known for their conservative political views. Nevertheless, when Singleton won the ALP account in May 1987, Rivkin announced his intention to vote Labor (while conceding that this represented one of the most unlikely about-turns of the year). But it went even further than that. By October of 1987, Richardson had appointed Rivkin to the council of the National Gallery (to replace Laurie Connell), and they have been firm friends ever since. They travelled to Seoul together for the 1988 Olympic Games (when Richardson was Sports Minister) and Richardson stayed in Rivkin's London flat and had the use of his Rolls-Royce on a couple of occasions (something which got him into trouble in Parliament when he failed to disclose it all on the pecuniary interests register). The West Australian developer John Roberts also has become a close friend of Richardson's. One of Australia's richest men, Roberts owns the construction giant Multiplex, which has long been known as a builder for WA Inc stars - Alan Bond, Laurie Connell, Warren Anderson and Dallas Dempster. Somewhat surprisingly, in 1984, Multiplex took time off from its shopping centre constructions and multistorey office towers to extend the back of Richardson's Killara house. Richardson had become friendly with Roberts through Warren Anderson just as Richardson was entering Federal Parliament in 1983. According to an interview Roberts gave to the Herald in 1992, Richardson asked Roberts to build his extension as he didn't know any builders. "I willingly did it," Roberts said. "He was influential; he was going places. It was more of an in for me, I make no bones about that. Why shouldn't I do it?" Roberts said his friendship with Richardson didn't sour even when the extensions ran over budget by 70 per cent. (Although at the time Richardson wasn't happy about it, Roberts says he let him off a fraction of the amount.) 1987 was a busy year for the friends. Before Laurie Connell's restaurant had even been booked to cater for the now famous "gold tax" lunch in Perth attended by the then Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, Richardson had been on the blower to Roberts about donating money to the ALP. The WA Inc royal commission later heard that Roberts attended the lunch on June 15 and subsequently donated $200,000 to the Federal party, half of which came from Multiplex's NSW branch. When asked whether Richardson ever got him to donate to the NSW branch of the ALP, Roberts paused, then laughed: "Put it this way, we never gave." The "gold tax" lunch had barely been digested before the two were off to China. Multiplex was trying to win a contract to build a steelworks and an airport in Tian Gin in northern China. Even though Richardson's portfolio was arts and environment, Roberts asked him to come, as government officials impress the Chinese. Roberts later said Richardson "was marvellous and assisted me no end". However, Richardson's failure to notify the Australian Ambassador, Ross Garnaut, of his presence in China as well as his relationship with Roberts were later raised during the course of the Marshall Islands affair. Richardson was forced to resign from the ministry in May 1992 over the Marshall Islands affair. This was just one of several occasions when an association with a business figure - in the case of the Marshall Islands, his cousin - turned sour for the Senator. TOMORROW: The friends who gave Richo heartburn. http://www.canberraaccountants.com.au/canberra-accountants-articles/1994/10/24/the-labor-heavy-with-big-business-mates/ WHY DOESN'T IT SURPRISE ME THAT RICHO IS WORKING WITH MURDOCH'S LOT AND CHANNEL NINE...BY WAY OF SKY NEWS. WHY HAVE THE WOMEN OF AUSTRALIA...AND GOOD MEN PUT UP WITH THIS CRAP? ARE THE JOURNOS AND POLICE GUTLESS HERE? BOUGHT? WHAT GIVES? WHY WOULD ANYONE LISTEN TO THIS MAN AND HIS MEDIA BARON ASSOCIATES? INCLUDING JOHN SINGLETON. THEY ARE OBVIOUSLY NEFARIOUS AND DECEITFUL CHARACTERS OF THE HIGHEST ORDER... SPOILERS OF DEMOCRACY...DESPERATE IN OLD AGE TO REMAIN AS KINGMAKERS,.. TO COVERUP THEIR...SINS? TIME WE GOT OUR DEMOCRACY BACK. AUSTRALIA NEEDS TO FREE ITSELF. FROM CORPORATE AND DYNASTIC CRIMS. N'

nasking

25/06/2013 CAME ACROSS AN ENLIGHTENING OPINION PIECE: Where angels fear to tread Date May 4, 2013 Kate McClymont It was only weeks after I arrived at Four Corners as a fresh-faced researcher in 1987 that Chris Masters' story on The Moonlight State went to air. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. For weeks Chris, along with producer Shaun Hoyt and researcher Deb Whitmont, had been working on this amazing exposé of police corruption in Queensland. The office was full of talk of police turning a blind eye to illegal gambling and prostitution, and of money passing in brown paper bags. Phil Dickie from The Courier-Mail had also uncovered a great deal about this high-level corruption. The Moonlight State was investigative journalism at its finest. I am sure even my dear friend Lorraine Osborn would agree. The timing of the program was exquisite. Queensland premier Sir Joh Bjelke Petersen was away when The Moonlight State aired and before Sir Joh could kill it dead, his deputy had announced an inquiry. Within a fortnight the terms of reference for what became known as the Fitzgerald Inquiry had been drawn up. Initially slated to run for six weeks, the Fitzgerald Inquiry ran for two years. Three former National Party ministers went to jail, as did the police commissioner Terry Lewis. It also spelled the end of the road for Sir Joh. But behind the scenes Masters was paying a huge personal price for his work. For 12 years he battled defamation actions brought by Vince Bellino, whose family was mentioned in the program in connection with the drug trade. Over those long years, 14 judges dealt with Bellino's case and it went to the High Court twice. Bellino lost at every turn, except when the High Court ordered a re-trial, which once again Bellino lost. In 1999, 12 years after the program went to air, Bellino's second visit to the High Court was this time unsuccessful. It was a hollow victory. The experience left Masters not only shattered and disillusioned but convinced that good journalism was the real loser in this case. "Journalists and broadcasters are just not going to do stories when defamation proceedings become as arduous and lengthy as this one was. It's what I call death by a thousand courts," said Masters. The nation's wealthy and powerful have often used legal threats to stop journalists' inquiries or at least to put the frighteners on them. With the media industry in such dire financial straits this legal threat can prove too much for all but the largest of media organisations. Even then, with the bottom line to consider, the possibility of a multimillion-dollar law suit means press freedom has to dance a sorry jig with fiscal realities. For smaller companies, freelancers and bloggers, freedom of the press is a wonderful concept but the prospect of personally funding a court action against the coffers of a business tycoon is not realistic. At the moment five journalists are being pursued through courts to reveal their sources. Fairfax's Richard Baker, Nick McKenzie and Philip Dorling are defending moves by businesswoman Helen Liu to uncover sources for a story detailing her relationship with former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon. Last year's Gold Walkey winner Steve Pennells, from The West Australian, and Fairfax business reporter Adele Ferguson are both being pursued by Gina Rinehart, who is not only Australia's richest person but the 36th wealthiest person in the world... Donald Mackay was a furniture shop owner in the NSW town of Griffith when he reported on the activities of the mafia and the grass castles which they built from their drug earnings. This stand was to cost him his life. Mackay was murdered in 1977. His body has never been found. On his statue in Banna Street is the following inscription: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil over good is for good men to do nothing. Donald Mackay was a man who had the courage and honesty not to look the other way." [b]For society to enjoy the benefits of a free press, then its journalists must have the courage and honesty not to look the other way.[/b] Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/where-angels-fear-to-tread-20130503-2iy8a.html#ixzz2X8yo82ki INDEED. SMALL WORLD...I WORKED FOR AWHILE IN KING'S CROSS ON A FRUIT BARROW...I COULD SENSE THERE WAS DEEP CORRUPTION THERE...EVEN IN THE POLICE... AND WEIRDLY, I THEN WENT FRUIT PICKING...AND ENDED UP IN GRIFFITH. I HEARD RUMOURS THAT FAMILIES WERE DRYING WEED IN THEIR ROOFS LIKE INSULATION. LARFED AT THE TIME. WAS YOUNG, WE ALL SMOKED THEN...THOUGHT NOTHING OF IT. THEN WHEN I WENT BACK TO THE UK I SAW AN AUSSIE FILM THAT TALKED ABOUT DONALD MACKAY. TRAGIC. THIS IS ONE REASON I THINK AUSTRALIA NEEDS TO GROW UP AND LEGALISE POT. TAX IT. STOP THE ROT. N'

Austin 3:16

25/06/2013Hey Jaycee, The problem with that analogy is that ALL the fights must be being fixed, each and every one of them Even though they are stated by different organisations, with (slightly) different rules and methods and they happen every fortnight or so. That's a heck of a lot of fixing. AND it still doesn't explain HOW the fixing is being done.

lyn

25/06/2013Today Links Ten reasons why most Australian MSM journalists are absolute shyte by @independentaus Never before has Australia’s political coverage been so poorly regarded by the public; Tom Orren says this reputation is well-deserved — and here he explains why http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/business/media-2/ten-reasons-why-most-australian-msm-journalists-are-absolute-shyte/ Fifty-five pieces of legislation by @derekbarry this is what parliament is for: to change and enact law. Each of the 55 bills is important to someone or something; a truth the independent members of parliament (who raised most of them) know all too well. I’m hoping you’ll feel a little more informed if you read them; I did for writing them down http://woollydays.wordpress.com/2013/06/25/fifty-five-pieces-of-legislation/ Control by @Piping_Shrike If Rudd is Labor leader by the end of this week, it will be because one of two unlikely things will have happened. Either caucus splits away from the union and faction leadership and takes matters into their own hands by reinstalling Rudd. Or, the union and faction leadership cobble together http://www.pipingshrike.com/2013/06/control.html Newspoll 43-57 by Mark the Ballott those intending to vote for mainstream parties (Coalition or Labor) is in decline, suggesting a growing level of dissatisfaction with both major parties. While the media has focused on the sub-30 primary vote share for Labor in today's polls, Labor has had worse this term. http://marktheballot.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/newspoll-43-57.html Tony Abbott should come back on Q&A - it's time by Luke Mansillo Abbott’s absences from Q&A and other probing media have given the alternative policy starved media no option but to focus on internal Labor party dynamics and perceived problems of governance. There is no chatter about how Abbott’s alternative government would address the issues he raises. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/24/tony-abbott-qanda-interview?CMP=twt_gu On Deaf Ears by @Quinn_LP O’Dwyer shot from her seat, immediately launching on an derisive description of the government’s healthcare policies.However, this was only after opening her remarks by reminding us all – in what would be a sign of things to come from the Coalition side http://www.upstart.net.au/2013/06/24/on-deaf-ears/ We can start the policy debate by @crazyjane13 Let’s ask the Coalition why most of their stated policies to date involve little more than reversing everything accomplished by the Rudd and Gillard governments. Let’s ask the Greens what they plan to do if the Coalition successfully repeals carbon pricing. Let’s ask the Independents what they would do if we end up with another minority government http://consciencevote.com.au/2013/06/24/we-can-start-the-policy-debate/ Stop the rot (the media rot) by @MigloMT We are no longer prepared to accept that a former Australian billionaire who owns so much of our media, and Newspoll, of course, is lying to us, manipulating us, and using us to further his own interests. And that the rest of the mainstream media, including the taxpayer-funded ABC, has fallen into step with the Murdoch media. http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/stop-the-rot-the-media-rot/ Grattan calls it. It’s PM Abbott by @mumbrella The 2013 federal election might still probably be three months away but political journalist Michelle Grattan, who now writes for The Comnversation, appears to have made the call. http://mumbrella.com.au/is-michelle-grattan-calling-the-election-163335 Julia Gillard’s three year anniversary: Is Australia still struggling with a female PM? By Marian Sawer In the three years to have passed since then, Gillard has been the victim of appalling levels of sexism not seen before in Australian public life. With some justification, therefore, she has made her gender a political issue. http://www.womensagenda.com.au/talking-about/opinions/julia-gillards-three-year-anniversary-is-australia-still-struggling-with-a-female-pm/201306232371 Go North Gina, Go North by @TheHoopla The believers are largely conservative regional politicians, right wing radio shock jocks (Alan Jones), right wing think tanks (The Institute of Public Affairs) and one uber-rich mining magnate whose first name is Gina. http://thehoopla.com.au/north-gina-north/ Is the Media Destroying Our Democracy? by @saint13333 Less informed voters unfortunately outnumber the more politically aware. Therefore, a pro conservative media feeds them all the bullshit they need. And the menu generally contains a fair portion of untruths. http://theaimn.com/2013/06/24/is-the-media-destroying-our-democracy/ Mr Murdoch, please get your grubby mitts off our democracy. by Truth Seeker busy asking spurious questions on; Rumour, innuendo, speculation, lies, fear and smear, and all but ignoring portfolio and policy questions. http://truthseekersmusings.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/mr-murdoch-please-get-your-grubby-mitts-off-our-democracy/ Abbott Has a Two Way Bet. by @YosefAlbric A person who puts political expediency ahead of everything else cannot be trusted under any circumstances. This power drunk political aberration must never be Prime Minister of Australia. http://yosefalbric.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/abbott-has-a-two-way-bet/ Australia's labour market needs no reform by @TheKouk wages have risen more than the increase in the inflation rate meaning that workers cost of living pressures are, on average, easing. The ongoing low inflation climate is a critical element in sustaining household purchasing power and worked against wage claims designed to 'keep up' with inflation. http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4775730.html Dutton confirms Coalition health policy will be cuts, just like 2010 by @PMOPressOffice Coalition spokesperson Peter Dutton has confirmed their health policy would be “a cracker” of cuts just like Tony Abbott’s 2010 election policy. http://pmopressoffice.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/dutton-confirms-coalition-health-policy-will-be-cuts-just-like-2010/ Reaching Out To The Compassionate Undecided by @newmatilda If the EMC research is to be believed, Labor has nothing to lose by radically rethinking its approach to asylum seekers. Its policies have next to no support now and 42 per cent of voters are looking for something new. http://newmatilda.com/2013/06/24/reaching-out-compassionate-undecided The Energy Transitions under way By Gary-Sauer Thompson What the old order will do is to continue to dedicate vast resources to successfully preventing the introduction of sensible climate change policy in Australia. The Coalition will be captured. http://www.sauer-thompson.com/archives/opinion/2013/06/the-energy-tran.php Coalition hasn’t addressed basic NBN policy issues by @renailemay It may just all come down to what happens on election day – Australia deserves a whole lot better than what an incoming Coalition government will serve up to us. And that may not just be a point about broadband. http://delimiter.com.au/2013/06/24/coalition-hasnt-addressed-basic-nbn-policy-issues/ Today’s Front Pages Australian Newspaper Front Pages for 25 June 2013 http://www.thepaperboy.com/australia/front-pages.cfm News headlines http://www.hotheadlines.com.au/

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25/06/2013LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Heather

25/06/2013Alastair Campbell was very good on Lateline last night. I so enjoyed his mind. We are all so starved of intelligent humans out this way and it is a joy to see people from elsewhere giving their ideas. His analysis of PM JG was very good. Saying calm and resilience is a necessity in a good leader and he was very impressed with her strength. I have been saying for a long time now that she is a very good leader. Human and hard when she needs to be. Bullies are not good leaders. Something very noticable about the PM, is that she listens to each of journos questions with due respect and interest. Campbell pointed out that Abbott has not been tested for policies, making him very dangerous as a leadership choice, which was very astute, I thought. Campbell was right about Rudd. Perhaps Rudd should stand up with Therese and kids at his side and make a gracious speech about how PM JG and her cabinet have done an excellent job, passed all the bills, list them all, and say he is very sorry for giving such grist to the media mill, that he should have rightly made this speech way back. That the PM JG has done a far better job leading the Labor Party than he ever could do. Can he be a top person and humble himself enough to do this?

Austin 3:16

25/06/2013Hey Heather, You've just reminded me of the fantasy novel "Magician" where with the old kind in poor health there are two possible claimants to the throne. One observer describes them something along the lines that Claimant One had the charisma that would see his men follow him to the death, while Claimant Two lacked that charisma but had the intelligence to keep his men alive.

Lucy

25/06/2013Thanks Ad for another poignant article. For what its worth if I listen to any poll its the Morgan. If anyone is feeling generous and would like to donate to my campaign here is a link. Please make sure that you select Wide Bay in the pull down box ta the bottom of the page that says 'My contribution is for' Wide Bay. https://www.queenslandlabor.org/supporter-central/donate/ I could really do with hundreds of small donations! My meagre budget of $2,500 is all spent. I do have a major fundraiser BBQ on 28th July at Peregian Beach - all welcome $20 with a door prize. I'll have details on my facebook page 'Lucy Stanton for Wide Bay' once all the dignitaries are finalised. Senator Claire Moore will be there. Thanks for your time everyone.

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25/06/2013nasking I agree with your assessment of Graham Richardson. On [i]Q&A[/i] last night he was at his detestable worst. For this previous Labor minister to pour such vitriol on a serving Labor PM, no matter who it is, is treachery of the worst kind. As he has always done, he puts his own interests first, and clearly they are keeping onside with the Murdoch organization, which employs him. I found his performance last night utterly repulsive. By comparison, the smarmy, arrogant, nasty George Brandis, and the Coalition sycophant Judith Sloan, although both relentlessly nasty and anti-Julia Gillard, paled against the Richardson onslaught. It was pleasing to see both of them pulled up by the audience on some of their answers. I thought Anne Summers and some of the female questioners were articulate and made their points well, and Matt Thistlethwaite did a reasonable job representing Labor. I cannot recall Q&A ever being more antagonistic to our PM.

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25/06/2013Heather I too enjoyed Alistair Campbell on [i]Lateline[/i]. It is not often that we are treated to such a well-informed opinion from an intelligent observer of politics. I thought his use of an old British saying: “Piss or get off the potty”, was an apt message to Kevin Rudd. Lucy Thank you for your kind comment. [i]Morgan Polls[/i] have been around for over seventy years, yet Murdoch’s [i]Newspoll[/i] has pushed them into the background. Good luck with you fundraising and your campaign.

Lucy

25/06/2013Thanks Ad.

Heather

25/06/2013Hey Austin, Dont know your analogies with the Claimants. I am assuming that Claimant 1 is Tony Abbott and the LN Coalition Opposition and Claimant 2 is the intelligent leader PM Julia Gillard and Labor Minority Govt. It must be Tony's charisma, though must admit I just cant bear the guy. Have a really bad aversion to him. Howard even looks a nice guy in comparison and never dreamed I'd ever say that. Where are Aussies coming from in the brains department if the polls say they will vote for him? The world is gripped in some sort of polarity nightmare at the moment. Things could turn around at any time...but polls so entrenched here they would not notice. I have the "Peter who cried wolf" saturation on polls. Anything to hammer people with, and I really cant seem to bother wasting my time with the polls. Trouble is when one tried to make zero ground all the time on the Govt., the phoenix has a habit of rising out of the rubble...or could we say the gibber plains here. Although those swirling winds out there never let up. More interested in Tony Bourke on YouTube talking about all those forests in Tassie finally saved...well...hopefully they are safe now. However would not put it past the Libs, if, big IF they do happen to slither their way in to power, to be reversing all such good our great minority govt. has achieved over the past 3 years. They are like that those people...hating the possibility of any good, except what fills their hip pocket. We dont need to go to the extreme in this country as this minority govt. is very moderate and caters more broadly for the population. It allows more greys to it's governing than what could be classed as an extreme. That is probably why the media has so upped the anti, trying to hammer them in to an extreme ie. be like us or else number. Cloning comes to mind, or vampirism. Also dont forget that Murdoch backed Rudd. He was not strong enough to say, "I dont need backing".

Austin 3:16

25/06/2013Hey Heather, I was thinking of Rudd v Gillard. Gillard certainly has the backing of caucus - the do appear to be willing to go into battle and die for her (politically speaking of course). Rudd is more likely to win the battle (or at least lose better) but caucus isn't willing to back him. It's such a pity - three and a half years ago the best things the government had going for them were Rudd and Gillard. Now, not so much.

bob macalba

25/06/2013Austin..yawn..mate go and have a cold shower and stop it with your rudd fantasies, mate you will go blind, Heather..ignore austin he's here to white ant, best to answer him with..'thats nice' if you do have to reply to him. his narrative is pretty simple to follow..k rudd can save us all' cheers

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25/06/2013Folks If you heard Sally Warhaft this morning on ABC 774 radio, you may share my views on her performance on the matter of PM Gillard being photographed doing her knitting, for publication in [i]Women’s Weekly[/i]. Frankly, I am both dismayed and infuriated by the unremitting personal attacks that are being made on our PM, attacks coming from all quarters of the media. To critique policy or political strategy is legitimate; to make vitriolic personal attacks ought not to be a part of the democratic process in this country. Last night on [i]Q&A[/i] we were subject to some of the most savage attacks on our PM that I have witnessed on our national broadcaster. This morning the attacks continued on ABC radio. I have emailed the following to the ABC, protesting about this morning’s events with Sally Warhaft in the chair: [i]What a disappointment Sally Warhaft has been as a stand-in for Jon Faine on ABC 774 radio. Unlike Faine, who is able to address issues in a balanced way, Warhaft has brought her anti-Gillard, pro-Rudd attitude with her, an attitude expressed over and again on such programs as ‘The Wrap’. This morning she exhibited this in a blatant way when discussing the photo of PM Gillard knitting, a photo that will appear in this week’s Women’s Weekly. As a radio journalist, her job is to bring the facts of the matter to the attention of her audience and seek their views. What she did was to interview the deputy editor of Women’s Weekly, Caroline Overington, who expressed her personal views about the photo and the photo shoot, and in so doing revealed her antagonistic attitude to the PM, with which Warhaft agreed. Warhaft then gratuitously offered her own views about the photo, querying how a PM could afford the six hours the photo shoot was said to take, and categorizing it as a political mistake. She then went onto take callers, all of whom except one or two were supportive of what the PM had done, and critical of Warhaft’s critique. The initial callers were given pretty short shrift, but when she got to later callers, most of whom were saying the same thing, she moderated her language, perhaps realizing that not all women agreed with her. I respect Jon Faine and listen to any opinion he expresses, even if I don’t agree with him. By comparison, Sally Warhaft is an insignificant political commentator, whose opinion is of no interest to me. If you listen to her following interview with James Sutherland from Cricket Australia you will hear Warhaft again injecting her personal opinion about the state of Australian cricket. How much does she know about this sport? Is her opinion on cricket one that is worthy of promulgation from the national broadcaster? In my view, she would be well advised to feed us the unadulterated facts, take a neutral stance on them, listen to her interviewees and her callers, summarize what they say, and keep her opinions to herself. Her job is to ask questions, not give us the answers, her answers.[/i] I hope I get some feedback, but I’m not holding my breath.

paul walter

25/06/2013As usual, can find little to disagree with- on the contrary it explains it very well. The killing machine metaphor is exact. Nielsen/Fairfax and Murdoch Newspoll are hopelessly corrupted. Last night I watched the consequence on QA; a panicked peasantry driven to superstitious stupidity by the wool pulled over their eyes and the blocking of ears by tabloid wax. Cynical pundits now so arrogant that they are easily caught out on their attitudes, lies, motivations and intentions and media people selling out to save their own skins, should the new Reich come into being after September. Irrelevant, loaded question driven by subjectivity,outright bigotry and opportunism rather than an interest in the facts and reality. It must have been a march to Calvary for Ann Summers and others who turned up in good faith for an examination of facts- contrast her to the bloated scab Richardson.

Catching up

25/06/2013<blockquote>"Campbell was right about Rudd. Perhaps Rudd should stand up with Therese and kids at his side and make a gracious speech about how PM JG and her cabinet have done an excellent job"</blockquote> Heather I believe that the PM gave Rudd the chance to do this, when Rudd was encouraged to go out and campaign on behalf of Gillard's government a couple of weeks ago. Recall when many of us were suspicious of Rudd's agenda at the time. We had a couple of visits to the western suburbs of Sydney, that were all about Rudd. Rudd ket all and sundry know, that I am Kevin, come to save you. Yes, the PM gave Rudd the ripe, and as one would predict, made him show his true colours. When one looks back, the PM has cut Rudd off at the pass with each of his attempts to take her job. The first time, the PM called his bluff while he was overseas, and not ready. Then there was Crean fiasco, that force Rudd to back down. I cannot help but think, the PM is once again in control, buy placing him in the position of either supporting her completely, or challenge her. Yes, it is very ugly politics and I believe will be discussed for decades to come. There appears to be many bitter ex Labor out their, pushing their own barrow, full of revenge, getting even. Watching Richo last night, one wonders how one could have ever had respect for the man. Along with his other mate that turns up every week on Bolt, representing Labor. Costa, I believe is the name. These men are not Labor, never have been, they are at the best just opportunistic, looking after their own interest. Now we have the allegation, that the problem with the PM, is that she is old Labor. Yes, I believe that might be true. Yes, old Labor, but addressing the issues in a modern manner, that addresses the needs of today, and tomorrow. One with the guts, to identify the issues, and go out and do something. Yes, the problem with this PM, is that she is a doer, not a talker. Not a gunna,, but a have done it. Yes, I am waffling on, as many accuse me of. Just trying to make sense of the surreal political environment one finds themselves today. A PM that delivers, but hated like no other PM in my living memory. I do not know about others. but the amount of hate worries me. I do not believe that Mr. Rudd is capable of doing what is good for Labor or the nation. As for the PM, the die has been casted, and hs no alternative but to fight to the bitter end. Rudd could not have had any success, unless the media came in, and supported him in every way. The media did have the choice, to report all sides. It has not. I am not sure if the media has used Rudd, or Rudd the media. In the light of day, it does not matter. If the voter believes they can fix the matter by voting Labor out, and it will be finished, they are badly mistaken. Voting Whitlam out, did not lead to stable politics.

Austin 3:16

25/06/2013Hey Bob, Good to still you're still taking that strong stand against groupthink by welcoming and encouraging diverse opinions. You know instead of your usual blather one day you might actually make a point. Change is good for you they say, give it a go.

Austin 3:16

25/06/2013Of the top of me head there's Newspoll, Nielsen, Galaxy, Essential, Morgan, ReachTel and JWS. None of them are showing Labor ahead. Are they all fixed, each and every one of them? Can somebody explain how that would be done ?

Heather

25/06/2013Ad astra, Know exactly what you mean. Whatever PM JG does they have it in for her, like wolves baying for blood. (pardon me but I tend to think vampires!) I only tuned in at the end of Q&A which was okay, because in the last 10 mins or was it 5, people were asking questions about abuse of women. I saw that Brandis was on and decided to not waste my time. Agree, all these nasty attacks on the PM are shockers. I try to keep posting the positives out there because there is too much slamming in this country. Country of knockers for sure. The BBC's Australian Correspondent Nick Bryant who was interviewed by Margaret Throsby on the 17th June said he thought it was very brutal here and that Australians are pretty hopeless communicators seeming to be too damning and opinionated and not considered enough to actually listen to the deeper underlying reasons. I agree with him. It is very hard and rough here for any intelligent person male or female. Something to do with this harsh land I think. Like that movie it's kind of "no country for women, young or old". And it might have to do with the so called digger mentality too, or adoration of these war feats or more honestly catastrophes, thus creating a nation of people at war with each other. I'd be guessing there is no simple answer. Something about the aborigines painting all those wonderful paintings of their land...were they placating and soothing this land's dominance? Giving it order and therefore some control and understanding for themselves. Instead of running havoc and disturbed like the whities seems to be doing.

Tom of Melboune

25/06/2013[i]Yes, I am waffling on[/i] Finally Catching Up makes a point that [b]everyone[/b] is capable of endorsing.

Austin 3:16

25/06/2013 [quote]I cannot help but think, the PM is once again in control, [/quote] I cannot help but think that your definition of control could do with some work.

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25/06/2013paul walter Thank you for your comments. Certainly [i]Newspoll[/i] has been used as a killing machine for ages – we have seen it in full flight this week. Anne Summers held her own last night against virulent naysayers. Catching up Your comment about Kevin Rudd resonates with me, as does your detestation of the malevolent Richo. BTW this blogsite uses square brackets around tags, rather than angle brackets. Heather Your theory about why we seem to be the argumentative people we have become makes a lot of sense.

Patriciawa

25/06/2013No, Catching up, you are not waffling on! What you have to say is important. I would disagree with you though about one sentence, describing Prime Minister Julia Gillard. It needs two more words added..... [i]is reportedly[/i]. She is, in my view, ....... ) [quote]A PM that delivers, but [b]is reportedly[/b] hated like no other PM in my living memory. [/quote] There has been a determined effort since the day of her election to discredit her, to ignore her achievements and to bring her down. In spite of that she has forged ahead with her reform agenda, held her team together and bought this minority government full term. How could those scurrilous things we read and hear be true of this lovely woman? http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/img/2013/inthemag/jul/jg-watermark.jpg

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25/06/2013Hi Lyn As you can see I’ve been busy responding and commenting on the appalling behaviour of OUR ABC. So I’ve just started on your links. The first one by Ton Orren: [i]Ten reasons why most Australian MSM journalists are absolute shyte[/i] is magnificent. Everyone, especially political journalists, should read it. The article in [i]The Guardian[/i] reveals a startling fact: [b][i]”It has now been 1,043 days since Tony Abbott has appeared on Q&A. He last attended on 16 August 2010, a week before the election.”[/i][/b] Will we see him again before the election? John Lord’s [i]Is the Media Destroying Our Democracy?[/i] is spot on. Essential reading. You really know what to post on [i]Today’s Links[/i]. Thank you for your continuing efforts on our behalf.

nasking

25/06/2013 MEMORIES: REGIONAL RORTS: Please, Webdiarists, remember that the Senate inquiry which triggered the Audit Office probe happened only because Howard had not yet gained control of the Senate. He did so on July 1, 2005, when the newly elected Senators took their seats. Since then, he and his compliant Liberal MPs have blocked everything that might get truth out on their corruption and shady practice. Let's stop the rort - let's take back control of our Senate by voting for minor parties. And welcome back Craig! I've glad we've sorted out our differences in time for the last week of this momentous election campaign. [b]Regional rorts: winning at any cost [/b] by Craig Rowley "Never forget the fact that governments are elected to govern for the people who voted for them, but also for the people who voted against them,"John Howard said on winning the 2004 Australian federal election. He promised to govern "for all of us." It looks like that was another of "Honest" John's "non-core promises". Three years ago the Tamworth-based Independent MP for the NSW electorate of New England, Tony Windsor, opened the lid on what smelt like a pork barrel when he spoke up about what he thought might be an attempt to bribe him. He triggered what Margo described as Ando's sports rorts Armageddon. Webdiary's citizen journalists covered the story, following each whiff of an accountability side-step, asking questions, and taking every opportunity afforded to citizens to make the most of what little transparency is left in our Commonwealth to check that inside the corridors of power there is not corruption. My contributions to that effort were 'Bigger than all of us': our last chance to lift the regional rorts veil, Our last chance to know: Act 2 of regional rorts cover-up, Desperate slaves: a pork-barrel regional rorts update and The greatest regional program ever?. Those of us who were concerned that there may be corruption were attacked for looking into it and trying to discover the truth. We were accused of a "beat up" and told to shut up. As more evidence surfaced, we were then told that it's not corruption even if it is pork-barrelling. The attacks didn't deter us, certainly not me, but in the end it seemed it was apathy that won out. When Webdiary published my last post on the regional rorts affair, The greatest regional program ever?, there were only 16 comments on the associated conversation thread, and half of those were my updates. But being apathetic about a problem doesn't make it go away. Yesterday, the Auditor General, Ian McPhee, released a 1,200 page report on the findings of an Australian National Audit Office performance audit of the Regional Partnerships Programme. As its content comes out and is absorbed by electoral communities across the country it could make things very uncomfortable for the far from relaxed Liberals leader, John Howard. Current Nationals leader, Mark Vaile, should not be able to skate around this either, as much as I imagine he'd like to shift blame back onto the former Deputy Prime Minister, John Anderson. Michelle Grattan in The Age today, as always, tells it like it is: The timing of yesterday's audit report into this affair could not be more embarrassing. The findings could hardly be more damning. The report is an indictment of the Government's shameless pork-barrelling in the Regional Partnership Program. The ANAO found that the Howard government's Regional Partnerships Program does not meet an acceptable standard of public administration. Howard and his Ministers, particularly John Anderson and other Nationals, had favoured schemes in Coalition held electorates. In distributing hundreds of millions of dollars in grants they governed in ways that rewarded some of us; whilst punishing others for what they'd decided in the poll booths at the previous election. The Auditors concluded that the Regional Partnerships Programme is a very flexible discretionary grants programme. It has broadly based assessment criteria, and projects are subject to continuous assessment rather than being considered through structured funding rounds. Funding decisions are taken by Ministers. The Auditors highlighted two dimensions of the programme administration. First, they draw attention to the very flexible discretionary nature of application assessment and Ministerial approval processes, which they said creates challenges in ensuring transparent, accountable and cost effective administration and in demonstrating the equitable treatment of applicants. Then they emphasise that the manner in which the programme had been administered, which the ANAO found to have fallen short of an acceptable standard of public administration. In other words, the Regional Partnerships Programme seems to have been one big barrel of pork available to dole out at the discretion of some of Howard's Ministers, and it looks like they could bend even the few loose rules around it to make hand outs to whomever they chose and whenever it was in their party-political interests to do so. Second, the ANAO analysis revealed that Howard's Ministers were: ...more likely to approve funding for 'not recommended' projects that had been submitted by applicants in electorates held by the Liberal and National parties and more likely to not approve funding for 'recommended' projects that had been submitted by applicants in electorates held by the Labor party. So it turns out that Howard's Ministers could also decide to close the door on those who didn't do as they had wished. There would be no funds from the pork barrel for those communities making the "error" of electing as their representative a politician sitting on the Opposition benches. Politicians of all kinds wield considerable power. The stakes are high and temptations are great. They include the temptations to seize political power unfairly, to misuse it, to violate the public trust, and to profit at the public's expense. Unfortunately, many politicians give in to these temptations. All the more so when they’ve been powerful for far too long and arrogance and hubris take hold. Arrogant politicians wilfully violate the code - written or unwritten - of political ethics. When they do, we all suffer. Unethical political behaviour damages not just individuals but the whole society. Some of that damage is direct and obvious. That bribery, extortion, and vote fraud are wrong is something apparent to everyone. But there are other forms of unethical political behaviour that damage us in ways more subtle. Ultimately, all such behaviour damages the fabric of democracy itself. It prevents our democracy from functioning as it was designed to function, in the interests of all citizens. Howard, Vaile and the Coalition's spin-doctors want to avoid deep questioning of the ethics of what they have done with the Regional Partnerships Program. The argument they have already started using is that Regional Partnerships Programme funding decisions are no different to election promises, and besides that people are benefiting so how could it be a bad thing. "I think the Regional Partnership Scheme has brought lots of benefits to lots of communities in lots of areas of Australia," John Howard said in defending his government track record today. He sure does have a talent for speaking half-truths, hey? And making appeals to self-interest. For there is no doubt that the programme has benefited some, but it's been at everyone's expense and the "very flexible discretionary" nature of these deals show they were designed to ultimately benefit Coalition politicians come election time. John Howard's view, shared it seems by Mark Vaile and others is that forms of what is essentially vote buying is not unethical. It's a view about patronage and power, the ends justifying the means and winning at all costs. The clear consequence of this is as I pointed out once before in WE are at a tilting point: Unlike corruption under other forms of government, from totalitarian state to illiberal democracy, our political officials act in our name with our express consent. Quite honestly, they are our representatives. Ultimately their ethics are our ethics as well. If they are corrupt, and we allow them to be, then we are corrupt, too. If the Coalition does win this election, it will be at a great cost to our democracy. We'll be giving a big tick to a bad practice if we re-elect a Coalition government. We'll be allowing Howard and his kind to assume that governments are elected to govern in the interest of only those people who vote for them. http://webdiary.com.au/cms/?q=node/2186 SHAME COALITION. N'

lyn

25/06/2013Hi Ad, Thankyou for your post to me, yes I see how busy you are. There you go, just proves how popular & enjoyable you and your writing is. We are very lucky. Ad, thankyou for your encouragement, you really are a pleasure to work with. I have also noticed the amazing new commenters arriving each day, all with quality informative opinions to share. You may not have had time yesterday , but I did want you to read a link I posted yesterday: “The Faceless Men of The Liberal Party, by By Father Kevin Lee@FrancieJones” a long read but worth your time. Proves how the Liberals operate and as you know Abbott continually refers to the so called faceless men of the Labor party. Gillard lays out election themes for MPs Addressing Labor MPs and senators in Canberra on Tuesday, Ms Gillard said the party's electoral strategy would be based on three key policies: school funding, DisabilityCare Australia and the national broadband network. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/06/25/12/15/gillard-lays-out-election-themes-for-mps

nasking

25/06/2013 [b]Thoroughbred Breeders Welcome Warren Truss To Magic Millions[/b] Henry Plumptre, Leader of the Thoroughbred Breeders of the Hunter Valley today welcomed the Hon. Warren Truss, Leader of the Nationals, to Magic Millions. Mr Truss is attending Magic Millions as a guest of the Thoroughbred Breeders of the Hunter Valley. “We are delighted that Mr Truss has come to Magic Millions this year to view this international yearling sale and to listen to our concerns about the increasing problems we are facing as a result of coal mining in the Hunter Valley. Mr Truss’ visit is very timely” Henry Plumptre said. This week the Thoroughbred Breeders launched the Protect Our Industries campaign to highlight the challenges Hunter Valley breeders are facing as a result of increasing levels of mining activity in the region. “We are very encouraged by the Nationals’ Policy Platform 2009 which recognises the challenges posed by the competing interests between mining and agribusiness for our agricultural lands,” Henry Plumptre said. “I particularly welcome the need for national responsibility to develop national solutions which deal fairly with all parties. Recent decisions taken by the NSW government have been less than consultative and all farmers, including thoroughbred breeders, need certainty for our people, our jobs and our industry. Without certainty we cannot invest in the future with confidence. ‘We are very pleased that someone is taking national responsibility for this issue,” he said. The Protect Our Industries campaign seeks to educate politicians and decision makers about the importance of our industry and the need for a strategic holistic plan for the future of the Hunter Valley. “Mr Truss is already well versed in these issues and I look forward to working with him on his policy,” Henry Plumptre said. The Thoroughbred Breeders of the Hunter Valley include Arrowfield, Coolmore, Darley, Vinery and Yarraman Park and are supported by the Hunter Breeders Association Inc, NSW Breeders” and Thoroughbred Breeders Australia. http://www.htba.com.au/default.aspx?pageaction=news&articleid=27 HMMM... N'

nasking

25/06/2013 Messara said the TBA took issue with Nationals leader Warren Truss' comments in Parliament suggesting a multi-tiered levy based on capacity to pay. "[b]Mr Truss is singling out the thoroughbred and performance horse sectors in a way he hasn't previously for any other primary industry," Messara said.[/b] "All horse sectors benefit from the eradication of an emergency pest or disease through lower ongoing disease management costs. "A pony club horse is as susceptible to disease as a thoroughbred." http://www.puntersparadise.com.au/news/TBA-supports-horse-levy_2392/ TRUSS...FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES? OR ON THEIR HIGH HORSE? N'

James Adelaide

25/06/2013Ad Astra, I’ve just had my first one! To explain: I have posted before that I talk politics to people in the street (Boothby). Up till last week, the overwhelming response to the question “who do you think will win the Federal election?’ has been ‘don’t know’. Last few days I got two ‘liberals’ Today I got ‘I think she can pull it off’ This is a first, although I confess that I decided about three days ago that Julia Gillard MP, PM could realistically be re-elected. The shift is starting, while the unengaged are still unengaged. When they engage, the election can be decided as a battle of ideas (assuming that the media actually report anything other than leadership speculation) My feeling is that the propaganda campaign is running out of steam, becoming repetitive and stale. The barely restrained hubris displayed by the opposition has been noticed. While the vilification of THAT WOMAN has reached such ludicrous depths that again people are noticing.… I think the Libs are scaring the horses while standing still: just imagine the scare if they start giving interviews!

nasking

25/06/2013 MORE MEMORIES...HORSIES...CATHOLIC SCHOOL...UNDERWORLD FIGURE... [b]Peter John McGauran[/b] (born 16 November 1955), Australian politician, was a [b]National Party member[/b] of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Division of Gippsland in Victoria, from 5 March 1983 to 9 April 2008. He is the brother of Senator Julian McGauran. was [b]educated at the Jesuit Xavier College in Melbourne[/b] and the [b]University of Melbourne[/b]. He was a [b]barrister and solicitor before entering politics.[/b] McGauran was appointed Minister for Science and Technology in the Howard government in 1996, however, on 26 September 1997, he was forced to resign his position due to Ministerial impropriety in relation to the "[b]Travel Rorts" affair.[/b] He returned to the ministry in 1998, as Minister for the Arts and the Centenary of Federation 1998–2001, Minister for Science 2001–04, and Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs 2004–05. In July 2005 he was promoted to Cabinet and became [b]Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, a position he held until 3 December 2007...[/b] After the [b]resignation of Nationals leader Mark Vaile,[/b] [b]McGauran was expected to seek the leadership, however he dropped out of the race[/b], stating that it was time for younger members to contribute to the party, and that he looked forward to using his experience to help them. On 4 April 2008, McGauran announced he would shortly be [b]resigning from parliament[/b], citing plans to [b]pursue interests in the thoroughbred racing industry.[/b] His resignation was effective on 9 April. He was succeeded by Darren Chester in the resulting June 2008 by-election. After announcing his resignation, he revealed events that occurred in 1996, where he [b]was physically assaulted by Alphonse Gangitano, an underworld figure who was later murdered.[/b] WIKIPEDIA STRANGE DAYS INDEED N'

bob macalba

25/06/2013How diverse is your opinion austin? k rudd willsave us all? polls that the majority of sensible folk believe are being manipulated, not being manipulated? i believe both points have already been explained in detail by several people, but keep banging on anyway, who knows maybe you might be able to convince us all of the error of our ways..just like kev would

Sir Ian Crisp

25/06/2013[quote][b]Sir Ian Crisp wonders how polls can possibly be rigged..yet can tell us all how a horse race could be rigged a dozen ways...isn't that right Sir Ian? jaycee [/b][/quote] I'll tell you how races can be manipulated if you tell me how Abbott manipulates Newspoll, JWS Research, Morgan, Essential Research, ACTU (that one exercises the mind), Gallup, Nielsen, and BludgerTrack. Abbott’s powers seem to be boundless.

bob macalba

25/06/2013An idiot in action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6NpVF5n3ug the last bit is the creepiest,

Tom of Melbourne

25/06/2013There is plenty of entirely uninformed speculation that polls are rigged. Yet no one even attempts to explain how this is done. No one has explained how qualified professional statisticians could or would be part of the fraud. When logic fails them, dumb people lapse into conspiracies

lawriejay

25/06/2013Sir French Fried would know that marketing promotion is what influences consumers that is why advertisers advertise ?:? The twentyfour hour seven days a week denigration of our Julia in all forms of the mass media is reflected in opinion POLLS, MSM is behind creating their TOXIC branding of Julia. The Womens Weekly has just announced that subscribers to their monthly are cancelling the subscriptions to the magazine because Julia is photographed knitting, how absured can it get - I've never seen political news so blatently trivialised in all my 71 years. Little wonder that televisions top shows are building this building that super building this super building that cooking this cooking by the book cooking by instinct, loosing weight etc. etc Abbott's trivialisation of the policy debate - will surely get him into the highest office in the land by treating the electorate as the fools he deserves ??

Catching up

25/06/2013This is a hung parliament that there has been wheeling and dealing. Should be a parliament,governs for all. ABC 24 Capital Hill. Does not the wheeling and dealing, allow other views to be included. Does not a minority have to take the views of more into consideration. Is not a government with massive margins, less likely to take the views of others into consideration. Wheeling and dealing = negotiation. When did this become a dirty word. Is not this how parliament is suppose to work. No such thing as parties of PM in the Constitution. Seem to be based on each electorate, electing a MP, and giving them to act on their behalf, Yes, they give their local MP the mandate to act on their behalf. Yes, each MP is seen as equal, in the eyes of the Constitution. Governments rarely have the power to get any legislation PASSED, without negotiation. The exception is when they gain control of both houses. We see what happens when that occurs. It led to the downfall of Howard. Checks and balances that the founding fathers attempted to put in place. If a PM cannot get through any legislation, it proves he has not the mandate to do so. It is the numbers on the floor of the house that count, ot those at the ballot box.

Tom of Melbourne

25/06/2013Gillard trying to win by being photographed knitting is about as trivial as it can possibly get. All dolled up in a designer suit and a regal chair, knitting for the royal family!! How twee.

nasking

25/06/2013 HIS MAGNIFICENCE...PAUL KELLY...HEART OF THE NATION...AND FRIENDS: Nor did they mention that these killers were trained by the Australian SAS not far from this auditorium, and that the Australian military establishment was integrated into Suharto's violent campaign against the people of East Timor. The evidence of atrocities, which I reported in my film Death of a Nation was heard and accepted by the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations, but not by those with power in Australia. When I showed evidence of a second massacre near the Santa Cruz cemetery in November 1991, the foreign editor of the only national newspaper in this country, The Australian, mocked the eyewitnesses. "The truth," wrote Greg Sheridan, "is that even genuine victims frequently concoct stories." The paper's Jakarata correspondent, Patrick Walters, wrote that "no one is arrested [by Suharto] without proper legal procedures". [b]The editor-in-chief, Paul Kelly, declared Suharto a "moderate" and that there was no alternative to his benign rule. Paul Kelly sat on the board of the Australia-Indonesia Institute, a body funded by the Australian government. Not long before Suharto was overthrown by his own people, Kelly was in Jakarta, standing at Suharto's side, introducing the mass murderer to a line of Australian editors. To his great credit, the then editor of the West Australian, Paul Murray, refused to join this obsequious group. Not long ago, Paul Kelly was given a special award in the annual Walkley Awards for journalism - the kind they give to elder statesmen. And no one said anything about Indonesia and Suharto. Imagine a similar award going to Geoffrey Dawson, editor of the London Times in the 1930s. Like Kelly, he appeased a genocidal dictator, calling him a "moderate".[/b] http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?222768 PRAGMATISM CAN MEAN TURNING A BLIND EYE... SOMETHING THAT MOST OF THE MURDOCH CREW HAVING BEEN DOING FOR A LONG TIME... OVER...AND OVER AGAIN. AT SOME POINT...THE VICTIMS DO COME INTO VIEW. AND JUSTICE...FOR ALL. TICK TOCK... N'

bob macalba

25/06/2013Then a bigger idiot follows my last post...synchronicity? try the Bob Ellis link from yesterday, or don't you really want to know?

Austin 3:16

25/06/2013Hey there Groupthink Bob, [quote]i believe both points have already been explained in detail by several people,[/quote] Believe what you like, if you can demonstrate it that's more the point.

Austin 3:16

25/06/2013Hey another thing with those manipulated polls. How is it that during the last few state and federal election campaigns those polls have been pretty much on the money? Are they normally accurate but being manipulated for just this federal government ?

nasking

25/06/2013 THE MURDOCH MEDIA TURN UP IN THE STRANGEST OF PLACES... MORE COVERUPS AND DELAYS OF JUSTICE BY THE UK POLICE, JUDICIAL SYSTEM AND POLITICIANS: [b]Daniel Morgan was a private investigator who was murdered in Sydenham, south east London, in March 1987. He was said to have been close to exposing important police corruption. His death was the subject of several failed police inquiries and in 2011 was at the centre of allegations concerning the suspect conduct of News of the World journalists. Morgan's unsolved murder has been described as a reminder of the London police culture of corruption and unaccountability. [/b] [b]After the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair declared that the first police inquiry (involving Fillery) was "compromised", a secret fifth inquiry, began..[/b] [b]2006 Jennette Arnold, a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority and Alastair Morgan's London Assembly constituency representative, described the unsolved murder as "a reminder of the old police culture of corruption and unaccountability" in London.. [/b] In the course of the [b]five inquiries some 750,000 documents associated with the case, most of them uncomputerised, had been assembled[/b]. Some of these related to evidence provided by the criminal "supergrasses" that the defence claimed was too unreliable to be put to a jury. In March 2011 [b]four additional crates of material not previously disclosed to the defence were found[/b]. [b]This followed earlier problems with crates of documents being mislaid and discovered by chance. [/b] [b]Nicholas Hilliard QC, appearing for the CPS, acknowledged the police could not be relied upon to ensure access to documents that the defence might require and the prosecution was fatally undermined as a result.[/b] The Metropolitan Police's senior homicide officer, Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell, apologised to the family, [b]acknowledging the impact on the case of police corruption in the past.[/b] "This current investigation has identified, ever more clearly, how the initial inquiry failed the family and wider public. It is quite apparent that [b]police corruption was a debilitating factor in that investigation[/b]." While indicating a satisfactory relationship with the police officers present, Daniel Morgan's family [b]condemned the way police and the Crown Prosecution Service had investigated the case and their failure to bring anyone to trial[/b]. For much of the family's 24-year-long campaign for justice they had encountered "stubborn obstruction and worse at the highest levels of the Metropolitan Police", [b]an impotent police complaints system and "inertia or worse" on the part of successive governments.[/b] [b]2011 News of the World "investigative journalism" scandal[/b] See also: [b]News International phone hacking scandal and Jonathan Rees[/b] After the collapse of the Old Bailey trial in March 2011 it was revealed that Jonathan Rees had earned £150,000 a year from the News of the World for supplying illegally obtained information about people in the public eye. After Rees completed his prison sentence for perverting the course of justice, he had been hired again by the News of the World, at the time edited by Andy Coulson. Rees worked regularly on behalf of the Daily Mirror and the Sunday Mirror as well as the News of the World, investigating the bank accounts of the royal family and obtaining information on public figures. [b]He had a network of contacts with corrupt police officers who obtained confidential records for him. He claimed that his extensive contacts provided him with confidential information from banks and government organisations and he was routinely able to obtain confidential data from bank accounts, telephone records, car registration details and computers. He was also alleged to have commissioned burglaries on behalf of journalists.[/b] [b]Despite detailed evidence, the Metropolitan Police failed to pursue effective in-depth investigations into Rees's corrupt relationship with the News of the World over more than a decade. [/b] [b]In 2006 the Metropolitan Police accepted the News of the World's disclaimer that the paper's royal correspondent Clive Goodman, who had been sent to prison in 2007 for intercepting the voicemail of the British royal family, had been operating as alone. They did not interview any other News of the World journalists or executives and did not seek a court order allowing them access to News of the World internal records.[/b] [b]In June 2011 The Guardian newspaper, calling for a public inquiry into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, focused its criticism of the parent company News Corporation's handling of accusations of criminality within the organisation on the newspaper's use of Jonathan Rees's investigative services. Rees's activities were described as a "devastating pattern of illegal behaviour" and far exceeding those of any of the other investigators commissioned by News Corporation who used illicit means to target prominent figures. [/b] They included unauthorised access to computer data and bank accounts, corruption of police officers and alleged commissioning of burglaries in pursuit of information about targets at the highest level of state and government, including the royal family and the Cabinet, police chief commissioners, governors of the Bank of England, and the intelligence services. The Guardian queried why the Metropolitan Police had chosen to exclude a very large quantity of Rees material from investigation by its Operation Weeting inquiry into phone hacking. [b]The Guardian had published extensively on Rees’s involvement with corrupt police officers and the procurement of confidential information for what Guardian journalist Nick Davies described as Rees's one "golden source" of income in particular, commissions from the News of the World. Davies has reported at length on what he described as the "empire of corruption" that Jonathan Rees and Sid Fillery built in the years following Daniel Morgan's murder, after Fillery replaced Morgan as Rees's partner.[/b] 2013 independent inquiry In May 2013 the UK Home Office announced it was to hold an independent inquiry into Morgan's death. Home Secretary Theresa May acknowledged that there was "no likelihood of any successful prosecutions being brought in the foreseeable future", but said that the independent panel would "shine a light" on the circumstances of his murder and the handling of the case. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Morgan_(private_investigator) NO LONGER...EYES WIDE SHUT N'

bob macalba

25/06/2013These terrific photos of a gorgeous woman, http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/img/2013/inthemag/jul/jg-watermark.jpg or meatball abbott in his budgie smugglers or racing lycra, betcha you chose the latter if asked,..thats right a 'man' in lycra...did you go to boarding school?[St something or other] be honest tom

nasking

25/06/2013 [b]Paul Kelly, John Howard and East Timor[/b] SEP 09, 2009 [b]Tony Kevin writes: Re. “Howard and Kelly rewrite history on East Timor” (yesterday, item 9). I was disturbed by John Howard’s mendacious spin (via Paul Kelly) of the Timor history, [/b] and so I went back to a few good sources at the time: Laurie Oakes’ classic Bulletin cover story, “The Massacre We Had To Have”, (dated 21 September 1999, but published a few days before that) and the late Senator Peter Cook’s insightful speech as Opposition Leader in the Senate on 21 September 1999 (page 8493, Senate Hansard). Cook quoted not only Oakes, but also Brian Toohey, and Robert Garran, Greg Sheridan, Louise Dodson and Peter Hartcher writing in that climactic fortnight between the vote result and the entry of the UN force. [b]All paint a picture of a carelessly insouciant Australian government haplessly swept along by the events of 1999: and until very late in the story just not caring about the bloodshed on the way, because it was Timorese and not Australian lives that were being lost, [/b]and hoping in the end that “we might just be able to wing it” (a quote from an unnamed DFAT senior official) towards an independent East Timor without too much damage to Indonesian-Australian relations... [b]How could Kelly have fallen so uncritically for Howard’s self-justifying spiel now, when all his Press Gallery colleagues would know the truth from their own journalistic work at the time? It seems that air-brushing the history of the Howard years is the fashion these days.[/b] http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/09/09/comments-corrections-clarifications-and-cckups-77/ INDEED. N'

Catching up

25/06/2013So all those photos we seen of Abbott in his home and family pool, are not stunts. Watched Ch nine news, they had fun, showing all Abbott;s stunts. What has been missed, many women know that knitting is an activity that has a calming effect on the body. Could be the reason, this gutsy woman does not lose it. I think this is one of the annoyance, that any leader has to go through, now and again. I suspect this is the price the PM has to pay, to get some exposure by the media. Does Abbott, towing his adult daughter behind him by the hand, googling at sleeping babies prove anything. I must say, the Weekly has done a good job. They are beautiful shots.

Catching up

25/06/2013"...My feeling is that the propaganda campaign is running out of steam, becoming repetitive and stale. ..." James, I suspect it has only lasted this long, as few are taking any noticed. It is not only the PM, that is not been listening to. If it takes pretty pictures in our magazines, so ne it.

Tom of Melbourne

25/06/2013Abbott gets a photo with his family. Solitary Gillard poses with knitting needles. Catching Up prefers knitting. No surprise there.

Sir Ian Crisp

25/06/2013[quote][b]Sir French Fried would... The Womens Weekly has just announced that subscribers to their monthly are cancelling the subscriptions to the magazine because Julia is photographed knitting, how absured can it get - I've never seen political news so blatently trivialised in all my 71 years. [...] lawriejay [/b][/quote] C'mon Lewdjay, get real. A staunch and committed republican knitting booties for a baby that will be born into the royal household of Windsor. Next the bird of paradox will be photographed having afternoon tea with Rupert.

Michael

25/06/2013So Julia Gillard knits. The Coalition's full of nits.

Jason

25/06/2013Tom of everywhere, Was this Tom a long lost relative of yours? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDQY1upYFfI&

bob macalba

25/06/2013That would be the shit eating grin photo shoot...fake emotions, sleazy look....its the body language,thats the tell now in stark contrast we have PM Julia Gillard..natural, relaxed,at ease and confidant... i know who i admire more and would rather look at cheers

Algernon

25/06/2013TOM Abbott might get a photo with his family, however those that live in his street, give him a wide berth and avoid him. You know why he abuses them and is quite aggressive. Not something youd want in a future PM.

Jason

25/06/2013Algernon, Perhaps Tom would like these photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgebludger/9130451265/

jaycee

25/06/2013Austin..we started talking about Newspoll..not EVERY POLL..I can live with the usual after three years of incessant MSM. bullshit. But hey!...you tell me EVERY fight ISN'T fixed!!? I reply to you because while you seem to revel in the "cheeky boy" debate, at least you do put some thought into your replies. And yes, I can think of a way to "manage" polling to get the result you want without even the person phoning the punters knowing. If you want to know how it is done..put yourself in the position of the person who wants a certain result and think like a devious criminal for a bit...should come natural to someone like yourself....:)

Heather

25/06/2013Tom, men knit too you know. Big craze of men knitting about 5 years ago wasn't it? So you demean the PM you demean the men who enjoy doing this too. It'a actually quite therapeutic. Try it.

Tom of Melbourne

26/06/2013Jaycee is an expert in the methodology of survey selection. Just like Ad Astra. Meanwhile, here knitting is an appropriate activity for a politician but things like running, swimming and bike riding aren't. Perhaps the the crowd here would make a list of hobbies that are suitable and those that aren't.

nasking

26/06/2013 PETER REITH: Shortly after leaving politics, Reith took up employment with Tenix, a major Australian defence contractor. On 27 February 2002, Prime Minister John Howard denied media reports of links between a decision to supply five police runabout boats to Indonesia and any discussions with Reith on behalf of Tenix. In 2003 Reith accepted an appointment as an executive director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development based in London representing Australia, the Republic of Korea, Egypt and New Zealand. Criticism Some NGOs have criticized the EBRD for financing projects they consider to be environmentally and socially harmful. Although it has increased its investments into energy efficiency and sustainable energy in recent years, these NGOs consider the bank continues to diminish the impacts of these green investments by financing carbon-intensive development such as coal, oil and gas production, transportation and generation, motorways, and airports. Among these contested projects are the Ombla power plant in Croatia, the Kumtor Gold Mine in Mongolia, and the Šoštanj lignite power plant in Slovenia. NGOs also criticize the EBRD on the lack of progress the EBRD makes in its main mission, the “transition towards open and democratic market economies.” For example, the EBRD reported that 67% of the people in its countries of operation indicated that corruption was the same or worse in 2006 compared to 1989. WIKIPEDIA

nasking

26/06/2013 THE NASTY EMPEROR AND HIS PUPPET... IF MURDOCH MADE AN OFFER RUDD COULDN'T REFUSE...WAS THE GOAL TO SABOTAGE THE LABOR PARTY?... RUDD CERTAINLY WORKING OVERTIME TO WRECK THE GILLARD GOVERNMENT...AN ALP IN GENERAL: Alexa Moses and Kerry-Anne Walsh April 22, 2007 [b]THE sight of Labor leader Kevin Rudd emerging from the News Corporation building on the right-hand side of media baron Rupert Murdoch triggered a stream of questions on the other side of the globe. Was it significant that Mr Murdoch squired Mr Rudd down Sixth Avenue at the conclusion of their meeting? Was it even more significant in this critical period that they were following up talks with a chummy dinner?[/b] http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/when-rudd-met-murdoch-subject-menu-was-secret/2007/04/21/1176697161133.html HMMM... N'

Curi-Oz

26/06/2013I've decided that I've had it with the rude comments about a certain politician knitting. So tomorrow I will be travelling to work on public transport while knitting and wearing a badge saying "I knit and I vote" Running, swimming and bike-riding for health or pleasure is one thing. Such activities performed as photo opportunities whilst displaying an admirable physique smacks more of a desperate narcissism. And just to stay on topic, my household has never been surveyed, though we are apparently in the right socio-economic demographic. Apart from Roy Morgan's outfit, I don't think WA gets much of a look in with some of these polling outfits. The assumption being that it is a Liberal Party stronghold. I think that could be because someone is putting a lot of money into the Liberal Parties coffers...

Austin 3:16

26/06/2013Hey Jaycee, Here's the thing each and every pollster out there shows Labor in a losing position. Newspoll isn't producing results that are completely different from all the others. So if Newspoll is getting "fixed" then all the others are too. And that included Essential poll with an online survey methodology and Morgan with a combination of face-to-face, SMS and phone polling. ReachTel with their automated polling etc. Different organisations, using different methodologies and they all show that PM Abbott is on the cards. So explain how they are all fixed, all of the time ? I can't think any polls in the last three years that would show Labor in a winning position. AND then explain how those same pollsters have been on the money during past state and federal elections. OH and an actual explanation would be good, instead of this wink, wink, nudge, nudge we all know how it would happen.

lyn

26/06/2013Today’s Links The Dumbing Down Has Just Begun by @TheHoopla I’m entirely ready to take a shovel, dig up the press gallery and turn it into a garden for ornamental cacti. Their lack of self awareness is staggering. Who, on one hand, lectures politicians for focusing on leadership instability, while at the same time, reporting on nothing else? http://thehoopla.com.au/politics-dumbing-begun/ The art of knitting by @BushfireBill In the term “poll analysts” I include journalists working for an agenda-driven Old Media, plus chartists and spreadsheet junkies who claim to be able to predict the future. I’ve seen enough predictions of the future go wrong when it comes to predicting the longevity of this government http://pbxmastragics.com/2013/06/25/the-art-of-knitting/ Photoshoot row: Julia Gillard ridiculed for knitting royal baby kangaroo by Helen Davidson The PMO agreed to a wide-ranging interview. Caroline Overington interviewed the PM for one hour on her achievements, leadership, misogyny, knitting, the Royal Family, Kyle Sandilands. Not a word of this interview appeared in the article published in Australian Women's Weekly." http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/25/gillard-ridiculed-knitting-royal-kangaroo?CMP=twt_fd “They can’t communicate” by @fakeedbutler But consider – just consider – that perhaps this was just a photo op of the Prime Minister knitting. Perhaps. After all, we see Abbott in any number of ridiculous photo shoots and no one accuses his communications team of idiocy. http://ausvotes2013.com/2013/06/25/they-cant-communicate/ Prime Minister Takes Hammy Photo Op In Lead-Up To Election; Media Acts Like That’s Never Happened Before By Steph Harmon The Australian, The Guardian, Daily Life, Crikey and Mumbrella have all had their say, as — of course — has Twitter. There are three main complaints being leveled at the Prime Minister and her press team. (Spoiler: They’re all pretty dumb.) http://junkee.com/prime-minister-julia-gillard-knitting-womens-weekly/13027 Julia Gillard: damned if she knits, damned if she doesn't by Amy Gray Those who really dislike the prime minister believe it’s a flagrant attempt to humanise her and, if there’s one thing her detractors won’t stand for, it’s any attempt to humanise someone repeatedly called a "bitch", or referred to as food. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/25/julia-gillard-knitting Gillard knitting photo shoot raises eyebrows amongst senior PRs by @mumbrella “Political is all about staged photographs”, said Tankard Reist, citing similar photos of Tony Abbott. “At least this is something she actually does. If she wasn’t a knitter then I think we’d have a problem.” http://mumbrella.com.au/gillard-knitting-photo-shoot-draws-pr-criticism-163608 Background on Women’s Weekly article and photo shoot by @PMOPressOffice An estimated 400 shots were taken.Shots of the PM were taken with and without knitting needles and wool, with and without Reuben, and in a formal outfit and an informal outfit. Reuben was also photographed with the knitted roo. It was entirely Women’s Weekly’s choice to publish the image they did. http://pmopressoffice.wordpress.com/2013/06/25/background-on-womens-weekly-article-and-photo-shoot/ Julia Gillard: Knitting shows another side of me by @WomensAgenda Campaign advisers have long worked with women's magazines to push a more "women friendly" image of politicians. Who can forget Tony Abbott photographed with his three daughters and wife back in 2010, accompanying a story with quotes such as, "I would say to my daughters, if they were asking ... it is [sex] the greatest gift that you can give someone". http://www.womensagenda.com.au/talking-about/top-stories/julia-gillard-knitting-shows-another-side-of-me/201306242380 Who gives a darn? by @minkelCA What pathetic journalism. But if you think that’s bad, have a read of this opinion piece from the same paper about the same story, fitting snuggly under the heading Out of touch if you pose as PM: http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2013/06/25/who-gives-a-darn/ Referendum legislation clears Senate despite Coaltion walkout by Julian Bajkowski The last minute bid to shoot down referendum support from within the Opposition has raised fresh doubts over whether Coalition leader Tony Abbott can now keep a lid on rising anger within key factional elements of the Liberals that remain bitterly opposed to any move perceived plan to dilute existing powers of the states. http://www.governmentnews.com.au/2013/06/25/article/Referendum-legislation-clears-Senate-despite-Coaltion- Toast The True (And Roast The Ranters) by @MikeSeccombe the results of the 2013 Lowy Institute Poll, which showed more than 50 per cent of young Australians – those aged 18 to 29 – are at best ambivalent about democracy in Australia. In the 2013 poll, only 48 per cent in that age group agreed with the statement ‘democracy is preferable to any other form of government’. http://powerhouse.theglobalmail.org/toast-the-true-and-roast-the-ranters/ Disrepair by @madwixxy The Coalition were elected on a promise to “Fix NSW”. Three years later it is becoming clear they are going to leave it us in a state of utter disrepair. http://wixxyleaks.com/2013/06/25/disrepair/ Lurking beneath Australia's AAA economy... by @OnLineOpinion the soundness of Professor Garnaut's 2009 comments it is difficult to ignore his recent opinion that as the mining boom ends this will directly affect the Australian economy, average incomes, State and Federal government revenues and investment so much that we need to get cracking on "the other industries we're going to have to get the growth from". http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=15162 Richardson’s disgraceful performance on Q and A. by @YosefAlbric The Ex Senator Richardson continued his campaign of hate and vitriol against the Labour Party on Q and A last night. After 20 years Richardson is still spitting the dummy over being thrown out of the Labour Party for what I shall call ‘conduct unbecoming http://yosefalbric.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/richardsons-disgraceful-performance-on-q-and-a/ ANaL GAZING by Ross Sharp Conduct an opinion poll, declare a leadership “crisis”, talk about “simmering tensions” within the “party” for another week and then demand of the Prime Minister this “wrenching confusion” be resolved once and for all for the sake of the nation and its hard-suffering peoples. http://smellytongues.wordpress.com/2013/06/25/anal-gazing/ Not so smart: the Coalition intelligence review repeats old mistakes by @ConversationEDU Election fever can create all sorts of unusual policy utterances and chest-beating exercises. While national security themes tend to only grab public attention sporadically, usually after an attack of some sort, terrorism or border security remain hot button political issues. http://theconversation.com/not-so-smart-the-coalition-intelligence-review-repeats-old-mistakes-15466 Lining up the leadership and Mal ‘Mr Cricket’ Brough by @independentaus When it comes down to the ballot box on September 14, nobody will be voting for Tony Abbott or Julia Gillard or Kevin Rudd or Russell Crowe. We will be voting for our local candidate, who, in my electorate, will be a choice between the Liberal-National candidate http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/lining-up-the-leadership-and-mal-mr-cricket-brough/ Today’s Front Pages Australian Newspaper Front Pages for 26 June 2013 http://www.thepaperboy.com/australia/front-pages.cfm News headlines http://www.hotheadlines.com.au/

nasking

26/06/2013 In Judaism, redemption refers to God redeeming the Israelites from their various exiles.This includes the final redemption from the present exile. As a Christian theological term, redemption refers to the deliverance of Christians from sin. It assumes an important position, however, only when the ills in question form part of a great system against which human power is helpless. In Buddhist theology it encompasses a release from worldly desires.

nasking

26/06/2013 BUSHFIRE BILL: There’s a pre-campaign and an actual campaign yet to come, where the punters will be reminded of just how much they will be losing – services, infrastructure, cash, rights at work, good health, better education – by voting for the Coalition’s dry austerity policies and how much they have gained under Labor in the same areas despite trenchant opposition from the Abbott forces

nasking

26/06/2013 http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EwUs3g2GHIs Wonder Woman Movie Trailer m.youtube.com http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=eOjtFd6HcjY&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DeOjtFd6HcjY Man of Steel - Final Official Trailer (HD) m.youtube.com

nasking

26/06/2013 Obama Climate Change 2013 Policy Speech Outlines Executive Orders Posted: 06/25/2013 HUFF POST WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama on Tuesday invoked his executive authority to undertake a slew of measures aimed at curbing climate change and preparing America for its costly impacts. The speech was hailed by environmentalists who've seen their policy priorities largely ignored since the president promised to address climate change in his State of the Union address earlier this year. "The question is not whether we need to act," Obama said in a speech at Georgetown University. "The question is whether we will have the courage to act before it's too late." Environmental activists were particularly pleased with the president's comments on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which the president was not expected to discuss. In the speech Obama asked the State Department not to approve the construction of the pipeline unless it can first determine that the pipeline will not lead to a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/25/obama-climate-change-2013_n_3497151.html THE TIME...IS NOW N'

nasking

26/06/2013 [b]Gillard, Obama detail US troop deployment[/b] Ms Gillard says the new troop deployment will make the alliance stronger. "Our alliance has been a bedrock of stability in our region, so building on the alliance through this new initiative is about stability," she said. "It will mean that we are postured to better respond together, along with other partners in the Asia-Pacific, to any regional contingency, including the provision of humanitarian assistance and dealing with natural disasters." Mr Obama says the deployment is part of preparing the ANZUS alliance for the future. "As it has been for six decades, our alliance is going to be indispensible to our shared future, the security we need and the prosperity we seek not only in this region but around the world," he said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-16/gillard2c-obama-announce-darwin-troop-deployment/3675596 INDEED N'

nasking

26/06/2013 KEVIN, YOU NEED TO SACRIFICE YOURSELF FOR THE GREATER UNION... THE GREATER GOOD YOU CAN SAVE THEM ALL https://www.google.com.au/search?q=julia+gillard&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#biv=i%7C0%3Bd%7CxXxjbXlfNS7rYM%3A DO THE RIGHT THING N'

jaycee

26/06/2013You are not "listening" Austin..I said, and you can read, the majority of the "other" polls are and have been pretty static for quite some time on 53-56 to LNP. . The Nielson and newspolls have had "outliers" to the extreme edge just when it "seemed" to suit the MSM. agenda. I can live with those 55/45 numbers after three years of unrelenting bullshit from the MSM. But I do believe there is just enough mendacity in the organisational capacity of Mr. Murdoch to "nudge the bar" just that litle bit higher when required. I could tell you how "I" would "manage" the numbers to my favour if "I" was in charge...but that would be a waste of time on my part because a) It would be purely hypothetical and subjective and b) You will not read my words for any kind of enlightenment, but to find gleefull dissent....So I say..spend a few minutes thinking quietly for your self..hint..: think suburb demographic identification and landlines..gender bias..age..and number of people polled as to the number of results utilised. Surely a mind as mischevious as yours can join those dots....and remember.: "You're in charge".

Ad astra

26/06/2013LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

nasking

26/06/2013 THNX FOR THE LINKS LYN I'VE PUT 'EM UP ON FACEBOOK. :D THIS IS A GOODIE FROM HOOPLA: I’m tired of anachronisms like reporter Paul Kelly lecturing the women of Australia on Q&A last week that we shouldn’t be talking about Gillard’s speech on equality for women in Australia, we should be focussing on ‘real policies’. Good point, mate. Women being paid the same as men (or even, god forbid, Mr Kelly, being able to talk about the things they find important in public) is silly, daft lady business. Forget the sexism involved in rubbish like that, it’s the pure, utter lack of intelligence that has finally sent me over the edge. If you genuinely can’t see that gender equality is part of the business of politics, then you have absolutely no right to call yourself a political reporter. http://thehoopla.com.au/politics-dumbing-begun/ EXACTLY. WINDS OF CHANGE... N'

nasking

26/06/2013 MAYBE IF WE HAD A WORKERS' TEAM PLAYING...INSTEAD OF A VB TEAM...I'D BE MORE ENTHUSED ABOUT THE CRICKET. WORKERS VS UK TOFFS N'

nasking

26/06/2013 TONY WINDSOR...A GREAT REGIONAL, RURAL REPRESENTATIVE WHO HAD THE COURAGE TO THINK AND ACT WIDER. I RESPECT AND THANK HIM AND ROB FOR THEIR SUPPORT. THEY COPPED A LOT OF CRAP COURAGEOUSLY...MOVED US FORWARD...TO A BETTER PLACE. N'

Doug Evans

26/06/2013Ad Astra Off topic but highly relevant to this site. Here is a little research from The Australia Institute into the policy decisions of the Gillard government that should give any critical thinker pause for thought. "… According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) total pre-tax profits earned by mining firms operating in Australia were more than $84 billion in 2011-12. To put this in context, that represents six per cent of GDP, or, for every $100 of income earned in Australia, $6 went to the owners of mining companies. With Australia in its biggest ever resources boom it appears counter-intuitive that the government should be subsidising the mining industry. With the mining industry so profitable these subsidies are not supporting the industry, but instead are simply increasing the size of its profits and placing greater pressure on other industries such as manufacturing, tourism and education. Put simply, these subsidies represent a transfer of funds from taxpayers to the owners of mining companies operating in Australia – 83 per cent of which are foreign owned. In 2012 The Australia Institute released an estimate of the subsidies the federal government was giving to the mining industry. That paper found that subsidies to the mining industry amounted to $4 billion. Reporting a year later, with the mining industry still enjoying large profits, total subsides have increased half a billion dollars to $4.5 billion. One of the main differences from last year was that Crude Oil Condensate is now going to be taxed under the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax (PRRT). This removes a $550 million subsidy to the mining industry. While the removal of this subsidy is welcome news it has been dwarfed by other increases. By far the biggest increase in mining subsidies comes from the rise in the cost of the fuel tax credits by $458 million. Another large increase came from exploration and prospecting deductions which have increased by $220 million. Deductions for capital works expenditure has also increased by $127.5 million as the mining industry goes through a massive investment boom. A new inclusion to the list is the coal sector jobs package which sees $219 million go to coal mines with the highest fugitive emissions of greenhouse gases. With the coal industry facing a widespread skills shortage, there is no economic justification for the federal government granting hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies to try and prop up coal sector employment. The ability of the mining industry to appropriate additional taxpayer support when company tax revenue is falling would seem to highlight the political strength of the mining industry rather than the strength of the economic arguments underpinning its taxpayer subsidies. With the federal government trying to bring the budget back into surplus and fund new programs such as DisabilityCare and the Gonski education reforms, decreasing the inefficient and inequitable subsidies to the mining industry presents a unique opportunity to help achieve that goal. Mining subsidies during a time when Australia is in the biggest ever resources boom simply represent a transfer of money from taxpayers to mine owners. High commodity prices have made a large number of mining projects profitable. This is highlighted by the continuing rush of capital expenditure that we are seeing at the moment in the mining industry. It is not in the national interest to continue these subsidies. Indeed, these subsidies simply exacerbate skills shortages and other bottlenecks that the industry is facing." Oh and by the way. Did you notice Tony Windsor, much admired here I think on 7.30 report last night. His nomination for the gretest failing of the 43rd Parliament. Asylum seekers - appalling. Or Harry Jenkins and his committee's all round condemnation of Labor's inhumane asylum seeker policy? You should be ashamed.

Heather

26/06/2013Asylum Seeker problem is the hardest one to deal with by a long shot. Howard made a mess of it with everyone going crazy behind the razor wire. The Malaysian solution was the best idea, but the opp. could not have something working well like that and their fear and loathing tool would be lost. I am so sad about Oakshott and Windsor leaving but who would want the job of being in Parliament. It is too brutal these days, and we can thank Tony Abbott for finishing it off. This guy has wrecked our democracy, so what of our future in this country if he bulldozes his way in to power. It means that human dignity and integrity will be totally lost with those men and women who are weaker, more fearful, more greedy and more selfish. What a place to live huh? The very unlucky country...the fatal shore, land of the brutes. Still there is hope with all the online people protesting with their brilliant analysis. I cant believe that the majority of Australians would go over to Abbott. And aren't we going to be on the nose overseas if we allow this to happen?

Doug Evans

26/06/2013Heather What is wrong with the Swedish model for asylum seeker policy that I outlined in response to the challenge issued by Ad Astra in his piece on 'The Purpose of Political blogs'? You might remember that the figures that I placed on the site at that time also indicated clearly that there is nothing special about the problem faced by Australia. Quite the contrary in fact. The numbers, both absolute and per capita showing up here unannounced are tiny by comparison with almost any other asylum seeker destination in the world. The length of mandatory detention in Australia is vastly greater - most countries release them into the community within about a fortnight if they pass the intial health and security checks. etc etc There is another way and most of the developed world has taken it. Labor chose for the crudest of political reasons (appeasing bigots in marginal seats) to try and stay close to the Howard solution and now the supreme irony is that these seats have turned on them anyhow. Some would call it poetic justice! There can be no justification moral or political for the stinking mess the Gillard Rudd government have created around this issue. Windsor is right. Jenkins is right. So was Judith Troeth from the Libs in her valedictory speech. History will condemn this policy as both immoral and monumentally incompetent and the refusal of TPS to condemn it is truly shameful. You should all go and stand in the Sorry corner.

Heather

26/06/2013Rob Oakshott is such a great pollie. So intelligent and positive. He says he is not a good hater. He praises Julia Gillard as a good leader and speaks about this. http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/the-pulse-live/politics-live-june-26-2013-20130626-2ovyx.html He certainly points to Aussie public being blinded and not getting the true message about their good leader. Tony Windsor, I love him. What a great aussie man, the best! Not surprised he has health issues...has not been looking the best at times. Hope he is okay with it all.

Heather

26/06/2013Did you all get this one with Russell Crowe supporting PM JG in Guardian AU today and having a bit of a chat about Australia's tunnel vision about the rest of the world. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/25/russell-crowe-lack-of-gallantry Kind of cant help asking "why in the hell are we bent on destroying ourselves when we have top leadership and govt. on the federal level!?" Can you imagine how we are going to go down the gurgler under a LN Coalition at Federal level when the state LNP govs are wrecking the joints so much. ie. de-greening of NSW through lack of support for solar panels, rubblish build up on public arterial roads and in parks, and much more I am guessing. It's a sensitive situation this world we live in. We could easily destruct and end up like the rest of the world. I guess the Libs believe a good bit of oppression, depression and regression will be good for their cause.

Jason

26/06/2013Doug, Instead of lecturing, how many asylum seekers have you staying with you? As they can't work are you finding them jobs, helping put food on the table,are working as an advocate trying to broker something between the ALP and the Greens that they both could live with, or are you sitting back writing on blogs condemning others whilst doing nothing yourself? Doug have you been with MP's when people come up to them and ask why is it I have to wait 18 months to see a (public) denist or wait just as long for sugery? when the Asylum seekers don't have to wait! Now it all may be a myth! I don't know if it is the case that this sort of treatment goes on, but when "rednecks" and "others" are fed a diet of this and other myths from the "shockjocks" tabloids and social media and are encouraged to tell their MP that if you don't act we will put someone in that will, the last thing on their minds is what happens elsewhere.

Heather

26/06/2013Oops! me saying that the asylum seeker issue is a very difficult one to deal with, is not me saying I agree with it. In a a better world I would like to bring them all in by planes rather than those rickety boats, and loss of life. I lived on a boat once in North Queensland and that is the risk you take living and sailing on the sea. However the law of the sea means that people are always helped if they are in trouble. The Tampa guy was doing just that. The Malaysian solutions in 1970 and recently would have got things better organized and stopped some of the refugees going on to Indonesia and then into the hands of people smugglers paying for expensive journeys. The cost of which is ludicrous when you think they could catch a plane and having plenty of savings left to set themselves up here. Why have they got no ID? That is the big question isn't it. This is why the gov. has to monitor it in case we are letting in a lot of potentially discordant members of other countries. And there are boats coming from elsewhere too. They thus have to regulate it all somehow dont they? I doubt if this barren desert land is sustainable enough to hold a huge population hugging the shores.

nasking

26/06/2013 MY BEST FRIEND, WIFE, S' JUST SAID TO ME THAT IF JULIA GILLARD IS PUSHED OUT OF THE PM JOB IT WILL DO HUGE DAMAGE TO THE ALP WITH WOMEN FOR A LONG LONG TIME. N'

Heather

26/06/2013Doug a& Jason, The penny has dropped as to why Tony Abbott and Gina have got their heads together about developing the North. They will probably want to ferry all the refugees over as free labour for lodgings while they wait forever for their temp. visas. If the LN Coalition due grab power, and it has been looking like a grab for the past 3 years, such an idea eventuates it will be the Gulag of cheap labour in the North for the benefit of the rich and wealthy. If this happens, I'd be betting that as many good people, intelligent Australians would be heading off to live overseas to get out of the hell hole, as there are refugees coming in to the country. Libs would call it a very good balancing act! Murphy's Law expect the worst...but dont attract it. ie. dont let it happen. :))

nasking

26/06/2013 I NOW PREDICT THAT IF THE ALP CHANGE THE LEADERSHIP YET AGAIN IT WILL BE AN UNMITIGATED DISASTER. THE MURDOCH FORCES WILL HAVE WON. THE ALP WILL HAVE BEEN DUPED...WILL FALL INTO A TRAP. AND BE MASSACRED. N'

Tom of Melboune

26/06/2013Al this talk of a leadership challenge is just baseless media speculation.

Austin 3:16

26/06/2013Hey Jaycee, You know I really dunno if the problem is on my end. Your hypothesis seems to be now that Newspoll and Neisen are “fixed” to suit the agenda of the media outlets that publish them. The other polls are presumably untainted nice and accurate little things. So lessee based on a 95% confidence levels you'd expect an outlier every 20 polls or so right. But the 19 other polls still will have an error margin of about +- 3% So if for example Essential says 45/55 and Newspoll says 43/57 and each of those polls is +- 3% then the results are within the margin of error for both. The true figure might actually be 45/55 or 46/54 or 42/58 and it would still be within the margin of error of both those polls. So the results of the “fixed” polls are within the margin of error for the nice polls. That is some amazingly good fixin going on. I like that you could explain exactly how things are fixed but you don’t want to do it right now. I don’t think I’ve heard that excuse since primary school “Yeah I could do it, but I don’t want to” very cute. And that still doesn’t explain how the polls have been historically accurate both at state and federal level but now they are being fixed. Did the same media organisations fix the polls from 2007 – 2010? You know poll after poll showing Labor on track for a thumping victory were they fixed too ? AND surely the more important thing is that each and every poll tells us Labor is going to finish a distant second in September.

Tom of Melboune

26/06/2013It's great to see Oakeshott cowered out of parliament. What a dill. If there was either a personality or IQ test to be a candidate for parliament, he would have been eliminated then.

Jason

26/06/2013Tom of Melboune "It's great to see Oakeshott cowered out of parliament" This from a man who's done what?

nasking

26/06/2013 I SEE THE USUAL SUSPECTS ARE ALL-SPIN ZONE...AND DESPERATELY PUSHING FOR A VOTE AND PREDICTING RUDD WILL WIN...EXAMPLE SKY/SLY NEWS. TELLS ME EVERYTHING. GO GILLARD!!! N'

Tom of Melboune

26/06/2013That's right, stick with Gillard, and follow her over the edge of a cliff. GO GILLARD!!

Truth Seeker

26/06/2013Nas, I'm with you… GO GILLARD :-) Cheers :-) :-)

nasking

26/06/2013 TRUTH SEEKER, THE PM LOOKING AND SOUNDING CONFIDENT AND FIRED UP IN PARLIAMENT. SWAN TOO. CAN'T WAIT FOR THE ALP TO UNITE... SO WE CAN DEMOLISH THE ABBOTT COALITION, CLAWS TWITCHING...AT THE READY. :D I'M SURE YER SWORD IS SHARPENED TOO. N' :

nasking

26/06/2013 For others, Obama’s ramped-up plan has an important message for Australia. “In the space of a week we’ve seen the world’s two biggest economies—China and now the US—take significant action against climate change,” said WWF Australia’s Will McGoldrick. “These low-carbon moves send a clear signal that the two biggest economies in the world are serious about acting on climate change. “Australia’s response to climate change is now at an important cross-road. We need to decide whether we want to continue to be part of a global shift to clean energy, or whether we want to buck this trend by unwinding the policy platform we have in place.” http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/06/26/obama-warms-to-climate-fight-with-direct-action-congress-bypass/ MOVING FORWARD N'

nasking

26/06/2013 COMBET SLICING AND DICING THE FLAT EARTH OPPOSITION. NICE. :D N'

nasking

26/06/2013 JENNY MACKLIN AND PETER GARRETT KICKIN' COALITION BUTT. GO JULIA!!! ABBOTT SO WORRIED HE HAS TO START RANTING AGAIN, Yawn N'

nasking

26/06/2013 I BET TURNBULL CAN'T WAIT TO SEE ABBOTT LOSE...THEN EXACT HIS QUIET REVENGE. N'

nasking

26/06/2013 S' JUST MUTED THE TELE...I BET MANY HAVE...MR. NEGABORE RANTING ABBOTT PROVIDES YET ANOTHER REASON WHY THE MUTE TECHNOLOGY WAS INVENTED. :D N'

TalkTurkey

26/06/2013 *J*U*L*I*A* RULES in Parliament House With Grit & Courage & Beauty & Nous: Knits Kangaroos & Takes A Lot of Baggin' But Inside Her Is A Realio Trulio DRAGON! That's a bit parody of a poem by Ogden Nash, Custard the Dragon Oh Comrades, I haven't written anything here for days and days. And why, well you know I've always been genuinely upbeat about Labor's prospects at the next election, I never in my wildest fears saw an enemy like Rudd. He's a pious Christian and churchgoer. That is the thing about him I despise most. What was that God said about Him Bloody Self? Oh yes. VENGEANCE IS MINE saith the Lord (FFS!) How's that sit with Mr Goody Twinkle? [i]And for him to wrest the leadership from *J*U*L*I*A* would mean to me that in essence we had already morally lost the election. [/i] Rudd WON'T win today or tomorrow though, and *J*U*L*I*A* WILL lead us into the election, and the truth of her power and resilience and creativity, her accomplishments and charm and vision will be seen for all its worth in the next few days. She will roll Rudd yet again if he really does challenge. And then women, parents, care workers, true-hearted Aussies in all walks of life will at last give her the credit which has long been her due, they WON'T watch her speed as we hit halfway down the straight. And we're not quite there yet Then PiG~THiNG will be wallowing! Won't front the MSM! And then it will be [b][i]GO RED CAVIAR ![/i][/b] [b]VENCEREMOS![/b]

Curi-Oz

26/06/2013Is there any evidence WHO the people are who are backing this current shemozzle in the Labor caucus? So far I've spotted: Rudd (in a blue tie) Ferguson Bowen Crean (possibly) Smythe Any additions to the list? This stupidity is doing my head in and making it very difficult to get much done today. Especially as I [u]did[/u] bring knitting to work in support of a PM who "..knits the ravelled sleave of care" to get so much done!

nasking

26/06/2013 JUST READ ON ABC 24 THAT RANTING ABBOTT HAS CALLED ON THE PM TO BRING THE ELECTION FORWARD TO AUG 3rd... IF THAT'S THE CASE IT SHOWS WEAKNESS ON HIS PART...AFRAID THAT PM GILLARD WITH A UNITED LABOUR WILL WEAR HIM DOWN. BTW, ON MUTE ABBOTT LOOKS LIKE AN ANGRY PONTIFICATOR. LIKE THOSE PRIESTS WHO BORED YA STIFF IN CHURCH WHEN YOUNG. PYNE LOOKS LIKE A CONDESCENDING TOFF SCHOOL PRAT. HILARIOUS. TRY THE MUTE. N'

N'ellie May

26/06/2013Yes Nas, I totally agree.On mute is the only way to put up with looking at him, not to mention Pine!

nasking

26/06/2013 N'ellie May, makes me LARF thinking that some delusional people think the NEGABORE Abbott would make a good PM. If yer bored of him and his ranting and pontificating now...imagine how you'd feel with him bragging and blaming for three more long long years...if he won? Pure TORTURE. N'

Curi-Oz

26/06/2013[quote]Christopher Pyne @PyneMHR The Australian people deserve to chose the Prime Minister, the faceless men don't.-CP1:16 PM - 26 Jun 2013 [/quote] So that would mean that Tony Abbott would never have been selected as LOTO - because Mr Pyne would not have been able to vote for him In Caucus!? And this person plans to "help" run the country after September? Gods help us all!

TalkTurkey

26/06/2013I said at 3.01PM [i]And then women, parents, care workers, true-hearted Aussies in all walks of life will at last give her the credit which has long been her due, they WON'T watch her speed as we hit halfway down the straight.[/i] What a buggerup sentence and I don't know what I meant myself.

nasking

26/06/2013 TT, I DIG THIS: *J*U*L*I*A* RULES in Parliament House With Grit & Courage & Beauty & Nous: Knits Kangaroos & Takes A Lot of Baggin' But Inside Her Is A Realio Trulio DRAGON!

nasking

26/06/2013 IF SHORTEN HAS SHIFTED, WHICH I HOPE HE HASN'T, IT WILL DESTROY ANY REP HE HAS LEFT. IT WILL LOOK NAKEDLY AMBITIOUS...LIKE A TACTICAL SNEAK...NSW DISEASE STYLE. I CAN'T SEE HIM BEING DUMB ENUFF TO DO THAT. N'

Bridget

26/06/2013Hello everyone. I'm new here but just wanted to say how much I admire your work Mr Astra! Your words ring so true to me. The polls are being used as killing machines by the MSM, or perhaps weapons of mass destruction! The destruction of our democracy, that is. No news of polls today but it's the other chestnut, a supposed leadership challenge, that's screaming from the TV and newspapers at the moment. Oh well, surprise, surprise. I'm making a point not to believe what they say anymore. A petition does not make a leadership challenge, imho. A petition amounts to nothing more than rumour and gossip. But it's being reported as if it's definitely happening, because then it's worthy of being news. But no one's heard from Rudd if he's actually doing it, perhaps they're canvassing the numbers first - but the bottom line is why is this news? It isn't. If I wanted rumours I'll go to Radar Online or a site like that. I expect a bit more from the MSM, truthful events would be a good start. So yes, from now on, I'm going to doubt everything that the MSM says about the government in this country. I'll believe it when I see it instead. They just can't be trusted anymore. The MSM is like the boy who cried wolf to me. From now on, I'll just laugh at what they say - laugh through my tears, that it has come to this. Thanks Mr Astra! More power to you.

nasking

26/06/2013 THE GROTESQUE RICHO FARTING ON ABOUT RING AROUND THE ALP...SAYING HE THINKS RUDD HAS THE NUMBERS...AND THINKS SHORTEN ON BOARD. SOUNDS LIKE TROSH. IF THERE IS ANY TRUTH IN IT...AND THAT SKY NEWS CRIM IS INVOLVED...I WILL NOT LEAVE BLOGGING PRRMANENTLY... BUT THE ALP WILL NOT GET A VOTE OUT OF ME AGAIN. A MURDOCH, RICHO, FACELESS MEN RUN ALP WOULD BE LIKE VOTING FOR POND SCUM. THNX BUT NO THNX. N'

nasking

26/06/2013 I CAN COME UP WITH AT LEAST TWENTY POINTS THAT WOULD BADLY DAMAGE A RUDD-LED ALP... IMAGINE HOW MANY THE LIBS AND MSM HAVE. N'

nasking

26/06/2013 THE LONGER THIS IS TAKING THE MORE IT IS DAMAGING THE ALP...MY WIFE AGREES. WE ARE BOTH VERY ANGRY WITH THE RUDD CAMP. THE MSM AND LIBS ARE THE ONLY ONES BENEFITTING FROM HIS PROTRACTED NONSENSE. GET ON WITH IT LABOR. N'

42 long

26/06/2013A stupid situation with no real prospect of a good outcome and many of a poor one. Joel Fitzgibbon is a dud. Rudd is abbotts best friend. Richardson is a turd. Freaked out by rigged polls and bought media. This is just another instance of labor having to be onside with Murky or getting nowhere. Rudd is a "murky" man. Why do I despise him so? there are plenty of reasons.

nasking

26/06/2013 WELL DONE PM. STRONG, HUMBLE, ARTICULATE, CONFIDENT CALL FOR BALLOT 7PM TONITE...AND EXPLANATION OF WHY SHE CAME INTO POLITICS. PM SAYS SHE WILL LEAVE POLITICS IF SHE LOSES BALLOT. LET'S HOPE SHE'S AROUND A GOOD LONG TIME. AND THE WRECKING OUT OF CONTROL EGOTISTICAL RUDD SHOULD RETIRE FROM POLITICS. PM JULIA GILLARD...ONE GUTSY LADY. ONE AMAZING WOMAN. FIRST FEMALE PM. ONE REMARKABLE LEADER. GETTING THINGS DONE. N'

Curi-Oz

26/06/2013Why am I starting to feel disenfranchised as a Labor leaning female voter?

lyn

26/06/2013Hi Bridget, Hello to you. I think Ad Astra has had or is having trouble with his IP service, so welcome to you, we are so pleased you have joined our TPSers. Thankyou for your comment "A petition amounts to nothing more than rumour and gossip" and seems nobody as yet have seen this so called petition. Here is a link to the latest :- Live coverage of Question Time as the Labor leadership crisis explodes @ 3.02pm BREAKING: PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has called for a leadership spill at 7pm this evening AEST. MORE TO COME http://www.news.com.au/national-news/live-coverage-of-question-time-as-the-labor-leadership-crisis-explodes/story-fncynjr2-1226670180677#ixzz2XIlKM4r0

nasking

26/06/2013 MICHAEL DANBY DECLARES HIS SUPPORT FOR PM GILLARD... RECOMMENDS KEVIN RUDD PURSUE CHINA AMBASSADORSHIP. I AGREE. N'

nasking

26/06/2013 THE NEFARIOUS RICHO INADVERTENTLY GAVE IT AWAY ON SKY NEWS...RUDD AND BOWEN HAVE BEEN PLANNING SABOTAGE OF PM GILLARD FOR MONTHS. N'

Doug Evans

26/06/2013Jason Hi. I thought if I dropped a line in I might get a nibble. First Jason I didn't make it about asylum seekers Ad Astra did. Some might think that a strange choice as of all the slip ups that have punctuated this government's useful contributions this is the most friendless, the most obviously bankrupt. But hey who am I to criticize. Second Jason. You can't bounce me. Like you I've paid my dues. For my entire working life a unionist (NTEU) in a sector (Tertiary Education) where the wage slaves generally consider themselves to be something else, somehow a cut above this and don't bother to join. Secondly I've just completed six years as a climate activist first as a volunteer with an NGO but mostly with a community climate change group. The blogging has only ever been a part of it. At 66 and with a few health issues developing I don't feel I need to apologize to anyone for the effort I've put in - not on asylum seekers but we can't do everything. I've definitely NOT just been sitting on my bum complaining. Jason I've not had the experience that you complain of with rednecks spreading disinformation but mate this is YOUR PARTY not mine. If folks are telling lies about what is happening as a result of the policies your party has implemented isn't up to you to find out the truth and call them on it? More to the point are you telling me that Labor politicians did not know what were lies and what is true wrt Labor policy?? Isn't that a bit of a joke? Do you actually want to blame the Greens for that too? Give me a break. Listen. I've written a two part post both on my blog Earthsign and on AIMN. It touches on issues we were earlier swapping comments on and I would value any serious comment you care to make on it on either site.

nasking

26/06/2013 [b]Richardson is a turd. Freaked out by rigged polls and bought media. This is just another instance of labor having to be onside with Murky or getting nowhere. Rudd is a "murky" man. Why do I despise him so? there are plenty of reasons.[/b] 42 Long, SPOT ON. N'

nasking

26/06/2013 Former NSW Premier Bob Carr will bring "the NSW disease" to Canberra, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says. "The NSW disease has come to Canberra," Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney after Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced Mr Carr was joining the senate and taking the foreign affairs portfolio. SMH I HOPE NOT. N'

Ad astra

26/06/2013Folks What a tumultuous day! And the tumult continues. I've been glued to ABC24 all day. Thereby my absence from the site. By 8 PM we should know what the outcome is. I see nobody is hazarding a firm prediction. Let's see. Both have a agreed to quit should they lose. At least the undercurrent ought to be resolved. If the saboteurs win, that will be a very hollow victory.

nasking

26/06/2013 BERNIE RIPOLL BACKING PM GILLARD. MP FOR OXLEY, QLD http://www.bernieripoll.com.au/ N'

42 long

26/06/2013Judge a political party by who supports it. and when there is a leadership dispute likewise. The Rudd supporters are a weak fickle lot, who plot and scheme behind closed doors .I fear they will win this one, and the party may get a lift, but it might have got it anyway, and Gillard will be gone, unfortunately. The monk could have easily tripped up. There is a lot of time before we all have to vote. Monk wanted it on the 3rd of Aug. Less time for questioning? He is a Phoney through and through and he won't be able to hide it. SAD day I think.

nasking

26/06/2013 RICHO PRAISING JOEL FITZGIBBON ALP WRECKER PRAISING ALP WRECKER N'

TalkTurkey

26/06/2013Cripes. Nobody Told Me There'd Be Days Like These! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8GVafKcGCQ Strange Days Indeed! Most Peculiar Mama! http://www.lyrics007.com/John%20Lennon%20Lyrics/Nobody%20Told%20Me%20Lyrics.html

Ken

26/06/2013TT very apt lyrics I am in Canberra and some very interesting "person in the street" comments coming through on radio. My reading of them is that if Rudd wins there will be a loss of some hard core Labor voters - prbably not entirely lost as they are most likely to vote Green and direct preferences back to Labor. And there will be a slight pick-up of voters not currently favouring Labor. May have more to say later after the result is known.

TalkTurkey

26/06/2013I'm ... [i][b]APPALLED![/b][/i] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbJfRe6iGlo

Heather

26/06/2013Cool! thanks for posting this. We sure need some music. I am kind of a hard core Labor voter for Julia Gillard, but will vote for them if Kevin Rudd gets up. Am certainly not mean spirited and punishing and hope all those Labor MPs will be professional enough too. Look this society is so backward here and some men hate women so much, they probably could do with a guy up there to win it. I did not expect Rudd to bounce back up so soon. Practical realities here and it would be a good bulky spanner in the works of the evil Abbott. I dont care what happens, but just get Abbott out of my face, and Australia's face too.

nasking

26/06/2013 SHORTEN BACKSTABS GILLARD N'

nasking

26/06/2013 MY WIFE PREDICTED SHORTEN WOULD TURN ON GILLARD...SHE RECKONS HE'S LIKE A SOFTLY SPOKEN RICHO... "SCUMBAG" SHE SAID. YEP, SOFTLY SPOKEN SCUMBAG. N'

Heather

26/06/2013Talk Turkey, that was a good one! Thanks, it's a relief to have a laugh.

Tom of Melboune

26/06/2013Shorten shows sound judgment for a change. Hilarious Now all the contributors here can turn on the whole caucus, because they've turned on "Our Prime Minister"

nasking

26/06/2013 SO CATHOLIC PRIVATE SCHOOL BOY SHORTEN STABS JULIA... THE SHOCK JOCKS AND CHANNEL NINE AND SKY NEWS AND MURDOCH MONGRELS WHO VILLIFIED JULIA THE ENTIRE TIME HAVE BEEN PERMITTED TO FCK DEMOCRACY AGAIN. I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW DISGUSTED MY WIFE AND I ARE. ALL THE WORK JULIA HAS DONE...ALL THE DREAMS OF YOUNG GIRLS, WOMEN...THROWN INTO THE GARBAGE. AGAIN. SHAME. N'

Tom of Melboune

26/06/2013Gillard is consigned to the dust bin of history, her legacy has been to taint women politicians through her duplicity. She has been a disgrace, and the country and the parliament is better off without her. Gillard, Oakeshott and Windsor all gone in a single day. Good. Now for Swan.

jane

26/06/2013Heather pity Rudd didn't subscrkbe to those principles. He was not a good PM & was a disloyal whiteanter. Instead of supporting the party, he has behaved like Liar. Nas' you & S are right You

nasking

26/06/2013 Jane, I don't care what ALBO says. I'm out. Stace is disgusted. She feels the ALP have screwed women for the men with interests in mining...money, money, money. Who don't care about the environment. N'

jane

26/06/2013Rudd & his fellow whiteanters have handed the Liars the election. He should be drummed out of the partyi

Tom of Melboune

26/06/2013Yeah!! Expel Our Prime Minister!!

nasking

26/06/2013 JANE, YOU KNOW SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THE ALP WHEN IT DESTROYS THE HOPES OF SO MANY WOMEN... AND HANDS TOM OF EVERYWHERE AND ANDREW BOLT A VICTORY. DISGRACEFUL! N'

Catspan

26/06/2013Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ...... How's it here in Labour Lefty Luvvy Land? What was her name again? Jool ... Joolee ... whatever, something like that. She's gone. Flush! Gurgle-gurgle-gurgle!!! Back to KEVIN 07!! Da MAN!! You rusted-ons must be pretty happy about that, eh? He's gunna SAAAAAAVE you all! Isn't he? Man - you blokes are back in charge! Dat Abbott fella! He dead meat! BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRR!! Dammit - I've run out of popcorn! Oh sides - do not split from larfing! This is the cheapest show in town - but with all the best laughs! (wipes laughing tears from eyes).

Patriciawa

26/06/2013Heartbroken!

Janet (jan@j4gypsy)

26/06/2013The saboteurs have won, Ad. Have no idea what this portends. But one is very sad tonight.

Algernon

26/06/2013Whilst I hate what's happened tonight. Let me throw this up. The Chinese In Bennelong love Rudd, I suspect the B grade tennis player might be in trouble.

DMW

26/06/2013:(

Catspan

26/06/2013Glad you threw that up Algy baby. Sounds like there's a lot of throwing up occurring here tonight - something in the left-overs that were found in the fridge, waaaaaaaaaaay back on the bottom shelf, that were recovered, dusted off, re-heated and served for a second time, perhaps?

Curi-Oz

26/06/2013I am devastated. And disgusted. The sociopaths have won, again. But I'm not going to let the bast*rds win easily and plan to go down fighting. We still have the NBN to defend, and Gonski, and NDIS and Renewable Energy. And the Liberals still haven't produced any policies, so we can poke them with a proverbial stick until they have produce them. *sad*

Alcyone

26/06/2013Our deepest, heart-felt gratitude to Prime Minister Gillard for her sterling service to our nation and for her shining example of dignity, courage, principle and fortitude. This has consistently exposed her detractors, one and all, for precisely what they are. She is an inspiration and her term of office as PM made me feel it a privelege to be Australian. May she, Wayne Swan, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakshott leave the heap of *peep* that is Federal Politics far behind. Her best and happiest work, I think she will find, is yet to be done, well clear of it.

tiffany232

26/06/2013I'm heart broken tonight. Not have the labor party have lost the election. They've lost their soul as well. Look out Mr Rudd for Bill Shorten wants your job and he'll get it.

DMW

26/06/2013My most 'umble apologies Satchmo [i]I see ties of blue, and clouds of shite The bright blessed day, turned into a dark night[/i]

nasking

26/06/2013 [b]We still have the NBN to defend, and Gonski, and NDIS and Renewable Energy. [/b] JUST GOT OFF THE PHONE WITH A MATE IN SYDNEY...HE WAS VERY SAD...THOUGHT IT TRAGIC FOR GILLARD AND THE YOUNG WOMEN...AND OTHER SUPPORTERS... BUT HE ALSO SAID: "WELL, WE CAN WIN NOW...AS LONG AS THAT ******* ABBOTT DOESN'T GET IN...PEOPLE HATE HIM. I GUESS HE'S RIGHT. HARD TO SWALLOW...I GOT PRETTY PISSED FOR AWHILE... BUT THE MORE HE ARGUED THAT WE MUST THINK ABOUT BEATING ABBOTT THE MORE I REALISED HE'S RIGHT. EXHAUSTING MY VOTE WOULD BE DONE. RELUCTANTLY, I WILL SUPPORT RUDD'S ALP IN THE REPS. AND THE GREENS FOR THE SENATE. MY WIFE SAID SAME WITH A TEAR IN HER EYE. SAD DAY. POOR JULIA. I RESPECT THE GREAT JOB SHE DID... I HATE THE MSM TONITE. DETEST THEM. N'

Algernon

26/06/2013It's looking more like a pyrrhic victory for KRudd. The might win Bennelong but lose an awful lot of others. As for the neo nazis I wouldn't count my chickens too soon. Lets face it you have to have policies and they don't

nasking

26/06/2013 SHOULD BE: [b]EXHAUSTING MY VOTE WOULD BE DUMB.[/b]

Ad astra

26/06/2013Folks The tumult of today has resulted in the removal of our first female Prime Minister. Kevin Rudd and his saboteurs have succeeded. They have undermined her and stalked her so that she had to fight not only the Abbott forces, but the Rudd forces too. They have killed her politically, for which they will long be remembered. She has done a wonderful job, bringing to fruition many major reforms, which will be her legacy. It is sad that her own party has rejected her. We shall miss her inspirational presence. I am so sad she has gone. It is now up to Kevin Rudd particularly, and his henchmen, to show us how they can turn the situation for Labor around. They need to put their actions where their mouth is.

nasking

26/06/2013 [b]It is now up to Kevin Rudd particularly, and his henchmen, to show us how they can turn the situation for Labor around. They need to put their actions where their mouth is.[/b] Ad, AGREE. GONNA BE A TUFF ROAD. N'

Heather

26/06/2013I did not watch it all eventuate on TV as had to watch DJango on video to get it returned in time. I felt a great calmness descend. It must have been Rudd chosen I thought. C'est la vie. But poor Julia, she has worked so hard, and done such a good job of this Minority Govt. It's achieved so much for the Australian People even though wrecker Abbott has done he utmost to destroy it all the time. It is such and credit to her. Alas amid it all she just did not have it to win the next election and now it is up to Rudd to finish of the good job, and demolish the mad monk for good. The trouble is this is the same old story where the woman does a very good job, one of excellence only to have the man swoop in to take all the glory. Let's all be professional about this, and get the job done good and proper. No use tearing the Labor Party apart anymore. The phoenix has risen so to speak. Let's hope that Rudd gets his Icarus tendency under control and resists flying too high to the bloody sun, so his wings dont fall off this time around. Good on you Julia you did such a good job! Now for some good teamwork standing with old foes to all win together. It is almost like a block buster all this, with Katter the cowboy riding in to save the day. Well almost the stuff of legend actually.

TalkTurkey

26/06/2013 Darling *J*U*L*I*A* it feels like losing a family member. What can I say, there are no words. This evil scheming turncoat who precipitated the hung parliament in the first place and has white-anted you ever since has been rewarded by panicky little people of little principle. I have always believed that with you as our Leader we would fight and win the coming election. How could anyone have guessed that a spiteful member of our Party would be the agent of your deposing. You are graciously making your brave stepping-down speech, now with your lovely voice breaking just a little and getting back under control. Thanking staff and friends. Gone. Respect and thanks.

Ad astra

26/06/2013Folks What a gracious response to her defeat we have had from our Prime Minister. She is an exceptional person.

Tom of Melbourne

26/06/2013Gillard has been dishonest, the electorate turned on her for this and finally persuaded the party to act in the interests of their survival Gillard's legacy of expedience will soon be forgotten.

Catspan

26/06/2013Mate - she is the worst Prime Minister Australia has ever had to endure. Her departure signals the beginning of this nation's recovery from the grasp of incompetent ideological zealots who turned everything they touched into dust and ashes. The people you admire killed Australians, burned down their houses, put the nation deeply in debt, ruined viable industries such as the export cattle trade (with no care whatsoever for the devastation that caused to individual farming families), lured over 1,000 foreigners to their deaths on the open seas and let over 40,000 more of them barge their way into this country uninvited and unchecked. But that is not the worst of it. Your side of politics has doomed Australia to an Islamic scourge that, in the decades to come, will kill hundreds of Australian citizens. Bleeding hearts kill more people than terrorists. Gillard and her incompetents [u]were [/u]bleeding hearts. Rudd and his incompetents [u]will be [/u]bleeding hearts. You all [u]are [/u]bleeding hearts.

Algernon

26/06/2013Silly boy of Melbourne are you a typical Liberal, born with no mouth and two bums. Lets face it you talking shit. Like a typical Liberal if you Lie often enough someone might believe you. Gillards speech tonight shows she's got a backbone, unlike the person that will succeed her or Tony Abbott.

Catspan

26/06/2013Hey that's intelligent, Algy old boy. Let's face it: "[b]you [/b]talking shit" I know you've had a bad day. I know you're despondent, devastated and deranged in the knowledge that the Julia-and-Tim pantomime show can now end. But take heart, old fruit - the adults will soon be back in charge - this disgraceful mess will be tidied up once more. Don't thank us - that is what we Conservatives do.

Catspan

26/06/2013Hang in there, Talk Turkey - don't let that bottom lip quiver!

nasking

26/06/2013 [b]don't let that bottom lip quiver![/b] CATSPAN, MIGHT BE SAYIN' SAME TO YOU SOON. N'

N'ellie May

26/06/2013What a wonderful, outstanding person our PM Gillard is! No more ALP support from me. She was our shining light and a beacon for integrity and decency. What a gracious lady and she will long be remembered and valued. What other person could have bowed out with such grace and dignity? It is a blight on our maturity as a nation and thank you to the dark forces. We will rue this day of shame. Thank you to the MP's who maintained their integrity and resigned their portfolios in support. My greatest regret is for the future of my kids and grand-kids.

Algernon

26/06/2013Which adults might that be you're talking about there Catspan, Surely not Tony Abbott and his band of buffoons. And what mess stupid dishonesty put up by the the born to rule liars. Three words describe Abbott, violent, abusive, bully, he's totally unfit for high office. Liberals are pretty good at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. On top of that you need policies and they don't have any. If polls are to be believed its now even money and if that's the case the Liberals will lose Bennelong

nasking

26/06/2013 I CAN'T HELP BUT WONDERING IF ABBOTT & HOCKEY HAVE BURNING ULCERS AND BILE BY NOW... AND TURNBULL RUBBING HANDS GLEEFULLY? LIBERALS ARE MANNING PANIC STATIONS. N'

nasking

26/06/2013 I HOPE RUDD LOWERS CARBON PRICE BUT NOT GET RID OF IT. AND BRINGS BACK DEPENDENT SPOUSE REBATE FOR FORTY AND OVER, CHILDLESS...NOT JUST FOR COUPLES WITH KIDS. HOPE HE PUSHES GAY MARRIAGE. PUSHES EDUCATION FUNDING IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT CAN'T BE USED BY LIBERALS FOR VOUCHERS TO TRANSFER KIDS TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS. AND MAKES SURE THE NAPLAN TEST ISN'T PUBLISHED...CHANGE USE. PARENTS CAN KNOW...BUT NOT EXPLOITED BY MEDIA. NEED DENTICARE. HOPE HE GETS ALL KIDS OUT OF DETENTION CENTRES. N'

DMW

26/06/2013... past predicts future form ... Mr Rudd already keeping everyone waiting while he preens himself for his 'victory' speech.

Catspan

26/06/2013'Nasking - indeed you might - that is the nature of politics. You all cheered and whooped and hollered when Howard was defeated - didn't you? Oh yes you did! Boot's on the other foot now, losers. I'm having a few drinks tonight while I watch your party of lunatic, hopeless incompetents self destruct. And I intend to drink from a wildly overflowing cup the night you lot get booted out of office. The only difference is this: Howard gave you lot ZERO debt. ZERO. Your lot of drunken sailors have put - how much? - on the credit card since Kevin 07 strode into town. That's the difference - when we lose, we hand over to you a shop that is neat, tidy, fully accounted for and profitable. When you hand it back to us - the shop has turned into a squalid brothel where we have to evict the squatters and drug dealers, fumigate the place, completely renovate it and pay off the mortgage. This is the endless cycle of Conservative government followed by ALP mismanagement. So - yes - Nansking, you will inevitably hoot and holler again (but not inside ten years, I'm thinking). But I'm enjoying myself right here and now. Champagne, anyone? And how about a little bet, Turkey boy? Got anything left to put on the certainty of an ALP election that you have been endlessly droning on about for a couple of years? I'll give you odds of 100 to 1. Whaddaya say, Turkster?

Catspan

26/06/2013The Krudster and Albo. Wow! What a team. You guys are home and hosed - the next election is your for the asking - it's in the palm of your HAND! Turkey Boy - whatever you've put on Gillard SORRY! Krudster to win the next election - Double it! You're going to make a FORTUNE!!

Algernon

26/06/2013Nup sober as a judge, Catspan. The thing I like about Liberals when they gloat they look and sound stupid, just like you are here. Abbott violent, abusive, bully, unfit for high office.

nasking

26/06/2013 BOB CARR EFFECTIVE ON LATELINE. ABBOTT LOOKS WORRIED. DON'T FORGET...HE IS NO INNOCENT. TOOK OUT TURNBULL. JOKED ABOUT A NSW LIBERAL PREMIER WHO TRIED TO SUICIDE. HAD A GO AT BERNIE BANTON. SMASHED HIS FIST NEXT TO A WOMAN WHO BEAT HIM IN A UNI RACE. ETC ETC... N'

nasking

26/06/2013 [b]ON YER BIKE TONY![/b] :D

nasking

26/06/2013 PETER BEATTIE EFFECTIVE TOO ON LATELINE. IMPRESSIVE POLITICIAN. ETS ASAP...MENTIONED BY JONES...INTERESTING IDEA. I WONDER IF MINING TAX WILL BE ADJUSTED?

Algernon

26/06/2013Just listening the the unfit Liberal leader talk rhetoric. Policy dear boy policy, start putting them up if you've got any. He just vomits negativity.

nasking

26/06/2013 [b]The finance minister, Senator Penny Wong, will be the leader of the government in the Senate. Addressing the media late on Wednesday night, Rudd said he had contested the prime ministership again because “I simply do not have it in my nature to stand idly by and allow an Abbott government to come to power in this country by default”.[/b] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/26/labor-returns-kevin-rudd-election-wipeout ROFL...ABBOTT NOW PRAISING ONE ASPECT OF GILLARD...TO USE AGAINST RUDD... AND SAYING HE DOESN'T BELIEVE IN PLAYING POLITICAL GAMES. WHAT A JOKE HE IS. NEGATIVE NEGATIVE NEGATIVE.... I'M SURPRISED HE HAS ANY KIDS AT ALL CONSIDERING HOW MUCH HE SAYS [b]NO[/b] :D N'

Ad astra

26/06/2013Folks Now that the long day has come to an end, who is the most terrified politician in Canberra – Tony Abbott. He never wanted to face Kevin Rudd; now he has to, and he doesn’t know when!

jane

26/06/2013Kevin Rudd has just handed government to Liealot. Do any of his stupid fellow whiteanters think Rupert will support them? I may vote Greens 1 this election, so great is my repugnance for this mob of gutless traitors. Instead of working to get the government reelected, they have worked tirelessly for the Liars. No honour or guts. Jula Gillard is worth more than all of these Labor rats put together. They should hang their heads. I wonder what excuses they'll have to offer when they lose the election

Tom of Melboune

27/06/2013[i]Now that the long day has come to an end, who is the most terrified politician in Canberra – Tony Abbott. [/i] Very funny indeed. "Our Prime Minister" has just been given the a**e by her colleagues, humiliated, put down. Her parliamentary career done and dusted, consigned to an inglorious history. But Abbott is the most terrified!

Mal Kukura

27/06/2013It's time to face up to the dysfunctional Westminster system that allocates selection of the head of government to a small minority who can be much more easily bought and paid for on the open market than the expensive public. Today it took only twelve people (57-45) who swung on the word of the son in law of the GG. This is not democracy. Our prime ministers have never been chosen democratically. They have always been chosen by micro-minority elites. Electoral reform is the only way to put an end to this corrupt structural flaw which will now be ruthlessly exploited by the insatiably greedy plutocrats who have eaten the private corporate mass media and have excreted the mercenaries Captain crapstain napstaC and Tom Yesterday Today and 2Morro of Melbourne and their aggressive subhuman ilk who spill their vile filth here on The Political Sword. The sort of mental illness they expose here is the great challenge civilized societies face - and these barbarian subhumans do not belong and must be dealt with - that is why we have defence and justice - to protect and defend against criminal aggression.

lyn

27/06/2013Today’s Links Abbott v Rudd: the choice Australia deserves? by @MikeSeccombe She was up against the most intransigent, ruthless opposition imaginable. She faced, right from the get-go, a hostile media, sections of which were entirely prepared not only to misrepresent the facts at every opportunity but to attack her personally in way we’ve never seen before in this country. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/26/abbott-rudd-labor-spill-elections Back from the dead to bury Labor? Rudd returns as PM by Crikey But tomorrow, there will almost certainly be a vote of no confidence moved by Abbott in the Parliament. Looking at the current House numbers, Labor has 71, the Coalition 72 with seven crossbenchers. http://coffsoutlook.com/back-from-the-dead-to-bury-labor-rudd-returns-as-pm/ Rudd Redux: Julia Gillard gone after 3 years by @GrogsGamut You can say it was because of the media, and I sure as heck think there were those in the media who really hated her – you only have to look at the front page of the Daily Telegraph on Monday to see it. But good leaders can speak to the people and render the media http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/rudd-redux-julia-gillard-gone-after-3.html Follow The Spill (Again): A Junkee Liveblog by @bencjenkins Abbott “I was very conscious, as the father of three daughters, how momentous the first female PM was”. After a lengthy ramble about why he doesn’t like the govt, ends with ‘and that’s why we should suspend standing orders’. I remember this from last time. http://junkee.com/follow-the-spill-again-a-junkee-liveblog/13225 Gillard v Rudd: ALP leadership spill liveblog by Amber Jamieson It’s prime ministerial party time, with Julia Gillard declaring a ballot for the Labor leadership will be held at 7pm and Kevin Rudd declaring he will challenge. Check Crikey’s liveblog for the latest developments http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/06/26/gillard-v-rudd-alp-leadership-spill-liveblog/ Kevin Rudd defeats Julia Gillard: expert reaction by Helen Westerman Kevin Rudd has completed one the great political comebacks in Australian history by reclaiming the prime ministership from Julia Gillard in a party room vote in Canberra tonight, 57 votes to 45 http://theconversation.com/kevin-rudd-defeats-julia-gillard-expert-reaction-15567 Rudd 57 – Gillard 45 Australia Nil by @gabriellechan It was the polls that fed the Rudd monster – the same polls that slew the beast in the beginning. And to be fair, apparently a fair portion of the Australian voting public could not stomach her. http://thehoopla.com.au/rudd-57-gillard45-australia-nil/ Why I am supporting Kevin Rudd for the Labor Party leadership by @bbaldwin2013 Truly, the Prime Minister does not deserve this fate. However, inaction will lead to an Abbott Liberal National Government and it is the threat of this possibility that leads to my change in position on this matter. http://brentonbaldwin.wordpress.com/2013/06/26/why-i-am-supporting-kevin-rudd-for-the-labor-party-leadership/ Faceless Men are at it again, says Liberal ad as Rudd returns by @mumbrella The Liberal Party has pounced on tonight’s spill with an online ad featuring clips of senior Labor figures criticising their new leader Kevin Rudd. http://mumbrella.com.au/ It’s not about the knitting by @gingerandhoney Far from being a conspiracy, what’s much more likely is that WW decided to go with the photographs they had and completely rework the feature content to their own specifications, ignoring any PR directives from the PM’s Press Office http://overland.org.au/2013/06/its-not-about-the-knitting/ Call Now To Vote For Your Favourite Pollie: Spills and Games of Political Media by @Mothincarnate Perhaps they should be even more concerned if they plan to run with the Direct Action Plan, the proposed 100 new dams, oh and also the Great Northern Development. Such ventures are riddled with nonsense, bad arithmetic and wishful boasting. http://newanthropocene.wordpress.com/2013/06/26/call-now-to-vote-for-your-favourite-pollie-spills-and-games-of-political-media/ Give us an election, Kevin by @macro_business It remains unlikely that Rudd will win the election, but he can prove to us all today that he is more than just another narcissist by taking the risk that he’ll lose a leadership ballot. And if he wins and adopts the “Australian adjustment” platform, he can apply a lot of heat to Abbott’s austerity party. http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2013/06/give-us-an-election-kevin/ If ALP has the figures, and they show they’ll save more seats under Rudd: DO IT NOW by @jeremysear The issue is solely minimising the length of time that the even worse Liberals are in government, if indeed they have to be. Losing the election isn’t the only question – how badly they lose it matters too. The fewer MPs they have, the longer it will be before they can fight their way back into government. And if the Coalition gets the Senate, you can only imagine what they’ll http://anonymouslefty.wordpress.com/2013/06/26/if-alp-has-the-figures-and-they-show-theyll-save-more-seats-under-rudd-do-it-now/ flipzwidling has 45 important questions for politicians that are not being asked by @flipzwidling @NoFibs Interview after interview of government ministers who daily front the cameras and microphones of the mainstream media are reduced to questions about pretenders to the Prime Ministership. It is hard to understand how they can get their portfolios examined by voters when they aren’t asked any questions about them. http://nofibs.com.au/2013/06/25/flipzwidling-has-45-important-questions-for-politicians-that-are-not-being-asked/ Policy From The Poop Deck by @MikeSeccombe Ah, yes, there’s the promise of Australia’s next government: xenophobia and copper wire and not much else. But we in the media, we’d rather not focus on this. We’d rather talk about Kevin Rudd and knitting. http://embedle.com/e/9FxkrCfQd#http://powerhouse.theglobalmail.org/policy-from-the-poop-deck/#!prettyPhoto Windsor and Oakeshott, independents alike to the last by Bernard Keane But delivering support to Labor was the easy part — for the all the bile and hatred directed at them ever since by conservatives. Windsor and Oakeshott, along with the other independents and Greens MP Adam Bandt, became the crucial votes for passage of any contested legislation http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/06/26/windsor-and-oakeshott-independents-alike-to-the-last/ Gonski reforms pass the Senate by Bridie Jabour The bill passed the senate with no amendments and so did not have to return to the House of Representatives for the legislation to become law. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/26/gonski-school-education-reforms-senate Australian politics is the poorer for the loss of Oakeshott and Windsor by @crazyjane13 Both men made the point that they’re not ‘quitting’. Oakeshott, in particular, said he had no fear of the upcoming election campaign. There’s no doubt, though, that bullying was a factor – and I don’t use the word lightly. Being subjected, day after day, to relentless harassment, wears down even the strongest of us. http://consciencevote.com.au/2013/06/26/australian-politics-is-the-poorer-for-the-loss-of-oakeshott-and-windsor/ The Glass Ceiling by @afcoory But alas hatred, nastiness and spite, Sought her out all day and night , Up until the very end she worked, Not one day did she ever shirk http://frandi.wordpress.com/2013/06/26/the-glass-ceiling/ Today’s Front Pages Australian Newspaper Front Pages for 27 June 2013 http://www.thepaperboy.com/australia/front-pages.cfm News headlines http://www.hotheadlines.com.au/

Catspan

27/06/2013Ad astra - you're off with the fairies in La La Land. You reckon Tony Abbott is terrified? What a joke! You haven't got a clue - but that's nothing new. Dealing with Rudd is as easy as shooting fish in a barrel. All The Liberals have to do with their ads is merely repeat everything YOUR side has already said about him. And folks! For your very own personal viewing pleasure, here is the very first Liberal Party ad against Rudd: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NQ4oUYW2xZo Didn't take long, did it? This is toooooooooooooooooo easy!

nasking

27/06/2013 Woke up this morning and felt sick. That Courier Mail front page says it all. The Murdoch empire think they have won. And the criminal forces that have caused in a rot so deep and wide in this country. Gutted to think that Gillard and Garrett are gone. That scumbags like Richo and the shock jocks and the evil Murdoch scum got their way. Democracy...a plaything for media, gambling, property development, banking, retail, meat, armaments, private health and mining barons...and crims. I need a long, hot shower. Both mainstream parties should be ashamed of what they have allowed to happen to this country. My wife feels same. She also feels corruption and UNDEMOCRATIC manipulation has ruined our country. TRUST IS LOST. N'

Ad astra

27/06/2013LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

nasking

27/06/2013 CAPSTAN...YOU BSing WANNABE...HAVEN'T HAD A DRINK SINCE NEW YEARS AND DON'T INTEND TO START AGAIN NOW BECAUSE OF MURDOCH EMPIRE, RICHO, MINERS' SCREWING OVER OUR DEMOCRACY...YET AGAIN. LOOKING AT THAT VB BEING SPRUIKED TO KIDS BY WAY OF CRICKET IS ENUFF TO KEEP ME AWAY FROM THE POISON THAT MAKES SO MANY MEN ABUSE AND DO DUMB THINGS. LYN, THNX FOR THE LINKS... MIKE SECCOMBE @ THE GUARDIAN: [b]Julia Gillard is a class act. I can’t think of any Australian politician, at least in my time, who’s had to put up with so much crap, and done it with such grace. [/b] Forget about policy and ideology for a moment, and think of it just in human terms. She led a minority government, with all the delicate negotiation that entails. She was up against the most intransigent, ruthless opposition imaginable. She faced, right from the get-go, a hostile media, sections of which were entirely prepared not only to misrepresent the facts at every opportunity but to attack her personally in way we’ve never seen before in this country. Nothing was too nasty for these opponents – these people I have previously called the Nasty Movement. I don’t think it’s partisan to suggest that commentary which attacks a political leader in the crudest possible language, which suggests her father died of shame, which lampoons her genitalia, for God’s sake, and impugns her partner’s sexuality is demeaning not just to Gillard, but to the whole political process. This extreme nastiness was not restricted to her, either. A significant part of the reason Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor announced their decision to leave politics was the unremitting assaults of the shock jocks. Over the past couple of weeks, the parliament has seen an exodus of other good people too, most of them lamenting as they went the decline in Australian public political discourse... The day began with Oakeshott and Windsor, jointly announcing they would not contest the election. According to Windsor, they went for a walk the previous night, during which Windsor told Oakeshott he’d decided to pull the pin, and Oakeshott told Windsor the same thing. [b]They are two honourable men, to whom should go much of the credit for such stability as this minority government has enjoyed. And two players right to the end, for the suggestion was that if Labor lost Gillard as its leader, it might also lose their support on the floor of parliament...[/b] But for all this speculation, the fact remained that there was as yet no apparent move to change leader. Late morning and word spread that the Rudd forces had got up a petition in an effort to force a leadership contest. Under party rules, if one-third of Caucus members sign, it forces a ballot. Ah, [b]but it was devilishly hard to determine whether such a petition existed[/b], let alone divine how many signatories it had. As Gillard later said, it was a bit like the Loch Ness monster in that some people believed it existed, but there was not hard evidence... After that, it was a matter of taking sides, counting numbers. The crucial, Brutus blow for Gillard fell a little after 6.30 when one of the more influential factional players, Bill Shorten, formerly in the Gillard camp, came out in support of Rudd. He looked and sounded deeply regretful, and why wouldn’t he? [b]In effect he was agreeing to pay ransom to a hostage taker[/b]. His choice was between an honorable contender who had committed to end the instability by leaving the parliament if necessary, and a man prepared to kill his party’s chances if his demands were not met. And in the party room, his demands were, finally met. The vote went 57-45 to Rudd. [b]Now it just remains to be seen if Rudd’s storied – and to so many who actually know him inexplicable – popularity with electors can do Labor any good. As the old saying goes, in a democracy people get the government they deserve. Maybe it’s simply the case that Australia deserves a choice between Rudd and Abbott.[/b] http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/26/abbott-rudd-labor-spill-elections INDEED. N'

2353

27/06/2013While politics is a dirty game effectively there are two options for the next election. At the next election you can either vote for the LNP and see the same governance that have failed in Europe and are currently bringing Queensland to its knees be implemented Australia wide or you can vote for the ALP with Rudd and see the same governance that almost eliminated the GFC from our shores, a carbon trading scheme, NDIS & the NBN. While I would like to say there is a third choice - effectively there isn't. No-one in Australia (except those in Lalor or Griffith) has voted directly for the PM since 2007. When you vote for your local MP - effectively you give him/her the power to make decisions like that the rolled Nelson, Turnbull, Rudd and Gillard. I suspect that like Keating, Gillard's time as PM will be more appreciated in the future than the present.

Ad astra

27/06/2013[b]Good Morning Folks The long day that had us transfixed to ABC 24 all day did not finish until [i]Lateline[/i]. There was scarcely a moment to attend to [i]TPS[/i]. [i]Newspoll[/i]: The Killing Machine has done its job. Ironically, the ammunition that it has generated month after month, ammunition that the commentariat has used to predict an electoral wipeout for Labor, was eventually used by her own party members to aim at her and kill her politically. They were persuaded that they could not save their seats with her as PM. The loyal stood solidly with her, but eventually the Nervous Nellies predominated. It shows how powerful polls have become, so much so that they are a dominant force in politics, sufficient to dislodge a Prime Minister. We saw them dislodge Kevin Rudd, and now Julia Gillard. [i]TPS[/i] has asserted for years that polls are an unwanted and mischievous influence in politics; here we have another example. It is a sad end for a highly intelligent PM devoted to fairness and opportunity for all, one who has withstood the vile vituperative language from Tony Abbott and his henchman, amplified by the venomous shock jocks Alan Jones, Ray Hadley and Andrew Bolt and their ilk, who have spread poison for three years now, who have so successfully imprinted it in so much of the electorate that she is indeed regarded by many as a witch that ought to be ditched. We read some of that vile language on this site. I am so sad that one who has done so much to bring about needed reform in so many areas: global warming, tax reform, the economy, education, health and disability, fast broadband, infrastructure, Murray Darling water, and so on, has been treated so shabbily. It is sad that our first female PM has been so vilified by the Fourth Estate that she has been removed by her own, scared of losing their own seats. How long will it be before we see another female try again? Whoever she is, she will have to be as courageous and tough as Julia Gillard. Julia has my unqualified admiration. I applaud her for what she has achieved. To what extent Kevin Rudd can reverse the polls only time will tell, but if he does, the fear that was apparent in Tony Abbott’s face late last night will permeate his whole being, and will be accentuated every time Kevin Rudd plays with his mind, as he did with Howard’s. No doubt shoved out by his minders to say something, all he could stammer were his tired old slogans: “We’ll stop the boats, we’ll get rid of the carbon and mining taxes, we’ll bring in a surplus, we’ll get the economy going, and we’ll build infrastructure.” He seemed more concerned about the election date, insisting Kevin Rudd should re-affirm that it is September 14, or earlier. He seemed scared it would be later. The man fears the polls will now swing against him and residence in The Lodge that he has coveted for so long will slip away from his grasping fingers. He will be the one looking anxiously at subsequent [i]Newspolls[/i], worried that they become a killing machine for him. Already overnight, a sizable automated poll shows a big swing back to Labor to bring the parties to almost even. Be scared Abbott man.[/b]

nasking

27/06/2013 If I have to watch another Triolli And Cassidy PERFORMANCE I think I'll be sick. BARRIE CASSIDY SPINNING OVERTIME...SPRUIKING AND PLAYING APOLOGIST for their CHOSEN ONE... BILL SHORTEN. Bill Shorten, friend of RICHO. THE CORPORATE CHOSEN ONE. THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING. Cassidy once worked for Murdoch. [b]BARRIE CASSIDY IS THE ABC's EQUIVALENT TO RICHO ON SKY/SLY NEWS. [/b] TRIOLI and ROWLAND SPRUIK NEWS LTD PAPERS EVERY MORNING. [b]SHORTEN...dead to me politically. SOFTLY SPOKEN SCUMBAG. ASSASSIN. PATTERN OF BEHAVIOUR. ALP SHAME![/b] N'

nasking

27/06/2013 [b]BABY FACE SHORTEN - PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE[/b] MATE OF MEDIA GANGSTER RICHO. N'

janice

27/06/2013Good morning all. This is the day I bow out, Ad astra. I will spend the rest of the time I have left in this world ignoring politics. My support for the Labor Party which I've supported all my life is withdrawn because there is absolutely no way I can support a party who, when the going gets tough will reward treachery. Whilst I now cannot support Labor, I would never vote green so long as my bum points to the ground. My vote will go to an independent in the reps and Labor in the Senate. One day, this nation will come to realise just what they lost last night. Rather than 'the lucky country', Australia has become 'the stupid country'.

nasking

27/06/2013 LIVE EXPORTS OF CATTLE OBSESSED KATTER FARTING ON ABOUT THE EVILS OF FREE TRADE WHAT A JOKE! FEW THINGS MORE EVIL THAN LIVE EXPORTS AND MASS ENSLAVEMENT, TORTURE, ABUSE AND EXECUTION OF SUCH BEAUTIFUL ANIMALS. N'

nasking

27/06/2013 [b]TPS has asserted for years that polls are an unwanted and mischievous influence in politics; here we have another example... It is sad that our first female PM has been so vilified by the Fourth Estate that she has been removed by her own, scared of losing their own seats. How long will it be before we see another female try again? Whoever she is, she will have to be as courageous and tough as Julia Gillard. Julia has my unqualified admiration. I applaud her for what she has achieved.[/b] Ad, SPOT ON. POLLS...FOURTH ESTATE...GRRR. [b]Already overnight, a sizable automated poll shows a big swing back to Labor to bring the parties to almost even. Be scared Abbott man.[/b] INDEED. BUT AIN'T THAT TYPICAL...A WOMAN GETS ON WITH THE JOB...WORKS HER BUTT OFF...POLLS DON'T MOVE... MAN WALKS IN...BLOODY SAVIOUR...POLLS GO UP. DUMBED DOWN, CORPORATE MEDIA MANIPULATED COUNTRY. MISOGYNY STILL REIGNS SUPREME. AT LEAST PENNY WONG HAS SURVIVED. N'

Michael

27/06/2013How lucky a politician is Kevin Rudd? Until the GFC spoiled the party, Howard left him a fat and self-satisfied electorate to beam over. Famously a ditherer who couldn't decide when to lock off and deliver policy, now the legislative effectiveness of the Gillard government has gifted a potential Rudd Government with a solid base to govern on for at least two terms. Doing nothing decisive comes easy to Rudd. Well, he has to do something first - make sure the Coalition don't win the next election. After that, so long as he doesn't behave towards and treat his cabinet and backbench as he did when first prime minister, then Rudd doing nothing except embedding the achievements of the Gillard legislative program will be more than enough done 'in the nation's interest'. Lucky guy. The hard yards have been laid, beat Abbott and he'd got it made.

Mal Kukura

27/06/2013Innovative uses of social media are the key to blocking the advance of the fascist criminals. Does anyone know someone who could do in Warringah on 2013 what Maxine McKew did in Bennelong in 2007? There must be someone who could do away with the smug budgee. An independent would do. Maybe Captain Crapstain can take a break from laying down putrid skid marx and lead the challenge as a first step in a twelve step therapeutic regimen for regaining enough sanity to get over the aggression. The first step is ending denial. Only then can the aggressive external projection of self hate be controlled.

nasking

27/06/2013 I accused ED HUSIC of being a Labor rat the other day on Facebook. I think I was too hard on him. He is an articulate fella...very good communicator indeed. And a public school grad. I retract my comment Ed. Apologies. Emotional days. N'

nasking

27/06/2013 WHAT A DASTARDLY CONTORTIONIST TONY ABBOTT IS...ON ABC RADIO HE DUMPS ON THE REFERENDUM TO FUND LOCAL GOVERNMENT...YET HE PASSED IT THRU... ABBOTT CAN'T BE TRUSTED... HE DOESN'T WANT FUNDING OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES...HELP FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES WHERE SO MANY KIDS AND ELDERLY GO... ABBOTT IS MORE INTERESTED IN CREATING SPECIAL TAX ZONES FOR GINA AND THE OTHER BIG MINING BARONS...AND CASINO MEGA-RICH. N'

nasking

27/06/2013 Jaycee, there is no relationship between The Greens and ALP left... they have little in common now. Differ on sooo many policies. My wife says she will vote Green...then ALP. She is angry. I will vote Green, then ALP etc in Senate... but because I'm an old Rudd supporter (well, way back when...great days of 06, 07...KICKING HOWARD BUTT)...I will VOTE ALP FOR THE REPS. INTERESTING HOW NATIONAL PARTY SPOONS LIBERALS EVERY NIGHT...IN BED WITH FREE TRADERS. NATS ARE A BS PARTY THESE DAYS. LITTLE INDEPENDENT ABOUT THEM... [b]AS EXEMPLIFIED BY THE LOVE THAT BOTH BARNABY AND ABBOTT HAVE FOR GINA RINEHART. POLITICAL MÉNAGE ET TROIS.[/b] N

nasking

27/06/2013 CHRIS BOWEN TREASURER...GOOD. ONE SMART COOKIE. MY WIFE ACTUALLY LIKES HIM. SHE LIKES HIS SMARTS. NICE SMILE... BLOODY ARTICULATE TOO. DOES A GOOD INTERVIEW. N'

42 long

27/06/2013Abbott calling for an early election. There might be a downside for him in that.He probably only wants to avoid scrutiny of HIMSELF and HIS NON policies. I would have loved to see some debates between Gillard and the Monk. She would have wiped the floor with him. A "dirty Tricks" program unleased on K Rudd might just backfire. Abbott is nothing but a specialist in destroying peoples reputations by Quasi facts or implied failures/ shortcomings. To quote some where.and applying to abbott.."THE TRUTH IS NOT IN HIM". I truly hope the Abbott is exposed for the shallow and deceptive self serving "THING" he is, and never gets the crown he desires. Australia would suffer far too much with that outcome..

nasking

27/06/2013 CAN'T WAIT TO SEE [b]Thérèse Rein[/b] BACK...I ALWAYS HAD A THING FOR HER. :D https://www.google.com.au/search?q=therese+rein&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#biv=i%7C3%3Bd%7CUbJTBpCbaJr7tM%3A NOW THAT'S ONE STRONG, MULTI-TASKING WOMAN. N'

Ad astra

27/06/2013janice I empathize with your feelings. I can see how disappointed you are. It is now just over five years since I wrote my first blog piece. It was on [i]PossumBox[/i] and was on the subject of groupthink. You offered a comment on that first piece, and you have commented on my pieces ever since. You are my longest-standing correspondent. I hope you will return to comment from time to time so that we can continue the very long and happy association we have had.

nasking

27/06/2013 GOOD THAT ALBO IS DEPUTY...I HAVE A GOOD MATE IN SYDNEY WHO RECKONS HE'S A TOP BLOKE. THEY WENT TO UNI TOGETHER. [b]ALBO HAS BEEN AN INFRASTRUCTURE MINISTER AKIN TO THOSE IN THE ROOSEVELT ERA... PROBABLY AN EQUIVALENT HERE IN OZ... GOT A LOT DONE...AFTER HOWARD'S NEGLECT[/b] N'

Ad astra

27/06/2013nasking, Michael It may be that the times will suit Kevin Rudd, much of the heavy lifting having been done by Julia Gillard. It will reverse the trend, which favoured Tony Abbott. Abbott must be worried. Now he will see his big lead in the polls shrink, and as the election approaches, he has to face up to explaining policy and costings, and being involved in debates with Kevin Rudd. We will see him shrink until he looks withered. 42long I too believe the ad campaign the Coalition proposes will backfire if it is too viciously anti-Rudd, given Rudd’s popularity with the electorate.

Patriciawa

27/06/2013I feel very much as Janice does. Hard to be inspired by a party choosing a man as leader because he is the lesser of two evils. I need more time to absorb all this.

Patriciawa

27/06/2013http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/6/26/1372248519342/7c583777-736d-4a5d-8fa2-4d64d2a8b9e6-460x276.jpeg I imagine Anthony Albanese is as unhappy as he looks in this picture.

nasking

27/06/2013 ACTUALLY...I MIGHT HAVE THREE BEERS TONITE...ONE TO CONGRATULATE RUDD ON HIS [b]RESURRECTION[/b]... THE OTHER FOR THE MINORITY GOVT LED BY GILLARD AND ALL THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS... THE THIRD IN RELIEF THAT ABBOTT MIGHT BE ON HIS WAY OUT...HEADING TO ANOTHER LOSS. MIGS AND BACCHUS AND BOB MACALBA MIGHT BE ABLE TO RECOMMEND A GOOD BEER THAT IS NOT TOO CHEMICALLY YUCK... AND NOT ONE IN RUPERT MURDOCH'S FRIDGE. :D I THINK I'LL HAVE A BOTTLE OF ORGANIC RED ON MY BIRTHDAY TOO...JULY 11TH. MAYBE TAKE IN LIVE MUSIC AND A RESTAURANT. FIFTY-THREE. NOT BAD CONSIDERING MY SPECIALIST IN THE 60S RECKONED MY ASTHMA SO BAD I WOULDN'T GET PAST MY THIRTIES. MEDICAL MIRACLES THNX TO RESEARCH EH? THANK GAWD FOR MEDICARE TOO. LABOR'S CROWNING ACCOMPLISHMENT. ALONGSIDE FREE AND AFFORDABLE EDUCATION. N'

nasking

27/06/2013 WASHINGTON -- The Defense of Marriage Act, the law barring the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages legalized by the states, is unconstitutional, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday by a 5-4 vote. "The federal statute is invalid, for no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to disparage and to injure those whom the State, by its marriage laws, sought to protect in personhood and dignity,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion. "By seeking to displace this protection and treating those persons as living in marriages less respected than others, the federal statute is in violation of the Fifth Amendment." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/26/supreme-court-doma-decision_n_3454811.html GOOD DAY FOR AMERICA N'

janice

27/06/2013Ad astra, So long as you keep this site going, I will be tuning in. However, I will not be commenting on politics nor will I bother even keeping up with the political scene. For me, the saddest thing is that by re-installing Rudd because the lily livered think he might save their seats, they cannot see that if (and it is a big IF) he does happen to save some furniture it will probably be only a footstool, and they stand to lose the lounge suite they already had in the bag.

nasking

27/06/2013 Should be: [b]Political ménage à trois...JOYCE, ABBOTT AND RINEHART.[/b] My French a wee bit rusty. N'

DMW

27/06/2013Despite the high drama of the last few days the sun got out of bed this morning and life goes on. Pootoweet. reCaptcha [i]Labor esedto [/i] Translations anybody?

Misst

27/06/2013I'm utterly devastated too!! I wanted to spit the dummy and check out TV soaps till after the election, but a night's sleep has helped a bit. Now I'm vacillating between angry and utterly numb, but I guess that, no matter what, keeping Abbott out of power is the priority. Will he be free to endlessly bellyache because I've had a gut full! Will someone, ANYONE, put him in the spotlight and ask for more than slogans??

ian

27/06/2013my comment over at the Pub, ' Not all that long ago I remarked that ” if Gillard goes…evil wins ” Well, evil has won and the weak and immoral have replaced the strong and principled. I cannot support that……..and I never will.' When, over 100 years ago, those strong and principled men and women stood under a tree in Barcaldine does anyone, seriously, think that Rudd, Bowen, Albanese and others of their ilk, would have been welcome company? After 40 years of Labor support they've done me in.

nasking

27/06/2013 I was surprised that Shorten didn't get the TREASURER position...went to BOWEN. Hmmm...maybe he really did support Rudd in the end because he didn't want to see Abbott's Coalition get so much power? Shorten did do a top job with the NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME (NDIS)... and helping people here in the FLOODS get their appropriate INSURANCE PAYOUTS... and made some USEFUL SUPERANNUATION CHANGES... and so on. Worth thinkin' about. N'

Ad astra

27/06/2013janice Thank you. Do say hello from time to time. Patriciawa Your feelings are understandable. Let's see how things pan out over the next few days/weeks. The next [i]Newspoll[/i] and indeed all polls will be interesting. They will not be predictive as they never are, but they will show us whether the trend has changed, and it is trends that are important. Misst The one who will be really under the spotlight from now on will be Tony Abbott. Of course Kevin Rudd will too, but Abbott will be the one who may be blinded by the headlights - like a frightened creature.

KHTAGH

27/06/2013Ad Astra A fine piece again, I have to say I am still in a state of shock over the last 24 hrs results, the only part that makes up for the disappointment about JG going is to see the worried look on Abbott's face this morning. He now knows most of his vile election mantra has gone with JG & the focus will now swing to him. We will now get some idea of just how much the polls are true to form, if they are manipulated by the power behind them(Murdock & Gina) there will be little change, if they turn around we should see what most of us here have wanted to see, the unraveling of the Mad Monk, which in my opinion will be the only silver lining to the whole leadership issue. Anyone but Abbott!!

Heather

27/06/2013I liked Julia Gillard. Thought she was very professional. Politics is so ruthless that it becomes a fight to the death. However elections are the contests that get them in there. I do feel that Rudd will win it for us, and have felt there was a possibility he would take over before the election in order to win. It was very painful to watch how Julia was not cutting it with the greater public and the media was tearing her down. However she got lots through her govt. and will be known as a great reforming leader. It must have been extremely frustrating for her to do all that work, and nobody noticed. She has actually given Kevin Rudd a great foundation of achievements to go to the election with, and he has shown recognition to her for this. She was so brave and admirable against such tough odds. She was a tall poppy and we all know how Aussies love to cut these down. The evil feeling and freak-out around Abbott has been radically subdued by the popular Rudd coming back as PM. The Wilcox cartoon of Abbott praying for Julia to win was pretty spot on I think. Dont like polls much, but have you seen the ones on SMH with majorities for a Labor win now. One was at 70% to 30% in early hours. They have evened up but still pro Labor for a win. I am pretty sure all Labor will be pleased to see that. Still there is a long way to go till election. Heard on the grape vine that Abbott might be in trouble with his own electorate as there are a lot of Chinese there.

Catspan

27/06/2013Ad astra - I'm getting a bit sick and tired of your "Abbott is scared" crap. You're a foolish buffoon with no credibility. YOUR party of clowns is self-destructing and eating itself. YOUR precious Julia knifed the Krudster - who has come back and knifed Julia. YOUR party's idea of change management closely resembles a knife fight in a phone box. Are YOU now going to start cheering for the Krudster who YOU have been spitting on for the last couple of years? With this never-ending lefty farce dragging on year after year - why on earth do you think Abbott has anything to worry about? What is there for him to fear? Krudd may have saved an ALP seat here or there - big deal - the ALP is still doomed because all Australia views the ALP as a party of bickering, incompetent clowns and halfwits - all totally devoid of even a single shred of credibility. Time to put up or shut up, mate - if you reckon Abbott is quivering in his boots because Krudd is back - then you must also believe the Krudd has a real chance of winning the election. If so, wise guy - what's your bet on Krudd's ALP winning the election? Put up or shut up.

Tom of Melboune

27/06/2013The first responsibility of a leader is to establish trust, without this credibility they have nothing to offer. Gillard failed this on the first day - she was installed by the power brokers/hacks. Now that she has been thrown out so ingloriously, it represents the reestablishment of public trust in political institutions. Most here don’t even bother to attempt to comprehend that, it’s just too inconvenient.

Ad astra

27/06/2013Folks If any of you need any evidence of how upset and angry Abbott and his fellow travelers are at the advent to Kevin Rudd, read what Capstan has to say at 12.33 PM. He begins by berating me as “a foolish buffoon with no credibility” – such language is used when your argument is weak. As is usual with Capstan, he offers no evidence, just assertions, because after all, Capstan is always right, so facts are irrelevant. He’s an angry man our Capstan, now even more angry and less certain since Rudd’s comeback, just as Abbott was this morning in parliament, where he attacked Rudd right after agreeing with him that we should kinder with each other. Abbott’s response to threat is always more belligerence. No doubt Capstan will come back in response to this comment spitting his usual nastiness.

nasking

27/06/2013 What a wonderfully dignified and respectful farewell speech by Rob Oakeshott. So moving when he referred to sending an email to the PM...Gillard in this case (got me thinking of how the Americans refer to former presidents as 'president' out of respect)...the email told Julia 'Your Father would be very proud of you'...seeing Rob and Julia tear up brought a few to my eyes. 'Here, here' I thought and clapped. Wonderful moment. Rob is right, we must do something about the 'ugly Australian' attitude. This ugliness we've seen directed at asylum seekers, Julia, politicians' families, non-whites on public transport, Muslims...and so on. I think it's time too for those of us on the social network, blogging sites to clean up our act...me included. Certain shock jocks, tabloids, celebrity mags, stand-ups, current affairs' reporters, animated shows and music have set the precedents of ugly styles that we picked up in our fight to bring down what we felt were war-mongering, public service-hating, indigineous and asylum seeker villifying governments... so frustrated were WE with the EXTREMISTS on the RIGHT getting away with murder, so to speak...we picked up their attitude...their style...their hard-hitting approach...at times...to get attention...drown out their ugly voices at times...speak to truth...or our perspective...change things for the better. It worked in some ways...but sadly, the degeneration of civility continued...moderate voices fell to the wayside. As of this comment I've decided to desist in using profanity in my comments. Best to be more imaginative...innovative. It's a start. N'

Tom of Melboune

27/06/2013• Will Ad Astra and crew chime in to support the man they have vehemently criticised for the past few years? • Will they rejoice that he has given Gillard exactly the treatment she gave him? • Will the mindless Gillard apologists argue that Rudd being back as PM is “democracy in action” as they did with Gillard? Rudd has a range of attributes that Gillard lacks, but the most important one is his public credibility. ======================= Oakeshott is a self important dill. He would have lost by a huge margin, if he'd recontested.

Jason

27/06/2013Tom, I resigned from the ALP this morning! so no I wont be supporting Rudd not now not ever.

Tom of Melboune

27/06/2013Good for you Jason. Clearly you prefer to be a loser. I won't be joining the ALP now, but I might feel inclined to make a contribution.

Jason

27/06/2013Tom, I might become like you and start asking SA ALP members what is it they really stand for apart from polls and destabilisation and wreck their campaigns! Now Stephen Smith just announcing he is going as well!Another WA seat that will be lost!

el gordo

27/06/2013 'This ugliness we've seen directed at asylum seekers' On closer inspection you will discover 97% of them are illegal guest workers.

jaycee

27/06/2013Cross-posted from last night at The PUB, in response to another's comment. I do it to give voice to the real concerns of our fading ideals. George Bludger…” I’d suggest those being emotional remember one thing: our enemy is Abbott & the LNP.” Wrong, George…so very, very wrong..the LNP. is just a symptom of the disease…they are the pustulant-head of all that is wrong with a socially concerned civilisation…the real fight is against the weakness that so easily finds a home in that fear always cowering in our hearts..that cowardice in our collective spirit…a cowardice that drives one section of society to oppress another..a cowardice that so easily cringes before the bully or the perceived terror of an overwhelming force…It is against these forces that the Labor Movement was first formed to educate, to amalgmate and to formulate fair and equitable social policy to help and elevate the working class to the level of dignity that we all know today. To pander to the fear and cowardice of a trembling mob, is to surrender all that we hold dear to our beliefs! If the Rudd faction wins tonight it will be purely out of fear and cowardice…and better we retain our dignity rather than sell our souls!

Ad astra

27/06/2013Folks Perhaps the reason why Tony Abbott and his Coalition supporters are so apprehensive is the overnight [i]Morgan Poll[/i] that is documented thus: [b]Big swing to the ALP after Rudd returned as leader tonight. ALP 49.5% (up 5%) cf. L-NP 50.5% (down 5%) – but will it be enough?[/b] [i]”June 26 2013 Finding No. 4997 Topic: Federal Poll Special Poll This special snap SMS Morgan Poll on Federal voting intention was conducted this evening via SMS interviewing after the result of the ALP leadership ballot was announced, 8pm June 26, 2013 with an Australia-wide cross-section of 2,530 Australian electors aged 18+, of all electors surveyed a low 0.5% did not name a party.[/i] We have learnt not to place much store on opinion polls of voting attention, as they are not predictive this far our from an election, which is about 80 days if the election is held on September 14, but I would be amazed if Coalition supporters are sanguine about this result. Of course it may change in the Coalition’s favour, as no doubt Coalition supporters hope will be the case.

Sir Ian Crisp

27/06/2013[quote][b]Tom, I resigned from the ALP this morning! so no I wont be supporting Rudd not now not ever. Jason [/b][/quote] JGuy, I beg you to reconsider. Please give it some serious thought. Search your heart and see if you can forgive the evil within the ALP. It's up to people like you to change the ALP for the better.

jaycee

27/06/2013And this also...I hope I am not presuming on your patience. Edward Gibbon wrote an observation in his magnificent tome : “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”..;”A nation of slaves will view as magnamamous the Tyrant, who in witholding extreme cruelty, dispenses pain in measured doses.”..(“A coward dies a thousand deaths, a hero but one”..W’m Shakespeare) Theodore Mommsen, another celebrated Roman Historian, stopped writing his volumes before the times of Caesar Augustus (c.50 bc.)…because, I believe, he was witnessing as he recorded the collapse of the Roman Republic, the same diseases moving like a cancer through his own nation. It is not that humanity has not the capacity to improve and elevate it’s collective condition, but that it lacks the collective intestinal fortitude to carry the responsibilities of a civilised society once it has those conditions in place. It seems we are destined to forever sink rather than strive upwards and onwards. I could never vote for that dispicable person, nor the party that genuflects before his percieved image.

Sir Ian Crisp

27/06/2013[quote][b] *J*U*L*I*A* plays Chess! TalkTurkey [/b][/quote] Has anyone seen what's her name today? How 'bout we see a bit of *K*E*V*I*N* playing chess.

Sir Ian Crisp

27/06/2013[quote][b]Don’t be disheartened Nasking. Julia Gillard can outwit Tony Abbott with one hand tied behind her back. What she needs to do now is to outwit the MSM, and counter the perniciousness of the Murdoch press; by the sound of it this has already begun. It can be done. Take heart. TT keeps our spirits up; let’s join him in his optimism. Ad Astra [/b][/quote] Did you say something?

Sir Ian Crisp

27/06/2013[quote][b] Julia Gillard can defeat Tony Abbott in 2013. But how does she neutralize Rupert Murdoch? Ad Astra [/b][/quote] It's not Abbott the bird of paradox has to worry about. It's her 'mates' in the ALP that booted her out of the PMship. A female PM being replaces by a male with another male as deputy PM; is that misogyny?

el gordo

27/06/2013'A female PM being replaces by a male with another male as deputy PM; is that misogyny?' No.

nasking

27/06/2013 RUDD AND TEAM DID EXCELLENT JOB IN PARLIAMENT TODAY... THE MESSAGE ARTICULATED WELL...THE GOVERNMENT'S POLICIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS PROMOTED CLEARLY, EFFECTIVELY...WITH DOLLOPS OF WELL-TIMED HUMOUR. PUSHING THE POSITIVES. ABBOTT'S LOT LOOKED ANNOYED, RATTLED AT TIMES, FRUSTRATED... IMAGINE BEING STUCK WITH A ONE TRICK PONY NEGABORE OF A LEADER WHEN YOU KNOW YOUR POLICIES ARE PRIMARILY THOUGHT BUBBLES, VAGUE NONSENSE IDEAS, ARCHAIC, INCONSISTENT...BORN FROM THE MIND OF A MUSCULAR CHRISTIAN WHO THINKS LIKE A CROSS BETWEEN BOB SANTAMARIA AND A GRUMPY PUGILIST FROM THE 1800s...WHEN NOT ACTING AS A SERVANT FOR RUPERT MURDOCH AND GINA RINEHART. AS FOR STEPHEN SMITH, WHAT A FINE JOB HE HAS DONE IN HIS PORTFOLIOS...AND KUDOS TO HIM FOR HELPING TO PUT INTO PLACE A SYSTEM THAT IS FINALLY UNCOVERING AND NOT TOLERATING ABUSE AND SEXISM IN THE MILITARY. I RESPECT HIS EFFORTS...AND HIS CONTRIBUTION TO WINDING DOWN THAT 'BLACK HOLE' WAR IN AFGHANISTAN. POOR FELLA LOOKS EXHAUSTED...YET, SUCH AN AGILE MIND AND USE OF WIT CONSIDERING HIS FATIGUED CONDITION. I IMAGINE WA WILL BENEFIT FURTHER FROM HIS PASSION AND INTELLIGENCE ONCE HE GETS A FEW GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP AND VALUABLE TIME WITH HIS FAMILY. WE THANK HIM FOR HIS SERVICE TO THE COUNTRY. N'

Ad astra

27/06/2013Hi Lyn There is still so much going on in Canberra today, that I’m still working though your links. I did enjoy the Mike Seccombe article. Gabrielle Chan’s article too was great read. Her conclusions are devastating: “[i][b]It was the polls that fed the Rudd monster – the same polls that slew the beast in the beginning. And to be fair, apparently a fair portion of the Australian voting public could not stomach her.[/b] “We know it wasn’t Gillard’s policies. Gonski, NDIS and the National Broadband Network proved so popular that the concepts forced the Coalition to develop two out of three policies to neutralize them. “[b]I believe it was a nebulous combination of distaste at Rudd’s removal in the first place, Gillard’s persona and gender and something as basic as a gut response. We will never know.”[/b][/i] I’ve just seen John Stirton, Research Director of [i]Nielson Polls[/i] on ABC 24 commenting on polls. He was asked whether polls were dictating who becomes leader, and he answered that regrettably it seems to have been the case in this instance, but hopes that this will not be the case in future. Even pollsters admit that this is a misuse of polls. He says that Labor could improve by up to ten points in primary votes, but questions how long this will last. He felt that it might taper off near the election date, no matter when this was. He felt a later date would not adversely affect Labor’s chances. Thank you again for your devotion to the preparation of your links, which you continue even when the political news is confusing or disturbing. You are such a great asset to [i]TPS[/i].

nasking

27/06/2013 Interestingly, I have noted some on here are contributing to the negative assessment of government the way they previously accused The Greens of doing previously. I realised I was doing same above...but recognising that the government is still filled with many accomplished, articulate, creative, effective, hard-working, passionate ministers and a PM who can break through the negative noise...and Abbott could possibly be a few weeks away from controlling this country with a number of LNP state premiers...I decided to bury my sadness and frustrations...and focus on winning this election. Consistency is the best policy in this instance. Ensuring a positive outcome. Making it happen by way of a UNITED EFFORT. N'

nasking

27/06/2013 Should be: [b]I have noted some on here are contributing to the negative assessment of government the way they previously accused The Greens of doing.[/b]

Bilko

27/06/2013A sad day indeed I am sorry Julia is gone the nervous nellies won out as I mentioned some posts back neither the MSM nor the Noalition could do it. To cheer myself up on Tuesday I watched V for Vendetta again, where good triumphed over evil only when fear is overcome. Well the Evil is still residing on the Noalition benches and remains the REAL enemy. Let us hope that Kevin and his team can do it amen.

Heather

27/06/2013I tell you what Tony Abbott did more damage to the govt, parliament, our democracy, plus the affect on all those weak people out there who have become easily cloned in to his nasty behavior and trolling around the cyberspace dealing it out. How they all can cope with being in the same room as this horrid man, I don't know. He has behaved like a spoilt naughty boy of the nth order, who needs a good clip over his ear, and, as some have astutely said, "sent to the naughty chair". Permanently if you ask me. The bad egg turning all the others off fits him perfectly. I sat and listened to him last night in response to the Labor leadership vote. Today I tried but I am now back to the "%#&@@!!" cursing, hitting the mute button and big X. The guy is a dead cert. brain numbing experience. Checked out Liz Hayes on YouTube talking about Abbott. Very interesting that on a first visit to his home, his wife and daughters were absolutely miserable and could not care less about him, glaring and openly hating him. Fast forward to this year when position and power is in sight they are all glowing and spivved up. Interview with his wife, he was definitely looking like the mummy's boy and she big mumma. Is this a Sydney north shore problem? Sure Kevin Rudd has a few flaws that we all know about, but having Albo there may keep his feet on the ground hopefully. Rudd is a good hearted guy, somewhat hyper and highly excitable, probably of nervous temperament. He could learn to slow down a bit, cruise more, get some exercise and sleep longer ie. get a bit fitter. I just hope he can win it for Australia's sake. We've been through a lot...dont need anymore upheavals.

42 long

27/06/2013The party was put in a dreadful situation. I'm no Rudd fan but there was a lingering unease of the overthrow of K Rudd .. The media did their best to make Julia a non usable product. Queensland never forgave her monstering their man. They elected Newman too and I hope they regret that. The shockjock phenomenon is very effective.2GB Singleton is not tolerant of Labor. I am surprised the taste for it pervades Sydney west. It must be some kind of saturation effect. it's sort of ceaseless psychotic ranting. Anyhow she wasn't coming up. People in the street were not prepared to listen rightly or wrongly. The MSM did everything the could to ruin the Labor message AND IT ALL WORKED. The Rudd involvement may change the focus. A less than desirable opportunity is better than NO opportunity. Until a few days ago I believed in the "glorious death" with honour, But the price is too high for gestures. Abbott is a menace most foul and must be shown up for what he is

Jason

27/06/2013Sir Ian Crisp, I listened to SA member after member except for Kate Ellis and Don Farrell who stayed loyal to the end to the former PM, speak bullshit! What they should have said was, now at five minutes to midnight after all the hard graft had been done after keeping "us" in a job whilst we were actively plotting to tear her down it's time to bring in the "sideshow spruiker" because as they tell it it's in the nations interest that they be returned on the work she done. I accept julia made mistakes but so did the party, but I cannot forgive these gutless bastards such as the NSW Right who were quite active last night but never lifted a finger about Craig Tompson, made the PM back down on pokie reform because of the money the ALP made from it's own venues,they and the Rudd backers seem as though they were were quite prepared for Julia to shoulder the blame on her own and then thank her by tearing her down. Sir Ian I don't need the ALP as ToM Doug Evans and others have said it's power that matters for them,but it won't last for ever. We saw yesterday with the retirement of Windsor and Oakshot although the election hasn't been held that two seats labor won't win and we're starting basicly even with the libs seat wise! You then have Garrett Emmerson Gillard Smith Martin Ferguson jenkins who are retiring I wouldn't say it's a safe bet that all of those seats would stay in ALP hands! then you have the seats that are yet to be lost. Rudd might save some furniture but at what cost?

nasking

27/06/2013 PETER GARRETT GAVE A WISE, LEARNED AND FUTURE LOOKING VALEDICTORY SPEECH THAT SPOKE OF THE IMPACT OF PUTTING THE POLITICAL NOSE TO THE GRINDSTONE WHEN IT COMES TO ENACTING REAL REFORM IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL AREA...RATHER THAN JUST RELYING ON STUNTS. HE CERTAINLY HAS MADE A HUGE PRACTICAL CONTRIBUTION TO PROTECTING BIO-DIVERSITY AND ECO-SYSTEMS... CONDEMNING IN TURN, THE QLD NEWMAN GOVERNMENT FOR ITS IRRESPONSIBLE, CASUAL APPROACH TO THE ENVIRONMENT...WE LOOK FORWARD TO HIS PARTICIPATION IN CAMPAIGNS PREVENTING CALLOUS DAMAGE...AND PROTECTING VALUABLE AREAS. EVEN THE ANTARCTIC REGION GOT A MENTION...BY WAY OF A MIDNIGHT OIL SONG PLAYED FOR BOB HAWKE... WHICH BROUGHT TO MIND BARNABY JOYCE WHO STATED THAT THIS BEAUTIFUL VIRTUALLY UNTOUCHED AREA SHOULD BE MINED. TELLS YOU SOMETHING ABOUT WHO CONTROLS BARNABY. GARRETT DID A SUPERB JOB PUSHING THE GONSKI REFORMS...AND CONNECTING WITH STAFF AND STUDENTS OF SCHOOLS... AND WILL BE SORELY MISSED IN PARLIAMENT I IMAGINE. I WILL CERTAINLY MISS HIS ROBUST, SUPERB AND HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PARLIAMENTARY Q&A PERFORMANCES...HE GAVE THE PLACE ADDED SPARK...AND INTEGRITY. N'

lyn

27/06/2013Hi Ad, Thankyou you are such a kind person, I have tried to collect a few articles on the polls so as to be in keeping with your brilliant post. Pleased you enjoyed Gabrielle's article. I am not depressed by the results of the last two days or surprised, they the media and the dreadful opposition were never going to give Julia a fair go. This tweet gave me a lift last night: [quote]AmyArtz ‏ Come on now all my fellow Labor supporters... No matter WHAT happens tonight let's fight for a LABOR RE-ELECTION on September the 14th!!![/quote] [quote]Every1 deals with emotions differently! At the end of the day we need 2 accept what's happened & fight the LNP![/quote] @SummersAnne writes an excellent piece on what will become Julia Gillard's legacy. We treated our first female prime minister disgracefully while she was in office, and now that she has been driven out, it seems she is going to be denied even the solace of having her extraordinary raft of achievements recognised. http://www.smh.com.au/comment/bullying-and-outright-treachery-are-the-new-normal-in-australia-20130627-2oysw.html … Jason and Janice, cheer up we know the Labor Party has a good heart, we must try and keep the Coalition Loonies out. As you said Ad Astra we have a perfect example here on our blog of their maniacal behaviour.

Pikiranku

27/06/2013Been out all day, but here's something I dreamed up as I lay sleepless in bed last night: A white-ant and fifty six wimps With the brain-power of retarded chimps, A fine leader they sacked Because courage they lacked, Now the Libs a sure victory glimpse. Heather and others, no matter how expedient it might seem at the moment, rewarding treachery and duplicity is NEVER a good thing to do. They say we get the politicians we deserve and if we expediently accept the abysmal standards of Rudd, Shorten and Albanese then we are morally bankrupt, our society will reek with the stench of their corruption and we will have brought this on ourselves. My support and admiration is with those who have had the principles to reject these creatures and have declined to be associated with their machinations.

nasking

27/06/2013 GARRETT'S SPEECH SHOULD BE WATCHED IN ITS ENTIRETY...HIS SINCERE STATEMENTS AND WARNINGS IN RELATION TO THE OBSESSION WITH ECONOMIC GROWTH RATHER THAN SUSTAINABILITY ARE WORTH TAKING ON BOARD. MORE IMAGINATION...INNOVATION REQUIRED AUSTRALIA...THAT GOES FOR POLITICIANS AND BUSINESS. ABBOTT COMES UP. NOT IN A POSITIVE WAY. N'

nasking

27/06/2013 Okay, I'm heading off...exhausted. I hope the accounts of parliamentary proceedings are appreciated. And mourning and anger transforms into something more positive...useful. Until later TPS. Cheers N'

MarkatPort

27/06/2013Always remember - Tiny Rabbit is the enemy. What ever you feel about last night and I, for one, am very sad about it , we MUST not let the Mad Monk get the keys to the Lodge !

Tom of Melbourne

27/06/2013I was listening to Rudd speak. How refreshing it is to not have to Gillard's dreadful and embarrassing droning.

el gordo

27/06/2013 The droning was definitely a turnoff.

Ad astra

27/06/2013Hi Lyn Thank you for your reassuring words. You are so balanced and sensible. I agree with your sentiments. Anne Summers' piece was so apt.

TalkTurkey

27/06/2013Suffer little children ... This is only funny at the shallow end. https://twitter.com/Edzones/status/350202054398066688/photo/1

paul walter

27/06/2013As it transpires, a Morgan poll just out notes a bounce in the polls in the wake of the leadership challenge.

Sir Ian Crisp

27/06/2013[quote][b]Folks Perhaps the reason why Tony Abbott and his Coalition supporters are so apprehensive is the overnight Morgan Poll that is documented thus: Big swing to the ALP after Rudd returned as leader tonight. ALP 49.5% (up 5%) cf. L-NP 50.5% (down 5%) – but will it be enough? [...] Ad astra [/b][/quote] Be vewwy vewwy careful with those polls Ad Astra. The resident tarot card reader here at TPS says Anthony Abbott and associated nasties are manipulating the polls. You have been warned.

Tom of Melboune

27/06/2013Gillard knifed at the direction of hacks and factional warlords. But here almost all say that this was necessary and a caucus decision. Rudd now wins with a decisive vote by caucus, because the Gillard leadership has proved to be a complete disaster. But somehow this challenge has caused some odd types to give up supporting the ALP, blame external forces, everything other than acknowledge that Gillard was a dishonest dud who was leading her party over a cliff.

Heather

28/06/2013I know Kevin Rudd was very shocked and upset about being ousted way back. He was in tears, remember. He might have even been kind of sick holing himself up like he did and from all reports not coping well with the job, when things started to go downhill. He had been warned he would burn himself out.He'd had the dream run at the top for so long then was sinking. It must have been very hard on him with Abbott bearing down punching this way and that. Abbott is plain scarey and out of control if you ask me. I would imagine even to men. I still think the parliament was a lot more decent back then. Enter Julia Gillard as PM and Tony went ballistic. All his bad dreams come back to face him, his big fragile ego quaking at him having stoop so low as to face off with a lady PM. So he tore in to her unleashing all the worst behavior and political incorrectness he could muster. Word came through that he was a bully at Uni and a very bad loser punching at women, scaring them. She this, she that, she...make an honest woman of her, all those pointed and insidious comments. It must have taken it's toll. He was unstoppable. There was soon a rampage happening, shock jocks saying all sorts of unmentionable things about her, media openingly going mad and mouthing off and reporting such bile, insidious nasty commentary was literally rolling off the pages, every loon in the country went in for the chew blindly copying the me-big-man Abbott. Not to mention that horrid apeman swagger as if he was getting ready to jump someone, or rape some woman. Read for action huh? What a terrible example he was. I joked it was the ape-gate. I mean who does he think he is. When someone like him is in prime position in a place for long enough it becomes like a social disease infecting the masses. That's what has happened. Sure they are saying some in the caucus were blunt and brutal but roll back 5 or 10 years and I bet they were not like this. It is true a lot of well-to-do families will let their children run ragged bullying each other. Toughens them up for the world they say. But what a terrible chaos this brings, when the kids go out brutalizing in the outside world. Tony Abbott has done just this in our Federal Parliament. He has trashed it and sent it to ruin. Why didn't they have the guts to stand up to him? Julia tried to. Why cant they name him now? The guy has created utter chaos and now it is everybody elses' fault and he goes on to his next role as the great evangalist do-gooder saving the country from what? himself. It is enough to turn anyone insane. I cant bear to watch. I am predicting a very bad end for that guy.

Jason

28/06/2013Tom, What more can I do? I've resigned as a member I take as much blame for her failures as should those who spent the last 3 years riding on her coattails! The only difference is I don't hold any position in either state or federal government! I'm in Capstans language a grunt or foot soldier.

Catching up

28/06/2013I believe we may have made a mistake giving Rudd the benefit of the doubt. I have come to the conclusion, reading some comments made by those close to Rudd, he has not yet finished with Gillard. Taking her job is not enough for him. He has given praise for all she did as deputy, which I suppose, he can take credit for. He has been careful not to endorse anything she did as PM. I believe that he will not be happy, until he undoes all that she achieved as PM. He is going to beat Abbott to the job of demolishing all she has done. I hate to have to say this, It could be a pity that Abbott did not push for a no confidence motion, forcing Rudd to go to an election, before he can cause any more damage. I wonder if what I am thinking is true, how will the likes of Wong and others that have stay in the tent react. Will they allow that to occur. When it was put to Cameron night , that Carr was pushing the line that the Asylum seekers are economic refugees. That they are not genuine. Cameron more or less said if that was they case, he would be raising objections, Seemed uncomfortable with the proposition. Carr pushed that line in the senate QT. He said it the other night, but at the time, limited it to Iranians, saying they could not be sent back, as Iran will not take them. We have the hint that the present carbon scheme will go. The NT senate candidate to be reverse, and he has not even began now. We have Hawker, who he has appointed to his staff, putting the boot into Gillard all the week. We have Rudd saying he knows why they turn off Labor, inferring it was the fault of Gillard. I do not think we have seen anything yet. I suspect, and fear, that Rudd is just beginning, We have seen nothing yet. I do hope I am wrong.

Catching up

28/06/2013I believe it is our minds that Kevin is playing with. He has not finished with us yet.

Catching up

28/06/2013Jason, maybe staying inside the party and demanding change is a the better way to go. With politics, as well as most other things in life, the caravan moves on. What is true today, is not necessarily so in a month or so. I believe that was the message that Gillard gave to her troops. Keep fighting for Labor. I believe we have forgot, that Rudd is a highly intelligent man, who is capable of anything. After his actions of the last three years, we also know he is capable of destroying all that gets in his way. I suspect that is what is driving him now, not the drive to be PM. I believe until yesterday, Abbott was more frighten of Gillard, as she well and truly has his measure. He was desperate for an early election. Knowing what we do now, about Rudd, how mucgh credit can Abbott take for bringing the PM down. How much credit can he take for Labor's bad polls. Suggest the answer is none. Rudd has controlled that one. The media have been happy to use Rudd to bring Gillard down.The media could have choose to report what Rudd was doping in a different way. I believe that Gillard had the measure of Abbott and the media. How can one fight an opponent, one cannot see. A opponent that does not play be normal and decent rules. Gillard did not have enough mongrel in her to destroy Rudd in the beginning. Instead she gave him the means of attacking her, when she made him FM. The PM was clever enough to head him off at the pass, on more that one occasion, by calling his bluff. The trouble is, that Rudd was like water torture, relentless. Just kept stalking her. As for Abbott, the truth is that thanks to Rudd, he has had a free ride. If it was only Rudd, the PM was fighting, he would have been put in his box years ago. One only had to watch QT to know that. I have no idea what we do now, but giving up is not an option. Jason it is years ago, since I was in the party, and I realise how hard it is to fight back. One has no chance outside the fence. We can still use that email box to annoy out pollies. If enough do it, it can make their life hard. Especially when we come back to the blogs, and print their answers. I have seen replies from Rudd on another site. he is quick at replying, that says to me, he takes these sites seriously.

lyn

28/06/2013Today’s Links Morgan snap poll: Big swing to the ALP after Rudd returned as leader By Roy Morgan Research after the ALP leadership ballot shows a large swing to the ALP 49.5% (up 5%) since last weekend’s multi-mode Morgan Poll, now just behind the L-NP 50.5% (down 5%) on a two-party preferred basis after former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was returned to the leadership of the ALP. http://www.themonthly.com.au/blog/roy-morgan-research/2013/06/27/1372291189/morgan-snap-poll-big- An Open Letter to the Australian Financial Review by @Vic_Rollison Grace Collier has shown on her Twitter account, in numerous examples, that she is not fit to be providing expert commentary on anything related to the Labor government, when she has such a deep, nasty and personal hatred of our previous Prime Minister, Julia http://victoriarollison.com/2013/06/27/an-open-letter-to-the-australian-financial-review/ ‘Julia Caesar’- After The Knifing by @MikeSeccombe In short, he brought a subtlety to the Parliament that was previously missing. And this made for interesting watching. See, there’s no finesse or subtlety about Tony Abbott. And precious little policy. http://powerhouse.theglobalmail.org/julia-caesar-after-the-knifing/ Vale the 43rd Parliament… or not? by @GrogsGamut My view is he shouldn’t go early, firstly because he needs to get people comfortable with him being PM again, and secondly because Tony Abbott is clearly so damn eager for him to call the election. Never take advice from your enemy. http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/vale-43rd-parliament-or-not.html A Woman Who Dared To Lead, by @TheHoopla there are angry women, and men, around Australia this morning. Angry because a gutsy woman wasn’t given a fair go. Angry because this country is better than the tawdry treatment of a leader who, in the swamps of misogyny was ridiculed and demeaned because she was a woman who dared to lead. http://thehoopla.com.au/woman-dared-lead/ Thank you Julia for being First by @MiaFreedman Julia Gillard brought the word ‘misogyny’ into the public conversation in a way that enabled us as a nation to discuss it and debate it and shine a light on the darkest ugliest corners of our society where it lives. http://www.mamamia.com.au/social/thank-you-julia-for-being-first/ Did sexism sink Julia Gillard? by ROBERT MACKLIN bad luck would have it, her opponent – whose favoured sport is boxing – was Mr Testosterone himself. Confrontation was pure joy for him; and Ms Gillard was simply ill-equipped by nature to deal with him. It was like a left-handed person trying to play a game invented exclusively for right-handers. It just couldn’t work. http://citynews.com.au/2013/did-sexism-sink-julia-gillard/ Julia Gillard ousted: Achievement does not equal respect if you're a woman by Van Badham Julia Gillard navigated through the financial crisis, presided over a 14 per cent growth in the economy and pushed through several impressive policy reforms. The problem for the Australian PM was not her performance. It was that, from to beginning to end, she remained female, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-politics/10143834/Julia-Gillard-ousted-by-sexism-Achievement- Rudd’s return marks the victory of opportunist politics by @ConversationEDU Anne Summers has elegantly demonstrated, that Gillard was constantly assailed by a viciousness that was clearly infused by deep-seated – indeed, pathological – sexism. It is also true that the concerted campaign of the Murdoch press and some of our shock jocks to deny her legitimacy has few parallels in recent history: http://theconversation.com/rudds-return-marks-the-victory-of-opportunist-politics-15572 An incomplete revolution by @Piping_Shrike One of the grim secrets of the 43rd Parliament is the degree to which Abbott was propped up by Gillard, not only by her unpopularity but also her constant legitimising of Abbott as being in touch with the “real” electorate. Removing that prop may reveal that what we have is not the World’s Most Effective Opposition Leader but an unpopular leader of a party http://www.pipingshrike.com/ Can Kevin Rudd deliver a genuine contest of ideas? by @timdunlop Tony Abbott owes his success almost entirely to the fact that most of the media have given him the easiest of easy rides since he took over as Opposition leader. He has fluffed lines, back-flipped on key issues like a Romanian gymnast, admitted that he lies, run one of the most vitriolic and personally abusive Question Time strategies in living memory, http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4785038.html Policy talk – Real non-solutions Part I by @LarvatusProdeo there are good and specific parts of the Liberals’ Real Solutions manifesto. It’s just that the good parts are not specific, and the specific parts are not good. And, as an extra bonus, there are a few things hidden in there that should cause almost as much ruckus as WorkChoices did, were anyone paying attention. http://larvatusprodeo.net/archives/2013/06/policy-talk-real-non-solutions-part-i/ The churn goes on by Frank Bongiorno a twenty-four-hour news cycle, sovereign parliamentary parties and easy removal of leaders by a simple majority of MPs. It is not clear that Labor is more vulnerable to this trend than the Liberals, although its operations have clearly been more disfigured in the recent past. http://inside.org.au/the-churn-goes-on/ Julia Gillard — trial by gender @independentaus the rabid misogyny, the hysteria of men who could not abide the spectacle of a woman in power, who labelled her a bitch, a witch, a liar, a usurper, an illegitimate claimant who refused to bow down before her male rivals. http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/julia-gillard-trial-by-gender/ How will Rudd, rebooted, use an unlimited policy palette? by Bernard Keane Kevin Rudd comes to the prime ministership with a free hand, both on an election date and on policy. He’ll use it to maximum advantage to claw back votes from Tony Abbott. http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/06/27/keane-how-will-rudd-use-an-unlimited-policy-palette/ Vicious by @AshGhebranious Now Abbott has a problem again. The return of Rudd can be a great threat to him indeed because the two have the same ruthlessness. But beware Tony. Kevin is vicious. http://ashghebranious.wordpress.com/2013/06/27/vicious/ Rudd Zips Back To Power by @newmatilda The Press Gallery got what it wanted last night - a spill. Kevin Rudd is back in charge. It's time for the media to ease up on the gossip and start paying attention to the way the country is being governed http://newmatilda.com/2013/06/27/rudd-zips-back-power Rudd's Dirty Game Pays Off by @beneltham The campaign mounted by Tony Abbot and conservative sections of the media against her leadership was also devastatingly effective, but one of the reasons for its potency was the sense of illegitimacy engendered (a word I use deliberately) by Gillard's rise to power, and by the minority nature of her government. http://newmatilda.com/2013/06/27/rudds-dirty-game-pays Waiting for Kevin – And He Arrived by @prestontowers Latika Bourke suggested on ABC News 24 towards the end of the evening, that the media “merely reported” the events of Waiting for Kevin. That comment reflected either naivete or just self delusion. People in the media know that politicians and political parties read newspapers, http://ausvotes2013.com/2013/06/27/waitingforkevin/ Getting Gillard with the Pincer Movement by @saint13333 Political historians will speak kindly of Prime Minister Gillard. She stood tall among men and her policy legacy will be remembered and experienced well into this countries future. http://theaimn.com/2013/06/27/getting-gillard-with-the-pincer-movement-2/ Julia Gillard: From first female PM to deposed leader ABC The spill happened on the same day the Gonski school funding reforms, one of Ms Gillard's key policies, passed the Senate http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-21/gillard-leadership-timeline/4583700 Gillard third carbon price victim, is Abbott next? As I explained yesterday, the latest polling suggests the politics of repealing a carbon price are dangerous for Abbott. The public no longer believes his inflated rhetoric about the sky falling in, simply because it hasn’t. They’d prefer to move on. So would the more sophisticated, non-ideological players in business. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/6/27/policy-politics/gillard-third-carbon-price-victim-abbott-next#ixzz2XONYUcJ0 Kevin Rudd Election as ALP Party Leader Disappoints Opposition Leader Tony Abbott By Vittorio Hernandez The change in the ALP leadership is a threat to his ambition to become Australia's next prime minister, which was almost in his hands with the dwindling voter support for Ms Gillard, prompting the ALP caucus and leadership change. http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/483653/20130627/kevin-rudd-election-alp-party-leader- If not now, when? by @fakeedbutler “if your opponent wants you to call an election as soon as possible – don’t.”Even in this parliament’s final question time, Abbott appeared a touch ruffled, and certainly fairly desperate to force pressure on Rudd to name a date. But I can’t for the life of me think of a good reason as to why Rudd should do that. http://ausvotes2013.com/2013/06/27/if-not-now-when/ The return of Rudd – so now what? by @crazyjane13 Rudd faces a choice: keep the September 14 election date, and use the time to establish himself as leader of a party capable of bringing the fight to the Coalition; bring the election date forward, and go immediately into full campaign mode; or push the date back to its latest possible time http://consciencevote.com.au/2013/06/27/the-return-of-rudd-so-now-what/ Knitting up a storm in a teacup by @OnLineOpinion There is a way out of this mess. Stop reading mainstream media unless they're genuinely asking policy questions. The PM did ask them to stop writing crap, but they seem to be incapable. Because there's lots of us reading rubbish, http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=15173 too little too late? by Gary Sauer–Thompson Maybe the ugly sexism that has been directed at Gillard will subside with all the Labor carnage and wreckage. Maybe Australians will begin to acknowledge that the 43rd Parliament has been a successful working Parliament. http://www.sauer-thompson.com/archives/opinion/2013/06/too-little-too.php When the news hots up, commercial TV falls apart by @mumbrella For an excruciating minute and a half she floundered:“Obviously it’s firming up that Kevin Rudd obviously is getting the numbers with the support of Bill Shorten.” Obviously. http://mumbrella.com.au/when-the-news-hots-up-commercial-tv-falls-apart-164222#more-164222 Government needs a minister to sell NBN to voters by Paul Budde The NBN is a very important achievement of the Labor party and therefore it will feature quite significantly in the election. The stronger the person that can advocate the NBN in a situation like this, the better,” Budde said. “There’s no doubt that Conroy was the best person to do that. http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/466012/government_needs_minister_sell_nbn_voters/ Dear Ex PM Julia Gillard by @CitizenCara You never served the gender card. You were given it. By women who were proud to finally have a female Prime Minister, by people who expect females to have higher standards than can be expected from men and by those vile bullies http://runawaitha.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/dear-ex-pm-julia-gillard.html Last Post for PM Julia Gillard by Patricia wa For the past forty eight hours I have been lost for words, unlike hundreds of others who have poured out their grief in tributes to a woman they recognise as a great Labor leader. We have not had to wait for history to cast a kinder judgement than that of shock jocks and gossip writers http://polliepomes.wordpress.com/2013/06/27/last-post-for-pm-julia-gillard/ Job Cuts At Fairfax, News Ltd As Leadership Speculation Departments Scrapped by @The_Shovel_ A spokesperson for one newspaper, which employed seven full-time staff to write stories about a possible leadership battle, said she was devastated that the Labor leadership had finally been resolved, but also felt vindicated. “For over three years we’ve been saying that a leadership challenge was imminent. And in the end, it was”. http://theshovel.com.au/2013/06/27/job-cuts-as-leadership-speculation-departments-scrapped/ Today’s Front Pages Australian Newspaper Front Pages for 28 June 2013 http://www.thepaperboy.com/australia/front-pages.cfm News headlines http://www.hotheadlines.com.au/

Truth Seeker

28/06/2013Morning swordsters, for those that might still be pretty pissed, I have posted what I hope is a bit of balance to the situation "If not for the ALP, then for our country, our democracy and our future" http://truthseekersmusings.wordpress.com/2013/06/27/if-not-for-the-alp-then-for-our-country-our-democracy-and-our-future/ Cheers :-) :-)

Ad astra

28/06/2013LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Sir Ian Crisp

28/06/2013[quote][b]Morning swordsters, for those that might still be pretty pissed, I have posted what I hope is a bit of balance to the situation "If not for the ALP, then for our country, our democracy and our future" truthseekersmusings.wordpress.com/.../ Cheers Smile Smile Truth Seeker [/b][/quote] I named you Truth Tweaker and you certainly lived up to that title.

jaycee

28/06/2013I notice on Lateline lastnight, Tony Jones coming across with his seemingly innocent ; “I’m only the messenger here” approach, when all the time he /we know the MSM. has been a major instigator…the same with Doug Cameron…”..for the good of the party”…so where does that leave us mug-punters, who hold on to a particular leader as a guiding light?…are we to be treated forever as mugs?…it would seem so. I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade here..I know we must move on as there is a very important election coming up, but some dirty business has been done in our backyard…some very dirty business….and I am wondering if, by looking to a very cavalier attitude to “move on”, we are turning our face from viewing our own corpse. It is our votes that are being sought, not “those people over there”…we are players too in this little charade. We validate the actions of those who publicly represent our ideals and I seriously ponder if we are trading those ideals away for too cheap a price? I believe the princes of medieval times, when trusting a messenger with a secret oral message would, to assist the carrier with the importance of the message, use a gauntlet to smack the messenger about the face to imprint the moment, the message and the importance of remembrance…..as a reader of ancient history, it seems to me that the more comfortable a society gets, the less value it places on rembering the important ideals that got it there in the first place and it is not until a distaster hits that the lesson is learnt. Perhaps the tragedy has to be admitted that a Tony Abbott fascist regiem must be experienced before the populace again remembers that important message! Hence the cry of despair by Cicero..; “O tempore! O mores!” But it is not up to me to educate or pontificate, I also am but a traveller….but sadly, I have a fear of where I am being transported to! PS. for F's SAKE AA. delete that sh!t that pollutes this site..christ, we are trying to have serious debate on this crisis and I, for one, don't need such vacuous, fatuous arseholes laughing in our faces as we do so!

Heather

28/06/2013Okay drongo Australians, blame everybody but Abbott. Have another look...he's the vampire, he's the cloner. That's why everyone is trying to blame everyone else. It's Gillard, it's Rudd, it's Shorten, it's Garret...ad infinitum. I tell you what it is, it's bl**dy tedium, that's what it is. Wooden stake to the heart for Abbott, that's what is needed. Probably many times over. As someone said Julia should have taken on Abbott as heavily as she took on Rudd and some of her fellow MPs. Somehow Abbott has tricked them all and many of the public too. He is a black magician type. Watch out for him. I look at energies...a great calm came over when the vote was announced. You bet that calm was due to stopping Abbott in his tracks. Notice he still keeps coming though with his attack dog stuff. I cant watch him nor listen. He is plain dangerous. Australians have been reduced to a pack of idiots by Abbott. Thank goodness many of us are a lot smarter than to be taken in. Yes there are a lot of suckers out there. By the way, it was surely Abbott who fashioned up that comment to tell Jones to say, the terrible low comment that Julia's father died of shame. What a shocker! most people had missed that Jones did say he'd heard it somewhere therefore was just repeating it...therefore not culpable...naughty boy avoiding the issue. obviously. I heard him say that. Then whoopsy-do it wasn't long before Abbott mouthed a major insinuation so similar in Parliament a PM Gillard. It just rolled off his evil mouth didn't it? So she gave it to him. A real dressing down and it went viral around the world, and most people outside Australia were applauding. It was her wooden stake. However this seems to have crowded out what had really gone on. Abbott had told Jones what to say. Get it! If Mr Gillard did die of shame it would be from shame at his fellow man for continually reducing his daughters good works to nothing. I doubt very much if the Rudd team are running on pure nasty revenge at this late stage. Such ranting is a waste of space. Dont forget who the real attack dog is. He is the one who needs dropping.

Tom of Melboune

28/06/2013[i] Gillard did not have enough mongrel in her to destroy Rudd in the beginning.[/i] What a lot of nonsense. Gillard’s backers methodically set about trashing Rudd’s reputation, they wanted him destroyed for ever, their behaviour and that of Gillard was shameful. Their stupidity will now be used by Abbott to undermine the ALP. Swan, Gillard and crew are just small thinkers, political dealers and hacks. Gillard’s legacy will be proven political failure and dishonesty. Whatever happens following the election, the ALP will need reform to ensure that those outside the caucus (like Howes) can never again stage a coup like the one that installed Gillard.

Mal Kukura

28/06/2013Let it be known that I believe that the covert agent who uses the code name Tom of Melboune is a feeble minded parasitic enemy of democracy and comes here to TPS to attempt to destroy the confidence of the community gathering here to collaborate on preserving and defending liberty for all Australians. You cannot believe a word this coward code named Tom of Melbourne writes. You are exposed as cowardly - Tom of Melbourne - whoever you really are. The good news is that instead of remaining a prostitute spread-eagled and compliant for your insatiably greedy super-wealthy criminal subhuman clients, if you can find the courage, you can begin the twelve step program of recovery - end the denial first and then embrace the habit of projecting your own self hatred that you spill here onto others. It is you. Repent for the end is nigh.

TalkTurkey

28/06/2013Comrades All, I felt utterly gutted on Wednesday night about Ruddsurrection, and in some ways I still do [i]on behalf of the society[/i]: here was a real-life Heroine: a Woman, a Redhead, atheistic and feisty: [i]that would never do [/i]for the Blueties and the Rednecks, what a time they have given her from every imaginable quarter, including, incredibly, such creeps as Germaine Greer and other notable *feminists*, whom one would have hoped to be gung-ho supporters. But the [i]worst[/i] enemy was always [i]within[/i]. I was, and am, very dark indeed on Rudd, and on his cronies who have perpetually white-anted her, and been so infuriatingly, pathetically pale in prosecuting Labor's wonderful case. Labor traitors who have aided and abetted every low act they could think of to bring her into ever-greater disrespect - not a syllable of which is deserved. It took me (and all of us) over a year to come, perforce, to the realisation that Rudd really was doing this. The evidence seemed incontrovertible ... and yet ... could a Labor man really be doing this to the Party? It seemed beyond belief. But it turned out to be all too true. Mind you, the slimy bastard has only been able to do this for the last 3 years because he had been so nearly successful in causing Labor's loss at the 2010 election, that his vote was absolutely crucial in the hung parliament. What a gift for a scheming spoilt lowlife practising Christian! So Thursday morning I didn't want to face the Chatter Box. I felt that even if Labor were to win the election - which for the first time I had started to doubt - it would not be the Party I have loved since the age of eleven. And indeed in many ways it isn't. Just look at the beautiful frontbenchers who have decided not to recontest. And they are quitting due to the same sense of disappointment that I feel, like so many more of the footsoldiers of the Fighting 5th. That is a tragedy. I felt pre-defeated in the very jaws of what until Thursday I thought would be the time for *J*U*L*I*A* in her persona as Red Caviar to hit her full pace. I am sure that so did she. It has all been part of an oh-so-carefully timed race, in her Chess Grandmaster persona such a clever wonderful plan, with the trap ready to be sprung. Even though she was never given an even break from the very beginning, she was on track, in my confident belief as I always said, for a breathtaking win. Who could have prepared her for the amazing hatred and betrayal which has been her lot. Yet her plan has proceeded without interruption, the hard steps taken, huge reforms, 500+ Bills passed, untold programs set in concrete - and how ironic, that her dearest reform, Gonski, finally passed the Senate on that very morning - a day to live in infamy - and respect. Respect I must extend to the two great Independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor, whose grace and courage and nous under the most egregious vilification and vitriol have never wavered. They know and we know that their contributions have been absolutely critical to the survival of the Government, one in which they were outstanding contributors and which has achieved great works. Holy Cow, as I write this Rudd is about to[i] un-name [/i]Gonski and call it the [i]National Better School Improvement System. [/i]Or something. Dog Albitey he sounds like Napoleon the Dictator Pig in Animal Farm taking credit for the plans and achievements of Snowball, the really clever sincere pig who has done the hard work! He looks like a Turkey Cock on his dunghill gobbling and strutting. [No offence TT :) ] By the living Dog he'd better bloody win this election. Because he has brought the Labor Party to the vast unreasoning unpopularity that it now enjoys. And he will. Well I'm betting he will, in fact it's his to lose! And [i]why,[/i] BECAUSE of the fact that *J*U*L*I*A* has lined up all the ducks, she was ready to pull the trigger but he gets to do it and claim credit. But you know, later on Thursday morning - that's yesterday now -[i]II had a little [b]epiphany[/b][/i]. It goes like this: Simply: [b][b]*J*U*L*I*A* SOARS FREE![/b][/b] She has in 3 years achieved her entire legislative agenda - BUGGER 'EM! She can wipe from her high heels the crap she has had to walk through, or better still ditch the high heels altogether. She has better things to do than to argue with parsimonious sniping old Blueties and shockjocks and Rednecks. She can do what she wants to do, be what she wants to be, she will be an honoured guest everywhere she goes now because she doesn't need to justify herself to ANYONE! LET Rudd strut and pout as though it's all his doing when he wins. It seems to resonate with the Sheeple, (which says a lot for Murdoch's Dumbing-Down program.) The Media are all over him, well so be it. Let him win the bloody election with the moves *J*U*L*I*A* has left open to him and the ammo she has stored up. He's the one with the uber-ego. She doesn't do what she does for self-aggrandisement, she has been a self-sacrificer instead, and now she and Tim never have to worry about bastards ever again. So I'm happy again. *J*U*L*I*A* must feel as if she's levitating in Wonderland for the release of pressure. And she has the profound satisfaction of seeing her reforms done and dusted. As long as bloody smarmy puffed-up Rudd is as good as he and his henchpersons think he is. He sure does think he's good. *J*U*L*I*A* Dear, we love you here, Thank You for what you and your Government has done, and have great fun in whatever you might next choose to do. You deserve a wonderful life now. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Those who know me will appreciate the poignancy of what the late Gordon Bilney, Member for Kingston 1983-1996, wrote to a certain 'carping local official' after Gordon was rolled. It's worth your reading, *J*U*L*I*A*, and may it bring you solace and amusement. In fact Alan Ramsey's whole article will BE-muse you as few other stories in your life. [i]Find and work out what is meant [/i]where a certain lad from Queensland writes to Gough asking for advice as to how to become a diplomat ...! Leave the curmudgeons behind Ms Gillard. Smell the frangipanis! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [u]In praise of certain PMs, past and present[/u] http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/in-praise-of-certain-pms-past-and-present/2008/02/08/1202234162182.html Alan Ramsey February 9, 2008 Page 1 of 5 I sorely miss Gordon Bilney. When the new Parliament meets on Tuesday, and Krudd and Co grace the government benches for the first time, there will be nobody of Bilney's like on either side. Bilney was like the Hawke years' John Button, another free spirit of great style and wit. It is no coincidence they are close friends. Bilney was the MP and Keating Labor minister from Adelaide's suburbs who, the week after his voters dumped him in the 1996 election of March 2 that gave us 12 years of John Howard's government, wrote to a carping local official in his electorate: "Dear Mr Seamer, "I saw today your letter of 26 February. [b]One of the great pleasures of private life is that I need no longer be polite to nincompoops, bigots, curmudgeons and twerps who infest local government bodies and committees such as yours. In the particular case of your committee, that pleasure is acute.[/b] "Yours sincerely … " The official was so upset by Bilney's "bloody insulting" letter that he gave it to South Australia's then (short-lived) Liberal premier, Dean Brown, who immediately rubbished Bilney publicly as a "disgrace" and "not fit" to be in political life - which, of course, he no longer was - but I thought the beige Mr Brown a thoroughly humourless man who must surely often have felt similarly about such twerps as Bilney's target but had never had the courage to tell them to go elsewhere and and seek a life. Bilney's life, on the other hand, has always been full of colour. [The article continues for 5 pages. They don't write articles like that any more! ] (Don't forget to look up the bit about Gordon, Gough and the Gundawindi Geek!) **************************************************************** There is a GoodThinginess to come out of this. A Fork and Queen-trap in Chess terms, and one which will show you, *J*U*L*I*A*, to be the outright winner after all. I really think Rudd will win now, that's what he worked so hard for. If he wins well and good, they're your reforms anyway, you may forever smile like Mona Lisa. If he loses we will take spiteful pleasure in turning more scorn on him than ever you had to endure. [i]But we will not lose.[/i] I can feel little respect for Rudd, but my love for the Party remains undiminished. [b]VENCEREMOS![/b] And *J*U*L*I*A*, you have been as a pretty hardworking Caterpillar all your life so far, now for a brief while you may feel a bit like a Chrysalis, but Dear Girl I will be waiting breathlessly to see your final metamorphosis into a free-flying Butterfly. FLY *J*U*L*I*A* FLY !

Ad astra

28/06/2013Talk Turkey What a lovely tribute to our Julia. We join you, word after word. Indeed: [b]VENCEREMOS! FLY *J*U*L*I*A* FLY ! [/b]

Bloss

28/06/2013A wonderful commentary on our Julia and some fine setiments on her legacy which will endure. Thank you TT. Your words make me soar too!!

nasking

28/06/2013 THE LINDSAY TANNER INTERVIEW WITH JON FAINE IS A MUST WATCH: Suddenly there is a spring in the ALP’s step. The gloom and despair has evaporated and a snap Morgan poll has seen the ALP gain 5 points for a nail-biting 49.5 to the Coalition’s 50.5 on a two party preferred basis. For months, Rupert Murdoch and his acolytes have insisted that the debate is over and that Tony Abbott should be given the keys to the Lodge immediately. Suddenly, all that has changed. Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, appeared on ABC’s Lateline moments after the leadership spill and the change in tenor was immediately apparent. Despite Tony Jones’ best attempts to emphasis the instability and fractured nature of the current caucus, Carr was only interested in taking the fight to Abbott insisting that “…suddenly the next election has become very contestable”. http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/rudds-return-sparks-alp-fight-back/ I'M ABOUT WINNING THE ELECTION. N'

nasking

28/06/2013 [b]I doubt very much if the Rudd team are running on pure nasty revenge at this late stage. Such ranting is a waste of space. Dont forget who the real attack dog is. He is the one who needs dropping.[/b] HEATHER, INDEED. THEY'RE ARE GETTING ON WITH THE BUSINESS OF BEATING ABBOTT FROM WHAT I'VE OBSERVED. N'

nasking

28/06/2013 A POST I WROTE ON CAFE WHISPERS (NOTE THE BRILL POET): [b]FEB 25 2011 Abbott’s Drivel Continues[/b] I doubt Tony Abbott is a respected leader…nor a rational man. It seems to this blogger he’s an attention seeker with the morality of an infant at times…who speaks trolleyfulls of drivel…a desperate contortionist negabore who has become a blott on the political landscape…a barbed wire hurdle for the public who want reform that is for the public good…a liability for a Coalition that have been severely divided by his fear-mongering, dog whistling, say NO to everything, mouth before wicket approach. Here’s more ugly drivel straight from the Abbott’s mouth: “This will be the mother of all taxes” (Obviously channeling Saddam Insane) “There has been no greater betrayal in recent history.” (Histrionics?…and the Oscar goes to…) “We will fight this every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every week of every month,” (When not doing Churchill impressions for the mirror…fighting on the beaches…and cycling like a manic on steroids) ”…I think there will be a people’s revolt.” (Now he’s Robespierre…Turnbull readies the guillotine) “As the Prime MInister has said, New Zealanders are family. They are not foreigners and that’s why this disaster has especially touched the hearts of every Australian,” (Yea, asylum seekers drowning only brings dry eyes to Abbottville…just like 9/11 I take it with all them lousy foreigners that died…the London bombings…the Hurricane Katrina New Orleans disaster…kids, families killed in Iraqi, Afghani & Lebanon bombings…Pakistani floods…just bloody foreigners…no point letting the heart be touched, nor shed a tear…Asian tsunami?…”sh*t happens”…just another day…move on) “This is the biggest surrender since Singapore,” (Winner of the Annual Speedo Hysteria & Hyperbole prize goes to Tony for his convincing portrayal of an unemployed talkback radio shock jock searching for God on the streets of Sydney holding an “Apocalypse is coming” sign) Someone please give the man his melodrama prizes and ask him to ”exit stage right“. N’ ——————————————————- From contributor Patricia W.A….a top poem: Tony Abbott is Revolting! I heard him talking to Andrew Bolt. Good to hear what he had to say. He’s organising a great big revolt. Every month, every week, every day. They’re going to march on Canberra. They want us all to join with them To fight the war on tax and terror And make Mr Abbott our P.M. Yeah, Tony’ll come to lead us all, Right out front with his dog called Spot, We’ll overnight in a new school hall, For a cause like ours that’ll be the shot. Our standard, red budgie snugglers, We’ll wave aloft and chant our slogans, “Ban the Burqa! No weapons smugglers!” We’ll all march! Miners, bankers, bogans! We’ll pay a levy for ‘extra’ details, Like one last supper, or a portaloo. We’ll follow Tony o’er hill and dales, But where’s this place called Waterloo? INDEED. IF I WERE THE LIBS I'D BE EMBARRASSED TO HAVE SUCH A NEGABORING HYPERBOLIC SLOGAN OBSESSED CHARACTER AS A LEADER. N'

Doug Evans

28/06/2013Jason I'm truly surprised. You said you would resign if Rudd was put back in the chair. I didnt believe you but you kept your word. I'm impressed. Troubling as his reinstatement was however it was (to me no more troubling than the initial assassination of Rudd apparently without any serious attempt to get Rudd to mend his ways. Whatever his shortcomings he led the Party to an historic victory and was owed at least that much. Not a bit of it. Following the tried and true formula that led to Labor being so on the nose in NSW - don't think the leader is toeing the line? Get rid of him. Howes, Arbib and Shorten marshalled the troops and gave Rudd the shove. Even after the NSW experience it didn't occur to them that the punters might feel they have a stake in this. That who is a Labor Prime minister is more than an internal issue for the Party to resolve. The axing of Rudd was the Party disease writ large. Julia Gillard probably didn't have any alternative to going along with the plot but perhaps she was in it up to her elbows anyway. Whatever, her career was finished the instant she agreed to take over from Rudd. The Party chieftains have her political blood on their hands. THIS soap opera is the perfect illustration of what ails the Party and for the so-called friends of the Party to turn a blind eye – to refuse to call it for what it is – does us all a great disservice IMHO.

nasking

28/06/2013 DOUG EVANS, WHY DON'T YOU JUST RAISE THE WHITE FLAG WHILE YER AT IT... LAY DOWN THE RED CARPET FOR ABBOTT? SEEMS TO BE WHY YOU CONSTANTLY SOW THE SEEDS OF DISCONTENT. HMMM... N'

Tom of Melboune

28/06/2013[i]“FLY *J*U*L*I*A* FLY ! “[/i] Really??!! She’ll fly as well as a dodo with an anvil around its neck.

Curi-Oz

28/06/2013Nasking, please! Doug is just stating something that I (a somewhat rusted on but never actual member of the Labor Party) have suspected since March when such a senior figure as Mr Crean stuck his neck out so far. It is the "Rum Corps" mentality of people from NSW, evident on both sides of politics, and exacerbated by the poor attitude of the media particularly this last three years. It is an attitude that I find often on both sides of this continent, and is one that will often choose a selfish, self-defeating path because it is immediately attractive, but devoid of principal. It is this mentality that suggests that the chaps in the party headquarters counting numbers are more important than those who are representatives of the people ... I think that Mr Abbott has to be given a dam hard fight to get the toys he wants (and should he win, I don't think he will get to enjoy them for very long). This is the dilemma I face, do I go volunteer for my local Labor candidate, or do I just walk away and accept that for the next ten or twenty years we will have so-called Liberals screwing everyone who are not 'their rich mates'? Even if the local Labor candidate doesn't win, if I help I will feel as if I have made a difference and reduced the certainties a little by which creatures like Mr Abbott, Mr Murdoch and Ms Rinehart might exist. I'm still thinking about it. It's a hard choice to make, but do I choose the easy path or accept the compromises necessary to edge the country a little closer to what I can live with?

nasking

28/06/2013 [b]Doug is just stating something that I (a somewhat rusted on but never actual member of the Labor Party) have suspected since March when such a senior figure as Mr Crean stuck his neck out so far[/b] Curi-Oz, I don't think Doug's motives are the same as yours. [b]This is the dilemma I face, do I go volunteer for my local Labor candidate, or do I just walk away and accept that for the next ten or twenty years we will have so-called Liberals screwing everyone who are not 'their rich mates'? [/b] I don't think Doug would be contemplating same. He has made some good points in the past...but I sincerely doubt Doug has the interest of the ALP in mind. As for all the sadness and annoyance over the loss of Julia Gillard, I can understand that some on here would be devastated considering the loyalty they have shown her over the years...and it certainly takes significant time for some to heal. I felt the same way when Ruddy got the chop... but I realised within hours I'd have to move on...I'm one of those who wears their heart on their sleeve and can blow off big time if I feel a wrong has been done, as I did earlier in this thread... but, I realised we don't have time to mope...tributes yes...but moping and attacking Rudd won't help UNIFY the party. THE PM IS NOT VOTED FOR BY THE PEOPLE...IT IS THE PARTY THAT DECIDES. IF WE DON'T LIKE WE SHOULD SUPPORT ALTERNATIVES... however, it's unlikely those alternatives will PREVENT ABBOTT'S MOB FROM WINNING. Certainly alternative parties and Independents can make a difference to a degree, as we saw with the minority govt...but it's important to KNOW WHO THEY WILL SUPPORT ON IMPORTANT BILLS...and if they are forced to choose a side like last time. Diversity is good in a democracy...but imagine if you vote Palmer's party...and it turns out we have another hung parliament...and PALMER sides with Abbott because of his mining interests and past allegiances? Do you really trust Australia's VERSION OF DONALD TRUMP? The man who threatened to sue Anna Bligh? FOR ME IT'S A NO-BRAINER... [b]HOP ON THE RUDD TRAIN, BUS...WHATEVER...[/b] HELP KEEP ABBOTT IN THE BUNKER...AND DEMOLISH IT. [b]TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.[/b] N'

nasking

28/06/2013 GOOD...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL: [b]Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of News International, and Andy Coulson, David Cameron's former spin doctor, have lost a last ditch attempt to get their prosecution over alleged phone hacking dropped.[/b] They went to the court of appeal on Friday morning to seek to have the case against them dismissed on the grounds that the law did not extend to voicemails that had already been listened to. [b]Lord Judge, the lord chief justice, and two other judges, dismissed the appeal that been brought by Brooks, Coulson and three others – former News of the World news editor Ian Edmondson, former senior reporter James Weatherup and the paper's former managing editor Stuart Kuttner.[/b] They are all due to stand trial in September for alleged phone hacking and all five pleaded not guilty to all charges earlier this month. Lord Judge allowed the names of the defendants to be reported today on the grounds that there was no one in the country who did not know who they were. "We must not be unrealistic. There can hardly be anyone in the country who does not know to whom this case applies." http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jun/28/rebekah-brooks-andy-coulson-phone-hacking IF IT WAS YOUR PHONE HACKED? [b]IF YOU HAD LOST A CLOSE FAMILY MEMBER AND YOUR PHONE HAD BEEN HACKED...IMPORTANT MESSAGES LOST?[/b] [b]UNFORGIVEABLE[/b]. PARTICULARLY WHEN IT WAS DONE TO CREATE A STORY...HOOK-IN READERS...BRING IN MORE ADVERTISERS...BEAT THE COMPETITION...MAKE MONEY... [b]EXPAND EMPIRE...THE MURDOCH EMPIRE[/b]. N'

nasking

28/06/2013 KEVIN RUDD WAS RIGHT TO BRING UP THE WARNING THAT ABBOTT'S 'TURN BACK THE BOATS' THOUGHT BUBBLE POLICY COULD LEAD TO A DANGEROUS DETERIORATION IN RELATIONS WITH OUR HUGE HEAVILY POPULATED NEIGHBOUR INDONESIA... PARTICULARLY, AS THE INDONESIANS HAVE STATED THEY DO NOT SUPPORT THE POLICY. HOW I SEE IT, WE DON'T KNOW WHO WILL MAKEUP THE NEXT INDONESIAN GOVT.. WHAT KINDS OF PRESSURES THEY WILL BE UNDER... IF YOU ADD ABBOTT'S DETERMINATION TO BRING IN DRONES FULLBORE...WE REMEMBER HOW THAT HAS LED TO A DETERIORATION IN RELATIONS WITH PAKISTAN... COMBINE THAT WITH AGGRESSIVE AUSSIE APPROACH TO TURNING BACK BOATS... MEMORIES OF EAST TIMOR CAMPAIGN... RESOURCE COMPETITION... WE COULD END UP IN A CONFLICT... NOT UNLIKE SOME CASES IN SOUTH CHINA SEA. ABBOTT SHOULD NOT IRRESPONSIBLY INCREASE TENSIONS DURING WOBBLY GLOBAL ECONOMIC, REVENUE STRAPPED, CLIMATE CHANGE, MASS MOVEMENT OF DISPLACED PEOPLE, PERCEPTION OF JUDEO-CHRISTIAN WAR ON MUSLIMS' TIMES... IN ORDER TO SCORE CHEAP POLITICAL POINTS...AND GAIN TRACTION IN THE POLLS. N'

Jason

28/06/2013Curi-Oz Dear Mr Zappia, As a long time member and supporter of the ALP it is with great sorrow that I write this letter. I say with great sorrow because since the events of the 26/06/2013 I cannot vote for you at the forth coming election nor can I be of any service in handing out how to vote cards scrutineering etc! I cannot in all good conscience stand there hand out pamphlets about Labor values knowing they are lies! This is a very hard decision for me as I resigned from the ALP,because I cannot reward the behaviour of Mr Rudd and his supporters for the three years of destabilisation. I hope you weren’t up too your neck in the plotting but that doesn’t matter anymore the Rudd supporters stand for nothing and I hope the people reward each and every one of them with what they deserve the sack! I could accept the position of bringing down the former PM if the last sitting wasn’t yesterday! For three years she kept the ALP in office, she wore the flack of Thomson where was the NSW Right? They crawled out to sack her but not to help her. But in short now that all the hard work is done something Kevin Rudd could never have done, she’s sacked in favour of a “sideshow spruiker” If Mr Abbott is successful at the election I hope you all ask yourselves was the last three years worth one man’s ego? I said on a blog the other day “ We saw yesterday with the retirement of Windsor and Oakshot although the election hasn't been held that’s two seats labor won't win and we're starting basicly even with the libs seat wise! You then have Garrett Emmerson Gillard Smith Martin Ferguson jenkins who are retiring I wouldn't say it's a safe bet that all of those seats would stay in ALP hands! then you have the seats that are yet to be lost. I would add Stephen Smith from WA and the candidates that will have to be selected will have to get known in the electorate get a grasp of Rudd’s policy while the already pre selected Lib candidate is known can talk about their plan. How or why you voted for this man is beyond me! The only reward he should get is expulsion from the ALP and I will return to help you and other Federal ALP members when he is out of the party. Jason membership number 21062

Ad astra

28/06/2013Folks I've been busy today finishing off the next piece, which I'll post on Sunday evening. It's titled: [i]Who will Newspoll kill off next?[/i] I'm calling it a day.

DMW

28/06/2013Interesting, I have just been chatting with a young person who will, for the first time vote at the forthcoming federal election. They have today arrived back from overseas and asked what the 'big spill' was all about, 'why did it happen'? In the course of the conversation they mentioned that their facebook feed was full of youngsters mourning the loss of Ms Gillard as Prime Minister and expressing much anger toward Mr Rudd. Relative to the voting population a very small sample size but it does cause questioning of Mr Rudd's supposed 'overwhelming' appeal to the youth vote. On another hand it illustrates the difficulty of understanding the mind of [i]The Irrational Voter[/i]

Jason

28/06/2013Curi-Oz More than happy to prove I'm not a "(a somewhat rusted on but never actual member of the Labor Party) have suspected since March when such a senior figure as Mr Crean stuck his neck out so far." Show me the colour of your money!

nasking

28/06/2013 [b]If Mr Abbott is successful at the election I hope you all ask yourselves was the last three years worth one man’s ego? [/b] JASON, GEEZ...THAT'S WORKING HARD FOR THE ALP...QUITTING, SURRENDERING... AND DUMPING ON THE LEADER JUST BEFORE THE ELECTION. YOU GUYS ACCUSE RUDD OF LEAKING... BUT...AT LEAST HE DIDN'T QUIT. SOME ON HERE MIGHT WANT TO START THINKING CLEARER...DO LESS KNEE-JERK STUFF...BEFORE THEIR SANCTIMONIOUS ATTITUDES PUT ABBOTT IN TO THE LODGE FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS... LINED UP WITH LIBERAL AND LNP STATE GOVTS IN MANY STATES. THINK OF THE CONSEQUENCES. YOU ARE A GOOD FELLA JASON...A GOOD WING MAN...BUT YER NOT THINKING CLEARLY...LIKE I WASN'T WHEN I WENT TO HARD ON THE RUDD TEAM...LET MY EMOTIONS FLY. YOU LIKE TO DOLE OUT FRANK, BLUNT ASSESSMENTS OF OTHERS...AND THEIR VIEWS, DECISIONS. I HOPE YOU RESPECT ME DOING SAME TO YOU. ONLY TO AID THE ALP...AND YOU IN THE FUTURE. AND TO KEEP ABBOTT...OUT. N'

Doug Evans

28/06/2013Well Doug is actually in the same difficult situation many Green voters find themselves in. An Abbott government would be a total disaster. The Labor Party is the only (possibly crumbling) bulwark against this. But the ALP has: 1. largely replaced its primary reason to exist (delivering social democratic reforms that enhance social justice) with neo-liberal economic policies (frighteningly similar to those of the LNP) that see the gap between Australia's richest and our poorest widening steadily. In Australia today I gather the wealthiest 20% control 60% of the nation's net wealth while the poorest 20% control a mere 6%. 2. become so hollowed out, internally dysfunctional and corrupt (eg Brian Burke and WA inc, NSW ICAC enquiry) that writing for Inside Story recently Norman Abjorensen had this to say. "The rapidly declining relevance of its shrinking membership and the capture of its factions – and with them the party machinery – have seen Labor become little more than the plaything of unrepresentative cliques. Poor-quality candidate selection and scant attention to policy are the inevitable outcomes, not to mention the corrosive effect of even greater public cynicism and further disengagement." He is far from alone but as I understand it Swordsters are not confortable with criticism of the Party so I won't 'Labor' the point - boom boom. The situation within the ALP leaves voters like me, and last time there was more than a million of us, with a number of problems. There is still a principled middle of the road social democratic party in Australia to vote for but probably not more than between 1 in 10 and 1 in 12 voters will vote for the Greens. They won't form government. That is a problem. In this election as in all others they will have to put up with the usual self serving vilification and dirty tricks from the OH SO ENTITLED Labor Party who want everyone to believe that my vote has actually been stolen from them. Not that after many years of disappointment at their failure to live up to their mandate I have voluntarily left in disgust for a genuine party of the (moderate) left. This is a problem. Because of mandatory distribution of preferences my vote (in the seat of Batman) will most ;likely be allocated to David bloody Feeney a right wing Labor grub who will almost certainly be foisted on the electorate against the wishes of the Party members who live here, by the factions and the recently departed Prime Minister. Captain's picks are currently in vogue wrt pre-selection for both the 'old' parties. This is a problem to me. Feeney for those who don't know was a major supporter of Kathy Jackson and her bunch of crooks and Jackson's bent other half from Fair Work Australia in the recent HSU scandal. I'm sure many of you have followed this at Independent Australia. Feeney is seen as future leadership material so with the backing of Ms Gillard and the old lizard Fossil Fuel Ferguson he is to be shoehorned into Batman (a safe seat) and probably into the Federal Lower House as my MP. That my vote will end up strengthening the position of this man, a vocal opponent of same sex marriage and outspoken supporter of Israel in their ongoing dismantling of Palestine is a problem for me. It is also a problem that a man who is is seen as leadership material in the Party of the Fair Go can hold such views. As someone once said it is not easy being green.

Jason

28/06/2013Nasking, So Rudd and his supporters should be rewarded for their actions? now that the one persons who had her faults kept all of them employed? You say move on and support Rudd! I'd sooner eat shit! I do have a few standards and rewarding Rudd for his treachery isn't one!

Jason

28/06/2013Doug Evans I will respond but not tonight!

nasking

28/06/2013 [b]I do have a few standards and rewarding Rudd for his treachery isn't one![/b] LOL. Jason, short memory. Julia took over from Rudd...remember? Did you condemn her? Get over it Jason. Politics is ruthless...you know that. It's not a child's game. It's about heating the opposition and putting in place useful, common good policies...and saving useful schemes and funding. Idealists and fanatical loyalists have their place...but too often in losing parties. N'

nasking

28/06/2013 [b]It's about BEATING the opposition and putting in place useful, common good policies...and saving useful schemes and funding.[/b]

DMW

28/06/2013Good Evening Doug, again an interesting and informative comment. The link Lyn offered today to Frank Bongiorno's Inside Story article offers some good perspectives on [i]the punters might feel they have a stake in (who is leader of a party/prime minister)[/i] http://inside.org.au/the-churn-goes-on/ I have to question [i](w)hatever his shortcomings he led the Party to an historic victory and was owed at least that much.[/i] Reality and a bit of historic perspective will eventually sink in that Rudd's 2007 victory was not historic and that almost any leader of the Labor Party would have won that election. The Liberal Party loss had more to do with Howard 'overreach' and the lack of renewal than anything that Rudd did. The only 'historic' thing about that election was that for only the second time in our history a sitting Prime Minister lost their seat (and the third time a party leader lost their seat). McKew's victory in Bennelong was more down to her local level campaign and the backing of her brilliant numbers man. 2007 was another [i]drover's dog [/i] election in many ways. The resurrection of the Ruddster illustrates one thing and that is, the Labor Party is in the thrall of Messiahs coming on down from the hill to deliver the 'Holy Grail'.

Jason

28/06/2013Nasking, Are you a member of the ALP? Do you stick your hand in your pocket and donate money for the cause? I do or did! so I think I've paid for the right to say what ever I like even if you don't like it!

Tom of Melboune

28/06/2013So it’s all fine with Jason when hacks external to the caucus use their control to remove a popular Prime Minister, and install their incompetent puppet. But when the actual caucus begin to show a modicum of independence, and move against the incompetent and unpopular Gillard, that’s just too much for Jason. With logic and thinking like that among members, it’s no wonder the membership of the ALP is in free fall.

nasking

28/06/2013 ON THE DRUM I WATCHED DAVID MARR FARTING ON ABOUT NEGATIVE RUDD MYTHS...STUFF TANNER DISPUTES...AND HE WAS CLOSE TO RUDD. DAVID MARR WROTE A PIECE ABOUT RUDD'S SO CALLED ANGER THAT HELPED BRING HIM DOWN...A PIECE WRITTEN AFTER RUDD TREATED HIM A COURTEOUS MANNER AND PERMITTED HIM SPECIAL ACCESS. MARR FINDS ABBOTT 'FASCINATING'. METHINKS MR. MARR AIN'T AS ALP SUPPORTING AS MANY WOULD LIKE TO THINK. HE SEEMS DETERMINED TO HELP THE ALP LOSE. [b]Marr began as a journalist working for The Bulletin magazine[/b] WIKIPEDIA AND TONY ABBOTT: Throughout his time as a student and seminarian, Abbott was writing articles for newspapers and magazines—first for the Sydney University Newspaper, and later The Catholic Weekly and [b]national publications like The Bulletin.[/b] MARR AND ABBOTT... THE BULLETIN IN COMMON. In 1961 The Bulletin was sold to the press magnate [b]Sir Frank Packer[/b], who installed Donald Horne as editor. The paper was radically modernised, most of the writers were replaced, and "Australia for the White Man" disappeared from the masthead. Under the Packer family The Bulletin remained politically conservative, but rejoined the political and journalistic mainstream, as a well-edited magazine (modelled on Time) of political and business news and commentary, with occasional forays into literature as a gesture to its past. [b]The Packer family[/b] tolerated the magazine's unprofitability for the prestige of publishing Australia's oldest magazine. They published it "in conjunction with" Newsweek, which was usually found as a separate section within the magazine. HMMM...TURNBULL WORKED FOR THE BULLETIN TOO. OLD MEDIA TIES? A SYDNEY THING? OTHER TIES? N'

DMW

28/06/2013Curi-Oz @ 8:33 PM, [i]It is the "Rum Corps" mentality of people from NSW, ...[/i] Good one, that analogy deserves some serious consideration and fleshing out. I may have to crawl back into the my cave and ponder that further.

nasking

28/06/2013 JASON, WE GAVE MONEY RECENTLY TO THE ALP...AS A GREEN ALPer I HAVE WORKED MY ARSE OFF SINCE 2004 BLOGGING AND COMMENTING... AND...I TOLD THE ALP EARLIER TODAY I WOULD VOLUNTEER TO DO INFO SHARING. OKAY. N'

Jason

28/06/2013Tom, Again you seem to be playing with yourself!When did I say it was fine? "But when the actual caucus begin to show a modicum of independence, and move against the incompetent and unpopular Gillard, that’s just too much for Jason." Since Christine Milne said she would provide "confidence" in Rudd so long as he doesn't recall parliament or stuff with the carbon tax He's a lame duck leader! Anything he says from now on will only happen if he wins the election

Curi-Oz

28/06/2013Jason, [b]I am[/b] the "somewhat rusted on but never actual member of the Labor Party" *G*. And I admire your letter of resignation greatly. There is a tradition of Labour Party (ex UK) support in my family, but I had never even considered stepping up to join the ALP until recently. Well ... Unfortunately my current option is a Labor candidate in the seat of Hasluck who is/has been an organiser for the MWU (and doesn't yet live in the area). I was planning to meet with him in a couple of weeks to see what I could do, but now I really don't know what to do - it's still all too raw and unprocessed as yet. I may well end up following the example of a young man I read on either The Conversation or NoFibs. He is not associated with any political party but doesn't like what the LNP stands for, so spends his own money to print flyers highlighting things he doesn't like about the LNP, and sticks them in his neighbourhood's letterboxes. I still have to make my decision, and will probably inflict it on you once I've made it *gentle grin* Ad Astra, Thank you for attracting such a brilliant company of correspondants, I learn something every day here. Even if it is trying get my head around a better understanding of how politics works in this country *wry smile* Capcha = frantiqc concern *LOL*

Jason

28/06/2013Curi-oz, Just because I'm bitter and twisted at the moment don't let me influence your decision. I have suvived in the ALP for 20 years without belonging to a faction as I don't seek a seat in either state or Federal parliament nor a job as a staffer . I did what I did only for the good of the ALP!Now that my backing of a leader even though I'm not a "power broker" has been disposed when I said if Rudd ever become leader I would resign I have! For everyone else that has a problem what else should I do?

Doug Evans

28/06/2013DMW I get the gist of Bongiorno's article. I'll have a closer look tomorrow but He usually makes pretty good sense. It may well be that I over-egged my rhetoric. Wouldn't be the first time. I don't think it alters the thrust of what I was saying. However even before looking more carefully at FB I'm inclined to quibble a bit. This was an historic election win if for no other reasons that Labor had been ten years in the wilderness and a sitting PM was defeated - almost unheard of. WRT the drover's dog. It may be that another leader might have done it. How would we ever know? But to be quite concrete Who might that have been. They had burned through a few in recent times Beasley and Crean, hardly inspiring. Latham? Talented but deeply flawed? Smith and Swan were talked about as potential leaders but now we have seen both of them ……? After a decade the people were tired of Howard that is true. He did over-reach on IR, that made some swinging voters nervous. However Rudd had a sparkle and quirky freshness all his own that really cut through with the people as reflected by the sky high opinion polls that lasted well into his term of office. He had the nous (rat cunning) to realize that people had lived pretty well under Howard and that on important issues he bamboozled them by staying close to LNP policies - asylum seekers was a classic. Howard lite was the term coined to describe him I thought pretty accurately. I was sucked in by the public persona and (of course) the promise to address climate change. It took a while before we realized we had been played for suckers. Robert Manne wrote a good immediate pre-election piece on him highlighting his fundamental conservatism and despite the rhetoric his minimal commitment to action on climate. Surely that can't be I thought but alas the CPRS was all smoke and mirrors and no (climate) action - but I am getting off topic. So whether a drovers' dog could have done it or not. Whether it was historic or not Rudd was chosen, he won and with collossal arrogance and trademark stupidity they cut him down rather than at least try to give him a good talking to to try to get him to mend his ways. The Party has been paying ever since and we may all yet be paying for some years ahead. WRT messiahs and hills. Yes it does look like its about personality and polls first then policies and principle if they have to.

nasking

28/06/2013 REMEMBER THIS BEFORE YOU FALL TOO MUCH FOR THE HYPE RUDD GOVT ACCOMPLISHMENTS...BY WAY OF BRIAN FROM LAVARTUS PRODEO: RUDD:[quote] I was elected by the Australian people as prime minister of this country to bring back a fair go for all Australians and I have given my absolute best to do that, I’ve given it my absolute all. In that spirit I am proud of the achievements that we have delivered to make this country fairer. [/quote] Here, paraphrased a little, is the list: 1. We kept Australia out of recession. Had we not, half a million people would have been out of work. 2 We got rid of WorkChoices and restored decency to the work place. 3. We started to build the nation’s infrastructure including the National Broadband Network, which will transform the economy in ways we have yet to conceive. 4. We began the education revolution – 300,000 extra computers in classrooms. 5. We now have trade centres built to service every one of the nation’s secondary schools. 6. New school libraries are springing up across the country, often in schools that have never had one. 7. We now have nationwide early childhood education. 8. We now have a national curriculum. 9. We now have 50,000 more university places and have invested so much more in our universities, in our research. 10. We have reformed the health system; a national health and hospitals network. He said that the new funding arrangements will be seen as a “very, very deep reform.” 11. We are building 20 regional cancer centres right across our country. 12. We now have a National Organ Transplant Authority. 13. We have restored decency to the aged pension. The $100 extra is the biggest increase ever. 14. We now have paid parental leave. 15. We are on track to halve homelessness in the country. 16. We are adding 20,000 additional units of social housing. 17. We signed the Kyoto Protocol. 18. We boosted the renewable energy target to 20%. 19. We tried three times to get an emissions trading system through parliament. 20. We now have a Murray Basin Authority and for the first time in our history have a basin-wide plan and a basin-wide cap on water. 21. On the global stage Australia is now at the table of the G20. We lobbied hard and long for that. It is a good achievement for Australia for the future. 22. We are closing the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. 23. We greeted the Stolen Generations. He was “most proud” of that last one one, saying: The apology was unfinished business for our nation. It is the beginning of new business for our nation. That was the list of achievements Rudd identified, with a little more elaboration, in his press conference. He said it had been a very busy two and a half years. [quote]We have thrown our absolute all at this and I believe when we look back at this, these reforms will endure into the future and make Australia, I believe, a fairer and better place than it would otherwise have been.[/quote] Were you aware of all the items on the list? I hadn’t heard of the regional cancer centres or the National Organ Transplant Authority. It’s noteworthy, I think, that his composure first faltered when he reached these two health initiatives. He pointed out that out in regional areas people are three times more likely to die of cancer in their first year of diagnosis. On transplants Rudd himself has someone else’s aortic valve inside his heart. “We chose to make a difference,” he said. The other points of high emotion were when he spoke of homelessness, of the Stolen Generations representatives being frightened as they came in “over there” and of his family. This was the first time I played the vision. I heard his speech on my pocket radio, plugged in walking down Queen Street. The speech was indeed very moving, as others have mentioned. Rudd came across as a man of very deep compassion, aware of the fragility of life and concerned about people on the margins. But I digress. In this post I’m concerned about the achievements of the Rudd government. He missed a few significant ones. He could have mentioned matching Howard’s tax cuts. He could have mentioned building a string of superclinics to deliver medical services, which I think is quite important. Then there was getting our troops out of Iraq. He could have mentioned getting rid of Howard’s Pacific Solution and replacing it with a more humane approach to asylum seekers, though he was almost certainly not proud of the recent alterations to the policy. Finally, he commissioned the Henry review of taxation, which could spawn more than the RSPT if we so choose. http://larvatusprodeo.net/archives/2010/06/the-rudd-governments-achievements/ INDEED. SIDESHOW? RUDD ALSO STARTED THE PUSH FOR UN SECURITY COUNCIL SEAT. AND PUSHED SOLAR PANELS. RUDD HAD HIS FAULTS...BUT WHICH PM DOESN'T.., CONSIDERING HE WAS ONLY THERE FOR LESS THAN THREE YEARS...MUCH OF THE TIME TRYING TO ESTABLISH A NEW GOVT AFTER NIGH ON 12 YEARS OF A HOWARD GOVT WITH ITS TENTACLES EVERYWHERE...EVEN THE ABC.. AND CONSIDERING THE HUGE WAVE THAT WAS THE GFC... THESE ARE HUGE ACHIEVEMENTS AND VISION... RUDD IS UNDERESTIMATED. MY WIFE SAID TODAY SHE HAD FORGOTTEN HOW MUCH THE RUDD GOVT HAD DONE TO FUND AND CHANGE AND LIFT MORALE IN HER SCHOOL...AFTER YEARS OF HOWARD NEGLECT... SHE WILL NOW VOTE ALP IN THE REPS. RUDD WAS/IS A QLDer... THE POWER BASES IN SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE WERE KEEN TO WREST BACK POWER. HMMM... N'

nasking

28/06/2013 RUDD WAS ALSO A MAVERICK BACK THEN...NOT PART OF THE FACTIONS...UNPREDICTABLE. NOW HE HAS ALBO (SYDNEY) ON HIS LEFT...BOWEN (SYDNEY) ON HIS RIGHT. N'

Jason

28/06/2013Nasking, Please do not insult our intelligence with "RUDD: I was elected by the Australian people as prime minister of this country to bring back a fair go for all Australians and I have given my absolute best to do that, I’ve given it my absolute all." The same people that elected him on Wednesday elected him back then the caucus room!

nasking

28/06/2013 [b]So whether a drovers' dog could have done it or not. Whether it was historic or not Rudd was chosen[/b] RUDD BEAT ONE OF THE TOUGHEST, LONGEST SITTING PMs IN HISTORY... HE HELPED MAXINE MCKEW TAKE JOHN HOWARD'S SEAT. HE GOT THRU A HUGE STIMULUS BILL THAT HELPED SAVE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF JOBS,..UNLIKE MANY OTHER COUNTRIES... RUDD SHOULD NOT BE UNDERESTIMATED. RUDD DID WHAT LATHAM COULDN'T...THE SAME RUDD THAT LATHAM PISSED ON PREVIOUSLY IN HIS BOOK. IS IT ANY WONDER LATHAM ENVIES HIM? HOW DO WE KNOW LATHAM WASN'T BEING PAID BY RICH BARONS TO DUMP ON RUDD...KEEP HIM OUT OF LEADERSHIP... AND KEEP GILLARD THERE KNOWING SHE WOULD PROBABLY LOSE...COULD BE ATTACKED AGAIN AT THE LAST MOMENT FOR HER RELATIONSHIP TO CORRUPT UNION OFFICIALS??? DID LATHAM LOOK LIKE A FAIR DINKUM HONEST AS HONEST CHARACTER ON Q&A WHEN DUMPING ON RUDD? NO, HE LOOKED VERY VERY STRESSED. N'

nasking

28/06/2013 JASON, YOU SOUND LIKE LATHAM.

jane

28/06/2013What all the Rudd barrackers so carefully avoid mentioning is that he has spent the last 3 years disloyally whiteanting Julia Gillard. Perhaps if they acknowleged the fact that they spent the last 3 years aiding & abetting the Liars Party, I might feel even the tiniest bit of respect for any of them. Rudd & his Liars Party members are RATS, pure & simple. They dizgust me!

Jason

28/06/2013JASON, YOU SOUND LIKE LATHAM Be that as it may! The fact remains the people don't elect the Prime Minister

nasking

29/06/2013 JANE, AFTER ALL THESE YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP YOU INSULT ME? WHAT GIVES? ARE YOU SO BLIND AS NOT TO SEE THAT THE SAME WAS DONE TO RUDD? ARE YOU SAYING ALPers WEREN'T UNDERMINING RUDD ALMOST FROM THE BEGINNING THERE IS SO MUCH HYPOCRISY HERE. JASON UNFRIENDS ME...JANE TURNS ON ME...AS MIN DID ON CAFE WHISPERS PREVIOUSLY... THERE HAS BEEN EMAIL CAMPAIGNS USED TO TRY AND DAMAGE ME PREVIOUSLY. THEN OUT OF THE BLUE QUESTIONING OF MY MENTAL HEALTH BY OTHERS ON HERE. WTF GIVES? I'M TRYING TO HELP YOU WIN A FREAKING ELECTION... YOU WANT ME TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH ABOUT YOUR MIRACLE WORKER JULIA GILLARD? - SHE SCREWED UP MEDIA REFORM -,KEPT THE CARBON PRICE TOO HIGH AND COCKED UP BY SAYING SHE WOULDN'T BRING IN A PRICE -,TANNER RECKONS SHE SCREWED RUDD OVER ON THE ETS - SHE PUT IN PLACE A TESTING REGIME AND LIMITED MYSCHOOL SYSTEM THAT COULD BE USED BY MEDIA AND FUTURE GOVTS TO UNDERMINE TEACHER UNIONS AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS - HER GONSKI REFORMS WERE VAGUE, LATE...COULD BE USED FOR VOUCHER SYSTEMS UNDERMINING PUBLIC SCHOOLS - SHE COCKED UP THE EAST TIMOR DETENTION CENTRE PROMISE...AND MANUS ISLAND...PUT CHILDREN IN DETENTION...AND LET MANY MANY BOATS COME - SHE REDUCED THE DEPENDENT SPOUSE REBATE - SHE MADE LIFE HARD FOR SINGLE MUMS - SHE GAVE THE PERCEPTION OF REDUCED SPENDING ON HIGHER EDUCATION... - KEPT IN PLACE DISCRIMINATORY POLICIES AGAINST INDIGENOUS PEOPLE... - CAME UP WITH A CRAP MINING TAX AND THAT'S FOR STARTERS. WAKE UP! N'

nasking

29/06/2013 AND OF JULIA GILLARD WAS SOOO CARING...WHY WOULD SHE DEMOLISH THE CHRONIC ILLNESS DENTAL CARE SCHEME THAT WAS HELPING MANY? AND NOT REPLACE IT? WHAT A WEE BIT OF MONEY GIVEN TO YOUNG PEOPLE? HELPFUL YES...BUT NOT A PROPER SCHEME FOR THEM...OR ANYONE ELSE. AND WHY WAS THE NBN ROLLED OUT SOOO SLOWLY? SO MUCH COMPENSATION GIVEN TO TELSTRA? WHY NO RECOGNITION OF ASBESTOS EARLIER? AND WHY DID SHE CUT BACK ON SOLAR? WHY END THE COMPUTERS IN SCHOOLS SCHEME? WHY END THE NATIONAL PARTERNSHIP FUNDING FOR SCHOOLS? N'

Jason

29/06/2013Nasking, I'm not turning on you! I respect your contribution, We happen to disagree on the leadership and the way it happend!

nasking

29/06/2013 JASON, MANY OF THE VOTERS WERE NOT HAPPY WITH THE KNIFING OF RUDD.. MANY RECOGNISED SOMETHING WAS WRONG...SUS EVEN...WITH THE WAY JULIA WAS DAMAGING THE BRAND...MAKING SO MANY MISTAKES...HURTING SO MANY INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES... MANY TOLD ME. SHE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE GUTS TO SUPPORT EQUAL RIGHTS VIA SAME-SEX MARRIAGE... YET OBAMA DID. YA KNOW, JULIA HAD SOME BAD LINKS TO BAD UNION OFFICIALS...SHE WENT TO SEE THE NEWS LTD FOLK...WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WENT DOWN...PROBABLY REALISATION HE WAS SCREWED. THEN SHE TOOK ON NEWS LTD...THE POLLS GOT WORSE...PRETENDED SHE WAS INTERESTED IN MEDIA REFOM... HEY PRESTO! NOTHING. SUS MAN...SUS. AND SUDDENLY AFTER TAKING THE POLLS SOOO LOW...SHE DECIDES TO LEAVE THE PARTY. HMMM.... N'

nasking

29/06/2013 Should be: [b]PROBABLY REALISATION SHE WAS SCREWED.[/b] DOES ANYONE ON HERE EVER THINK ABOUT BILLIONAIRE MURDOCH'S CAPACITY FOR MAKING THREATS TO EXPOSE? ABILITY TO BLACKMAIL? HIS PEOPLE PHONE HACKED BIG CORPORATE PEOPLE, POLLIES AND CELEBRITIES FOR GOODNESS SAKE. EVEN THE ROYAL FAMILY. THEY BOUGHT FRIGGIN' POLICE. DIDN'T ANYBODY EVER WONDER HOW COULD GILLARD KEEP STUMBLING?...JUST WHEN WE WORKED EACH TIME TO BRING HER BACK? WHY SHE WAS NOT THE STRONG EFFECTIVE DEBATER SHE ONCE WAS? YET ACTED MOST EFFECTIVE AND CONFIDENT ON THE FINAL DAY SHE WAS PM? ALMOST RELIEVED TO LEAVE. HMMM... N'

Michael Taylor

29/06/2013When Gillard ousted Rudd a few years ago I admit I was disappointed as I thought Rudd had been a great Prime Minister. After a period of feeling unsettled over the affair I got behind Gillard as the big picture is to keep Abbott out of the Lodge. I believe that Gillard too was a great Prime Minister and was unsettled when she too lost her seat. I'm settling down now as the big picture hasn't changed, and that is to still do what we can to keep Abbott out of the Lodge. Politics, we have witnessed, is a dirty game. We have seen two great Prime Ministers rolled bit if we manage to keep Abbott out of the Lodge then it will be hailed as a master stroke. But what disappoints me more than anything is to see us turning on each other. I was Julia Gillard's greatest fan, however, I will say now that I'm going to support Rudd as much as I supported Julia. It's sad to think that my declaration will possibly put me offside with some people, but hopefully it will be short lived. If Abbott wins in September we will all be united again. Let's unite a bit earlier, hey? Like immediately.

Jason

29/06/2013Nasking As I said I'm not going to war over it! but this is just crap "AND SUDDENLY AFTER TAKING THE POLLS SOOO LOW...SHE DECIDES TO LEAVE THE PARTY. HMMM...." As biased as they are not even ToM of everywhere or Sir Ian crisp would say that! It was one of the conditions the other night that the loser would leave the parliament at the next election!

Jason

29/06/2013Miglo, You do what you feel is right! I said on here and elsewhere that should Rudd ever become leader I would resign from the ALP I have! As much as it kills me I made a pledge I have to stand by it! I would say "Why don't ALP members take the time-honoured labor tradition of the disenfranchised and go on strike: withhold their labor and their financial support from the state and federal offices until a log of claims is met. This could include: • An end to whiteanting and the expulsion of the likes of Kevin Rudd • A stipulation that only local members can vote in preselections. • Parliamentary candidates must have been a member of the party for at least three years and have had a job/jobs or community work in the real world, not in a union office or a parliamentary office, for at least five years. • The right of the parliamentary leader to choose the members of the front bench based on ability and knowledge and not on faction membership. ALP members at their next branch meeting could propose such a motion and, by taking such an action, reform will be forced and a revived and representative ALP will again make an important contribution in the political arena at both state and federal levels.

nasking

29/06/2013 Well, I'm gonna stick to Facebook. You know where to find me. I hope people listen to Michael. But remember this...legislation is fine...but as my Dad always reminded me...talk is cheap...actions, results count. My wife reminded me of the funding the Rudd govt put into the schools...for labs, libraries, halls, maintenance, computers, school gardens, language labs, national partnership funding for disadvantaged schools... much of which has dried up.... talk is cheap. The chronic health dental scheme could have been means-tested. Results count. The Great Barrier Reef area around Gladstone has been dangerously dredged... talk is cheap... the NBN has been connected to few people... talk is cheap. Solar support cancelled... actions count... Universities need increased funding...not reductions... actions count... mining tax... I rest my case. Please send me the tangible evidence of the last couple of years' accomplishments....if you have them? Not just infrastructure for cars cars cars...and for mining exports. I can show you the Rudd era ones. N'

Michael Taylor

29/06/2013Let us not focus on what we cannot change. Instead, let us focus on what we can change together.

TalkTurkey

29/06/2013"RUDD: I was elected by the Australian people as prime minister of this country ... " The [b]VERY FIRST THING[/b] Rudd said in his victory gloat was a [b]LIE![/b] A genuine rolled-gold lie, [i]a deliberate anti-truth[/i], Rudd being fully cognisant of the fact that the Australian people do NOT elect the PM. Labor and Liberal alike, the elected representatives elect their leader who becomes PM if s/he wins in a general election. Rudd is acutely aware of this, having been rolled by them before! That he said this is a measure of the man. It is a smokescreen, part of his myth that he was *wronged* in the first place. I won't talk him down where I think it would cost any votes but very few here will change their vote because of Rudd's perfidy. [i]The main game is to keep Abborrtt out[/i]. But when Rudd said that it was one more lie than I know *J*U*L*I*A* ever to have told! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks Nasking for posting Patricia's latest pome, very staunch and determined it is too! Truth Seeker you may see that you and I are on exactly the same wavelength eh! Superb writing, well done. Janice! Don't lose heart now, read TS's article as linked above, and my own too, and be sure that our points of view are essentially those of our Blogmaster too. The Labor Party has never been even close to perfect but its ordinary membership are Salt-of-the-Earth humans (with some other ingredients!) and it gropes and struggles always towards the Light on the Hill however far that may appear. One thing is certain, Jan, Jason, others who feel betrayed: your leaving the ALP is exactly what we [i]don't[/i] need. Shoulders to the wheel, eyes on the Light, OK it won't be *J*U*L*I*A* at the helm but the fight now is to [b]defend her agenda[/b] [b]![/b] That rhymes. Lynnie as always your posts are a delight. Our magnetic Canary, attracting people from everywhere every day. Your daily feast is what keeps TPS bubbling ALL the time. As Ad astra's articles every week keep us focussed and remembering what we are about. It has been and remains a magical place this site. I feel privileged to have this forum. Thank you as always Ad. And Bloss, your kind little message is a case in point. [i]Your[/i] words make [i]me[/i] soar. We rescue each other here! Thank you so much. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rykS25x7Jhk

Catching up

29/06/2013I believe that at last, Rudd said the right words yesterday. Yes, maybe it isl time to come in behind him. It is definitely Abbott I want defeated. Not only defeated but pushed out of politics. The society and the country cannot afford for bullies to gain power.

Catching up

29/06/2013Nasking, politics is the art of the possible. The trouble is that for the last 5 or 7 years at least, we have had no proper reporting or coverage of political events by the media, none at all. All we have had is continual put down and white anting of Labor. Policies have never been discussed. One commentator is putting forwarded the proposition that they set Rudd up. Outlandish statement from a serious commentator. He says the proof is the relaxed body language of both Gillard and Swan. I say, to far stretched, but I suspect the PM might have reached the decision that she could do no more. Was more interested in not saving the furniture,as they say, but her legacy. Of course it is not perfect. What is. Things can always be improved. We know that Abbott has not helped, by his lack of interested in what went on in the houses regarding legislation. Very little scrutiny or revision has come from him. If Rudd, as it now appears clear has been limited in what he can do, bu=y the agreement that all goes before caucus, maybe that will prevent him form acting asd he did before. Also addresses what appeared to be his inability, to make decisions while under pressure. It could be, that all he is now, is the salesman. Nothing makes sense at the moment. It is going to take historians to delve and come up with the truth. nasking, I suspect, much of what concerns you is not as it seems. Most have been addressed. Many of the reforms do not have the money behind them they need, but at least the skeletons are their to build on. The media and Abbott need to be taught a lesson, that this is not the politics this country will accept. For that to occur, Rudd has to win, and win handsomely. I know what I am saying is beyond belief, but wherever you look, there is nothing that makes sense. This is the reality of the time. While Rudd continues as he did yesterday, we have little choice but to back him. The alternative is Abbott. Yes, one cannot ignore the last three years, and the treatment of Gillard. That is a different question. Trouble is, there is no clear picture of what has occurred. Just great confusion. This sounds muddled, but that is because I am confused when I look around us. I have decide I will wait, to form a final assessment of what has been occurring.

Catching up

29/06/2013Really clever and brave people have the ability to know, there is a time to withdraw, as pushing on only makes matters worse. Not many have that insight. The PM seen that she was beaten. She then set out to limited the damage. She just did not just walk away. She left the party the ability to take the fight forwarded. Not nice for any to accept. Listen to what she said to her peers on Wednesday-night. Look at the body language of Tanya and Penny. They were not happy at all. After the next election, the party will have more new blood than old. Many of those coming up, are not stupid, have many skills. Look at the Opposition, Howard's team still in control. No new blood or ideas. Those that there is, are kept down. Have not seen much ability there anyway. If Mirabella and Morrison is the cream, god help them. Politics has always been a dirty game. Wishing it otherwise does not help. The one certainty that we have, is that we cannot afford Abbott and his cronies. Do we need the likes of Cash and her hate? Yes, it comes down to making choices.

lyn

29/06/2013Today’s Links Rudd’s return sparks ALP fightback by @independentaus as the Abbott free ride has ground to a halt. Labor have done the right thing, they have put the nation first and they are back in business. The message is clear, not only to ALP supporters but to all Australian democrats who believe in fair play — rejoice, for a great injustice has been undone! http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/rudds-return-sparks-alp-fight-back/ An Abbott in the Lodge – “NEVER” by @saint13333 Remarkably, he has gone from gutter politician with an overwhelming negativity disorder, misogyny traits and pathological liar complex to jolly nice bloke in the course of six months. In fact, the date of this transformation can be pinpointed to the Prime Ministers announcement of the election date. http://theaimn.com/2013/06/28/an-abbott-in-the-lodge-never-2/ live by the sword, die by the sword by Gary Sauer-Thompson History will be kind to Gillard once the partisan commentary fades. People will remember Gillard when they've forgotten about the others. Some will see her leadership as prime minister in terms of a political tragedy. Others will be more sympathetic. http://www.sauer-thompson.com/archives/opinion/2013/06/live-by-the-swo.php Open Letter to Australia’s Most Courageous PM by Uther’s Say while our media has left behind in their newsprint and their incessant gossip during your tenure as our PM a monument of gargantuan size to the failure of the Fourth Estate you leave a country we can still be proud of and greatly admired outside the news limited bubble. http://utherssay.com/2013/06/27/open-letter-to-australias-most-courageous-pm/ The political tragedy of Julia Gillard by Shaun Carney The argument in defence of Julia Gillard is that her government managed to get hundreds of pieces of legislation through a parliament in which Labor did not have majorities in its right in either house. This included the signature reforms of new education funding arrangements and the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Ag http://theconversation.com/the-political-tragedy-of-julia-gillard-15588 Rudd: Is it clever to call back an angry mob? by @Mothincarnate discussions with others in recent weeks, I must conclude that this will largely fall on deaf ears. People that generally share similar views to myself are, put basically, over it. Without doubt the media circus of the past year has stirred up the pot to boiling point and, http://newanthropocene.wordpress.com/2013/06/28/rudd-is-it-clever-to-call-back-an-angry-mob/ Rudd returns and Labor soars by @OnLineOpinion For months Rupert Murdoch and his acolytes have insisted that the debate is over and that Tony Abbott should be given the keys to the Lodge immediately. Suddenly, all has changed. http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=15184 A Few Words on Kevin Rudd By Carly Learson Julia Gillard, on the other hand, had been a loyal and hardworking Deputy, avoiding Rudd whenever possible and trying to get on with education reforms. She's always been far more focused on finding ways to give kids a better education, getting workers back their rights and dealing with climate change http://www.vice.com/en_au/read/a-few-words-on-kevin-rudd Rudd the Builder’s ‘new politics’ of peace and policy by Bernard Keane there was no all-out attack on Rudd; then again it was the last day of Parliament, probably, before the election, and question time is a somewhat clunky forum for pursuing the internal issues of your opponents. The contest proper will be out in the real world, on the TV airwaves and on the streets of marginal seats. http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/06/28/rudd-the-builders-new-politics-of-peace-and-policy/ Rudd and policy substance by @JohnQuiggin2 Although he had a majority in the House of Representatives, he had to deal with a far less favorable Senate than did Gillard. Despite that, he got a fair bit of legislation through. it would be worth doing a comparison between Rudd’s achievements and those of Tony Abbott, a senior minister for 11 years under Howard http://johnquiggin.com/ Talk the austerity talk, just don't walk the walk by @GrogsGamut But while it is good that Hockey has acknowledged the need for government stimulus in downturns, it remains to be seen if he thinks austerity and cutbacks are the solution regardless of levels of growth. The rhetoric of austerity always sounds sweet; the practise is rather more cacophonic. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/grogonomics/2013/jun/28/austerity-talk-the-talk-hockey Was Julia Gillard the most productive prime minister in Australia's history? by Nick Evershed Julia Gillard had the highest rate of passing legislation with a rate of 0.495, followed by Bob Hawke at 0.491: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2013/jun/28/australia-productive-prime-minister?CMP=twt_gu Punter’s request to add class to political reporting by @YaThinkN sad reflection and a quiet hope that many in this nation, both in public life and privately also reflect on the past 3 years with an open mind and endeavour to be better human beings so we can have a better Australia, not the rabid racist, homophobic, sexist and truly ugly one we currently have http://nofibs.com.au/2013/06/28/a-punters-request-to-add-class-to-political-reporting/ The best of Tony Abbott by @no_filter_Yamba Tony Abbott should avoid further embarrassment by not opening his mouth ever again on anything related to telecommunications http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com.au/ The Show MUST Go On. by @HillbillySkill Such is life. We do it too, and those in glass houses shouldn’t cast around for stones at a time like this because to continue to express rancour now only expends our energies needlessly and for short term existential gain. Not the sort of long-term productive gain which can really lead to us vanquishing our common enemies.i http://pbxmastragics.com/2013/06/27/the-show-must-go-on/ Post-spill candidate update by @benraue There is speculation that Kevin Rudd will want to wait until after the G20 meets in early September, which points to a late September or early October election.It still remains a possibility, however, that the election could be held earlier, in August. http://www.tallyroom.com.au/15383 Who invented the internet in Australia by @LarvatusProdeo Short history lesson for Tony Abbott, who has apparently claimed that Shadow Communications spokeperson Malcolm Turnbull virtually invented the Internet in Australia, presumably on the basis of being an early investor in OzEmail, one of Australia’s first commercial ISPs. http://larvatusprodeo.net/archives/2013/06/who-invented-the-internet-in-australia/ Turnbull “virtually invented the Internet in Australia”, claims Tony Abbott by @renailemay there is a massive difference between acting as an investor in an early Australian ISP and “inventing the Internet”. Financial management is not technology management — and it’s certainly not engineering. Turnbull is quite technically astute for a politician — but we really doubt he would know his way around an ISP datacentre http://delimiter.com.au/2013/06/28/turnbull-virtually-invented-the-internet-in-australia-claims-tony-abbott/ Abbott: Malcolm Turnbull invented the Australian Internet by @mumbrella In a speech to the party room – and yes, it is a speech, as in prepared remarks now sitting on Abbot’s website, not something off the cuff, he today had the following to say: we have a strong and credible broadband policy because the man who has devised it, the man who will implement it virtually invented the Internet in this country. http://mumbrella.com.au/abbott-malcolm-turnbull-invented-the-australian-internet-164656 Today’s Front Pages Australian Newspaper Front Pages for 29 June 2013 http://www.thepaperboy.com/australia/front-pages.cfm News headlines http://www.hotheadlines.com.au/

Doug Evans

29/06/2013DMW if you're out there. I'd value any comments you care to make on this http://duggyvans.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/old-tired-cynical-and-arrogant-part-1.html and this http://duggyvans.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/old-tired-cynical-and-arrogant-part-2.html

Doug Evans

29/06/2013Michael Agree with the sentiments but are you never just a teensy bit troubled by the thinking (or lack of it), extraordinary arrogance and complete lack of principle that produced the spectacle we have witnessed over the last three years re: who leads? Does the admittedly pressing need to keep Abbott out of The Lodge really cancel out consideration of the deeply concerning issues of which that this farce is really just another symptom? Isn't the Fifth Estate supposed to be a bit of a beacon in the fog of disinformation from the MSM or is it fine that it becomes just another propaganda pipeline? Wasn't Orwell trying to warn us about what lies down this path. http://youtu.be/ox-shlDXKO4

Doug Evans

29/06/2013Michael Orwell: "…no loyalty but loyalty to the Party, but always there will be the intoxication of power always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. … The moral to be drawn … is a simple one. Don't let it happen. … It depends on you.

Ad astra

29/06/2013LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

nasking

29/06/2013 [b]Thanks Nasking for posting Patricia's latest pome, very staunch and determined it is too! [/b] TT, it was part of the post I put up in Feb 2010...I thought the world should be exposed to Patricia's fine work. Here is the original post with comments: http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2011/02/25/abbotts-drivel-continues/ He he...we sure got stuck into Abbott. N'

Doug Evans

29/06/2013SOME WHERE WAY UP ABOVE NASKING THOUGHT THAT LINDSAY TANNER'S INTERVIEW WITH JON FAINE (ON IA http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/rudds-return-sparks-alp-fight-back/) WAS A 'MUST SEE'. I HAD A LOOK AT IT AS I QUITE RESPECT TANNER AND VOTED MANY TIMES FOR HIM TO BE MY LOCAL MP (I WAS IN MELBOURNE, JUST REDISTRIBUTED TO BATMAN) I WONDER WHY NASKING THOUGHT WHAT HE SAID WAS SIGNIFICANT? AS A MEMBER OF THE GANG OF FOUR DON'T YOU THINK OLD LINDSAY HAS HIS OWN REASONS TO PUT HIS VERSION OF HISTORY OUT THERE? GIVEN HIS WELL KNOWN AND LONG STANDING DISLIKE OF GILLARD DON'T YOU THINK HE MIGHT JUST HAVE BEEN MAKING HIS OWN BIT OF MISCHIEF IN THIS ATTEMPT TO DISCREDIT THE PUBLIC JUSTIFICATION FOR RUDD'S REMOVAL (AND GILLARD'S ASCENSION) IN 2010? I DON'T HAVE ANY INSIDE INFORMATION ON THIS. HE MAY BE SIMPLY TELLING US HOW IT WAS BUT HIS BOOKS SUGGEST HE IS NOT ABOVE A BIT OF LILY GILDING. I WOULD CAUTION AGAINST SIMPLY SWALLOWING AT FACE VALUE ANY ACCOUNT FROM ONE SO CLOSELY INVOLVED WITH THE SHENANNIGANS OF THE LAST SIX YEARS.

Doug Evans

29/06/2013… and while I'm on a roll Is no-one concerned by the spectacle of our foreign minister on TV telling lies about asylum seekers - now apparently they are all economic refugees. This apparently signaling a move from Rudd to toughen asylum seeker laws. Rudd who declared I will not lurch to the left on asylum seekers (nicely balancing his previous advice not to lurch to the right on asylum seekers) needs to create a bit of wriggle room on this issue coming up to the election so the poor wretches on the boats must be made to suffer a bit more. Carr's exaggerations were picked up in the media the day after the Jones interview but this will doubtless be lost in the fog of propaganda as we race to the election. John Menadue's comment is "It is surprising to see that the Foreign Minister Bob Carr suggests that we need to be much tougher in refugee determination as many claimants for refugee status are really economic refugees. Some claimants will undoubtedly be economic migrants posing as refugees. But the refugee determination process which we and others have developed over decades is designed to sort this out and reject those who claim our protection if they are not genuine refugees. The figures do not support Bob Carr’s proposition. After a thorough review by the Refugee Determination Tribunal, about 90% of boat arrivals are found to be genuine refugees. This figure of 90% is derived from the most recent DIAC statistics. For air arrivals who seek refugee protection, the ‘success rate’ is less than half the success rate for boat arrivals. Where is Bob Carr getting his figures from to justify his argument about economic migrants? The figures that I am familiar with just do not support his claim. The ‘problem’ will not go away by half-baked theories that cannot be sustained by the facts." Amber Jamieson at Crikey is also worth reading. http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/06/28/asylum-seeker-policy-under-rudd-what-should-he-do/

nasking

29/06/2013 DOUG, I RECKON THERE'S MISCHIEF MAKING GOING ON ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM. :) N'

nasking

29/06/2013 AS A BLOGGER FOR CAFE WHISPERS I WROTE THIS AFTER THE COUP IN JUNE 2010...EVEN THO I WAS PRETTY PISSED - THO, IT WOULD BE A LIE TO SAY I HAD NOT BEEN WORRIED ABOUT THE DESCENT OF RUDD'S FORTUNES OFF THE BACK OF THE SO CALLED "PINK BATTS FIASCO" ETC...AND SAID TO MIN AT ONE POINT 'IF RUDD DOESN'T PICK UP IN THE NEXT FORTNIGHT HE'LL PROBABLY HAVE TO GO...THE USUAL SUSPECT MEDIA ARE MASSACRING HIM'...THO, WHEN HE WAS KNIFED I DID THINK THAT FINAL FORTNIGHT HE WAS PICKING UP...HAD A CHANCE OF RECOVERING: [b]JUN 24 2010 Julia Gillard, First Female Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd has stood down from the ALP leadership position & Julia Gillard has become the new leader…and Prime Minister of Australia.[/b] [b]An historic day.[/b] [b]Former PM Kevin Rudd should be saluted & thanked for his efforts in taking the ALP from a long drought into government. And for the “sorry” speech to the stolen generation.[/b] [b]And various policies that have incrementally moved us towards a “fairer” country…helped us survive the GFC intact. He will be missed by this commentator.[/b] [b]However, the decision has been made. I congratulate Julia Gillard on becoming our very first female PM. I wish her well. Your thoughts?[/b] THE COMMENTS ARE INTERESTING: http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/06/24/julia-gillard-first-female-prime-minister-of-australia/ N'

nasking

29/06/2013 AND THIS WAS THE PREVIOUS POST...AS THE COUP WAS IN ITS EARLY STAGES...JUST HOURS BEFORE RUDD GOT KNIFED...MADE MY FEELINGS VERY CLEAR: [b]JUN 23 2010 The Attempted Dismissal Of Our Prime Minister[/b] [b]So, tonight our country has become a laughing stock…has been destabilised. Factions in his own party have put a gun to our Prime Minister’s head and told him to walk the plank. What a dumb move. What an absolute disgrace. As we know by way of the blogosphere & scrutiny of some mainstream columns in the past coupla days, the mainstream media were finally beginning to focus on Tony Abbott again & his pathetic small target strategy. His useless policies. As far as I’m concerned Mark Arbib & the NSW Right are a bloody bunch of “rats” and a disgrace. That goes for many others in the ALP who either panicked or helped orchestrate this attempted “coup”. A few I imagine were bludgeoned (given no choice) and thrown onboard the right-wing, ship of fools, ’The Assassin’. My feeling was that Rudd had just weathered the media sh*tstorm & was coming out the other end. We could see THE LIGHT. The Labor achievements were just starting to be realised by the populace. Even many of the media recognised that he was staying. Had made it. And what do these “kneejerk”, “cowardly” machine men do?…they attempt to DISMISS our Prime Minister. Our Captain. After all the TRAUMA that the ALP went thru after the dismissal of Gough they then go and attempt to assassinate their own leader who helped get this country thru one of the worst & most damaging economic waves to hit global shores…it’s INSANE!. Going by the Senate investigation on the roof insulation that I saw it was Mark Arbib that was one of the main characters involved w/ the rollout. I mean who hell do these right-wing robots think they are? Don’t tell me…a deal has been done w/ the mining barons & media moguls in order to pave the way for Julia? Is this part of the reason we got an ASSAULT on Kevin the past few months from so many parts of the media? How tragic & disgraceful if that has transpired. My wife really digs Julia Gillard, but she wrote to our local member tonite to express her disgust at this attempted DISMISSAL. Our Prime Minister deserves better. And it wouldn’t surprise me if these idiots have managed to hand the election to Tony Abbott due to their obvious & repeated lack of spine. SHAME!!![/b] CHECK OUT THE COMMENTS...HOW THEY EVOLVE: http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/06/23/the-attempted-dismissal-of-our-prime-minister/ HEADY DAYS...INDEED. N'

nasking

29/06/2013 I WAS PROBABLY A BIT HARD ON PM GILLARD LAST NIGHT...WILL REFLECT ON THE LAST THREE YEARS AND SEE IF I CAN COME UP WITH A LIST OF HER ACCOMPLISHMENTS... OTHERS MIGHT HAVE THEIR OWN. INTERESTING WHEN YOU READ THOSE POSTS I LINKED TO ABOVE HOW MANY OF [b]THE SAME MEDIA CHARACTERS[/b] WERE INVOLVED DURING BOTH COUPS...AND PREVIOUSLY HELPING TO UNDERMINE THE ALP...AND STIR THE POT. HMMM... N'

nasking

29/06/2013 [b]Let us not focus on what we cannot change. Instead, let us focus on what we can change together.[/b] MIGS, INDEED. BUT WE NEEDED [b]CATHARSIS[/b] ca·thar·sis /kəˈTHärsis/ Noun [b]The process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.[/b] Purgation. Synonyms purgation (Google) N'

Gillian

29/06/2013Doug makes a lot of sense to me. ALP is far from ideal. Nothing more than least-bad. I hope the ALP can loosen the old union ties and transition into a centre-left party that appeals to a broader base. Less corruption would be good too, eh? I'll vote climate policy, and Abbott's policy is rubbish. I just wish that the least-bad option was a bit better.

jane

29/06/2013Nas' I most certainly haven't turned on you. I am livid that the Rudd supporters in the Caucus have ignored & in fact have revelled in the fact that the Rudd camp was aiding & abetting the Liars to unseat the government, because of Rudd's sense of entitlement. Certainly Gillard made mistakes, but she didn't have the luxury of a majority thanks to the whiteant brigade. Even more galling imo is the msm still lying about their lack of scrutiny of the Liars. Still blaming Gillard for their corruption.

nasking

29/06/2013 SO FAR I HAVE THE FOLLOWING FOR GILLARD ACCOMPLISHMENTS: - introduction of paid parental leave - plain packaging for cigarettes - increase in the tax free threshold from $6,000 to $18,200 meaning one million of our poorest workers pay no tax at all. - increase in UNI students - SchoolKids Bonus - further increases in pensions - the National Disability Insurance Scheme legislation passed...trial - making Superannuation more secure THESE ARE USEFUL CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIETY. N'

Heather

29/06/2013It's a fair while ago now but I do recall noticing that Kevin Rudd kind of went in to shock when Tony Abbott took the leadership away from Malcolm Turnbull. Just as Abbott looks in shock now that Rudd is back, and Libs have quickly got their women shrieking badly. eg. who was that hammering inanities on Lateline last night? This is to keep stirring up the loons out there and keep them running. Watch out because Rudd etc. will do what it takes to wake people up over the LN Coalition potential Govt. Yes Gillard's Labor govt. was probably letting in economic immigrants posting as refugees, but so was Howard's. The Rudd gov of 2007 should not have had the gang of 4 in the first place. And Tanner was in that four. Why does he not now say this was the wrong thing to do? They could have consulted all the cabinet. So they did the wrong thing way back. We dont know what they were saying about the Unions at the time either, and the Unions had been through a hell of a time under Howard. That's common knowledge isn't it? We know that Rudd was not fussed with the Unions. Gillard would have been very much pro the Unions being of Welsh extraction where the workers were treated appallingly way back. See Grys Jones on "Who do you think you are". So what happens? the Union guys get tetchy about the fear of the LN Coalition coming back in to power after one term, and they were worried about Rudd not being a union person, thus made a move to replace him with Julia Gillard who had the union movement in her bones. What's done is done. And what on earth is wrong with the Unions doing that! to save their skins and good jobs and conditions for the workers. I dont think people really know how bad it was for the working people once. Hate the excess polls but am looking to see the results at the moment, and must say there is an astonishing effect with Rudd coming back. I think it is important that Abbott was monstering women and men winning over him at Uni, because he obviously seems the same sort of guy still. Even though he is acting the savior now he still was paying out to a woman, Julia Gillard, really badly and so obviously has had his henchmen on the job since he "changed his spots" (??) this year. This sort of person will invariably not change until they are cut right down, sadly often by death. Rudd might be very strong and some say a control freak but he shows more conciliatory talents and abilities to adjust than Abbott does. Am pretty sure Rudd has learned a very hard lesson in having to bring everyone along. Abbott is more the tribal person and hasn't the LN Coal. Opposition been the marauding tribe over the past years under him? Their outsiders get punished with impunity, and other outsiders get punished same. Not the best.

Doug Evans

29/06/2013Gillian Hi fancy running into you here. Starting to get my energy up again. Might even start back on climate stuff if this keeps up. Keep fighting the good fight. Doug E

nasking

29/06/2013 WHAT AN EFFECTIVE SPEECH BY TASMANIAN PREMIER LARA GIDDINGS...AN IMPRESSIVE LEADER... COULD WELL BE THE NEXT FEMALE PRIME MINISTER. THO, TALENTED PENNY WONG WILL GIVE HER A RUN FOR HER MONEY. AND MELISSA PARKE FROM WA. N'

nasking

29/06/2013 IMPRESSIVE SCHOOL...AND PAST STUDENTS: [b]Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne[/b] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodist_Ladies%27_College,_Melbourne I HEARD ABOUT THIS: [b]2012 sacking of principal In September 2012 the school board sacked the then principal of 15 years, Rosa Storelli, leading to calls by Storelli for the board's dismissal. The board at the time of Storelli's sacking consisted of Louise Adler (Melbourne University Press), Brendan Fleiter (Australia Post), Ahmed Fahour (Australia Post), Tony Peake (PricewaterhouseCoopers), Bernard Salt (KPMG), Patricia Cross (NAB, JB Were, Qantas), Patrick Ng (Architect), Belinda Probert (LaTrobe University) and Julie Landvogt (education consultant).[/b] MUST LOOK MORE INTO THAT. N'

nasking

29/06/2013 TONY ABBOTT BEHAVES LIKE AN AMERICAN SOMETIMES...WHEN ADDRESSING HIS LIBERAL MOB. HE'S NO OPRAH. NO ELLEN. CERTAINLY NO OBAMA. MORE LIKE A BORING, PREDICTABLE TABLOID TALK SHOW PRESENTER...COMBINED WITH LOOPY MUSCULAR CHRISTIAN EVANGELIST. VOMIT. N'

nasking

29/06/2013 LYN, THNX FOR THE LINKS. FROM JOHN QUIGGIN: ... the Rudd government managed the successful response to the Global Financial Crisis. At the time, Rudd worked with Treasurer Wayne Swan and Treasury Secretary Ken Henry and it was hard to tell who was responsible for the brave and decisive switch to fiscal stimulus. But given Swan’s subsequent performance, especially after the departure of Rudd and Henry, it’s clear he wasn’t the leading figure. [b]So, the idea that Rudd lacked policy substance is silly[/b]. A fairer criticism is that Rudd was better on getting policy formulated than on getting legislation through Parliament and implemented. [b] Against that * He could reasonably have expected two full terms, so the fact that much of the agenda was unfinished when he was deposed is not a valid criticism * Although he had a majority in the House of Representatives, he had to deal with a far less favorable Senate than that of the current Parliament. Despite that, he got a fair bit of legislation through [/b] [b]Finally, it would be worth doing a comparison between Rudd’s achievements and those of Tony Abbott, a senior minister for 11 years under Howard.[/b] INDEED. ABBOTT IS A BLOWHARD...A BSer... WILL GO DOWN LIKE MITT ROMNEY. N'

nasking

29/06/2013 ABBOTT IS THE MISSING LINK. :D N'

42 long

29/06/2013I wouldn't say he was muscular. More like SIN-uey and Neanderthal. He is like the new king lion who when taking over the pride wants to kill all the children of the previous "sire", so that only HIS "genes" remain. PRIMITIVE behaviour pattern. He hasn't evolved , neither is he an INTELLIGENT design

nasking

29/06/2013 TONY ABBOTT QUOTES: On immigration: 1. ‘Jesus knew that there was a place for everything and it’s not necessarily everyone’s place to come to Australia.’ 2. ‘These people aren’t so much seeking asylum, they’re seeking permanent residency. If they were happy with temporary protection visas, then they might be able to argue better that they were asylum seekers’ On rights at work: 3. ‘Bad bosses, like bad fathers and husbands, should be tolerated because they do more good than harm’ On women: 4. ‘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.’ 5. ‘I think it would be folly to expect that women will ever dominate or even approach equal representation in a large number of areas simply because their aptitudes, abilities and interests are different for physiological reasons’ 6. ‘I think there does need to be give and take on both sides, and this idea that sex is kind of a woman’s right to absolutely withhold, just as the idea that sex is a man’s right to demand I think they are both they both need to be moderated, so to speak’ 7. ‘What the housewives of Australia need to understand as they do the ironing is that if they get it done commercially it’s going to go up in price and their own power bills when they switch the iron on are going to go up, every year…’ On Julia Gillard: 8. ‘Gillard won’t lie down and die’ http://theagevsheraldsun.tumblr.com/post/33224765845/16-quotes-from-tony-abbott-to-remind-you-why-he HMMM... N'

nasking

29/06/2013 [b]PRIMITIVE behaviour pattern. He hasn't evolved , neither is he an INTELLIGENT design[/b] 42 long, LOL. Well said. N'

Ad astra

29/06/2013Folks I’ve been busy with domestic matters and finishing off [i]Who will Newspoll kill off next?[/i], so have just got round to perusing your many comments. Thank you for them. The events of last week were at the one time disgusting, amazing, almost unbelievable, brutal, revengeful, hurtful, disappointing, dismaying, and confusing. Your comments reflect this. I have been trying to make sense of what has happened and what the future might hold. Rather than attempting to comment here piecemeal, I hope that I have reflected much of the opinion you have expressed in the piece I will post tomorrow. Patriciawa, your lovely tribute and the delightful photo of Julia you used captured the feelings so many of us have who blog here. Thank you. This has been a tragic episode in this nation’s political life. We need to extract from the debris of last week the enduring values that keep Labor people together, and the practical things that we ought to do to preserve them. We know that the Abbott demolishing ball will swing wide and far should he be elected, that he will attempt to tear down and smash much of what Labor has achieved. If we think that last week was brutal and revengeful, be assured all the horror we have witnessed would pale against what would occur with an Abbott victory. We must do everything we can to avoid his assault on our nation. I’m busy for the rest of the day.

TalkTurkey

29/06/2013Listen: [b]NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL GOOD COMRADES TO COME TO THE AID OF THE PARTY.[/b] [i]This is not a truism.[/i] It is at the core of Labor Party values. The very values people abandon when they abandon the Party in protest at what they see as the abandonment of values by the Party. So Comrades, now is no time to leave the Party in disgust. I have made clear my own unhappiness at the way things have transpired, but there are pluses too - one BIG plus IF (and only if) the Abborrttians are driven off in everlasting shame - because otherwise the whole thing will be a complete dead loss and disaster. Bugger the furniture, look to the house and land! I'm so sorry Craig emerson has dealt himself out of the game, who could blame Peter Garrett though! But what new candidates might take their places? Apparatchiks or true hearted comrades? The Party isn't over, don't go away Janice and Jason and all who feel that way. Now is the time for the *J*U*L*I*A*s and Emmo's of the future to step up and for the rest of us to ensure that Abborrtt doesn't get in. After that can come a transition back to civility, to respect for proper process and to Parliament itself - respect which has never been granted *J*U*L*I*A* by the heavy metal bands lined up against her. You got Barking-Mad Abborrtt and the Thugs, Anal Jones and the Shockjocks, Gyna and the Mynahs, Murdoch and the JerkCircle - and most unkindest cut of all, Rudd himself with his own underground band, the Termites. Well first let us, the Labor Party, win the election. After that we must see to its core values. Because we have to be better than the Abborrttians or what's the point. And we must be better than what has happened, yes there is an irony problem, the ironiest problem I have ever seen in fact. That we must bring back respect for integrity under the very shadow of the bloke who has so betrayed it in his overweening desire for power - and revenge. Well we will do that, in fact it will be a spur. But we can't save anything if we don't win. Rudd was put there to win the election. He'd bloody better do it. There is the satisfaction, at the moment, of viewing the consternation of the Abborrrttians. Don't desert, Comrades. Oh and Sportsbet has us now at $4.50. The history of the sizeable standing bet I put on Labor last July (courtesy Crapstain's info, Ta Crappy) range from $7 when I placed it, down down down to $2.80 before Crispmess, then WA-A-AY up to at least $11 a couple of months back, I didn't check it recently but it must have been higher than that a week ago! I'll still do very nicely when Labor wins. It won't be our beloved *J*U*L*I*A* but the dough will smell nearly the same - just not quite so sweet. Unity is Strength. Stick with us Comrades.

Austin 3:16

29/06/2013+ 1 Talk Turkey

Jason

29/06/2013Insiders ABC‏@InsidersABC25m The #Insiders panel @latingle @MikeSeccombe @markgkenny plus outgoing independents @OakeyMP and @TonyWindsorMP

nasking

29/06/2013 JASON, CHEERS FOR THE 'INSIDERS' INFO. TT, WELL SAID. [b]Unity is Strength.[/b] MORE TO ADD TO THE GILLARD GOVT ACCOMPLISHMENTS...THAT NEED PROTECTING FROM THE FOUL ABBOTT: - the Marine National Reserves - increase in Superannuation beginning on 1st July N'

Patriciawa

29/06/2013Talk Turkey, you've said it all for me over the past few days. Like Jason and Janice I was broken hearted and pretty disgusted with Rudd. But I've been with Labour for too long, and more recently the ALP, to give up. Besides I've listened to the true leader of the left - Julia Gillard. She wants us to carry on and to win. Miglo, my blogmaster at Cafe Whispers, and like me one of Julia Giillard's greatest fans, left us with words of wisdom early this morning, well for me late last night before I went to bed! This is no time to turn on each other. By the way, Miglo has long foreseen this possiblity. I quote...... [i]Miglo, April 5, 2011 @ 7:57 pm Patricia, I’ve lost count of the number of people who have asked me if Kevin will get his old job back. I’ve been replying in the negative but secretly I don’t rule it out as a possibility.[/i] Congratulations, Miglo. Weren't you just the teeniest bit tempted to to claim credit for your prescience?wh

42 long

29/06/2013We can put up with markgkenny. The others should be fine. wonder where Cassidy got his information from. (not sure I really want to know. Don't despair laborites. Gillard was rendered damaged by hordes of nasties ganging up and shaming the country, with their rotten style and bully tactics. I hope time wounds all heels, and they get their deserts.. She carried on in the face of it all stoically. I frequently looked at her demeanour and thought to myself that I could never retain such composure under such adversity and total lack of fairness or decency. I am astounded and ashamed of some of my countrymen/women. They did it to Lindy Chamberlain too, whipped into a hate frenzy by the same media. The media is there to shape opinion promote fear and hate and make money for the owners. If some real news comes along it is just coincidental or by accident. What is omitted is just as significant as what is written. Conspiracy? You betcha.. The prize is LAEGE..

42 long

29/06/2013LARGE!!.

Pikiranku

29/06/2013TT Your 3 long posts in the past two days have been brilliant. *FLY*JULIA*FLY made me cry (again) and your other posts, particularly this last one, have made a lot of sense. Even though it seems that we have a choice at the next election between one narcissistic a**ehole and another, the truth is that the teams are completely different. How can we compare Morrison/Brandis/Mirabella/Abetz etc. with the talent which still exists in an admittedly sadly depleted ALP team? I hate the thought of Rudd's reprehensible behaviour being rewarded, but the party is bigger than him and will be around a long time after he is gone and forgotten. I guess we have to keep our eyes on the bigger picture. (Though my heart is with you, Jason.) Nasking What's wrong with Tanya Plibersek that you left her out of your list of potential future female PMs? She's a very strong, successful, capable, articulate and hard-working minister. At least they couldn't complain about the shape of her nose.

nasking

29/06/2013 [b]What's wrong with Tanya Plibersek that you left her out of your list of potential future female PMs? She's a very strong, successful, capable, articulate and hard-working minister. At least they couldn't complain about the shape of her nose.[/b] PIKIRANKU, I have promoted Tanya for a long time...she's done some excellent work...tho, I disagreed with her ending the Chronic Health Dental Scheme rather than just means-testing it...however, she did compromise with Di Natale of The Greens to put the start of a DentiCare system in place. The reason I didn't mention the talented Plibersek, for the first time probably, in the list of possible next ALP female PMs is based on recent observations... Tanya does not seem happy with the job...comes across as extremely stressed...a number of times losing her temper...shouting across the parliament. I imagine the strain of such an important role as Health Minister, taking into account how tuff this last six years has been...and balancing that with looking after a child is taking its toll...as did on Nicola Roxon... both highly talented women and politicians. I respect them both. But...the daily grind of politics takes its toll...particularly when you constantly have your nose to he grindstone, as they did/do. N'

Jason

29/06/2013https://twitter.com/MikeCarlton01/status/350833907438088192/photo/1

nasking

29/06/2013 SPEAKING OF TANYA AND NICOLA... - more cancer clinics - eHealth - more nurses and doctor training - focus on primary care - Medicare locals - bowel cancer tests I'm sure others can come up with more. N'

Ken

29/06/2013I’ve been lurking but not saying any more after my post before the leadership ballot because it has taken a few days to get my head around it. I think it was wrong when they dumped Rudd the way they did in 2010 but two wrongs don’t make a right (as the old saying goes). My wife and I were overseas at the time and a woman in a shop in Hastings, recognising us Australian (I wonder how!!!) said we had a female Prime Minister and we started saying we didn’t think so, that she must be mistaking us. Then she said the woman was of Welsh background and we knew immediately. We knew nothing of the election, arriving back in Sydney on the day Julia signed the deal with the independents. I liked Rudd in 2007 but despise what he has done since he lost the leadership and even his “victory” speech contained only faint praise of Julia. I noted that the two or three achievements he listed for her were those when Julia was a Minister under his leadership – so even in victory he couldn’t be entirely gracious. Julia was never “forgiven” for “knifing” Rudd in 2010. As Bob Carr said, the unwritten convention has always been that you don’t overturn a first term Prime Minister. That also goes to others’ comments about the nature of our system. It is true that we don’t vote directly for the Prime Minister but we do expect to know who the Prime Minister will be before we vote: otherwise, we are basically saying, OK, I will elect my local member and will accept whoever you vote to be your leader. That just doesn’t happen. Go back to Curtin, Chifley, Menzies and it is clear that people voted for a local party candidate partly because of who they knew would be Prime Minister. As to the future, I think Rudd is capable of taking the fight to Abbott and of getting the message out. He has already started. I was a bit concerned that he had overstepped the mark with his message that turning back the boats could lead to a “confrontation” with Indonesia but I see he is sticking with the message which is good – it’s the Abbott style of sticking with the same message no matter what – so in one sense fighting fire with fire. And the old propaganda technique of saying it often enough that people will start believing it. I’m not sure why but Julia just couldn’t get away with that: and it’s not just the media, but something about her personality. To say that type of thing and get away with it she would have to be a Margaret Thatcher. Rudd does remain popular in the wider electorate (for whatever reasons). I think he may need to go to the election as early as he can to avoid the polls dipping again (as was happening when he was turfed out). But balanced against the time required to undermine Abbott’s glib slogans. I always thought Julia had a chance of pulling off the election (as I’ve said often here) but it needed time. And I don’t doubt that the ALP’s internal and seat by seat polling was genuinely showing disastrous results in some areas. You can call them “nervous nellies” but most of them do know the feelings in their local electorate. (Unfortunately) that chance does appear to increase with Rudd. I agree with TT that Rudd is there to win the election and if he doesn’t he will quickly be tossed out again. The problem is that if he does win it will just confirm his own ego and that may not bode well for the future Labor government, but after 2010 they won't be able to turf him out again. Sorry for the length of this but, as I said, it’s taken a few days to sort through the aftermath. And Jason, I deeply admire your integrity but I agree with TT and others. We have lost a battle but have to look to the wider war, the wider strategy of keeping Abbott out.

Ken

29/06/2013A postscript about the number of Ministers who resigned. I have no doubt that they genuinely did not wish to serve under Rudd but also wonder whether it was part of the deal. When Rudd promised there would be no recriminations, was it because he already knew who would leave the front bench. It meant that he would not be seen sacking Ministers who had supported Julia and opens the way "painlessly" to instal the Ministers he chooses.

nasking

29/06/2013 IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE THAT SOME OF THOSE MINISTERS WHO STOOD DOWN WERE ABSOLUTELY STUFFED... AND THE IDEA OF MORE POLITICAL INTENSITY AND SCRUTINY OF THE MEDIA COMBINED WITH BEING AWAY FROM FAMILY AND LONG HOURS TRAVELLING MIGHT HAVE HAD MORE TO DO WITH THE DECISIONS TO LEAVE THAN NOT WANTING TO SERVE UNDER RUDD. THESE HAVE BEEN INTENSE TIMES...24-7 NEWS COVERAGE...LOTS OF REFORMS THINK ABOUT THE SCRUTINY ON AMERICAN POLITICIANS...AND THOSE SERVING IN ADMIN ROLES... THEY ARE LUCKY TO GET THRU TWO TERMS...EIGHT YEARS...SOME LEAVE AFTER FOUR OR SIX. THE RUDD/GILLARD GOVTS HAVE BEEN GOING SIX YEARS...AFTER AN INTENSE YEAR LONG CAMPAIGN TO BEAT HOWARD IN 07... CAN'T BLAME THEM FOR WANTING TO TAKE TIME WITH FAMILY...OR HAVE TIME ON BACKBENCH. ESPECIALLY THOSE LIKE SMITH WHO HAVE BEEN AROUND QUITE AWHILE...TWENTY YEARS TRAVELLING BACK AND FORTH FROM WA TO CANBERRA. EXHAUSTING. HELLUVA COMMITMENT. N'

Ken

29/06/2013Nasking agree that is also part of it particularly given the number who have now said they will leave politics altogether (including Combet today)

Jason

29/06/2013Thanks a Fu$king lot K Rudd! Greg Combet has announced that he will retire from Parliament at the forthcoming election. - See more at: http://australianpolitics.com/2013/06/29/greg-combet-to-leave-parliament.html#sthash.C5lvfG4q.dpuf

Casablanca

29/06/2013ABC 5pm News: Greg Combet has announced he will not be re-contesting his seat.

Tom of Melbourne

29/06/2013It's funny. The ALP has given itself its best chance of winning an election for 3 years, and people here are bailing out. Be thankful that so many duds s going, it just needs Swan to p155 off.

Pikiranku

29/06/2013Although I'll probably still vote Labor at the next election because the alternative is so unthinkable, I'll do so reluctantly for a number of reasons: 1. I don't like the idea of the country being led by a person as self-centred, vindictive and unforgiving as Kevin Rudd has proved to be. Other party leaders have managed to swallow their disappointment at being displaced and have gone on to serve the party and the country well. They've put the ALP and the nation first, whereas Rudd has clearly not done so. His personal animosity for Julia Gillard has been implacable, destructive and also seems misplaced. She was a loyal deputy never waging any sort of campaign against him, on the contrary I think she was manouevred into the leadership in spite of her own misgivings. She was given the ultimatum by the plotters: take the position or we'll give it to someone else. She was the best person to take the job and knew it, so what else was she to do? But Rudd has waged an unrelenting campaign against her, at the expense of the party and Australia. 2. I still think it's unwise in the long-term to reward treachery and duplicity - and not only Rudd's. Albanese has played a duplicitous game, weeping over the ethics of knifing an elected Prime Minister a few years ago, but overcoming those scruples with apparent ease when he's thrown the deputy's job. Shorten was a prime instigator in Rudd's overthrow, but managed to subsequently keep the focus and the heat off himself while Julia was thrown to the wolves, taking all the flak and venom. Now he's insinuated himself into favour with Rudd, no doubt will be a minister in the new Cabinet, and Julia's been chewed up and spat out. Fitzgibbon is just another rat. How can any of these people ever be trusted? 3. In spite of all the propaganda, the "everybody hates her" meme, polls have consistently shown that the majority of Labor voters preferred JG to Rudd. But the caucus seems to have assumed that we'll all vote Labor anyway and that they needed to change the leadership to chase the chance of votes of the anti-Gillard constituency. I dislike being taken for granted! 4. I hate the idea of Kevin Rudd taking the credit for an ALP win which I still believe could have been achieved with Julia.

Catching up

29/06/2013"The process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions." Yes we do, then I hope what comes next, we do not turn inwards, but outwards, to that we should fear the most. We need to save some of th wreckage, so we can plough ahead. We have another big set back today, that of the resignation of Combet, not that it came as a surprised. I felt he had made the decision to go, before the latest blow up. We can only hope that there will be among the newcomers, a savior. History has shown ,that Labor always throws one up. It there is anyone with ability and ambition, now is the time to put your hand up. Maybe it is the time, instead of quitting Labor, but to join in droves, demanding a role in what new Labor will be. Maybe Labor does need that grass roots, so it does not stray so far. Many do not like what has occurred. Then, is it not up to us that do not, to pull our sleeves up and bring about change. Will not wbe easy, but can be done. Sitting on the sidelines, sniping only adds to the problems.

Catching up

29/06/2013If Labor cuts with it's union roots, where is it's base to be found? Much criticism of Labor belongs to the past. I do not believe unions have the power, they are accused of today. The Labor party arose out of the union movement. One cannot deny it's past. What is true, and more for Labor thatn the Liberal Party, has lost it's branch base. It seems to nop ;omger exists. Twent years ago, it was my experience that branches were being shut iup, not heard. leading to their demise. That is when we should have begun fighting back. Who controls Labor. Not suer I know, but thankful the courts and law in NSW are clearing out many, that seem to have picked that role up. Many, I had contact with while in they were in UNi. They frightened me then, but no one seemed interested in pulling them into line. The branches in my opinion by then had lost any power. How this came about, I do not know. Yes, whe have to take Labor back from the power brokers, and return it to the branches. For that to occur, those who care, have to begin joining those branches. In the end, numbers doi count. That is all that counts in politics. Something we seem to have forgot. Now is the perfect time to re-enter the game. I am too long in the tooth and have little to offer. The young should see now, not as the end of the world but an exciting time to join in and create a bigger and better Labor. It is doable, more so now, than any other time.

Misst

29/06/2013Pikiranku I couldn't agree more. I also want believe that Julia could have pulled off an ALP win. We'll never know now. Shame on Australia for our treatment of our first woman PM. I'm devastated that I now only have the choice of two evils or should that be weevils!!

Catching up

29/06/2013Ellis on ABC 24. Talking aout his early days back to Chifley. Yes, Labor has been here many times. Every time has led to a rebirth. Maybe this is the true nature of politics. Has to be reborn all the time. That makes sense, as society changes, the world changes, surely our politics. parties also have to. Maybe it is not possible by their bature, to continue to evolve to meet new needs.

Patriciawa

29/06/2013[quote]"Duds going?"[/quote]ToM, I rarely respond to your rubbish. This time though, you've inspired me. I've already commented elsewhere that Julia Gillard, Peter Garrett, Greg Combet, Stephen Smith and Steven Conroy – those five alone make the basis of an excellent new progressive party should the need arise. Words already occurring to me are........ [quote]Could it be former PM Gillard, Not normally given to malice, Hasn't found it really hard To hand elsewhere the poisoned chalice Of defeat? [/quote]

Catching up

29/06/2013nasking, Gillard did not lie down and die. She walked off, handing over the the one that thought he could do it better. Yes the one that the public seem to be saying they want. Now, some could see that as Gillard accepting reality, and the time has come for her to sop hitting her head up against that brick wall as she is getting nowhere. Yes That sounds like common sense to me.

Catching up

29/06/2013Listening to Abbott. Abbott by the way, did not vote against the Rudd changes. Mainly because Rudd had a mandate, strong mandate from the voters to pull the Howard Laws back. Remember the hundred's of thousands out for months, demanding such changes. They even took themselves out into the desert to do so. I would be surprised in many of those that march then, l ike seeing a harsher form of Howard's Pacific Solution that has been re-installed. Yes, bought back, and NOT working. That is the reality. Abbott can blame Rudd all he likes, but it is immaterial to what the situation is today. Turning back the boats and taking seven thousand less refugees from the region is no solution. As Rudd said today, all Indonesia has to do with the boats that the Navy leaves on the high seas, with only enough fuel to get back to Indonesia, is to refuel them with enough to reenter Australian waters. Why did Howard stop after four boats. It is said the boats stopped, because those seeking haven decreased. A more likely reason I suspect.

nasking

29/06/2013 Seems my comments are awaiting moderation over at The Pub. How nice. N'

Ken

29/06/2013Pikiranku I said in my post before the ballot that my interpretation of "person in the street" comments I heard was that if Rudd won there would be some loss of hard core Labor supporters and some pick up from others. Yes, the Labor voters preferred Gillard (after all Rudd had played the perfect Labor "rat") but the problem was that that Labor vote was hovering around 30%. I totally agree with your assessment of Rudd but if he increases that Labor vote he will have done what he was put in for. As I said, lose a battle but win the war. Abbott has been unpopular the whole time but Julia has been more unpopular (not justifiably so but that was the reality). Rudd, in a few days, has managed to change that dynamic and by his own popularity has emphasised Abbott's lack. There are dangers in a successful Rudd but I won't go on about those now.

nasking

29/06/2013 Anyway, someone over @ The Pub commented they thought all the talent was leaving...my reply: Not so…plenty of good people left…Jason Clare, Melissa Clarke, Stephen Jones, Richard Marles, Amanda Rishworth, Mark Butler, Mike Kelly, Catherine King, Ed Husic, Laura Smyth, Deborah O'Neill, Andrew Leigh, Gai Brodtmann, Yvette D’ath, Kate Ellis, Bernie Ripoll, Nick Champion, Julie Owens, Graham Perrett, Michael Danby… and I dig Kim Carr, Tony Burke, Mark Dreyfus, David Bradbury, Gary Gray...Bowen formidable…Warren Snowden…Jenny Macklin…and Tanya of course…the list goes on. Including Shorten. (I know how he feels of late in the popularity stakes :D ...C'est la vite) Good to have semi-experienced fresher faces…some with lots of energy. N'

42 long

29/06/2013the method of "spoiling" brand Gillard was foul but forceful, unfair but whether it please us or not it was SUCCESSFULL. The same forces are trying to wipe out unionism. Belonging to a representative body and having collective representation is a fundamental right through out the world and is enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. Many third world countries are establishing unions. Abbotts mob, The HR Nichols Society, The IPA, OPUS DEI and probably the Catholic church hate unions. Unions have given workers the only path to a living wage in the past. Driving workers condition down will predictably produce a less fair society. The low paid are being expected to bear the burden of recovery all over the world. The long term effect of this will be social unrest and turmoil, unfairness and more in prison. The Rudd/Gillard thing started with a move that I never really felt quite comfortable with. The fact that Rudd remained around, ( and why wouldn't he?) was always going to lead to problems. The move caused a division of loyalties all though the labor voters, ( particularly Queensland) and also through the parliamentary party. The undermining was distasteful. Incidently I wouldn't pee on Fitzgibbon if he was on fire because he is a Richard Cranium. The question of whether Gillard would have won in the 80 days remaining is there but SHE was wounded. Unfairly of course but Murdoch doesnt' worry about that. I think K Rudd will be more able to take the fight to the abbott. Rudds more intelligent and articulate, and he is fired up and motivated I look forward to ANY debate that he gets to have with the stuttering and awkward Phoney. He is not happy and that makes ME HAPPY. I don't think this situation is what Papal Knight Murky wanted either, and THAT makes ME HAPPY too. Julia is SUI GENERIS. . Towers above all of her detractors who are often utterly unlikeable and miserable people.,

nasking

29/06/2013 [b]Not so…plenty of good people left…Jason Clare, Melissa Clarke[/b] Make that Melissa Parke. http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=HWR Sorry to see Greg Combet go...seems like a genuine bloke...articulate, smart, funny...I hope he is well...and has a relaxing, fortunate future.... he deserves it. We thank him for his service to our country. Time for a break methinks. N'

Catching up

29/06/2013Just noticed, that even when so many are going, there is still depth of Talent left in government. Could one say the same of the Opposition.

DoodlePoodle

29/06/2013Like others I have reserved my comment to let the dust settle. I also was a big fan of Julia. I see this as a huge setback for women in politics. Misogyny is rife. I certainly don't want a win for Tabbott or the MSN so I will support Krudd. I will miss the talent that is walking out the door but at least they will do so with a great pension for all of their hard work.

Tom of Melbourne

29/06/2013Catching Up – [i]She walked off[/i] No she didn’t, she was pushed out, against her wishes and efforts. She lost the confidence of her own caucus, and unlike the situation where the caucus was threatened by external hacks, this time they acted in their own survival interests and didn’t just fall into line with the demands of some shady union officials. Gillard sought to remain in the job for her own sake; she had no interest in the good of the ALP. Patricia – [i] Julia Gillard, Peter Garrett, Greg Combet, Stephen Smith and Steven Conroy – those five alone make the basis of an excellent new progressive party should the need arise.[/i] Gillard’s leadership sent most of quality to the backbench. She couldn’t retain the talent on the front bench. It must really rile you that Gillard was so very unpopular and ineffective and Rudd has so quickly re-established the credibility of the government. It’s odd that you aren’t grateful that the caucus has had the courage to throw out such a failure.

nasking

29/06/2013 [b]Just noticed, that even when so many are going, there is still depth of Talent left in government. Could one say the same of the Opposition.[/b] INDEED...COMRADE. :D N'

jane

29/06/2013Pikiranku @5.17pm, I agree with you 100% wrt the treacherous KRudd & his whiteanting brigade. I have a feeling history will not be kind to him or his fellow conspiritors. I was particularly disappointed with Albanese stepping over her bloodied body to snatch the deputy PM. I will probably vote for Labor, although I live in probably the safest Liars seat inthe country. I would rather vote informal than put a 1 against a Liars candidate. We do have to try to put the bitterness aside for the good of the country & I feel certain that those who have done the right thing & resigned will not engage in tbe spiteful pettiness that Rudd the Rat & his fellow rodents did. AFAIC, they're just the same as Liars scum & should be treated accordingly.

nasking

29/06/2013 ONE GREEDY MUDDER: British publisher Pearson has denied a report that media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Abu Dhabi’s state media group are in talks to acquire the Financial Times Group (FT Group) for about $1.2 billion. The Edge Review, a regional political and business digital magazine based in Malaysia, said the talks had been progressing for more than a month with Pearson, the London-based publishing and education giant. Such a move would see Mr Murdoch add the respected Financial Times name, as well as 50 per cent of the Economist magazine, to his vast empire, which already includes the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones. The Edge Review cited financial executives familiar with the negotiations it saying a decision could be finalised as early as next week. However, a Pearson spokesman said “The Financial Times is not for sale, and Pearson is not in any talks to sell it”. The report said financing details and shareholding structure of a new company that would own the FT group were being worked out, and that as well as the FT and Economist, the deal also included several high-end financial information services. Abu Dhabi Media Group expected to control 75 per cent: report An executive familiar with the talks was cited by the Edge Review as saying the Abu Dhabi Media Group was expected to control roughly 75 per cent of the venture, with Mr Murdoch picking up the balance. Mr Murdoch was also negotiating to buy another 25 per cent stake at a later date, it said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-28/pearson-denies-report-murdoch-to-buy-financial-times/4788924 MURDOCH OWES A GREAT DEAL TO A CERTAIN SAUDI BIG WIG WITH PLENTY OF DOSH AND SHARES IN CITI, APPLE ETC…AND NOW THIS RELATIONSHIP WITH ABU DHABI CROWD GIVES THE IMPRESSION HE IS A WEE BIT CASH STRAPPED LIKE WHEN SAUDI DUDE CAME TO RESCUE…GIVES YOU A GOOD IDEA OF WHO PULLS THE STRINGS WITH MURDOCH…AND WHY HE’S SO BIG ON WAR ON TERROR INC AND TAKING OUT THE SHIA AND IRAN. RUPERT’S THE ARAB CANDIDATE…WITH A RIGHT-WING ISRAEL LOBBY POLISH. N'

nasking

29/06/2013 JANE, AS I COMMENTED ON THE PUB BLOG...IN RESPONSE TO BUSHFIRE BILL'S WORRIES: [b]if Rudd does a deal with Murdoch re: Foxtel & NBN…and cig companies…he’s lost this poster. An enemy I shall become. A very Green enemy. Who has no worries about consequences. Tobacco kills. MURDOCH kills appropriately functioning democracy.[/b] PISSING OFF THE PROGRESSIVE FIFTH ESTATE WOULD BE A BAD MOVE BY RUDD. N'

nasking

29/06/2013 JUST SO YOU KNOW: Rupert Murdoch's News Corp heralds a new chapter with the break-up of the $US34 billion global empire into two distinct entities. A new chapter opens for Rupert Murdoch and his News Corp with the split of the media-entertainment conglomerate as the 82-year-old coincidentally goes through a marriage breakup. The split of the company with about $US34 billion ($A36.80 billion) in revenues worldwide becomes official after the close of US markets on Friday, creating two independent, publicly traded companies, both headed in some form by the Australian-born magnate. Murdoch has said the split will "unlock value" for shareholders by creating one firm focused on the high-flying television and film activities, and another on newspapers and other struggling publishing entities. Murdoch told shareholders on June 11 that the breakup would "unleash the true potential of our quite unparalleled portfolio of assets, brands and franchises". The crown jewel has been baptised 21st Century Fox, comprised of the Fox studios in Hollywood and a global array of cable and broadcasting operations, including the Fox television entities, National Geographic Channels, Fox Pan American Sports, MundoFox, STAR, and 28 local television stations. It has pay-TV services in Europe and Asia, including Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia and stakes in BSkyB and Tata Sky. The "new News Corporation" will include newspapers in Australia, Britain and the United States, including The Wall Street Journal and The Times of London. It also includes digital real estate services, book publishing, digital education and sports programming and pay-TV distribution in Australia. The company announced the restructuring last June, a move partly seen as a nod to shareholders angered by the reputational damage and costs inflicted by a phone-hacking scandal in Britain, and partly because of troubles within the group's publishing arm. Some analysts see the outlook for publishing as bleak, but Murdoch says he remains committed to his newspaper roots. "People are buying fewer papers, but they are equally getting their news in many other forms," he said last year. "People will pay for news, it's the most valuable commodity in the world. People need to know what's going on." As his empire was being built through a series of mergers and acquisitions, Murdoch was also going through a series of unions and breakups in his personal life. Earlier this month, Murdoch filed papers to divorce his third wife, Wendi Deng, on Thursday, citing an "irretrievably" broken marriage to a woman 38 years his junior. Deng was perhaps best known for a 2011 incident when she leapt to defend her husband by striking a pie-wielding protester, prompting headlines calling her a "tiger wife". The divorce will not affect the way in which the media empire is run as Deng does not have stock or voting rights in News Corp, sources familiar with the company said. Murdoch will remain in charge of both firms after the split, as chairman and chief executive of 21st Century Fox, and executive chairman of the new News Corporation. Murdoch has spent a lifetime building his News Corp empire from a single Australian newspaper he inherited. He moved to London where his purchase of the weekly News of the World in 1969 gave him a high-profile foothold in the British market. He went on to buy The Sun, a daily which he turned into a popular and big-selling tabloid. The success of his London-based newspapers helped finance his 1981 purchase of The Times and Sunday Times, both prestigious broadsheets, in an acquisition that met with intense opposition from parts of Britain's establishment. He relocated to the United States where more bold acquisitions followed and where he became a naturalised US citizen in 1985. The conglomerate made a string of high-profile acquisitions, including the Fox broadcast and Hollywood studios, and The Wall Street Journal. http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1783440/Murdoch-News-Corp-open-new-chapter IF MURDOCH TRIES TO SCREW OVER DEMOCRACY AGAIN... N'

nasking

30/06/2013 INTERESTING: Even as he neared the top of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list, Rich also didn’t see any reason to abandon his operations in the United States. In fact, his hand is seen orchestrating one of the most savage crackdowns on organized labor in recent decades. In 1989, Rich secretly acquired the controlling interest in a West Virginia-based company called Ravenswood Aluminum. Ravenswood was embroiled in a tumultuous battle between management and workers at the plant when in 1990, under Rich’s long-distance orders, the company tried to bust the union. On a bitterly cold night, a private security force arrived at the plant, set up armed guards at the gates and surveillance cameras around the perimeter of the facility, and locked out 1,700 workers, all members of the Steelworkers Union. Over the ensuing weeks, the armed guards repeatedly clashed with picketing union members, fogging the air with tear gas and beating skulls with their police clubs. Soon Rich made the call to hire permanent replacement workers, for less pay and reduced benefits. The lockout went on for two more years. “It was a brutal affair,” says Dan Stidham, president of the Ravenswood union local at the time of the lockout. “I’m still pretty upset with Clinton for pardoning that guy after all we went through.” http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/06/28/the-clintons-and-the-rich-women/ HMMM... GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY... N'

nasking

30/06/2013 FROM DELIMITER: One other legacy which Conroy will be remember for is the historic switch of Australia’s television infrastructure to digital television and away from legacy analogue technology, freeing up wireless spectrum to be used for other purposes such as the deploying of 4G mobile broadband infrastructure. It is not clear who Conroy’s replacement would be likely to be, with most other likely candidates with experience in the technology portfolio — such as Senator Kate Lundy and Finance Minister Penny Wong (who is the second shareholder Minister overseeing the National Broadband Network Company) being strongly associated with Gillard. One potential candidate would be Rudd supporter and Labor backbencher Ed Husic, who has previously served as the National President of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union of Australia and who has a strong history inside Parliament of agitating on issues in the telecommunications sector; for example spearleading the parliamentary inquiry into IT price hikes in Australia. However, Husic is regarded as relatively junior in the Parliament, having only taken office as August 2010. The Communications portfolio was historically not regarded as a senior Cabinet post, but the importance of the NBN issue has elevated it to a senior position, with Conroy holding an additional post directly advising the Prime Minister on broadband issues. http://delimiter.com.au/2013/06/26/end-of-an-era-stephen-conroy-quits-as-comms-minister/ EYES WIDE OPEN. AWAKE. WATCHING…

nasking

30/06/2013 FROM THE UK: [b]How to kick-start a real green deal Interest free is the key to rebooting the government scheme [/b] THE GUARDIAN [b]Tellingly, of the "big six" energy firms, just British Gas has fully launched the programme. The rest, sensing expensive difficulties, have quite reasonably sat on their hands to see what happens.[/b] Is the green deal set to become a future case study on how not to implement government policy – another "home information pack"-style scheme to be quietly dropped by an incoming administration? Some might say it looks that way. When the green deal was unveiled last autumn the omens were not good. Getting detailed information out of the Department of Energy & Climate Change proved hard work, and little has changed. At its heart, we were told, was the "golden rule" – that the energy savings made had to exceed the loan repayments. [b]Homeowners would borrow the £10,000 or so to install solid wall insulation, with the repayments automatically added to their electricity bill. If you moved house before the loan was paid off, the new owner would take over the repayments. It was complicated, but not impossible.[/b] [b]However, the killer blow for many was the decision to set the interest rate at around 6.9%. It meant that, apart from a few exceptions, for most people the figures didn't add up.[/b] Despite this, the government – even in these times of austerity – has thrown £100m at the project, including offering cashback sweeteners to entice a few early adopters. [b]Although it's early days, what appears to have been happening is that middle-class householders have been grabbing the cashback, but sensibly funding the energy-efficiency measurers themselves – hardly the intended outcome.[/b] http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/blog/2013/jun/29/how-kick-start-green-deal CONSERVATIVES EH? N'

nasking

30/06/2013 [b]I've already commented elsewhere that Julia Gillard, Peter Garrett, Greg Combet, Stephen Smith and Steven Conroy – those five alone make the basis of an excellent new progressive party should the need arise.[/b] PATRICIA, there are INDEED a number of very effective well-respected politicians leaving the ALP right now, others from past Labor and progressive parties…and bloggers, journos, teachers, artists, musicians, nurses, lawyers etc who could get TOGETHER and create a NEW FORMIDABLE PARTY if Rudd and team betrayed the common good…public interest… and with the support of old journos of integrity…and THE MANY IN THE FIFTH ESTATE... We’ll SEE how things go. N'

nasking

30/06/2013 HOT SUMMER DAYS...AND NIGHTS...BUT...BUT...WAR ON TERROR...SO MUCH MORE SCARY...SO MUCH MORE PROFITABLE (?): [b]Phoenix, Las Vegas Bake In Scorching Heat[/b] DEATH VALLEY, Calif. -- Dan Kail was vacationing in Las Vegas when he heard that the temperature at Death Valley could approach 130 degrees this weekend. He didn't hesitate to make a trip to the desert location that is typically the hottest place on the planet. "Coming to Death Valley in the summertime has always been on the top of my bucket list," the 67-year-old Pittsburgh man said. "When I found out it might set a record I rented a car and drove straight over. If it goes above 130 I will have something to brag about." The forecast called for Death Valley to reach 128 degrees Saturday as part of a heat wave that has caused large parts of the western U.S. to suffer. Death Valley's record high of 134 degrees, set a century ago, stands as the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth. "The wind out here is like being in front of a blast furnace," Kail said. As temperatures soared in Las Vegas Friday, 200 people were treated for heat problems at an outdoor concert, Clark County spokesman Erik Pappa said. Thirty of them were hospitalized for heat-related injuries at Vans Warped Tour at Silverton Casino as temps reached 115. Most of the others "were essentially provided shade and water and a place to sit down," Pappa said. It was expected to get even hotter in Las Vegas over the weekend. Phoenix reached 116 on Friday – 2 degrees short of the expected high – in part because a light layer of smoke from wildfires in neighboring New Mexico shielded the blazing sun, the National Weather Service said. Phoenix was forecast to hit nearly 120. The record in Phoenix is 122. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/29/phoexix-heat-wave_n_3521389.html OUR FUTURE? PRIORITIES PEOPLE...PRIORITIES. N'

Casablanca

30/06/2013[b]How to Survive Working for a Narcissistic Leader[/b] Margaret Heffernan. MoneyWatch. May 19, 2011, 12:27 PM This article goes a long way towards helping us to an understanding of K Rudd. [quote]No ego can match, never mind annihilate, the ego of the narcissist. What you have to decide is whether their achievement will facilitate your success. If it will, that's fine. If these two are at odds, get out now.[/quote] http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-44341718/how-to-survive-working-for-a-narcissistic-leader/?tag=bnetdomain

Doug Evans

30/06/2013Catching Up June 29 You ask: "If Labor cuts with it's union roots, where is it's base to be found?" That is a terrible dilemma for Labor. The Unions are its source and its chief funding base but the Union power-brokers who control the Party are destroying its viability with disastrous decision making and by refusing reform. You say: "Much criticism of Labor belongs to the past. I do not believe unions have the power, they are accused of today." A few statistics: Unionized labour is about 16% of the Australian workforce. Those unions affiliated with the ALP contain about 10% of the Australian workforce. Roughly one in every six or seven ALP members (about 5800) belong to a Union (so only a small minority of members). If we assume that all ALP members who are unionists belong to ALP affiliated Unions then only about one in every 200 members of ALP affiliated Unions also belongs to the ALP. Hardly a resounding vote of confidence in the continued relevance of the ALP by the members of the Unions who bankroll the Party. You say: "What is true, and more for Labor than the Liberal Party, has lost it's branch base. It seems to no longer exist." The Libs are probably struggling just as much for members and branches as Labor. Not much readily available information but both Party memberships are in steady decline. In Victoria (traditional Liberal heartland) Liberal Party membership has declined from a peak of about 46,000 in 1950 to about 13,000 today. For comparison a total of 719,582 Australians are members of an AFL Club. The ALP has (at most) 44,000 members and the Liberal Party has 78,000 members. My computer's calculator tells me that this means: One in every 31 Australians belongs to an AFL club. One in every 506 Australians belongs to the ALP. One in every 286 Australians belongs to the Liberal Party. You say: "Who controls Labor. Not sure I know, but thankful the courts and law in NSW are clearing out many, that seem to have picked that role up." The courts are weeding out some of the most corrupt but the Party's problems are not limited to this criminal corruption. The 'Party hierarchy' is driven by two overlapping substructures of the affiliated unions and the factions. According to Dean Jaensch and his group from the ANU: In the Labor Party the factions and the unions are parallel, if not unified sub-structures. The factions have their organisational and numerical bases in the unions, and the unions spearhead the faction leaderships and decision-making. … the 2002 Rules Conference decision to set 50:50 as the national union to member vote had no effect on faction (or union) domination. The hold of the factions and unions on 'their' candidates does not relax after their election. Appearing on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Lateline program on 24 June 2002, former South Australian ALP Senator, Chris Schacht commented: I want to have an open mind in debate within the party and hear the debate before I make up my mind about how I should vote on party policy—not to be directed by what a factional leader says you must vote and if you don’t follow it, you might lose your pre-selection. So power-brokers tied to unions representing about one in every ten Australian workers control the internal decision making of the Party including the rules under which the party operates and pre-selection of candidates. You say: "Now is the perfect time to re-enter the game. I am too long in the tooth and have little to offer. The young should see now, not as the end of the world but an exciting time to join in and create a bigger and better Labor. It is doable, more so now, than any other time." I say the evidence suggests otherwise. Party membership is dropping. Although the membership drive by Gillard seems to have temporarily halted this the underlying conditions causing the decline are still in place. 55% of Party members are in the concessional category, largely retirees. The future for the Party looks bleak. Predictably, given the internal power structure sketched above, attempts at reform have failed: This year Ben Westacott at Crikey wrote: "Two years on from a comprehensive review to overhaul the Labor party, the party has squibbed on most of the significant reforms proposed. The report, written by Labor identities Steve Bracks, John Faulkner and Bob Carr in 2011, is gathering dust on a shelf." The 2011 ALP National Conference rejected in whole or in part, (most) of the thirty one (publicly released) Faulkner, Bracks, Carr recommendations to increase the role, influence and say of the membership in Party affairs. These recommendations if adopted would have restrained some of the power of those currently in control of the Party. Eighteen of the recommendations were either completely rejected (8) or adopted in weakened form (10). The unrepresentative union power brokers are still firmly in control of the ALP. Elected politicians are beholden to the power brokers in the Party and threaten their own pre-selection if they fail to toe the line set by their factional allies. Attempts at reform are sputtering out and Party membership will presumably continue to decline. I find it impossible to reach any conclusion other than that the Labor Party is broken and unable to repair itself. The facts are what they are. Like I keep saying 'Catching Up' in times of crisis it is vital to see clearly what is going on and facts are necessary for understanding. If anyone can draw different conclusions from the facts I placed above I'm really interested to hear. I get no pleasure from this but as I say the facts are what they are.

Ken

30/06/2013Doug As I see it, you are half-right. Half because similar problems exist in the LNP. The Liberals have factions, just not known by that name nor as well organised. Just look at the bastardry of the "drys", or ultra-conservatives, over the past few years. The Liberals have also had their share of reviews on how to revive the party machinery and membership (can't recall the details and don't have time to do the research). They also have large external "influencers" - Reinhart, Murdoch, plus of course the capital "unions" (that lobby both parties) the Australian Industry Group being a peak body, but numerous smaller "associations". I think unions are an important part of the ALP structure (and its history). The point, as many have pointed out, is determining, in a modern context, the extent of their role. There is scope for change as long as unions are still part of the structure. The LNP has also changed. Under Menzies the Liberals were the party for "small business", the corner grocers, the plumbing businesses, etc - now it seems they are more focused on and influenced by big business. I know which type of "union" I would rather have influencing political decisions. Could do a whole blog on this but just accept this as a few opening comments.

nasking

30/06/2013 A USEFUL POST @ CAFE WHISPERS: JUN 29 2013 What do you think? by FED UP [quote]All Rudd has to do is to sell the strong policies that Gillard has put in place. Most which no one has problems with. What has Abbott got with Gillard gone? Nothing, absolutely nothing. No polices of worth. A badly flawed asylum policy and the world coming on board, including China and the USA, in relation to carbon emissions. We still have that strong economy, which with the falling dollar is likely to be even a little bette, before the election What has Abbott got with “that woman” gone? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He has his flawed slogans to deal with asylum seekers and empty carbon tax warnings. He has naught. It was Gillard that he stirred up hatred for, not Labor. It appears they will listen to what Rudd says. Rudd does indeed, thank to Gillard, have a great message to sell. He will have to do better than turn back the boats and big taxes. Many do not like what has happened. Is is not fair. But it just might work, and yes, we do not have to like Rudd, or even thank him. We can leave that to history. [/quote] http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2013/06/29/what-do-you-think/#comment-155822 MY RESPONSE OVER THERE: FED UP, a thoughtful, effective post. I agree that Abbott has little to offer. His primary roles were that of wrecker…and wedger. Not unlike Murdoch and motley crew. He failed to stop the legislation from passing. The minority govt ran three years. The policies are being implemented. The HOWARD era damage has partly been repaired. We are moving on. Mindset is far more progressive in many sectors…business reshaping, transforming. He has shown us the pointlessness and sheer self-destructiveness of the ‘ugly Australian’… in the past two elections it was rejected…now ABBOTT IS BEING REJECTED…hopefully his mate BARNABY JOYCE TOO…and MAL BROUGH THE DECEIVER. ABBOTT HAS FAILED. HE WILL BE REPLACED. Liberals need to become REAL LIBERALS. As for the policies Rudd has been provided to sell…many he worked on with other contributors like Julia, Lindsay, Wayne, ALBO, Nicola, Bill and others over the years… some need adjusting before the election…some later…as is oft the case…taking into account changing needs, mood, affordability, lessons learnt due to trial and error, useful independent think tanks etc. N'

Ken

30/06/2013Has anyone else noticed a slight change already in media coverage? With the number of Ministers who resigned, I was almost expecting headlines of "Labor in disarray", but that didn't happen. Even the commentary on Rudd's visit to western Sydney (and the Blue Mountains) has been relatively positive. Adds to the impression that the vile was directed purely at Julia - a justification for her "playing the gender card".

nasking

30/06/2013 JUST BEEN READING ABOUT MICHAEL COSTA...WHAT A WANKER.

Curi-Oz

30/06/2013I was struck by the clip of the Liberal Party's "rally" on the news last night. And it struck me that the majority of people in the image were not young, and were also uncomfortable with the 'American rally' flavour of how they were being asked to behave. I wonder if this could be a sticking point for some? For me it is also an clear indication of where the tactics and "policies" are being imported from and what an uncomfortable match they are for Australia when used 'raw' in this way. Australians don't mind adopting ideas from all over the world, but I have noticed that we like to consider them and change them to suit ourselve before putting them into our landscape. These "rallly" behaviours are so ... imposed? and jarring. Like grown-ups playing with children's toys and looking uncomfortable and feeling silly. Just a thought ...

nasking

30/06/2013 GIVE ME ANYDAY AN HONEST AND ARTICULATE EX-UNION LEADER IN THE ALP WHO KNOWS HOW TO TRANSFORM ARCHAIC INDUSTRIES, PROMOTE RETRAINING AND DECENT COMPENSATION...IN A TRANSFORMING SOCIAL ECONOMY... THAN A DEVIOUS BSer IN THE POCKET OF DAMAGING AND ARCHAIC INDUSTRIES...WORKING OVERTIME FOR CORPORATE SCUM AND PERSONAL GAIN...USING THE WORST OF TABLOIDS TO PROMOTE THEIR DUPLICITOUS MESSAGES. N'

Doug Evans

30/06/2013Ken Of course the LNP has the same problems. I was responding to Catching Up who was discussing Labor. Of course they are not an acceptable alternative to Labor. My position is that they are BOTH in an appalling, undemocratic, unrepresentative tangle internally and we should stop making excuses, stop looking the other way and face reality as the necessary first step to understanding what is actually going on. The alternative is to continue to live in a fantasy world while the least worst alternative - because that is what the ALP has become - becomes more and more hostage to forces that don't have our interests at heart. You say: "The point, as many have pointed out, is determining, in a modern context, the extent of their role. There is scope for change as long as unions are still part of the structure." Face the facts Ken. The Party has had two root and branch reviews of its internal problems in recent years and has basically ignored them both. If you think there is any possibility of determining 'the extent of (the Unions') role' or if you actually believe 'there is scope for change' you know nothing of the recent history of the Federal ALP - the evidence says you are completely wrong. If you are interested (but I don't think you really are) you can read my whole discussion of this issue here. http://duggyvans.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/old-tired-cynical-and-arrogant-part-1.html and here http://duggyvans.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/old-tired-cynical-and-arrogant-part-2.html Look forward to your comments.

Tom of Melbourne

30/06/2013That’s an interesting set of statistics Doug, and I’ve pointed out similar information to Catching Up and others in the past. Catching Up never even bothers to address that kind of stuff, she’ll just move on to another of her tortuous talking points. One of the most outstanding ministers during the Hawke/Keating era, John Button, years ago said that it was time for an amicable divorce between unions and the ALP, and that was when union density was higher than the current 14% (of the private sector). Button isn’t on his own in expressing that view. Unions are an unhealthy and destabilising section of the ALP, look no further than their attempts to unseat Simon Crean after he attempted to implement part of the reform package recommended in the Wran & Hawke Review of a decade ago. They tried to replace him with” rising star” Martin Pakula! (who??) The affiliation is unhealthy for unions too, with so many officials conflicted between their duties to their members and their personal political ambitions. It’s time for the amicable divorce advocated by smart people in the ALP.

nasking

30/06/2013 WHAT A DECENT FELLA GREG COMBET IS...SUCH A NICE FELLA...QUITE A VISIONARY...EXTREMELY COURAGEOUS. A FORMER UNION LEADER WHO HAD A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE ALP...AND COUNTRY AS A WHOLE. N'

Ad astra

30/06/2013Good Morning Folks What an interesting morning. First the [i]Galaxy Poll[/i] showing Kevin Rudd leading Tony Abbott as PPM 51/34, and the TPP closing to 51/49 in favour of the Coalition, on top of the other polls showing a similar trend, and then a lifeless Tony Abbott in a [i]Sunrise[/i] interview reciting more slogans, and avoiding tough questions, such as how will his paying polluters to stop polluting work. He is so stuck on slogans no matter what the questions are, let’s rename him ‘Slogan-Abbott’. [i]Insiders[/i] had a good panel which dealt with the issues sensibly, and, as usual, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott were the epitome of commonsense. I was surprised to hear Tony name Sophie Mirabella as the worst aspect of his last three years. Rob agreed. Who could disagree with their assessment? Tony indicated that he would be supporting an independent in Mirabella’s seat of Indi at the election. I hope that might see the end of nasty Sophie. We might see parliament recalled to debate legislation to bring forward the date of transition from a price on carbon to an ETS. If the Greens could be persuaded to go along with this, Slogan-Abbott would lose what he regards as his most important weapon, the carbon tax, as it would already be on the way out. There is the possibility of the election date being moved into October so as to allow Australia to have highest level representation at the upcoming G20, important because Australia hosts the one after that. The shift in the polls, the uncertainty about the election date, and the possibility of recalling parliament has to be a worry to Slogan-Abbott and his minders. Kevin Rudd is already playing with his mind!

Heather

30/06/2013Hi Ken, You said... "Has anyone else noticed a slight change already in media coverage? With the number of Ministers who resigned, I was almost expecting headlines of "Labor in disarray", but that didn't happen. Even the commentary on Rudd's visit to western Sydney (and the Blue Mountains) has been relatively positive. Adds to the impression that the vile was directed purely at Julia - a justification for her "playing the gender card"." I definitely have seen this. Also if you were attuned to it a great calm descended on the country when they moved Kevin Rudd back in to place. It was kind of meant to be, and how the govt. was working it all through in a strange sort of way. It was the best destructive spanner in the wheel of Tony Abbott and his cronies. Look who has come out of the woodwork, that old leader of the LNP John Howarad, showing his true colours. Julia had been trying to do cut down Abbott for ages. As someone said she should have used more of the anger she used with her own kind, at Abbott. Probably true. Her misogyny speech did just that and that was from a deeply personal attack, and the men hunting her in, Jones and Abbott. Dreadful shameful male act I thought. Apart from this, I believe Julia Gillard did an excellent job, with much grace and class. Yes, for sure, gender was definitely a big problem for Australians accepting our first lady Prime Minister. We are all saddened that the attacks were so horrible for her. Her underlying caution and over-care at times showed that she was actually struggling to cope on some level, but she fought on through thick and thin. A very brave lady. She did not have the pulverizing ego to think she was much better than men, the way Margaret Thatcher did by emasculating the men around her. How do you wing it with all this stuff as being a good leader with the necessary cut through? It would be very hard. She did very well as an excellent reformation leader, and it all seemed to be undercover at the time ie. nobody would listen nor acknowledge such achievements. Now they are, thank goodness. However I believe in process, and bringing in change if need be for the survival of a situation. That's what has happened with calling Kevin Rudd back in. I would have liked to have seen them work in together more with the shift back to Kevin as PM. It concerns me that most of the nice people have now resigned...see Laura Tingle on Insiders this morning. What she said was true. With Tony Abbott leading the LN Coalition Opposition, Parliament will be all the more brutal in the future. That is if TA wins hie seat. We are hoping not. The guy is not so good. I think most will agree with that.

42 long

30/06/2013How quickly it goes from complacency ( already measuring the curtains) to near panic. How will Phoney cope with losing another election? Is Turdball a vote getter for them, and a guarantee of success needed now? Watch for the next thrilling episode. Some indeed of the nicer people in a pretty (un-nice) parliament have left. Moylen and washer, and of course the large part of the Labor front row . I wouldn't have Fitzgibbon in any position. I don't know why the safe seat of Hunter preselects him. Windsor is right about the seat of INDI. Mirrabella is unique. A few independants don't hurt a parliament. Gillards legacy looks good, equalled by few. I hope some of the malcontents who joined with Pickering and the dirty tricks brigade to vilify her have some second thoughts about the way they acted. Surely SOME of them have mothers or sisters or daughters.

Ken

30/06/2013Doug Not denying the facts but I do become annoyed at your focus on only one part of the problem. Put it into context and the bigger picture - social and economic change, the underlying history, the history of both parties, the formal and informal structures that underpin all parties, including the Greens. There are always historical and philosophic reasons for such structures, they invariably date, and are, invariably, difficult to change because they change power structures (as the Liberals have also found.)

nasking

30/06/2013 The symbolic meaning of the flag colours (as stated by Harold Thomas) is: Black: Represents the Aboriginal people of Australia Red: Represents the red earth, the red ochre and a spiritual relation to the land Yellow: Represents the Sun, the giver of life and protector http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Aboriginal_Flag N'

Ken

30/06/2013Doug The other thing you have to remember is that unions are among the more democratic institutions in our society. I have been a workplace union rep in a couple of different situations. I negotiated an agreement with Woolworths for the members on my site. On the union side of the table was myself, our union organiser, and the Secretary of the union: on the other, our Woolworths site manager, a couple of blokes from the Woolworths industrial relations unit, and a representative of the Retail Traders Association. There were a couple of times when the union Secretary was willing to concede a point but I wasn't because I knew my members wouldn't agree. The union Secretary went with me. Another time, in another union, I was on the opposite side of that. With the union Secretary I had agreed to some points which my members voted down and I had to go back into negotiations. In unions, it is the members who have the final say. Of course, there are good and bad unions, just as there are good and bad employers and capitalists. In more recent times, there has been a lot of attention paid to the "bad" unions but they are still in a minority. There is a need for the unions to retain links to the Labo(u)r party but the extent of that is the issue. And I do agree as I said in my previous comment, that change is always difficult and takes time. If Rudd wins the next election he will have the credentials to push through some changes but probably only some - but a step along the way.

DMW

30/06/2013Hi Doug, I did catch the first of those articles on AIMN and was impressed with many of the thoughtful responses. Briefly on the decline of party memberships Andrew Leigh in his book [b]Disconnected [/b] tracks the rise and fall of many social indicators and notes the decline in, for example, church attendance. There is a general decline in people [i]turning up [/i] for all sorts of activities, service clubs, church politics, union membership and more. On the surface it would appear people would rather facebook than be face to face. Is that good, bad or of complete imbuggerance? Good candidate for a PhD dissertation in Social Ecology I suspect. On politics in particular it seems people are more likely to 'energise' and participate for a cause than a party and that may not be such a bad thing. Again some fodder for a PhD. When I go back into the cave I will have a look at the second episode.

DMW

30/06/2013Pikiranku @ June 29. 2013 01:51 PM, [i]What's wrong with Tanya Plibersek that you left her out of your list of potential future female PMs?[/i] I spoke again last night with the bloke who first nominated Ms Plibersek for preselection and worked overtime to get her nominated. In essence, great local member, good minister but lacks that drive and resolve to be the big boss. This too may change.

Algernon

30/06/2013I was speaking with a work colleague on Thursday, they live in Lindsay, they'd be your typical swing voter. They weren't that impressed with the return to KRudd, but that is vastly superior to the alternative in Abbott, that appears to be the mindset of many in those seats. The interesting comment on Insiders was whether the new 51:49 is the watershed or if Labor can build on that or if as I suspect the LNP is very soft. Abbott needs to roll out policies and do it fast and not roll out has beens like Howard it demonstrates he's looking to the past and not to the future. Slogans just won't cut it anymore. Interesting Windsor's comments about Mirabella, I've been hearing about this independent in Indi from others for a little while. The reality is that she's a cancer that needs surgical removal to stop infecting the fabric of the parliament.

nasking

30/06/2013 “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire “The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearth-stone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. –as quoted in THE RIVER OF WINGED DREAMS” ― Abraham Lincoln

Ken

30/06/2013DMW Agree that there a number of studies showing that emphasis on causes rather then party politics. Sometimes even just a local cause. For good or ill, parties have to lock into those causes. A classic example politically was Whitlam and Labor being linked with the Vietnam Moratorium. There were other aspects but no time or space for a full dissertation. I suspect, part of the problem is the short term approach that now dominates. Because communication is now next to instantaneous, people aren't prepared to wait a week or a month for a next party meeting, or they expect results to come as fast as their communications. Facebook, e-mail etc are the same. I don't have to wait to communicate with a friend if I don't want to, I just go on-line. There is whole new mind set infecting society (something like Marshall McLuhan's "The Medium is the Message"). Think back to the early colony on Port Jackson: it would take anything from 8-12 months for one exchange of correspondence between the NSW Governor and the Colonial Secretary in London. People grew up with that long-term timeframe. Now that view is instantaneous.
I have two politicians and add 17 clowns and 14 chimpanzees; how many clowns are there?