What Julia Gillard DOES stand for

Are you as tired as I am of the words: ‘What does Julia Gillard stand for?’ There seems an endless stream of journalists, bloggers, and of course members of the Opposition who repeat this question over and again, until it sounds like a mantra chanted mindlessly. What does it actually mean? Does it mean the same thing to all who utter the words?

Like so many other phrases, such as ‘moral compass’, ‘What does X stand for?’ means different things to different people. To some it means principles, to some it means moral positions, to some it means ‘vision’, to some 'narrative', to others specific policies. And when critics ask the question they usually mean that X doesn’t stand for something they value, or has changed his/her position. Of course there are some who assert that Julia Gillard does not stand for anything at all. That extreme view, apart from being implausible, portrays an intense dislike of her rather that stating a real proposition. Even crooks and rogues stand for something.

Yet we have experienced journalists such as Bernard Keane writing in Crikey about Julia Gillard: “She has given Australians too many conflicting signals about her vision and political persona; in the absence of a clear understanding of just who she is and what she stands for, all voters really know about her is that she knifed Kevin Rudd to get the top job and the government is run by spinmasters and focus groups.” Has Bernard not been listening to her, or are the things she is saying not what he wants to hear, or does he hear different things from what others hear, or is he aligning himself with most other journalists in virtually writing her off as a competent PM lest he be the odd man out? Maybe even he doesn’t know.

So here is what I understand Julia Gillard to stand for. Check how well my views coincide with your own.

Of all her utterances, the one that emerges over and again is that she stands for opportunity - opportunity for all to achieve.

She wants everyone to have the opportunity for the best education that is possible given the individual’s capacity. She has said this countless times, as many times as she has stated her ‘passion’ for education, a portfolio which she relished when Kevin Rudd was PM, and still does. How many times have we seen her delighting in being in a school setting; how many times have we heard her talking with school children urging them to get the best education they can?

She has initiated a raft of benefits for school children and their parents and for students living in regional areas. She has increased funding to schools, universities, and TAFEs, established Trade Training Centres in high schools, has initiated a national school curriculum and national standards via NAPLAN, and the MySchool website, which has been a great success. These are even more educational things she stands for.

She stands for an excellent education for all. No one should doubt that.

Next she stands for enabling everyone capable of work to have the opportunity to have a satisfying job that pays well enough to permit comfortable living. She has repeated this so many times that it has clearly annoyed some. Otherwise why would Keane write: “She elaborated this into an obligation to make the most of educational opportunities, by rising early and working hard, preferably via some form of manual labour — famously contrasting the brickie and the socialite in a speech that could have been condensed into the famous graffiti “Work. Consume. Be Silent”. She has often extolled the dignity of work, and her wish that all would enjoy that dignity, but I don’t recall her extolling manual work over other work. Keane sees it differently and gratuitously offers a slogan that has never escaped her lips.

Moreover, she has repeatedly stated her intent to move as many as she can from welfare dependency to meaningful work. That is something else she stands for. She is distressed by families in which no one has ever worked and wants them to experience the joy of working and achieving. Even with unemployment now below 5%, she wants even more in work. That is what she stands for.

She stands for equitable working conditions for all who are employed. Didn’t she fight tooth and nail for this as Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations in the Rudd Government? Wasn’t she the one most responsible for getting rid of WorkChoices and installing Fair Work Australia? Has she not been an advocate for fair working conditions since her time at Slater and Gordon? Is this not something for which she stands?

PM Gillard stands for a strong economy that provides jobs for all who can work. She stands for a prosperous nation. How could anyone doubt this after all the Rudd/Gillard Governments have done to secure our economy through the GFC and beyond? Australia has come through this crisis better than any other comparable country. Take a look at Peter Martin’s graph at his website

She was part of the core group that steered us through, with an immediate cash stimulus to support retail trade, a much maligned HIP which nevertheless insulated the ceilings of a million homes, a highly successful infrastructure initiative, the BER, which has given schools all over the nation buildings they needed to bring them up to date. That is what she stood for and still does.

Julia Gillard stands for bringing the budget back to surplus by 2012/13, an aim to which she has doggedly stuck despite some economists insisting that this was unnecessary.

She stands for efficiently managing the workforce for the future within the so-called ‘patchwork economy’. Along with others in the core group she has presided over the saving of over 200,000 jobs during the GFC, creating over 300,000 in the last term of government and has plans for a further half a million in the current term. The Rudd/Gillard Governments have created 235,000 new training places, and plans to increase that to 700,000 by 2012. That is what she stands for.

She stands for a skilled immigration program, with plans to enlist over 100,000 to fill gaps in employment, especially in the mining sector.

She also stands for improving social welfare for those who need it – increases to pension payments, a Paid Maternity Leave plan now in place, better superannuation and tax cuts for lower income earners.

She believes in the reality of anthropogenic global warming and stands for action on climate change. She has done so for years. She believes that a market-based trading system that places a price on carbon is the most cost-effective way of doing this, and most economists agree. In response to Tony Abbott’s attack on what he described as a carbon tax, she said before the election that there would be no tax on carbon by a government she led, and I believe she meant it. As it turned out she could not lead a government without the support of the Greens and Independents, and their support necessitated the introduction of a price on carbon as a preliminary to instituting an ETS. She must wish she had used some other form of words such as ‘my strong preference is an ETS, but that means putting a price on carbon pollution’. Her categorical statement, which she contends was not meant to mislead, left her open to being beaten around the head endlessly by Tony Abbott, the Coalition and the media, which repeats that unfortunate statement endlessly. Further it has allowed shock jocks like Alan Jones to coin ‘Ju-liar’, and for Tony Abbott to repeatedly call her a liar and insist that she cannot be trusted. It has allowed him to seriously erode public confidence in her. While she no doubt regrets that response to a reporter’s question, the reporter will have recorded that amongst his/her best gotchas.

But whatever the dynamics, she stands for strong action to counter global warming and always has. Despite poor polls that she agrees are related to the ‘carbon tax’ debate, she is determined to bring one in and the comments of those on the parliamentary group on climate change are sounding as if that will be achieved.

She stands for the introduction of a Minerals Recource Rent Tax to return to the Australian people a fair return for the minerals they own. It may not net as much as the Greens want and will be more that the miners wish to pay, but she stands for an outcome that will be equitable to the stakeholders, and is determined to bring it in.

She stands for infrastructure development, and to that end money has been allocated to ports, railways, highways and renewable energy. and the biggest infrastructure development af all – the NBN, which is progressing well. This is something else she stands for.

PM Gillard stands for reform of the health sector. The two Labor Governments have taken many steps in that direction, and are waiting for some NLP states to come on board. A greater federal contribution to health funding, case-mix funding, and local control of hospital expenditure are features of the new arrangement. Over 1000 new nurse training places have been created and 1300 new places for doctors. Hospital funding has been increased by 50%, and to put more emphasis on primary care, GP Super Clinics have been or are being built where communities want and need them to take pressure off hospital emergency departments. Cancer centres have been built, and money has been allocated to mental health and research. Plain packaging of cigarettes has been introduced and PM Gillard is determined that it will be legislated. These are the health initiatives she stands for.

In asylum seeker policy she stands for, is one of breaking the people smuggler business model by returning those arriving by boat to a regional processing centre and taking instead those who have already been assessed as refugees. The former has been her consistent aim since becoming PM. The concept of such a centre has the endorsement of the ‘Bali Conference’ of regional representatives. It is therefore not just Australia that embraces this idea. Initially East Timor was considered as a regional processing centre but that seemingly fell through because the East Timor Government was apprehensive about housing asylum seekers in conditions superior to that enjoyed by its own citizens. Manus Island was considered but that is in abeyance because of lack of enthusiasm in PNG. Now an arrangement is being negotiated with Malaysia whereby for every one person arriving by boat moved to Malaysia five authenticated refugees would be taken by Australia, with safeguards in place to protect new arrivals and ensure their dignity and safety.

Breaking the business model of people smugglers by way of a regional processing centre is what Julia Gillard stands for. Some disagree vigorously with the concept of sending people offshore for processing and label PM Gillard’s move to do this as inhumane and unprincipled, which of course it appears to be to those with an open-armed approach. On the other hand taking all comers would be just as vigorously criticized by those who do not want asylum seekers here at all. If there was bipartisan agreement to take all asylum seekers who arrive, as was the case during the Fraser years with the Vietnamese boat arrivals, acrimonious partisan debate would be absent and the asylum issue would not be a political one. Julia Gillard knows that such an open-armed approach now would be political suicide and lead to loss of government and a return to the Coalition’s Nauru Island and TPV solution, which resulted in long periods of detention, although most detainees ended up in Australia.

So no matter how strongly some may disagree with her approach, it is consistent with what she has stated for some time, with what she stands for. While initially she may have favoured the ‘softer’ approach of the Rudd Government, the regular boat arrivals which have occurred in recent years, which have been used by the Coalition to beat the Government around the head, she is forced by circumstance to change her approach or suffer the electoral consequences. Some therefore label her as inconsistent, wishy washy, poll driven, unprincipled, uncaring, opportunistic and giving conflicting messages on the asylum seeker issue. Such accusations are based on politicians never changing their minds, not adapting to changing circumstances, which is a silly notion. As the world changes, so must politicians adapt and change.

I have given sufficient examples of what Julia Gillard stands for; there are many, many others. The ALP website documents them. Look at the achievements to date

In my view the strident call for her to show what she stands for is simply claptrap perpetrated by those who dislike her for whatever reason and want to see her gone, or by those who simply don’t think about what they mean when the say “What does Julia Gillard stand for?” It is so easy for those words to flow thoughtlessly off the tongue as did “She has lost her moral compass”. Because she is standing for something others may disagree with does not mean that she is wrong, or unprincipled. What a shame it is that we allow our own personal preferences and feelings to be used as the standard against which others, including our PM ought to be judged. Why do we have to be so uncharitable, so intolerant of others’ views, preferences, principles and vision? Why are so many journalists so certain of the rightness of their position that they condemn out of hand and with pejorative language the things our PM stands for? The old saying ‘Judge not lest you be judged’ seems not to occur to our self-opinionated journalists.

Julia Gillard stands steadfastly for many fine things. She has a strong vision of what this nation can become, and the physical and emotional strength and determination to achieve it. She is not without fault, not without error, but what she presents, far from warranting all the nastiness and vitriol that is heaped upon her by the Coalition and the media every day, and now the public through poor polling, deserves our admiration and support. She stands for making Australian a still greater nation.

What do you think?

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Patricia WA

28/06/2011Well thought through and articulated, Ad Astra. I've always understood those objectives and as you have pointed out they are set out pretty clearly by the ALP, along with their achievements, at their party site and on appropriate official ministerial sites too. Sadly journalists haven't been reading, analysing or presenting them with constructive criticism to the public, which I do think is their job, and not to look for angles, gotcha moments and sensation. Whenever the PM or her Ministers attempt to explain, expand or promote them they are drowned out or their message confused by the continuous static of speculation about the drama of political rivalries.

Catching up

28/06/2011It is a change to see something positive written about our PM. It is hard to see why she has been so maligned when he states her beliefs in a clear and decisive manner. Keep up the good work.

Lyn

28/06/2011Hi Ad Thankyou for your admirable article Ad, you are delighful, how refreshing to read all the values that Julia stands for, instead of the continual whinging. Poor Julia. You have worked so hard to put this article together Ad Astra, all the facts you have outlined, but you know what, you knew them all anyway. Poor Julia I still think you have gone into overdrive, fast forward Ad, your working like you are on a production assembly line. Thankyou so much for your hard work which delights us all. You know I thought for a minute or maybe 2 Leigh Sales just had Scott Morrison on a spot, but no, she blew the interview by letting him just keep talking nonsense, no facts. If I was the Malaysian Prime Minister or whatever they are called, I wouldn't be too happy with Mr Morrison or the Liberal Party. Scott Morrison just rubbished the whole country in one foul swoop. You know I can see why Bad Abbott is friends with Morrison they are very like minded, act and talk the same, unfounded outragious statements just spurt out their mouths. Oh! just saying, did I tell you "Poor Julia" think I did. Cheers, :):):):):):):)

2353

28/06/2011Well written AA and it certainly describes well some of the achievements of the Rudd/Gillard Government. However isn't the whole "stand for something" thing a media beat up? I doubt if Menzies or Curtin ever had to state they "stood for" something rather it was assumed that they would have the best interests (from their perspective) of all Australians at the foundation of their decision making process. Why should it be any different now except the media's attempts to run the show rather than report on it? The danger with politicians "standing for something" is when they either don't implement it (or when they implement something they haven't "stood for") they get crucified by the media for non- compliance with something the media has forced down out throat as being worthwhile. This is the same media that argues that something must be done - and when it is argues that the decision was wrong. The "standing for something" thing is part of the reason Gillard's popularity is way down according to the polls. The claim is she didn't "Stand for a Carbon Tax" prior to the last election - now she wants to implement one. Regardless of the accuracy of the claim, it's the perception that is killing the ratings - and Gillard has come out in the past and "stood for" things, so she is part of the problem. Abbott on the other hand seems to be have the luxury to move the goal posts 180 degrees with the full knowledge he'll never have to implement any of it - as the world will have moved on if he ever moves into The Lodge.

TalkTurkey

28/06/2011Anybody see Sales accuse Morriscum of wtte blatant politicking over his Malaysian adventurism, and the Scum say he found that personally offensive? :) She'll like that. The Media Aristocracy loves criticism. Not!

BSA Bob

28/06/2011Morrison on 7.30- chunderous creature. I thought Sales wasn't doing too badly, but he saw his chance to filibuster the time away & grabbed it. His recent conversion to compassion's sickening. Interesting that one of his & Abbott's initial criticisms was the maths- we get 4 for every 1 we send. That line no longer suits so it's dropped & they get away with it. A country like Malaysia on the front line doesn't need this sort of thing, it'll be remembered. It's almost never pointed out that when Tones has stopped the boats the people will just have to end up in countries such as Malaysia & presumably be grateful.

Ad astra reply

28/06/2011Patricia WA You are right – the political noise that abounds as journos continually look for angles, gotchas, titillation and sensationalism drowns out the substance the Government is trying to promulgate. Tony Abbott does not have this problem as there is little substance to his utterances; they are predominately noise. Catching up I could have written much more about what Julia Gillard stands for, but the piece would have been too long. It is only when one documents all she has done that her achievements can be discerned. The media seems fixated on what she has not yet achieved; negativity is its stock in trade.

TalkTurkey

28/06/2011Lyn, Don't get your feathers in a droop about "poor *J*U*L*I*A*." Her ships are soon to come in. Then watch her whack Abbortt. She can't do much yet but can't you see how firmly her front bench are behind her? She is enacting what had to be done and they all acknowledge her the sharpest toughest enactor. These are the bad figures we had to have, but the economy is in great shape, the NBN is GO, the other major reforms are nearly in place. July 4, listen to the rabble squeal! The Poodle can POO himself to an empty scumbag, Mesma can death-stare her worst, Puff Adder's venom-spit will only redound on her, and for all their rage and fury they might as well be blowflies on the other side of the window, looking in while *J*U*L*I*A* carves the national roast . . . And as the schisms fester in their ranks, and Abbortt goes down like the Hindenburg, (only unimpressive), I'm gonna be poppin' corn and mulling Muscat . . . :) Don't you worry Lyn. Just do what you do. Venceremos!

Ad astra reply

28/06/2011Hi Lyn Thank you for your kind words – I am in overdrive, but I’m used to it. I thought exactly the same as you did about the Leigh Sales interview of Scott Morrison. He just talked over her, drowned her out with noise. He is a motor mouth, almost as bad as Christopher Pyne. You are right – I think the Malaysian brass might see his comments as rude and demeaning, not that he will give a tinker’s curse. As TT points out, when Morrison labelled as offensive Leigh Sales’ question about his blatant politicking, he might have earned himself a debit with her. Journos like her do not like being put down.

Ad astra reply

28/06/20112353 Yes the ‘what does she stand for’ is a media beat-up. They are disinterested in achievement and will concede it only if forced to do so. It’s sensationalism, disaster, appalling poll figures, dissent in the ranks, lack of progress and chaos that count. That’s what makes a great story for the sensation-hungry public. As Tony Abbott doesn’t stand for anything substantial, he can’t be criticized for not achieving anything much. He works on this basis. It’s only those who stand for something who get nailed when they don’t live up to the expectations journalists lay on them. BSA Bob Filibuster is a good term to describe Morrison’s performance. And isn’t the Coalition’s new found empathy for asylum seekers sickening.

Lyn

28/06/2011Hi Talk Turkey Thankyou so much for your assurance. Your attitude really is an inspiration. I've picked up my feathers now, their unruffled. [i]the economy is in great shape, the NBN is GO, the other major reforms are nearly in place. [/i] Hey you sent me of to learn spanish "Venceremos" we will win we will overcome is that right. Took me ages to get back here. Ad saw Morrison, You saw him. I saw him, Bsa Bob too. As Ad said and I agree journalists like Leigh Sales don't like being put down, she certainly didn't sound happy or look it either, hope she pays Morrison back. Cheers :):):):):):):):):):)

TalkTurkey

28/06/2011Ad astra shortlisted for 2011 Wonkley Award !

Ad astra reply

28/06/2011TT I thought that today Julia answered the monotonous questions about the poor polls better than ever by simply saying that they might get worse until the difficult reforms she is attempting are put to bed. It’s always a good counter to almost agree with the journo that things a bad – what more can they say? But if one tries to dismiss the polls or become defensive about them, the journos go in harder. Now that the Coalition has lost its Senate majority it’s a new ball game where Tony Abbott has even fewer arrows in his quiver. Let’s see how he handles that as Julia’s ships come in.

Eddy

29/06/2011Well Done.. It is about time we hear some positives about issues from a jounalist.. You are to be applauded. Changing our minds when circumstances change is a human trait that no doubt most of us have exibited many times, and so we should if our ideas prove not to be as efficient or sensible !! The media twist and change many spoken words of politicians especially if they don't like them On the other hand Tony Abbot appears to able to make many misleading and contradictory statements that the media just brush over. Hopefully your article will be read by many mainstream of the community. WELL DONE !!

Lyn

29/06/2011 [b]TODAY’S LINKS[/b] [i]Lord of Misrule, Andrew Elder, Politically Homeless[/i] Showing your vote is the sort of thing that happens in nakedly factional organisations:as personal behaviour within the polite circles of the Liberal Party goes, it's about as indecent as dropping your pants. http://andrewelder.blogspot.com/2011/06/lord-of-misrule.html [i]Why I think a Carbon Price will NOT destroy manufacturing, Ash., Ash’s Machiavellian Bloggery[/i] We buy a lot of electronics from Asia and India where wages and working conditions are lower. And they can be shipped here on the cheap. http://ashghebranious.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/why-i-think-a-carbon-price-will-not-destroy-manufacturing/ [i]ABC spruiks reactionary politics in the cause of ‘balance’, Mark Thomson, Seeking Asylum Down Under[/i] Where in your charter does it say you should shape opinion on how people think about politics? You have players like Trioli and Clarke clearly spruiking for right wing reactionaries. I would be equally offended if they were spruiking for left wing ideologues. http://seekingasylumdownunder2.blogspot.com/ [i]Media demand an invite to Greens conferences, Jeremy Sear, An Onymous Lefty[/i] I’d rather the parties sorted out their positions and their candidates in their own time, and then presented their views for us, the voters, to choose between. http://anonymouslefty.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/media-demand-an-invite-to-greens-conferences/ [i]How Abbott is trashing the Liberal brand, Bernard Keane, Business Spectator[/i] That $11 billion is now 12 months out of date, and is contested by Treasury anyway. Joe Hockey’s petulant reaction to being questioned about this at the Press Club shows just how sensitive the Liberals are about this. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Abbott-trashes-the-Liberal-brand-pd20110627-J87U9?opendocument&src=rss [i]Reith v Abbott: the early 90s wants its zeal back, Bernard Keane, Crikey[/i] And now Tony Abbott, once Reith’s decidedly junior minister, knows where he stands with him, courtesy of Reith’s affable bucketing of him in the Fairfax papers. http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/06/28/reith-v-abbott-the-early-90s-just-called-and-wants-its-reform-zeal-back/ [i]Saying it with pictures for the benefit of Tony Abbtt, Clarencegirl, North Coast Voices[/i] this tired old argument to advocate tax cuts for comfortably off families like his own - it is immediately obvious that this statement by Abbott is not true. http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com/2011/06/saying-it-with-pictures-for-benefit-of.html [i]When The Wild West Whinges, Ben Eltham, New Matilda[/i] Fortescue mining magnate Andrew Forrest from threatening to lead a High court challenge to the tax, apparently supported by the Western Australian government. http://newmatilda.com/2011/06/28/when-wild-west-whinges [i]Rudd, Gillard, the CPRS and Public Opinion, Brian, Larvatus Prodeo[/i] My fear is that when the scheme is introduced, increases in power and fuel costs from other reasons will confuse the issue in the public mind. http://larvatusprodeo.net/2011/06/28/rudd-gillard-the-cprs-and-public-opinion/ [i]Less time in the slammer in the ACT, The Stump[/i] Perhaps it is no surprise then that politicians who make the laws to do with sentencing criminals and the Supreme Courtjudges in Canberra who administer them are not under the same pressures to act like law-and-order toughies http://blogs.crikey.com.au/thestump/2011/06/28/less-time-in-the-slammer-in-the-act/ [i]Can Abbott unravel the NBN?, Paul Budde, Technology Spectator[/i] What is rather perplexing is that, despite Turnbull's technological knowledge and access to technology experts,he continues to promote his wireless solution. He knows as well http://technologyspectator.com.au/nbn-buzz/abbott-tangled [i]Coalition pushed to release NBN plan: report, Technology Spectator[/i] a Coalition government would stop construction of the NBN, evaluate existing contracts and explore how to use the existing network to transition to the Coalition's plan, according to the AFR. http://technologyspectator.com.au/nbn-buzz/coalition-pushed-release-nbn-plan-report? [i]Proportional representation to fix our rotten democracy, Independent Australia[/i] negative aspects of the Westminster system. This system delivers functional amateursfor our governments and reduces legislature largely to theatre for political party executives. http://www.independentaustralia.net/2011/democracy/proportional-representation-may-fix-our-rotten-democracy/ [i]Ready? Steady, David Horton, The Watermelon Blog[/i] That every effort be made to keep the town in a sustainable state which retains all the good things people love about it but gradually improves the quality of infrastructure. http://davidhortonsblog.com/2011/06/28/ready-steady/ Listen carefully to the exchange between Insider’s Barry Cassidy and Bob Brown.I believe Bob Brown did in fact call Tony Abbott an idiot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX6hrKcX39A&feature=player_embedded [b]Newspapers[/b] [i]NAB chief backs PM's carbon tax , Ben Butler, The Age[/i] Mr Clyne said a carbon tax, followed by an emissions trading scheme, was ''economically superior'' to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's direct action plan http://www.theage.com.au/national/nab-chief-backs-pms-carbon-tax-20110628-1gp70.html [i]Why Reith was too much for Abbott's risk-averse Liberals, Katherine Murphy, The Age[/i] The gospel according to Abbott - Julia Gillard will be gone by Christmas if we keep our collective foot on her neck - is law. http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/why-reith-was-too-much-for-abbotts-riskaverse-liberals-20110626-1gllw.html

janice

29/06/2011Good morning all. Nice piece Ad astra. Our PM stands for all that and more and, I suspect, when push comes to shove in the voting booths there will be enough recognition of her strengths for the ticks to go in the right box. At the moment, people have not sorted out the weeds from the chaff and are blinded by the thick blanket of smoke emanating from the coalition/msn smoke stacks. I wonder what prompted Leigh Sales to get tough with Morrison? Is it because of the rapidly falling number of viewers since O'Brien departed the 7.30 report? or might it be the increasing avalanche of protests arriving on the desks of the ABC? I'm with Talk Turkey who says the PM's ships are coming into harbour. The Abbott illusion won't stand up to even minor scrutiny which will come despite his efforts to dodge and weave.

Ad astra reply

29/06/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Gravel

29/06/2011Ad Astra It is heartening to read what most of us here know. Now to get the MSM (laughing fit to bust) to read and see how things are. It was great to see Nasking on the last topic, that is the blogger I first read years ago, and although he doesn't agree with some things that are done by this government at least he has the sense to see that they are doing most things right. I agree with Janice: [quote]At the moment, people have not sorted out the weeds from the chaff and are blinded by the thick blanket of smoke emanating from the coalition/msn smoke stacks. [/quote]

Ad astra reply

29/06/2011Eddy Welcome to [i]The Political Sword[/i] family. Do come again. Thank you for your kind words. While for ages many of us have been pointing to the anti-Gillard thrust of much of the MSM, particularly News Limited, only recently are some media people commenting on this. For example, on the last edition of [i]Q&A[/i], Fiona Kartauskas, freelance political cartoonist, said that the Gillard Government had not been well served by the media. Once this message gains traction, the offending parts of the media just might pull back and look more closely at the daily utterances of Tony Abbott and put them under scrutiny. If they do that to the same extent as they have done to Julia Gillard, the public will begin to realize what a hollow man is Tony Abbott. janice Thank you for your comment. You mention another instance of a toughening up of the media on the Coalition – Leigh Sales’ interview of Scott Morrison. He did not like being pushed on the issue of the convention that Opposition members do not berate the Government of the day while overseas. His response was his usual one – talk incessantly, talk over the interviewer, and use up the time available. Perhaps these are but straws blowing in the wind; we can only hope they foreshadow a trend.

Ad astra reply

29/06/2011Gravel As mentioned in my response to janice, there are just a few signs that the breeze is beginning to blow away some of the MSM smoke that has obscured the truth about the Government’s achievements and the Coalition’s hollowness and destructiveness. We can only hope, and continue blogging our discontent about the MSM.

TalkTurkey

29/06/2011On Poll Bludger this morning Victoria said, "Btw Christopher Pyne did a magazine spread in The Age a few months ago. Made me realise what a punce he really is!" Bushfire Bill replied "That is spelt “poonce”, I believe, but the meaning is the same." Actually I think it's 'ponce' BB and Victoria, but really I think to call the Poodle a ponce is demeaning to ponces. I can't find the word in any of my dictionaries but it means 'gigolo'. Man living off prostitutes. Relatively decent cf Pyne. * There was a character in "77 Sunset Strip", an antidiluvian Hawaii-based Yankee TV series, which I never watched to my memory, called Poncey Ponce. Can anyone please confirm? I thought it funny at the time. He was a traditional Hawaiian I think.

Bilko

29/06/2011AA An excellent article, a point made to me many years ago "there is none so blind as those who do not want to see and none so deaf as those who do not want to hear". Which just about covers all of the present day Aus MSM. Rather like the Montie Python sketch "but besides all that what have the Romans done for us". Spray had it spot on when back in may he blogged "government has lost the media war" here is my last comment to his blog "Abbbort is now a better PPM 40-39 according to newspoll. They must have done the complete poll in his electorate even his street to come up with this. It confirms your original comment of May 16 the media war is lost. But I am reminded of an American Navy captain John Paul Jones on his damaged ship challenged by the Royal Navy to surrender replied " I have not yet begun to fight" I hope this is the case with Julia otherwise the bullet we dodged in 2007 is coming in 2013. We are losing the media battle at the moment but not the war. Reminds me of the Porgy and Bess Song "Stand up and fight" let us take it to them.

TalkTurkey

29/06/2011Ad astra said "For example, on the last edition of Q&A, Fiona Kartauskas, freelance political cartoonist, said that the Gillard Government had not been well served by the media.* Once this message gains traction, the offending parts of the media just might pull back and look more closely at the daily utterances of Tony Abbott and put them under scrutiny." Where that * is, instantly after she said those words, to my memory, Tony Jones blatted, wtte exactly, "... But the Media aren't there to serve the Government!" (as if that was what she meant, which it absolutely wasn't, it was a mischievous mdeliberate misreading gotcha by Jones, and it completely flattened Fiona, the girl in green.) So the second bite of that bit I bit above . . . Grrrnnnhhh! Jones deserved a public face-flatussing.

TalkTurkey

29/06/2011Eddy Welcome to The Political Sword; the lead article which you rightly applaud is the work of our host Ad astra. The above is only par for the course of articles he comes up with every few days, amongst the many other things he has done in a long life, and still does; (much much more . . .!) Ad astra welcomes everybody of goodwill to TPS, which as you may discern is really a monitor station for The Light On The Hill. You will even find a few True Believers here, and basically good sense and respect for decency rule. Praise Dog. Ad astra has been shortlisted for the Wonkley Award this year as Best Amateur Political Blogger, and the Sword as Best Amateur Political Blog. Exciting times! The redoubtable Greg Jericho, close friend of TPS, won it last year, and it's a working-class hero's award. And we all help to burnish and brandish the Sword. If Ad astra and TPS win the Wonkleys we will all have bragging rights. For sincere good motives on behalf of the Wide Brown Land I hasten to add. So do come back often Eddy. Write well, write helpfully, the Sword gives us all that opportunity, and we even feel we are gaining some of that traction that the bullying Jones denied Fiona Kartauskas, the Girl in Green on Q&A. Venceremos!

Lyn

29/06/2011Hi Talk Turkey Wow! you are being productive this morning, thankyou so much. You will probably think I'm stupid, but I can't find the Wonkley page, it was "The Notion Factory" last year but I just got lost over there. I can't wait for TPS and all of us to have bragging rights. Love your post to Eddy. Venceremos! to you too Talk Turkey. Ummm Bad Abbott is doing another about turn: Abbott bows to Reith on IR , Michelle Gratton, Brisbane Times Last year, in the face of a scare campaign, Mr Abbott famously declared Workchoices ''dead, buried and cremated'' and promised no change to workplace laws in his first term. He has since said that if business wants change, it will have to make the case http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/abbott-bows-to-reith-on-ir-20110628-1gpf1.html#ixzz1QcyUFxnG Cheers :):):):):):)

Rod Boulton

29/06/2011Re Ad Astra on Gilliard Ad Astra "Rough Translation" The Stars Prefer to be on earth with Gilliard in the stars

Feral Skeleton

29/06/2011I can only say that if I was in the position to offer reassuring words to the Prime Minister for a job that is being well done, I would say to her simply: 'Nothing good is ever easy.'

Feral Skeleton

29/06/2011Talk Turkey, I deserve a Wonkley for writing a post approximating the length of 'The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire'! No other blogger has ever attempted it, as far as I know and I deserve a special mention for being dumb enough to attempt such an undertaking, and doing it all for free and without a book deal. ;-) On the other hand there are those that may simply point to it as just another example of the madness of Feral Skeleton.

Feral Skeleton

29/06/2011Bilko, I love your sentiment about Newspoll that they must have done it in Tony Abbott's street in Manly. :)

Ad astra reply

29/06/2011Rod Boulton Welcome to [i]The Political Sword[/i]. Do come again. I'm not sure whether your comment about Julia Gillard is complimentary or the opposite; I suspect it may be the latter.

Feral Skeleton

29/06/2011Ad Astra, I wonder if Leigh Sales read our comments about her on TPS? :)

Ad astra reply

29/06/2011Bilko Thank you for your kind comments. It’s good to see your face again. I agree with: “[i]We are losing the media battle at the moment but not the war. Reminds me of the Porgy and Bess Song "Stand up and fight" let us take it to them.”[/i] Or as Talk Turkey would say: ‘Venceremos!’. FS I would like to think Leigh is reading what we say about her, but maybe that’s wishful thinking.

nasking

29/06/2011I was pleased to see a brand spanking new Trades Training Centre pop up at the school down the road from us...Marsden SHS. Good stuff. Pleased that Bob Brown is making an issue of foreign ownership re: mining/resource companies...and how much moolah is goin' overseas. Disgraceful. Just watched Gasland doco, recorded from SBS the other nite. I still find it hard to believe that the criminal of a lifetime, Dick Cheney, and his Haliburton crim mates, haven't been given life sentences. There's no real justice in America, it's a bloody joke...that country doesn't deserve our respect. Their grotesque supreme court system just permitted Walmart female employees to be screwed over. Add to it the bailouts & golden handshakes provided to investment bank scum...the big pharma & healthcare ripoffs...the abuse of animals by those who supply the fast food industry...the shonky wars... America is one piece of sh*t. And the tax cuts for the rich continue due to flaky Democratic Party types & Republicans either to greedy, blackmailed or insane to do the right thing....it's not just the kooky Michelle Bachman that's a "flake". The political system there is riddled w/ 'em. And unfortunately this country is headin' down the same road. Thank gawd the Greens are pilin' into the senate soon. This obsession in QLD, & now WA, w/ coal seam gas could be real problematic. Destroy our fresh drinking water supplies in the rush to find alternatives to coal. Not surprised there's such a push for imported food products...preparing I imagine for when they ruin our food bowls...to help THE FEW get rich. Is that why we allowed, here in QLD, Haliburton to build our recycled water pipelines? Cost billions. Apparently hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in order to reach the gas etc. takes heaps of water. Not good...see here: Dick Cheney's big fracking mess http://www.salon.com/news/env/energy/?story=/tech/htww/2011/06/27/hydrofracking_and_the_epa and: GasLand – Australia 2011 Oscar Nominee: Best Documentary | A film by Josh Fox | Frack and ruin: the rise of hydraulic fracturing Posted on May 9th, 2011 http://www.gasland.com.au/2011/05/frack-and-ruin-the-rise-of-hydraulic-fracturing/ Give me windpower, solar....and gas only if we aren't gonna poison our water, animals, land...and friends & rellies in the rural/regional areas. The more we increase our population across the world the more we need energy sources...the more governments loosen clean air, clean water etc. regulations. And it's easier to continue to consume and look the other way when the victims of our demands are poor, out of sight in the bush, or non-human. BTW, useful post Aa. I'd like to see that Mineral Resources Tax go up a bit...and extended to gold & uranium. And some put in a sovereign fund...gawd knows how much cleaning up we'll have to do after this latest mining boom...and gas addiction. Ironic ain't it?...the Chinese mess up their backyard in order to make goods for us...and by taking some of our garbage. And we mess up our yards to supply them. Whilst the multinational corporate major shareholders & execs drink cleaner water & breathe cleaner air at their chalets, on their yachts, in their carefully chosen homes. And we're afraid to tax them more for their privileges...and their negligence. And occasional criminal, morally reprehensible behaviour. Corporate patriots...traitors to their citizenship lands. N'

nasking

29/06/2011Lyn, Patricia, TT & Aa...thnx for the supportive comments on previous thread. All heart tests are complete and I'm awaiting further info from cardiologist...July 8th. That's followed by lung tests. I've been told to avoid blogging for now...but decided to sneak a couple of comments in anyway. Keep up the good fight. All for now. Cheers N'

jj

29/06/2011AA, Who doesnt stand for those things though AA? Isnt that the point? Wouldnt it be a major problem if Gillard didnt believe in a good education, reducing unemployment, a strong economy etc etc? So how can she claim that this is her Governments specific vision? I think what the media and the general public are talking about is that Gillard hasnt stamped her own style on the government... it just seems like a continuation of the Rudd administration with out the Rudd factor. Look at the major policies Gillard is handling at the moment: the mining tax, the carbon tax and border protection. Whether she pulls them off or not people will say, "well weren't they Rudd's things anyway?" AA, this piece just backs up the claim, really, that Gillard is all about motherhood statements and continuing down the Rudd path, and nothing about her own vision. If the Government was off track before, then why does it feel as though we are still following the same line?

janice

29/06/2011[quote]That is spelt “poonce”, I believe, but the meaning is the same." Actually I think it's 'ponce' BB and Victoria, but really I think to call the Poodle a ponce is demeaning to ponces. [/quote] Talk Turkey, I think you might have missed Bushfire's humour there. He spelled ponce with a double o because of Pyne's "poos" (points of order).

macca

29/06/2011"Who doesnt stand for those things though AA? Isnt that the point?" Why then are the opposition so commited to ensuring that none of it happens?

Feral Skeleton

29/06/2011Along with Ross Gittins, Michael Pascoe is doing the heavy economics lifting in the papers in order to deconstruct the populist nonsense that the Opposition keeps coming out with: http://www.smh.com.au/business/hockeynomics-101-the-fiscal-fumble-while-canberra-bumbles-20110629-1gq6x.html?comments=111#comments

janice

29/06/2011[quote]Look at the major policies Gillard is handling at the moment: the mining tax, the carbon tax and border protection. Whether she pulls them off or not people will say, "well weren't they Rudd's things anyway?"[/quote] I suppose people who don't use their grey cells may well say that jj. Rudd was the leader of the party in government and did not own it's policies - he was not [b]the government.[/b] When a change of leader occurs the policies of the government do not change with him/her. PM Gillard's style of leadership is very different to that of Rudd. She has great courage and a strength of character all Australians ought to be proud of as she works to govern for the benefit of the nation and its people. Her vision is for a prosperous, innovative, well educated and healthy nation.

Ad astra reply

29/06/2011jj Are you saying that any ‘motherhood’ vision that Julia Gillard embraces ought to be discounted because it is ‘motherhood’? By that rule you would have to discount the visions of most politicians. Even you would concede though that for many years Julia Gillard has been devoted to a good education for all, and sought the Education portfolio in the Rudd Ministry. Likewise, she has been devoted to fairness in the workplace since her days at Slater and Gordon, which is why she wanted the Employment and Workplace Relations as well as the Education portfolio, a massive load which she carried out successfully. So why not be a little charitable and acknowledge her special interest in and vision for these two areas? You then discount her efforts in the areas begun during the time of the Rudd Government as not being her vision, or as you put it, not being her ‘things’. Surely you would expect her to conclude these matters, if for no other reason that she was deputy PM at the time they were developed as policy. And hasn’t she put her stamp on the MRRT and now on the carbon price issue? You seem to be looking for a unique Gillard vision, as if you expected her to radically deviate from the path of the previous Government in which she was deputy PM? That seems to be a big ask, but if you are looking for just one unique vision, what about the idea of a regional processing centre for asylum seekers? I know you think this was a flawed concept, or at least poorly implemented, but you would have to concede it was her unique vision. What about the concept of a joint parliamentary committee to develop the details of a price on carbon and associated issues? You would no doubt ridicule her idea to achieve community consensus on climate change action via a 150 member community forum, which has fallen by the wayside in favour of Community Forums on Climate Change that the Climate Change Commissioners are conducting in the regions, and of course the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Climate Change that is currently working through the details. Again, are you being uncharitable in not acknowledging her vision in creating these mechanisms? For my part, I expected her to continue the initiatives begun by the Rudd Government, modified to the changed circumstances, which is what she has done. Would you give her credit for determinedly pursuing her objectives despite a destructive, obstructionist Opposition and awful opinion polls? Is that a unique Gillard attribute? What other unique vision did you expect PM Gillard to have? What individual ‘stamp’ did you expect/hope she would have put on her Government? Give us a clue. If you can’t, shall we conclude that ‘putting her stamp on her Government’ is just another glib saying with little substance.

Feral Skeleton

29/06/2011DMW, This one's for you :) http://wixxy.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/the-pitch/

Feral Skeleton

29/06/2011This one's so important we must all read it: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2775298.html

Feral Skeleton

29/06/2011The Coalition and their supporters have turned glib sayings with little substance into an artform. As I am wont to say, they are a mile wide and an inch deep. And it seems they are encouraging in the electorate exactly the same sort of juvenile approach to the affairs of state. Read Michael Pascoe's article and the Readfearn one too. Put them together and you have a very successful Opposition political tactic explained. Basically an appeal to blinkered self-interest and to hell with the consequences.

2353

29/06/2011For a change I'll acknowledge the troll. JJ said [quote]Who doesnt stand for those things though AA? Isnt that the point?[/quote] Abbott for one - what he stands for changes on a daily basis. Even he told people not to believe him unless it was labelled official policy. [quote]Wouldnt it be a major problem if Gillard didnt believe in a good education, reducing unemployment, a strong economy etc etc? So how can she claim that this is her Governments specific vision?[/quote] According to Hockey they will increase funding to the elite private schools, sack 12000 Federal Public Servants and demonstrably can't make a budget balance - what was the size of the Election Promise black hole $11 BILLION? - so obviously he doesn't share the same vision. [quote]I think what the media and the general public are talking about is that Gillard hasnt stamped her own style on the government... it just seems like a continuation of the Rudd administration with out the Rudd factor. Look at the major policies Gillard is handling at the moment: the mining tax, the carbon tax and border protection. Whether she pulls them off or not people will say, "well weren't they Rudd's things anyway?"[/quote]They are variations of Rudd's policies certainly, however Gillard claims that the implementation wasn't happening - so she's made it happen. That isn't a bad thing. Why does anyone have to throw existing practices out the window purely because they pre-existed the incumbent? My suspicion is that Abbott will still be in opposition at Christmas - and not necessarily leader. People are really getting fed up with the one trick Tony carping on with no substance. He is also singlehandedly diminishing the small amount of respect society still has for the many local politicians that genuinely do good in the community.

Jason

29/06/2011community cabinet on SKY and ABC24 from Darwin for those interested

D Mick Weir

29/06/2011Has anyone seen my Confuscius beard? I can't remember where I left it. You're not hiding it on me are you NormanK?

DD

29/06/2011Greetings all, is there a Dionysius in the house>>> nudge :-) My grandmother was part of the suffragette movement in this country. The household i grew up in had a picture of Dorothea Dix in the lounge room. Forgotten Dorothea Dix, great grandmother of said suffragette movement, and social welfare reform. CICRA 1850 USA. My home had a spare bedroom for a while, it became a refuge back in the 70's. Today we call it a battered woman’s shelter. Her problem with this was simple, “battered”, making a victim. Woman’s creating a eunuch to use a Dr G term. Shelter, we used refuge but no real problem there. The room was referred to as a Pandora’s box, referring to the hope it was said to be found inside. And all fought for social reform in this family. A tradition you may say. Where are we today? The last time I saw her alive she was in complete lament. The idea of threatening any single mothers pension, the act of one who could not be a woman. With this I was put to the task of writing to our PM, particularly regarding to the source of a paedophiles sauce. This term is a blood letting reference, a piece of sad secret men business. Kudos where it is due I have not heard of such since sharing this, sorry you could not hang around to notice this Gran. But to me I can't see what she is standing for in application. The state of affairs for marginalised people in this country a travesty at the moment, unless you are a refugee, female or a vote winning issue. Those on “Welfare” don’t fare well wholisticly. Instead we have this holistic model, people thrown into holes. I have before me a PO Box 2600 letter from the office Of Kate Ellis in regards to a complaint regarding a DEN, Disability Employment Provider in complaint. In this persons experience they were “gainfully” employed. Going through a prove yourself process and they did. Yet all other facets of this persons life were not a part of the DEN problem, the person has failed and is probaly ten years RETARDED by the process. Kate rests on plausable denyability, 15 years ago this person would have had a job given to them to replace it. somewhere in a goverment owned field. today disability is an industry. Neo-corperate, quasi-benovelent, mammonisum! Once upon a time the government was ment to goven for a reason, so the disabled were not exploited in this way we see today. Disability funding is not getting to where it is needed, and a person these days is only an employee in waiting. All areas are no longer person focused but process focused. But even Tony would seem to have no ideology either, as he said the other day. The system we were working towards in the 90’s was expensive but was working and in my opinion would have reached fruition by now. But in order for this to have worked the Social Role Valorisation would have needed to have been completed. Now this too has been RETARDED. And this was to be taught to the community, but we thought more humane beings would be more in charge. Every budget surplus has a human deficit, but the stats have been engineered to avoid this, I don’t know how many have committed suicide this century now, but it is seemingly making it onto the stats as a positive integer, perhaps part of our low unemployment figures. HARSH you may say, why did Damocles not want to be under the sword again? To hear my gran say “woman is an approbation and not a birth rite” took me back for a bit, but in succinct you have to have used your womb to be a woman. Or like my namesake created a uterus of mind and soul. So in my opinion it is a humbug, total and complete. But I still have hope. And I don’t believe we have had democracy for many years now, I see a theocracy called Mammonisum. Note I spell bible, Buy Bull. But it could be seen as a suri-genesis of archaic sociology also. Liked the term “god” I belive is simply a contraction of the word good. So try understanding matt 6:24. Then read 6:19-31 and see if you can see Buddhism also. Me I’ll go back to trying to stop people from praying for Armageddon, another $$$ another day. DD

TalkTurkey

29/06/2011Good on ya Jason our eye on SKY Dog, Gabrielle singing 2 whole verses of Advance Australi* Oh dear ABC 24 just lost link to NT How unusualment! ABC 24 is pathetic in every way, even technically. Stupid visual effects and music that sounds like cavorting dentists' drills all the bloody time, journalists not worthy of the name giggling like the silliest of kids saying bum poo pee. Hardly any programs worth watching, when they are they interrupt them with like Abbortt or they lose the link. Apology to Jonathon Holmes, and Media Watch, but that program is a lot like the 5th Estate anyway, no real ability to move and shake like 4 Corners (used to have) and even when they screen something powerful like those Poor Cows, it turns out that ABC didn't do the film, isn't that right? SBS does everything better than ABC24 but not much Australian coverage unfortunately. Go Back just gives a taste of what real gutsy TV could be like. Look at the pap kids' programs, my Dog how can they be so worthless! The Rodent even caused to be downgraded the only worthwhile kids' longrunning school current affairs program Behind The News, it still (or again) screens but it's pretty ordinary. How did we let Howard do this to our ABC that was. *a! I couldn't stand it, I suffer from a condition called Hearing! Especially when things like Gabrielle happen to me! *J*U*L*I*A* won't get much bounce from this Community Cabinet Meeting in the NT imo, but she is letting Them know that she is not the wimpy soppy girly thing they would like their little doxies at home to be, she is whipcord and brain this woman. What was it that great Ranga Queen Elizabeth before her said, wtte "I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman [oh yeah!] but I have the heart of a MAN, and a MAN of ENGLAND at that!" *J*U*L*I*A* has the same spirit but never mind the Man bit, she can even mix it with WOMEN,and she's a woman of GAELIC descent at that! The blood of the great Ranga Queen Boadicea runs in those veins! It's all in the breeding you see.(K) Believe it Folks, we really have bottomed out. It's ALL UP from here. Hold the line. We're doing OK. No pasaran!

Feral Skeleton

29/06/2011The things I got from the Community Cabinet: *Chris Bowen announcing TWO! Detention Centres housing Children have now been closed and the kids are gone! By June 30. As promised! What was that about a 'Do Nothing Government', or one which 'Stands for Nothing'? Don't worry, like the NAB CEO coming out in support of the government's Climate Change policy, if it's not reported in The Australian, it may as well not be happening, and jj will come along and say as much. * Affordable Housing is being built as quickly as possible. * A 30 year Native Title dispute has finally been settled! * Marine Parks, protection of the Fishing Industry, and native marine animals is important to this government, alongside the massive investment going into Resource projects. * Education and Health infrastructure in the Northern Territory is being fast-tracked after 12 years of Howard government neglect. * The Live Cattle Trade is being put onto a sustainable footing for the long term, but also so as to guarantee the welfare of the cattle. None of this looks or sounds as good as a Tony Abbott soundbite, or a Tony Abbott stunt, but it's a lot more substantial and worthy of the title, 'Federal Government of Australia'.

jj

29/06/2011AA, Sure motherhood statements are fine, but to be able to claim them as your vision, you need to implement policies of your own that show that you really mean what you say. I agree that Abbott, too, suffers from the same problem. He too is full of platitudes and grand statements, but without defining policy initiatives that exemplify his outlook. I think the problem with both of our leaders is that they are political animals and have chopped and changed on some of the biggest policy and 'vision' issues we have today. Abbott supported an ETS and then opposed it. Gillard supported an ETS, then opposed the idea, then took it up again. Abbott states in the past that he does not think paid parental leave is a good idea and then announces an extremely generous scheme. Julia Gillard switches from saying that there should be no children in detention, no razor wire, no off shore processing; to, "we believe some sort of offshore process is vital to breaking the people smuggling business". etc ets. There is no consistency! I think this is what the public is crying out for: a consistent, tempered, and quiet approach to governance. I think people are getting sick of the day to day politics that both sides play; and the over analysis that now goes on in the media. Visions such as those under the Menzies, the Gough and Howard are what Australia wants; not the day to day media cycle contest that Kevin Rudd began and our current leaders have continued.

Tom of Melbourne

29/06/2011Alternative, non barracker orientation on stuff that Julia stands for - • “another boat another policy failure” • Sending asylum seeking kids to Malaysia • UNHRC is important for asylum seekers, no it isn’t. Maybe, I think. • East Timor, no, no, I mean Malaysia I think • Carbon price on, • Carbon tax off, • Carbon tax on... • “Community consensus” is vital. No it isn’t. • The architect of Medicare Gold • Mark Latham – a great leader • Secret ballots for industrial action are bad, really bad. No I mean really good! • Sending the country into higher debt by giving the best part of a billion to wealthy private schools as part of the BER • Whatever happened to all those recommendations in the Henry report? • What happened to health reform? Yes, Julia sure has a record of consistency in standing for “things”.

DD

29/06/2011JJ agreed esp:- [i]"I think the problem with both of our leaders is that they are political animals and have chopped and changed on some of the biggest policy and 'vision' issues we have today."[/i] The "populist" thing has brought me to a state of anomie, but i suppose a majority would have prevented this. Was so overjoyed to be voting for a female, perhaps I should have just expected a politician. May not even vote in the next election at this stage, can't offer 1/ 20 000 000 nth of validation at this stage. Oh and PS admin, thanks for the sounding board.

2353

29/06/2011Howard was not a visionary - he was a mean spirited, penny pinching little man who destroyed equality and generosity of spirit within Australia. He is the reason Australians are currently arguing over racist and bigoted policies such as locking up refugees rather than treating refugees with the same bi-partisan manner as Fraser and Whitlam/Hayden/Hawke did, Howard is the person who entered "non-core promise" into the language, Howard is the one that is responsible for privatising profits from businesses that used to belong to the Government and socialising the Losses. Howard is also the one that tried to starve programs like Medicare into oblivion. In short Howard was the one that promised to make Australia relaxed and comfortable when in fact all he really did was squander a mining boom through excessive welfare and tax cuts to buy the votes of "aspirational Australians".

D Mick Weir

29/06/2011I haven't found my beard yet but while I was looking I found a long bow.

DD

29/06/2011Agreed fully 2353, We refer to suicides often as Howards victims around here. And he made sure there was no way to keep a body count while he was at it. Those aspirational Australians, well removed in the DEN (now DES) system. Currently the most successfull employment project consumers of them all.

Feral Skeleton

29/06/2011Tom of Melbourne, What a shame, 4 State & Territory Branches of the ALP have passed motions in favour of Gay Marriage. With NSW next cab off the rank in July. You'll have to find something new to hate on them for now. Though I'm sure you won't find it hard. I mean the ALP hasn't actually legislated for Gay Marriage yesterday yet after all, huh?

Feral Skeleton

29/06/2011DMW, You are William Tell? :)

Feral Skeleton

29/06/2011Chris Uhlmann Tweeted this just a little while ago: [quote]Sources say the climate change committee has made significant progress with a formal deal expected within the next week and a half.[/quote] Which makes it the end of next week probably and a nice way to kick off the 'new paradigm' in the Senate. Watch the Coalition and The Murdoch media really start teeing off on The Greens then. One thing they do forget, and that is that people voted for The Greens to do just the sort of things that gets up The Australian's nose. :D

Feral Skeleton

29/06/2011DD, Welcome to The Political Sword. I hope you enjoy commenting here. :)

Feral Skeleton

29/06/2011When Tony Abbott rabbits on about the Cost of putting a Price on Carbon, remind him about the cost of these wars to the Budget: http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/06/29/idINIndia-57979520110629

DD

30/06/2011Thanks FS.

Patricia WA

30/06/2011[b]Would Tony Abbott Stand For This?[/b] No matter what Julia Gillard stands for, Abbott'll find something about it to abhor. Soon he’ll point out she has no religion. Think of that! None at all, not a smidgen! But, what if........persuaded by the Greens, She’d met ‘His Holiness’ behind the scenes? So that photo op with the Dalai Lama Made headlines. [i]"Abbott Meets His Karma!”[/i] If the PM, as the leader of our nation, That day declared that Reincarnation Was now the religion of the state, How Aussies would love their trendy opiate! Their PM ‘recognised’ as one who’d been In former life the Tudor ‘Virgin’ Queen! Around their common ancestries in Wales, The Buddhists might weave some wondrous tales. Both embodied that other Celt, Boadicea! Two great spirits, reincarnate, in Julia! Wise, strong women from the climes of Borealis Enthroned again and here in Terra Australis!

psyclaw

30/06/2011Hi AA...my first comment here, although a frequent visitor to the site and admirer of your comprehensive summaries of events and issues. Yes, those who hollowly repeat the mantra "what does JG stand for" are presumably deaf, blind, or suffering from neo-cortex difficulties ...... one or all....OR are merely malicious/manipulative. As your list shows, she has done much and has tonnes more underway and nearing completion. Only today a high school principal friend was telling me how every classroom in his school can and does go online as a routine matter.....a direct result of JG's actions in providing $s for this. In that school, the laptops provided for all students are working like a treat, and have provided manner, method, and matter of education previously unavailable. Of course EGW was also accused ofbeing visionless and of doing nothing for the country...medibank, trade pracices act, family law act, withdrawl from Vietnam, removal of tariffs, equal pay for women,anti-discrim legislation,Indigenous land rights etc etc ..... not too bad in a mere 3 years hey! Looking forward to your next article. Psyclaw

DD

30/06/2011Patricia, AHH is this why i was sent here the other day, political poetry, well met... Though i still maintain womban is approbation, not birthright, i do seem to remember a tear for Centralia when she returned. I still hope. Did you catch Tonys Better angels remark the other day, angles and little more methinks. But would she not be a wicce then being Celt or Kelt if you prefer? A Welsh gippy PM, now there is a spin I can spin with. LOL Thanks for the smile. Psyclaw, anything regarding children is always very popular for we all love our children. BIG VOTE WINNER ALLWAYS, Simular practices have been implemented over the years. I ponder if it will mean anything to these children in 25 years. The number of people from failed past education schemes many, only because one brings it in, the other tears it up. Equitable society is an ongoing process, not one of there contrivances. A philisophy, not sophistry. The computer is only a tool, do you remember this little poem... [quote] Software and hard ware, new interpretations, From nails to pillows to computer applications. The world will function on zeros and ones, The effect on our being has hardly begun...[/quote] Player One, Game Over, 1980 (from the album that had the song Space Invaders) I would vote Gough back in tomorrow for one reason, we did not sack him! From what I can remember.

Michael

30/06/2011Wednesday's Bad Abbott after 10 failed attempts to post it ON Wednesday. Thursday's, Abbott-willing, to follow. By this week's end Andrew Robb says that the Coalition will have announced 40 policies to be put immediately into place if the Gillard government collapses. The core of a Coalition Government's actions announced while its leader is back of beyond, gone bush bricklaying, or so we are told. Now, that sounds like a very serious way for an alternative Prime Minister to launch and embody his alternative government's policies. Or is it simply that if Andrew Robb says it (announces the policies) then Andrew Robb wears it (if any of said policies disturb voters)? Leaving Saint Tiny to ride in (gingerly) from the West to rescind the 'disturbing' policies and show just how closely he listens to the people.

Lyn

30/06/2011 From: lyn Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 8:28 PM To: lyn Subject: LINKS 30TH JUNE [b]TODAY’S LINKS[/b] [i]How the Vast Conservative Network in Australia Works, Alex Scholtzer, The Angle[/i] ‘No Carbon Tax’ rallies and so-called peoples’ revolt against putting a price on carbon pollution has been organised through CANdo and Menzies House. Materials, information and merchandise is availablethrough the CANdo website. http://theangle.org/2011/06/28/how-the-vast-conservative-network-in-australia-works/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theangleorg+%28theangle.org%29 [i]Tony Abbott betrays Peter Reith, triggering WorkChoices v2.0, Barry Everingham, Independent Australia[/i] So when Reith – one of the biggest liars in the dishonest Howard Government – was urged by Abbott to try and roll Alan Stockdale and promised his support, Reith thought he was home and hosed. http://www.independentaustralia.net/2011/politics/tony-abbott-betrays-peter-reith-triggering-workchoices-v2-0/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tony-abbott-betrays-peter-reith-triggering-workchoices-v2-0 [i]Not the Hoi Polloi , Mr Denmore, The Failed Estate[/i] The Australian's audience - gouty, late-middle-aged Tories who feel their comfortable wood-panelled worlds are under attack from bicycle-riding, body-pierced, vegans. Nine per cent of you like the ABC, http://thefailedestate.blogspot.com/2011/06/not-hoi-polloi.html#comments [i]If you only reach out to one…., Ash, Ash’s Machiavellian Bloggery[/i] Once they step out of detention, they face more of that detention but behind invisible walls. And surely we can do something about that because it is us who make those walls http://ashghebranious.wordpress.com/2011/06/29/if-you-only-reach-out-to-one/ [i]How does enterprise bargaining feel now, Peter? Bill, Billablog[/i] feeling hard done by for having management gang up on him and unfairly dismiss his individually negotiated workplace agreement. If only he had a union to stick up for him. http://the-billablog.blogspot.com/ [i]Liberals in search of the case for IR reform, Bernard Keane, Crikey[/i] Now that Tony Abbott has been forced into an industrial relations policy — recall that he literally had no policy on the issue last year,in a mostly successful attempt to defuse the threat of WorkChoices — it will be intriguing http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/06/29/in-search-of-the-case-for-ir-reform-what-did-workchoices-accomplish/ [i]Notre Dame University should not host Monckton, Natalie Latter, The Conversation[/i] He undermines, ridicules and abuses the values of academic integrity. He accuses climate researchers of doing false research for the purpose of obtaining research funding. He maliciously misrepresents this research http://theconversation.edu.au/notre-dame-university-should-not-host-monckton-206 [i]NBNCo. Don’t say you weren’t warned , Peter Martin[/i] The deal with Telstra requires Australia’s biggest supplier of wireless broadband to “not promote wireless services as a substitute for fibre based services for 20 years.” http://www.petermartin.com.au/2011/06/nbnco-dont-say-you-werent-warned.html [i]Brown MRRT attack personal: Forrest, Business Spectator[/i] Senator Brown says images of Australian miners campaigning against the Mineral Resources Rent Tax (MRRT) give a false impression of the level of local ownership of the industry. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Brown-attack-on-mining-personal-Forrest-JA7A2?opendocument&src=rss&utm_content=%23Investing+%23Investment+%23InvestmentStrategy [i]Senate balance favours Greens, Weekly Times Now[/i] If Abbott won government in 2013, he'd require the support of either Labor or the Greens to get his moves through Senate. Abbott is not known for being a great negotiator and this situation could result in extremely ineffective government http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2011/06/29/351561_opinion-news.html [i]Mass Deception , Gary Sauer Thompson , Public Opinion[/i] One of the big deceptions currently circulating through the mainstream media is that the ongoing rise in the electricity prices is linked to a carbon tax.Prices are rising at a rapid rate, there are more increases in the pipeline (electricity prices are predicted to increase by at least 100% from 2008 levels by 2015), http://www.sauer-thompson.com/archives/opinion/2011/06/mass-deception-1.php#more [i]More on Rewnewables, Brian Larvatus Prodeo[/i] Lane Crockett, local General Manager at Pacific Hydro, believes that the renewable energy industry has been subject to increasing venomous attacks in the media http://larvatusprodeo.net/2011/06/29/more-on-renewables/ [i]Carbon deal just days away, ABC[/i] Greens leader Bob Brown says his party will thwart any attempts by Tony Abbott to repeal the legislation if the Coalition wins government. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/30/3257089.htm

Michael

30/06/2011Well, what a difference a day makes! Might just prove a Bad Abbott a day keeps Shouldabeen away.

Lyn

30/06/2011Hi Michael Isn't it just wonderful, no pretending Photo shoots on TV last night or this morning, oh there was a carrying boxes shot, but think that was the day before. shouldabeen away hooray. Cheers:):):):):)

Lyn

30/06/2011Good Morning Ad I don't usually say this to you, but this morning I have to recommend Alex Scholtzer's article. Leading this mornings Today's links. Congratulations to Alex. Why do I get so amazed at the Liberals, I should know a lot better than amazement but it happens to me everytime. Have a nice day Ad:):):):):):)

janice

30/06/2011[quote]The "populist" thing has brought me to a state of anomie, but i suppose a majority would have prevented this. Was so overjoyed to be voting for a female, perhaps I should have just expected a politician. [/quote] DD, I don't understand what you are saying here. Would you be so kind as to explain what you mean? :)

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30/06/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

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30/06/2011DD and psyclaw Welcome to [i]The Political Sword[/i] family. I hope you enjoy contributing to the dialogue here.

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30/06/2011Hi Lyn Alex Schlotzer’s revealing piece is at the top of your links on your special page. It should be read by all who seek to find out how the conservatives work on the PR front.

macca

30/06/2011It seems to me that those so desperately seeking vision should first understand the difference between the woods and the trees.

TalkTurkey

30/06/2011Sing with exultation and aspiration! Tune: The Prettiest Girl I ever saw (sat sippin' cider through a straw) Or is it "One Fish Ball", the one that goes 'The poor old man All ill at ease Said,"A piece of bread Sir if you plee-hee-hease?"' (A song what I learnt at me muvver's knee.) Anyway you work it out, Swordsfolks, but sing, Brothers and Sisters, Sing with heart and soul in praise of that amazing double act by those famous humanitarians and humorists * PETER * and * TONY * The FUNNIEST THING The Funniest Thing (ha ha ha haa) I ever saw (haw haw haw haw) Was Tony showing (ha ha ha) Who he'd voted for (haw haw haw haw) He showed some mates (ha ha ha ha) And Peter saw (haw haw haw haw) Him showing who he'd voted for. The funniest part Is, Peter Reith Is known for lying In his teeth . . . Now Tony Abbortt Gives him grief By lying to him in his teeth. Haw haw haw haw Hee hee hee hee They're doing this for you and me hee hee So to you Tony, And you Pete, Thank you, because such glee is swee-hee -heet. (Repeat) So to you Tony, And you Pete, Thank you, because such glee is sweet. . . . Start again . . .

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30/06/2011Folks Julia Gillard detailed what she and Labor stood for in her Whitlam Oration in late March. Here are some excerpts; the bolding is mine. [i]Strengthening Labor requires us to be crystal clear about our sense of purpose. It is periodically fashionable for there to be outbreaks of existential angst in the Labor Party where the cry goes up [b]‘we don’t know what we stand for’.[/b] Even if Labor isn’t raising the cry, media commentators raise it for us with never ending predictions of our imminent demise. Let me say to you tonight, I am deeply intolerant of this bunkum. I am absolutely clear what Labor stands for, what we aspire to achieve, what our culture is and our role as a party of government. The historic mission of our political party is to ensure the [b]fair distribution of opportunity[/b]. From the moment of our inception our mission has been to enable the son of the labourer, the daughter of the cleaner, to have access to same the opportunities in life as the son of the millionaire, the daughter of the lawyer. Creating opportunity and enabling social mobility has required different policies in every age. We have moved beyond the days of big government and big welfare, to opportunity through [b]education[/b] and inclusion through [b]participation[/b]. But at every stage in our history [b]fair access to opportunity[/b] has been our historic mission. And we have always acknowledged that access to opportunity comes with obligations to seize that opportunity. To work hard, to set your alarm clocks early, to ensure your children are in school. We are the party of [b]work not welfare[/b], that’s why we respect the efforts of the brickie and look with a jaundiced eye at the lifestyle of the socialite. The Labor culture values effort more than status. It prizes the great Australian tradition of informality and rejects the sort of snobbishness and obsequiousness that infect other societies. Labor culture values the strength that comes from working as a team and supports the role of unions in ensuring working people succeed together and that their work is recognised, rewarded and appreciated. This is the best self to which Labor must always be true. This is our continuing culture, born in Barcaldine and Balmain, the culture of mateship and the [b]fair go, hard work and respect[/b], that we have shared from our first days. And we are the party of the future. From our earliest days we have always known that you don’t turn back; you can’t turn back. There will always be those who say the way ahead for Labor is to go back. They said it to Keating and to Hawke, they said it Whitlam and Chifley and Curtin … they probably said it to Watson too. We never can. We have always understood that we must be the interpreters of the future to the present and must shape the future so it is one of fairness. That’s why both tackling climate change and rolling out the National Broadband Network, both very modern challenges, are being approached by us in a very Labor way. Take climate change, if we drifted to a future of environmental degradation, it would be those with the least means who suffered the worse consequences. That’s why making polluters pay and generously assisting those who need help to adjust is the Labor way. Take the NBN. If we allowed drift, if we didn’t seize and shape the future, then the digital divide would exacerbate unfairness as today’s poor would become tomorrow’s excluded. That’s why making sure everyone has access to this new technology is the Labor way. We are a party of opportunity and a party that strives to shape the future. And we are party of ideas and a party of government. To provide quality leadership to our community we have to be in touch with it and understand it. That requires continued outreach and never ending respect. We always, always, always have something to learn from our fellow Australians… We are a party of government with all the attachment to the political centre and to pragmatic decision making that comes with being a party of government. A party of government and proud of it… We happily leave to the Greens being a party of protest with no tradition of striking the balance required to deliver major reform. Like the economic transformation of the 1980s, these new reforms can only be delivered in the progressive Labor tradition… The government I lead will always be driven by my vision of Labor as our best self. A government for opportunity, for shaping the future, for the many. A government getting on with governing…. But as Prime Minister my higher obligation is to govern well. To rebuild disaster-stricken communities; to share opportunity through the Government’s education and participation reforms. To shape the future by pricing carbon, rolling out the NBN, and delivering a better health care system and to see our mission through in Afghanistan. That is what I was elected for and that is what I will do… … if there is one lesson of the Whitlam Government it is this. You can’t govern without a strong economy. So having talked about the party and politics, let me talk about [b]jobs and opportunity[/b] about the coming Budget… After difficult years for the economy, we are facing a huge boom – the biggest mining boom in 150 years. Since 2004, mining investment has increased five fold. This year, Australian industry will invest more money into mining than the whole country invests in building new houses – something that has never happened before. One single project – the $43 billion Gorgon gas project – is worth about the same as two years of output in agriculture. Or to take a more domestic analogy, five years ago the money earned from exporting 10,000 tonnes of iron ore would buy about 280 dishwashers. Today it would buy you around 1400 dishwashers. On any measure, we are living through a boom and that boom is a good thing. Mine workers earn higher wages, suppliers benefit, superannuation funds earn more and the higher dollar is cutting prices for household goods like clothes, appliances, televisions and computers. The boom is good news for Australia and we should celebrate it. The challenge for the country and for the economy is to [b]manage that boom well[/b] – to nurture it so that it lasts – by [b]investing in productivity while preventing inflationary pressures from running out of control[/b]… We all know that strong economies risk inflationary pressures and that’s why we have to make the right decisions and not take risks with people’s cost of living. In other words, good economic management isn’t just good for the economy – it’s good for the family budget as well. We will keep a tight rein on spending to [b]return the Budget to surplus and keep our economy strong[/b]. That’s responsible economic management. This budget will be about making the right decisions for the country; the right decisions for families and the right decisions for jobs. I will never risk the economy and people’s jobs for the soft political option of putting off hard decisions to next time… I believe a Budget surplus is a key sign of a strong economy. It means we are prepared when the country’s luck turns, and we are hit with a crisis like the GFC. And it means we are prepared when individuals’ luck turns as well – because we have a strong social safety net. So we face a choice. We can take these tough decisions now to bring the budget back to surplus – or we can put them off to the never, never, which will just make these decisions harder and these cuts more severe when the time comes… A fiscal blowout 10 years down the track would mean radical cuts to key social services – like public education, universal health care, and pensions. Around the world, we see Governments facing huge structural deficits which are forced to slash education funding, public services and entitlements. Together, we can take the tough decisions to deliver a Budget surplus in 2012-13 and keep the economy strong. That’s what we said we will do and we will do it. Even given the budget pressures which do result from natural disasters at home and overseas. Taking some pain now will ensure that households avoid a lot more pain in the future. There is a strong progressive logic to this approach. When the private sector was in retreat, the government stepped forward to fill the gap – it was controversial but it was right. Now that the private sector is charging forward, it’s time for the government to pull back on spending. This budget will be about making the right decisions for the country, the right decisions for families and the right decisions for jobs: A Budget to nurture the boom so that it lasts; A Budget to respond to “patchwork pressures” in the economy; A Budget to make hard decisions now to prevent long-term pain; A Budget to grow jobs and share opportunity a Labor Budget; A future in touch with the community… I firmly believe that the best days of our nation are in front of it, not behind it. I understand that the challenges of today and tomorrow can easily leave us yearning for what we remember as a kinder and simpler past age. But I do not believe in romanticising the past. I do not believe in being afraid of the future. We best combat fear by taking deliberate steps to shape the future together, [b]a future of opportunity for all.[/b] This the Labor way. This is the Australian way.[/i]

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30/06/2011Folks I hope the above excerpts will answer the question “What does Julia Gillard stand for?” You can argue whether she has achieved what she has set out to achieve, but there can be no argument with what she says in this address about what she stands for. The whole address is at : http://australianpolitics.com/2011/03/31/julia-gillards-whitlam-oration.html

Feral Skeleton

30/06/2011DD, I fear Tony Abbott would operate on Jesuitical principles should he be Prime Minister: 'Give me the child and I'll show you the man.' Or wtte. :$ I think they call it Indentured Mind Slavery. :D

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30/06/2011Folks I'm off now to Telstra to sort out some technical problems with my modem. I'll be back later this afternoon.

Feral Skeleton

30/06/2011psyclaw, Thank you so much for commenting, we at TPS hope it won't be the last time you gird your loins and jump into the fray here. :)

TalkTurkey

30/06/2011Ad astra NOBODY says it better than *J*U*L*I*A*! She speaks without notes, through catcalls and without the slightest hesitation, in perfectly logically arranged order and with full emphasis, that is why she is where she is, why I put flowers around her name (because so many would other stuff) and it is why so many throw other stuff. As I write she is inspecting welding processes. No footage, she's not Tony! She will be looking at it from an educational pov, not whinging how the carbon tax will mean that electricity costs will make the welding shop close down. Now Mad Katter instead raving on. Swordsfolks, just remember how good this woman is. No-one can hold a candle to her articulation and determination and downright ability, that is why the Right hates and fears her so. Juliaphobia. She's just started her presser. She leant on something and it gave, and she OOH!ed! ans said she wouldn't do that again. She is wearing a plain white coat and crimson top, white earrings, unless she's painted her earlobes to make them look like earrings. Her freckles are standing out today and her lippy is a rather dull faded magenta. And thee theth Caddle when thee meanth to thay Cattle. :) Just joking folks. That's the important stuff of course. No, seriously, she just said it like it is back to a hostile questioner, "The cattlemen don't want to see their animals treated like that, we don't want to see animals treated like that, and we have taken this action to see that they are not treated like that." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Debbie (K) Spillane (a redhead, sort of, herself) in expectation of a cross to *J*U*L*I*A*, just coined the lovely term Rangathon! :) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Feel the steel in our PM folks. Tony Abbortt is about to!

Patricia WA

30/06/2011Ditto your welcome to DD and psyclaw, Ad Astra. Looking at their time of posting I'm wondering if they are both sandgropers, like me. Or perhaps just night owls? DD, thanks for the compliment. Your reference to 'wicce' is worthy of Talk Turkey, another rhymester at TPS. He was the source of the re-incarnation idea which I should have acknowledged and am glad to now. The need for sleep does eventually take over! TT, glad I didn't read your sweet and funny rhyme as I posted mine late last night. I'd have loved it, but never got to sleep. If you do another as catchy as that and it is an evening one, I hope it's a lullaby! Sadly I can see the CANdo and Menzies House brigade already massaging these signs of dissension amongs the Libs as evidence of a [i]'lively debate on policy issues.....the sort of the thing Julia Gillard would never permit......the public should not be deceived by ALP apparent unity.....'[/i] as the Leader of the Opposition will be reported as saying! Thanks again to lyn for starting our reading this morning with that revealing piece by Alex Schlotzer. It goes a long way to explaining one's sense that almost every minute of the day I feel I'm being brain washed even by the national broadcaster. It explains how lazy or inexperienced journalists are not resisting the relentless advance of and then embrace by the monstrous tentacles of the conservative media network. (Forgive the mixed metaphors, still bug eyed!)

TalkTurkey

30/06/2011PM announces $30m handouts to impoverished NT cowpeople. (But it should be $3 billion at least. Plus continued whinging rights.) Melissa Clarke on ABC 24 grimacing bravely through having to admit that our PM is looking confident and successful this week. Beaudy bottler. And she does too. Wait till next week in Parliament! " . . . And the stock-horse snuffs the battle with delight!" I bet the budgie isn't feeling too perky right now! :)

Feral Skeleton

30/06/2011:D http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/senior-libs-clash-over-work-choices-record/story-fn59niix-1226084759584

D Mick Weir

30/06/2011The more I do, the behinderer I get. (attribution required!) In catching up with yesterdays Lyn's Links (thanks again Tweetie) I was set to much thinking and questioning - and why would anyone think that is unusal; for me! Andrew Elder confirmed he is still Politciacally Homeless and his piece [i]Lord of Misrule[/i] is a great read. Elder made some telling points and has some very quotable quotes as we often expect Elder's quip: [i]Even Niki Savva made the startling admission that Abbott can't make the transition from stuntman to statesman.[/i] was very intruiging and so I was (mis)lead to click on the link to the Savva piece. Oh well I have admitted before I can be a bit slow sometimes. Anyway even Savva can cause me to think sometimes (and not always bad thoughts) and something set the cogs whirring when I read this: [i]He (Mr Abbott) maintained his support for paid parental leave and added the small-l liberal motif of multiculturalism by marrying it with his monarchist convictions. "With Geoffrey Blainey, I used to worry that multiculturalism could leave us a nation of tribes," he said. "That was before I became executive director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy and discovered that some of the crown's strongest supporters had not been born under it. "Liberals should never be more proud of our country than when migrants choose Australia. They are the ultimate vindication of our country as a land of hope, reward and opportunity. "Migrants to Australia have always been determined to make the most of their new home by working hard, starting businesses and raising families. That's why the Liberal Party should be their natural political home."[/i] Now hang on for a moment shouldabeen, are saying to me that migrants should (and will?) 'naturally' vote Liberal? Whoa! Now riddle me this shouldabeen, Most Asylum Seekers prove to be genuine refugees right? [i](ahem, err, umm ...)[/i] And no matter how they get here we end up with most of those refugees settling here right? [i](ahem, err, umm ...)[/i] That makes them migrants doesn't it? [i](ahem, err, umm ...)[/i] And most migrants become citizens, right? [i](ahem, err, umm ...)[/i] And migrants will vote Liberal, is that right? [i]Well, of course it is only natural ...[/i] HANG ON, I recant, I take back everything I have said. STOP THE BOATS

Patricia WA

30/06/2011Yes, FS, confirmation that someone in Menzies House or CANdo is already at work with the first comment to that story [quote][b]Someperspectivepls[/b] Posted at 12:41 PM Today. "Even if as some commenting here believe the ALP/Union spin about them returning to 'Workchoices', the Senate (controlled by Bob Brown's Greens and with Labor) would block it. So settle down people, even if the Liberals win government and got it through the House of Reps, the Senate would eventually block it. Are we about to see a 'Workchoices scare campaign' for the third time? How desperate can the ALP/Union and their supporters get? Even AiG's Heather Ridout (normally a supporter of Labor) has said that the current IR laws need review and reform. IR reform, review or discussion does not equal "return to Workchoices". It only does for those wanting any excuse to keep supporting a poor performing Gillard Labor.[/quote] Brilliant stuff. That is, if you're of the right, And the airwaves and blogotariat will be swamped with more of the same on this and any other issue which puts the Libs/Coalition/Abbott in a bad light.

D Mick Weir

30/06/2011FS @ June 29. 2011 11:22 PM [i]DMW, You are William Tell?[/i] Well not quite, but when I found that long bow I did find my Willie Tell hat so I figured I could draw some long bows. :P So, contiuing on from my comment above I really have to wonder what the shuoldabeen champions really do believe - ok, I know you keeping asking that too :) [i]"Liberals should never be more proud of our country than when migrants choose Australia. They are the ultimate vindication of our country as a land of hope, reward and opportunity.[/i] Allegedly part of the 'New Manifesto of the Caring and Sharing Liberal Party' Elsewhere I gather that the 'New Liberals' are also against discrimination and all sorts of other stuff that was once the preserve of Latte Sipping Trendies (of which group I have been guilty of being two thirds of - a latte sipper, err slurper, but not very trendy) Draws long bow and asks: [i]If you want us to be proud that migrants choose Australia should we still villify boat people who are really migrants that can't afford an air fare?[/i]

Gravel

30/06/2011D Mick Weir I have just had a good laugh after reading your last post. Yes indeed, Stop the Boats. Thank you for that. So the opposition is now stopping prospective voters from voting for them because they want to stop the boats. I just love it. DD Can I add my welcome to you to TPS. I, like Janice, am confused about your comment on voting Labor, and now you appear to regret it, I am curious to know why?

D Mick Weir

30/06/2011Gravel @ 2:04 PM my pleasure, laughter is often the best medicine eh? keep smilin :)

Lyn

30/06/2011Hi D Mick Weir I think you are better than confucius, but did you find your hair no I mean Beard. You make it a pleasure for me to post Today's Links, and how good are you reading yesterday's today. The important read today is Alex Scholtzer's article you will really enjoy. Stop the Boats Stop the Waste up up up (on carbon Tax) incompetent untrustworthy tricky Shouldabeen (good name by Michael), was just on my TV,he said Incompetent Untrustworthy Tricky at least 6 times that I counted. The mantra is back to: there should be another election. See so if he gets a hard question that's what he says. When asked about Peter Reith and Work Choices, shouldabeen replied, I dealt with that yesterday are there any other questions? Tony Abbott calls for an immediate election after 'the experiment that failed' Malcolm Farr, News Com "A government can't say one thing before an election and do the opposite after an election." He predicted a clear victory because "Australians have concluded that minority government is an experiment that's failed". "I don't think we are going to see another minority government in Canberra for a long, long time http://www.news.com.au/national/tony-abbott-calls-for-an-immediate-election-after-the-experiment-that-failed/story-e6frfkvr-1226084923845 Cheers :):):):)

D Mick Weir

30/06/2011The Drum are are running an Online Opinion Poll that strikes me as a 'Have stopped beating your partner?' type poll: [i]Are net poll respondents more likely to vote "No" to any given question?[/i] Umm, if I vote No do I prove the point? If I vote yes have I contradicted myself?

D Mick Weir

30/06/2011Hi Lyn, indeed Alex Scholtzer's article was illuminating. Others have been pointing out some of the connections but Scholtzer seems to have tugged harder at some of the strings to find even more connections. [i]... did you find your hair no I mean Beard?[/i] You probably know what my dear and lovely wife means when she says to me [i]'Are you sure you aren't just taking a little boy look?'[/i] Suffice to say I forgot to look in the most obvious place. :$

Bill

30/06/2011Thanks again for the link, Lyn, and to everyone for the warm welcome.

Ad astra reply

30/06/2011Folks Here's an interesting link to a piece about the 'price on carbon' negotiations in the Multi-Party Committee on Climate Change: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/30/3257906.htm?section=justin

Jason

30/06/2011Normank Where are you?

Michael

30/06/2011You can always rely on Shouldabeen for a Daily Bad Abbott. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/30/3257906.htm Now he's saying Julia Gillard has been calling the carbon price a "carbon tax" for months, when she's only used the latter term to point out how it ISN'T a carbon tax in any way similar to Tiny's use of the words. The guy lies endlessly...ly...ly.

Feral Skeleton

30/06/2011:D http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/senior-libs-clash-over-work-choices-record/story-fn59niix-1226084759584

Feral Skeleton

30/06/2011Tony Abbott, when he rabbits on about "A government can't say one thing before an election and do the opposite after an election." obviously must be in the first stage of Alzheimers because he has completely forgotten about John Howard's 'Core and Non Core' pre-election promises and post-election junking of same, if he really believes what he has said above to be true.

psyclaw

30/06/2011Evening All I note that the Chief Rabbotteer is now enjoying the support of Messrs J Harvey and J Singleton in calling for an immediate election 'because of immense negativity surrounding the government'. Quickest way to solve their "problem" is for the Libs to elect a new leader, since the Chief Rabbotteer alone is the cornerstone of the negativity and vitriol so prevalent at the moment. I think many loose sight of the fact that but for the scheming of the "faceless men" power of Abetz and Minchin, based on their AGW denial, the Dec 2009 coup against M Turnbull would not have happened, and the Chief Rabbotteer would still one of the crowd, not leader by his own one vote margin. Also had Hockey not been so silly as to propose a conscience vote re AGW as part of his leadership pitch, the Chief Rabbotteer would still be one of the crowd. So by a huge fluke of Liberal party machinations the nation is saddled with Mr No, followed and now blindly supported by many moderate but spineless members of the Liberals. And we have been daily punished by his mindless negativity, not to mention the daily TV grabs of him frocked up as butcher, baker, and candlestick maker. (This reminds me of the great hit scene in 'Keating the Musical' which parodies JWH's penchant for frocking up as a soldier, as a member of the Australian Rugby team, and as a grazier in chambre shirt, RMW boots and Akubra ..... JWH was a rank amateur at frocking up compared to his "political son") On a more optimistic note, hopefully the coalition's outright loss of Senate influence/control combined with the bedding down of JG's 3 or 4 VIP legislative reforms / works-in-progress (ETS, NBN,refugees etc) will silence the Chief Rabbotteer abit.....maybe even enough for the MSM and his own troops to come to a realistic understanding of what he stands for, ie occupancy of The Lodge. To Patricia WA ....no....a NSW night owl....cheers. Regards everyone

John

30/06/2011Hi, Ad, et al. Great peice. It would almost describe the the ALP would hope is its DNA. While it is an optomistic article, there are several factors that are, or will, affect the overall performance: 1) the political realities of negotiating with the Independent MP's 2) the political realities of dealing with The Greens, who stand on principle too often, forgetting that much progress is made incrementally, rather than with radical immediacy, however desirable that might be. 3)Education reform is hampered by the desire for user pays, and to be "the great education reformer". Gough Whitlam probably came closest, with the advent of fully funded ('free') uiversity education, although it had drawbacks. His work was partly undone in 1989 with the introduction of HECS, was made worse by Howard, and there are now proposals for further costs, including HECS-style fees for TAFE courses. Many uni graduates finish owing enough to buy a small house or unit in regional NSW. Every education adviser seems to be an economic rationalist, whether to Labor or Coalition governments, and they seem to advocate 'programs' from the US or Britain which are now being seriously questioned in those countries. Vouchers, teacher bonuses and increasing funding to private education are among teh proposals. 4) the "us, too" policy positions adopted successfully by Kevin Rudd to negate Coalition boasts of being better/tougher/... and continued, especially in refugee / boat people policies. Having said all that, I admire Julia Gillard for at least aiming at the bullseye. :)

Lyn

30/06/2011Hi psyclaw What an interesting comment you have posted, thankyou so much. I didn't say welcome to you last night so I am saying it now, we all hope you continue to post your thoughtfull opinion on TPS. If Gerry Harvey keeps whinging poor mouth, he is going to turn all his customers away, he is bad publicity for his own company. As for Singleton we know he is a good friend of Shouldabeen's. [quote]maybe even enough for the MSM and his own troops to come to a realistic understanding of what he stands for, ie occupancy of The Lodge.[/quote] See they are waiting for a death, one death away from Government. that's nice isn't it, very compassionate mob, attitude of Shouldabeen winner give me the Lodge Keys and give them to me now. [quote]Julia Gillard labelled untrustworthy and tricky over plan to dump 'carbon tax' in three years, Malcolm farr, News Com[/quote] "And what we see is a Prime Minister who is compounding incompetence with trickery. We know this was a government that was untrustworthy, now it's being tricky as well." http://www.news.com.au/national/julia-gillard-labelled-untrustworthy-and-tricky-over-plan-to-dump-carbon-tax-in-three-years/story-e6frfkvr-1226084916948 Cheers :):):):)

D Mick Weir

30/06/2011Jason, I nearly asked the same thing ... NormanK, come out, come out wherever you are ... we need your wisdom and some of your wit as well ... I wonder if he is off at a New Years Eve Party getting the lowdown on matters economic?

Lyn

30/06/2011Hi John Thankyou for dropping in tonight, your article is excellent as normal always an enjoyable read. [i]Reith lets genie Out, John, True Politik[/i] But the IR genie, that Tony Abbott so desperately tried to keep hidden from public view, is now out of the bottle. Ordinary working Australians will be right to “be afraid, be very afraid”. http://truepolitik.blogspot.com/ Cheers :):):):):)

D Mick Weir

30/06/2011Hi John @ 7:49 PM, good comment [i]the political realities of dealing with The Greens, who stand on principle too often, forgetting that much progress is made incrementally, rather than with radical immediacy, however desirable that might be.[/i] I would have thought that 'thinking greens' and surely there must be many Greens Party members who consider themselves as thinkers, would know Mother Nature evolves slowly, taking small steps to 'weed out' the undesirable elements and replace them with 'more desirable' elements. I wonder if any of the enviromental conservationists understand that political conservation is about slow and incremental movement toward societies understandings of its ideals? Hmm, further musings might be required on this.

Ad astra reply

30/06/2011psyclaw Thank you for your comment. We’ve known for a while that Gerry Harvey and John Singleton have been pro-Coalition, so their utterances can be discounted as already partisan, certainly not representative of business. My impression is that as the last day of the old Senate draws to a close in a few hours, and the Independents continue strongly to support the Government, Tony Abbott realizes he has lost his quest for the Lodge unless an accident happens. So he is becoming more and more shrill, demanding an immediate election and enlisting his shrill mates to shout with him. His hysterical criticism of PM Gillard regarding the price on carbon giving way to an ETS within a short time indicates to me that he sees this neutralizing his ‘carbon tax’ rhetoric, thereby losing one of his most potent weapons. He’s starting to run more and more scared as PM Gillard rolls out her program. John While the difficulties you outline are real, Julia Gillard seems to be managing them well. My impression is that she is becoming more confident by the day, and that her doggedness and determination is gaining grudging admiration from the more reasonable journalists. Once she gets some real runs on the board the attitude of the media will gradually change, of course slower in the Murdoch press, but even a biased media admires a tenacious fighter determined to get legislation through.

Ad astra reply

30/06/2011Folks I'm calling it a day.

D Mick Weir

30/06/2011Ad, I note that you have called it a day so the answer will come while I am out (on the road again) [i]We’ve known for a while that Gerry Harvey and John Singleton have been pro-Coalition, so their utterances can be discounted as already partisan, certainly not representative of business.[/i] Who is the 'we' that 'know this'. Now I know my brain can get a bit addled and I, at times, get things wrong, but, my memory tells me that Singo was the architect of many a Labor campaign. Hmm so off I trot to that veritable mine of information, Wikipedia, and what do I find? [i]Singleton developed close ties with the Australian Labor Party and created the advertising for Bob Hawke's successful 1983 election campaign.[/i] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Singleton_%28Australian_entrepreneur%29 It is indeed a strange world.

psyclaw

30/06/2011Yes AA, I was going to comment earlier today that since 1 July is with us and as the MPCCC consensus nears 100% we can expect the Chief Rabbotteer to squeal like a stuck pig in a last hurrah. He'll clutch at straws to do so, and the one emerging tonight is the accusation that JG has suddenly stated today that it is not a carbon "tax". Even the ABC is reporting this as a new stance by the PM. What short memories. In February when she outlined the framework, she said explicitly that she believed that it was not a tax, but that she was not prepared to fight a semantic side skirmish with Rabbott about the word "tax" and if he wanted to call it a tax, so be it. He had of course immediately called "great new big tax" when the intent to price carbon was formally announced. We'll see his creative "side" flare again in coming days as he invents a new focus for "no!"

Feral Skeleton

30/06/2011D Mick Weir, Boy, I thought you were a Canberra 'Insider'. Didn't know about John Singleton? If I weren't so tired(trying to fit a million things in before the end of school term and it's always the same), I would give you chapter and verse about how John Singleton has leveraged his beginnings with Bob Hawke, into the stratosphere of the Bunyip Aristocracy, 21st century style. Suffice to say, the last thing this titan of Australia's Petit Bourgeoisie does is have sympathy for the Labor Party. He is a vulgarian of the first order, and proud of it, who worships one thing only, Mammon. He crossed into the Heart of Darkness long ago, and took Bill Leak with him, sadly. I should know, my family and I have lived in the same suburb as them for decades and fought bitter battles with 'Singo'. My family are also one of the few who have beaten him in a fight.

D Mick Weir

30/06/2011FS I am no insider. Probably not even an outsider anymore, I even have difficulty finding Canberra on a map these days. I am sure it is somewhere around here bit the 'real' Canberra can be difficult to locate. I will accept your word and admit that I wasn't up with the 'Singo Switch n Bait'. Guess someone had best update that font of (mis)guiding wisdom that is Wikipedia as I didn't notice any reference to the 'switch'.

TalkTurkey

30/06/2011CQ CQ Norman(K) http://www.google.com.au/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1TSHN_ENAU345&=&q=yellow+rose+of+texas Where's The Yellow Rose of Queensland? The Swordsfolk want to know! Nobody here has seen him Since a coupla days ago: We fret so since he left us, He's nearly broke our heart Cos in the Swordsfolks' scheme of things He plays a special part.

Patricia WA

30/06/2011FS, interested to read your comment on Bill Leak. I watched him on his little video feature at the Australian on how he draws the PM. It was such a bitchy thing that I felt almost sick, so much malice! I was really surprised because although there is the usual OO slant in his stuff a lot of it is right down the middle and spot on as well as funny. I guess his professionalism overtakes the personal much of the time. But still, for a talented attractive man with a lot of personal charm, why the venom? What happened to the sound on 7.30 tonight? Or was it our storm here? Whatever, we missed all of the 'good news' from the PM about climate change, and only got to hear Chris Uhlman's take on it all. Did anyone notice that the ABC lead story was all about angry cattlemen confronting the PM? I gather she was taking their cursing and abuse on the chin. Hardly any footage of her which I imagine was because she displayed her characteristic courage. What I don't understand is why we aren't hearing more about the MLA's dereliction of duty and their responsibility to have contingency funds in place and available to members.

TalkTurkey

30/06/2011Psyclaw, Bill, John, DD, anybody I've missed, welcome. Gee I tell ya, anybody try to make out that The Sword is a closed-ended mob of Laborphilic clones, just look at the differences right there! The only way in which we really want people to be alike is in general goodwill. And if illwilled people come here it really doesn't matter anyway, we got da lurv and it's water off a duck's back when it's all said and done. But it's funny, most of us do tend to support the Government, by individual choice. But we sure aren't clones.

D Mick Weir

30/06/2011I hope it is only something I ate I have this awful feeling in my gut that is telling me to prepare for some not so good news. Wish I could figure it out. Anyway one thing I do know is that tomorrow is a new day and it will be the dawning of a new political year. Some will be celebrating becuse it is out with the old and in with new in the red room. It is down to minutes now.

Jason

30/06/2011DMW, It is as you say " out with the old and in with new in the red room." But as Keating once said "unrepresentative swill"

D Mick Weir

30/06/2011cheers Jason PJK had a way with words I'm off to sleep on it enjoy your dreams one and all

Patricia WA

1/07/2011Dear Mick Weir, I share your apprehension. Abbott is not about to let our democratic procedures continue on their measured way until he gets his election in due course. [i]Something will happen.[/i] I thought Joe Hockey's little smirk on Q & A ten days ago, was just too complacent. I wonder if they have a Mal Colston type figure they think they can buy? House of Reps, this time of course. Or perhaps someone prepared to succumb to a heart attack or 'stress related depression' and having to resign. I imagine the PM knows everyone in her team and who is its weakest player. Another contingency she needs to bear in mind among all the other stresses. I think she's making a better fist of it than O'Bama!

psyclaw

1/07/2011Hi D Mick Weir Yep, J Singleton has poked his head up on TV about matters political 4 or 5 times in the last year or so, to my small knowledge, always with a firm anti-Labor point of view. I realize he had a financial relationship with the ALP long in the past, but I think only in the interest of his bottom line. The more recent sightings I have had of him suggest there was never a switch ....... only a "fling" with ALP which was strictly business.

psyclaw

1/07/2011Hi Patricia WA Try and see a half full glass ..... the opposition is as easily susceptible to depression/heart attack .....maybe more so because a good third of them are certainly moderates and must be carrying deep stress in their hearts and souls about the destructive direction they are being led in. In these days of backs to the wall politics I can't see any Colston in the H of R ranks, and I think JG is wise and competent enough to negotiate any policy issues with the cross benches. The only risk I see, and it's a very low probabiliy, is someone doing something really stupid eg like ex minister T Kelly in NSW who backdated a doc to cover up a stuff up by a senior beurocrat. Such an event would really test JG's negotiation skills in calming the cross benches. They do have to be on their metal 100% of the time though .....Rabbott and many MSM "journos" would be aching to stumble over such a stuff up. They certainly are prepared to spend time and money searching eg Nicola Roxon's 2004 pamphlet to Phillip Morris Corp outing 2 weeks ago.

Lyn

1/07/2011 [b]TODAY’S LINKS[/b] [i]Just the facts, ma’am, Ash, Ash’s Machiavellian Bloggery[/i] Fossil fuels are finite. That is, eventually the tap will run dry. That means any industry that is based onthe mining of fossil fuels will also eventually run dry. http://ashghebranious.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/just-the-facts-maam/ [i]Face off: is the Senate the new governing house of our parliament?, Trevor Cook,The Conversation[/i] Gillard’s challenge will be to get legislation through both houses of Parliament without allowing the Greens, with just nine Senators, to drive the bus.Gillard must ensure that the newly-constituted Senate does not push her Government off centre. http://theconversation.edu.au/face-off-is-the-senate-the-new-governing-house-of-our-parliament-2052?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=tweetbutton&utm_campaign=footer [i]A Greener senate prepares to greet the day, Charles Richardson, Crikey[/i] a bigger Greens party room means more room for dissension and personality clashes; increased scrutiny could bring to light a range of policies that will alienate prospective supporters http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/06/30/a-greener-senate-prepares-to-greet-the-day/ [i]Reith lets genie Out, John, True Politik[/i] But the IR genie, that Tony Abbott so desperately tried to keep hidden from public view, is now out of the bottle. http://truepolitik.blogspot.com/ [i]Still No More Mr Nice Guy, New Matilda[/i] Yes, Peter Reith is back and he doesn’t care if you hate him. Christopher Pyne, eat your heart out. http://newmatilda.com/2011/06/30/still-no-more-mr-nice-guy [i]Clowns and hypocrites in Parliament,MICK MCGLONE, The Border Mail[/i] So Mrs Mirabella and Ms Ley, could you please tell us why the party you are both members of should not be seen as a partner in the most hypocritical and cynical opposition since federation and undeserving of being considered as an alternative, viable federal government? http://www.bordermail.com.au/news/opinion/editorial/general/clowns-and-hypocrites-in-parliament/2209655.aspx?storypage=2 [i]Taking a new look at both sides, Malcolm Farnsworth, The Drum [/i] Reith appears to be not the only Liberal who fears that Abbott doesn't have the stomach for the hard choices. One of the few areas of difficulty for Abbott in last year's election was the fabled WorkChoices http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2777764.html [i]The Dead Hand of the Party rises, an update, The Piping Shrike[/i] the ALP right, by banging on about the evils of Workchoices, would agree not to point it out. If Rudd hadn’t over-ridden both sides, everyone would have been happy. http://www.pipingshrike.com/ [i]Matters of the heart, Klaus Neumann, Inside Story[/i] foremostly about the six Australians, how useful is such a program in order to change the hearts and minds of those whose votes can be bought with cheap slogans such as the Coalition’s “stop the boats”? http://inside.org.au/matters-of-the-heart/ [i]SBS To Go Back To Where It Came From?, David Ingram, New Matilda[/i] mostly following the wishes of the Howard government to make SBS pay its way and downplay multiculturalism — a concept Howard publicly disparaged. But to suffer so much for so little benefit seemed to many knowledgeable observers a sign of poor governance. http://newmatilda.com/2011/06/30/sbs-go-back-where-it-came [i]Those Jews and Muslims are just animals: the racialisation of animal welfare., Shakira hussein, The Stump[/i] Demonisation of kosher slaughtering has been a feature of European racism for centuries, thus providing a convenient means by which to stigmatise contemporary Muslim communities. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/thestump/ [i]Hey, you can be xenophobic about people, but not precious foreign money!, Jeremy Sear, Pure Poison[/i] the way we treat foreign people and foreign capital, indeed – but what does it say about our country that we apparently prefer the latter to the former? http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/2011/06/30/hey-you-can-be-xenophobic-about-people-but-not-precious-foreign-money/#more-10773 [i]Changing perceptions, changing the world, Johnathan Holmes, The Drum[/i] it can't be a bad thing to help Australians realise that those who come to our shores in desperation don't deserve our hatred, or our fear, or our contempt. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/30/3257142.htm [i]Telstra revives Trujillo's victim, Paul Budde, Technology Spectator[/i] All players are now racing towards the NBN and in the process they all need to maximise their customer numbers so that they can be successful on that new infrastructure. http://technologyspectator.com.au/industry/telecommunications/telstra-revives-trujillos-victim?utm_source=Technology+Spectator+List&utm_campaign=2b7ff2f6a5-TECH_SPEC_DAILY&utm_medium=email A [i]quick guide to plebiscites in Australia , Flag Post[/i] a plebiscite to test Australians’ support for a carbon tax, the proposal was variously described in the media as ‘junk politics’, a ‘stunt’, a ‘serious misjudgement’ and ‘an expensive, bad idea’. But what exactly is a plebiscite? http://parliamentflagpost.blogspot.com/2011/06/quick-guide-to-plebiscites-in-australia.html [i]Would Tony Abbott Stand For This?Patricia wa, Polliepomes[/i] This was a light hearted response to a post by Ad Astra about what Julia Gillard really stands for. His article and the comments of regular Sword visitors http://polliepomes.wordpress.com/2011/06/29/would-tony-abbott-stand-for-this/

2353

1/07/2011You know I really don't buy the "LNP would win a by-election" thing. Without having ready access to the figures - there is a large number of "safe" seats that are LNP and a correspondingly large number of ALP seats that are "safe". If one of these members finds themselves unable to continue, in effect the relative tribe machines will go through the motions and nothing changes. If a marginal seat member is unable to continue, there is a risk. Now given that somewhere between 100 & 120 of the 148 seats are "safe" for a particular tribe, the changes of a by-election changing the makeup of the Government is something between 1 in 28 and 1 in 48 - assuming I have the margins above reasonably correct (and the opinion polls are correct for that particular area of the Country (in other word some local issue doesn't create a "distorted" vote). Your "odds" are really worse than winning the Melbourne Cup (where you have a 1 in 24 chance)and we know how hard it is to tip that race on an annual basis - where all 24 entrants are competing. So for one trick Tony to get up, an ALP MP has to resign, in a marginal seat, in an area where the Opinion Polls reflect the local reality and the preferences fall the way of the LNP instead of The Greens, Bob Katter or some other microparty or independent.

Ad astra reply

1/07/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

jj

1/07/20112353, If you dont think the LNP or the WA Libs can win an extra seat in a by-election just have a look at todays State by State breakdown of Newspoll. Gillard better be double checking that all of her MP's have done their annual checkup!

Patricia WA

1/07/2011Thanks, psyclaw and 2353. That's how I usually like to think. I've found it really impressive that no one in Caucus or the Ministry has stuffed up at all so far or been able to be faulted on some technicality. I was listening to Laura Tingle on LNL the other evening and was astonished to hear her suggesting there was something weird about the way this government was operating, that some public servant had observed to her there seemed to be no camaraderie, with all of them living in their own tight little world, no cohesion and no sense of them rallying to personally support the PM. I thought it odd coming from her, and also considering the solid character of so many of those ministers. I hate the way PA belittles Julia Gillard. I switch off when he and Christian Kerr get into a sneering session. Whatever he thinks about the Rudd saga it's poor form from a former ALP president. To hear him successfully prompting Laura Tingle into a similar session of 'let's put the boot in too, and what else can we find fault with' had me really pd. off. When I thought about it later I can imagine how a public servant working close to Cabinet might get that impression watching ministers in this unprecedented political environment, so focussed on getting the job done, determined not to put a foot wrong and to keep their mouths shut. Did anyone else here that Laura Tingle comment?

Feral Skeleton

1/07/2011PatriciaWA, Phillip Adams is just a bitter and twisted Grumpy Old Man and the Right Wing Phillip Adams. If Kevin Rudd can get over Kevin Rudd's deposing, why can't Phillip Adams?

Ad astra reply

1/07/2011D Mick Weir FS has already addressed your query about John Singleton. You are right that he was used by Labor to produce material for some of its election campaigns, and at that time might have been seen as pro-Labor. Whether he was, or as FS suggests was simply following a commercial objective, I don’t know. But his recent public utterances have been anti-Labor, and his association with Gerry Harvey, who has a very poor opinion of Labor, again judged by his public utterances, reinforces the view that he is now anti-Labor. Only he knows what he feels and thinks – we can only reach an opinion about him from what he has said. psyclaw Tony Abbott’s public utterances are becoming more shrill, even close to hysterical as PM Gillard moves closer to achieving her aims. There is nothing measured about his demeanour; there are no reasoned arguments. There are only slogans, nastiness and personal invective directed to PM Gillard and her Government. Contrast that with Malcolm Turnbull on ABC 774 radio this morning. Dignified, articulate, logical and plausible, even if you don’t agree with the factual basis of his argument. Many talkback callers reflected this view of him. One contrasted his performance with that ??? Abbott. Tony Abbott knows no other media style than aggression, pugilism and nastiness. That will not earn him the keys to The Lodge.

Jason

1/07/2011jj, " Gillard better be double checking that all of her MP's have done their annual checkup!" Are you suggesting that the coalition is full of youthful "gen X'ers"?

Feral Skeleton

1/07/2011Good interview with Prof Garnault(and, yes, it is in The Austrollian): http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/ross-garnaut-takes-swipe-at-media-as-he-goes/story-fn961iy1-1226085169303

Feral Skeleton

1/07/2011PatriciaWA, To be sure, Bill Leak isn't half the bad man that John Singleton is. However, he has been working as the cartoonist at The Austrollian for how long now? Also, he does hang around with John Singleton socially, and I have noticed that some of 'singo's' coarser attitudes have rubbed off onto Leak, as I sit at tables close to him at the Tapas bar & Coffee Shop in our suburb that he frequents. Not nice but not as bad as the other guy. Speaking of which, do you want to hear a story, a little bit of gossip about John Singleton? He has a new girlfriend(he goes through them like water). Anyway, the latest one has got a tattoo in order to show her undying love for the man. She has had the word 'Singo's' tattooed on her breasts. :D (I would do a vomit emoticon but I don't know how).

2353

1/07/2011Again the troll chooses not to read what is written. My comment was that a lot of "ifs" have to fall towards one trick Tony for him to even have a chance of gaining a seat. To make it bleeding obvious since s/he can't digest what they read. If someone is no longer able to be an MP (through any method) If the MP is from the ALP If the MP is in a marginal seat If there are no local issues that would "change" the national poll calculations If the potential LNP candidate is "sellable" If there is no/minimal microparty involvement If the preferences fall the way of the LNP One trick Tony might get an extra seat. Given that most seats are not marginal, MP's dying or resigning is not a common occurance, any by-elections usually attract a cast of tens (if not hundreds), accordingly the vote will go numerous ways sending the seat to preferences which again will go anywhere due to the cast of "wannabes", he's got a better chance of collecting after picking the 2011 Melbourne Cup winner - the point of the original post.

NormanK

1/07/2011Hello all. A few minor health problems have kept me off the air for a few days. But they are as nothing compared to the detrimental effect our Shadow Prime Minister is having on my well-being. Perhaps I have lead a sheltered life which has kept me from encountering an individual such as Mr Abbott. Someone who is prepared to look down the barrel of a camera (effectively looking me straight in the eye) and lie to me every single day is beyond my ken. I expect that politicians will lie. It is part of their job description, unless they happen to be an Independent who can at least avoid having to toe the party line. Politicians lie when they say that they will do 'everything in their power to ......... ' when they know full well that they have little to no power to influence events in a particular sphere. Politicians lie when they espouse the merits of their Party's policies even when they conflict with their own personal ideals. Politicians lie when they talk up the positive aspects of actions taken and decline to give voice to the shortcomings. Politicians lie when they overstate the harmful effects of the 'other guy's' policies. Politicians lie when they obfuscate and refuse to answer questions where they know that revealing the truth will be politically harmful to them. Politicians lie in order to maintain incumbency when in power and in order to gain power when they are not. Politicians lie in order to cover up a previous lie or to protect a colleague. Politicians lie. There is nothing new in that observation, it is one of the reasons that they rate so low on trustworthiness scales. However, there has never been a campaign of deceit that compares with Mr Abbott's efforts over the last six months. I don't need to spell them out, all here are well aware of them. Ad astra's recent article spelled them out clearly and succinctly. That's not what's getting me down or, at least, not that by itself. What's getting me down is that Mr Abbott's statements this year are almost completely devoid of meaning. The PM has described him as being hollow and this is apt but he is also a shadow. I have a penchant for seeking out the truth using rational thinking. Mr Abbott's statements fail miserably when subjected to rational dissection but unfortunately that is not the point of his comments. He is simply trying to get key words out into the media and therefore into the minds of the electorate. One of yesterday's examples is the 'failed experiment of minority government'. We can dissect that statement and measure its validity according to a variety of quantifiable facts. Failed through lack of government bills passed? No. Failed through inability to move forward in key policy areas? No. Failed by being subjected to opposition bills passing Parliament and hamstringing its actions? No. Failed because Ministries have ground to a halt? No. Failed because Opposition amendments have diluted government bills? No. Failed because money bills have been held up by the Parliament? No. Failed because according to all measures Australian society is going backwards? No. The list is long and there is no empirical evidence that this is a 'failed experiment'. Bad enough that our media don't seem to think that it is necessary to dissect Mr Abbott's drivel and find meaning in them but he doesn't care even if they were successful in showing his comments to be meaningless. Getting the words and concepts out there is all that matters. This endeavour is aided and abetted by our media which better resembles a poker machine than it does an independent source of information. It offers riches but far more often than not it only doles out a pittance to keep the punter interested. It relies on flashing lights, colour & movement and ear-catching sounds to maintain our attention. Its sole purpose is to generate income for its owner. So what starts out for me as frustration at Mr Abbott's obvious deceit that can be verified by rational dissection soon becomes something more serious when the media faithfully reproduces those lies and makes no attempt to call him to account. My brain then fuses like a faulty computer when I am reminded that Mr Abbott would not care even if he were to be exposed. He does not believe anything that he is saying and so his conscience or pride cannot be effected by criticism. He simply flits back into the shadows to re-emerge the next day with a fresh line of deceit and has even been known to return to a previously debunked statement and re-declare it as fact. The only cure for a shadow like Mr Abbott is for him to be exposed by a glaring light which stays on him for longer than the news cycle. He lives in a shadow world where it is the perpetual present - previous actions and statements no longer apply to him and he sees no need to explain in detail what he believes the future should hold. Apart from him going from Shadow Prime Minister to the real deal, of course. A good many Australians are in for a rude shock should that ever occur because they will find that he does not have the characteristics that they projected on to him.

Gravel

1/07/2011Patricia Yes, I listened to the Radio National repeat for the first time in ages and was just floored with the almost vitriol Laura Tingle spoke about our Prime Minister. After reading other people's versions of some of her articles I can tell you I was just gob-smacked by it. Can I add my welcome to the couple of newcomers on this blog, the more views the better. :-)

Jason

1/07/2011latikambourke | 1 minute ago Prime Minister Julia Gillard is guest on #insiders this Sunday morning.

Ad astra reply

1/07/2011Gravel Did you really mean Laura Tingle? Or were you referreing to Virginia Trioli who is on Radio National and is known for her vitriol aganst PM Gillard/

Ad astra reply

1/07/2011NormanK Welcome back; we were getting worried about you. Sorry to hear you have had health problems; we hope they are now resolved. I agree with all you have written. As you say, it is not just the lies and deception that Tony Abbott perpetrates every day, it is that he does not care about lying – that is his object. And he would not care even if someone in the media did call him out for lying, confident as he is that it is unlikely News Limited will do so, and to him the others don’t matter. He operates just like Lord Monckton – say whatever you like, no matter how false, and say it over and again until the people believe it – Goebbels style. It is not just dishonest – it is viciously malignant, and intentional. Yet he wants to be our PM. What a terrifying prospect for this nation.

Feral Skeleton

1/07/2011NormanK, Good to see you, to see you good. Well, see the Yellow Rose of Texas ;-) and read your words. Anyway, may I just say to you that I believe we are kindred spirits. Why do I say that? Because you took the words right out of my mouth! Here I am typing up a post longer than all the volumes of Harry Potter, and I tune in to find some of my words appearing above! Which is a good thing actually, because, if it has occurred to you and it has occurred to me, and we both get it out there, then maybe it might get through people's thick heads! Appearing as they are to be filled with a never-ending stream of free propaganda for Tony Abbott on the ABC(I have just vomited my way through his latest speech in WA to the Minor Miners, where the latest meme theme is the Gillard government is engaged in 'Wealth Distribution' via the Carbon Price Compensation. Which totally ignores the fact then that John Howard must have been Australia's most evil 'Wealth Distributor' because he overcompensated the Pensioners and the low-paid for the Goods and Services TAX)). Anyway, thank you kind sir for your contribution from LurgyLand, and Get Well Soon! We need all the deconstructionists, when it comes to Abbott's silkily-worded lies, as possible. :)

Feral Skeleton

1/07/2011Jason, Do you know who is on the couch with Barrie on Insiders this weekend? :)

Jason

1/07/2011FS, The "usual source" hasn't put them up yet, and I think I shall email insiders again and see if they can start putting this information up on their web site!

NormanK

1/07/2011A couple of articles to place the South East Asian Solution in its proper context. [b]KL, Dhaka to register 500,000 Bangladeshi workers[/b] by A. Letchumanan [quote]Malaysia and Bangladesh will work together to register over 500,000 Bangladeshi workers who are in the country both via legal and illegal means, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said. To another question, Hisham-muddin said Malaysia was still on the United States' human trafficking watchlist because Malaysia had yet to roll out measures it has planned to combat the problem. The initiatives taken include the amnesty programme, the asylum swap with Australia and a cross-agency biometric system to register foreigners in Malaysia.[/quote] http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/6/30/nation/8998809&sec=nation [b]Malaysia swap offers hope on 'toxic' debate[/b] by Kirsty Needham [quote]The former head of immigration under the Fraser government, John Menadue, says the Malaysia refugee swap is needed to break a deadlock in a ''toxic'' asylum seeker debate. Mr Menadue also said criticism of Malaysia's treatment of refugees was racist and hypocritical, as it was Australia that locked people up, not Malaysia.[/quote] http://www.smh.com.au/national/malaysia-swap-offers-hope-on-toxic-debate-20110630-1gt3o.html Schindler they ain't. [b]Directing human traffic from a Jakarta bar[/b] by Rory Callinan and Peter Alford [quote]The people-smugglers' revolving-door treatment by Indonesian authorities and their nocturnal activities give insight into the activities and earnings of top-level operators. They also highlight the futility of the Australian government's multi-million-dollar efforts to shut down the people traffickers. ********************************** But other smugglers have retired untouched, stashing profits abroad before organising visas to destination countries or getting themselves and families on to boats. Idris tells of two brothers who arrived in Indonesia only last year and organised five boats, two of which made it through. "Then they got Australian visas as refugees, and now they live in Sydney," he says. "They have a quarry business in Pakistan. They made good money, and now they have a nice life in Australia."[/quote] http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/investigations/directing-human-traffic-from-a-bar/story-fn6tcs23-1226084495601

Feral Skeleton

1/07/2011Have a listen to this: http://soundcloud.com/latikambourke/tony-abbott-sledges-australias

NormanK

1/07/2011I think this is the Laura Tingle/Phillip Adams interview referred to above. http://www.abconline.net.au/rn/latenightlive/stories/2011/3254958.htm Feral Skeleton There is an official descriptor that applies to someone who blames everyone and everything other than himself for the problems of the world, isn't there?

NormanK

1/07/2011Jason, D Mick Weir, TalkTurkey, Ad astra & Feral Skeleton Just catching up on some back-comments. Thanks for the words of concern. All is well. Apart from Mr Abbott lying through his teeth every day, of course.

Lyn

1/07/2011Hi Norman K It is very lovely to see the beautiful rose back on our page I am sorry to hear you were not well, judging by your thoughtful comment you are doing fine now. We could never do without your comments and your roses. See Talk Turkey christened you [b]"The Yellow Rose of Queensland[/b]" he wrote you a nice little song last night. Deserves posting again in case you missesd it: June 30. 2011 10:54 PM CQ CQ Norman www.google.com.au/search Where's [b]The Yellow Rose of Queensland?[/b] The Swordsfolk want to know! Nobody here has seen him Since a coupla days ago: We fret so since he left us, He's nearly broke our heart Cos in the Swordsfolks' scheme of things He plays a special part. TalkTurkey Cheers :):):):):):):)

Ad astra reply

1/07/2011Jason Thanks for the [i]Insiders[/i] information. I think the more exposure Julia Gillard gets the better. As we have had Piers Akerman and the Bolt clone Chris Kenny on the panel in the last couple of weeks, we might just get a decent balanced panel, unless of course they bring back Niki Savva!

Michael

1/07/2011Bad Abbott - the overview. Persevere with this: http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Labor-government-Gillard-MRRT-carbon-tax-asylum-se-pd20110630-JASJA?OpenDocument because while it seems to set out to be another exercise in Gillard-bashing, the author's own argument takes him away from that facile position, until the article's final two paragraphs* sum up not only what their text lays out, but also spell out what Tiny Abbott is taking advantage of - to the detriment of all Australians in the long run. Why? Because implicit in Abbott's constant criticism of the Gillard Government is that an Abbott Government will make everything 'rosy' just like it was... Well, when? * "Now, the Gillard government does have an exciting vision of Australia's economic future – a structurally-transformed Australia that can provide sustainable wealth for all. But it seems utterly unable to communicate that vision in a way that connects with voters. And in politics, a vision that cannot be shared might just as well not exist." When his Government, should he ever lead one, fails to deliver 'roses' as it inevitably will, BECAUSE he is leading it, there will have been such a protracted period of claimed government failure followed by real government failure, that, 1: Australians may never have faith in any political credo again, with all that means about the disintegration of society and our constantly evolving culture; and 2, the failures of inaction that Tiny A will oversee, in his determination to undo Labor Government actions and policies, will gut this country's economy for at least two generations. Well, for Australian citizens on a wage, salary, or welfare, it will. Not to come over all too Old Testament, but if Abbott is truly being embraced as a prophet in his own land, then this will surely become a wasted land. With a lot of holes dug deeply into it and emptied of their primordially-placed bounty.

Feral Skeleton

1/07/2011Latest Asylum Seeker deal news: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/30/3258004.htm?section=justin

Michael

1/07/2011Bad Abbott #2 There's no need to do anything in terms of commentary. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opposition-leader-tony-abbott-defies-economists-on-carbon-tax/story-fn961iy1-1226085675981 Except perhaps to note that playing the men (disparagingly commenting on the 'quality' of Australian economists) is just so-o Tiny.

Feral Skeleton

1/07/2011I wonder if Scott Morrison thinks this is reprehensible too and will be speaking out about it loudly? http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2778226.html

Ad astra reply

1/07/2011Patricia WA, Gravel, FS Thank you NormanK for the link to the Philiip Adams interview of Laura Tingle. I could hardly imagine Laura being vitriolic which is why I queried whether it was really the known-vitriolic Virginia Trioli. I was wrong. Apologies. I listened to the whole interview despite being nauseated by the overbearing Adams, but did not detect vitriol. She offered the view, based on at least one comment by a longstanding public servant, that members of the Government don’t talk to one another, each preferring to do his or her own thing. She said that there seemed to be no collective strategic interest in the Government’s program, no ‘we’re all in this together’. She wondered if this was due to the Presidential style of latter day government, which presumably left strategic planning to the PM (or perhaps her inner group). She felt this was a pity. Presumably she feels a more collaborative approach would be better. I would have expected Cabinet to be the place where strategies and tactics were discussed, but Laura did not mention Cabinet. One thing she did say was that the public servant did not believe the ‘Julia and Kevin don’t like each other’ rumour was behind the Ministers ‘not talking to each other’. Laura was not at all complimentary about Tony Abbot, stating that she believed his negative anti-carbon tax campaign was running out of puff. I respect Laura’s opinions; I will store them for future reference.

Ad astra reply

1/07/2011Folks I'll be out for a few hours.

NormanK

1/07/2011Hi lyn Thanks for that. It was worth putting up twice wasn't it? :)

Jason

1/07/2011The Allan Jones Rally! How many of this crowd will even be around to see a "carbon tax" imposed? http://www.abc.net.au/news/photos/2011/07/01/3258915.htm

psyclaw

1/07/2011Gravel I've just listened to the Laura Tingle/P Adams interview but heard no vitriol from either. I find that LT just calls the facts and that's what she did. I occasionally correspond with her and have come to admire her evenhandedness. The line of her comment that the compensation details of the government, and the tax cuts of Rabbott are pretty esoteric at the moment is fair enough. For obvious reasons (MPCCC negotiations incomplete)it is hard for JG to meaningfully promote the compensation package just yet (though this doesn't prevent Rabbott's mob from "detailed criticisms" ie fabricated numbers and facts). But this will shortly change and the government will be able to go full bore promoting it in detail. Not so with Rabbott's tax cuts though. I think he's shot himself in the foot with this one and can expect 2 years of criticism about it (if what Hockey says is true ie that they won't say where the $s are coming from, till near the election).

Jason

1/07/2011This is Laura Tingle's article in the Fin Review today! So no link as it's behind a pay wall! Abbot's dream run coming to an end Canberra observed Laura Tingle TonyAbbott drew ahead of Julia Gillard this week as preferred prime minister, according to Newspoll. The preferred prime minister rating had been the last bastion of comfort for Labor as it watched its primary vote sink into oblivion. Newspoll hasn’t told anyone in politics anything they didn’t know. It has just provided a certain clarity to the political landscape, even as federal politics came to a major fork in the road (to borrow a phrase from another time). The political turning point has come about because the momentum that has carried our crazy political debate relentlessly forward since December I, 2009 — when Abbott was elected Opposition Leader — has been spent and collapsed in on itself. Consider the factors behind Abbott’s success to date. He he was able to capitalise on the revolt in the Coalition’s own base on climate change to wrest the leadership from Malcolm Turnbull. So close to an election, he was able to rely on party discipline to ensure the party fell in behind his policies, whether or not it agreed with them, and whether or not it had been consulted. He was able to run a negative, oppositionist strategy stoked by a government unable to sell itself. There was the godsend of Labor’s assassination of Kevin Rudd, a godsend that has kept on giving. The government’s apparently never-ending capacity to stuff up the selling of its policies, if not the policies themselves, all meant there was little focus on what Abbott was actually going to do if he became prime minister. Pre-election, Labor had to go back to a scare campaign on Work Choices to ping the Opposition Leader, a sign of just how small a target he had made himself. For much of the past six months, Abbott’s raison d’etre has been the carbon price. But in the past two weeks, there have been signs his campaign is stuttering. The media was getting bored with his daily doorstops. More questions started to be asked about the Coalition’s “direct action” plan. Then, confirming he really had reached the bottom of the barrel, Abbott pushed his plebiscite idea, which went brilliantly for a few hours until someone asked whether he would abide by an outcome that went against him. The signs out of the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee are now pointing to an agreement soon. It would seem to be in both Labor’s and the Greens’ interest to nail this deal next week, the first week of sitting of the new Senate in which the Greens hold the balance of power, as a symbol of minority government working effectively. Abbott will have the winter break to attack the deal or at least undermine the sales campaign. But will it matter what the Coalition thinks if the Greens and independents are firmly locked into the deal? Not really. In a day-to-day news sense, if the Coalition’s vote isn’t needed, the news interest changes. The focus will be more on what all the vested interests have to say. Here too, things are changing. The business commentary on the carbon tax is changing. The hysteria is going. The “let’s get on with it for God’s sake” is growing. There will be increasing questions about the opposition’s plans for the emissions trading scheme if it wins office, and what it will do about the associated tax and pension changes. Late last week, the Coalition agreed to support not just the budget appropriation bills but the “class warfare” family tax benefit and dependent spouse rebate changes it had made so much noise about at budget time. Then on Saturday, Abbott announced the Coalition was going to get back on the tax-cut circus pony for the next election, despite the budget being in no shape to withstand this tired old brand of politics. But you can see a car crash in the making. Abbott is promising to repeal the carbon package but will have to fund $6 billion of tax cuts and pension changes somehow, plus possibly more cuts, plus the multibilliondollar cost to the budget of his “direct action” plan. He has a! so foreshadowed an overhaul (in the direction of generous) of the family tax system. This is all supposed to be part of the transition to Tony Abbott having a positive message to sell. The impact of this transition has already been that the Coalition can’t be as opposition ist. It has had to support budget savings that run contrary to Abbott’s weekend rhetoric because the opposition will need every cent it can get to fund its economic strategy. The Coalition says it will explain how it will fund its policies closer to the election, which is what it said last t year. It got away with it then because Labor raced to the polls. But its strategy didn’t add up when it eventually emerged, and not just because the opposition had an $11 billion brawl over the bottom line with Treasury and Finance. It lacked any coherent rationale. Stonewalling won’t work so well when the run-up to the election could be almost 18 months this time. This brings us inevitably to industrial relations, the issue that Abbott will be unable to avoid, given the pressures from both Peter Reith and the business community for him to clarify his position. Abbott flatly refused to answer questions about IR yesterday, and suddenly started dodging doorstops this week So the party discipline is gone, the easy path of running a purely negative and oppositionist strategy has gone, and the carbon price debate is about to change. But there is a bigger point in all this than just the political fortunes of Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard. The carbon tax has reduced the Australian political discourse to a destructive, low-grade farce. The business community is as entitled as the rest of the country to a rational policy discussion, not to see it become the plaything of some political opportunism. There is now enough experience of the Labor Fair Work regime to require a rational discussion about what is working and what is not. This week’s political turning point might not ultimately change political fortunes, but it should change the quality of the debate we demand from our politicians. • Laura Tingle is the Financial Review’s political editor.

Jason

1/07/20118:30am Sky News 601 - Australian Agenda On Sky News Australian Agenda this week the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Tony Burke and Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Peter Anderson Joining host Peter Van Onselen on the Panel, The Australian's Paul Kelly, Michael Stutchbury and The Adelaide Advertiser's Mark Kenny. 8:38am Ch7 - Weekend Sunrise - The Riley Diary When is a Tax not a Tax? When it's a price! This week Political editor Mark Riley takes takes a look at the politics of semantics. 8:40am Ch9 - Today on Sunday - The Laurie Oakes Interview The weekly Laurie Oakes interview is no more. We'll let you know when Laurie is next expected to return to your Sunday morning screen. 9:00am ABC1 & on ABC News 24 - Insiders On Insiders this Sunday, Barrie Cassidy interviews Prime Minster Julia Gillard. On the panel: Annabel Crabb from ABC Online, The Australian’s George Megalogenis and Gerard Henderson from The Sydney Institute. And Mike Bowers talks pictures with cartoonist for the Sun Herald, Reg Lynch. 10:00am ABC1 & on ABC News 24 @ 5.30pm - Inside Business This week on Inside Business Fosters CEO John Pollaers. Also Morgan Stanley strategist Gerard Minack. And they look at problems with Victoria’s Smart Meter rollout, and a profile on Bee Dee Bags. As well, the regular update of the latest news from the markets and Alan Kohler’s incisive commentary. 10.00am Ch10 everywhere but Canberra at 4.30pm - The Bolt Report - Check local program guides for encore performance timings later in the day This week on The Bolt Report, The Nationals Senate Leader and LNP Senator for Queensland, Barnaby Joyce will join Andrew for a chat. Former Howard Government Minister Peter Reith and NSW Labor Minister John Della Bosca will be on the panel for this week's debate. And Blue Mountains Gallery owner Vesna Tenodi who last week lost her legal battle to keep a stone sculpture on gallery grounds. 10.30am Ch10 everywhere but Canberra at 4.00pm - Meet the Press - Check local program guides for encore performance timings later in the day Hugh Riminton is joined by panellists; Claire Harvey of The Sunday Telegraph and ABC News Radio's Marius Benson. They talk to Government Leader in the Senate and Senator for Western Australia, Senator Chris Evans and new Greens Senator for NSW Senator Lee Rhiannon.

macca

1/07/2011I don't think that the Govt. is going to get far going after Abbott. If they could have done it by now. It would have been done. Accept the fact that he is a puppet. The proof of that is abundant. They have to go after the manipulators who control the hand so firmly implanted up his backside. As NormanK says Abbott is in the shadows. But the light has to penetrate deeper. Which segues into; As the PM seems to have changed the language on the carbon tax;..ie. " what Mr Abbott calls a carbon tax"...or wtte. I would suspect that the climate change committee has one or two surprises in the package. The renewed vested interest campaign suggests this, as does todays attack on economists. That the PM used the language purposely, knowing the msm would grab onto it and, once again use it to pillory her, seems to be a deliberate strategy of some sort. It certainly wasn't a slip of the tongue. MY guess/hope/wish, That the Govt., the Independents and the Greens, after nearly 12 months of abuse, coersion, thinly veiled threats and outright lies have realised that the only real power in this country worth exercising is the power of the legislature. They have decided to use it.

D Mick Weir

1/07/2011It humbles me to say this but, I must give credit where credit is due. Folks, Mr Abbott has done something that no other mere mortal has been able to achieve. It is likely that not even the dieties would have been able to achieve such a feat. And he seems to have done it singlehandedly. It was all his own work. Mr Abbott has gotten a room full of economists to agree. Now think about that for a moment who else in the known universe would have been able to do that? I can't think of anyone, can you?

Patricia WA

1/07/2011Thanks, Jason! That's the Laura Tingle I know well. Psyclaw, mine was surprise at Laura Tingle allowing herself to be drawn into what Adams pretends is light hearted banter and then to hear her bring up the issue of an apparent lack group cohesion behind the PM in Canberra. But I think there is malice behind Adams which is palpable when he gets together with Christian Kerr, and I don't think it just goes back to Rudd. Maybe Gravel and I have experienced too many years decades ago of belittling banter out in the work force and being challenged to learn to take a joke when we objected. The worst of those days are long gone of course, but being a strong woman running the show is never easy. No matter what one's qualities, nor how many friends and supporters are around, there are always the few willing to take any opportunity to put a good woman down, quite literally if they could. You can pick it a mile off, and learning to ignore it is important, otherwise one becomes defensive, which is counter-productive. Judging by how carefully couched are comments of support for the PM, which I do believe are genuine, I can imagine that she herself has requested that they focus on their own ministries and let her deal with the more personal criticisms of herself. Notice how when expressions of support do come everyone talks about her hard work habits, approachability, her warmth and negotiating skills. Our PM is also clearly respected by those she works with. They can hardly effuse the way some of us do here, but I bet in their hearts they feel great empathy for her situation and wish they could say more without seeming to be overly defensive for her, or worse still protective. Anyway, I think she's terrfic and I love her to bits.

D Mick Weir

1/07/2011Patricia WA, [i]No matter what one's qualities, nor how many friends and supporters are around, there are always the few willing to take any opportunity to put a good woman down, quite literally if they could.[/i] Interesting perspective, one which, as you can probably understand, I am not overly familiar with. Is it possible that a lot of women, particularly younger women, would have no experience or understanding of it? I guess most blokes would not understand it or not be able to speak up too loudly about it. Hmm, interesting challenge. Who could you get to talk about it? Germaine G would do it but I doubt it would be overly helpful. Most wouldn't believe it if the likes of Anna, Kristina or Carmen spoke up about it. I doubt we could rope Lady Thatcher in. Anyone have suggestions?

D Mick Weir

1/07/2011Courtesy of The 7PM Project Barnaby Joyce at todays rally: [i]'... I've got no money, my husband has got no job and the temprature has remained the same ...'[/i] It must be so freeing to come out of the closet Barnaby.

Jason

1/07/2011DMW, What Barnaby done today was only the warm up act! wait until Sunday! "This week on The Bolt Report, The Nationals Senate Leader and LNP Senator for Queensland, Barnaby Joyce will join Andrew for a chat"

Lyn

1/07/2011Hi DM Weir This is shocking, I just saw a red faced Barnaby on my TV screaming at this rally , they ought to be ashamed of their reckless hostile behaviour. Some reports are saying hundreds some are saying thousands. Mind you they are in their 50's at this rally all Alan Jones listeners it seems. Alan Jones tells carbon tax rally PM will go 'down the sewer' News Com She's going to go down the sewer," the Macquarie Radio breakfast host said, pointing to a poster of Greens leader Bob Brown disappearing into a toilet with the slogan "if it's brown, send it down". "Go away Julia," Mr Jones said. "Get out of our lives, we don't want you here. We don't want to hear you and we don't want to see you." Senator Joyce told the crowd they were being held "in contempt" by the government because they dared to hold a different view on the need for a carbon tax. http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/alan-jones-tells-carbon-tax-rally-pm-will-go-down-the-sewer/story-e6frfku0-1226085795474#ixzz1QqR82hkT

D Mick Weir

1/07/2011Lyn, not surprised at all. Not sure if I can put up with another two years of this until, apparently, it is a dead cert that the government will go down and apparently, common sense will prevail. Jason, I am one of those poor unfortunate souls that has never had the privelege to watch the Bolt Report. It has something to do with other peoples concern for my blood pressure :) The burning question still is: [b]Who is Barnaby's husband?[/b]

2353

1/07/2011DMW - agreed. Getting a room full of economists to even agree on what day of the week it is usually is impossible. I have never seen Bolt on TV either - I wouldn't waste the electricity. And whoda thunk Barnaby Joyce has gender issues!

D Mick Weir

1/07/20112353, oh what a horrible thought, you mean after all this time we have found out that Barnaby is really in drag?

NormanK

1/07/2011D Mick Weir Don't be too hard on poor old Barnaby. Apparently he had a somewhat liquid lunch and simply forgot which rally he was attending. Earlier in the day he addressed a pro-same-sex marriage rally where he spoke eloquently (at some length and in surprising detail) of the relationship he had with a horse as a young boy growing up in the lonely backwoods of Northern NSW. I have it on good authority that his eyes still tear up at the mere smell of a horse-hair fly whisk. Unkind observers reckon it harks back to his days at boarding school but we Queenslanders understand the relationship between a young man and his horse, especially on those cold winter nights. Contrary to popular opinion, Barnaby is very keen on same-sex marriage but he feels that it doesn't go far enough. During the later stages of the Howard Government he tried to get his Equine and Canine Rights Amendment to the Marriage Act through the Senate but it failed when it was pointed out that it discriminated against cows and sheep. Barnaby had to draw the line somewhere and although he is fond of saying that some of his best friends are sheep, he didn't want perverts taking advantage of his good nature by entering in to unnatural relationships. If you want to see Barnaby go truly red in the face, strike up a conversation with him about goats.

D Mick Weir

1/07/2011Ohh NormanK, thankyou for once again for increasing my edumification. I must admit not to having any inkling of the relationship of Queenslanders and horses. I have a little problem now though. My son has confirmed himself as a Queenslander. How am I going to look him in the eye and not start to wonder?

Ad astra reply

1/07/2011Jason Many thanks for the Laura Tingle link – that sounds more like the Laura I know. Folks With Barnaby Joyce and Alan Jones on the rampage, something must be going right for the Gillard Government! They are sounding more and more like anarchists. Send them to Greece where they would find soul mates. I’m calling it a day.

NormanK

1/07/2011DMW Just be grateful that you got him away from the feral deer.

Patricia WA

2/07/2011Didn't understand a word of that, NormanK. It seemed to be all about animal husbandry. I think all Mick wanted to know was the name of Barnaby's other half. I think it's Angry Anderson. He was the big beefy man who stood up and said in front of all those people, [i]"This man makes my heart beat faster, and my blood run hot. Barnaby Joyce."[/i] I see the crowd are calling the PM a witch again. Which reminds me of DD's comment about 'wicce' - the benign witches of ancient Britain, a power for good. DD, I'm keeping your comment to remind me to do a pome sometime on Julia, the benevolent witch. That crowd wouldn't know what benevolent meant. They'd burn a witch if they could get away with it. Contrast them with the crowds who turned out for Get Up! Mums, dads, kids and nanas.

TalkTurkey

2/07/2011Happy New Senate Folks! :) In addition to her Daily Links, Lyn makes it a point of honour to welcome everyone, as indeed does Ad astra. Many of the rest of us welcome new posters here too, but Lyn and Ad in particular do it day by day. They both welcomed me when I first came to TPS and that immediately put me at ease. They have never given me a moment’s cause to feel any other way with either of them. I’m sure I’m no orphan. It struck me though that the Sword’s welcoming attitude has a spooky parallel in the behaviour of the minions of proselytizing religions – but with what a different motivation! In their case it is incredibly threatening to freedom of thought and action in this country, as it is in the USA with the rise of the fundamentalist religions and the dreaded Tea Party. These Happy Clapper types, they first suck in newcomers, make a fuss of them, make them feel wonderful, Oh they’re so loving and so high, ‘Hallelujah! We all love each other here’ and all that, but then they proceed to suck their victim’s brain out and replace it with compliance and conviction that they alone are the repository of all cosmic wisdom. They even think they’re doing their victims a supreme favour. All fundamental religions suck people like that in the beginning, then use the suck to control them, and all the faithful do it to each other, daily reinforcing each other’s influence, and it’s incredibly powerful because it’s then weekly reinforced by personal contact in covens of one description or another, call it cathedral or mosque or whatever, with all the other bewitched people . . . all of whom believe in the supernatural . . . (that’s how you know they’re bewitched.) And just a few at the top make fantastic profits out of those they gull ‘to spread the word’, yeah they buy themselves personal jets to spread it faster, and live in splendour as befits their enlightened state, because they’re hardly going to live as bloody chippies eh! The big difference is that while on TPS, in common with socialistic humanists everywhere, we welcome people just as warmly, we are disinterested, we have no angle but goodwill. In the name of humanity, not pie in the sky by-and-by when you die, but to try to improve the way we treat the planet and each other. Big ask but hey. Gee it does make one glum a lot though eh. So many people so bloody dumb and so bloody-minded. Ad astra and Lyn, and such as Jason too, being so simpatico, reassures me that I’m relatively right in the head. It’s spreading that sort of sanity by whatever means with whatever skills one can muster that I think is the most important thing in the world, because without sanity look what we get! Abbortt is religious-crazy, and he is driving this country crazy, with compliance from a mischievous, inbred, lazy and irresponsible press. That was what Ad set his face against in his very first post, he’s never wavered from that stance and I could not agree more. Per grace of Ad we do have some measure of ability to make our conscientious objections though; it’s a little akin to throwing rocks at tanks, but at least we can make a clatter. And our side’s on the up now, can’t you feel it! The Rotten Right is fighting amongst themselves, frothing at the mouth, foam flakes flying, squealing like demons being exorcised from the possessed, despairing like the Gadarene Swine about to jump off the cliff, heh heh, talk about “The Devil quotes Scripture for His own”, I love doing that! It is those who claim purest holiness who are most corrupt, as far as ever I’ve seen. The influence of Religion on Politics is devilish imo, (and why the Government should be subsidizing voodoo practitioners in schools, now that is beyond me.) But at least Father Time has scraped off that tick Fielding, a typical product of the Happy Clapper movement. Incredible isn’t it, 21st Century and a majority of the world’s people still believe in witchcraft!

COLEN

2/07/2011I thought his "better" half was none other than Senator Bob Brown. He really gets Barnaby "red" in the face.

Ad astra reply

2/07/2011Folks I have just posted [i]Putting the Squeeze on Mr Squiggle[/i] another delightful piece of satire from Acerbic Conehead. Enjoy. http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/post/2011/07/02/Putting-the-Squeeze-on-Mr-Sqiggle.aspx

Ad astra reply

2/07/2011TT What a charming post you made in the early hours of this morning. Thank you for your kind comments about the aura of [i]The Political Sword[/i] and your complimentary remarks about the welcome that Lyn and many others extend to new bloggers here. You are right – we are not proselytising – simply welcoming new arrivals to the discourse here on matters political, matters we regard as important for our nation. You have made a major contribution to the debate – I thank you for that. It is gratifying that you feel comfortable blogging here. We would want others to feel the same. All we ask is that bloggers show respect for each other and for others’ opinions, and back their assertions with facts and well reasoned argument. Most find that they are able to do so. Thank you for your continual strong support of [i]TPS[/i].

Dorothea dix

5/07/2011Janice, Hi and sure. It was a response to a previous thread regarding how i am seeing the world around me. "populist" meaning the politation who grabs whats hot so hte votes are either kept, or got. Makes it hard for me to see if a person has any real standpoint that they truely belive in. As opposed to a narcisist geting attention. A majority or "mandate" as howard once said and we would not see so much filler-bustering in the house of reps i would hope. If you look up to my first post and read down to my last before this i think it will make more sence, My grandmother would say, woman is aprobation, not birth right, hence when i see Julia today i see a poly or singing bird,not the matron who wold care for her children>>> us anomie an¢e­me, noun (in society or in an individual) a condition of hopelessness caused or characterized by breakdown of rules of conduct and loss of belief and sense of purpose. Also an'omy. anomic (e­nom¢ik) adjective. [French, from Greek anomia, or -ie lawlessness, from a- (privative) and nomos law] (c) Larousse plc. All rights reserved

Dorothea dix

5/07/2011AA Thanks for the greeting Ad Astra, "enjoy", humm, probaly the best psychotherepy i have at the moment so yes i have found many smiles here, but the tears of soul are here as too everywhere. Wish i could target that horse hair holding that sword up. >>nudge OK, JUST DECIDED TO ENJOY :-) again (wink)

Dorothea dix

5/07/2011Gravel, oops sorry hope that clears things for you too
I have two politicians and add 17 clowns and 14 chimpanzees; how many clowns are there?