What was Leigh Sales’ intent with PM Gillard?

As Leigh Sales interviewed Prime Minister Julia Gillard on 7.30 last week, was she hoping it might remind viewers of her interview of Tony Abbott six months earlier, one that attracted widespread applause for its probing, her persistence, and her command of the interview? Looking back, she may be disappointed that this time she came off second best, that she showed her hand so early in the interview, and that she exposed so openly her disdain for our nation's leader.

Her opening gambit, before her subject had had a chance to avoid a question or to obfuscate, gave her game away: ”After recent events, aren't Australians well within their rights to conclude that the Gillard Government is a dysfunctional mess that deserves to be consigned to opposition as soon as possible?” Note her words: ”dysfunctional mess” and ”consigned to opposition as soon as possible”. Judgemental? Of course. Pejorative? Yes. A good way to start? No.

Her opening remark begs the question: “What was Sales’ intent for this interview with the nation’s leader?” To embarrass? To belittle? To intimidate? To set up the interview to give Sales the upper hand? To serve as an introduction to the issue of ‘trust’ that she intended to pursue later? Only Sales would know if any of these applied.

The interview has been forensically analysed by journalism expert Peter Clarke in Anatomy of Sales -v- Gillard interview in Australians for Honest Politics. His analysis is from the point of view of an expert in media interviews, especially with politicians. It is worth a read if for no other reason than it gives an academic journalist’s perspective. This piece does not attempt to replicate or compete with that analysis; instead it attempts to analyse the interview through the eyes of an ordinary citizen, one who viewed it as it occurred.

My first reaction was emotional. Why was this senior journalist assailing our PM from the beginning? I wondered why was she so rude, so disrespectful of the most senior politician in the country. My annoyance increased as the interview progressed in the same vein. So infuriated was I that at the end I sent an email to Mark Scott, MD of the ABC, protesting at Sales’ impertinence, poor manners and disrespect.

On reflection, I asked myself what Sales’ intent really was, and came up with the following possibilities.

I imagine that primarily she wanted this interview to be lauded as was her interview of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott on 7.30 on 22 August, for which she won a Walkley Award. The citation said that she “pressed him on his attack on the Government over the mining tax and carbon tax. The fiery exchanges saw Mr Abbott eventually admit he had not read a statement from miner BHP which was central to the attack.”

For her to have the same intent for the Gillard interview as she did for the Abbott one is understandable, even laudable.

But what other intent did Sales have?

Did she set out deliberately to demean and insult the PM, to show her, and her high office, disrespect?

If that were so, is that an acceptable intent for a senior journalist? And even if it were acceptable, ought it to have been so overt, so up front? If it was not Sales’ intent, she certainly messed up badly from the outset.

One would hope that, like any competent TV journalist interviewing a politician, she would have intended to elicit relevant information: facts and figures, explanations, reasons, opinions, plans and policies, information that would enlighten the viewer, information that would assist the viewer to make an assessment that would be useful come election day.

Let’s see what she did achieve in this regard by analyzing her questions and the responses they evoked.

PM Julia Gillard responded to Sales brusque opening question by agreeing that she too was ‘appalled’ by the week, but argued that in the end people would judge the Government on what it had achieved, on its plans. She then listed its achievements.

Sales brushed that aside, and elaborated on what emerged as her central agenda: ”But you say that people should look to your plans for the future. Why should we trust Labor's plans for the future when you've had so many problems and so much dysfunction in your past?” Building on the notion of ‘dysfunction’, Sales now makes overt the issue of ‘trust’, a dependable theme for any political journalist.

This time it is the PM that brushes aside Sales’ direct question of trust. She answers obliquely by reiterating the considerable achievements of her Government, implying that the people can trust a Government that gets so much done. Critics would label PM Gillard’s response as obfuscation, or at least avoidance of the question.

Sales was having nothing of her answer. Labelling the Government’s achievements somewhat pejoratively as ‘a laundry list’, she cheekily assails the PM with: ”let me give you one back”. Sales then reads her own list, the theme this time being a list of ‘broken promises’, and ‘mistakes’, leading to ”how do you expect the public to have any faith in what you're planning to do going forwards?” Here we see more on the ‘trust’ theme – but now it’s nuanced to ‘broken promises’ and ‘faith’. She was not going to let go of that. Viewers could be excused if they saw this as echoing the Coalition’s ‘who do you trust’ theme, used first during the 2004 election campaign by John Howard, now repeated by Tony Abbott.

The PM offered to go through Sales’ long list of ‘misdemeanors’, but Sales was not interested: ”But Prime Minister, you're not addressing my central problem there, which was that there was a broken promise ...”, and when the PM said she disagreed with her list, Sales interrupted with ”No, no, there was a broken promise there and there is a long list of initiatives that the Government has introduced that have been failures or have not come to fruition. The most recent of course last week, the media reforms. Let me put it to you ...” And when the PM addressed Sales’ list, ending with the live cattle export issue, she interrupted again with: ”It was very messy in the way that it was done though.” Sales was determined to hammer the PM relentlessly with her ‘long list’ of ‘broken promises’, ‘failures’, ‘messiness’. She was not going to let the PM escape, just as she had not allowed Abbott to escape. That was her intent – no escape!

She is now almost half way through her twelve-minute interview, and has not asked one question that might elicit useful information about policies and plans. All the questions had centered on trust, faith, broken promises, mistakes, misdemeanors, and messiness. If that was her intent, she was certainly on song.

There was no way the PM was going to respond to the accusation of messiness, so she pressed on: ”Now, on the rest of the list, you can keep going through it, but when we've worked through some very difficult things like carbon pricing, our eyes have always been on what is best for the nation, what's in the national interest, what's in the interest of a strong, prosperous, fair, smart future and I am very happy to be judged on that.”

Not to be deterred from her claim of messiness in governance, Sales cited the concerns of Martin Ferguson and Simon Crean about the process of government, and in particular the media law reform last week, quoting them as saying that ”it was mishandled and that it was a debacle.”, adding: ”Doesn't that go to the very heart of the way you run government when senior ministers in your own team have stepped down and made that criticism?”

The PM responded by acknowledging the centrality of cabinet debate and went on to explain the protracted processes that preceded the presentation of the media bills.

But Sales, like other commentators, had already decided that the process was appalling, so pressed on with: ”How is it good government that your minister, presumably with your approval, produced legislation with a minimal consultation of cabinet and the caucus and then demanded it be passed in just a week's time without amendments and without negotiation?”?

As the PM reiterated the prior inquiries (Convergence and Finkelstein reviews), Sales interrupted with: ”… I'm just asking why you put legislation up with one week's notice and said, "No negotiation, no amendments".” Sales sounded like a schoolmistress reprimanding a wayward schoolgirl.

Julia Gillard patiently went through the reviews again, but again Sales, somewhat defensively, interposed with: ”Well the content of the reports of the reviews weren't unknown, but the content of the legislation was unknown until Stephen Conroy produced it.”

The PM again pointed out that the changes had been publicized in the newspapers, and after more interruptions, Sales retorted: ”If we judge the process on the end result, you put up six pieces of legislation and only two of them got through, so therefore on any assessment you'd have to agree that it was a mishandled and a botched process.”

She was not going to let go of her portraiture of the Gillard Government as one characterized by mistakes, misdemeanors, mishandling, and messiness.

The PM pointed out that in a minority government everything had to be negotiated and that she ”wasn't prepared to cross-trade and do any deal to get these bills through”, but Sales came back, rather sarcastically, with: ”So you were quite happy with how that process was handled last week from woe to go, the media reforms?”

Once again, PM Gillard began to explain the process, but perhaps sensing the pointlessness of this in the face of a obstinate interviewer ended with: "…our focus has to be relentless on what it is we need to do to strengthen our nation for the future and what we need to do to support families today.”

Three quarters of the interview, nine minutes, had already elapsed, without one question that probed policy issues. All had focussed on trust, and what Sales saw as mistakes, misdemeanors, messiness and botched process. Now it was time to assail the PM with leadership issues: ”You said today that last week's events make it clear now that you have the confidence of your colleagues. Isn't the reality though that many of your colleagues are in despair about your leadership and about the ALP's prospects in the election, but that they just don't see a viable alternative?” Sales’ provocation continued.

Julia Gillard, whose patience must now have been wearing thin, replied briefly that her leadership had been tested once again and that she had the ‘emphatic’ endorsement of the party. She concluded: ”Leigh, it's over. I don't think that any of this is worth speaking about anymore.” But Sales was not finished, adding condescendingly: ”But you can understand, can't you, how Australians would be looking at your side of politics and feeling very nervous about taking a gamble on you again given that a number of senior members of your own cabinet have stepped down in recent days, criticized the process by which you govern and basically indicated they don't have any confidence or faith in your leadership?”

Once more, our PM, with patience that most of us would have difficulty mustering, repeated that the events of last week were indeed appalling and self-indulgent, but finished with: ”What is then appropriate for me as Prime Minister is to renew the team with quality and talent and that's what I've done today.”

But her mea culpa was not enough for Sales who impudently came back with another ‘but’: ”But Prime Minister, I don't think that Australians can quite so neatly as you have done draw a line under everything they've seen for the past few years and then just ignore it and do what you want them to do which is to concentrate on what you're promising going forwards.” Sales obviously believes she has her finger on the pulse of the nation.

The ever patient Gillard concluded this wearisome interview with a confident assertion that she and Labor were in the best position to lead our nation ” through in what can be a very rough and tumble world.”

Twelve minutes had elapsed, the interview was over, but not one question had addressed policy details, or plans, or prospects for our nation in the Asian Century under Labor, and under the alternative, the very matters about which voters need to be informed. Every question was directed to issues of trust, to Sales’ recital of the broken promises, the mistakes, the misdemeanors, the messiness, the mishandlings, the botched processes, which by implication brought into question Labor’s and the PM’s competence to govern. And at the end came the ubiquitous leadership issue; no journalist worth his or her salt would miss that.

Will this interview win Sales another Walkley Award? Perhaps a Wonkley!

It is easy to be critical, so let’s examine how Sales might have approached the interview. Here are some possible questions, ones that would address the matters that Sales had on her agenda, as well as policy matters:

Prime Minister, it has been a tumultuous week for you and Labor. How do you plan to overcome the damage that you yourself acknowledge has been done to the Labor brand?

You have said that the leadership issue is now ‘done and dusted’, and you have emerged as the leader, seemingly now beyond challenge. How will you approach the task of healing the wounds that have been inflicted by this latest leadership challenge, particularly among those who supported Kevin Rudd, many of whom have resigned?

Are you confident that there will be no more leadership challenges and no more sabotage by Rudd supporters?

There have been criticisms from both within your party and from without about how some legislation has been presented; I’m referring specifically to the recent media law reforms. Would you care to comment about this, and whether the four bills that were not presented will be presented when parliament next meets.

Do you think these bills might have passed if more time had been available for their consideration?

John Howard made a feature of ‘trust’ in his 2004 campaign, and Mr Abbott has often labelled you as ‘untrustworthy’. How do you plan to engender a sense of trust among voters?

The opinion polls suggest that voters have doubts about Labor’s capacity to manage the nation’s affairs into the next term, and concerns about your leadership. How do you propose to address these doubts and concerns?

You have several important pieces of legislation in progress but not yet complete; I’m referring specifically to the NDIS and the Gonski reforms to school education. Many have queried how these desirable reforms can be funded now and in the future. While I’m not asking you to reveal budget discussions, can you give us some insight into how you are approaching the funding issue?

Much has been made of the harm that the carbon tax is doing to the economy. What evidence is there about its impact to date?

Has it made any difference to Australia’s carbon emissions?

You have been accused of promising that there would be no carbon tax under a government you lead, and the Opposition has continually assailed you with this. How will you counter that accusation of lying?

You have spoken of the Asian Century. Could you elaborate for me how Australia might take advantage of it?

Explain to me and to our viewers how Labor’s policies would be more beneficial to this country than the Coalition’s.


One could go on and on in this vein.

No doubt, those who enjoy seeing our PM hammered mercilessly applauded Leigh Sales' interview, and would categorize the above questions as insufficiently probing, far too soft, or even as Dorothy Dixers. But they would at least stand a chance of eliciting answers that would inform voters about the PM’s intentions, her trustworthiness, her capacity to lead, Labor’s plans for the time ahead, and how it compared with the alternative. Their intent would be to uncover informative facts, opinions, policies and plans.

In contrast, the intent of Leigh Sales’ interview seemed to be to demean, to belittle, to show disrespect for our PM, and by implication the office of PM. It focussed on a collection of what Sales considered were Labor’s and the PM’s failings, misdemeanors, and botched processes. She seemed intent on hammering issues of trust and leadership, implying that trust was irrecoverable and leadership still in doubt. If these indeed were her intentions, and also to expose her own feelings about, and attitudes towards the PM and the party she leads, she succeeded brilliantly.

Viewers were left no wiser though about Labor’s policies or plans for the next six months and the next term. If it was Sales intent to inform them, she failed miserably, but that seems to have not been on her agenda. Only she would know; we can judge only on what we saw.


Words are but one aspect of communication. View the video and observe her tone of voice and her body language yourself.

Despite her overt hostility, Sales lost control of the interview as Julia Gillard calmly and patiently answered each thrust she made. In contrast to her Abbott interview, this time she came out the loser, in more ways than one.

Perhaps even more disturbing is the prospect that Sales’ attitude may reflect an emerging culture at the ABC among some journalists there – one antagonistic to the PM and Labor, a culture that gives ‘permission’ to lesser journalists to follow Sales’ lead. The crucial question is whether ABC Managing Director Mark Scott permits such a culture. Viewers will be watching carefully in future with this question in mind.


What do you think?


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Ad astra

1/04/2013Folks I'm off to watch tonight's ABC TV. I'll respond to comments tomorrow.

Patriciawa

1/04/2013Hello, Ad Astra! Love your picture. I'll be busy this evening but I'll be back to read and comment on your article tomorrow!

TalkTurkey

1/04/2013Spot on about Leigh Sales Ad. The "interview" was what was appalling. An infuriating disgrace. It was unprofessional and agenda-driven, and unlike her interview with Abbortt, started as an unrelenting attack on the PM from the word Go. With Abbortt Sales was respectful throughout, and only became insistent when almost accidentally he dropped the damning admission that he had not read the Kloppers article whose comments ran so counter to the crap Abbortt was spouting. Here's my take on why: @abcmarkscott was appalled at what happened on that Abbortt interview, and gave Sales the hot word. Sales had her shopping list and her attack line ready, and would not be swayed by reasonableness and grace. Only by winning the September election can we salvage the ABC. Were we to lose, the ABC would be irrevocable forever, and effectively any pretence of Australia's being a democracy would cease thenceforth. I have forwarded your article on TPS Mail, and btw I had already voted *J*U*L*I*A* No1 world leader. Be of good cheer though Comrades, the very bias shown on the ABC will be the undoing of their project to oust the Government, asthe MSM's whole histrionics display will come back to bite them. I think that is what was really planned by Stephen Conroy, to let them make fools of themselves before reeling them in in weeks to come.

DMW

1/04/2013[b]10 Reasons Why The Australian Left Will Never Again See Power[/b] Guest post from Stephanie Cole Bare @ Turn Left 2013 [i][b]The Left Love To Complain About ABC Bias, And They Would Know, They Watch It All Day:[/b] Not only do they watch the ABC to find alleged* Right Wing bias, they then tweet to each other about it ad nauseum. The Left don’t like alleged* Right Wing bias, they don’t even like balance. Sure, they say most of the balance is false, but still, they’re not happy.[/i] http://turnleft2013.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/10-reasons-why-the-australian-left-will-never-again-see-power/

marc hudson

1/04/2013"Her opening gamut, before her subject had had a chance to avoid a question or to obfuscate," Gambit, surely, rather than gamut...

Bilko

1/04/2013AA Looking very elegant with your new real Avatar. The interview with Lee Sales was straight from the Noalition song book keep hammering away ignore answers, it is as if she had been brain washed by them. Her kick up the Khyber pass from abc management must have been a doozy. Now we have the real leader of the Noalition in the country, the string puller himself Rupes. I expect him to be giving our Tones a last minute briefing for his next few month's of inaction, his manipulative polls will be on side, keep policy chats under wrap, say nothing and you will glide into the Lodge like a fireman down a slippery pole. Wake up Australia. My expectation is that the media with no leadership issues left, may have to look at the parties policy's or close down until Sept.

tex

1/04/2013I have sent of a complaint to the ABC because of this interview I was so angry with Sales the way she continually interrupted. Her interviewing ability is to have a list of questions and not listen to the answers. The ABC is not following its charter it has become a political mouth piece for the liebral party.

lyn

2/04/2013[b] Today’s Links[/b] Rupert Murdoch and his puppet by @ngungun Abbott needs Murdoch, so too does Murdoch need Abbott http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/rupert-murdoch-and-his-puppet/ Anthony John Abbott – Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing by @leftocentre “Then I was a man under authority. Now I am the authority!” should bring a chill to the heart of all Australians, http://whiticisms.net/2013/01/31/anthony-john-abbott-wolf-in-sheeps-clothing/ For whom the polls toll by @awelder not necessary to go past the first two paragraphs to see the sheer depth and breadth of journalistic failure in the federal parliamentary press gallery http://andrewelder.blogspot.com.au/ Time to end the class war on education by @YaThinkN Libs love to chant about ‘choice’ in education, but the fact is, most people do not have a ‘choice’ http://australiansforhonestpolitics.wordpress.com/category/authors/noely-neate/ Just a case of history repeating @AshGhebranious Abbott is just a case of history repeating. Lets stop him before the next wall punch shall we? http://ashghebranious.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/just-a-case-of-history-repeating-itself/ Being Conned with Bullshit (Part two) johnlord2013, @MigloMT Tony Abbott who feeds the media his simplistic solutions to complex problems http://theaimn.com/2013/04/01/being-conned-with-bullshit-part-two/ Is Abbott, the best and most successful LOTO ever? by Truth Seeker, he opposes everything, including, as it turned out, much of his own policies http://truthseekersmusings.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/is-abbott-the-best-and-most-successful-loto-ever/ Gillard should give peace a chance by Mungo MacCallum first woman to hold the office she has been the target of unremitting hostility from large sections of the media http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4603440.html J’accuse! An open letter to the Fourth Estate by Jaycee I accuse the Fourth Estate of slacking off in the preparation of their work http://pbxmastragics.com/2013/04/01/jaccuse-an-open-letter-to-the-fourth-estate/ New lease of life for solar power by David Twomey 10 per cent, of Australian households have taken up solar power http://econews.com.au/news-to-sustain-our-world/new-lease-of-life-for-solar-power/ 607 days and our health care departments need properly trained staff, not armed security by @TaraNipe http://tnipe.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/607-days-and-our-health-care-departments-need-properly-trained-staff-not-armed-security/ Government debt – facts versus fiction by Stephen Koukoulas there is a general misunderstanding of the issue in political circles, much of the media and the general public http://www.marketeconomics.com.au/2357-government-debt-facts-versus-fiction Whoops. We don’t really want to hear what you think about private health insurance… by Melissa Sweet article below provides a timely reminder that the health conference business is more about private than public interests. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/2013/04/01/whoops-we-dont-really-want-to-hear-what-you-think-about-private-health-insurance/ Tony Abbott Gaffes @ch150ch Tony Abbott is not fit to be PM or represent Australia on the world stage http://www.scribd.com/doc/133134121/Tony-Abbott-Gaffes Look to Britain to see what will happen to Australia under Tony Abbott by Lucidity we want to go down a similar path to Britain, we just have to elect a Liberal Abbott-led government here. http://lucy-lucidity.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/look-to-britain-to-see-what-will-happen.html TEN board sacks new CEO, Gina Rinehart takes charge by David Knox The WA billionaire becomes the sixth CEO at the struggling network in just over two years. http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2013/04/ten-board-sacks-new-ceo-gina-rinehart-takes-charge.html Julia Gillard Has a Heart of Oak!, by Patriciawa I had always feared Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s strength and resilience would one day be used against her as yet another negative quality, http://polliepomes.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/julia-gillard-has-a-heart-of-oak-2/ Labor’s debt graphic goes viral by AFR the post has been shared more than 11,000 times, liked more than 3100 times and has more than 1800 comments http://www.afr.com/p/national/politics/labor_debt_graphic_goes_viral_tqiQx612DXcFOkHXPhoc8I Today’s Front Pages Australia Newspaper Front Pages for 2 April 2013 http://www.frontpagestoday.co.uk/index.cfm?PaperCountry=Australia

Gravel

2/04/2013Ad Astra I watched that interview for as long as I could but then turned it off. It was disgusting from the get go. As you say, there was not one ounce of respect shown for the position of Prime Minister, no allowing refutation of the accusations. I don't think I'll bother to tune into any more, I haven't watched any of the political shows for a while, it is just the same same same, week after week after week. I love watching Julia handling all the antagonism, she should be getting accolades for her strength and intelligence. In the future, if history is told by actual words that Julia has used, she will be held up as a prime example of steadfastness in doing the right thing for Australia and all who live here. Julia is everything the msm tried to tell us that John Howard was, but he couldn't hold a candle on her. Julia has not denigrated, belittled or abused anyone, yet she is accused of doing all these things.

2353

2/04/2013When Leigh Sales interviewed Abbott - he went to water. When Leigh Sales interviewed the PM she didn't. When Leigh Sales interviewed the LOTO and pressed the point - Abbott went to water. While the questions asked of the PM didn't relate to policy - the did relate to the "story of the week"; the leadership spill that wasn't which as the PM has rightly said was "unseemly". The PM was polite, firm and certainly responded as best she could. While Leigh Sales interrupted both the PM and Abbott - it is an effective response to a frequent technique by politicians of answering their own question that does have a vague resemblance to the one asked - Sales did it to Abbott as well when he began to waffle. If politicians in general want reporters to not interrupt - how about listening to the question, comprehending the intent and answering it to the best of their ability without waffling? As AA points out, airtime is valuable, I too would have liked to see a greater emphasis on plans, policies and the future but to be fair to Leigh Sales the question in the media at the time was can the Government last another week - if she had put an emphasis on plans, policies and the future with Abbott with Abbott she would have been accused of bias (clearly Abbott doesn't have any of these traits). The interesting thing is that the Sales Vs Abbott interview has been claimed as one of the triggers that broke the "Abbott is invincible" line as there was considerable media "analysis" and "comment" for the next week or so. The Sales Vs Prime Minister interview certainly didn't damage the PM at all - there was no follow up at all that I saw. While it probably wasn't Sales best interview and it certainly won't get her another award, it's also pretty well forgotten already in the media. The bigger fish to fry here is the ABC's reliance on Reith et al for commentary - when you know it won't be fair or balanced or reasonable when disappointed ideological warriors of the conservative side get to have a free kick at a progressive Government.

ian

2/04/2013Sales has made the mistake of believing her own publicity. She really isn't all that good. About as good as Uhlman. A match made in mediocrity perhaps? When you see these flacks operate it does give pause to consider the real worth of Walkley Awards doesn't it? I think that my award for being in the team that came third in the tunnel ball race at my primary school sports day in 1960 has more value. The PM won this one hands down

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2/04/2013LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Ad astra

2/04/2013tex Welcome to [i]The Political Sword[/i] family and thank you for your comment. Do come again. I agree with your assessment of the Sales interview. She did seem to have loaded her gun with a magazine of questions that she was determined to shoot at her prey no matter what response PM Gillard made. marc hudson Welcome to you too to [i]The Political Sword[/i], and thank you for the correction, which has now been made. You are a careful reader. I hope you will come again.

Ad astra

2/04/2013Talk Turkey Your appraisal of the differences between the Leigh Sales interview of Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard is cogent. As I indicated at the end of my piece, my concern was whether the Sales interview was a sign of the culture in the ABC. Your comment: [i]”Here's my take on why: @abcmarkscott was appalled at what happened on that Abbortt interview, and gave Sales the hot word. Sales had her shopping list and her attack line ready, and would not be swayed by reasonableness and grace.”[/i] amplifies my concern. Sales’ next interview of Abbott, if and when he fronts, will give us diagnostic information about ABC culture. If she is soft on Abbott, and if she treats him with courtesy, our diagnosis will be strengthened.

Tom of Melboune

2/04/2013Get over it, Leigh Sales was direct with Gillard. Gillard leads a deeply divided party and at the first opportunity she attempted to divert from the question. Gillard is a politician, and a deeply distrusted one, she deserves as many probing interviews as possible.

Michael

2/04/2013Leigh Sales picked up a Walkley for her Abbott interview with what was essentially a "gotcha" moment caused by Shouldabeen putting his foot in his mouth. There was no 'great interviewing' occurring, just Abbott caught out, and shown doing so for once. Leigh sales tried to 'gotcha' the PM from the opening words of her encounter (I refuse to characterise it as an interview - does anyone in the media actually interview politicians these days?). So long as the media seek to trip up and catch out politicians in word-play or antagonism we will never see hear or read about Government or Opposition policy. Which is a pity, because the Government has runs on the board. The Opposition just runs for the doors.

Winston Smith

2/04/2013"Her opening remark begs the question: ..." I really wish that people would learn to use this statement correctly. To beg the question is to either, make an assertion that is unproven which smothers the issue which should be discussed. Or, a kind of circular logic where the conclusion of a statement is just a restatement of the premise. For example: "Marijuana doesn't cause harm because it is a plant which is natural." This statement begs the question because it makes the assumption that all natural items cannot cause harm. Example 2: "She is not that pretty because she is ugly." This statement begs the question because the conclusion is just restating the premise without offering any proof that she is not pretty. What you have done in the third paragraph is to RAISE a number of questions rather than to BEG a question.

Tom of Melboune

2/04/2013[i] Which is a pity, because the Government has runs on the board.[/i] …and plenty of failure, and lots of demonstrated dishonesty. At the time that the ALP has proven itself to be deeply divided, an interviewer is entitled to get the leader to answer questions about the divisions. All Gillard tried to do was change the subject. To her credit, Leigh Sales pushed Gillard to deal with the question. People here would have preferred it is she has just let Gillard go off on whatever tangent she chose.

Tom of Melboune

2/04/2013Crean, Rudd, Ferguson, Bowen, McClelland, Fitzgibbon all on the backbench of a deeply divided party, while Gillard promotes the likes of political incompetent/singer Craig Emerson to super ministries. The evidence is in, the intelligent part of the ALP don’t want Gillard. Does Gillard really think her current ministerial structure will survive? All those junior ministers simply demonstrate how threadbare the ALP is for talent.

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2/04/2013Bilko Thank you for your comment. You too have the view that ABC management has had a hand in the way in which Sales went about her interview. Let’s see how she approaches her interview with Tony Abbott. Will she give him the same treatment as she gave the PM? She must realize that if she doesn’t, the perception of bias will be reinforced, and many will conclude that it is a cultural bias. Gravel Julia Gillard certainly deserves a big tick for strength, intelligence and steadfastness, and as TT has said, grace in the face of hostile questioning. I see even some of her antagonists are now acknowledging her strengths. 2353 I take your points. I believe that Leigh Sales would have evoked more cogent answers from the PM had she posed her questions less belligerently, with more courtesy. The list I suggested at the end addressed the issues that Sales wanted addressed: trust, leadership, broken promises and legislative processes, but using words that were respectful of the office on the PM. I believe that a courteous approach would have evoked substance rather than waffle. The questioner has the responsibility to ask questions that will induce quality answers. That PM Gillard gave reasoned answers in the face of such hostile questioning, with so many interruptions to her answers, is a tribute to her patience, not Sales’ skills as a questioner. ian I agree that the PM won hands down. No doubt Sales was hoping for another Abbott moment, and maybe another award. She must be disappointed at the feedback she has engendered. Michael Your assessment of the Abbott interview is noteworthy. I agree with your assertion: “[i]So long as the media seek to trip up and catch out politicians in word-play or antagonism we will never see hear or read about Government or Opposition policy.
[/i] The media’s agenda needs to change. I wonder if it ever will. Winston Smith I stand corrected.

Tom of Melboune

2/04/2013[i]”Will she give him the same treatment as she gave the PM?”[/i] Who knows? If Abbott had most of his talent on the backbench because they’d just resigned for plotting against him, I would expect similar questioning. The point you (deliberately) miss is that Gillard was interviewed immediately after a crisis of confidence in her leadership, where the most talented and experienced of her ministers plotted against her. Gillard attempted to stay on message rather than answer the questions that were of public interest. Sales didn’t let her get away with it. Gillard deserves no more respect than any other politicians and even that may be overstating it.

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2/04/2013DMW I tried to get into TurnLeft2013 to read the article you suggested, but was blocked by a username and password requirement. That site seems to have changed its access requirements. Is it worth 'registering'? It seems a rather convoluted process; I wonder why this site thinks registration is necessary.

Patriciawa

2/04/2013Hi Lyn! Trust you had a great weekend. You deserved the break more than any of us! Apologies for not emailing you last night/this morning. Though thank you for linking my pome about Julia anyway. I was so determined to get this in as a welcome back effort for you that I almost fell asleep at my desk! I didn't copy to friends like TPS and CW either, but already I've had an encouraging message from gravel about the end of the block. Cross fingers! It really needs the picture of Julia to make sense of this so have a peak at http://polliepomes.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/julia-gillard-has-a-heart-of-oak-2/ [b]Julia Gillard Has a Heart of Oak![/b] Is this [i]a harsh old dowager queen?[/i] The Oz says that is how she’s seen, Describing her as [i]tough as teak,[/i] Inflexible, hard, in Newspeak. I’d say she has a heart of oak, Warm, likeable as any bloke. Often described as a hard head Our PM is far from heart dead. She is strong, forthright, no fibber; Role model for any Libber. Though no militant feminist, Or an environmentalist, She’s progressive and does care. Attempting always to be fair, Embracing those who need a hand, Never afraid to take a stand. Questions on why she’s not married She has very lightly parried, Echoing another Welsh red head, A dowager queen who stayed unwed. PM Gillard’s no Tudor, born to rule, But she sure comes from that gene pool. Hang on to her Australia, Her big heart of oak won’t fail yer.

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2/04/2013Patriciawa What a lovely dedication to our Julia with her Heart of Oak.

TalkTurkey

2/04/2013Just watched ABC Behind The News. It used to be a well-modulated informative and essentially serious show. In the seventies and eighties and nineties. Howard abolished it altogether. An act that made my blood boil. It has been brought back. But it is a zombie of a show now. I just Tweeted: Is anyone watching Behind The News? Ridiculing *J*U*L*I*A* ~ trivialising Parliament ~ politicising a students’ show! WHO DID THIS CLIP?

DMW

2/04/2013Morning Ad, I didn't / haven't had any registration process when I have gone to the site so I can't help on that - it does seem odd that you would need to register to read the articles. Try http://turnleft2013.wordpress.com/ and see if you can get there that way. The 'Ten Reasons' article is 'so-so', though it does provoke some thought. There are often some very good posts on the site that are worth reading. You can see a lot of the most recent by going to the main page as linked above.

2353

2/04/2013AA - I agree with your sentiments that if Sales had acted with courtesy and some politeness she would have achieved a much better result. The comment above that she went for the "gotya" rather than discovering the PMs view on a range of subjects is to be deplored. However this is a part of the problem with the media - it is not just a particular reporter. In general reporters assume that the won't get an answer - so they won't ask the question. It reflects badly on the repoter and subject and seems to be self perpetuating. The media won't change - if the ALP wants to get a better run in the media (and show Abbott up yet again) maybe they should negotiate some rules for interviews.

TalkTurkey

2/04/2013Winston Smith It's good to see someone who can spot the real nub of an article. It begs the question as to the validity of the whole piece eh. Oops, sorry, did I get that wrong? I would hate to cause you distress. Actually, I think that rightly or *wrongly*, Ad's use is not only a common usage of the term *begging the question*, but it is also a logical construction; if he'd said 'suggests' or 'prompts' the question, would that suit you? So, [i]begs[/i] (that this question be asked,...) ... Sounds alright to me. O'Brien.

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2/04/2013Hi Lyn Welcome back. I hope you had relaxing Easter break. Your links are a feast. The first two give great insights into two central characters in the run down to the election. The first one about Rupert Murdoch’s background is informative reading. The second, a frightening profile of the man who wants to be PM, is essential reading. I’m still working through the feast – there are many courses.

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2/04/2013DMW Your link worked this time. Thanks. I'll take a look after reading Lyn's LInks.

Truth Seeker

2/04/2013Ad, great article. :-) As one who watched both interviews, I have to agree with your assertions. I for one applauded Sales for the Abbott interview, mainly for the reason that Abbott deserved what he got due to his own incompetence, whereas JG was attacked in such a way as to put her on the back foot from the outset, to her credit though, she didn't falter as Abbott did, keeping her composure under a barrage of loaded questions. :-) Making sales come across as desperate rather than in control of the interview. Lyn, I hope you had a good break :-) Thanks for your great links, and for including my latest in them :-) :-) Cheers :-)

lyn

2/04/2013Hi Ad, Thankyou for another fantastic put your face in read, I love your new Gravatar you have a new hair style. Such a sincere genuine face to go with sincere genuine writing. I did have a nice little break even went for a walk to the beach everyday, howz that. Oh and did some crocheting. Glad you are enjoying the links. Even though Turnleft is one of my blog friends their recent article was not included in “today’s Links” as not worth reading, has been re-posted from a Liberal blog. Therefore I would not bother about registering if I were you. http://conservagirl13.wordpress.com/tag/left-wing-trolls/ Patricia, thankyou for you most enjoyable pome along with your good wishes. Makes me sad though to see they are now being nasty about Julia’s strength. PS the twitters enjoyed your pome too. :):):)

Pikiranku

2/04/2013Of course there are times when it is quite legitimate, even necessary, for an interviewer to interrupt. For example, when the interviewee repeatedly ignores the question asked and spews out his/her own agenda - Brandis springs to mind as a master of this type of response. But I don't believe that Julia Gillard could be accused of that sin in her interview with Sales. She was, in fact, answering Sales' accusations when she was continually cut off by interruptions. Sales gave the impression that she really had no interest in the PM's answers, that once she had failed to produce hesitation or confusion, she was only interested in moving on to her next 'gotcha' attempt. Hence the outraged response from viewers who had been hoping to be informed by the interview. I, too, was outraged - not only by the ill-mannered and overbearing manner in which the interview was conducted, but also by its failure to inform. Btw, do I recall correctly that one of the 'fails' on Sales' laundry list was the appointment of Peter Slipper as Speaker. Why so? Noone would dispute, surely, that Peter Slipper was the most effective Speaker of the House for years. He knew the rules of the House backwards and succeeded in creating order where others had failed. True his character was called into question, but only until a judge found that it was the character of his accusers which was in fact questionable. Sales, like many in the press, seems to be completely ignoring this court judgement and behaving as though it didn't happen. Another fail, Leigh.

LadyInRed

2/04/2013Hi Ad What do I think? I think Sales interview shows that she is still a junior and has a very long way to go. Anyone, and I mean anyone, who has watched this PM over the years bat away every trick in the book to get her to answer questions that attack her central core, her strong sense of self and what she knows to be true, has failed. Handling this style of attack is second nature to the PM, it has never achieved the desired result of having her in a screaming heap not knowing what to say. The truth is when you come at her from an acusatory position of "how can we trust you" well you deserve to be ignored. There is no answer to "how can we trust you" other than to say well you have to look at our track record and if you don't think you can trust me based on that then so be it. This only tends to infuriate Sales, who as you say has an inflated opinion of herself, via The Walkley, for getting Abbott to admit he hadn't read the Kloppers report. So what! Abbott is always getting caught telling porkies, the only difference was this was on 7:30. I think the whole interview was a waste of everyone's time. Sales needs to wise up and prior to an important interview like this go and watch everything you can on previous interviews. When you have had as much abuse hurled at you as the PM has had during her carreer, hurling more wont get you anywhere near having a discussion on what she really felt.

Paul H

2/04/2013My first post on your blog and I'd like to thank you for many interesting reads. And .... also to point out some erroneous phrasing? (sorry). [quote].... woe to go.[/quote] Should that not be [quote]go to whoa[/quote]. Or were you being clever I wonder?

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2/04/2013Hi Lyn First, thank you for your very kind compliment. I’m glad you had a nice break and had time to walk on the beautiful beach where you live. I see it’s raining again up there; you must be weary of it by now. I’m still working through your links. I must say that the piece on [i]Politically Homeless[/i] is the most acerbic assessment of Phil Coorey I have read, and thoroughly deserved. Of course he has jumped from the SMH frying pan into the AFR fire which editor Michael Stutchbury stokes every day. He is unlikely to become more balanced with Stutch stoking his fire.

Winston Smith

2/04/2013TalkTurkey, it begs the question that since the phrase is commonly misused, then it must be OK to misuse it. I don't think so. Since "begging the question" derives from a specific logical fallacy, petitio principii, and since there are many more ways to express your thoughts such as "it makes me wonder" or "it raises some questions" then there is no real need to misuse it. It is not filling a hole in the English language, nor has the original phrase with its correct meaning faded into obsolescence. Ad Astra, I had no idea that by pointing out some English misuse in your article, some might think i had missed the nub of the article. I hadn't seen the interview but your article made me go and watch. I agree with many of your points, though not as furiously as some. Since your thesis, or nub of the article, was the power of the English language, and the importance of its use, I thought that my criticism would not be out of place.

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2/04/2013LadyinRed How good to see you in person. Perhaps others will follow your lead. Lucille Ball was fine, but a fine photo of the real person is better. To echo Casablanca’s words: [i]”Nice to meet you.”[/i] Your concluding comment is one Sales should read: [i]“Sales needs to wise up and prior to an important interview like this go and watch everything you can on previous interviews. When you have had as much abuse hurled at you as the PM has had during her career, hurling more won’t get you anywhere near having a discussion on what she really felt.”[/i]

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2/04/2013Paul H I think this is your first visit, so welcome to [i]The Political Sword[/i] family. Thank you for your remarks. I’m glad you are enjoying [i]TPS[/i]. Do come again. The words to which you refer were those of Leigh Sales: [i]”So you were quite happy with how that process was handled last week from woe to go, the media reforms?”[/i] I suspect she was getting rattled and got her ‘woe to go’ back to front. And 'whoa' is correct.

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2/04/2013Winston Smith Your comment caused me no offence, nor did I think that you had missed the nub of the article. TT is a longstanding expert in the English language. I will neither try to adjudicate, nor enter into the debate between you; that would be unwise. But I shall enjoy watching it.

Patriciawa

2/04/2013Ad Astra, I agree wholeheartedly with everything you say about that interview. It was a shocker and brought little in the way of new information from the PM about what's happening inside within the government, but it confirmed for my sense that she never loses control of situations and always seems able to display grace under fire. You're right about Sales's tone and body language. From the start I thought she was nervous and never really in control. Let's face it, Julia Gillard is a formidable performer and would be a daunting opponent for a comparatively young interviewer. I guess that Sales had her questions up on auto-cue. It felt like she hit panic button as each 'gotcha' didn't work she simply moved on in in a rush to the next. Even if Tony Abbott does agree to a one on one interview with her I doubt if she could replicate the same style. After all, he is more scared of her and unlikely to make her lose control of the interview!

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2/04/2013Pikiranku I agree with your assessment, and with your comment: [i]”Sales gave the impression that she really had no interest in the PM's answers, that once she had failed to produce hesitation or confusion, she was only interested in moving on to her next 'gotcha' attempt.”[/i] That sums it up really well.

Casablanca

2/04/2013Check these out. Also some interesting comments on the digital strategy for the election campaign. [b]Labor’s debt graphic goes viral[/b] PUBLISHED: 31 Mar 2013 12:05:00 | UPDATED: 01 Apr 2013 07:23:05 http://www.afr.com/p/national/politics/labor_debt_graphic_goes_viral_tqiQx612DXcFOkHXPhoc8I See here for larger graphic: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151565379651789&set=a.398667261788.195403.307341981788&type=1&relevant_count=1 [b]World Debt Clock[/b] http://www.economist.com/content/global_debt_clock [i]The Australian Communications and Media Authority estimates that as of June, 2012, about 11.18 million Australians aged 14 and older used email, internet phone or instant messaging to communicate. About 11.36m were on Facebook, 9.67m watched clips on YouTube and about 2m posted tweets to Twitter.[/i] http://www.afr.com/p/national/parties_prepare_for_digital_election_kG31WwvCLlfPdRPQffymQJ#U611286076189SE

Casablanca

2/04/2013Neat infographic: Energy Usage & Emissions Statistics from Bureau of Meteorology tweeted by Andrew Leigh MP https://twitter.com/ALeighMP/status/318869779446378496/photo/1

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2/04/2013DMW That was some spray from Stephanie Cole Bare from [i]Conservative Girl[/i]. It gives us a good insight into how loathed are ‘lefties’ by conservatives. Truth Seeker Your piece fingers the question: ‘Why does Abbott get the accolade of ‘best-ever LOTO’. You give dozens of cogent reasons why he is not. I suspect his supporters give him that accolade because of the TPP poll figures, his level of obstruction of governance, and his use of three word slogans that stick in people’s mind. They think these are criteria of success. If Abbott is the best-ever LOTO, Julia Gillard must be the best-ever PM by virtue of her having survived his onslaught and having passed over 460 pieces of legislation in spite of it.

Patriciawa

2/04/2013Sorry. Pressed button before proof reading the above. So there are some howlers there. I hope you get the gist of my comment. Which brings me to my dear friend, Talk Turkey, who I think has been wasting our reading time with his splitting of hairs and the begging of questions. Like him I am a perfectionist when it comes to grammar, spelling, fact checking etc in my own writing so I get irked sometimes by all those[i] theirs[/i] instead of [i]there's[/i]. I've learned something in the recent months of comparatively little writing output. I've done a lot more reading on the web than before and I've read many posts and comments from all sorts of people. There is so much wisdom and common sense being exchanged out there on many blog sites set up by people who have something to say but are not necessarily the best prose writers, stylists or grammarians. I find the best blog moderators on these and other more established sites are those who focus on the [b]content[/b] of the responses they get. That's what encourages a lively exchange of opinions. So who cares about figures of speech? As long as we understand each other. Do you quibble about things like that when talking politics with friends over a coffee or dinner? I love TT's contributions so much, particularly his verses, and I nearly always agree with his point of view about issues like drug reform and euthanasia. So it pains me that sometimes I will scroll past his comments almost (not quite, really!) as if he were ToM or SIC.

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2/04/2013Patriciawa I believe your assessment is accurate. [i]”I guess that Sales had her questions up on auto-cue. It felt like she hit the panic button as each 'gotcha' didn't work; she simply moved on in a rush to the next.”[/i] Panic in the face of calmness took over and left Sales vulnerable.

Truth Seeker

2/04/2013Patricia, well done on another fine poem :-) it certainly look as though you have got over your block, and back to what you do so well :-) Ad, thanks for your support and encouragement, it means a lot :-) Cheers :-) :-) :-)

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2/04/2013Hi Lyn I’m through reading your links. What a collection. For me some highlights, apart from the ones I’ve already mentioned, were: For a belly laugh, do read http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2013/04/ten-board-sacks-new-ceo-gina-rinehart-takes-charge.html For more common sense on debt, read Stephen Koukoulas: http://www.marketeconomics.com.au/2357-government-debt-facts-versus-fiction The piece in [i]Lucidity[/i] is essential reading for all interested in the ‘stimulus vs austerity’ debate. It contrasts the economies of the UK and Australia. http://lucy-lucidity.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/look-to-britain-to-see-what-will-happen.html If you want to keep an eye on Abbott gaffes, bookmark http://www.scribd.com/doc/133134121/Tony-Abbott-Gaffes Jaycee, who posts here, has an excellent piece on [i]The Pub[/i]. http://pbxmastragics.com/2013/04/01/jaccuse-an-open-letter-to-the-fourth-estate/ Mungo is always amusing reading: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4603440.html He longs for peace. With someone like Abbott and his media and business sycophants around, that sounds like a faint hope.

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2/04/2013Folks Waleed Ali’s article in [i]The Monthly[/i] is a good read: [i]The Sport of Killing Leaders – Hollow the Leader[/i] http://www.themonthly.com.au/essay/2013/04/02/1364874982/waleed-aly/sport-killing-leaders Writing about several changes of leadership on both sides of politics he draws this conclusion: [i]”The new media landscape clearly has much to answer for here. Crisis is swift because news and commentary are swift and judgement is instant. Then it’s shared, constantly, and mostly with those who agree. Viewpoints become amplified rather than nuanced. So we forestall cool, reflective debate, and wind up with a public conversation that has almost no ability to persuade. Everyone’s in a war, everyone has a gun, and we’d much rather go on firing than sit through dull peace negotiations. “Political discussion has become a militarized zone. Perhaps that’s why parties are increasingly reaching for the nuclear option. As the debate gets faster and therefore shallower, our politics must become more presidential because image and personality are the only effective weapons left. This is particularly true given the collapse of serious ideological difference between the major parties. Every political problem therefore becomes a leadership problem. When you’re confronted with political disaster, there’s only one thing to do: get new leadership.”[/i] While I would dispute his assertion about ideological differences, earlier in his piece he mentioned the role of opinion polls, which he asserts political parties have managed in the past, but they now quickly morph into leadership issues, which is what we have seen starkly in Labor circles, as well as recently in LNP circles in Victoria and the NT. By the way, we ought to have a rational approach to the polls that will keep coming, week after week. After the week of upheaval that Labor had recently, the polls are bound to be poor for Labor, and will likely stay that way for some time. Why be surprised? And remember that if the next poll is worse, the headline will be “Labor sinks still further”; if it is the same as the last one, the headline will be: “Labor stuck in the doldrums”; but if the next poll improves even a little for Labor the headline will read: “Labor gets a small boost but would still lose in a landslide”. Whatever the polls show, it will be painted as bad for Labor Let’s not be fazed by what we expect to happen. Do read Waleed’s piece; it is one of his best.

Casablanca

2/04/2013Says bushfirebill @ http://pbxmastragics.com/2013/04/01/jaccuse-an-open-letter-to-the-fourth-estate/ [quote]Essential is a shocker: 56-44 and Labor/Gillard losing just about every comparison point with Coalition/Abbott. [/quote] There’s no sugar-coating it. It’s terrible for Labor. April 2, 2013 at 2:11 pm http://essentialvision.com.au/documents/essential_report_130402.pdf

jane

2/04/2013Ad astra, I didn't watch the Sales "interview" with the PM, but it sounds more like an interrogation of a suspect the interrogator has already tried and convicted. I'm surprised the PM wasn't hooked up to electrodes so Sales could torture the desired response. If it was supposed to be an interview, it seems that Sales should go back to "How to conduct an Interview" school as it would now be apparent that she is not an interviewer's bootlace. She should be tied to a chair watching such greats as Michael Parkinson, David Frost and Red Kerry plying their craft and then subject to a critique of her interview of the PM by those interviewers still alive. Their judgement would be harsh, imo. An interview should be conducted with respect for the guest. Constantly interrupting and talking over the top of the guest shows not just disrespect, but a complete lack of interest in either the guest or what s/he has to say. It also signals to the audience that the interviewer thinks it's all about them, which prompts one to ask why bother inviting a guest to "participate" in your self absorbtion? Any good interviewer will listen to a guest's response to their question without interjecting their views or rudely talking over the top of the guest. When the guest has finished speaking the interviewer generally moves onto the next question or might ask for more elaboration on a point raised. If they feel the question has not been answered, they point it out and politely ask for it to be answered. Frankly, all that Sales seems to have achieved from what I have read, is to confirm her complete lack of manners or ability. If she thinks that interview should be proudly produced as evidence of her skill, she will be sadly disappointed, it seems.

Casablanca

2/04/2013From yesterday @ April 1. 2013 03:21 PM [i]I have the feeling that many may have missed these links that I posted yesterday. [/i] Parody, as we know, can be devastatingly funny in a realistic way. These two parodies would be funny if they weren’t so devastatingly incisive. [b]Tony Abbott finds out China is implementing a carbon tax. [/b] LNP Campaign Headquarters - Operation 'Carbongeddon' 24 Feb 2013. Despite Greg Hunt telling him otherwise Tony Abbott finds out China is implementing a carbon tax. Greg Hunt: I can guarantee that China will not be imposing a nationwide electricity, energy and gas tax. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BDmxmXDCMAAMZO5.png [i]'Despite some setbacks most of western Sydney still believe the carbon price is hurting the economy'.[/i] [i]'I should have taken his [Hunt's] thesis and shoved it where the sun don't shine'.[/i] [i]‘It’s OK Julie, you’ll still be deputy under the next leader’[/i] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSkGlEmrEIE *** [b]Tony Abbott finds out Australia's 'AAA' credit rating has been reaffirmed. [/b] LNP Campaign Headquarters - Operation 'Debt Deception' 29 Mar 2013 Tony Abbott is shocked to find out that Australia's 'AAA' credit rating has been reaffirmed by Fitch credit rating agency. Poor old Joe Hockey is in trouble!!! [i]'Hockey is such an idiot'...'The goon has trouble counting his calories'![/i] [i]'Our negativity has convinced many that public debt is out of control'[/i] [i]'It’s OK Peta. You’re safe. Remember the dirt file you have on him’[/i] [i]'If the voters find out we are finished'.[/i] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4tRk1YXdo4 Casablanca

jaycee

2/04/2013thank you AA. for your kind words re my post...as for Sales..I believe Mr. Uhlmann is writing the script..you can tell by the selective use of certain adjectives that he favours...I have always wondered why Michael brissenden, a much more skilled journalist and better "front-man" than Uhlmann could ever be, did not step into the slot vacated by Kerry O'B. Further on the subject..I wonder how long it will take for Ms Brodtman to realise her political career is being white-anted by her partner's white-anting of the govt'...after all, how could she expect a ministry whit all that sensitive information being anywhere NEAR the Toolman's hungry eyes?

Sir Ian Crisp

2/04/2013[quote][b]"Her opening remark begs the question: ..." I really wish that people would learn to use this statement correctly. To beg the question is to either, make an assertion that is unproven which smothers the issue which should be discussed. Or, a kind of circular logic where the conclusion of a statement is just a restatement of the premise. For example: "Marijuana doesn't cause harm because it is a plant which is natural." This statement begs the question because it makes the assumption that all natural items cannot cause harm. Example 2: "She is not that pretty because she is ugly." This statement begs the question because the conclusion is just restating the premise without offering any proof that she is not pretty. What you have done in the third paragraph is to RAISE a number of questions rather than to BEG a question. Winston Smith [/b][/quote] Yes Winston Smith, quite so. To beg the question is to take for granted or assume the truth of the very thing being questioned. An example would be...”Shopping now for a dress to wear to the ceremony is really begging the question – she has not been invited yet”. Parenthetically, ‘begged off’ is to make an excuse for not being able to keep a promise or to avoid or cancel some event that one has previously arranged with someone. An example of begged off is...“Even Stephen, usually Mr. Helpful, had begged off because of a stack of term papers.” Carry on and do come again.

Algernon

2/04/20137:30 hasn't been the same since Kerry left. Sales often looks likes she on L plates in her interviews but occasionally pulls a good one out of the box. The interview where she destroyed Abbott was a joy to watch. His minders haven't let him out of their sights since. Interviews are stage managed and there are no questions. Let him speak for more than a minute and his feet are doing a quickstep in his mouth. The minders can't keep him in cotton wool forever and sooner or later he has to talk with out him. On the Sales interview, I thought Sales looked like and oaf. Don't know where she got into her mind that she was centre of attention or that her opinion was actually worth anything. The PM showed dignity in this interview. Sales little more than a clown. I wonder if we'll see the same substandard interviewing style when interviewing Liberals, or if Abbott for all his hot air has the guts to go onto the station and be interviewed again. Perhaps they could get Uhlmann to do the interview, then again perhaps not, appears to make a better security guard than he does a journalist.

Ad astra

2/04/2013jane, jaycee, Algernon Thank you all for your comments. I think we all have similar views about the Sales interview, but I was intrigued by the suggestion that Chris Uhlmann might have had some part in the scripting of the interview. We will likely never know, but it will be interesting to see who interviews Abbott when he is finally forced to front. I sense that there is fierce competition between Sales and Uhlmann, so my guess it will be Sales. If she has taken seriously the criticism of her interview of the PM she may want to demonstrate she can be as tough on Abbott, that is if she is permitted to be so. I too wonder what husband and wife, Chris Uhlmann and Gai Brodtmann, MP, talk about at home, politically speaking. I’m sure we all wish that Red Kerry was still in the [i]7.30[/i] chair.

TalkTurkey

2/04/2013Winston Smith and PatriciaWA OK well I guess I gotta join battle a bit. First, Winston, may I ask whether you have posted on TPS before? I don't remember you anyway. So the very first thing I saw of you was "'Her opening remark begs the question:' ..." I really wish that people would learn to use this statement correctly. To beg the question is to either, make an assertion that is unproven which smothers the issue which should be discussed. Or, a kind of circular logic where the conclusion of a statement is just a restatement of the premise." Remember, this was the first and only post I'd ever seen of you Winston. (I was able to *stump-jump* your split infinitive btw. But gee I wish people would learn to use infinitives correctly. Oh the pain.) Let me juxtapose your comment with this, from PatriciaWA: [This] brings me to my dear friend, Talk Turkey, who I think has been wasting our reading time with his [i]splitting of hairs and the begging of questions.[/i] If I might humbly suggest (no that's not true, I'll start again...) Let me [i]unabashedly make the point [/i]that the hair-splitting was not done by me Patricia. Or hadn't you actually read Winston's post? (That's how it seemed to another Swordster I rang to ask ...) Winston, on TPS we have long ago learnt to *stump-jump*" [ http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=275 ] little glitches in writing: spelling errors, syntactical crimes, typos, clumsy constructions and the like, and yes, [i]to go for the nub.[/i] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Let me digress for a moment. A couple of germane cases: First Case: Paul H said ( and btw Welcome Paul!) [i]My first post on your blog and I'd like to thank you for many interesting reads. And .... also to point out some erroneous phrasing? (sorry). .... woe to go. Should that not be go to whoa.[/i] [i]Or were you being clever I wonder? [/i] Now that was [i]nice[/i] - plainly sincere, and sort of apologetic for bringing up a point which was so trivial, but including a genuine question, one which did indeed reveal that Ad's quote was cleverer than I, and probably most of us had realised. I myself had noticed, by the way, "woe to go" and saw there were two (2) things different about it from the usual "go to whoa". I assumed wrongly that Ad had made 2 tiny errors. Normally I would not pull anyone up for that, I would *stump-jump* it. (Imagine *J*U*L*I*A* correcting Sales on the show?!) But Paul H's post was not cocky it was respectful and pleasant. I didn't realise though Ad that you [i]were[/i] quoting the order of words correctly, but yes, now you mention it, that is what she said, even if the spelling in her schlopping list was whoa not woe. But Paul had spotted something odd about it, and it turned out to be a careful quotation by Ad, even if the spelling of whoa was wrong. [(That's 3 things Ad, in less than 3 years. You spelt Damn Dam once, remember? And you said [i]it is me [/i]...[i] Ad astra are you sure you're really cut out for this writing caper?* [/i]... ) BTW Just in case anybody takes this seriously ... IMO Ad astra is all-up the BEST political writer I have ever known.] Second case: Yes, I played with "It is I/It is me" the other day only because I remembered the wording of the Sellers/Loren song Goodness Gracious Me! And I wasn't splitting hairs then either, I was curling them cutely! Even if no-one appreciated it. Back to the real issue! Here's a tighter definition of the idiom 'to beg the question': [i]to assume or to imply the truth of the very point raised in a question or statement [/i] Here's a funny sidelight: A year or more ago I myself objected to someone's use of "fulsomely" to mean much the same as "very fully". I said that wasn't its meaning at all, it means "cloying, excessive, disgusting by excess (of flattery, servility etc" (Oxford) - Completely different. Well! Half the sky fell on my head, with people coming out of the woodwork to support Humpty Dumpty's edict, [:i]'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.'[/i] Well of course you can argue that way if you like but it blunts the language. If fulsome is just a glitzier way of saying full, what short single word will take its place to make up? Words do change their meanings, yes indeed, but not if in changing they leave a gap like a missing molar. It's rather different with idioms, think about this one: (discussion from some search engine - lost the refce sorry) What does “[b]to coin a phrase”[/b] mean? [i]The meaning of “to coin a phrase” is changing[/i] and there’s a clear-cut need for some kind of disambiguation. The new meaning of the verb, supported by any number of news articles or blog entries, seems to be “to say, especially in a noteworthy fashion” and not the older “to create a unique expression; to say something for the first time ever; to neologize.” In my own writing, I think I’ll [b]disambiguate[/b] by using the verb “neologize” when necessary and by avoiding “to coin” altogether. [And I TT would suggest that in many cases it is an entirely meaningless addendum!] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now OK Winston you want to refine and focus the meaning of begging the question, and that's OK, you can tell yourself that you're completely correct if you want. It might even be a good thing for people all to use the term to mean the same thing : you might even devote your life to promoting the purification of English idiom, or perhaps defending it against pollution by sloppy use. A noble ideal! (or maybe doubleplusgood?) But what I'm pointing out is that out of all the many hundreds of threads Ad astra has written, the thousands of replies to comments and millions of words he writes, you have made one slightly arcane objection to his use of a somewhat turgid idiom. [i]First time you ever comment.[/i] Not [i]Gee Ad you write a great column ... You host a wonderful site ... Been reading you for years ..[/i]. Nope. First and only thing you have graced Ad site with: Pointing out a dubious fault, complete with gripe. Note that Ad himself doesn't take it thus. Well that's his belief. He is a very tolerant man. I'm not Ad though see, to coin a phrase. :) Not to put to fine a point on it, Winston, it seems to me that you have been offered the free use of a new Rolls Royce and, saying nought of its manifold splendours, have chosen to reprimand your chauffeur because he says Haitch instead of Aitch. My actual SS title btw is Oberleutnant Grammanazi, I am probably noted more for my acerbity and pedantry than anyone else on this site, but I find a lot more to write about that's positive. A lot more. Patricia I'd really like to know whether you [i]had[/i] read Winston's post when you replied to my reply to him. Because if you had, there's something wrong imo with your perception of the idiom *splitting hairs*, that you use it of me rather than WS. What I was doing was the reverse. And if not I'll consider your comment unsaid, because it is doesn't apply. I have a good memory for some things, you probably remember what I mean now too Patricia. You would know I do say Sorry when I believe I should, I've had occasion to do so here a couple of times, (and I refuse when I don't), but so far I don't think I have ever had occasion to apologise to you. And I still don't. I do hope this finds you well Dear Miss Pat but I can't say I feel too chuffed about your putting me into the same sentence, let alone grabbag, as two of the most despised characters hereabouts. I'm funny that way. *Apropos an old joke about a young priest ...

Ad astra

2/04/2013Casablanca What a hilarious set of links. The YouTube videos are a tonic. Look at them Folks and have a good belly laugh. Thank you for lightening my day.

Ad astra

2/04/2013Talk Turkey What can I say? To attempt a response to your latest outpouring would be folly; I'd be way out of my league.

Casablanca

3/04/2013TT Most of us have pet hates rather than a perfect knowledge of grammar and syntax. Typing proficiency, spelling, proof-reading, fact checking and judicious use of the spell-check also impact on the quality of our written offerings. One of my pet hates is the use of [i]'to'[/i] when [i]'too' [/i] is correct. Other errors which occur with monotonous frequency are [i]'your'[/i] instead of [i]'you're'[/i], [i]'there'[/i] for [i]'their' [/i]and [i]'its'[/i] for [i]'it's'[/i]. I bristle when people do not enunciate the [i]'l' [/i] in [i]'vulnerable'[/i] or write [i]'archtypical'[/i] and not [i]'archetypal'[/i]. I play safe and never say [i]'this begs the question'[/i] because the meaning is counter intuitive. I frequently use [i]'to coin a phrase'[/i] but only in a self-deprecating or a jocular sense. I agree with you about the temerity of Winston Smith coming out with all guns blazing to correct Ad's use of [i]'begs the question'[/i]. I'm shocked that I did not pick up the use of [i]gamut[/i]. It was so patently obvious that [i]'gambit'[/i] was meant that I did not notice the error. I'm just glad that English is my mother tongue because I would have found it devilishly difficult to take it on as a second language. BTW Murphy's law struck on the line after your emoticon. You wrote [i]'Not to put [b][u]to[/u][/b] fine a point on it, Winston,'[/i] Tut Tut. Patriciawa [i]'howlers'[/i] is a good word. I also agree with your remark that [i]There is so much wisdom and common sense being exchanged out there on many blog sites set up by people who have something to say but are not necessarily the best prose writers, stylists or grammarians.[/i] There is a lesson in what you say for those of us who are further along the perfectionist continuum.

TalkTurkey

3/04/2013That priest story I mentioned ... better tell it I spose... - Young Lad just 18 comes to head priest at a monastery, wants to become novice. Monseigneur: [i]You realize this is a silent order, the priests vow not to speak except for two words after each ten years you spend in service? [/i] YL Nods, he signs himself in for his novitiate. All goes well for ten years, he's the lowest in the order, pigs and milking is his lot. He works from 4AM to midnight, never a word speaketh he. Ten years up M summons him, [i]Well you've passed your initiate satisfactorily, you are now a monk, and you may speak two words if you wish.[/i] YL: (28 by now)[i]More food.[/i]. He is given half a boiled egg and 12 peas more in his daily ration, and life goes on as before. For ten years he hoes the fields, having been promoted you see, same hours, up at 4, bed at midnight. Not a single syllable passes his lips. At the end of the 10 years Monseigneur summons him M: [i]Well you've done all right, now is your chance to speak another two words. [/i]YL: (38 by now) [i]More sleep![/i] He is permitted to sleep in until 4.15 and to go to bed at 11.45. By now having grown in prestige and seniority he has risen to the task of mucking out the other monks' potties; never a sound as he goes about his task, even in the close contact with other monks his work entails. Ten years pass, Monseigneur summons him: [i]Well young fella, you have done well enough, have you thought about your allotted two words?[/i] YL (now 48): [i]More blankets![/i] Monseigneur stares at him a long moment; then, severely: [i]Young Man, ever since you came here you've done nothing but complain complain complain! Do you really think you are cut out for this monastic life? [/i]

TalkTurkey

3/04/2013Casablanca I wouldn't actually categorise WS's contribution as 'all guns blazing', I just think it was a somewhat ungracious if not downright churlish introduction to himself. I am indeed a pedant when it comes to [i]my own use [/i]of written English, having been the youngest in a family of English teachers to whom to carelessly split an infinitive or to end a sentence with a preposition were transgressions to be ashamed of. But I don't extend my personal hangup to pastry cooks or physicians, although politicians, it's their job and they should be as precise as they can be, even in speaking. I heard my local MP Don Dunstan split an infinitive once, I was shocked to the core of my being! Because with the possible exception of one who was even closer to me, he was the most precise speaker I ever heard. I never heard nor saw Colin Thiele, my mentor in English, make a single mistake. As for the to/too trap that I laid deliberately to see if anyone would notice and pick me up on it, or stump-jump it,... ...[i]That's not true![/i] LiarBird that I am, I cannot tell a lie. I die of shame. [i]The wrong 2![/i] To, too, two, 2, tutu too. I gotta try to get them straight in my head one day. Cripe's then theres apostrophy's ... and mispellings ... :) BTW Murphy's law struck on the line after your emoticon. You wrote 'Not to put to fine a point on it, Winston,' Tut Tut.

janice

3/04/2013Good morning all. Ad Astra, I wonder if Leigh Sales reads, or has read, any of the tonnes of material written about her messy, hateful, unprofessional and failed attempt at interviewing PM. Wouldn't it be good if we could "interview" her and subject her to the treatment she dishes out to our PM? I have been seething with anger for days at the way that small group of thickheaded cowardly Labor MPs are doing their best to scuttle Labor's chances to win the election. Simon Crean has obviously lost his marbles completely and 'elder statesman' or not, someone ought to lace his tea/coffee with a narcotic that will prevent him from opening his mouth. Btw I love your new pic, Ad astra.

lyn

3/04/2013[b]Today’s Links [/b] An Abbott in the Lodge –NEVER by johnlord2013, @MigloMT His gaffes are more than getting a word wrong, or slipping up on a date. Cumulatively, they demonstrate that Tony Abbott is not fit to be PM http://theaimn.com/2013/04/02/an-abbott-in-the-lodge-never/ The Poverty Of Class War Rhetoric by @beneltham In fact, no changes to superannuation have so far been announced. http://newmatilda.com/2013/04/02/poverty-class-war-rhetoric Scare Campaigns by David Griffiths sort of scare campaign the Federal Coalition and the Murdoch Press in particular are throwing at the Federal Labor Government because it might reduce tax concessions for some on superannuation http://www.australiasmassmedia.com/2013/04/02/scare-campaigns/ The coming federal election by Shaun Newman Whether you normally vote LNP, Labor or Green, this election is far too important to lose our current government; the reverberations would be felt for decades to come, as we hastened backward under the LNP lead by Tony Abbott. http://townsvilleblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/the-coming-federal-election/ Tony Abbott’s questions of character B@TheFinnigans is a friend from Webdiary days, and he’s been a serious supporter of my return to journalism for a while. y @Thefinnigans http://australiansforhonestpolitics.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/tony-abbotts-questions-of-character/ The RBA leaves cash rate at 3% by @GrogsGamut RBA paints a pretty good picture. Inflation steady, growth doing OK, wages steady http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/the-rba-leaves-cash-rate-at-3.html Why Jake’s impatient for the NBN By Jake Baldwin using University internet during the low traffic hours of early morning and late afternoon. It’s not a desirable solution but it will have to work until the NBN is fully rolled out. http://australiansforhonestpolitics.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/why-jakes-impatient-for-the-nbn/ Is it a sin to sell a Government Asset- by @EVERALDATLARGE The passion revived when John Howard announced that he would sell Telstra in three tranches. He succeeded in getting the hotly-disputed Bills through the Senate http://everaldcompton.com/2013/04/02/is-it-a-sin-to-sell-a-government-asset/ All The Right Friends by @madwixxy & showed evidence that shock jock Ray Hadley has been lying to his listeners and misleading the public in the press http://wixxyleaks.com/2013/04/02/all-the-right-friends/ Record child care services delivered in Australia by @MigloMT Media releases about the achievements of the Australian Government are ignored by the mainstream media http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/record-child-care-services-delivered-in-australia/ Family Assistance by @SalPiracha during the Easter break? If you read the papers, you probably learned that Tony Abbott's daughters love their father http://onlythedepthvaries.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/family-assistance.html How the 457 scheme is changing Australian immigration by @culturaldiversi policy tweaking may actually herald real improvements, especially if augmented with a better human rights regime for 457 holders. http://theconversation.com/how-the-457-scheme-is-changing-australian-immigration-13000 Ashbygate loose ends by @vogrady2132 Uhlmann has been relentless on 7.30 in talking up stories about the Labor leadership. It is interesting to note that he, in fact is married to a Federal Labor MP, Gai Brodtmann, who allegedly was part of the Rudd faction. http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/ashbygate-loose-ends/ Political & Media Reference Cheat Sheet by @YaThinkN If you have some other suggestions, please, feel free to let me know via the form below http://yathink.com.au/cheat-sheet Downer and Costello's murky world of political lobbying by John Warhurst There is certainly room for conflicts of interest when politician lobbyists work both inside and outside government http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=35699 ‘Superceded’: Hadley joins Jones in wireless NBN attack by @renailemay Hadley and his colleague Jones are just flat out wrong. The NBN’s fibre will not be made obsolete for the forseeable future http://delimiter.com.au/2013/04/02/superceded-hadley-joins-jones-in-wireless-nbn-attack/ Well Its Been A ‘Bubble And Squeak’ Week I Guess! by @knarfnamduh mainly leftovers, after the mainstream media’s mountain turned into a rather paltry molehill http://deknarf.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/graphical-manipulations-28-well-its-been-a-bubble-and-squeak-week-i-guess/ Two pillars, a lot of trees and not much else by @btckr http://thesnipertakesaim.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/two-pillars-a-lot-of-trees-and-not-much-else/ Housing revival making investors wealthier: RBA by Larry Schlesinger "Households’ net wealth has been rising recently due to the recovery in housing and other asset markets http://www.smartcompany.com.au/property/054870-housing-revival-making-investors-wealthier-rba.html Today’s Front Pages Australia Newspaper Front Pages for 3 April 2013 http://www.frontpagestoday.co.uk/index.cfm?PaperCountry=Australia

Ad astra

3/04/2013LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Ad astra

3/04/2013janice Thank you for your comment. We would all enjoy interviewing Leigh Sales about that infamous interview. I wonder how she would respond to rudeness and interruptions? Like you, I cannot work out what’s motivating Simon Crean. I could understand his motivations right up to his request for a leadership spill to clear the air, but he lost me when he went on to say he would support Kevin Rudd and would nominate to be Deputy PM under him. From then, his behaviour has been similarly inexplicable. By going public on the superannuation issue instead of confining his views to caucus, a process he has advocated and followed most of his political life, he must know that he is damaging Labor by giving the impression of division. Having watched him for many years, his recent behaviour looks bizarre, and calls into question his judgement, which for so long has been so sensible and sober.

Tom of Melboune

3/04/2013[i]”his behaviour has been similarly inexplicable” [/i] Maybe he doesn’t want the ALP to become a rump following the election.

Bob

3/04/2013Crean keeps saying - the people want to know with certainty what will the gov be doing with superannuation, and retrospectively. That is to say, some people, probably including Crean himself want to know whether they should get together a big lump sum right now, before the budget announcement in May, and dump the whole lot into their super account before the new tax rates apply. He wants to know whether he should act right now before May, and put a big load into his super account to dodge the oncoming concession rate rise.

janice

3/04/2013Ad astra, Like you, I have watched Simon Crean throughout his political career and his recent behaviour is bizarre, so much so that I question whether his brain is completely healthy. I've emailed him several times without response which is also disappointing because in the past he has always responded and given an explanation.

bob macalba

3/04/2013Ad, not much more i can add to whats already been said by others, except 'i want our ABC back', I think Sales might have let her less than hard won Walkley go to her head, probably picturing her mantlepiece in perfect harmonic balance with another Walkley on the other side of Uhlmanns book helping to keep it upright, ps. very distinguished gravatar..nice one Lyn...as always big big thanks, i dont know how you manage but it makes it so much easier having all that honest info on hand anybody wanting to pick on any mistakes in my grammar go hard, unless we're being tested sometime then stiff shit, if you cant read a piece cause its missing a letter or an apostrophe, then i dont think your paying too much attention to the piece anyway, TT.....'stump jump' i like that description-instruction, it seems straight forward enough, ps..i read your comment[excellent] i knew you wouldnt be able to let it go..big cheers lots of new folk tuning in...yippee the more the merrier cheers all

TalkTurkey

3/04/2013Watch the beginning of the royal commission into child abuse live here http://bit.ly/14DabOI Recaptcha: onlinedc Jor

LadyInRed

3/04/2013Have to share this. I can hardly belief the truth being reported? What's going on. Need to take a bex. Do watch. http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/video/-/watch/1728343c-459e-3792-86ba-1404cc2e72fa/australias-world-champion-economy/#.UVt0zQmU_a8.twitter

Ad astra

3/04/2013Bob Like janice, I can’t fathom why Simon Crean is behaving as he is. I heard the other day that parliamentarians are catered for by a Federal superannuation system that is separate from the ones you and I enjoy. I don’t know how it works for them, but what you say might be right. bob macalba Thank you for your comment. I suspect you are right. Leigh Sales may have thought her interview with the PM was the conduit to another Walkley, but the subject this time was very different from the one for which she won that award. Abbott is devious, evasive, a habitual liar, and engages in disingenuous political talk every day. In contrast, although the ‘liar’ label has been applied repeatedly to the PM, on any count she is more straightforward and honest that Abbott ever was, or ever will be. Abbott was caught out on his disingenuous take on BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam statement that not once mentioned the carbon tax as a reason for the project’s deferment, a statement he had to admit later in the interview that he had not read (which he subsequently contradicted). Sales [b]had[/b] read the report, and was therefore able to begin with a question, politely put, that challenged Abbott’s truthfulness: [i]“You were pretty loose with the truth today, weren't you, when you said that BHP's decision to put the Olympic Dam project on hold was partly due to the Federal Government's new taxes?”[/i] Abbott lost it then; Sales got on top and stayed there throughout. Sales interview with the PM was quite different. If began with an all-out assault on the Government: [i]”After recent events, aren't Australians well within their rights to conclude that the Gillard Government is a dysfunctional mess that deserves to be consigned to opposition as soon as possible?”[/i]. The PM’s moderate response seemed to frustrate Sales, so she fired again, and again, hoping maybe for the PM to wobble and go on the defensive, or resort to weasel words. She didn’t. It was Sales who lost it, and never recovered as the PM played a straight bat to her wildly swinging deliveries. If Sales is honest with herself, and is able to put aside the accolades that the likes of Chris Uhlmann would likely have heaped upon her, she will now know that her interview was for her a failure, showing her up in a poor light as it did, and the PM came out of it unscathed and strengthened.

Ad astra

3/04/2013LadyinRed I saw that interview on Seven Sunrise on Sunday. I too was gobsmacked to hear someone of Pascoe’s calibre making such a comprehensive acknowledgement of the Government’s economic success. The Fourth Estate has an army of economists that thrash the Government every day. It was gratifying seeing Michael Pascoe joining Ross Gittins and Peter Martin telling it the way it actually is.

Ad astra

3/04/2013Hi Lyn Congratulations – I see that you now have over three thousand followers on Twitter. What a marvellous network that is to spread the word. I’m just now starting on your links – what a feast!

LadyInRed

3/04/2013Well Ad I am rewarding good behaviour, and can I suggest everyone here does as well. Post it on twitter or put it on your facebook page. The more we reward the media in this way the more likely they are to keep it up. Everytime someone watches it they have to watch a little 15 second commercial.....and there is money in advertising!

Ad astra

3/04/2013Hi Lyn The AIMN piece listing Abbott’s multiple ‘missteps and poor judgement’, if I may borrow words from Niki Savva, is a revelation. Although we remember most of these incidents, putting them together in one place gives a damning picture of this appalling man who wants to be this nation’s leader. I have bookmarked the piece. Likewise the piece on [i]Australians for Honest Politics[/i] is a catalogue of Abbott bloopers. Also bookmarked. We should be thankful for those who catalogue Abbott’s misdemeanors. Ben Eltham’s piece on class warfare is very good. Essential reading. Greg Jericho’s graphs are worth a look. He is very good at graphic representations. Jake can see that the NBN is essential, even if Abbott can’t. IA has sound documentation of the Ashby affair – lots of loose ends that need tying up. [i]Smart Company[/i] has some revealing graphs that shows how well we Aussies are doing with regard to financial and non financial assets and net worth, almost back to pre-GFC days. How come there’s so much whingeing. We know the answer. Thanks Lyn for yet another informative collection.

Patriciawa

3/04/2013Dear, dear Talk Turkey! Please forgive me. Had I read the whole thread more carefully before rushing to impatient judgement I would have realised that you were indeed defending Ad Astra from WS's splitting of hairs in that exchange. And to include you in the same sentence as those pariah pests was unforgivable, even if I did try to modify the comment, knowing how that could hurt. I apologize unreservedly. I have no excuse really, apart from pleading time and family pressures at a time when I'm struggling to get back into writing after my health set backs. I wish I had a tenth of your energy and drive (plus talent!) to get me moving again.

Ad astra

3/04/2013Folks You might be interested in this from GetUp on superannuation: http://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/superannuation/super-for-some/fairer-super?t=dXNlcmlkPTI5NDg5MyxlbWFpbGlkPTE0ODc=

Jason

3/04/2013WTF? Summary: Are you a western Sydney family OR a miner/partner of a coal miner that is struggling financially? Details: A major newspaper is looking to interview and photograph the following: 1. A family from western Sydney on a joint income of $250,000 a year or more that struggles with the rising cost of living? 2. A coal miner (from anywhere in NSW, but preferably the Hunter region) who earns between $100,000-$140,000 a year but would not call themselves "wealthy"? Please get in touch via email. Would need to be available for interview and photograph by end of Friday. Thank you. Deadline: 3 April 2013 @ 5pm Eastern Daylight Saving Time (Successful sources will not be paid.) http://www.sourcebottle.com/query.asp?iid=36&qid=22034

Casablanca

3/04/2013LiR I have just watched the video of Michael Pascoe at http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/video/-/watch/1728343c-459e-3792-86ba-1404cc2e72fa/australias-world-champion-economy/#.UVt0zQmU_a8.twitter I kept waiting for the usual 'but...the government is hopeless, bad and dysfunctional'. It did not happen and it is messing with my head. It's so long since we have been feed with the truth that I will have to watch it again. I had no idea who the Sunrise hosts were but I now know that they are Andrew O'Keefe http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/meet-the-team/article/-/6583423/andrew-okeefe-weekend-sunrise-co-host/ and Samantha Armytage http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/meet-the-team/article/-/6583434/samantha-armytage-weekend-sunrise-co-host/ Turns out that Andrew has an interesting pedigree. He is the nephew of rock star Johnny O'Keefe and the son of former Supreme Court Judge, Barry O'Keefe. Justice O'Keefe currently heads the Truth, Justice and Healing Commission to advise Catholic bishops and run its dealings with the Royal Commission on child sex abuse. Andrew first studied law before turning to entertainment. In addition to disseminating the interview via facebook and twitter the hosts can be contacted via the above meet-the-team links. Michael Pascoe's Facebook is at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-Pascoe/141421662551454

lyn

3/04/2013Hi Ad, 11:46 am & 2.11pm , 2 posts for me thankyou so much. “ Tankchoo” they say. The bloggers are working overtime & aren’t they just VIP’s, including you Ad Astra as Leader . We have a continual, constant flow of important facts and information. “Today’s Links” achieved a recommendation on Yathink, which of course is good for our TPS. Yes Ad the Twitters love their information. How nice of you to notice my followers meter. There is more & more everyday, quite a few MP’s, Journo’s & influential people, who have 20 and 30 thousand followers, this is what we want. I am receiving over 100 re-tweets a day & 60 or so mentions, which means our message is travelling far and wide. For Bob Macalba ♥ Wonder what Abbott or Hockey will say about these Trade Deficit figures :- [quote]Trade deficit shrinks as exports recover The dollar rose after the figures were released but has since settled; at 2:45pm (AEDT) it was buying 104.5 US cents.[/quote] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-03/trade-deficit-shrinks-in-february/4607796?WT.mc_id=newsmail [quote] Stevens' term as RBA governor extended[/quote] http://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2013/4/3/reserve-bank-australia/stevens-term-rba-governor-extended [quote]Tony Abbott and Colin Barnett talking on GST changes[/quote] http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/tony-abbott-and-colin-barnett-talking-on-gst-changes/story-e6frg6n6-1226611768352 [quote] Tony Abbott forecasts job loss for Tim Flannery if the Coalition wins power at Federal Election[/quote] TONY Abbott has signalled he will sack Climate Commissioner Tim Flannery if he is elected as prime minister in September. Mr Abbott told 2GB’s Ray Hadley when asked about Professor Flannery. http://www.news.com.au/national-news/tony-abbott-forecasts-job-loss-for-tim-flannery-if-the-coalition-wins-power-at-federal-election/story-fncynjr2-1226611513620#ixzz2PNK6fzuS :):):)

Casablanca

3/04/2013A Muslim, a Buddhist, a Catholic and two atheists walked into the ABC Irfan Yusuf April 02, 2013 http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=35770

TalkTurkey

3/04/2013Algy said [i]The interview where she destroyed Abbott was a joy to watch. His minders haven't let him out of their [b]sights[/b] since.[/i] - So they're gunning for him too? :) Ginger: [i]I've got 'im Skipper! Stand by ...[/i] [i][b]TA!*TA!*TA!*TA!*TA!*TA TA!*TA!*TA![/b][/i].... ... Dam my gun's jammed! ... Get im Algy! ... and so on. Bob Mac said [i]TT I knew you wouldn't be able to let it go[/i] ... Ummm you got me. Patricia Glad we got that straight. 's'orright. I've been a tad peremptory too in my time. Winston If you are genuinely goodwilled you are entirely welcome here, never believe it's not so. So this is for you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v88GDLECL0s Ad Thank you for this magnificent open forum and for letting me rant. Because of you we have a fine standard here, which never wavers and which inspires other bloggers everywhere. We are at the core of the synchronous changes in political awareness, and it is due to your own leading role and to Lyn's Links of @lynlinking that this is so. Writing and reading here are joys. Lyn Congratulations on EARNING 3000+ Followers! ALL YOUR OWN WORK! [b]I predict[/b] that one day you will get to meet Prime Minister Gillard in person in her second full term in office, and she will shake your hand in full knowledge of who you are and in deep respect and gratitude for what you have done for our great Cause. Oh there I go again. Sook. :$

lyn

3/04/2013Hi Ad and Everybody I Wonder what happens about this finding: Tweeples comment :- Think Big ‏ Now that The Press Council found the @dailytelegraph lied what happens? Nothing; a tiny mea culpa & they fabricate their next story Judge 'n Jury rocket ‏ The Daily TelaLie has been "slapped down" with a lettuce leaf by the Press Council. What a joke Judythe Riley ‏ dailytelegraph Proof that the Australian Press Council have failed in self regulation [quote] Press Council adjudication by: The Daily Telegraph From: The Daily Telegraph April 03, 2013 12:00AM The Australian Press Council has released the following adjudication. [/quote] :):)

lyn

3/04/2013Oh dear I forgot the link. Here it is: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/ruling-on-g20-report/story-e6frg6n6-1226610862989

Ad astra

3/04/2013Hi Lyn Thank you for your comments and the link to the Press Council adjudication, which although indicating that the complaint about the [i]Daily Telegraph[/i] columnist was upheld, mentioned no penalty, such as a withdrawal or an apology. The Council is, as it is so often described, a ‘toothless tiger’. That is what the Government media bills were intended to rectify. Talk Turkey You do inspire us. I’m mystified by ‘Algy’? Who is he/she? Jason What a curious ad. SourceBottle looks like a legitimate sourcing organization – a smart innovation.

KHTAGH

3/04/2013AA I don't think I could add anything that has not been canvased here about the Sales interview with PM, other than I nearly put something through the telly, I was disgusted with her angry interrogation as it has been called here already. Lyn I have not thanked you lately for your links so I do now.♥♦♥ I have been posting TPS to both FB & Twitter this yr religiously so I hope this has help disseminate your wise words Ad Astra, I also like your new Gravatar. We will win, WE MUST WIN! or we can all wave as we see the country disappear down the toilet. 29 days until the sky does fall in for the Mad Monk, May 2 Ashby appeal denial date. Fingers crossed. PS I got my first power bill after the PV panels were installed, $50 total! down from $500 approx.

TalkTurkey

3/04/2013Ad Algy is Algernon, Algernon is Squadron-Leader Algernon Lacey, Cousin of Biggles, whose surname is Bigglesworth but I never got to know him in person. Algy's squadron was equipped with Hurricanes. Biggles got the far-superior Spifires of course. Beware of this Algy BTW. Mi5 got our eye on him. On Twitter he is Biggles himself! It seems he is a double agent but both of him is on the side of the Allies!

lyn

3/04/2013Hi Khtagh, Love my hearts thankyou and a big thankyou for your support ♥ I am so pleased about your electricity account, that is fabulous, bet you were excited to see the amount. We haven't paid any electricity or 2 years thankyou to our solar panels, I remember the first one had credits just delightful. Keep posting TPS that is good of you Khtagh and it works. :):):):):):)

LadyInRed

3/04/2013Thanks for the info Casablanca. I was just as gobsmacked. I too kept expecting the gong....but no it didn't happen. I do hope Sales and Uhlmann get whiff of it. I might tweet it to them as an extra special. Perhaps a seeing the truth might help them to realise where they are going wrong in their reporting? One can only hope.

Algernon

3/04/2013Now now TalkTurkey, I could be Algernon Cadwallader or Algernon Swinburne, Algernon Blackwood or Moncrieff. I might even come from Algernon, Custer County Nebraska. How about Algernon Sidney, who Sydney was named after. On the other hand Algernon might just be my first name. I use Algernon Lacey's gravatar, I just think its a fine portrait.

KHTAGH

3/04/2013Lyn Many thanks, I have been here, just lurking, we have been subjected to a 2 yr political propaganda campaign about power bills, I can't see any reason not to do it in reverse. I was on 'pay as you go' here for many yrs (around $50/week max tariff 36c/Kwh)so it is a bit hard to give a comparison other than to say that in 10 weeks I would have paid $500 so yes it is a big saving. I had generated smack on 2 Meg (only 10 weeks) when they came to read the meter.(feed back tariff 27.7). I have not had a full summer plus we did have a lot of cloud this summer, (funny how you notice that when you have them fitted), so I'll be interested to see how it all goes in winter, imagine if 50% of houses had them or even better 100%. I have not started to trim my usage either, still have a big(1000ltr)tropical fish tank running soon to go to cold. So I'm sure I'll reach that lovely credit status by next summer. Any way in closing I'd just like to say, would someone put a bloody big piece of gaffa tape across Crean's mouth. FFS.

KHTAGH

3/04/2013Oh by the way LadyinRed, 'big wink' I like the new pic.

Ad astra

3/04/2013KHTAGH Thank you for your comment. I’m glad you didn’t wreck your telly. You’ll need it for when Leigh savages Tony! Talk Turkey Now I know! Thank you. I'm off to watch ABC TV now.

jane

3/04/2013Petition signed, Ad astra. Lyn @4.41pm, thanks for those links. What they show is that Liealot is now so filled with hubris, he's starting to give the government a some clubs to beat him over the head. The Press Council has again been exposed as a toothless tiger and a farce. This is an industry both incapable of and unwilling to self regulate. That the Press Council found that the article was a fabrication and chose to do nothing clearly shows that we desperately need an independent regulator, armed with fangs that would put a T-rex to shame.

jane

3/04/2013LIR, @11.29am, I've just taken a whole packet of bex after watching that video!!! I was pleasantly surprised that Michael Pascoe pointed the finger at the msm for lying about the economy and ditto that both hosts were able to succinctly expose the furphy that we're going to hell in a hand basket. Jason I wonder if they'll trot out a family of "battlers" on $250k whining about how hard it is to pay the grocery bill with a measly $4,800/week?

lyn

3/04/2013Hi Talk Turkey, Thankyou for your encouragement, you are always so very supportive. Those followers do take some earning, not easy really. I am very pleased with your prediction, how nice would that be to meet PM Julia, I would curtsey. Hi Jane:):)

Casablanca

3/04/2013POSITIONS VACANT Dr Andrew Leigh MP 2 April 2013, 2:45 pm Having recently been appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, I’m looking to hire three staff members to work in my Parliament House office. I’m particularly looking for: * an understanding of government legislation processes (ideally gleaned through time working in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet); and/or * economic nous (experience working on a budget in the Commonwealth Treasury would be ideal) Dry wit, a modicum of wisdom, a yen for hard work, and and an ability to pen sparkling prose to a tight deadline are all desirable qualities. If you’re interested, please send a CV and covering email to andrew.leigh.mp asperand aph.gov.au. I’ll be moving fairly quickly – so the earlier, the better.

Casablanca

4/04/2013Lyn, I just happened on the article by Dragonista which was posted over the Easter break while you were taking a well earned break. The other two articles were discovered via the Dragonista piece and published in the Sunday Tele, a place I would normally avoid like the plague. The Linda Silmalis and Samantha Maiden piece is probably the most believable account of the recent leadership coup among the many that I have read. Highly recommended. [b]INSIDE LABOR'S LEADERSHIP MELTDOWN[/b] Linda Silmalis and Samantha Maiden The Sunday Telegraph March 24, 2013 [i]"UNDERSTAND the thunderbolt that occurred,'' Kevin Rudd says of the moment Simon Crean went on national television to demand the Prime Minister call a leadership spill. It was about 1pm, Thursday, March 21, the moment Rudd insists that Crean "spontaneously combusted".[/i] http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/a-bitter-spill-to-swallow/story-e6freuy9-1226604131064 [b] PATSYS, PLAYERS AND THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIA’S POLITICAL MEDIA[/b] March 30, 2013 • by Drag0nista • in Media [i]The most significant thing that emerged from the mea culpas and post mortems that littered the coup-that-wasn’t battlefield was the notion that journalists are willing to be made patsys. [/i] http://ausvotes2013.com/2013/03/30/patsys-players-and-the-future-of-australias-political-media/ [b]CLAIRE HARVEY: ATTACKS ARE JUST CHEAP SHOTS BY COWARDS[/b] Claire Harvey The Sunday Telegraph March 24, 2013 [i]JULIA Gillard, in the midst of reaping a whirlwind she never should have created, is a mightily impressive woman. To walk into question time on Thursday, knowing her enemies were all around, was an act of courage in itself. To hold it together, ordering Tony Abbott to "take your best shot", was a feat I could never have attempted. (I'd have been sniffling in the disabled toilet, hoping nobody found me.) I guess at that moment, Abbott was the least of Gillard's problems.[/i] http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/claire-harvey-attacks-just-cheap-shots-by-cowards/story-e6frezz0-1226604132372

Casablanca

4/04/2013Jane, Jason & others RE AUSTRALIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOMES & THE SUPERANNUATION DEBATE Here is an excellent article on Gross & Equivalised Household incomes with a terrific interactive calculator and tables to compare your household with others. (Source: Tweet by Grog) http://www.martincjones.com/posts/2013/3/28/equivalised-income-how-do-you-compare-to-other-australians.html Equivalised disposable income is a measure used by the OECD & the ABS and is defined as follows: The equivalised disposable income is the total income of a household, after tax and other deductions, that is available for spending or saving, divided by the number of household members converted into equalised adults; household members are equalised or made equivalent by weighting each according to their age, using the so-called modified OECD equivalence scale. The equivalised disposable income is calculated in three steps: • all monetary incomes received from any source by each member of a household are added up; these include income from work, investment and social benefits, plus any other household income; taxes and social contributions that have been paid, are deducted from this sum; • in order to reflect differences in a household's size and composition, the total (net) household income is divided by the number of 'equivalent adults’, using a standard(equivalence) scale: the modified OECD scale; this scale gives a weight to all members of the household (and then adds these up to arrive at the equivalised household size): • 1.0 to the first adult; • 0.5 to the second and each subsequent person aged 14 and over; • 0.3 to each child aged under 14. • finally, the resulting figure is called the equivalised disposable income and is attributed equally to each member of the household. For poverty indicators, the equivalised disposable income is calculated from the total disposable income of each household divided by the equivalised household size. The income reference period is a fixed 12-month period (such as the previous calendar or tax year) for all countries except UK for which the income reference period is the current year and Ireland (IE) for which the survey is continuous and income is collected for the last twelve months. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Glossary:Equivalised_disposable_income See also: [b]6523.0 - Household Income and Income Distribution, Australia, 2009-10[/b] Latest ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 30/08/2011 Equivalised disposable income is covered in Paras 26 & 27. http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/6523.0Explanatory%20Notes12009-10?OpenDocument Appendix 3 pp63-66 provides additional information on how Equivalised income is derived. http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/DBE855896D8CA36DCA2578FB0018533C/$File/65230_2009-10.pdf [b]SUPER QUESTION: HOW FAR DO YOU CUT?[/b] Where wealth resides [i]Percentage of households in electorate with gross weekly income of more than $3000[/i] http://resources.news.com.au/files/2013/02/07/1226573/029410-130208-super.pdf [b]HOUSING REVIVAL MAKING INVESTORS WEALTHIER: RBA[/b] Larry Schlesinger. Tuesday, 02 April 2013 09:33 [i]"Households’ net wealth has been rising recently due to the recovery in housing and other asset markets as well as continued higher saving and borrowing restraint," says the RBA in the March paper.[/i] http://www.smartcompany.com.au/property/054870-housing-revival-making-investors-wealthier-rba.html

lyn

4/04/2013[b]Today’s Links [/b] Murdoch in Darwin and his plans for Australia by @ngungun no evidence that Rupert has met Tony Abbott in his Easter visit. There is one clue, however: Tony Abbott has appeared for interviews on Rupert’s pay TV channels, http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/australian-identity/australian-history/murdoch-in-darwin-and-his-plans-for-australia/ Rossleigh’s Guide to Writing a News Limited Story by rossleighbrisbane http://theaimn.com/2013/04/03/rossleighs-guide-to-writing-a-news-limited-story/ THE TWO TONYS by @NickFeik Coalition remains committed to reintroducing the 15 per cent contributions tax to the super funds of the 3.6 million Australians earning less than $37,000. http://www.themonthly.com.au/node/8911 Is Labor too big to fail? by @MarkBahnisch Tony Abbott will face the contradictions of government, if he is elected – it will be impossible to govern from a populist position. Much as he might try to depress expectations, the rage and undirected emotion he channels will resurface. http://larvatusprodeo.net/archives/2013/04/is-labor-too-big-to-fail-i/ Let’s talk about superannuation by Brian I haven’t seen one decent comprehensive article addressing the matter and I certainly am not an expert, but let’s see what we can gather. http://larvatusprodeo.net/archives/2013/04/lets-talk-about-superannuation/ Apparently everyone lives on struggle street now by @GrogsGamut The data finds that the median annual gross household income in Australia is $68,640. http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4605414.html What is the Median Australian Income- by @GrogsGamut we should worry about a class warfare being raged against those earning $300,000 or more, and keep as silent as the grave about Tony Abbott’s policy to stop the super tax offset for those earning less than $36,000. http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/what-is-median-australian-income.html "on struggle street" by Gary Sauer-Thompson Thanks to Howard and Costello Australia allows the wealthy to park more and more of their earnings in super accounts at discounted marginal tax rates http://www.sauer-thompson.com/archives/opinion/2013/04/on-struggle-str.php#more Tony Abbott’s pearls of wisdom by @MigloMT Tony Abbott says some amazingly stupid things. His brain farts comments on gays, women and climate change are some examples. http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/tony-abbotts-pearls-of-wisdom/ A SUPER Change by @mrtiedt The only real reason to oppose the changes is if you think the people are taxed enough already http://ausvotes2013.com/2013/04/03/a-super-change/ False economies: Decoding efficiency by Christopher Stone This short paper translates the jargon used in economic debates about the efficiency of government. http://apo.org.au/research/false-economies-decoding-efficiency?topic=politics&tid=71 Will Abbott ‘axe the tax’? by Scott Higgins and Stephanie Venuti Coalition’s dire predictions of it being a ‘wrecking ball’ to the economy have not been realised. Compensation payments via tax breaks for low income families are also now in operation. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/4/3/carbon-markets/will-abbott-%E2%80%98axe-tax%E2%80%99#ixzz2PMzQ2ZYd A Letter To Simon Crean About ALP Future – Guest Post by @turnleft2013 if you can’t support the Gillard government have the dignity and good sense to remain quiet. http://turnleft2013.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/a-letter-to-simon-crean-about-alp-future-guest-post/ Of leaders and leadership by @btckr media generally has been busy attacking the Prime Minister personally and her government’s policies and stuff-ups it has not been giving its audience a decent appraisal of Mr Abbott http://thesnipertakesaim.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/of-leaders-and-leadership/ Why Is There A Law On Marriage? by @ellehardytweets We must immediately, symbolically, give all people the right to marry whoever they choose http://newmatilda.com/2013/04/03/why-there-law-marriage NBN Co uses federal law to access NSW power poles “We have been trying to reach a commercial agreement with Ausgrid for more than 18 months, and have foreshadowed the need to use powers under the Telecommunications Act to gain necessary access.” http://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2013/4/3/nbn-buzz/nbn-co-uses-federal-law-access-nsw-power-poles Today’s Front Pages Australia Newspaper Front Pages for 4 April 2013 http://www.frontpagestoday.co.uk/index.cfm?PaperCountry=Australia

Michael

4/04/2013On the same day we learn that Abbott's climate change denial approach will lead to any Coalition government under him taking an ostrich-like head in the sand policy to dealing with a mutating environment (there will be no government department tasked with responding to climate change), there's a hands deep in the pockets story about 'corporate Australia' reported here: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/cashed-up-liberals-target-kate-ellis-seat-of-adelaide-in-federal-election-hit-list/story-fnho52jj-1226612037920 with this quoted section: 'Some of Australia's best known corporate figures are spending up to $10,000 to have dinner with Mr Abbott and senior Coalition MPs. "We have cash coming in through the door like there's no tomorrow," a Liberal adviser said. A shadow minister said: "Everyone wants to be our friend."' Well, the cheeks-stuffed and gloating Liberal Party may know who their friends are, but I suggest Australians have a very good look at just who the enemies of every living Australian, and every Australian born from right this instant, who might expect to breathe clean air and live without 'natural' disasters amplified by "what's for dinner?" human cupidity, actually are. "Some of Australia's best known corporate figures..." might be a good place to start.

Ad astra

4/04/2013LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

bob macalba

4/04/2013Seriously, you have seen the light and have taken to signing yourself off as CRAPSTAIN, come and join us bro, come over to the good guys, be bohemian crapstain, come and share the love

TalkTurkey

4/04/2013 John Pratt‏@Jackthelad194755m “@Phil_B7: @SwingRequired @abcnews24 @abcthedrum The numbers tell the story... pic.twitter.com/NCoHqVhUja” #auspol media bias. #mediafail ! ? [i]HOW[/i] CAN WE [i]CHALLENGE[/i] THIS ?! It's OUTRAGEOUS! And it is multiplied by the differerential between the few palest pinkos (excepting Latham) and the rabid bloody Right! Just in case anyone wonders, it has my blood seething, much too much of the time. I suspect I am far from alone. But [i]what to do?[/i]

TalkTurkey

4/04/2013That link doesn't work but I have to go out, have a nice day everyone. A good day for nappy-washing wouldn't you say Bob?

Gravel

4/04/2013Lyn Just when I think I've caught up on your links whilst you were having a break over Easter, I am now drowning in them again. So far the ones I have read are up to your usual standard. Thank you. :-) Like most here, Simon Crean has deeply disappointed me. I remember a stoush he had for pre-selection of his own seat many years ago. I was backing him all the way, and pleased when he won against a concerted atack on then went on to retain his seat. Now I don't know what is happening with him. I'd like to think it is not just because Julia is a woman. I don't know what she may have done or said to get him off side. Did he maybe believe the msm when they were touting him as a third possibility as leader? Surely not.

Cyndicate

4/04/2013Long time ardent lurker, first comment. Not sure if anyone watched ABC1 7pm news last night, but their report on the government's proposed super changes featured a slew of misleading imagery...so, FWIW, I wrote a letter (cc media watch). "In your report on the government's proposed changes to superannuation the background footage was a series of random clips of people working in low or middle-income jobs: Asian women in a laundry, some men on an auto production line, a machinist using an angle grinder. These people do not represent the demographic that will be affected by the proposed changes and, as such, the images give viewers the wrong impression about the story. The super changes will only affect those on very high incomes and you showed only one image to indicate that: a brief clip of a red sports car careening down a dirt road, which ran at the tail end of the story. A balanced report requires that both words and images reflect the topic, and in this instance you failed to demonstrate impartiality." Will let you know if I get a reply.

Bacchus

4/04/2013[quote]That link doesn't work[/quote] https://twitter.com/Jackthelad1947/status/319560588420345857

Ad astra

4/04/2013Cyndicate I see that you have been a long-time lurker, so welcome to the [i]The Political Sword[/i] family of commenters. Do comment again. Please let us know if you get a reply to your email, which astutely draws attention to the misleading imagery used by the ABC in its superannuation news item. Such subliminal messaging can leave viewers with erroneous impressions, which unfortunately can stick. I wonder was it intentional, or just poor quality imaging. I hope you get a response. My email about the Sales interview has not been acknowledged except for an automated reply; so far nothing official has arrived. Thank you for commenting here.

Ad astra

4/04/2013Hi Lyn Once more your links are so informative. I was particularly taken by Greg Jericho’s articles: For those who were astonished when they heard Joel Fitzgibbon declare his constituent on $250,000 was ‘struggling’, Greg Jericho’s piece on [i]Unleashed[/i] is essential reading: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4605414.html Also take a look at his other piece: http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/what-is-median-australian-income.html to see another demonstration of the widening gap between the top earners and those at the bottom of the pile.

LadyInRed

4/04/2013Ad just about to read Greg Jericho's article. But I just want to say that it really doesn't matter what money you make if you have less money than you need coming in than you need you are struggling. I just wish that Fitzgibbon and everyone else would start being genuine abou this and head articles thus: "Constituents struggling due to over commitment, expect governments to help".

TalkTurkey

4/04/2013Cyndicate Welcome, I always wonder how many longtime lurkers there are, not of course that they aren't welcome to stay lurkers if they wish but it's always good to see such as your good self sucked into the vortex. Especially with comments like this of yours. And thanks Bacchus for fixing that link - Everyone, look at the pie-graphs in anger and dismay! Such graphs are what I meant by Daily Terror-Graphs, and they are very graphic. We need a whole gallery of them.

DMW

4/04/2013Hey LadyInRed, ummm, puts tongue in cheek. Are you 'trading under false pretences'? Your good looking new gravatar shows you in colours other than red. I feel short changed - not really just being picky :P

Catching up

4/04/2013Iam sick of hearing comments that infer that those who earn big income, work harder and longer hours, than those on low incomes. Sorry, that is not true. Ask anyone, that works in NGO , in such areas of disability care. The income earn does not reflect how hard or the number of hours worked. Most low income workers work long hours, and work bloody hard. They have to, to earn enough to survive.

jaycee

4/04/2013 At the National gallery of Victoria....: Of course, Tones is there with his”mate” Rupert and his other “mate”, Gina and they’re all there with their “make-em and break-em” crowd and Tones is smiling that strange cross between a grimace and a scowl and soaking it all up…he has to, because THEY are his ticket into The Lodge. BUT….but at the same time he must be thinking…: “The shit they pour onto Gillard they could just as easy pour onto me”….and he raises his glass toward a smiling Gina and Rupert and he smiles and grins and plots and plans…

jaycee

4/04/2013Further to my post above...As even contempory history has shown, those who accompany the great leader into the palace do not necessarily accompany him out! Those barrackers for a LNP. victory would do well do observe Tabbott's relationship with that person who would corrupt any nation he has large media holdings in. With so many "players" seeking power in what they see as a "LNP. victory" there will come a time when...as was advised to Caesar Augustus when he inquired as to what he should do with Julius' son w/ Cleopatra..:"Two Caesars may be one too many..." Tony is already plotting...mark my words!

jaycee

4/04/2013Further to my post above...As even contempory history has shown, those who accompany the great leader into the palace do not necessarily accompany him out! Those barrackers for a LNP. victory would do well do observe Tabbott's relationship with that person who would corrupt any nation he has large media holdings in. With so many "players" seeking power in what they see as a "LNP. victory" there will come a time when...as was advised to Caesar Augustus when he inquired as to what he should do with Julius' son w/ Cleopatra..:"Two Caesars may be one too many..." Tony is already plotting...mark my words!

TalkTurkey

4/04/2013On Fronsay: Oo ay toolermond sir swah?

jaycee

4/04/2013There’s another player at this dinner at the NGV. That is the Catholic Church via Pell. Now why would HE be there? Let me guess..Tony gets into The Lodge…George gets into The Lodge. Now THAT is power! George is there to “show support”for not only “his boy”, but for the very serious power that he represents. Does Rupert and Gina have an inkling of what they are mixing with? The Catholic Church are one serious player when it comes to power. Would they want to share it with such amateurs as R & G enterprises? Can Tony keep such a bag of cats in order?…I forsee chaos and disorder, followed by some serious “culling”.

jane

5/04/2013Hi Lyn. Waves. :D Have just finished reading your links and as usual you have done a brilliant job. I was gobsmacked at some of the comments on Greg Jericho's piece on the Drum. It's astonishing that people on a high income think they're entitled to the dole. The questions I have for them are: Are you able to meet your commitments? Are you able to put food on the table and feed, clothe and educate your children? Are you living beyond your means? And if so, why should the poor pick up the bill for your poor [b]choices[/b]? After all buying McMansions, expensive imported vehicles, boats, holiday houses, expensive private schools and holidays are [b]lifestyle choices[/b], not necessities. Why should the poor subsidise their lifestyle choices? I always thought the point of a high income meant being able to support yourself and your family without recourse to the public purse. I also noted that there was a lot of absolute bullshit from the whinging wealthy that the government was rooning their grand children's lives because they can't rort the system. As CU says above, being paid a high income does not mean you work harder or longer hours or are more deserving than anyone on a low income. It only means that you are paid more for doing your job. I suggest that wealthy whingers have a crack at living on a low income before they open their self indulgent gobs any wider.

Casablanca

5/04/2013 [b]The privatisation of political life[/b] [i]IT HAS to be the English-speaking world’s most distinctive and unsettling contribution to election campaigns: the political family happy-snap. The candidate stands awkwardly alongside loved ones – If Tony Abbott offers up his wife and daughters for interview, it’s because he wants to short-circuit the media narrative which says he has a problem with women. Mediated visibility is lovely for the media outlets on which it is bestowed (you don’t hear Australian Story complaining), but it is broadly anti-journalistic in its intentions.[/i] http://inside.org.au/the-privatisation-of-political-life/

lyn

5/04/2013Today's Links The Media’s Softening Of Tony Abbott: Their Mouths Are Moving, But Nothing’s Coming Out by @bencjenkins http://junkee.com/the-medias-softening-of-tony-abbott-their-mouths-are-moving-but-nothings-coming-out/4241 Bogan Journalism by Bundaberg Bloggers Tony Abbott has announced he will abolish $500 Super tax offset which benefits those earning under $36,000. potentially affects tens of thousands of Bundaberg workers but has been totally ignored by Bundaberg News-Mail. http://bundabergbloggers.com/ Murdoch, Abbott, Rinehart, Bolt: Tory-fest in Melbourne tonight @crikey_news Right-leaning power clique are converging on Melbourne for a gala dinner tonight: from Rupert Murdoch to Andrew Bolt and, of course, Tony Abbott. http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/04/04/murdoch-abbott-rinehart-bolt-tory-fest-in-melbourne-tonight/ How Well Do You Know Tony Abbott? by Alan Austin, @newmatilda Tony Abbott's agenda is much more comprehensive than merely stopping the boats http://newmatilda.com/2013/04/04/how-well-do-you-know-tony-abbott Abbott opens up by @btckr Mr Abbott’s slip of the tongue when he said “a person” then substituted “a government” is instructive because it shows his mind is focussed on the Prime Minister, Ms Gillard http://truthinmediaresourcecentre.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/abbott-opens-up/ NBN and the Attack of the Luddites. by @saint13333 attack by Luddite shock jocks like Jones & Hadley who sit in their air-conditioned studios amidst the very best technology the Internet can give them http://theaimn.com/2013/04/04/nbn-and-the-attack-of-the-luddites/ Roll Up, Roll Up, Welcome To Rupert Murdoch’s Travelling Circus and Disappearing Coup d’état Magic Show by @turnleft2013 be astonished as the puppet masters of News Limited make the Ashby-Brough coup d’etat disappear from the front pages http://turnleft2013.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/welcome-to-rupert-murdochs-travelling-circus/ Time to end Tony Abbott’s deceitful debt scare campaign by Matthew N. Donovan , @independentaus Abbott’s deceptions and flat out lies on the economy are even more mind blowing when one considers he was a Rhode scholar at Oxford and http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/time-to-end-tony-abbotts-deceitful-debt-campaign/ Identities of the rich who hide cash offshore By David Leigh Millions of internal records have leaked from Britain’s offshore financial industry, exposing for the first time the identities of thousands of holders of anonymous wealth http://coffsoutlook.com/identities-of-the-rich-who-hide-cash-offshore/ Superannuation: Tax Breaks for the ‘Fabulously Rich’ Under Threat from Gillard; Tax Breaks for the Lowest 30% Under Threat from Abbott by Fair Media Alliance the disinformation campaign is well underway in some parts of the media (more on that in coming days) and Simon Crean seems to have ‘lost the plot’ altogether. http://pbxmastragics.com/2013/04/04/superannuation-tax-breaks-for-the-fabulously-rich-under-threat-from-gillard-tax-breaks-for-the-lowest-30-under-threat-from-abbott/ The carbon tax: between the lines By Melanie Timbrell but is repeal really that likely? And what does it all mean for Australian companies and their investors? https://www.mywealth.commbank.com.au/investing/the-carbon-tax--between-the-lines-hottopic201304 Climate Change as Culture War by @ChristopherWr11 the vehemence of those opposed to action on climate change is often hard to fathom. There is a clear scientific consensus on the urgent threat that ever-increasing greenhouse gases pose. http://climatepeopleorg.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/climate-change-as-culture-war/ The Carbon Millstone by @JaneTribune be interesting to see how he responds when (and if) he repeals the carbon price legislation and finds that electricity prices are still increasing http://www.kingstribune.com/index.php/weekly-email/item/1772-the-carbon-millstone Leading economist warns of ‘radical’ climate change by David Twomey, The author of an influential 2006 study on climate change has warned that the world could be headed toward warming even more catastrophic than expected http://econews.com.au/news-to-sustain-our-world/leading-economist-warns-of-radical-climate-change/ Tony Abbott To Scrap Climate Change If Elected by @The_Shovel_ political satire? Mr Abbott said, “The climate change thing is unnecessary, it’s expensive and frankly, it’s a distraction from what’s important, http://theshovel.com.au/2013/04/04/tony-abbott-to-scrap-climate-change-if-elected/ How do Australian solar prices stack up? by Tristan Edis Solar Choice Price Index suggests Australians pay around $2.60 to $2.70 per watt fully installed (ignoring metering charges by network companies), inclusive of GST. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/4/4/solar-energy/how-do-australian-solar-prices-stack#ixzz2PTSeEFrC Is $9B enough to buy Australia? by @YosefAlbric Murdoch press does not tell the truth and has become a force for corruption of our society. It seems that with $9B it is possible to currupt a whole nation. http://yosefalbric.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/is-9b-enough-to-buy-australia/ The state of the State – Tasmania by @DamienCWalker Tony Abbott made it clear he felt the larger States were being short changed on GST revenue. http://ausvotes2013.com/2013/04/04/the-state-of-the-state-tasmania/ Poor of Australia- Stand Behind Broggers! by @R_Chirgwin John Brogden valiantly toiling in your paid occupation as apologist for Porsche Cayenne buyers the nation over, the negative-gearing doctors'-wives of Double Bay, and so on … http://chirgwin.blogspot.com.au/ Country for sale, apply T Abbott @you’rescrewed.gov by Truth Seeker using his vast media resources to sell us Tony Abbott, IMHO the most dishonourable and embarrassing candidate for PM, this country has ever seen . http://truthseekersmusings.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/country-for-sale-apply-t-abbott-yourescrewed-gov/ Today’s Front Pages Australia Newspaper Front Pages for 5 April 2013 http://www.frontpagestoday.co.uk/index.cfm?PaperCountry=Australia

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5/04/2013LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Patriciawa

5/04/2013Thanks Lyn for another thought provoking start to the day. Is it too much to hope that all these anti-Murdoch articles reflect a groundswell of opinion in the country as a whole? Or is it just from the progressive left?

Tom of Melboune

5/04/2013I think it’s hilarious the way people refer to themselves as “progressive left” For example, what’s “progressive” or “left” about opposing marriage equality, or shipping desperate people who seek our protection to an off shore hell hole?

TalkTurkey

5/04/2013Australians Awake! They're stealing us by stealth! The commonwealth of many by the few of massive wealth! The Media's blindsiding us, Open your eyes and see! And the Enemy within is in the bloody ABC!

Truth Seeker

5/04/2013Patricia, did you see this morning on ABC24 breakfast the protest against Murdoch with placards saying <b>Jail Murdoch not Assange</b> :-) I think they must have read my post :-) :-) TT, good verse :-) Cheers :-) :-)

Tom of Melboune

5/04/2013What’s “progressive” or “left” about stating that Assange/wikileaks has committed a criminal act? Or speculating about his anti ALP motives?

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5/04/2013Hi Lyn Your links look very exciting - I'll look at them later. jaycee The 70th anniversary of the IPA brought together the usual suspects: Rupert Murdoch, Gina Rinehart, Tony Abbott, and Andrew Bolt as MC. But when I saw Cardinal Pell, Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, was among the guests, it brought back memories of Melbourne Archbishop Mannix many years ago, a cleric who wielded enormous political influence. Pell's presence is a foretaste of what to expect as the election approaches. He will promote Tony Abbott, just as Mannix promoted his favourites. Tony is his boy and he wants him in The Lodge. So we now have not only the Murdoch and the Fairfax press pushing Abbott, but the most senior Catholic cleric in this nation giving the message to his 'flock' that they should support Tony Abbott's thrust for Prime Minitership. This is truly frightening when the media barons and Catholic hierarchy appear to collaborating to not just bring down the Gillard Government, but install an Abbott government and perpetrate all the bigotry that Abbott has exhibited for a long while. It is noteworthy that on ABC Melbourne radio this morning almost all the talkback on the IPA event has been critical of George Pell's presence there. It looks bad, it is bad, and the people know it.

Jason

5/04/2013Insiders ABC‏@InsidersABC5m We're happy to have @frankellyabc hosting #Insiders this week! She'll interview @bobjcarr live from China #auspol Insiders ABC‏@InsidersABC3m #Insiders panel is @lenoretaylor @GMegalogenis and Michael Stutchbury, & special pollie edition of Talking Pics @mpbowers with @AdamBandt

MWS

5/04/2013I don't want to compare the two, but Mick Philpott had a mother, a wife (several in fact) and daughters. Does that mean that Philpott isn't a misogynist or has a problem with women?

Algernon

5/04/2013I also noticed that they honed in on the voice of the 1920's Bronwyn Bishop and Sophie Mirrabella, said it all relics of the past. Says a lot of the modern Liberal party living in the past.

42 long

5/04/2013It's about time that we knew who funds and supports this IPA that seems to think it can talk over any panellist on the abc. JUST WHO IS the "IPA" and how is it structured? We know it has plenty to say, and that it is a blatant right wing propaganda machine. Some answers please.

bob macalba

5/04/2013Great links Lyn..thankyou Another piece by Polly Toynbee UK Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/04/martine-white-product-welfare-not-philpott this is how tory[bastards] govern...it sickens me the total lack of empathy they show to them that need the most, we cant let the gits take power here

jane

5/04/2013jaycee @9.56pm 4/4, Liealot can plot & plan all he likes, but if he upsets Rupert, he'll find out how easily one can fall from grace. Rupert has all of Liealot's and the Liars Party's brain farts, lies, obfuscations and distortions recorded, ready for just such an occasion. I'm not sure even Pell would be able to save him, Rupert knows where the Church's skeletons are buried and if he doesn't, he'll just make them up. That'll be guaranteed to have all the sheeples running through the streets with burning torches. It's interesting to speculate what the shock jocks would do in that event. I reckon Anal could be silenced with some well photo shopped evidence. It would be quite humerous to watch. The one & only time Rupert may perform a genuine public service.

TalkTurkey

5/04/2013jane humerous: the funny bone! :) (Don't mind me!)

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5/04/2013bob macalba Thank you for the link to another great Polly Toynbee article in [i]The Guradian[/i]. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/04/martine-white-product-welfare-not-philpott It is well worth a read to give insight into what conservatives are doing in the UK to the tax system there. It is noteworthy that UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, announcing changes to the tax system, that included a reduction in the top tax rate from 50p to 45p, said: [i]"We cannot have a top rate of tax that discourages people from living here … we are welcoming entrepreneurs and wealth creators and the jobs they bring with them".[/i] Here we are again with yet another use by conservatives, this time the Tories, of the now completely debunked ‘Trickle Down Theory of Economics’. It is embedded in conservative DNA. We hear just this morning that Tony Abbott will oppose the just-announced superannuation changes that will phase in a 15% tax on superannuation that [b]generates earnings[/b] over $100,000 per year. (It would need to be a very big fund to do this) This will replace the existing arrangements – no tax at all. Like the Tories, Abbott will protect the privileges of the wealthy while at the same time removing benefits for the less well off. Again too, embedded in Osborne’s announcement, is the argument that the rich pay a lot of tax already and should not have their tax perks removed. In response, Toynbee writes: [i]“The rich protest they contribute most in tax: indeed they do, as wealth and income is sucked upwards. The top 10% own 44% of everything. If they owned and earned everything, they'd contribute 100% of Treasury income, and no doubt protest yet louder at the nation of dependents they carry on their backs.”[/i] The figures speak for themselves. While we have a progressive taxation system whereby higher incomes are taxed at a higher rate, the tax on superannuation is almost flat. Even superannuation industry executives agree that this is inequitable, and have welcomed the Government’s changes. Yet Tony Abbott opposes the changes. His loyalty is to the top end of town; too bad about the rest.

jane

5/04/2013TT, quite unintentional misspelling. I just didn't twig when I typed it, even though it felt wrong. bob macalba @12.18pm, I agree whole heartedly. The attempt to link Philpott's behaviour and actions to being a welfare recipient is reprehensible. Philpott is a violent and abusive person who also happens to be a serial rorter.

MWS

5/04/2013A little understood change to welfare in Britain is "Universal Credit", which is being trialled now in a small area, but is expected to go live in October 2013. It replaces almost all welfare, and pays ONE member of the household a SINGLE monthly payment. All recipients will have to enter their reports of income through the internet. I can't see how that could be a problem! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Credit Summary here: http://blog.cix.co.uk/gmorgan/ http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/nov/22/universal-credit-will-fail-vulnerable

jaycee

5/04/2013Jane..never underestimate the sublety of the Catholic Church...they have been around for a couple of thousand years..plenty of time to hone their bastardry skills...Rupert has been around for 82 !....if you notice..the church NEVER commits a crime...it is an individual "within" the church. THAT should tell you how bloody silent and subtle the political arm of the Vatican is. It is guilty of the deaths of millions, yet has never been tried for ONE!

jane

5/04/2013Unless they have no access to the internet, MWS. In any case it seems to be somewhat flawed, imo. A fortnightly payment is bad enough to balance, let alone a month. I'm very glad I don't have to live in the UK atm.

Casablanca

5/04/2013[b]Keating, Crean back super changes[/b] PUBLISHED: 2 hours 33 MINUTES AGO | UPDATE: 1 hour 4 MINUTES AGO 'The architect of Labor’s superannuation system, [b]Paul Keating,[/b] has [b]said the government’s changes strike a reasonable balance between augmenting the age pension and preventing the wealthy from using super as a tax shelter'.[/b] http://www.afr.com/p/national/politics/labor_super_plan_strikes_reasonable_EDuoi1x3yxEyINJBtijGqO

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5/04/2013Hi Lyn I’ve just finished reading your links. What a treasure chest of information. It seems that the superannuation announcements alluded to in [i]The Pub[/i] have met with general approval by the superannuation industry. The only disagreement I have heard was from one group that felt the move towards a more equitable arrangement had not gone far enough, and from an elderly man insisting that his very large nest egg should have been left untouched Predictably Abbott is attempting to turn the changes into another Government ‘broken promise’, accusing it of stealing superannuant’s savings to meet its own budget deficit, and threatening to oppose the changes. Abbott might find himself wedged on this one, with his only supporters being those on very high incomes, most of all would vote for him anyway.

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5/04/2013Casablanca Could you please post Laura Tingle's full article; I can't get past the paywall.

Casablanca

5/04/2013AA Apologies, meant to report that the article is paywalled. I don't have access to AFR. I was particularly taken with Keating's cut-through statement as reported by Tingle. I've re-posted it below so that it can be compared with the blander version that begins the report in Business Spectator. I should add that BS does quote more extensively from Keating's press release. Maybe Laura does the same but you have to pay to read her version. From Laura Tingle in AFR: Keating, Crean back super changes PUBLISHED: 2 hours 33 MINUTES AGO | UPDATE: 1 hour 5 MINUTES AGO [i]'The architect of Labor’s superannuation system, [b]Paul Keating, has said the government’s changes strike a reasonable balance between augmenting the age pension and preventing the wealthy from using super as a tax shelter'.[/b][/i] www.afr.com/.../labor_super_plan_strikes_reasonable_EDuoi1x3yxEyINJBtijGqO From AAP in Business Spectator: [b]Keating, Crean back Labor on super changes [/b] [i]Former Labor leader and the founder of Australia's superannuation system [b]Paul Keating says federal government changes to tax concessions on super assets strike a reasonable balance.[/b][/i] http://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2013/4/5/federal-budget/keating-crean-back-labor-super-changes The Australian/AAP (not paywalled) [b]Super changes reasonable, Keating says[/b] http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/super-changes-reasonable-keating-says/story-fn3dxiwe-1226613270705 [b]Council of Superannuation Custodians Charter of Superannuation Adequacy and Sustainability[/b] Joint media release by The Treasurer & the Hon Bill Shorten MP Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation http://www.treasurer.gov.au/wmsDisplayDocs.aspx?doc=pressreleases/2013/041.htm&PageID=003&min=wms&Year=&DocType=0

Casablanca

5/04/2013AA, I have been struggling under a cloud of dark matter for the past couple of days on TPS. As no one else has raised the issue it would appear to be a problem with my computer. I wish to mention this before I spend time trying to sort out the problem. The problem is that it is only your posted comments that appear in the traditional black type on a white background. Every one else's comments appears in light gray against a black background with hyperlinks appearing in a brighter blue than is usually the case. The original article appears as normal as does the comment typing window and reCAPTCHA. What could be going on? A gremlin perhaps.

Patriciawa

5/04/2013Casablanca, can't help you with your IT problem, sounds very much your own p.c. playing up. Meantime many thanks for still beavering away at those super links for us. A big help.

jane

5/04/2013jaycee @4.01pm, I don't underestimate the subtlety and power of the Catholic church, but I don't think we should underestimate the malevolence of the wizened foreigner, either.

Miglo

5/04/2013Casablanca, your problem is due to the page not fully loading on your computer. Do you have an old computer?

jaycee

5/04/2013Yes, that's true, Jane...the only setback for Rupert is that HE has to buy his allies, whereas the church can draw on a vast pool of "believers"....Rupert wouldn't stand a chance in my book!

bob macalba

5/04/2013Everyone wants to be an honourary catholic, [you can buy your way into heaven dont you know] http://vatileaks.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/tony-blair-and-rupert-murdochs.html

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5/04/2013Casablanca Sorry, I missed your comment about your computer. Miglo has supplied the most likely answer. I’m afraid I can’t add to his suggestion, except to suggest you refresh regularly by clicking the circular arrow at the right end of the address line. I believe it is not the [i]TPS[/i] server as [i]TPS[/i] has been behaving normally at my end. I'm now calling it a day.

MWS

5/04/2013Casablanca, I suggest trying another browser - Chrome is working OK for me.

Casablanca

5/04/2013Miglo, My computer is a few years old but it is only because it has been running like a bought one (up until now) that I haven't upgraded it. This blackness problem only manifested itself in the last couple of days and on this particular article. Now it has applied itself retrospectively to previous articles on TPS. I jumped back and opened a couple of articles from 2008 and 2009 - they were unaffected. However, the articles from 2010 are now contaminated by the blackness. In each of the many articles sampled, the blackness begins at different parts of the page but usually between about the one quarter and one third from the top of the window. The only other problem that has emerged recently has been with reloading. This commenced 3 articles ago. I use the refresh button frequently when reading comments and a couple of articles ago it started to default back to Comment No 1, rather than to the latest comment added since the previous refresh as it is supposed to do. Curious.

Casablanca

6/04/2013MWS Thanks for that browser suggestion. I still prefer Firefox as my browser but after your suggestion, I found that I did not have the blackness problem on either Internet Explorer or Chrome. Go figure!

Casablanca

6/04/2013 [b]DON'T FORGET TO REPLACE YOUR SMOKE ALARM BATTERY[/b] [b]You cannot smell smoke when asleep[/b] 'Householders should keep detectors in good order by testing them weekly, cleaning them at least a couple of times a year and changing the battery in line with daylight saving'. http://www.theguardian.com.au/story/1409712/change-your-clock-change-your-alarm/?cs=1522

lyn

6/04/2013 Today’s Links How Howard politicised the AFP and protected Downer and Bolt by Ross Jones, @independentaus Why are the AFP so eager to get Peter Slipper — but not Mal Brough? Ross Jones lifts the lid on Australia’s police / media / conservative political party cartel. http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/how-howard-politicised-the-afp-and-protected-downer-and-bolt/ Updating the Ashbygate Trust by Geezlouise, @independentaus funds to further the investigation into the disgraceful Ashby-gate affair has managed to raise just over $14,000 in its first day http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/update-on-the-ashbygate-trust/ Values rhetoric: what the “class warfare” name calling is really about by Gordon’s Thoughts the current ALP government has tripled the tax-free threshold under its carbon pricing policy, yet this gets derided as “class warfare” and socialism when it’s taking one million people out of the tax system! http://gordonsthoughts.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/values-rhetoric-what-the-class-warfare-name-calling-is-really-about/ The Flat Tax War Begins @GrogsGamut The front page of today’s Oz made it clear that superannuation is just the small fry. The bigger game is income tax. http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/the-flat-tax-war-begins.html Myths of the moocher class in Australia by @MattCowgill top 1% receive around 5.3% of the benefit. I think there’s grounds for reducing the tax expenditures on super both in order to increase revenue and to reduce the unfairness of the system. http://mattcowgill.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/on-tax-expenditures/ This is why you will never hear the truth from Australian media by @turnleft2013 very biased, unbalanced, selectively reported, spun into orbit, character assassinations, and opinions of the rich and powerful masquerading as The News. http://turnleft2013.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/hail-murdoch-our-new-overlord/ Abbott - All Opposition... No position by @TownsvilleLabor 20,000 public service sackings... the number Tony dreamed up one night while he was wearing his magic underpants... or were they dusty red speedos. http://www.townsvillelabor.org/1/post/2013/04/abbott-all-opposition-no-position.html Tony Abbott and the IPA – Part 1 by Critical Thinking We will privatise Medibank Private. We will trim the public service and we will stop throwing good money after bad on the NBN.” http://saynototony.wordpress.com/author/dreambrother73/ Is life easier for the second woman in a leadership position? by @angelapriestley A man in a suit: that's what many Australians still expect the leader of the country to look like, according to Prime Minister Julia Gillard http://www.womensagenda.com.au/talking-about/editor-s-agenda/is-life-easier-for-the-second-woman-in-a-leadership-position/201304041937 Government announces superannuation changes: Everything you need to know by Patrick Stafford tax exemption for earnings on superannuation assets supporting income streams will be capped to the first $100,000 of future earnings. http://www.smartcompany.com.au/superannuation/054951-government-announces-superannuation-changes-everything-you-need-to-know.html Super funds welcome certainty on tax by ABC http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-05/super-funds-welcome-certainty-on-tax/4611860 Super News: No Big Deal by Jill Wilberforce, @TheHoopla If you are one of the estimated 16,000 retirees with over $2 million in superannuation funds, you’ll be affected by the changes to the super system announced today http://thehoopla.com.au/death-taxes-superannuation/ Polls Are Dumb By Carly Learson Tony Abbott is rapidly running out of fact-based insults, if he ever had any in the first place http://www.vice.com/read/polls-are-dumb Abbott set for Labor raid TONY Abbott plans to launch a marathon 79-day election campaign targeting 43 Labor-held seats in a bid to secure a crushing victory http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2013/04/04/565627_latest-news.html It’s In Their DNA by @archiearchive It seems that his ability to run a Government successfully is dependent, not on the business success of the State but on the generosity of a Commonwealth Government http://archiearchive.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/its-in-their-dna/ Liberal’s to keep Key Plank of Mining Tax by David Bradury http://ow.ly/i/1PbgU/original We are now connected to the NBN. Here's a run-down on the install. And the speed @alankerlin Yes that's a big grin you can hear! Websites now snap onto the screen, http://alankerlin.blogspot.com.au/ NBN debate full of falsehoods, say academics by @renailemay our National Broadband Network debate has been poisoned by a constant series of inaccurate and misleading statements http://delimiter.com.au/2013/04/05/nbn-debate-full-of-falsehoods-say-academics/ Solar passes million milestone in Australia by staff reporter systems installed by year has surged ahead, with 63,378 installations in 2009, 196,308 in 2010, 335,067 in 2011 and 322,447 last year. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/4/5/solar-energy/australias-solar-landmark#ixzz2PZXpGOdW Prime Minister of Australia So today, I want to speak about two things – the facts and the future http://www.pm.gov.au/press-office/foreign-correspondents-association-newsmaker-lunch Today’s Front Pages Australia Newspaper Front Pages for 6 April 2013 http://www.frontpagestoday.co.uk/index.cfm?PaperCountry=Australia

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6/04/2013LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Janet (jan@j4gypsy)

6/04/2013Apologies (again) for not bringing Twittertalk for a while, but will be back today with some. For the moment, just some pieces 'about' the IPA (lest we doubt for one split second the fiercely-embedded conserv. values this election is being fought on ...). First, we do remember this?: Stuart Littlemore: Incredible Propoganda Achievements [IPA]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ_Kbiwl2ok (2001) Then perhaps this from Wendy Harmer, which includes the list of 75 'policy' changes the IPA proposes: http://thehoopla.com.au/john-laws-bigger-fish-fry/ And then, two pieces in full from yesterday's Crikey. [b]1. Tony Abbott talks God and Western values behind closed doors MATTHEW KNOTT | APR 05, 2013[/b] [i]Tony Abbott delivers a sermon on the importance of Christian values, and the need to give more recognition to Australia’s Western heritage, in a speech to a gala IPA dinner in Melbourne. Crikey obtained the audio of the speech.[/i] Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has vigorously re-entered the “culture wars” debate by decrying the lack of recognition of Australia’s Western heritage and Christian principles in our national conversation. Crikey has obtained the audio of Abbott’s speech to a sold-out gala dinner in Melbourne last night celebrating the 70th anniversary of the libertarian Institute of Public Affairs, with Rupert Murdoch as guest of honour. Unlike most of Abbott’s recent public appearances — in which he sticks closely to Coalition talking points — his speech was heavy on philosophy and laden with religious imagery: [i]“In contemporary Australia we have well and truly, and rightly, left behind the old cult of forgetfulness about our indigenous heritage. Alas, there is a new version of the great Australian silence — this time about the Western canon, the literature, the poetry, the music, the history and above all the faith without which our culture and our civilisation is unimaginable.”[/i] The term “great Australian silence” was coined by anthropologist W.E.H Stanner in 1968 to describe how Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders had been all but erased from Australian history and consciousness. He continued: [i]“‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ is the foundation of our justice. ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself’ is the foundation of our mercy. Faith has weakened but not, I’m pleased to say, this high-mindedness which faith helps us form and which the IPA now helps to protect and to promote.”[/i] Abbott thanked the think tank for its work defending “Western civilisation”: [i]“In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve believed they could do almost as they pleased. But freedom has its limits and its abuses as this foundational story makes only too clear. And yet without freedom we can hardly be human, hardly be worthy of creation inthe image of God.”[/i] Abbott said the IPA had been “freedom’s discerning friend” in Australia and had supported “capitalism with a conscience”. He said the think tank had played an extremely influential role in blocking Labor’s attempts to introduce a bill of rights, tougher anti-discrimination laws, and a Public Interest Media Advocate: [i]“Your campaign against the bill of rights caused a bad government to capitulate. You campaigned against the bill of rights because you understood that a democratic parliament, an incorruptible judiciary and a free press — rather than mere law itself — were the best guarantors of human rights. You campaigned against the legislative prohibition against giving offence and I’m pleased to say the author of those draft laws [Nicola Roxon] is now leaving the Parliament.”[/i] In an aside to IPA executive director John Roskam, Abbott joked: [i]“John, you’ve done very well with just 20 staff — remember what Jesus of Nazareth did with 12. And one of them turned out to be a rat.”[/i] Abbott then went on to praise Murdoch, describing him as one of three Australians who have “most shaped the world” (the others being WWI military commander John Monash and penicillin developer Howard Florey): [b][i]“His publications have borne his ideals but never his fingerprints. They have been sceptical, stoical, curious, adventurous, opinionated but broadminded. He’s influenced them but he’s never dictated to the[/b]m.”[/i][emphasis added] Abbott concluded his speech, which received hearty applause from the crowd, by saying: [i]“This is a night to renew our commitment, to renew our faith. In 100 years time all of us will be gone but, please God, not the ideals and the great causes for which we stand. May it be said of us that we have passed the torch of freedom to our successors — which we do by supporting an organisation that’s bigger than any of us and that can outlive all.”[/i] Other Coalition MPs who attended the dinner, at Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria, included Greg Hunt, George Brandis, Bronwyn Bishop and Cory Bernardi. Sydney Catholic Archbishop George Pell attended as did News Limited boss Kim Williams. [b]2 Abbott, Bolt, Rinehart fawn in the IPA court of King Murdoch[/b][b] by ANONYMOUS[/b] [b]An attendee at last night's Institute of Public Affairs dinner [/b] We get to the Institute of Public Affairs' 70th birthday bash early -- before the protesters outside have really got themselves sorted. There are some scraggly looking youngsters with banners suggesting we should put Murdoch on trial rather than Assange. One man, clad in a red cape and Murdoch mask adorned with devil horns, is heckling people as they enter the National Gallery of Victoria. "Don't worry sir," he tells a besuited bloke, "we'll make sure your phone is hacked for you." It all seems pretty tame, but the temperature rises when Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle's car shows up. Unimpressed by Doyle's decision to come out in support of gay marriage only days ago, the anti-capitalist crowd blocks his car door, jumps on his bonnet and slashes his tyres. Around 20 police officers charge in and ring fence the car so Doyle can escape. Inside is the real disaster zone: the "free" drinks don't start until 6.30pm! That'll teach us for buying the "tightarse tickets" ($495 each) instead of the $995 option which includes pre-drinks with chairman Rupert. We retreat in disarray to a comfy bench in front of the water wall, which turns out to be an excellent seating option for the show which is about to start. Suddenly there's a breakthrough: Gina's put her card on the bar or something, and the grog starts flowing, a nice smooth bubbly with a good yeasty flavour and no after-taste. The attractions of free market ideology start to grow on me. I try to avoid thinking about how the grand water wall was built by an evil government rather than free enterprise, and enjoy the bubbly. People appear with little nibblies; mini pies, arancini balls, some sort of crunchy thing with beetroot. Finally it all starts; we have crap seats and the entree is a little uninspiring, but the crowd is a little like a rock concert; in a good mood for the warm up acts but keen to get to the main event. For the entree we have some IPA folk: Rod Kemp and John Roskam celebrating their defeat of the recent media legislation (much clapping) and name checking the audience. We have Rupert, Tony, and Gina, Cardinal Pell, Hugh Morgan, about half the Coalition both state and federal. This includes two "long-serving members": Victorian premier Denis Napthine and federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. If the stained glass ceiling collapses again we're going to put the cause of conservatism back a generation ... The IPA may be 70, Roskam proclaimed, but some things don't change: [i][b]"We fought for freedom then and we fight for freedom now. We needed money then and we need money now too ... The IPA exists only because of our donors and supporter[/i]s."[/b][emphasis added] Not that they're doing too badly. The IPA's membership, Roskam announces, has doubled in the past year; it's ballooned by 500% over five years. Hitting Wayne Swan where it hurts, he notes the think tank is now in surplus -- unlike the government. [b]His other stat -- that IPA staffers have made 157 TV appearances and 446 radio appearances over the past year -- wouldn't surprise anyone who's tuned into Q&A or The Drum.[/b][emphasis added] [i]"If the stained glass ceiling collapses again we’re going to put the cause of conservatism back a generation ..."[/i] Master of Ceremonies Andrew Bolt then struts to the stage. The troublemakers outside, he says, may just be ratty students but they are emblematic of a "deep strain of censoriousness" that runs through the veins of this country. "It’s hard to overestimate the impact of the IPA," Bolt said. [b][i]"If the ABC did not have the IPA’s phone number, I wonder whether it would be searching till this day for that one conservative voice it never manages to find."[/i][/b] [emphasis added] Denis Napthine gives a chat about all the government spending he's going to do, but it's sensible stuff like more work on the ports. Abbott gives a fairly reasonable piece from notes about the history of freedom starting with the garden of Eden and leading to the American revolution. He's a little ambiguous about the Garden of Eden: is he for or against? With Cardinal Pell in the front row he needs to watch his theology. Then there's the list of great stuff he’s going to do; privatise Medibank, fire Tim Flannery, neuter the NBN ... wild clapping. Finally comes an intermission, and a chance to check out the crowd. The vast majority of folks are elderly Caucasian males. There is a sea of dark suits topped with grey balding heads as far as the eye can see. Possibly 20% of the guests are female, and maybe 5% Asian. We also have some bankers, but I'm not sure if they're fully committed to the cause or simply working the room for clients. Finally, some Eastern Bloc immigrants with a profound grudge against communism. The dinner isn't bad; but it isn't El Bulli either. There's cold-pressed chicken with marinated cucumber and "chicken chips", and char-grilled beef with "textures of broccoli", Dutch carrots (in Bolt's honour presumably) and grain mustard jus. Then the big event: Murdoch speaks. He's annoyingly good. He goes 20 minutes without notes, and he's a great speaker. His basic pitch is that markets are a moral good, not just an efficient tool, and that they’re good for freedom, and that they've raised billions out of poverty in the last 20 years. He even credits the need for government regulation of markets, providing it's not excessive. To give the devil his due, it's a strong, coherent talk; he gets a standing ovation, and standing is pretty tough for some of this lot. Of course it leaves out little details such as whether a free market for ideas really exists if one party controls, say, 70% of the print media. Then there's a series of IPA folks speaking, falling over themselves to fawn on the great man. Does he really buy it? It's cringeworthy how they praise him, his family, distant relatives and all things Murdoch. Roskam is practically simpering towards the end. This must have been how the courts of kings of old worked. There’s a long period of IPA fund raising and the great auction. The visit to the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara goes for $25,000; so does a behind the scenes tour of The Bolt Report. A visit to Fox News HQ is sold for $20,000. Curiously, the morning tea with John Howard and Tony Abbott was pulled at the last moment, with the claim that it would be worth more when Abbott is PM. I wonder what the back story was ... The hardcore moved on for a night of networking, but we were done, slinking out into the night to nurse a hangover and a lingering sense of unease. Is this really how the world works? These people believe hard, and in the echo chamber the rest of us are just blurry silent images providing a backdrop to their heroic stories. ................................................. To top that off: a piece on Bolt, from Latham, and illustrating some of the themes in the above. [b]Climate lunacy, or how Bolt can’t read a graph MARK LATHAM | APR 04, 2013[/b] How can Andrew Bolt point to a graph as showing a “pause” in global warming, when it unequivocally shows the opposite? He’s a propagandist of the highest order. It’s official: Andrew Bolt has lost the plot. On his blog on Wednesday, he presented the following graph (using UAH satellite data) as evidence of how “the pause in global warming continues”. [graph here] No intelligent person could look at these figures and see anything but a trend towards global warming. Before 1997, world temperatures were predominantly below the 1981-2010 average. After 1997, temperatures are predominantly above the 30-year average. On the instrumental record going back to 1850, there is no precedent for temperatures of this kind, with the decade 2000-09 the warmest on record. If one were to draw a trend line through Bolt’s graph, it would slope upwards to the right, confirming warming of the order of 0.5 to 0.6 degrees across the 34-year period. At this rate, climate change will have a substantial impact on ecosystems and economic activity. What is Bolt going on about? Since early last year, he has been running denialist propaganda, insisting on no warming since 1997. This is a classic exercise in statistical cherry-picking. As the graph shows, temperatures rose in the 1997-99 period due to El Nino. In recent years, weather patterns have experienced La Nina, with a cyclical cooling impact (due to the wet conditions it generates). In Bolt-land, this signifies a pause in global warming. But climate change cannot be reliably understood or measured by cyclical changes in the weather. It is a long-term trend. Using Bolt’s graph, one could point to massive warming between 2000 and 2010 by cherry-picking those two 12-month periods to exaggerate the extent of temperature changes. But that would not do justice to the trend pattern. It would repeat Bolt’s statistical fraud, but from the reserve side of the argument. In effect, Bolt has outed himself as a propagandist, hoist on his own petard. By any sensible reading of his graph, there is no pause in global warming. Climate change is real. Just ask the graph on Bolt’s blog — the ultimate condemnation of the denialist position.

TalkTurkey

6/04/2013What is going on at the ABC? I saw three (3) people interviewed and they ALL were POSITIVE (+ve!) towards Labor's intended superannuation plans! Yes that's right POSITIVE! And just in case you missed this nicety, the legislation can't be achieved in this Parliament, it will be POLICY for the election - and THAT Dear Swordsfolks is going to have PiG~THiNG Abbortt flicking his reptilian tongue over his reptilian lips and NOT in delighted anticipation but in ah, er uh, [i]uh-oh[/i] mode. Bloody Crean, he too supports the changes, pity he and his co-conspirators (I'm convinced at last that he is one of Them) have been so negative to *J*U*L*I*A*, they are the ONLY thing that may stop the Government being returned. Is it because She is nontheist and Crean and the Conspirators are Catholic? Or at least "religious"? * Did anyone see any mention on the ABC of the Merdeoch~Abbortt~Rindlard~Bolt~Pell junket? Or any MSM ftm? (What a collection of rotten creeps!) If it weren't for the Fighting 5th Estate, I would not know it had even happened.

jaycee

6/04/2013Well...Janet/Gypsy...just read the Abbott diatribe,,and as BK. would say..: "There goes breakfast!" People may point to the Labor party and talk about how much they argue amongst themselves..but surely such "conversation" is healthier than the endless sycophancy and gutter-crawling one sees with the Opposition? I mean, really..what a bunch of lickspittles!

jaycee

6/04/2013Thanks for those links, Lyn..I just read of the NBN. connection...did I swear in envy at his download speed!!!..I won't repeat, but I will swear if those bludgers get in next election and ruin it for the rest of us!

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6/04/2013Folks [b]Just a reminder that The People’s Choice Award in the [i]Best Australian Blogs 2013[/i] Competition is now open for voting. It will close on Tuesday 30 April. To vote, just click the Competition icon at the top of the left panel and follow the instructions.[/b]

jaycee

6/04/2013thanks, AD. just voted...

Jason

6/04/2013I've just been Newspolled!

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6/04/2013Janet Thank you for posting material from the IPA Anniversary Gala Event. It is grist to my mill for the next piece. Jason Thank you for the [i]Insiders[/i] information. So we can expect more poll talk as [i]Newspoll[/i] is in the field. There will be more predictions of 'wipeout', 'landslide', and disaster for Labor.

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6/04/2013jaycee Like you, as I sit here waiting for 3G to download and contemplate how much of my life has been wasted looking at a downloading screen, I dream of the NBN. Thank you for voting. I'm surprised that many quality political blogs are not included on the nominated list.

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6/04/2013Hi Lyn Your links are a rich feast. One I would strongly recommend is Greg Jericho's [i]The Flat Tax War Begins[/i] http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/the-flat-tax-war-begins.html It is not just that as usual his explanation and graphs are brilliant, but also that he is alerting us to an almost hidden conservative agenda - the move to a flat tax rate.

Janet (jan@j4gypsy)

6/04/2013 Hi Ad, another today post on the IPA from the '@yathink?' blog. Might be useful to your next piece. Has lots of researched links ... 'Just who the hell are the IPA': http://yathink.com.au/article-display/just-who-the-hell-are-the-ipa,62#.UV90RzxFj5w.twitter

Pikiranku

6/04/2013I've just exercised enormous self-discipline and read the entire transcript of Abbott's IPA speech. Even though it made my skin crawl! What a revelation it was, an insight into the way the man thinks. How narrow his view of the world, of Australia, of civilization. This is definitely not a man for the future, for the global village, or for the Asian century. Just when (I think, I hope) the xenophobic responses of many Australians are beginning to modify, he'll take us back decades to the insular, narrow-minded, inward-looking backwater that we were in the 1950s. And as for all that religious/Christian stuff - how many Australians would really relate to that? Apart from all the atheists and agnostics, the Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists, etc. who don't follow the three great desert religions, even most of those who profess to be Christians would baulk at his attitudes, I'm sure. Australians are not generally that intense about religion these days. Creepy, really really creepy.

Casablanca

6/04/2013In Between Persecution And Asylum By Aubrey Belford April 5, 2013 [quote]Cisarua is where people wait for the slow wheels of UN bureaucracy to turn, or for the sudden call from a smugglers’ agent: get ready, eat, we’re leaving tonight. With his camera, Hazara photojournalist Barat Ali Batoor documents life in refugee purgatory.[/quote] http://www.theglobalmail.org/feature/in-between-persecution-and-asylum/586/

Janet (jan@j4gypsy)

6/04/2013 Jaycee: apologies for spoiling your brekkie :-). Pikiranku: so impressed by the discipline! :-) (creepy, and scary!) Jason: did it hurt?? (being newspolled) Und jetz, the promised Twittertalk from across a couple of days (a bit lengthy, owing to gypsy absence/s): [b]Twitterati:[/b] [i]Mr Denmore ‏@MrDenmore[/i] News Ltd is lying about the economy. That's not a Labor view. That's the view of the market. But it seems we live in a post-facts age. [i]Stanley ‏@barsmt562[/i] With Rupert and Gina setting Abbott's economic agenda and Pell as his spiritual adviser, what could possibly go wrong? [i]Nancy Cato ‏@nancycato[/i] Of course if you're of a mind to condone the phone-hacking of murdered schoolgirls, you won't mind WHO influences the IPA. #auspol [i]Andrew Callaghan ‏@wombat1974[/i] Can we stop calling the IPA a think tank? What about a hate tank. Or a greed tank. Yeah, Greed Tank. [i] Harry Larsen ‏@berkeleyboy[/i] Costello fiddled superannuation to help the rich, & now says Government shouldn't end the rorts he put in place... #LNP #auspol #richlist [i]Chipp Awae ‏@sloughly[/i] Most people are not catholic and therefore most people should not vote Lib in this election @marxdeane Jennifer ‏@conceravota Ohhh, goody, PM just call coalition econ talk for what it is: "SIMPLETON TALK" #auspol [i]Geoff Pearson ‏@GCobber99[/i] Bill shortens having fun in this presser telling Abbott to explain his policy correcting fin review crap and telling reporters to get real [i]Carly ‏@tehautumn[/i] Abbott stop whinging about Australia's debt. Hockey admitted in #NPG that if opposition was in government they'd have to run a deficit also. [i]Stanley ‏@barsmt56[/i] The Poms have woken up to Murdoch...the Yanks have woken up to Murdoch.... dumb Oz is still allowing itself to be manipulated by this grub. [i]Aussie Oskar ‏@AussieOskar[/i] @ABCNews24 @tonyabbottmhr STOP the live bullshit flowing from Tonys lips. This is not news worthy it's just LNP propaganda. #auspol [i]David Horton ‏@watermelon_man[/i] With multiple Mad Hatters “@Thefinnigans: So #IPA for its 70th was one big Tea Party” [i]re-eduCATEd ‏@GalacticWomanA[/i]u You shouldn't have to work 3 jobs just to make ends meet #auspol Abbott will have kids out of school and into sweatshops, no doubt. [i]George Megalogenis ‏@GMegalogenis[/i] 'Fifty Shades of Cyprus' ... that's the working title for @TonyAbbottMHR 's next book, right? [i]CoatTales ‏@CoatTales[/i] Wow. The very first instance of having to discuss policy shows Abbott to be totally bereft & pathetically uninformed. Shameful. #auspol [b]Twitterverse:[/b] [i]JackRat ‏@OstrichAbbottus[/i] One word to describe Abbott's mumblings to the rabid IPA, ,, SCARY!!! .... http://www.tonyabbott.com.au/News/tabid/94/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/9135/Address-to-the-IPA-Dinner-Melbourne.aspx … [speech to the IPA] [i]EMILY's List Aus ‏@EMILYsListAus[/i] Only two women mentioned in Abbott speech @IPA - Gina & Eve. http://tiny.cc/uo21uw [i]VegemiteBlues ‏@vegemiteblues[/i] Coalition talks down a beautiful friendship http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/coalition-talks-down-a-beautiful-friendship-20130405-2hc2s.html … via @theage #auspol [i]Peter Foster ‏@PeterFosterALP[/i] WikiLeaks expands bid for senate seats http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-06/wikileaks-expands-bid-for-senate-seats/4613746 … @abcnews #auspol #ausvotes [i]Michael Taylor ‏@MigloMT[/i] Tony Abbott is, in a nutshell, clueless. #auspol http://wp.me/sOosp-clueless via @wordpressdotcom [i]John H ‏@knarfnamduh[/i] Super industry should have been nationalised from the outset to keep the grubs from skimming it!! http://www.smh.com.au/business/super-industry-gets-out-the-claws-but-happy-with-result-20130405-2hcb1.html … via @smh [i]Daniel Flitton ‏@danielflitton[/i] Labor treading on eggshells as it ferrets around super nests - my column today http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/labor-treading-on-eggshells-as-it-ferrets-around-super-nests-20130405-2hc6p.html … [i]Wayne Swan ‏@SwannyDPM[/i] Similar debate on govt support for very wealthy through tax concessions happening in the US. Via @politico pic.twitter.com/bEs2NZaj1n [i]Stephen Spencer ‏@sspencer_634 [/i] Handy table from ASFA on the super changes. http://www.superannuation.asn.au/ExternalFiles/e-comms/docs-media/mr130405b-Super-announcements.pdf … Also, useful fact box from the SMH http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/the-super-changes-at-a-glance-20130405-2hav8.html … [i]margo kingston ‏@margokingston[/i] .@YaThinkN, I wrote about IPA in my book, proving its anti-free speech! http://australiansforhonestpolitics.wordpress.com/?s=Paddy+manningaliansforhonestpolitics.wordpress.com/?s=Paddy+manni… …. Abbott will copy Howard, so worth a read. [i]Laurie Kidd ‏@KiddCaptain[/i] How Howard politicised the AFP and protected Downer and Bolt http://tinyurl.com/c8wbyvo [i]Lyn Bender ‏@Lynestel[/i] Abbott solution? Dump #climatecommission Extreme weather threatens crops, cities: official report http://theconversation.com/extreme-weather-threatens-crops-cities-official-report-13207 … via @conversationedu [i]Mark Colvin ‏@Colvinius[/i] The evidence is that @rglover702 can spell 'perfectibility'. Pity the @smh headline sub can't: http://m.smh.com.au/comment/the-myth-of-perfectability-20130404-2h7rj.html … [i]Daniel ‏@IndigenousX[/i] I love this! This is just indigenous excellence all the way! (via @kerrylouise, @Generation_One) #IndigenousX http://m.canberratimes.com.au/comment/give-us-a-chance-and-success-will-follow-20130405-2hc2i.html … [i]Jane Cattermole ‏@janecat60[/i] Hilary Clinton keeps fighting for women across the globe. http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2013/04/05/hillary-clinton-vows-to-continue-the-fight-for-women-across-the-globe.html … Ping @externallylaws @mmechomski [i]Meredith Stanton ‏@CloudsCreek[/i] Bio-energy: The next horror for our forests http://biomassacre.com/bio-energy-the-next-horror-for-our-forests/ … … Global Day of Action 15 April 2013 #biomassacre #biodiversity #climate [i]Ben Cubby ‏@bencubby[/i] Odd piece in Grist about Tony Abbott: how the US green movement sees Australia. http://bit.ly/14KOhJC [i]Peter Foster ‏@PeterFosterAL[/i]P Another graphic Tony Abbott doesn't want you to see #auspol #ausvotes #reality pic.twitter.com/4NqSxRsV3v [i]Christopher Wright ‏@ChristopherWr11[/i] So #climatechange deniers explain this please - http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/05/world/americas/1600-years-of-ice-in-perus-andes-melted-in-25-years-scientists-say.html?hp&_r=1& … [i]Common Dreams ‏@commondream[/i]s It’s Official: A Democratic President Proposes to Cut Social Security http://ow.ly/jNglz #chainedcpi

jane

6/04/2013Jason, did you lie to them?

lyn

6/04/2013Hi Ad, I thoroughly enjoyed Grog’s information as well. Very interesting, the secret agenda, there is always an ulterior motive by these money hungry trouble makers. Janie @ 8.55am Wow! “Thankyou” for your post and for taking so much time to provide us with, as Ad says a delicious feast . Another on @ 05:07 PM thankyou heaps. The IPA ,Institute of Public Affairs indeed, they have infiltrated the Country in a surreptitious manner, they are everywhere. Probably planning to take over the ABC, maybe the Country. Casablanca thankyou for all your very valuable information, we do appreciate your work very much. Jaycee, me too, IF they get elected, also thankyou for your support. Pikiranku ,I agree with you (Creepy, really really creepy). Fancy Abbott saying bare faced “ his religion will not influence his Governing of the Country”. My parents always taught me never to mix or talk religion with Politics. Gravel, smiles for you :):):) Patricia smiles for you :):):) Bob and Khtagh ♥♥

Gravel

6/04/2013Jason Thanks for that info on Insiders, in a quandary whether to watch or not, guess I'll decide in the morning. This North Korean thing seems to be getting a little bit serious. I wonder what effect it will have here, politically wise? I am asking, I guess, which way will the populous turn if it gets really serious.

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6/04/2013Janet Thank you for the additional link. I'm getting on with the new piece. Pikiranku I agree with your sentiments about the Abbott speech to the IPA.

Tom of Melbourne

6/04/2013I have listened to Gillard speak on her trip to China. What a gormless fool she it. I consider her a personal insult to Australia’s reputation as an intelligent, worldly, outwardly looking country. I listened to Rudd speaking about North Korea and China. What a shocking waste to have him on the backbench. But that’s the ALP, more talent on the backbench than in the ministry, deeply divided, with the most dishonest Prime Minister in memory.

jane

6/04/2013Pikiranku @2.22pm, me too. I thought I should if I want to criticise the damn thing. I was very pleased I hadn't had lunch. This mob must not be allowed to get their greedy greasy paws on government. Pity some financial disaster won't befall Rinehart & Turdoch. It would be quite delightful if Turdoch were to be prosecuted and slung into the clink for 20 years, his fortune and assets seized by his victims.

Casablanca

7/04/2013Patriciawa Thank you for your comment about me beavering away. Janet's Twittertalk: [i]Stanley ‏@barsmt562 With Rupert and Gina setting Abbott's economic agenda and Pell as his spiritual adviser, what could possibly go wrong?[/i] In the same vein Nikki Sava said: [i]Maybe ... he will wind back fertility or abortion rights for women. Even if he wanted to, and he insists he doesn't, his chief of staff [u]Peta Credlin won't let him.[/u][/i] http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/abbott-will-need-a-better-team/story-fnahw9xv-1226611975893

TalkTurkey

7/04/2013I love how the women on this blog are such good and conscientious researchers. I believe the female vote will win us the election. I know that female voters considerably outnumber males, I think it is in the range of 51%-49%. That's a lot. Quite a few more boys are born than girls, but young blokes are much more likely to die and kill themselves both deliberately and accidentally than sheilas, women already outnumber men by the age of 20, and live a lot longer too. So Girls we're relying on you. You also talk a lot more it seems - like, three times as much! No wonder women have taken to social media. But now that through the new media we have such access to the truth, information as never before, it must be taken to those who don't use it. [i]Go, tell it at the bowls club, down at the school and everywhere, Go tell it at the checkout, Abbortt NO NO NO NO![/i] Every old duck or codger has a vote as valuable as our own, even though they are mostly so ignorant of the political realities - it's the great, unfixable, fatal problem of the whole idea of elective democracy, but we're stuck with it and have to go with that in mind. And the chink in our enemies' armour is this, that though they rely on that ignorance in the many, and though their massive dumbing-down weapons are potent indeed, we have many more people on the ground, especially politically-aware women, as led and best exemplified by *J*U*L*I*A* herself. That includes all who might read this. We are a great army, with information and words as our weapons, but we ourselves must be the delivery systems. That's why Tweety Lyn is so very special, because she so early sussed the potential of linking to the best writings on the Net - She was the first! - and she has dedicated herself to the task ever since. And her skills, links, enthusiasm and adorability have infected so many now, but in particular her able lieutenant Gypsy Jan ... It is exactly what is needed, it feels like a given on TPS but if it weren't for Lyn the service provided by her simply wouldn't exist! This is the shape of the war now, IPA~LNP~MSM~Religionism~Wealth v Us! So you go, Girls; typing fingers alone won't do it, it's in the hospitals and coffee shops and workplaces that we must spread the urgent truth of the deadly irreversible damage that would overwhelm the land we love if this terrible mob of wreckers were to seize power. So speak out, be prepared to take on ignorance in the op shops and hairdressers, don't hold your tongue, let it do the job it was designed for! This is a late-night rave I'm afraid but I just want to point out that it's in our hands as much as in the Governments's to get it re-elected, and I reckon the women hold the key. Historically women have voted more conservatively, and by a big margin, than men. But then, historically women have not been Prime Minister before! Heureuse Dimanche mes braves!

TalkTurkey

7/04/2013Oakes wrote this in January 2012. It just goes to show how supremely rare are full-on MSM articles criticisms of Abbortt. Askgerbil Now‏@Askgerbil20h Oakes: Tony Abbott just doesn't get it - Not a fit person to be PM | http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/oakes-tony-abbott-just-doesnt-get-it/story-e6freakc-1226249788890 … #auspol

Truth Seeker

7/04/2013Hey Swordsters, if you are angry about the degradation of our once great democracy, then get on board with a move to bring justice to those that have been actively trashing it. "Our Democracy, the plaything of Abbott and the rabid right." http://truthseekersmusings.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/our-democracy-the-plaything-of-abbott-and-the-rabid-right/ Cheers :-) :-)

KHTAGH

7/04/2013The Answer to an Abbott elected government:- I call on everyone to take their money out of the banks after Sept 14 (if the Whinging Wingnut wins) & watch the excrement hit the blades, even if was just the left that did it it would cause a run on the banks(their worst nightmare). It is the only ace we have left to play, play it while it is still your money, before it becomes their money. Remember the power the rich wield is money, OUR money, remove it & the control system collapses FAST. Just an idea.

DMW

7/04/2013TT @ 4:40 AM [i]I believe the female vote will win us the election.[/i] There are at least two policy areas, which on their own, [b]are not [/b] election deciders, that have swayed many women away from Labor. Having swayed them to think again many appear to have swung toward the coalition even though in both those areas there is but a cigarette papers thickness of difference between Labor and the coalition. Given that the coalition need only win one seat for government to change hands if the election is 'tight' it will be the small things that sway and quite possibilly votes by women that may swing it. I will choose that one seat where women will most likely decide the result as Lingari in the Northern Territory currently held by Warren Snowden with a 2PP margin of about 3.7%. There is evidence that many women in the Territory are very dissatisfied, even disgusted, with the way that Labor has handled the intervention and are determined to get rid of Labor. Snowden was greatly respected in his electorate however since becoming a minister has lost a lot of that respect and many votes. (His primary vote dropped in the order of 12 or 13% at the last election). Jack Waterford, who is probably the best informed and astute reader and reporter of indigenous affairs and politics and who has a solid respect for Snowden has written of the swing amongst large numbers of indigenous women toward the coalition. Snowden has aknowledged to Waterford he has a very big problem in winning at the next election. Lingari was one of five seats in the 'smaller states' I nominated earlier in the year that would quite likely be won by the coalition and decide the result of the election. I have taken one of those seats off the list but I have not heard or read anything that persuades me that Lingari will stay with Labor. So you may be right in part that the votes of women may will decide the result of the election but, and I acknowledge it is still many weeks/months until Sept 14, the evidence is pointing to a different result to the one you predict.

KHTAGH

7/04/2013DMW I find it very confusing to try to predict the outcome of the next election, its like trying to grasp steam, there are so many close seats. Sure Labor might lose some, but they also might win others. I would agree with TT women will decide the next election, along with the young voters (a far greater unknown quality) due to the fact that they are NOT! polled as they all have mobile phones not landlines. Their own self interest in climate change will be a bigger decider, unfortunately they are not old enough to see how the climate has changed in their lifetimes, whereas we oldies & semi-oldies are. So it is up to us of older generations to explain how things have changed in our lifetimes. Im sure this is the biggest reason we see good news about CO2 reduction is hidden from view in the MSM, for example. http://www.smh.com.au/comment/not-a-shout-but-a-chinese-whisper-20130406-2hdlr.html We will see soon enough which side of the fence people stand, I predict another hung parliament or so close to it that the next government will be on a knife edge too, with such things as Ashbygate & all the other skeletons in the Lieberal closet I'm sure if Abbott does get in, it wont be for long as they will find ministers being thrown overboard like confetti. Maybe even Abbott himself. How was Insiders today? I missed it & my settop box decided not to record it so I'll have to catch it tomorrow. Is it worth watching?

Pikiranku

7/04/2013DMW How do indigenous Territorians think they're going to do better under an LNP government? How will they fare in Gina's northern economic zone? Control over country, land rights, compensation for mining activities, shared dividends from mining projects, decent employment opportunities, fair wages? Forget it all! Any indigenous Australian who votes Lieberal is either a toady or has rocks in their head.

DMW

7/04/2013KHTAGH @ 12:59 PM [i]I find it very confusing to try to predict the outcome of the next election, its like trying to grasp steam, ...[/i] Excellent analogy I may borrow that when appropriate :) [i]Sure Labor might lose some, but they also might win others.[/i] Totally agree. Earlier in the year I wrote [i]my reading [/i] of it was that things were a lot closer than the polls suggest in the three big states, NSW, Vic & Qld. At the moment I foresee some possible seat 'swaps' with some potential gains in Qld which will offset potential losses in NSW. Vic will probably stay much the same with a possible loss and/or gain of one seat. I have not been able to get any 'good and reliable' info on SA but the little I have suggests it will stay much the same with a very big maybe of a one seat gain. There are people suggesting that in WA the Libs will have a 'clean sweep' and take all 19 seats. Big call and I don't see it. Even so for very different reasons Gary Gray in Brand and Stephen Smith in Perth are 'in trouble' and may lose. Gray has acknowledged as much and is fighting hard to retain his seat. The other seat that Labor holds in WA, Melissa Parke in Fremantle, I believe Labor will hold in part because of the stance Ms Parke takes on those two issues that has swayed many people to 'think again' about Labor. In Tassie there is good info that Labor is in big trouble in Bass and as you are probably aware when Tassie swings, it swings hard and it is not unusual to see all five seats change hands. My reading from 'old school mates' and some others is Wilkie will most likely hold Denison, Bass will go and a question mark over Braddon. As things stand [u]today[/u] the election is there for Mr Abbott to lose should he still be leading the opposition come election time. There are very small signs that Mr Abbott may not be leader then which opens up a whole new ball game depending on who is the leader and the timing and circumstances of the changeover.

Tom of Melbourne

7/04/2013[i]”Any indigenous Australian who votes Lieberal is either a toady or has rocks in their head."[/i] Yeah!!!! Exactly!!! They should all do what us white people think is in their best interests. What would those people with a dark complexion know about their own good???!!!

Casablanca

7/04/2013DMW, you said: [i]There are very small signs that Mr Abbott may not be leader then which opens up a whole new ball game depending on who is the leader and the timing and circumstances of the changeover.[/i] My observation is that the recent Gala IPA love-in was a very clear, final anointing of Abbott as leader of the Conservatives. It was attended by Cardinal Pell, Head of the Catholic Church in Australia, Rupert Murdoch, Papal Knight, King Maker,[expletives deleted]... but let's hear it in Tony's words: [i]Mr Premier, Mr Lord Mayor, Your Eminence, parliamentary colleagues, [u]I don’t want to single anyone out because there are [b]so many of them here[/b][/u] but I should particularly mention the Shadow Attorney-General George Brandis who did such magnificent work in opposing the current government’s attacks on free speech, family members of the founder of the IPA, CD Kemp, [b]Gina Rinehart[/b], who has given what I’m sure is the best speech that any one will give tonight, ladies and gentlemen. [/i] Andrew Bolt was Em-Cee. I’d be surprised if Abbott’s political-love parents, Johnny & Bronny were not there. Liberal powerbroker Michael Kroger was there so I guess that his consort, Oz columnist Janet Albrechtsen was also there. The IPA’s John Roskam would of course been basking in the reflected glory of all of the above mentioned and more. Surely conservative shock jock Alan Jones was there as well. I have not found the Gala ‘best speech’ by our Global Visionary CEO http://www.ipa.org.au/people/gina-rinehart Perhaps Gina re-iterated this advice from a recent Occasional Speech available on the IPA website: [i]Our mines still produce great wealth, but it no longer will be enough to subsidise class warfare, complacency, overspending and an increasingly expensive bureaucracy whose power lies in saying ‘no'. Let's get through the class warfare smokescreen. We need to regain our roots and encourage people to invest and build. There is no monopoly on becoming a millionaire. If you're jealous of those with more money, don't just sit there and complain; do something to make more money yourselves - spend less time drinking, or smoking and socialising and more time working. Become one of those people who work hard, invest and build, and at the same time create employment and opportunities for others. Australia needs such people. The vast north of our country has few people, and many opportunities. If you can't find opportunities amongst the inner city lifestyles, try looking at ANDEV's website www.andev-project.org and note the northern ambassadors, "Voices of the North".[/i] http://www.ipa.org.au/publications/2081/let%27s-get-back-to-our-roots Did Malcolm & Lucy attend the Gala?

Casablanca

7/04/2013 [b]Organ donors to be paid six-weeks' salary [/b] The Federal Government will trial a scheme to pay employees wanting to donate an organ a six-week salary on the minimum wage. Under the scheme, workers will be paid up to $606 per week for six weeks to help ease the burden of medical costs. Health Minister Tanya Plibersek says medical and organ donation groups have long argued for the need for a living donor paid-leave scheme. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-07/organ-donors-to-be-paid-six-weeks-salary/4614278

Ad astra

7/04/2013Folks After several hours of grass mowing, what a pleasure it was to return to my computer to read you comments. Thank you Janet for your comprehensive Twitter talk. I see a number of comments about ‘Abbott economics’. When you think his credibility has hit rock bottom, out comes even more outrageous utterances. His reference today to ‘Shades of Cyprus’ is not just a reflection of his misunderstanding of economics or even superannuation; it is a deliberate and calculated move to instill fear into the minds of older people. He knows what he is doing, malevolent and misleading as it is. On [i]Insiders[/i] his Cyprus reference was disparaged by the panellists, including Abbott-admirer Michael Stutchbury, but he ‘excused’ Abbott, whom he reminded us always pushes his language to the limits, as if that excused his deception. We will see a lot of ‘Well, that’s Tony you know’ in the next few months; he can say whatever outrageous things he likes, tell whatever lies he wishes, deceive in any way that suits his purpose, and his sycophants will come out with: ‘But that’s Tony, he says these things’ and add [i]sotto voce[/i] ‘And that’s OK’. While the MSM refuses to call him out, he will get away with any deception he chooses to inflict on the electorate. It is shameful but a reality.

KHTAGH

7/04/2013DMW Firstly feel free to use any analogy I use as your own, I mind not. It is a KHTAGH original :-) [quote] In Tassie there is good info that Labor is in big trouble in Bass and as you are probably aware when Tassie swings, it swings hard and it is not unusual to see all five seats change hands. My reading from 'old school mates' and some others is Wilkie will most likely hold Denison, Bass will go and a question mark over Braddon.[/quote] Even the rumors about Tassie seats are erroneous, the same as the polling in NSW, to get the swing they rang 600(in Bass) on landlines & then stated that as fact on the projected swing over ALL seats, same old manipulation. 600 in a population of 500,000. Most Taswegians know without our GST we are right royally stuffed & the threat to have a majority of it removed would make many think twice about voting for the whinging wingnut. I'm sure that is why there has been so much denial going on about it in the last few weeks as the Lieberals know it is a game changer down here. Changing the GST was muted down here in the middle of last yr, there was no clarifying it by wingnut or Turnbull at that time, only now because it is starting to get traction. There might be a hint in the language used by Whinging wingnut in what he says too. If the GST went to 15% he would be able to give Tassie's increased share to WA to keep his promise to payoff Barnett for his support. There is a definite MO becoming clear over the last month, the more the Lieberals scream & deny something the closer to the truth you are. A small question, its in the New Year now isn't it? Well do others here remember Mr Eleventy at the press conference about the suplus he stated "We will release our policies in the New Year". WELL where are they Mr Hockey? or did he mean New Year 2014.

DMW

7/04/2013To get some idea of what is going on in the mind of some in the Territory read this article by Waterford: [b]Peris not the patsy they expect[/b] @ Canberra Times [i]When Snowdon was but a humble, if very active backbencher, those many of his Aboriginal constituents who were angry and bitter about intervention could forgive him and understand his difficult position. They believed he was doing his very best, inside the tent, behind the scenes, to ameliorate the worst of what was occurring. This is much more difficult when one is presented as an executive member of the team, invited, indeed, to stand alongside ministers, and prime ministers, as they trample over local sensibilities. There are some in the government who believe that a silent majority of NT Aborigines, particularly women, secretly like the intervention, even if they hardly dare say so in public. (Even Peris, directly asked about the intervention on Tuesday, said it had been horribly managed.) But even if this were true, there's a secondary problem: most of those who want intervention-style activities have decided they prefer the CLP approach to Labor's, even as many rusted-on Aboriginal Labor voters, deeply hostile to the intervention, have decided that Labor has taken the Aboriginal vote for granted for too long. Voting CLP makes no practical difference, but it might give Labor a wake-up call.[/i] http://www.canberratimes.com.au/opinion/peris-not-the-patsy-they-expect-20130125-2dcn9.html Then read another by Waterford: [b]$250,000 delivered to Aboriginal families at a cost of $220,000[/b] [i]I DO not think that welfarism minister Jenny Macklin has yet had the acclaim she deserves for a great Labor achievement announced this week - that government spending on indigenous Australians has reached, in average, about $250,000 per Aboriginal family a year. Macklin's own solid contribution has been to increase this sum by about 10 per cent, or $25,000 a family, since Julia Gillard took Labor into minority government. This, in the right hands, would be more than enough to put every Aboriginal child in a top GPS private school - indeed boarding schools for the remote-living ones, plus full private health insurance, flash cars, rentals or mortgages in the better suburbs and, probably, pheasant under glass for dinner every other day. Even if a proportion squandered a bit on grog and drugs, as some politicians do, there would probably be enough left over to ensure that no one was undernourished.[/i] http://www.canberratimes.com.au/opinion/250000-delivered-to-aboriginal-families-at-a-cost-of-220000-20120908-25ky1.html There are a lot more articles that you could peruse on matters indigenous by Waterford who, as I noted above, is very well informed in the area and I suggest that there is probably not another journalist or commentator that would come within cooee of Jack for his knowledge and sympathetic dedication to the indigenous cause. Note the words in the quote from the first article: [i]... that Labor has taken the Aboriginal vote for granted for too long. Voting CLP makes no practical difference, but it might give Labor a wake-up call.[/i] There are many people all over the country who think Labor needs a big wake up call and are prepared to vote against their own interests to help provide that call. They are prepared to hold their nose and vote for the LNP to teach Labor a lesson. The question now becomes are there enough prepared to do that the result of the election will become a LNP victory?

DMW

7/04/2013KHTAGH @ 4:31 PM, my information is not based on that Reachtel poll or, for that matter, any of the other recognised polls. It comes from people living in Bass in particular and other parts of the Apple Isle. All have been active in politics for 40 years and more and are reasonably good readers of the mood. It would be fair to say that the only thing most of my contacts could see that would be worse than Abbott becoming PM would be for Howard to have a quadruple bypass, do another Lazarus Rising and become PM again. It occurred to me after I tapped out the above that the GST thing might come into play and I have not spoken to any of my mates since that arose. Guess I will have to tap in to see if it is having any effect there. I could be completely and absolutely wrong in my readings and, in the end, they are nothing more than small scale unscientific straw polls, however, the info and readings are based on 'on the ground' info from people whose knowledge and opinions I trust and respect.

KHTAGH

7/04/2013DMW I think you might also find their opinions are also dependent on which side of the logging debate they are on. We can earn $2Billion/yr on carbon sink thru forest protection, this doesn't suit a lot of older people who have always seen the forests here as nothing other than things to cut down, even if there is not market for the woodchips that they were turned into, but still want to cut them down regardless. So even if we go back to a Lieberal government either state of federal it wont change the fact that logging in Tassie will never be as it was yrs ago. Where as leaving them alone will earn as I said $2Billion/yr. With very little outlay, logging hardly covers costs, that's why the state government has been propping them up for decades, its an uneconomical industry, never has stood on its own feet.

Casablanca

7/04/2013KHTAGH, you said: [i]There is a definite MO becoming clear over the last month, the more the Lieberals scream & deny something the closer to the truth you are.[/i] You are almost spot-on in this assessment. In fact, this has been Abbott's modus operandi from the very beginning: it is not a new mode for him. It is called projection. There is also a strong dose of displacement in his behaviour.

Casablanca

7/04/2013AA Every time you report that you have spent lots of time mowing the grass I wonder why you don't get some assistance. Well, help could be a matter of a mouse click away! Check out this promo: 'Jerry shows how his humble guinea pigs take a lot of the effort out of keeping his lawn neat and tidy'. http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/ Declaration: I have not watched the video and I am not a guinea pig breeder.

Ad astra

7/04/2013Folks Thank you all for your most informative comments, Casablanca That thought has crossed my mind many times as I bump over the rough ground hacking down the thick tough grass, acres of it. But help is not easy to find in rural areas. I'd need about a hundred of Jerry's guinea pigs working full time to keep the grass down! But I did notice today that the grass in the next property was finely cropped, thanks to the horses that graze there. If only I had a horse I thought. But that would require the building of 200 metres of fence to stop them from walking out into the inlet and disappearing! So I guess I'm stuck with mowing for a while - the lack of rain over summer has meant that I have not had to mow for about three months, and with the cold weather coming on, I hope I'll get another three months free of this chore. But thanks for the thought!

DMW

7/04/2013Casablanca @ 3:45 PM, your observation that [i]the recent Gala IPA love-in was a very clear, final anointing of Abbott as leader of the Conservatives [/i] is quite fair and reasonable. It is quite a 'long shot' and many things need to fall into place including a much improved performance by the government for there to be a chance that Abbott will be replaced. There are some 'rumblings' about Abbott's performance of late and the main thing stopping it coming out too loudly is the performance and travails of the government over the last few weeks. Some 'hints' have bubbled to the surface though. Related to this watch for a change in wording when reporting of LNP policy positions come up. Currently when the government announces something it is a 'back-flip' or 'back-down' but for example when it was reported that the LNP would be keeping the PRRT aspects of the 'mining tax' most reported it as 'U-turn'. Meanwhile Hockey's thoughts on backing the government's changes to the baby bonus were reported as 'humiliating defeat' when 'Herr-Leader' chose otherwise. There are many tensions within the born to rules but the government has been so wrapped in its' own self indulgences that it has not been able to take advantage of them. This may change.

jane

7/04/2013DMW, @4.44pm, have the voters who claim Labor needs a wake up call, articulated why they think so? Do you think they have been so brainwashed by Liars & msm propaganda that they refuse to acknowledge the government's achievements, or are they disillusioned by the leadershit rubbish that has been constantly fomented by the msm? I truly wonder if they've really thought about the consequences of voting Liars. Are they prepared to cop the inevitable punishment that will be dealt out to the poor, low and middle income earners and pensioners if they elect a Liars government. Once again, all Labor candidates must get out on the hustings and deliver the Labor message. They must ensure that voters now just what they stand to lose by electing a Liars government. For the economic illiterates who infest the Liars and the economic dimwits who comprise the ranks of Liars barrackers, I give you the following very informative read by Warren Mosler, courtesy of Bill Mitchell's blog. It's entitled [i]Seven Deadly Innocent Frauds of Economic Policy[/i] Although it is primarily directed to Americans, it is also applicable to Australia as our economies are similar. The seven topics he discusses are as follows: [b]Seven Deadly Innocent Frauds of Economic Policy[/b] 1. The government must raise funds through taxation or borrowing in order to spend. In other words, government spending is limited by its ability to tax or borrow. 2. With government deficits, we are leaving our debt burden to our children. 3. Government budget deficits take away savings. 4. Social Security is broken. 5. The trade deficit is an unsustainable imbalance that takes away jobs and output. 6. We need savings to provide the funds for investment. 7. It’s a bad thing that higher deficits today mean higher taxes tomorrow. It's a long read, but explains a great deal and can be used as evidence to rebut the usual rubbish we're fed by the Liars and their barrackers. http://moslereconomics.com/wp-content/powerpoints/7DIF.pdf

jane

7/04/2013I neglected to say that I don't believe for one minute that the fraudulent economic trash peddled by the Liars is innocently done.

Jason

7/04/2013Those wanting to see the Coalition put out more policy will have one to wrap their heads around this week when the opposition unveils its broadband plan on Tuesday. http://theconversation.com/turnbull-has-to-sell-broadband-hybrid-13288

jane

7/04/2013Well, I suppose it'll be fine to wrap fish & chips in. I imagine it will be a 3rd grade pile of dog turds.

jane

7/04/2013Is anyone else having trouble with recaptcha?

KHTAGH

7/04/2013Jane [quote]I don't believe for one minute that the fraudulent economic trash peddled by the Liars is innocently done.[/quote] So true, I think a lot of Abbott's action are straight out of priest school, see chapter 5 "How to capture & control your flock by fear" He did spend 3 yrs in there when all said & done & I'm sure he learnt more than just the 'five finger shuffle'. Maybe that's how he speaks so much crap to the cameras with blatant lies & such a straight face, he is just delivering another sermon from the pulpit. He knows how to place a word like a knife, its what he does best, verbally assault people. Just like most clergy, Remember Bernie Banton.

DMW

7/04/2013jane @ 9:20 PM [i]... have the voters who claim Labor needs a wake up call, articulated why they think so?[/i] Yes.

lyn

8/04/2013Today’s Links Freedom for Whom- by @MrDenmore continuing distorted, deceitful and manipulated coverage of the media reforms in the Murdoch press - are a bigger threat to this society's freedoms than anything http://thefailedestate.blogspot.com.au/ Be Warned by @KayRollison British Conservative government is demolishing the welfare state, brick by brick. A series of changes, scarcely reported here http://theaimn.com/2013/04/07/be-warned/ ABBOTT says yes to 10 of the IPA’s 75 radical ideas, so far IPA REVIEW ARTICLE http://australiansforhonestpolitics.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/abbott-says-yes-to-to-10-of-the-ipas-75-radical-ideas-so-far/ Who funds the IPA? Ask your gut. by @newsfliporg We need to accept this as a pragmatic manifestation of capitalistic greed and combat it using all our collective resources. http://www.newsflip.org/2013/04/who-funds-ipa-ask-your-gut.html The IPA’s 70 year struggle against class war by @donattroppo higher wage for men than for women finds its justification in the elemental fact that the man must always be the natural breadwinner of the family." http://clubtroppo.com.au/2013/04/06/the-ipas-70-year-struggle-against-class-war/ Tony Abbott, Leader of the Opposition: Clarify which of the IPA's 75 policies the Coalition plans to implement. by @cyenne40 http://goo.gl/jd0gh Climate Change “A Lay Person’s Dilemma by @saint13333 It is to be hoped that in this election year journalists will start to question the opposition leader (in detail) about how his alternative policy will work http://theaimn.com/2013/04/06/climate-change-a-lay-persons-delemma/ Just got told that Bolt is earning $1,000,000 a year . . . but that’s not why I”m voting for Tony. by rossleighbrisbane Rupert is a hero, comparable to a war hero. So all you left wingers who think he’s just doing what he does for personal gain and glory http://theaimn.com/2013/04/07/just-got-told-that-bolt-is-earning-1000000-a-year-but-thats-not-why-im-voting-for-tony/ Week in Review by @johncookadviser http://johncookadviser.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/week-in-review-29/ Say what Tony? Climate Change is…. ? by Critical Thinking, Tony Abbott has a message for every occasion, every crowd. http://saynototony.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/say-what-tony-climate-change-is/ Clueless! by @MigloMT Does he have any idea what going on in this country? He certainly is blind to what the Government has been doing. http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/clueless/ Plutocrats puppy: Tony Abbott’s speech at IPA birthday bash @independentaus a big “yes” to many of the 75 specific policies you urged upon me http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/plutocrats-puppy-tony-abbotts-speech-at-ipa-birthday-bash/ Tony Abbott’s lie exposed @AshGhebranious ask yourself why the mainstream media have not bothered to mention this over and over http://ashghebranious.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/tony-abbotts-lie-exposed/ Scratching Rupert Murdoch by @derekbarry Abbott said. “He’s influenced them but he’s never dictated to them, Abbott claimed. http://woollydays.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/scratching-rupert-murdoch/ How would we know if the labour market was flexible- by @MattCowgill Howard Government’s labour laws were still in effect, the number of hours worked in Australia fell while the number of people in employment didn’t fall. http://mattcowgill.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/how-would-we-know-if-the-labour-market-was-flexible/ Our Democracy, the Plaything of Abbott and the Rabid Right! by Truth Seeker Abbott is the MSMs boy, and the LNP, their party, so the only thing that is a surprise, is that they have given up any pretence at being fair and balanced in their reporting http://truthseekersmusings.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/our-democracy-the-plaything-of-abbott-and-the-rabid-right/ Weekly Times milk video hits too weakly @mattdasilva information about milk prices are run by the ABC and Fairfax. News Ltd editors know what Murdoch wants to see in his papers: free markets, not fair markets. Today’s Front Pages Australia Newspaper Front Pages for 8 April 2013 http://www.frontpagestoday.co.uk/index.cfm?PaperCountry=Australia

Ad astra

8/04/2013LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

lyn

8/04/2013Good Morning Ad, I hope you had an enjoyable weekend. Oh dear! sorry to report a link missing on "Today's Links" Would you include for me please Ad. Weekly Times milk video hits too weakly http://happyantipodean.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/weekly-times-milk-video-hits-too-weakly.html

Ad astra

8/04/2013Hi Lyn Thanks for your links - as we are no longer on Daylight Saving, I'll be posting them to LYN'S DAILY LINKS an hour later than usual. I've added the Happy Antipodean link to LYN'S DAILY LINKS, but as I can't edit comments posted by others (I can only delete them), I can't add it to the set you posted this morning. You could post them again with the link included, whereupon I would delete the first batch.

janice

8/04/2013Good morning all. Well, if all these Labor voters who plan to vote LNP "to teach Labor a lesson" or "give them a wake-up call" do join the unethical, deceivers club, then I hope with all my heart that they suffer more than anyone else when they find themselves trampled and ground under the feet of Murdoch/Gina/Abbott in the back alleys of misery and hopelessness. Btw, Most who wax lyrical about the Northern Territory and its indigenous population are talking out of their backsides.

Janet (jan@j4gypsy)

8/04/2013Morning all. TT, thank you for the late night burst of encouragement and appreciation to the Tweetie Bird and all TPS's 'women' researchers. That was very sweet. DMW and KHTAG: I've enjoyed your discussion on straying Labor voters in the last few days, but like Janice am horrified to think anyone feels voting for the Opposition is a legitimate way to express discontent with the ALP. Like Jane, I wanted to know if they had 'articulated' reasons. But 'yes' is not a satisfying answer. When you get more time, could you outline some of those reasons? And now, to add to the Tweetie's marvellous early-morning links, a quick run around the Twitter universe. [b]Twitterati[/b] [i]Possum Comitatus ‏@Pollytics[/i] Turnbull announcing Coalition broadband policy on Tuesday hey? Fiber to the Copper Hole - open your cheque books people [i]Paul Bongiorno ‏@PaulBongiorno[/i] Libs say $1b is a big hit on top end's super, what about their $3B hit on the bottom end? [i]FatherBob ‏@FatherBob[/i] #Tim Soutphommasane, Melb.Age : Like the cockroach it resembles, racism thrives on the crumbs of indifference. [i]David Horton ‏@watermelon_man[/i] Those who forget history are doomed not to recognise hypocrisy from conservative politicians. [i]Sampath Ratnayake ‏@PrinceOfGC[/i] Saw Prime Minister @JuliaGillard speaking to star studded global audience on Climate change action!. Take that Abbott! #auspol [i]Twon ‏@DocTwon[/i] Aus carbon scheme is so good Chinese officials were here last week seeing how it works for emissions trading they are implementing #auspol [i]Ross Bowler ‏@BowlerBarrister[/i] Welfare Pete Costello's fee to do the bidding of Campbell Not Fully Briefed Newman: $3,300.00 per day @lees1965 @MarkRDuckett @BridgetOFlynn [i]Melissa Fyfe ‏@melfyfe[/i] Women's minister Heidi Victoria says gender equality in parliament 'naive' goal. She's wound clock back today not one hour but to the 1950s [i]Jack Sumner ‏@preciouspress[/i] #insiders poll showing abysmal public opinion of journalists. Indicative that Kelly & panel made no further mention of it. [i]Apparatchik Tads ‏@Tadlette[/i] Lucky LNP weren't in charge when govt was laying sewers, we'd have ended up with one dunny at the end of every street #auspol [i]Stephen ‏@TheAviator1992[/i] Hungry Jack's sells Whoppers, the Liberal Party tells Whoppers. Easy to see why the two like each other so much! #auspol [i]Elle Hardy ‏@ellehardytweets[/i] "Paul Sheehan is on leave" - the most joyous sentence you will read all week. [i]Stephen ‏@TheAviator1992[/i] End of Daylight Savings is Tony Abbott's favourite time of year, because everyone joins him in going back in time! #auspol [i]The dead set nong ‏@HendoWill1[/i] Cumpulsory vote. Vote wisely. Is Abbott; A Dead set tosser B Economic illiterate C Populist tosser D Policy denier [b]Twitterverse[/b] [i]TheFinnigans天地有道人无道 ‏@Thefinnigans[/i] Oh My Godfather - I kneel before you, your wish will be my command https://twitter.com/Thefinnigans/status/321022760262463488/photo/1 [i]Mr Denmore ‏@MrDenmore[/i] In fighting scrutiny of media power, Murdoch & the think tanks cry freedom. But whose freedom? See The Failed Estate http://tiny.cc/t9u6uw [i]Craig Emerson MP ‏@CraigEmersonMP[/i] My latest column in The Australian looks at uni access for kids whose parents could only dream of such a chance. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0ctB3LVda7hTHV6UVdJb3dtTjQ/edit?usp=sharing … [i]Michelle Grattan ‏@michellegrattan[/i] BREAKING: Opposition to announce broadband policy Tuesday http://theconversation.com/turnbull-has-to-sell-broadband-hybrid-13288 … via @conversationedu #auspol [i]Stephen Koukoulas ‏@TheKouk[/i] Plenty of feedback on my critique of Judith Sloan's article yesterday: http://www.marketeconomics.com.au/2361-judith-sloan-takes-issue-with-me-and-the-bogeyman-in-the-cupboard … [i]Carly ‏@tehautumn[/i] Gina digs deep at celebratory nosh, and it was all tax deductible. #IPA http://m.smh.com.au/business/gina-digs-deep-at-celebratory-nosh-20130407-2hev5.html … [i]Paul Syvret ‏@PSyvret[/i] Closing tax loopholes is not revenue grabbing http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2013/04/closing-tax-loopholes-is-not-revenue-grabbing/ … @MattCowgill on superannuation, tax and the 'C' word... [i]Peter Martin ‏@1petermartin[/i] Tingle: The elephant in the room has been Costello’s 2007 decision to make the income of all superannuants tax-free: http://goo.gl/n7XIl [i]Joe2 ‏@eatatjoe[/i] @abcnews when will you appropriately refer to Rupert Murdoch as "disgraced" media baron, as he surely is? #hackgate http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/mar/15/phone-hacking-murdoch-news-world … [i]John Hanna ‏@John_Hanna[/i] It's focus on #NBN week. Pick a number, any number as long as it's really big & Coalition sourced @DailyTelegraph http://bit.ly/10L96hp [i]ABC News ‏@abcnews[/i] Wong rounds on Abbott's 'reckless' remarks linking Labor's superannuation changes to the banking crisis in Cyprus http://bit.ly/10FWOsW [i]Peter FitzSimons ‏@Peter_Fitz[/i] The Carbon Tax is actually WORKING, so why on earth - for the earth - would we dismantle it? http://www.smh.com.au/comment/not-a-shout-but-a-chinese-whisper-20130406-2hdlr.html … … via @smh #auspol [i]Margaret Clark ‏@MargaretClark[/i] Chilling words from antartica scientist- In 25 yrs of research here this is the first time i have experienced rain http://m.canberratimes.com.au/environment/climate-change/polar-melt-shakes-up-food-chain-20130406-2hdlx.html … [i]Meredith Stanton ‏@CloudsCreek[/i] Bio-energy: The next horror for our forests http://biomassacre.com/bio-energy-the-next-horror-for-our-forests/ … … Global Day of Action 15 April 2013 #biomassacre #biodiversity #climate [i]timhollo ‏@timhollo[/i] .@billmckibben coming to Aus in June to take on #coal: "If they carry out their business plans, the planet tanks." http://m.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/coal-gets-rogue-status-in-fight-for-clean-earth-20130408-2hfiz.html … [i]Daniel Flitton ‏@danielflitton[/i] A time of uncertainty unsettles Melbourne's Korean community http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/a-time-of-uncertainty-unsettles-melbournes-korean-community-20130407-2hewn.html … [i]John Pratt ‏@Jackthelad1947[/i] Poised on the nuclear precipice. #auspol North Korea is the least of our worries. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/-2heq9.html … [i]Harry Larsen ‏@berkeleyboy[/i] Time to end Tony Abbott&#8217;s deceitful debt scare campaign http://tinyurl.com/cejpygx [i]Bernard Keane ‏@BernardKeane[/i] Andrew Forrest engages in some Hugh White-style grovelling to Beijing http://bit.ly/14XZdnI

TalkTurkey

8/04/2013 I know who wrote this: A Piss~in~Pocket Pair! Rowland & Trivioli ! Fairy floss from Ginny there: Hey Ho says Rowley :) But not this: "Voting for Tony Abborrrtt because you don't like *J*U*L*I*A* Gillard Is like eating shit because you don't like spinach."

Michael

8/04/2013"Economic simpleton". What a brilliantly apt phrase to describe Tony Abbott. Come to think of it, who needs the "economic"? And none of us want the "simpleton".

Ad astra

8/04/2013Janet Thank you again for your informative Twitter talk. I wonder is the media attitude to Abbott slowly turning as they rediscover his hollowness.

Tom of Melboune

8/04/2013[i] "Economic simpleton". What a brilliantly apt phrase to describe Tony Abbott.[/i] Yes, I heard Gillard provide that description. Maybe that is true. [b]But let’s look at Gillard’s complete economic idiocy![/b] Gillard has used this analogy several times – [i]“our debt is like someone with a $100,000 income with a $10,000 mortgage”[/i] If there is one thing that Gillard has successfully proved with that statement, it is that she is an economic imbecilic. She has confused GDP with income. She’s a dill.

Catching up

8/04/2013Tony upset. Slow learner. When one makes extreme and outrageous comments, one must expect similar comeback. Turnbull, out this morning with his outrageous lies about NBNCo. Who wants those large steel cabinets on every street corner. Why does Abbott and Co believe they can only win by demonising the PM and lies. Why not try offering something better. Have been annoyed by the PM being referred to on the ABC by Ms. Gillard. Today I notice an improvement, the PM, Ms. Gillard. Sometimes only Julia. Wonder how hard they have to work to make the surname sound ridiculous. Just heard again, the way Julia Gillard has... followed by she. No mention of being PM. Sorry, things have not improved, we are getting Gillard.. Needless to say, the comments are being negative. Talking about China ABC local. Talking international politics. Have not notice that the Opposition leader gets Tony or Abbott the majority of the time.

Tom of Melboune

8/04/2013Yep, Gillard doesn’t understand that GDP is different to income. What a dill. But she calls Abbott “an economic simpleton”. Gillard is the last person who is entitled to comment on the economic credentials of another politician. She keeps repeating her analogy and the press don’t even bother to pick her up on it! Gillard is economically illiterate and we have proof.

Michael

8/04/2013ToM, you're.... wrong. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product includes: "Another way of measuring GDP is to measure total income. If GDP is calculated this way it is sometimes called Gross Domestic Income (GDI), or GDP(I). This method measures GDP by adding incomes that firms pay households for factors of production they hire- wages for labour, interest for capital, rent for land and profits for entrepreneurship." and... http://www.econport.org/content/handbook/NatIncAccount/CalculatingGDP/Income.html includes: "Income Approach to Calculating GDP This approach calculates National Income, NI. NI is the sum of the following components: Labor Income (W) Rental Income (R) Interest Income (i) Profits (PR) NI = W + R + i + PR Labor Income (W): Salaries, wages, and fringe benefits such as health or retirement. This also includes unemployment insurance and government taxes for Social Security. Rental Income (R): This is income received from property received by households. Royalties from patents, copyrights and assets as well as imputed rent are included. Interest Income (i): Income received by households through the lending of their money to corporations and business firms. Government and household interest payments are not included in the national income. Profits (PR): The amount firms have left after paying their rent, interest on debt, and employee compensation. GDP calculation involves accounting profit and not economic profit." All of which means that while the PM is keeping it simple for the 6 o'clock news, apparently that's not 'simple' enough for you and you know who.

lyn

8/04/2013Hi Ad, Thankyou for including the missing link in “Today’s Links”. I didn’t think our readers would worry about moving down one space on the blog page. Talk Turkey thankyou very much for your lovely words ♥. I agree with Janie you are a Sweetie. I have to tell you though it was Ad Astra's innovation "Today's Links. Janie thankyou so much for your fantastic Twitterverse, very interesting tweets there. Good Girl you are a clever hard worker, gee I am glad you belong to us. Tony Abbott & his followers getting all hurt and taking umbrage because Julia mentioned economic simpleton, well the cap fits. What did Abbott say about Julia Gillard when he was overseas. Bernard Keane ‏ Abbott bags PM for criticising him from overseas. He was in London when he said she was [b]"running a protection racket" [/b]http://bit.ly/14WQGkH Jennifer ‏ PM didn't actually say Abbott was an economic simpletion. [b]She said it was 'simpleton talk' when asked about Cyprus comment. She's right[/b]. Rhondda Purtell ‏@pur_n_tell 16h 'ECONOMIC SIMPLETON'. Peter Costello said he was 'ECONOMIC ILLITERATE' http://www.news.com.au/national-news/liberal-powerbroker-says-peter-costello-remains-obsessed-with-leadership/story-e6frfkvr-1226352860656 … :):):):)

Tom of Melboune

8/04/2013[i]Gross domestic product (GDP) is the market value of all officially recognized final goods and services produced within a country in a given period of time.[/i] It is the total of the economic activity. It is nothing like household income - a more appropriate analogy is to business turnover or gross revenue, but Gillard chose personal income, because she sought to distort the serious level of debt.

Michael

8/04/2013ToM, hi. Be nice if you could include a source for your definition of GDP. I didn't include mine just to fill out the space. It's called 'citing references', without which an economic theory quote, italicised or not, is worth as much as a throw of the dice in a game of Monopoly. I envy you your access to the PM's private thoughts, while I am certain you hit only opacity when you try to read Abbott's.

DMW

8/04/2013Good Afternoon J-Fa, re your comment @ 9:18 AM [i]... 'yes' is not a satisfying answer.[/i] It is most unfortunate that, in general, many discussions around politics leave many unsated and even dissatisfied. I will debate with myself if that is the nature of the beast, or, the nature of the participants in the conversation. (That comment is a generalisation and not specific to any one person or group of people here or elsewhere.) First a conundrum that arises from discussions that I have had. I will cherry pick two statements: [i]This government is poll driven [/i] and [i]... they're just not listening to the voters[/i] Think about that for half a moment; surely polls are collections of opinions of voters that are telling the government, through the pollsters, what people are thinking. If a government is poll driven then surely it must be 'listening' to the people. Another conundrum that arises from that is, do 'the masses' really want a poll driven government and therefore one that listens to every single point of view and opinion and to act on all those different opinions or a government that acts as the supposed collective wisdom of that government guides them? I have said this before and it is worth repeating, my view on our elected representatives acting in accordance with the wishes, wants, desires and opinions of voters is guided by this: [i]Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.’[/i] Edmund Burke, Speech to the Electors of Bristol http://goo.gl/2mnAw What have people articulated? Before I jump in, I state that I don't agree with all or any particular point of view that I have heard or seen expressed. Any discussion on [i]me [/i] being wrong about any of the following is pointless as I am neither right nor wrong about other people's point of view. Nor am I responsible for people come to their point of view; well, except when I have attempted to inform another point of view and possibly 'switched on a light'. [i]The government is divided amongst itself and is too easily bullied into a backdown or backflip[/i] This often coupled with the old saw 'if they can't govern themselves ...' Sometimes a comment along the lines of [i]... if they can't stand up to the bullies how can they stand up for us? [/i] is added. I have argued that all governing parties have divisions and disagreements and that it part of a healthy democracy and, indeed the role of our representatives to have those debates about the differences. It seems though amongst a few the view is that this one is the worst since 'forever'. In my opinion that shows little knowledge of the history of the birth of the Commonwealth let alone the story of our governance over the last 112 years. On two particular social issues, Asylum Seekers and the Territory Intervention, people express a view that the current government is or has become a 'carbon copy' of the previous government except that it hasn't handled the administration as well. For some that has become 'why vote for the plastic replica' if those are the policies I might as well vote for 'the real thing'. I don't believe that either of those will sway many people one way or the other, however, I 'know' that for some it has caused second thoughts and caused a rethink about what Labor really stands for. The following statement is a combination of a few variations on a theme: [i]This government doesn't take responsibility for its' actions and always seeks to 'blame' others when things go wrong. They are like spoilt brats ... they should grow up.[/i] As one mother said to me [i]... they remind me of kids like my daughter who always blames her little brother for the mess and starting all the fights ...[/i] Those are some selections from conversations I have had and from some readings. To get more on what people are articulating we do not have to venture very far. There are many polls on people's attitudes and perceptions that can inform us if we wish, we can read them in the papers, on blogs, twitter etc. It is all there for the processing. Yes, people are articulating why many wish to give this government a boot in the backside and just because we disagree with those people reasons or how allegedly the have come to that point of view does not make their point of view wrong or informed by propaganda or brainwashing any more than the points of view expressed by commenters here are influenced by a different set of propaganda or method of brainwashing.

Tom of Melbourne

8/04/2013I used the first sentence from your link. Only an economic simpleton would consider it appropriate to compare personal income with GDP.

Curi-Oz

8/04/2013Had a stray thought this morning regarding the lambasting of the Public Service's economic units. The last few years have seen the Liberal coalition denigrate, and even lie about, the information that the RBA, ABS, ABARE and other PS economic departments have published, and completely ignored or fabricated almost everything from international sources. So if this information is so dreadful now, how can the LNP trust it should they become the government in October? Not to mention the fact that by dismissing all those public servants, there will not be enough tax paid through other channels to finance those that will demand their pound of flesh for having elevated the LNP ... I think the UK is starting to notice the increase in incivility over that type of action! Apologies for the mixed metaphors, but hopefully my brain will shortly stop going round in circles on this one! Regards,

Janet (jan@j4gypsy)

8/04/2013 Hey DMW :-). Bravo, and thank you for such a considered response and for spending the time. I [i]did[/i] really want to hear some of the thoughts you've passed on. I don't always wind up in situations where I hear these kinds of thoughts. Sated, for the moment :-)

Paul of Berwick

8/04/2013Hey, here's a couple of links to have a look at: - Antony Greens election calculator - http://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/federal/2013/calculator/?mode=regional&overall=-2.5&nsw=-4.7&vic=4.8&qld=3.6&wa=-1.1&sa=1.7&tas=1.7&act=-2.1&nt=-1.6&retiringmps=true - Potential for not a landslide - http://theconversation.com/finding-a-compass-on-why-voters-vote-the-way-they-do-13163

Ad astra

8/04/2013Folks I have just now posted [i]Abbott and the Murdoch, Rinehart, Pell connection[/i]. http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/post/2013/04/08/Abbott-and-the-Murdoch-Rinehart-Pell-connection.aspx

DMW

8/04/2013Hi J-Fa, it was a labour of love/hate :) Also it clarified a few things in my mind and during the hunt and peck process a few possible counters to some of the 'arguments' have popped into my head. I am still pondering the nature of the beast though (it sometimes feels like perpetual (e)motion)

TalkTurkey

8/04/2013IndependentAustralia‏@independentaus1h A Fair Go for Prime Minister Julia Gillard, by Clint Howitt. http://fb.me/2gH9O6k0L
T-w-o take away o-n-e equals?