The enigma of leadership

How many times have we heard journalists accuse political leaders of ‘lacking leadership’ or ‘not showing leadership’? I wonder do they have a clear idea in their minds of what political ‘leadership’ is, and I wonder too whether they share the same ideas about leadership. I suspect that even for the more thoughtful, the term is often used as a fine-sounding catch cry, uninformed by careful consideration of the concept of leadership and its nuances, and in good old groupthink fashion mimicked by the less thoughtful. To many, leadership is an enigma.

Paul Kelly is fond of attributing ‘lack of leadership’ to our leaders, which he does with suitable gravitas. He condemned Kevin Rudd for lack of leadership when he deferred taking action on climate change until the Kyoto Agreement concludes at the end of 2012. In this instance, for Kelly leadership meant Rudd sticking to his principles on climate change and honouring his stated intention to do something about ‘the greatest moral, economic and social challenge of our time’. That utterance seems to have evoked ‘righteous indignation’ in Kelly; by deferring action, Rudd had, in his eyes, failed the leadership test. Kelly asserts that Rudd should have persisted with his ETS agenda, if necessary taking it to the people at a double dissolution of parliament. To Kelly, that would have been a sign of leadership. He gave him no credit at all for making a pragmatic decision that he could do no more at present after the repeated rejection of the ETS legislation in the Senate, the disappointment of Copenhagen, and the withering of public support for action on an ETS. He insisted he should have used up some of his ‘political capital’ by taking the matter to the people, presumably even if that risked loss of Government. Labor strategists saw this option as sufficiently risky to advise deferral of action. So I suppose Kelly would have given Rudd a ‘leadership’ tick if he had gone to a DD, even if he lost power. This would have been paltry consolation for Rudd. Many people agree with Kelly and commentators pinpoint the beginning of Rudd’s steep decline to this decision.

Other journalists have expressed similar sentiments. To many, not sticking to a matter of principle is a sign of lack of leadership, and has evoked the question ‘what does he/she stand for’? For example, some have criticized Tony Abbott for abandoning, at least for the term of the next parliament, his IR principles and his support for the concepts of WorkChoices, which he previously endorsed so enthusiastically.

So let’s accept that most journalists would define leadership as sticking to one’s principles, the things one ‘stands for’. And we need to also accept that this definition does not allow for pragmatic political decisions to defer action on principles, or for a change of attitude. The leader has to go into the battle even if defeat threatens.

There are plenty of journalists still uttering ‘I don’t know what she stands for’ and occasionally ‘I don’t know what he stands for’, despite both leaders having announced polices day after day all through the campaign. Apparently these policy announcements don’t count. Is it because they seem disconnected, or too loosely connected to a set of underlying beliefs, attitudes and principles, to a vision of the future? Maybe the scheduling of their ‘launches’ late in the campaign has left people who think about these things without a unifying framework into which policy announcements can be fitted as they are made. By relying too much on berating the Government at the Coalition’s launch and indulging in a hubristic floor show, Tony Abbott failed to give us the vision of the Australia he has in mind, his aspirations for it and the future it should pursue. He failed to define the strongly held principles that would guide him and his party as he provides leadership to the nation.

We hope Julia Gillard will not make the same mistake at her launch and instead show us how all that she has announced fits into a comprehensive global framework of sacredly held Labor principles, personal intentions and far-seeing vision.

What else do journalists mean by ‘leadership’? We can only guess, because they never spell it out.

Wikipedia has an informative piece on Leadership that makes interesting reading.  It begins by giving a general definition that reads: “Leadership is stated as the ‘process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task’." and "Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen." These are distinctive from the concept of leadership mentioned above. Here the emphasis is on getting others to follow and contribute to a common aim. The article goes onto describe a variety of explanatory theories: trait theory, behavioural and style theories, situational and contingency theories, functional theory, transactional and transformative theories, and environmental leadership theory.

The individual traits considered indicative of leadership include intelligence, adjustment, extraversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience and general self-efficacy; while styles of leadership include autocratic, participative and laissez-faire, terms that are self-explanatory. It seems as if Kevin Rudd used an autocratic style, which eventually brought him undone.

Ordinary folks might include attributes such as the capacity for a long-term vision, the ability to project confidence and inspire others, openness and honesty, and the talent to affirm values, define philosophy and detail plans for the nation, simply and lucidly.

So how should our political journalists judge political leadership? Is it reasonable to focus on politicians sticking to principles and core values as the prime criterion, while ignoring the necessity for political pragmatism? Or should the main criterion be the capacity to enlist the support of others, to enable their contribution to the common aim, the common task? Or does leadership reside in the capacity to display a coherent framework that encapsulates a vision for the country and a plan for achieving that vision? Perhaps it is all of these.

Whatever it is, when writing about leadership, journalists should state what their leadership criteria are, and how our leaders are meeting, or not meeting those criteria, instead of accusing them of lack of leadership while being too lazy or too ill-informed to spell out what they believe leadership means.

What do you think?

At the Labor launch tomorrow, I hope that we might hear from Julia Gillard a statement her vision, along with her plans for this country for the coming decades. If I had to pen such a statement of vision, it would read like this:

I want this nation of Australia to be peaceful, secure from external and internal threats, prosperous and fair to all its citizens.

I want all Australians to be confident in their future.

I want an Australia that gives everyone a fair go and an equal opportunity to succeed, while supporting those who are less fortunate.

To ensure prosperity, Australia’s economy needs to be robust, sustainable, able to grow at a suitable rate, and flexible. It needs to be able to gainfully engage all those capable of work in meaningful and rewarding employment that provides a satisfying income and a secure retirement.

To maintain this nation’s economy there needs to be a balance between free enterprise and free markets on the one hand, and government support and regulation on the other. Government intervention in crises when the private sector is unable to sustain the economy and full employment must be the brief of national governments.

To maintain fiscal integrity, a national government must strive for surplus budgets and diminishing debt, yet be prepared to borrow in national emergencies to support business and minimize unemployment.

To advance the nation, reforms are needed in sectors where problems, underperformance or inequity exists. Reforms are needed to the tax, pension and superannuation system; to the regulation of business which requires rationalization; to the development of infrastructure that subserves commerce and industry, health and education, in which national governments must play a regulatory and at times a participative role; to the health system that needs reorganization, reorientation and integration; to the education system that needs enhancement with skilled teachers and educational infrastructure, and that is more transparent and accountable; and to the nation’s defence arrangements to maintain Australia’s security. Australia needs a reforming government.

To achieve a strong economy, Australia must provide first class education for all through well-equipped schools, universities and technical institutions staffed by highly motivated, well trained, supported and appropriately rewarded staff, equipped with facilities that make use of every modern technological advance.

To support all Australians there must be a first class health care system, accessible at every level of the community, affordable to all, properly staffed with sufficient numbers and variety of well-trained healthcare personnel. Emergency care for physical and mental illness must be quickly and conveniently available. Waiting time for elective treatment, especially surgery, must be short and not place any person in jeopardy. The health care system needs to be geared especially to the needs of the chronically ill, the disabled, the disadvantaged, the aged, the mentally ill, and those suffering from substance abuse.

To preserve for future generations a habitable and productive land, action on global warming is urgent and indispensable. Mitigating carbon pollution and restoring water flows in our major rivers and wetlands must be a top priority. The preservation of the nation’s natural and irreplaceable resources, and the prudent use of finite resources such as minerals must be a prime responsibility. To this end Australia must play its role as a conscientious global citizen, collaborating with other nations to combat global warming.

To guarantee a congenial lifestyle for all its citizens, Australia needs a sustainable population policy that uses its natural resources prudently, and provides the infrastructure and amenities that an expanding multicultural population requires. Such a policy needs to balance immigration, the need for skilled labour, and the carrying capacity of the land and its town and cities.

Australia must also play its role in ensuring regional and global security, peace and the alleviation of poverty.

To guarantee fulfilling social engagement, communities need to be inclusive, supportive and satisfying for all citizens irrespective of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, belief, and religious and political affiliation. Orderly border protection needs to be capable of ensuring social cohesion and security.

The Government needs to listen to its citizens: from those in the remotest places to those in the centre of cities, from the young to the old, from the least to the most wealthy, from the worker to the employer, from the productive sectors to the service sectors, across the spectrum of political and religious persuasions, so that all the needs of the community can be assessed and addressed and the nation’s resources allocated in the most equitable and productive manner.

To achieve these ends, Australia needs stable governance that integrates local, state and federal governments in a collaborative endeavour that has as its primary aim the advancement of this country in all its richness and diversity to the benefit of its entire people.

All of Labor’s plans are consistent with this vision.

Now, even although the above vision is likely incomplete, it is still a rather verbose statement. If Julia Gillard were to use such words in her launch, what would the media say? Would they applaud ‘the vision splendid’ or cast it as a wordy bore? Would they gleefully acknowledge the ‘leadership’ inherent in making such a statement? Would they describe any attempt at such a statement as ‘visionary’ and see that setting such a template into which plans can be embedded as just what they have been looking for, yearning for, when they talk about ‘vision’, ‘narrative’, ‘leadership’? I doubt it. Just a few would analyse and critique such a statement, one so hard to condense into a few pithy, eye-catching sentences, or a seven second grab for TV or radio. Just a tiny handful might see this as ‘leadership’. For so many journalists, ‘leadership’ really is an enigma, one few seem to have examined carefully.

So don’t be disappointed if Julia does not go this far; she has a better idea of what the media can digest than I have. I am nearly always disappointed.

What do you think?

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Acerbic Conehead

15/08/2010AA, its funny you should bring up the topic of leadership, because Julia Gillard has it on her mind also. She is looking around for inspirational figures to delegate important tasks to and reckons she has the ideal specimen in Piers Akerman. Read on. Yesterday on SKY News, Piers drew our attention to the likelihood that the National Broadband Network (NBN) will cause house fires. Julia is taking this so seriously, she has commissioned a pilot study in South Wales and will fly over and personally take charge. Asked at a press conference, however, that she might be using this as a junket to catch up with her rellies, Julia retorted that if Tony Abbott could get on his bike and disappear to Woop Woop every couple of days, then her trip to a Leekland valley was only a miner matter. So, all homes in the Pontypandy area have been invited to take part in the NBN roll-out pilot, and all but six have agreed. The six dogs in the manger are Mark Latham, Joe Hockey, Kevin Andrews, Bronny Bishop, Phil Ruddock and Barnaby Joyce, all of whom have holiday homes in the area. Piers, who also has a holiday home there, had originally opted out but, when a door-to-door salesman (who looked, amazingly, like Stephen Conroy) convinced him that he should be part of the pilot, he reluctantly agreed. Especially as he got a free bag of goodies as an incentive. Incidentally, AA, you are probably unaware that Julia’s middle name is Samantha, so, appropriately, she is in charge of a fire-engine that is on stand-by in case the NBN causes any house fires. She is Fireman Sam (or, more pc, Firefighter Sam). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kpq9zJJ61KQ&feature=related Jupiter, the fire engine, and the fire crew are parked in a lay-by, waiting for calls that will indicate the new technology has caused some domestic incendiary situations. After a couple of hours of “I spy with my little eye”, everyone is getting bored. Then, the radio springs into life. Radio: Sam...this is Pontypandy’s NBN Central Command here...We have a report of a house fire at Mr Latham’s holiday home...As you know, he isn’t part of the pilot program, so the fibre-optic roll-out couldn’t have caused the fire...However, you better attend and try to put out the fire anyway... Sam: Copy, Central Command...heading there now... [shortly, Sam and the crew arrive at Mark’s place, which is by now just a pile of ashes. Understandably, Mark is distraught and is surrounded by a camera crew. However, Sam notices something very odd – Mark seems to be interviewing himself!] Mark: Good evening, viewers...Mark Latham reporting for 60 Minutes here, from the scene of the fire...and, Mr Latham, how do you feel about your house getting burnt down and you barely escaping with your life? Mark: Boo...hoo...it’s terrible, Mark...I can’t believe this has happened to me...if only I had participated in the NBN roll-out scheme – I could then have blamed those bastards for it...boo...hoo... Mark: Erm, Mr Latham...some eye-witnesses spoke to me earlier and said they saw a taxi pull up, driven by a man who steered with one hand...he jumped out, hurled a Molotov cocktail at your holiday home and then sped off, again driving with one hand...What do you say about this? Mark: I’ll get the bastard! I’ll break his other arm...He’ll be steering his bloody taxi with his nose by the time I’m finished with him... [Sam and the crew are dumbfounded by the ferocity of Mark’s rant, never mind the fact that he is interviewing himself. Suddenly, their radio again springs to life, informing them there is a series of fires at all the holiday homes in the area. The first blaze they visit is at Joe Hockey’s abode. Seemingly, Joe had done a King Alfred after putting a kilo of party pies in the oven. Next was Bronny Bishop’s place. She had been throwing a party and some clown, who was spending a penny, stupidly flicked a cigarette butt into her kerosene bath. Barnaby Joyce’s joint had also been burnt to the ground. It looked like Barnaby had put the wrong figures – 1000 degrees C - into the central heating thermostat. And unconfirmed reports were circulating that Phil Ruddock’s holiday home had been fire-bombed by the president of the local chapter of Amnesty International. And another arson attack, this time on Kevin Andrews’ place, was allegedly perpetrated by an Indian-looking chap, dressed in a white coat and wearing a stethoscope around his neck. Then, to add to the mayhem, Sam’s radio goes off again, informing her that Piers’ place is on fire. “Oh, no”, she says, “isn’t Piers part of the pilot scheme – the enemies of the NBN will make hay with this...” By the time they get to Piers’ holiday home, it is burnt to the ground, and he has obviously suffered some collateral damage, with his face like a Black and White Minstrel and his eyebrows singed] Sam: What happened, Piers? Your high-tech way of communicating via smoke signals alerted us to your predicament...hee...hee... Piers (ranting): I told you jokers that this NBN business was suss! I knew I shouldn’t have taken part in this mad-cap scheme... [Piers rants and raves, saying that the whole world is going to hear about this home-destroying NBN debacle. “The pink batts fiasco is childs-play compared to this”, he bellows. “And my poor pigeons are all dead as well”, he shrieks] Sam: Erm...pigeons, Piers? I didn’t realise you kept pigeons... Piers: Why of course I do – how do you think I communicate with people? Oh...and when the pigeons are asleep, I use morse code...and even semaphore... Sam: But...I thought you were part of the NBN pilot scheme, Piers? Piers: Yes, I was...That Stephen Conroy lookalike bloke gave me a bag of food for my pigeons...He said it was part of the NBN scheme – “Nifty Beans to move the Nether regions” – he said...So I fed them to the pigeons and, after a while, I went back to the pigeon-loft to check on them...The loft had a terrible pong – the beans must have made the pigeons fart the arses off themselves – so I struck a match to see what was going on, and – BOOM... Sam: Oh, never mind, Piers...When you get back to Australia, we can arrange for you to get the real NBN installed at your house... Piers: Y’know, I might just take you up on that offer...I hear those fibre-optics operate at the speed of light – do you think they might get me up to speed and help me solve the Heiner Affair? Sam (to herself): Hmmm...now, there’s an idea – after the election, I’ll appoint Mark Latham the head of a taskforce for solving the Heiner Affair, with Piers as his offsider – even with working at the speed of light on that shemozzle, that should keep the pair of them out of my hair for three years at least...heh...heh...

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15/08/2010AC A wonderful web of satirical fantasy, but you can't match Piers' fantastic belief that the NBN will cause house fires.

Lyn

15/08/2010Hi Ad Thankyou so much for your brilliant column on Leadership, most enjoyable read. [quote]Tony Abbott failed to give us the vision of the Australia he has in mind, his aspirations for it and the future it should pursue. [/quote] Tony Phoney has failed in every area. Did you watch 60 minutes tonight, the Latham segment. Extremely detrimental towards Phoney I thought, especially when Latham interviewed Pauline Hanson, when she said she would never forgive Abbott for orgainising a slush fund to put her in jail. There is a lot to that story the public will never know. Mark Latham had some advice to the Public at the end of his show, "don't vote for anyone" that's what he will be doing, an invalid vote, now there's some sound sensible advice. I think we will be very proud of Julia Gillard's speech at tomorrows launch, I haven't heard her do a bad speech yet, she is very clear and easy to listen too. Paul Kelly's has given Julia a few ticks, or maybe he has decided to back the winner: Gillard leans to the Left , Paul Kelly, The Australian JULIA Gillard has shown her mettle during this campaign, retaining her composure, staying on message, braving internal upheavals. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/commentary/gillard-leans-to-the-left/story-e6frgd0x-1225905084394

Lyn

15/08/2010Hi Acerbic Conehead You are a wonderful asset to "The Political Sword" we all enjoy your workso much, thankyou, for being so delightful.

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15/08/2010Lyn Thank you for your kind comment I thought tonight's TV was good for Labor. Good sympathetic interview with Kevin Rudd, and the Latham interview showed how amateurish he is - almost every question was a leading question, one that suggested the answer he wanted. It was very poor journalism, although not a lot worse than much other MSM journalism, and not at all damaging to Labor. I thought his comments about Abbott's role in Hanson's jailing was a negative for him.

Lyn

15/08/2010Hi Ad [i]Newspoll: 52 - 48 to Labor, William Bowe, The Poll Bludger[/i] latest Newspoll has Labor leading 52-48, from primary votes of 38 per cent Labor, 41 per cent Coalition and 14 per cent Greens. More to follow. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/ [i]Newspoll Labor 52 -48, Mark Bahnisch, Larvatus Prodeo[/i] Via GhostWhoVotes on Twitter, the Newspoll to be published tomorrow comes in with Labor on 52% and the Coalition on 48% two party preferred. Primaries are Labor 38 (steady), Coalition 41 (-1), Greens 14 (+1). http://larvatusprodeo.net/ [i]Labor attacks breach Tony Abbott's defences , Dennis Shanahan, The Australian[/i] The Gillard government still holds a narrow lead in national polling - 52 to 48 per cent on two-party-preferred terms - enough to scrape home on Saturday. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/labor-attacks-breach-tony-abbotts-defences/story-fn59niix-1225905600144

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15/08/2010Lyn Thanks - a result that puts the curious Galaxy into perspective.

Lyn

16/08/2010[b]TODAY'S LINKS[/b] [i]Election 2010: Day 30 (or, Answer the question!) Grog, Grog's Gamut[/i] Pretty much Abbott loves town hall meetings because he can lie during them, and then later say he was just caught up in the moment. http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/ Great News for Tony Abbott: Liberals' economic credibility trashed, Alex White Newspoll shows that the Liberal Party’s 12 point lead on “handling the economy” has been [b]reduced to just 1 point[/b]. http://alexwhite.org/2010/08/great-news-for-tony-abbott-liberals-economic-credibility-trashed/ [i]What Lies Beneath?, Nasking, Cafe Whispers[/i] Seems to me our media finds many positives in Abbott’s team…and far too many negatives in Labor’s. http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/what-lies-beneath/ [i]Sky’s excruciating Latham cross, Tom Cowie, Crikey[/i] It was everything that is wrong with 24-hour television news: Sky, in its perpetual bid for fresh content, was reduced to covering a journalist covering a politician. http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/08/13/and-the-wankley-goes-to-skys-excruciating-latham-cross/ [i]Coalition out for the Count? Anthony Fensom, The Diplomat[/i] ‘Just when the Liberals needed their launch to give a burst of energy to their campaign, Abbott offered a return to Howardism, without the spending,’ he wrote in an August 14 article. ‘Abbott is positioning as an ascetic monk in a hair shirt, offering the voter a hair shirt of her own.’ http://the-diplomat.com/2010/08/15/coalition-out-for-the-count/ [i]Spin Cycle: Final Week, Tobias Ziegler, Pure Poison[/i] The Liberal Party was using a lot of Google ads — targeting searches for opposing candidates — and then apparently removed them following media attention http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/2010/08/15/spin-cycle-final-week/#more-6871 [i]The Crises Down - Under Joseph Stiglitz, Left Focus[/i] the Liberals' fear campaign on debt and spending is deceptive to the core. Their policies would have seen Australia into recession. I encourage readers to follow the link at the bottom of this excerpt to have access to the full version. http://leftfocus.blogspot.com/ [i]Julia Gillard: unplugged, Mamamia[/i] On Friday I interviewed Julia Gillard for Mamamia and Fairfax newspapers. I was also meant to be interviewing Tony Abbott but he declined. http://www.mamamia.com.au/weblog/2010/08/julia-gillard-unplugge.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=julia-gillard-unplugge

nasking

16/08/2010Good stuff Aa...speaking of leadership...apparently Abbott wants to make the call on "turning the boats back". Not only does Abbott want to be “Commander-in-Chief” American style...but this looks to me like undemocratic dictatorial stuff. When ya think of Howard’s use of the troops during the “Aboriginal Intervention” you begin to wonder if the “Old Guard Liberals” are on a grandiosity wave... not unlike GW Bush & his admin. pushing for “Unitary Executive Power”. Very worrying. [quote]John Dean explains: “In its most extreme form, unitary executive theory can mean that neither Congress nor the federal courts can tell the President what to do or how to do it, particularly regarding national security matters.” During the administration of George W. Bush, some newspaper opinion pieces and political pundits disagreed with the concept of the UET. For instance, in 2004, Dana Milbank with the Washington Post wrote about “an obscure philosophy called the unitary executive theory that favors an extraordinarily powerful president.” Former Bill Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal wrote that under the concept of UET “the President, as Commander-in-Chief, is the sole judge of the law.” (wikipedia)[/quote] Remember, Tony Abbott is the man who recently enjoyed taking over a navy Captain’s “seat of power”. And called his book BATTLELINES. N’

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16/08/2010LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/Lyns-Daily-Links.aspx

HS

16/08/2010What an absolute Tour de Force, AA. Between you and Grog this campaign has had its Guardian Angels shepherding the debate away from the empty rhetoric and obfuscation that the politicians wish to engage in and towards the rails of reason. All I can hope for today is that our potential First Female Prime Minister displays the same breadth of vision and humanity that you have. We cannot have the small-minded thoughts of a devious operator, in the mould of the last Coalition Conservative Prime Minister who so many of us fought long and hard to for the rejection of by the electorate, come back into power and reinstate all the discriminatory policies that his predecessor practiced. Where wealthy mothers get more from the Public Purse than indigent, indigenous or Working Poor mothers. Aren't we all supposed to be created equal? So why do we want to elect a man who openly favours one new mother, with his 'mean and tricky' justification that it is merely 'a Productivity measure', over another? Why do we want to elect a man who would take us back to the Digital Dark Ages, where exploitation by a monopolistic telecommunications carrier, unbroken, unbowed and unseparated from the wholesale backbone of the industry, is allowed to dominate our country's telco sector to such an extent that it rolls out the next wave of infrastructure where and when it suits it, and not when it would be most beneficial for the population at large? Why should we elect a man and his party that has baldly stated that he will not implement a Big Miners Tax, the MRRT, that will see flow through to the rest of the nation, money which will benefit all of us and provide for more Superannuation for a more comfortable retirement for all our workers, provide for more infrastructure for the Mining ghost towns that suffer so blatantly from the 'Fly In,Fly Out' mentality which sees the small businesses there unable to benefit from the large amounts of money which mining our resources engenders? All for the benefit of overseas-based multinational Mining companies, a few local billionaires and the lucky few who own mining company shares? Why should we elect a man who, as a memeber of the HR Nicholls Society, as is his potential Minister for Industrial Relations, a man who has already shown his bona fides to be malign and corrupt as a result of the Godwin Grech affair, to sneakily re-introduce the basic scaffolding of WorkChoices by stealth, under a new guise? Why should we elect a man who believes Climate Change is 'Absolute crap', and who only seeks to introduce a charade of a scheme to tackle this mammoth problem which simply amounts to a giant pork barrel to pay taxpayers' money to the biggest polluters and emitters of CO2, and to the Agrarian Socialists in the National Party? That's not a solution to the problem, that is purely and simply irresponsible behaviour on the part of the person who is supposed to lead the country in the right direction, not the Right direction, as it faces the problems it encounters along the road that we travel together, on the planet that we only have one of, and which is precariously-poised to tip over the brink into climate calamity. A cursory look at the Climate Change-induced disasters in Niger(massive flooding), Pakistan(massive flooding), China(massive flooding and landslides), and Russia(heatwave-induced wildfires), allows us to see that Climate Change is already upon us with a never before seen frequency of incidence. And it's only going to get worse, not better, if we don't do something about it sooner rather than later. We have all seen how quickly our environment can turn on a dime, due to Climate Change-induced drought and destruction, such as we have just witnessed in this country as a result of the Black Saturday bushfires. What was Tony Abbott's response? To throw a few peanuts to establish some half-baked Fire Research Centre, and to put an ex-Rural Fire Brigade volunteer up as the candidate for the election. Tokenism at its very finest and most politically-cynical. When what he should have been saying is that we need action, thorough and comprehensive and meaningful, on Climate Change, and we need it fast! What that would entail, of course, is an admission that we all need to get out of our comfort zones and shoulder the burden of action, via a price on Carbon and 'Real Action' to make the big emitters pay and to send the price signal that is absolutely necessary to get the urgent point across about Global Warming. Instead, what we've got is a man who is full of empty rhetoric, empty slogans, and adept at crass opportunism. That's no leader, that's a charlatan, a carpetbagger, a market manipulator. And his market is the Australian electorate. Don't let him pull the wool over your eyes. You'll live to regret it. And so will your children.

George Pike

16/08/2010While the name "Abbottilla the Hun" suits the man's ruthless intentions against the public service, welfare, health, education and communications sectors, it certainly belies his absolute cowardice in facing our female PM in any form of debate what so ever, over the most critical factor within the entire governance of this country, the economy. To think this yellow gutless coward of a man had the gall to call his flippant paperback "Battlelines"...what a joke! He has the pompous empirical grandiosity to nominate himself as the decider of life or death over sanctuary seekers bobbing along in the Indian Ocean...but hasn't got the fortitude to face a female foe in matters of state...what a worthless pile of nothing this guy truly is...

Lyn

16/08/2010[b]TODAY'S LINKS PART 2[/b] [i]It’s still anyone’s game, Media Wrap, Amber Jamieson, Crikey[/i] Abbott’s continued refusal to debate Gillard on the economy shows how lacking his credentials are, says Peter van Onselen in The Oz.: “ http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/08/16/one-week-to-go-and-its-anyones-game/ [i]Newspoll Monday and Trends Update, Possum Comitatus, Pollytics[/i] I’ve never thought Labor wouldn’t win – the Coalition really needed to pull the phone pollster trend down to about 48 mid campaign for me to have considered an Abbott win a serious possibility http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2010/08/16/newspoll-monday-and-trends-update/

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16/08/2010nasking Thank you for your comment. Tony Abbott’s declaration that he would personally give the order to ‘turn back the boats’, on advice of course, does sound like the ‘Commander-in-Chief’ talk we heard from George Bush, talk that reminded me of the games we played as kids when someone assumed the role of ‘Captain’ and gave the orders with great gusto and enjoyed the minions following. It really is childish in the real sense of that word.

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16/08/2010HS What an elegant piece of oratory you have written. Steeped in wisdom, energized with passion, permeated by commonsense, searing in its logic, stark in uncloaking the danger of electing this man to high office. Thank you for adding so powerfully to this subject, and thank you too for your kind remarks about the piece and the role we bloggers might have to play in the great election debate.

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16/08/2010George Perhaps that is all we need to assess Tony Abbott - the man who, as Prime Minister, would 'order' the Navy to 'turn back' a boatload of asylum seekers, yet as Opposition Leader has not got the guts to debate the economy with the Prime Minister. The term 'glass jaw' is being bandied about - an apt term. I have made the comparison before between the bully boys that PK encountered at school in Bryce Courtenay's [i]The Power of One[/i] and the pugilistic politician Tony Abbott. Eventually PK triumphed over them all, including the meanest bully of them all, by persistence, good combatative technique, and courage. Julia Gillard has these attributes in spades.

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16/08/2010Folks Off now to watch the Labor launch.

sawdustmick

16/08/2010Acerbic Conehead You just have to do a piece of Tones contacting the skipper of one of out patrol boats and ordering his to turn the boats around.

Lyn

16/08/2010Hi Ad First report I can find, of The Launch Speech by Julia Gillard: [i]Gillard looks to the future in ALP campaign Launch, Kim, Larvatus Prodeo[/i] So, Julia Gillard weaved together values, both personal and collective, into a choice between fear and the Coalition and a confident Australia moving into the future under Labor. Health, education, everyday life and the economy were all articulated into one pitch. [b]It was a confident performance, speaking off the cuff from notes, and articulating a cogent reason to re-elect the government.[/b]http://larvatusprodeo.net/

Lyn

16/08/2010Hi Ad Essential Poll just in: [i]Essential Research: 51-49 to Labor, William Bowe, The Poll Bludger[/i] Essential Research poll for the campaign has Labor’s lead at 51-49, down from 52-48 last week. On the primary vote, the Coalition is up two points to 44 per cent and Labor is down two to 39 per cent, with the Greens steady on 10 per cent. As always, it should be noted that Essential Research is a composite of two weeks’ combined polling: reading between the lines, the week-level results for Labor through the course of the campaign seem to have gone 55, 55, 53, 51, 51. More to follow. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2010/08/16/essential-research-51-49-to-labor-2/

Gravel

16/08/2010Wow, this was almost a double bill, with Ad Astra's wonderful piece, then to top it off another wonderful contribution from HS. Thanks people, and George we think so alike it is unbelievable. Watched the launch, it was just great, a pity not many people would have watched it other than those of us that are politically aware. The reaction by Graeme Morrison on sky showed me how really great Julia's speech hit the mark. :-)

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16/08/2010Folks I thought Julia Gillard’s speech today was brilliant, delivered clearly and confidently without a teleprompter and seemingly off-the-cuff. No doubt she had a few notes to which she could refer, but I did not see her look at them. She had memorized what she had to say and delivered it while all the time looking at her audience. A very professional performance of which any accomplished public speaker would be proud. She acknowledged the celebrities with genuine remarks. Have you noticed how she has grown in confidence and assurance since she became PM? She is speaking faster and with less of the drawl about which her critics lampoon her. She puts words together well using good English, and certainly has no ums and ers. She is easily understandable. She talks to the man in the street. Today she talked from the heart. This was the appeal of her address. So much for the process of her speech, for which she deserves top marks. Even Chris Uhlmann categorized her address as ‘strong’, just about as good a compliment as one could hope for from a journalist. Regarding the content, not surprisingly she emphasized the crucial importance of the economy in providing the ‘dignity’ of work, and all that flows from secure employment. She went on to emphasize the need for a sound education, available to all, to prepare for work, and the need for a caring health care system. Laudably, she linked improvements in health care to the NBN that has such potential to transform care in remote, regional and even suburban areas. In each area she emphasized the achievements of the Rudd/Gillard Government, something that has not been done enough. She built on Bob Hawke’s account of Labor as a reforming party. Clearly her focus was on jobs, the economy, education, health and the NBN. Expect media commentary about her very brief reference to climate change. I suspect that climate change action was downplayed to avoid further uninformed criticism of her Citizen’s Assembly, which has been dismissed by most journalists as ‘silly’. They may be surprised when it turns out to be a transformative process. Also, she probably wanted to avoid being a target for further GBNT criticism from Tony Abbott. He’s already at this again today after Bob Brown’s announcement today that a carbon tax will be the first item on his agenda post-election. I’ll lay short odds that the climate change issue will attract the most comment from our analytically challenged journalists, who will echo this mindlessly, quoting the old chestnut ‘the greatest moral, economic and social challenge of our time’, until we want to throw up. Some may pick up on the absence of mention of foreign affairs or boat people, except of course to ridicule Tony Abbott about his taking charge of ‘turning back the boats’. In summary, this launch, characterized by lack of razzmatazz, was aimed directly at the average citizen, spoken in a language they can understand, about matters that concern them. It portrayed Julia’s vision for the nation and encapsulated her values. We saw even more of Julia today than ever before. Even allowing for my obvious bias, the contrast between Julia and Tony became even starker today and left no doubt about who would be best for this nation in the top job.

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16/08/2010Gravel Thank you for your kind comment. Do you have a reference or a link to the comments of Graeme Morrison on Sky about Julia's speech? I don't have Sky, which incidentally is probably a blessing.

Min

16/08/2010Just a mention. Abbott cannot give direct orders to members of the Defence Forces as he is not the Commander in Chief, that title belongs to Quentin Bryce our GG. This relates to s.68 of our Constitution. Ad Astra..re Sky, their commentary was from Robb and so it's blessing that you missed it.

Lyn

16/08/2010Hi Ad, I can't find Graham Morris' comments for you, but I watched him and he said Julia Gillard would make a good Education Minister and sounded like a head mistress, or words to that effect, he was sarcastic, nasty as always, contrasting to Bruce Hawker, who is a lovely man measured, calm, sensible comments as usual. No you definately do not need Sky News. I have a [b]VIDEO link [/b]for you to David Speers video, in which he reports on the speech: Election 2010: Labor Campaign launch score card DAVID SPEERS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAn2SbwtXoA&feature=player_embedded#!

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16/08/2010Folks I was interested by media comment on Julia’s speech. Apart from the sparse mention of climate change and no mention of foreign affairs, there were queries about whether there was a ‘game changer’ in the speech. Remember this is just one big ‘game’ for the media. On commentator felt the NBN and the linking of it to health might be, and I see already the AMA has endorsed that concept and the funding for remote consultations. I think that linkage showed a touch of genius – everyone, especially those in remote places or with children or elderly parents, know how important health care is, and showing how the NBN can dramatically extend health care into every corner of the country, makes the NBN come alive in a way that its application to business or even education is less easy to explain. Expect Labor to hammer that for the rest of the campaign. The ‘Mickey Mouse’ NBN the Coalition proposes, and its intention to scrap the Government’s NBN, may turn out to be its biggest error of judgement. Annabelle Crabb made her usual trying-to-be-funny facetious comments about the speech being the usual ‘stump’ speech, implying that this was not good enough. She would be regarded more seriously if she reverted to being a serious commentator rather than an amateur comedian always searching for the witty quip. She was quite dismissive. I don’t know what she was anticipating. More ‘vision’, more ‘narrative’ maybe, certainly more memorable lines. What did she expect? A Gettysburg address? One thing that journalists seem to think might be memorable was Julia’s ‘Yes We Will’ flourish at the end, Obama style. Anything else memorable? Well the journos seem to remember that she talked about work, the economy, education, health and the NBN, and if they can remember that, so can everyone else. They often say ‘keep it simple stupid’, then proceed to grizzle about the lack of policy announcements. Given the budgetary restrictions and the fact that the campaign has been going for four weeks already during which many policy announcements have been made, what did they expect five days out from the election? The NBN/health policy announcement was important, memorable and likely to resonate with the people if only the media give it a go. I would enjoy reading what journalists might compose as a political launch address. They criticize, they demean, they pick holes, they find the things left out, but they never ever say – this is what SHOULD have been said. So there will be lots of analysis by our journalists and the plethora of commentators from all sides, most of it influenced by party allegiances, groupthink, and of course the imperative to say something unique, something witty, something smart in the very competitive media marketplace. Much of it will be uninformed, pedestrian and boring. That’s the burden we the consumers have to bear. If only we had better political journalists than the ragtag collection we now have to endure.

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16/08/2010Lyn Many thanks for the David Spears link. Surprisingly, he gave a balanced summary and picked up on the health/NBN connection and the ‘Yes We Will’ slogan, which I’m sure we’ll see and hear for the remaining days of the campaign when there will be enough time for it to permeate the electorate, yet not enough time for voters to tire of it. ‘Moving forward’ has had its day, now it’s ‘Yes We Will’, or should it be Yes WE Will’?

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16/08/2010Min, Lyn If it was Andrew Robb I missed, I can only breathe a sigh of relief. He is almost as painful as Graeme Morris, but Graeme wins by a nose.

HS

16/08/2010Ad Astra, I second your opinion about Annabel Crabb. As soon as I heard Chris Uhlmann give his opinion after Julia Gillard's launch speech I thought he was being as reasonable as a journalist looking to assess the speech for its pluses and minuses might have been. Then he introduced Annabel Crabb, and I thought she might have something to say along similar lines, with a bit od wit and whimsy thrown in, but that was not to be as it turned out. She wanted to be, instead, first cab off the rank to sink the slipper into the PM, taking a totally condemnatory attitude towards the speech, comparing it to a tin of Black and Gold Baked Beans, I think, in a barely-disguised attempt to trivialise and diminish what had just been the speech of Julia's life, and light years ahead of the billious offering Tony Abbott had served up the week before at the Liberal Campaign launch. In fact, I can still remember how the journalists lavished praise on Abbott's 'strategic brilliance' because he had offered nothing! It just goes to show how biased they can be. I guess what really struck me about Annabel Crabb's comments was, what gives her the right to be so condemnatory? What's her qualification to pontificate to such an extent? All she does is what we all do, look at politics and comment on it. What makes her opinion so special, except for the fact that she uses humour to belittle?

HS

16/08/2010What I find so hard to comprehend about this election is the extent to which those who should be guardians of the public mood, i.e. the journalists, have allowed Tony Abbott to frame the election, from his point of view, around the divisive issue of Asylum Seekers. It's not appealing to our better angels, but our worst fears and the lowest common denominiator in the electorate, and it's the journalists who should be ashamed of themselves for allowing him to get away with it. The number of unthinking electora in the land-locked electorates of Western Sydney, whose bigoted xenophobic natures Mr Abbott is appealing to truly shocks me, but I am unsurprised that they have been so easily manipulated by a master manipulator as Tony Abbott has turned out to be. He is not fir to lick the boots of Julia Gillard. And he is most certainly not fit to be Australia's Prime Minister with his craven appeal to 'Howard's Battlers' and their narrow-minded ways.

HS

16/08/2010Ad and others concerned about Climate Change action, I thought you might be interested in this(we'll get left behind if we don't hurry up &/or elect Abbott): http://www.ecoseed.org/en/general-green-news/green-topics/green-policies/incentives/7786

HS

16/08/2010This is a more balanced and positive assessment of the PM's speech: http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/labor-campaign-launch-gillard-does-the-vision-thing/

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16/08/2010HS Thank you for the links. The Paul Colgan piece in [i]The Punch[/] was positive. He picked up on the health applications of the NBN, including remote surgery. I wondered where he got that from – has he been trawling [i]TPS[/i] or did he get it elsewhere? If so, I wonder where? Maybe the Fifth Estate is making a modest contribution to the political debate. He picked up on the ‘Yes We Will’ slogan. That might be one of the most memorable grabs from her speech. I hope Labor uses that relentlessly. He even thought that she exhibited that magic ingredient of political speeches ‘vision’. Amazing.

Lyn

16/08/2010Hi Ad A couple of reports on the Launch for you: No razzle dazzle in PM's no-frills launch Lenore Taylor VIDEO Tim Lester Report. channel 10 http://www.smh.com.au/federal-election/no-razzle-dazzle-in-pms-nofrills-launch-20100816-12651.html?autostart=1 Dennis Shanahan still nasty: Gillard stakes political future on broadband and health at Labor launch , The Australian Video Dennis Shanahan Scare campaign against Tony Abbott http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/gillard-stakes-political-future-on-broadband-and-health-at-labor-launch/story-fn59niix-1225905855473 Phoney doesn't understand again, still: Labor spruiks health, online future , Sandra O'Malley, The Age Mr Abbott derided the policy as old hat. "We already have various health call centres ... and we already have, under the existing Medicare system, remote consultations," he told reporters. http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/labor-spruiks-health-online-future-20100816-125kt.html Abbott: Labor is promising e-health services that already exist, David Rami, ARN “We already have under the existing Medicare health system remote consultations, so much of what she [Prime Minister, Julia Gillard] talked about today in fact already exists,” he said. http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/357086/abbott_labor_promising_e-health_services_already_exist/?fp=4194304&fpid=1

simon

16/08/2010Thanks AA, Another excellent piece.I like your mission statement,maybe the Liberals could learn something from the line that says: "An Australia that gives everybody a fair go and equal opportunity to succeed,while supporting those less fortunate' Just imagine the corresponding line in the Liberal mission statement: 'An Australia That gives the ruling class and big business the chance to ride roughshod over the average man in the street,while taking every opportunity to victimise,intimidate and emasculate those less fortunate' And Hillbilly Skeleton,I dont think I have seen anyone so far this election state their case against Mr Abbott in such a compelling manner.Excellent.

Acerbic Conehead

16/08/2010AA and Lyn, thank you for your encouragement. And sawdustmick, I love your gravitar – you look like you enjoy observing life, as I do, through the bottom of a beer glass! It’s funny you should mention Tones and his plan to manage the boats via telephone. I was talking to a drunken sailor on shore leave last night in the Jolly Jack Tar Tavern and he related an incident that happened the other day when he was on the bridge of his patrol boat, the HMAS Enterprise, in the Timor Sea. He said that the officer-in-charge, Captain Kirk, received a very strange phone-call from someone called ‘Tones’, who said he wasn’t the Prime Minister, but “soon will be”. The other officer on the bridge was First Engineer “Scotty”. According to the drunken sailor, this is the gist of the conversation. Capt Kirk: Hallo...this is the bridge of HMAS Enterprise here...Kirk speaking... Tones: Erm...g’day...this is Tony Abbott here...the future Prime Minister...I just want to make it gospel clear to you that, under no circumstances, are you to allow any boats containing towel-heads...errr...asylum-seekers...anywhere near our coast... Kirk: Riiiight...and how, pray tell, do I stop them? Hold up a photograph of Bronny Bishop maybe? Tones: Well, actually, I have another plan...When I get to be Prime Minister next week, I’m going to fit out all of your ships with a giant weathervane – you just switch it on and the draught will blow the buggers all the way back to where they came from...They’ll get into Australia over my government’s dead body, I’ll have you know... [Kirk puts his hand over the receiver and turns to Scotty] Kirk: Uh-Oh...we’ve got a right one here...Well, Mr future-prime-minister...wouldn’t it make more sense to wait until you’re actually in government before you contact me about such plans? Tones: Nah...no way, mate...Haven’t I already contacted the president of Nauru, and he’s addressing me as if I’m in the big chair already...And I’ve been on the blower to the Chief Shop Steward of the Seagulls Union in Naura also...I want to see if we can get them to produce guano at WorkChoices rates...And I’ve faxed Vladimir Putin to see whether he’ll take me on in a “biggest pectorals” comp in the front bar of the Rooty Hill Tavern... [Tones’ call to Capt Kirk is interrupted by a shout from the crow’s nest. A sinking, rickety-boat-full of asylum seekers has been spotted and the passengers, including women and children, look in a bad way. They appear to be suffering badly from sunburn, sea-sickness, and dehydration. Kirk tells Tones he will have to hang up, as he is about to give orders to take the asylum-seekers on board] Tones: Listen here, mate – don’t you dare take any of “those people” on board an Australian ship...We gotta be hard...we gotta turn back the boats... [Kirk plays for time, telling Tones he will ring him back shortly, and hangs up. After a few moments’ reflection, he phones Tones] Kirk: Erm...Mr Abbott...I’ve just had a quick chat with a number of the asylum-seekers on board their boat and I think it’s definitely in Australia’s long-term interest for us to bring them to our shores...For example, one of them is an expert in fibre-optics... Tones: Fibre-optics? Isn’t that one of those wholemeal loaves that’s good for your eyes? Kirk: Ooookay...Mr Abbott...Another is one of the world’s leading climatologists – an expert in combating global warming... Tones: Nah...that’s all a load of crap anyway... Kirk: There’s also a brilliant piano-player on board, Mr Abbott – they say he’s even better than Elton John... Tones: That poof! You’re starting to make me feel threatened, Capt Kirk... [Kirk is beginning to get desperate. He knows he will have to take a different tack] Kirk: Okay, Mr Abbott...I’ve just been speaking to a guy who’s an even better spin-bowler than Warnie – whaddy think? Tones: Hmmm...now that’s a bit different...My chief mentor in my new kitchen cabinet, Johnny Howard, will like that one... [Kirk can see the chink in the armour gradually getting bigger] Kirk: Oh, and Mr Abbott...I’ve just done a straw-poll of the asylum-seekers and they all agree to work in Australia for a tenth of the going-rate – they reckon WorkChoices was far too generous...And they are prepared to let you chain their children up and send them down the WA mines... Tones: Now you’re talking my language, buddy! On second thoughts, take them on board and I’ll lead the welcoming party when you get home...over and out... [Capt Kirk breathes a sigh of relief and orders his crew to take the poor wretches on board. Scotty, however, is a bit concerned] Scotty: Erm...Captain...I don’t think he’s going to be too pleased when he finds out they don’t like cricket and are die-hard Bulldogs fans...And that they all intend to vote for Julia at the earliest opportunity... Kirk: Yes, Scotty...you might have to beam me up yet...But, don’t forget, sometimes its better to ask for forgiveness than permission...heh...heh... Scotty: Good one, captain...Now where have I heard that one before...haw...haw...

Lyn

16/08/2010Hi Ad Grog with another, excellent, wonderful piece, thankyou Grog Election 2010: Day 31 (or the ALP wedding reception and Boatman needs a new identity) Grog, Grog's Gamut You give officers in the Navy the ranks they have because they are able to make the decisions. The Navy is not Abbott’s own personal border patrol guard. http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/

Graeme

16/08/2010Acerbic Conehead Simply brilliant. Saw Mark Riley's assessment of Julia Gillard's speech, and he was positively churlish; just another indication that Julia did a great job.

HS

16/08/2010Graeme, Mark Riley and Annabel Crabb think they're so funny, when they're just not.

HS

16/08/2010simon, Thank you. :) Sometimes, early in the morning, when I have no distractions, I can think really clearly.

Golfman

17/08/2010The NBN: that flashy Porsche sitting behind the shiny glass windows of the show room. The object of my desire. The one you know you don't have a hope in hell of affording and will be paying off for the rest of your life. You know it will be worth 1/10 of it's purchase price in five years time ... arh, to be stupid and impulsive again. All I really need is a new Commodore you know...

Lyn

17/08/2010[b]TODAY'S LINKS[/b] [i]Election 2010: Day 31 (or the ALP wedding reception and Boatman needs a new identity) Grog, Grog's Gamut[/i] You give officers in the Navy the ranks they have because they are able to make the decisions. The Navy is not Abbott’s own personal border patrol guard. http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/ [i]Essential Report bucks the trend, Possum Comitatus Pollytics[/i] This week’s Essential Report comes in with the Coalition leading on the primaries 44 (up 2)/ 39 (down 2), washing out into a two party preferred of 51/49 http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/ [i]Too many characters in search of a plot, Mungo MacCallum, Echo[/i] This, of course, was not what The Australian wanted to hear, and it certainly was not what it wanted to tell its readers; so last Saturday it devoted most of page one, all of pages four, five and six, the front page of its Focus section and a lengthy editorial to attempting to prove than black was white. http://www.echo.net.au/opinion-piece/too-many-characters-search-plot [i]Coalition broadband: a wireless tower in every street, Stilgherrian, Crikey[/i] base station around about on every suburban block,” she said. “At the end of every street there’d need to be a base station.” http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/08/16/coalition-broadband-a-wireless-tower-in-every-street/ [i]Technophobe Tony's broadband back-step, Michael Mullins, Eureka Street[/i] While it is likely to shape the country's economic future, and is of crucial importance to small business, Abbott appears to view the NBN as an expensive toy for tech heads. http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=22808 [i]The Lathamisation of political reporting, Tim Dunlop, The Drum[/i] Journalism and politics is a double act and the sooner journalists realise that the better. http://blogs.abc.net.au/drumroll/2010/08/blank.html [i]He’s a loathsome, offensive brute, and yet we can’t look away, Guy Beres[/i] It’s certainly important to keep Tony Abbott and his intellectually malnourished team out of The Lodge, http://guyberes.com/2010/08/16/hes-a-loathsome-offensive-brute/ [i]WARNING: May contain traces of nuts., Dave Gaukrogerm Pure Poison[/i] AUSTRALIA’S Sunday newspapers have backed Julia Gillard to win the election, saying Labor deserves a second term. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/2010/08/16/warning-may-contain-traces-of-nuts/ [i]Murdoch editors back Gillard win, THE AUSTRALIAN[/i] FOUNDER of the Mama Mia! website Mia Freedman was last week granted one of precious few one-on-one interviews with the Prime Minister. She wrote it up for the Sundays yesterday; behind-the-scenes video will be up on Mama Mia! today http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/mediadiary/index.php/australianmedia/comments/murdoch_editors_back_gillard_win/ [i]Election rant 3: Coalition pride, David Braue, ZDNet[/i] Yet behind the scaremongering and accusations lies a much different truth that Abbott is conveniently forgetting: the Coalition already had 11 years to formulate and execute better communications policy — and failed, time and time again. http://www.zdnet.com.au/election-rant-3-coalition-pride-339305231.htm?omnRef=NULL [i]Compare and Contrast, Tobias Ziegler, Pure Poison[/i] A huge scare campaign, backed by Labor’s overwhelmingly bigger budget, is working. Labor will win, http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/ 51 economists back Labor's stimulus spend. SMH http://www.smh.com.au/federal-election/economy/51-economists-back-labors-stimulus-spend-20100816-126dj.html 50 leading economists say the obvious - stimulus stimulates, Peter Martin http://petermartin.blogspot.com/ [i]It’s the Final Countdown!, Reb. Gutter Trash[/i] The alternative, is that we’ll end up with some antediluvian reptile who’ll introduce compulsory Catholic education is schools http://guttertrash.wordpress.com:80/2010/08/16/its-the-final-countdown/ [i]Come Monday by Miglo,Cafe Whispers[/i] Welcome to the week where we can expect daily headlines praising the virtuous Captain Abbott as the new man of steel http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/come-monday-2/

Lyn

17/08/2010Hi Ad Sorry Ad, here is Pure Poison again: WARNING: May contain traces of nuts. by Dave Gaukroger AUSTRALIA’S Sunday newspapers have backed Julia Gillard to win the election, saying Labor deserves a second term. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/2010/08/16/warning-may-contain-traces-of-nuts/ [i]D-Day Minus 4 , William Bowe, The Poll Bludger [/i]Roy Morgan has targeted a micro-sample of 200 voters in the crucial Victorian seat of McEwen, which could provide Labor with a desperately needed gain to offset losses in Queensland and New South Wales. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/

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17/08/2010LYN'S DAILY LINKS: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/Lyns-Daily-Links.aspx

George Pike

17/08/2010Great points raised on Q&A for Julia to raise at debate. Abbott's Paid Parental Leave is paid for by the taxpayer, therefore it is welfare, therefore it should equal to ALL women. Abbott also drivelled on about $5,000 per household to construct the NBN, break that down over the much higher cost for large businesses (which they gladly wear because of the benefits) and the rollout time period and it works out to be a tiny fraction of that figure per year. It was a great shame that the mad doctor had to bob up and pour his selfish diatribe out against the Superclinics. Trying to keep basic medical treatment in the hands of doctors when highly trained nurese are more than capable of carrying out those procedures is moronic greed driven egotism. Doctors are also dreading the loss of income from hideously expensive face to face diagnostics when the NBN gets up and running and the smart doctors go online and see three times as many patients for half the price. It amazed me that Abbott could be stupid enough to continue his idiotic statement regarding the stimulus having no effect in the USA and Britain...when if those stimulatory measures had NOT been undertaken in those countries, they would have gone into a deep depression that would have ultimately wrecked the entire world economy. He also conveniently forgets that the Chinese stimulus was around $1 trillion dollars...and if they had not spent that money the second mining boom would never have gotten off the ground. Shame also that Ticky Fullerton had to continue her disgusting propaganda campaign against the government in the last week of the election. Her tait a tait with Wal King, the planet killer, was a loathsome display of opportunism aimed solely at undermining the government for the benefit of the mining sector. When you get someone who is STILL building the dirtiest coal fired power stations on the planet in places like India, coming out and calling the government wayward for wanting to extract the correct price for the country's scarce resources, it just makes you sick to the stomach to behold! The fact that the public broadcaster could be used and abused in such a treacherous way just defies belief. Finally, I have come up with the perfect exemplar for the stimulus packages...one big fat juicy red apple contrasted with one scrawny wrinkled dry looking green apple. The first has been nurtured, watered, given plenty of sunshine and protection from the elements and insects etc, while the second has been starved of all those things because the owner of that orchard did not want to go into debt to keep the sustenance flowing!

George Pike

17/08/2010The scary stuff...a new anti-welfare state under the ideological lunacy of Abbott.. http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/abbotts-welfare-plans-raise-questions-of-fairness-20100816-126fl.html

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17/08/2010AC Delightful, cutting satire that captures so cleverly the absurdity of Tones’ latest ‘get tough’ with ‘those people’, a sop to those he has so carefully indoctrinated with the ‘threat’ of the boat people ‘invasion’. They will have been impressed with Tones’ ‘stop the boats’ talk and will now applaud this ‘tough’ ‘boat-phone’ rhetoric; the rest of just smile wryly.

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17/08/2010simon Thank you for your kind comments. I agree with you that HS’s words spell out so starkly and so elegantly the nation-threatening danger of electing Tony Abbott – ideologically-driven, extreme, anti-worker, disingenuous, opportunistic mind-changer, economics illiterate, technically ignorant and backward looking. What a lethal combination.

Michael

17/08/2010Try this for a weird take on leadership. http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2984815.htm#comments And, then, if you might be so kind, have a look for my rejoinder. A page search for "elision" will locate it.

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17/08/2010Lyn As usual Grog’s piece was great. I was delighted to see the words “She gave us a narrative.” Yes she did, but how many in the MSM heard it? Annabelle Crabb, so addicted to the pseudo-humorous backhander, at least acknowledged the finale of Julia’s speech was “…a guarded exercise in inspiration”; Peter Hartcher wrote: “…offering a vision of a future with better education, more training, better healthcare, and a faster internet. It's not grandiose, but Gillard is expansive where Abbott is minimalist.” Dennis Atkins said: “Gillard presented a deliberately downbeat, somewhat austere, vision centred on hard work, economic management, educational opportunity and universal health care. It was, overall, a positive outline of the Labor Government's performance during the financial crisis and a recitation of announcements she has made during the campaign.” Simon Benson said: “Ms Gillard presented as a confident, polished leader.” Paul Kelly said “Julia Gillard is neither a visionary nor an orator - but she is a fighter.“ and “Julia as saviour is now the Labor narrative.” and “Gillard offered hope, practical aspirations and a dose of idealism that flowed from her own life.” That’s about it. The persistent MSM cries for ‘vision’ and a ‘narrative’ seem to have scarcely been satisfied at all. When all the shouting and the tumult has died, we in the Fifth Estate should challenge the Fourth Estate to spell out what it means by these terms they so delight in using. This piece attempts to portray what a ‘vision’ or a ‘narrative’ might look like; we should insist the MSM give us theirs.

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17/08/2010Graeme I saw that Mark Riley grab. I agree that he was dismissive and arrogant. He’s probably the most lightweight political TV journalist; I once enjoyed his ‘Riley Diary’, but don’t bother watching anymore.

nasking

17/08/2010In these final days of the election campaign I think it’s essential that the focus move onto some of the alternative (shadow) ministers who may take up influential positions in an Abbott government. Abbott’s Motley Crew: Moving Backwards? http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/08/17/abbotts-motley-crew-moving-backwards/ N'

Jason

17/08/2010AA, Another piece for ABC Watch from the drum with Tow Switzer http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2984920.htm

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17/08/2010Golfman Welcome to the [i]TPS family[/i]. Do come again. The NBN will be viewed differently by different people. You see it as a Ferrari, yet want only a Commodore, no doubt because you feel the Commodore suits your needs. Tony Abbott sees it as an expensive way to send and receive emails (and most importantly a way he thought he could ‘save’ money). He indicates that his daughters see it as a faster way to download movies, but presumably they are satisfied with existing download speeds. In contrast, businessmen see the NBN as a heavy duty Kenmore B-double road train that has strength and a vast capacity to move loads quickly and efficiently. They will see it as facilitating cloud computing where files are shared around the world by members of the same business in an instant. They will see the vast savings in travel and carbon pollution that result when instantaneous teleconferencing replaces air travel. They will see that some of their staff may be able to work at home part of the time, thereby saving time and travel. Medical practitioners see it as Rolls Royce that is sturdy and reliable in enabling high-definition image transmission that will revolutionise medicine and make health care much more accessible and convenient for patients, particularly in areas distant from specialist care. When it reaches 1 Gbps speeds they will see it as a Ferrari that can deliver the instant transmission necessary for remote surgery. Teachers will see it as a Mercedes Benz as it allows simultaneous access to the Internet for whole classrooms of students who today complain about slow speeds when many students access at the same time, as they do. Teachers will see it as a top-of-the-range BMW when they join with other schools to benefit from having the world’s best teachers brought virtually into the classroom, in the manner we were enchanted by Julius Sumner Miller’s wonderful TV expositions on physics in a bygone era. And for those who simply enjoy downloading movies and music, and playing computer games, they may see the NBN as a fast Jaguar sports. So each person will see the NBN according to their need. Someone like you will be happy with a Commodore, but the others will not be satisfied when they need something faster, bigger and more robust. Tony Abbott is offering a Commodore, so you’ll be happy; others will find the Commodore quite unsuitable. Julia Gillard is making the fibre-to-the-node NBN (your Ferrari) available to all, but there is no compulsion to take it up. In Tasmania, surprisingly, already half the residents in the NBN roll-out area have taken up the NBN, far above that anticipated. But you could stick with your Next G wireless broadband (your Commodore) or even dial up (an old Ford) if that suits you. The Coalition talk about each user having to pay $5000 for the NBN that passes their home, and then pay usage costs on top of that, is disingenuous nonsense. So Golfman, by all means choose what you need, but please don’t impose on the rest of the community, those in business, health and education, the limitations you are willing to accept. Think nationally, not parochially or personally. The NBN is much bigger and more important than any of us.

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17/08/2010nasking You’re right, it’s not just Tony Abbott who is scary, but Julie Bishop who has not done well in any portfolio, Joe Hockey, who if he believes what he says on the economics front is either illiterate or disingenuous, Andrew Robb who has sunk into the pit of deviousness dug by Abbott, Eric Abetz of Grech infamy, Tony Smith, so clearly out of his depth on the NBN, Sophie Mirabella who excels in saying nothing, Kevin Andrews of Haneef fame, and George Brandis, the most intellectually endowed of the bunch, but whose hallmark pedantry is a wonder to behold. Add to that, the whingeing Christopher Pyne, the sour-puss Peter Dutton who is way out of his depth in health, Barnaby Joyce, more a comedian than a serious political debater, Warren Truss, a nice guy but ineffectual, yet lined up for Deputy PM, and you do have a motley crew. Well done highlighting this. Abbott is bad enough, but his crew is no better.

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17/08/2010Jason It’s not surprising that Tom Switzer, who is associated with the right-wing IPA, is editor of the Spectator Australia, and was a former Senior Adviser to the federal Opposition Leader writes such vitriolic material. I’ll add [i]Green preferences wasted on Labor[/i] in [i]The Drum Unleashed[/i] to [i]ABC Watch[/i]. http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2984920.htm

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17/08/2010michael Isn’t is amazing how someone, who by training ought to stick to the facts and argue logically, is ready to abandon all that to make political points. It is really sad how politics distorts reason and allows those who occupy extreme political positions to write such acerbic pieces. Your reply was apt.

George Pike

17/08/2010If there is one thing we can glean from Tony Abbott's Press Club address, it is the fact that the man is utterly insane. He is a pathological liar and a raving lunatic...if this guy ever gets control of the country we are doomed to an era of fascism, it is as simple as that.

Lyn

17/08/2010Hi George Yes George, "pathological liar and a raving lunatic" I couldn't agree with you more. I have been out all day today, so have I missed any Phoney gaffes? Phoney on Q&A last night, he was so false. He said last week in answer to a particular question, that if he is the Prime Minister he will be in charge and his cabinet will not tell him what to do, So gang of one ruling the Country, OMG.

George Pike

17/08/2010Biggest gaffe was that he will introduce a bond scheme for funding infrastructure, then had the gall to say that it wouldn't be government borrowing! Bit like his paid parental leave funded by the taxpayer won't be welfare hey! This guy bends the realms of reality to suit his current thought stream...he's completely off his rocker I'm afraid Lyn...

nasking

17/08/2010"Well done highlighting this. Abbott is bad enough, but his crew is no better." Thnx Aa. I think when we add supporters & influential types who spruik Abbott, like Sen. Corey Bernardi (who is acting as menacing as "Jaws" the villian from the Bond films), Scott Morrison (channeling John Howard & Pauline Hanson)...Sen. Mitch Fifield of "the ginger group"...and stomping matriarch Bronwyn Bishop... with supporting cast of John Howard (Abbott said today at Press Club he wants to keep Howard involved in a consultative way) and "nosferatu" Philip Ruddock. Well, it's kinda frightening really. Like "something wicked this way comes". N'

Lyn

17/08/2010Hi George See, now Phoney has promised to keep his ego in check: What a boofhead: Abbott talks economy, vision for future , Lincoln Archer, News Com TONY Abbott has a "big ambition" and "great vision" for Australia, [b]but will also keep his ego in check if he is prime minister, he has told the National Press Club in [/b]Canberra. http://www.news.com.au/features/federal-election/coalition-to-fund-infrastructure-with-bonds/story-fn5tar6a-1225906314216#ixzz0wps9znBH, http://www.news.com.au/features/federal-election/coalition-to-fund-infrastructure-with-bonds/story-fn5tar6a-1225906314216

Gravel

17/08/2010Thanks Lyn for finding that link to Sky thingy, it might have been after that piece that G Morrison was on? I saw Brandis and turned my ears off, my real ears, I just tuned out because I could almost dictate his vitriol before he spouts it. That goes for any of the lib mouths, before they are even open I know what they are going to say. Abbott got a very free ride at the press club, I had to stop watching. George, again you are putting my words into thought. Commentor's on PB are making the point that Abbott cannot tell the navy what to do by picking up the phone....I can't quite follow what they mean, but I put they mean the way USA runs their defense forces.

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17/08/2010Folks Back on the NBN debate, here’s what John Dwyer, emeritus professor of medicine, and Jeff Kennett, previously Coalition Premier in Victoria, had to say about its use in medicine on [i]The World Today[/i] [i] ELEANOR HALL: Now John Dwyer I want to come back to you on this e-health initiative, because yesterday the Labor Party of course put up almost $400 million to improve online diagnosis. 

How important is e-health? How important is that initiative?

 JOHN DWYER: I think it's terribly important but it has to be tied to an improvement in the technology. The rollout of a really fast broadband network is really crucial if the technology is to be able to do the sort of things that the Prime Minister was describing yesterday. 

But it just so happens I was talking at a conference in Melbourne yesterday on healthcare reform, and there was a number of experts telling us what's going on around the world with e-health. And the evidence base that it's cost effective, that it is probably the most single miraculous way of rapidly reducing medical errors. 

The data is absolutely crystal clear and the public acceptance in Scandinavia, in Germany, in Italy, in so many places, and the benefits that have flowed are just there for all to see.

 But it does require the infrastructure that we don't have at the moment. If you're really going to look at an angiogram in real time, in moving pictures, so that some expert in Sydney can look at something that was done by technician in the rural areas, you've got to have the quality so that the person can make the judgement. 

So, A - Mr Abbott is making a terrible mistake in saying we don't need electronic health records; and B - if we want to have the benefits of electronic health records we've got to have a state of the art broadband network.

 ELEANOR HALL: Jeff Kennett let me just come back to you on e-health. You're saying that you don't think the Coalition's being short-sighted given what John Dwyer's just saying there about the potential benefits there?

 JEFF KENNETT: I think you're seeing - and we've been in e-health now for some years with Beyond Blue and so have other doctors and professional areas of care. And of course if you roll this out and it can be rolled out efficiently, that's wonderful. And it will give, particularly to people in rural and outlying areas of Australia, access and comfort and security they haven't got before.

 The big issue is how, and in fact, how you can roll it out at a level that brings about the clarity that John thinks is just there for the grabbing. And yes, you can check other places in the world, but they have come from a different base and as yet, we have not got in place- 

And I guess when this new program of broadband is rolled out, if it's rolled out, by the time it is rolled out it is going to be potentially superseded by a different form of technology altogether.

 Now I don't know that, but just the speed at which communications is changing is so, is so fast that we've just got to make sure we're- I'd rather us be at the forefront than necessarily just trying to copy what others have done.
[/i] John Dwyer is correct. Even Jeff Kennett agrees, but his Coalition-influenced doubts revolve around whether Labor can roll out an NBN – despite the fact that it is already doing so in Tasmania and now in North Queensland. He also talks of the technology being superseded, despite it being speed-of-light optical fibre, now capable of transmitting 100 Mbps and soon 1 Gbps. An important aspect of fibre technology is that speeds can be upgraded without altering the fibre in the ground; all that’s required is up-speeding the specifications at the input end. Jeff is ignorant of the technology. He should get his facts right before offering an opinion, but that has never been Jeff’s style.

Hillbilly Skeleton

17/08/2010Can you believe this? Lateline have that opportunistic bigot and race-baiter for the Coalition, Scott Morrison on the show again! Out of principle and respect for human dignity I will not watch a couple of WASPS scratching each others backs and trying to call it journalism and informative television. It's an utterly shameless manipulation of the the Asylum Seeker issue, yet again, and exaggeration beyond all worth. Disgusting.

adelaidegirl

17/08/2010http://blamebrampton.livejournal.com/171797.html Best thing I've read on this or any other election! Sorry AA, BB, HS :)

Michael

17/08/2010At the National Press Club today... Funny how Tony Abbott is asked a question about taking a direct call from the captain of any Royal Australian Navy vessel handling a suspected illegal boat, and turns it into a description of how the Navy chain of command works now, with no reference to his possible part in proceedings were he PM, and then happily (in his own mind) concludes with the obvious belief that things will be just as they have always been. Except for the phone call made to him that did not exist in his own chain of command description somehow becomes a part of proceedings if he's Prime Minister. When? He calls it being "hands on". It sounds like 'stuff up'. I can sort of see him hovering by the phone waiting for the call that will require him to make Napoleonic decisions that will stamp him forever in Australian history as the Man of Steel. Darn, that one's taken. Man of...?

Hillbilly Skeleton

17/08/2010Ad Astra, I heard Kennett and Prof O'Dwyer too. I thought Kennett's partisan naysaying was reprehensible and so obviously a sop to the Coalition. Would he have said the same thing about the Copper wire network, that it could only ever go so fast and could never go faster?

Jason

17/08/2010HS, No matter how hard or distasteful you find Lateline you have to watch. From what I hear thats why morrison is on tonight just to give the dog whistle again! their other slogans aren't working where they need them. Also we need to as bloggers send the prick and others like him a message!

Lyn

17/08/2010Hi adelaidegirl Thankyou for the link: Blamebrampton Journal, very enjoyabe excellent.

George Pike

17/08/2010I'd like to bloggeon them all to death with my keyboard hey Jason! We'll feel a very large weight has been lifted off us come Saturday night I'd say!

Lyn

17/08/2010Hi George Don't hurt your keyboard.

Jason

17/08/2010George, But why should we stop there? we should carpet bomb each and every one of them for the next 3 years at least! Anything less would be seen as surrender!

Acerbic Conehead

17/08/2010Thanks AA and Graeme. And AA, Tones is ringing around the RAN patrol boats off the Top End, as if he’s PM already. However, everybody is giving him a swerve and not answering their phones. He’s feeling pretty low about it, so sing along in sympathy with him as he dirges the old Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) classic, “Telephone Line”. Will the skippers pick up the dog and bone, and give him something to crow about. Or will the blokes in the crow’s nests turn a blind eye (and deaf ear)? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptgP2oF4l8w&feature=related :- ( Hello – this is Tones Have you seen any boats; I’m in need of votes What’s that you say? You’ll get back some day! Just pick up the bloody phone! :- ( Hey – up off Darwin Full of illegals Don't you realize the bogans want us to re-open Nauru Pacific solution Where they can all fade out of view I look at our base Nuthin’ to do with race :- ( AbbottPhone line, hear my sad whine, I'm living in twilight AbbottPhone line, hear my sad whine, I'm living in twilight :- ( Okay, so no one's answering Well, I can't just let it ring anytime longer If the polls don’t turn, anytime soon I’m well in the guano :- ( AbbottPhone line, hear my sad whine, I'm living in twilight AbbottPhone line, hear my sad whine, I'm living in twilight

George Pike

17/08/2010Good one AC...I'll be very glad when the election campaign is over, the media scabs are giving abbott so much airtime that I've nearly worn out the mute button on my remote control...I'll certainly be carrying on the good fight Jason...it would be a crime to allow rupert murdoch control who runs the country for sure...what do you reckon about that cowardly abbott..too scared to front up for an hour on the economy no matter how bad it makes him look...how would you like him covering your back in a battle!

Hillbilly Skeleton

17/08/2010That was the most evasive, arrogant and slippery interview I've ever seen a politician give. TAbbott wouldn't know how to lie straight in bed at night. One can only imagine what he would become like given years of practice in the job of Prime Minister with all the powers of incumbency that he would exploit to his advantage. What sort of a mean-spirited, narrow-minded, uptight, straight-laced and straight-jacketed, little Australia, that man and his arch-conservative minions, such as Eric Abetz, would seek to turn us into. I shudder to think.

George Pike

17/08/2010I wouldn't worry too much HS, the cities are pretty safe really and the nbn will clinch it for the regions..people hate what telstra has done to them out in the bush and they know abbott is only offering more of the same...most of the parents would also love what has happened to the schools with the stimulus spending despite the liberal rhetoric..small businesses will want to get that $5,000 investment allowance too don't worry! Workers won't throw away the extra $200k in super either.

Hillbilly Skeleton

17/08/2010George Pike, I sometimes wonder about the wisdom of the average voter. Which sounds like a condescending thing to say, and I don't mean it to be, but how else can you explain the tightness of the race?

Jason

17/08/2010HS, Labor has lost it now, on Paul Murray show on SKY they have wheeled out Pru Mc Sween! Who would have thought she was such a political expert.

Jason

17/08/2010« D-day minus 4 Nielsen marginals mega-poll Tuesday, August 17, 2010 – 10:38 pm, by William Bowe GhostWhoVotes: [Poll of Marginal Seats shows ALP leading LNP 79 seats to 68. 28,000 voters polled.] More to follow. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2010/08/17/nielsen-marginals-mega-poll/

Lyn

18/08/2010[b]TODAY'S LINKS[/b] [i]Eleciom 2010: Day 32 (or, the cost, the benefit and the profit) Grog, Grog's Gamut[/i] Due to Tony Smith’s complete incompetence as Shadow Communications Minister,Malcolm Turnbull has stepped into the breach. Yesterday he wrote a piece for the Business Spectator, and today it got a run in The Oz, http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/ [i]Nielsen Jws Research marginals mega poll ( and Galaxy and Morgan) William Bowe, The Poll Bludger[/i] Queensland. Labor to lose Brisbane, Bonner, Petrie, Leichhardt, Forde, Dawson, Flynn and Dickson, but hold Moreton, Longman and Herbert. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/ [i]Robopoll tips Labor to scrape home, ABC[/i] The JWS data tips Labor to lose 15 seats and gain six, leaving it with 79 seats in the 150-seat parliament with the Coalition with 68 seats and three independents. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/18/2985878.htm [i]3 Days to go: a close election?, Ben Raue, The Tally Room[/i] Assuming that Windsor, Oakeshott and Kennedy are re-elected, and the Greens’ Adam Bandt wins Melbourne, that leaves 146 seats in the House of Representatives for the major parties. There are three options for a hung parliament: an even 73-73 split, a 74-72 split, or a 75-71 split. http://www.tallyroom.com.au/ [i]Cox: the weird and wonderful world of Senate preferences,Eva Cox, Crikey[/i] Beware the traps of above-the-line voting. Your leftover votes may go to someone you neither intended to preference http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/08/17/cox-the-weird-and-wonderful-world-of-senate-preferences/ [i]Tackling the real issues Lawrie Zion , Upstart[/i] The pundits and pollsters are narrowly favouring Labor, but aren’t unanimous or especially confident. http://www.upstart.net.au/2010/08/17/tackling-the-real-issues/ [i]The Only Poll That Matters, Leon Delaney[/i] Liberals are directing preferences to the Greens ahead of Labor, so it is possible that Liberal preferences will help to elect Green Members who are more likely to support a minority Labor government than a minority Coalition government. http://leondelaney.blogspot.com/ [i]Infrastructure Bonds, Stubborn Mule[/i] It’s hard to determine the details from a media announcement, but based on the text posted by Peter Martin on his blog, http://www.stubbornmule.net/2010/08/infrastructure-bonds/ [i]Tony Abbott on Q+A,Gary Sauer-Thompson, Public Opinion[/i] He had no idea of Australia as a leading knowledge based digital economy in the 21st century based on innovation, creativity and education in digital skills and literacy. http://www.sauer-thompson.com/ [i]The PM and telemedicine: why has it taken so long?, Croakey [/i]Medicare will pay for telemedicine consultations for people who live in rural and regional areas and outer suburban communities where specialists are short, http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/2010/08/17/the-pm-and-telemedicine-why-has-it-taken-so-long/ [i]Election 2010: Final Thoughts as Australia Goes to the Polls, Tristan Ewins, The Angle[/i] Tony Abbott talks of ‘waste’, but given his $6 billion commitment to broadband based on inferior technology, and its probable short-term life span, does he really know what he is talking about? http://theangle.org/2010/08/17/election-2010-final-thoughts-as-australia-goes-to-the-polls/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=election-2010-final-thoughts-as-australia-goes-to-the-polls [i]Forget e-health, the NBN is a big, fat, entertainment machine, Delimiter[/i] We (being the internet-loving people) all agree that the NBN is a vital project that is key to bringing our nation into the digital first world http://delimiter.com.au/2010/08/17/forget-e-health-the-nbn-is-a-big-fat-entertainment-machine/#more-7230 [i]Good news for Tony Abbott: Off the deep end on Climate Change, Alex White[/i] If Tony Abbott became Prime Minister – a job he is woefully unqualified for – it would be a disaster for our environment and our economy. http://alexwhite.org/2010/08/good-news-for-tony-abbott-off-the-deep-end-on-climate-change/ [i]Tony Abbott on climate change , Larvatus Prodeo[/i] TONY ABBOTT: [b]Um[/b], I, I have pointed out in the past, [b]ah[/b] that [b]ah,[/b] there was that high year [b]um[/b], a few years ago, [b]ah[/b], and the warming [b]ah[/b], if you believe the various measuring [b]ah,[/b] http://larvatusprodeo.net/2010/08/17/tony-abbott-on-climate-change/

janice

18/08/2010Good morning all. Despite all the media support for the Abbott, I still think Labor will win 80 seats.

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18/08/2010LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/Lyns-Daily-Links.aspx

George Pike

18/08/2010I agree Janice...Isn't it incredible how the ABC has run non-stop appearances from the Liberal party for three days straight now, while simultaneously keeping the Labor party under wraps. Just heard tony abbott pour forth his diatribe yet again on abc's AM...shame he hasn't got the guts to face Julia to argue his case hey...gutless worthless cowardly mongrel he truly is. People will despise him for his cowardice, this is Australia, not 1930's Germany.... It also amazes me how the boat people who come from regions where the annual income is $150 per annum can suddenly find $300,000 for a boat and $6,000 per head to come from areas in Indonesia where there is a very large Australian mining presence. The miners had no problem finding $100 million to run ad campaigns against the government, so the few million they would need to organise a few boat loads of asylum seekers would be small beans for them..we've even got mining elites down here in Tassie suddenly finding hundreds of thousands to pour into medical services in the marginal seats just prior to an election...and every political ad down here is for the Liberal Party.. It is a shameful period in our history when the corporate sector can freely and openly use their clout to try and change the government using underhand methods...I hope the Liberals get trashed severely in the election to prove that the Australian people are not mugs at all..

Hillbilly Skeleton

18/08/2010George Pike, I agree with everything you have said, and I make the comment that, at least in Australia, we have not come to the pretty pass as they have in America this year where the US Supreme Court voted to allow corporations to become players in the political field, openly. They will now be able to directly funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to like-minded lap dog candidates' campaigns in order to defeat representatives of the little guy trying to stand against them. Which is why it is so vital to see the return of an ALP federal government in Australia, because there is one thing you can guarantee if Abbott is elected, and he has already surreptitiously flagged it in the election campaign, and that is that he will allow representatives of those same corporations to actively take part in his government and the running of the country.

Hillbilly Skeleton

18/08/2010Another couple of valuable stories to read: http://www.alp.org.au/blogs/alp-blog/august-2010/coalition-costings-by-acme-corporation/ * http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/tony-abbotts-economic-action-plan-doesnt-add-up/story-e6frg9if-1225906538599 * The 2nd story is by former Abbott staffer and Howard biographer, Peter Van Onselen.

Hillbilly Skeleton

18/08/2010George Pike, I thought you might be interested in reading the following article: http://www.alternet.org/story/147817/the_far_right%27s_anti-islamic_mania_at_ground_zero_in_manhattan_portends_some_very_dark_politics_ahead It has more than a passing relevance to the current election campaign by the Coalition.

Hillbilly Skeleton

18/08/2010This is also another spectacularly perceptive & prescient piece by the giant of American literature, Max Blumenthal, which has relevance to our own scene: http://www.alternet.org/story/147784/days_of_rage_--_the_noxious_transformation_of_the_conservative_movement_into_a_rabid_fringe_

Beerme

18/08/2010"The callous Anti-stimulus Campaign" by Bernard Keane http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/08/17/the-campaign-against-stimulus-contradictory-confused-and-callous/ Found it in the commentary of one of your links, Lyn.

George Pike

18/08/2010Thanks for that HS, great stuff! Here's a line from Abbott about his infrastucture bonds that aren't bonds.... "The infrastructure bonds that we talked about today are certainly not Government debt," he told the National Press Club. "What we talked about today was providing a tax incentive for private individuals and entities that invest in infrastructure projects that are approved by infrastructure Australia - so it's a tax break to make private investment in infrastructure more advantageous and attractive." So, it's a tax incentive, but does not affect government income, and therefore debt???? This guy is a loony through and through!

Lyn

18/08/2010Good Morning Janice I think so too.

Hillbilly Skeleton

18/08/2010Here's a story about an area of policy that no one has much talked about, Defence: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/7769282/liberals-query-alp-defence-spending/ * It seems that the Coalition are actually about going 'Back to the Future'.

Michael

18/08/2010The Coalition under Tony Abbott has lied and distorted facts from the moment he took over. I expect, I desperately fear, that in government they would do exactly the same. Lie from the first about what the Treasury-provided figures for the national economy present to them, promptly (and 'with great sadness') rescind the less Conservative election promises ("we just can't prudently afford them because of Labor's profligacy") and go straight back to the Howard years of cutting spending until election-time middle-class bribery. To give Tony Abbott his due, he's made no secret of this, saying many times he'd take us "back to grown-up government". That sort of government treated Australian citizens as gullible children. Just so has Abbott run his campaign, and so he would run the country.

Ad astra reply

18/08/2010Folks I'll be away from my computer for a few hours - back this afternoon.

George Pike

18/08/2010Here's a bit more proof that Rupert Murdoch is corrupt to the eyeballs...and a one million dollar gift to the Republicans is only chicken feed compared to the invaluable benefit of having an entire media corporation endlessly running your propaganda for you for nothing...just as he is doing for the Liberals here in Australia with his Fox Network and News Ltd gutterrags... http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/aug/17/rupert-murdoch-donation-republicans

Lyn

18/08/2010Hi Beerme Thankyou so much for the link to Bernard Keane. There has been so much out there this week, I am flat out, mind you I love every minute of it. Phoney has just been doing a press release on Sky, the reporters have given him a hard time. 1, on not going to be with Andrew Robb & Joe Hockey when they release their costings, 2, on moving into the Lodge, Abbott said he is not going to get ahead of himself, the reporter said, "you have been ahead of yourself on so many other things". 3 on fooling around with the debate, Abbott said he was at the ABC last night to have a debate on the economy, and Julia was sitting at the airport, trying to decide what to do. As George said this guy is crazy, but I say dangerous.

janice

18/08/2010[quote]2, on moving into the Lodge, Abbott said he is not going to get ahead of himself, the reporter said, "you have been ahead of yourself on so many other things".[/quote] Lyn, this is a question the media have either refused to ask or on the couple of occasions it was asked, they have allowed Abbott to give a non-answer. Given that Abbott has been yelling his cuts to government expenditure to end the WASTE and PAY BACK DEBT, why would the media consider it OK for Abbott to take up residence in Kirribilli House and commute back and forth to Canberra at significant cost to taxpayers? Again, why is it that there has never been any mention on how much the taxpayer paid over the 11 years Howard and Hyacinth to live it up at Kirribilli rather than live at the Lodge in Canberra as every other PM did before him. No Labor PM would have gotten away with it and I dare say that if Julia announced she'd be residing at Kirribilli rather than The Lodge there would be hell to pay.

nasking

18/08/2010Hi all, just put up a post on the Libs Arts announcement: [quote]Abbott’s Film-Fest http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/abbotts-film-fest/ Imagine the films we’d get out of an Abbott-led government influencing the film industry?: “The Boats That Scared A Nation” “When John Walked Tall: Australia’s Churchill” “Look Whose Dozen Babies Are Talking” “Brother Act”[/quote] :) N'

Ad astra reply

18/08/2010nasking Very clever list of film titles. If only we had a 'Rabbot Proof Fence'.

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18/08/2010Folks At last, the Coalition costings on ABC 24. Don’t miss it.

George Pike

18/08/2010So now we know, over the next three years, the Liberals are going to slash spending by $33 billion and reduce treasury take by a further $20 billion by not introducing the MRRT. That is a massive $53 billion ripped out of the economy and it will creat such massive unemployment that it will send us spiralling into recession at the speed of light!

Georgia

18/08/2010hi I'm doing a school assignment on NBN, and I need to choose a political commentator to follow and find out their view on the topic we have chosen. And I cant find any results... do you have any suggestions, or know any political commentators position on NBN? I would LOOOOOOOOVE a professionals help! Thanks, georgia

Ad astra reply

18/08/2010Folks A disappointing presser. Grim looking Joe Hockey and Andrew Robb, with most of the explanation left to Robb who was as droll and stilted and impossible to understand as ever; questions were inaudible and few in number. The Coalition is promising to double the surplus in 2102/13 and reduce the deficit by one-third over the forward estimates. The validity of the savings to achieve this will need examination; the journalists seemed unable to query Hockey and Robb stringently. We'll have to wait for a proper analysis by experts to see if the savings stack up. And of course some of the savings will reduce services although they denied this. So let's wait and see.

George Pike

18/08/2010He's now saying that he can reduce spending by $49 billion over four years...then we have the $20 for 2013 and 2014...so that's $70 billion taken out of the economy over four years when we're on a global economic knife edge! If that doesn't destroy this country I don't know what would!

George Pike

18/08/2010Sorry, $20 billion for two years of lost MRRT that should have said.

Jason

18/08/2010Did anyone hear Robb say that the accounting firm had been at this for 2 months? If so what happend to the charter of budget honesty? I assume it favors government and that was the only reason Howard put it in!

Colen

18/08/2010You poor misinformed lot. I am glad I have stayed away from this site. I cannot believe the diatribe of CRAP being sprouted forth. Infrastructure Bonds read all about it in Terry MaCrans articles in Herald Sun. Those of you living on your Super can invest in them to get better tax deductible return or are you all too OLD and DECREPID to see the benefits. The backstabbing Ranga is no different to Abbott. She wants the POWA and if you cant see this and the BS which she is serving up you deserve the result. Just try to leave me out of repaying any tax burden when you get the results after the next 3 years of Labor. The poorhouse is sounding better every day.

George Pike

18/08/2010Isn't it amazing how the Liberals want to cut spending by $70 billion over the next four years ($50 billion plus $20 billion MRRT) because they reckon we shouldn't borrow money to keep our economy strong! The amount we are borrowing is equal to $60,000 to keep a $1,000,000 business going...massive hey...a huge 6%! When you realise that most other economies are borrowing almost 100% of their GDP to keep going it just proves that the Liberals are nothing but populist, fear mongering, frauds...it is as simple as that.

Lyn

18/08/2010Hi Jason I hear Andrew Robb say the accounts have been working on their costings for 2 months, and I clearly heard him say it again which is twice. My point is they said they were getting a private accountant because of the leaked documents and they can't trust treasury. So now it is evident that they enlisted their accountant before the so called leaked documents, which they have asked the Federal Police to investigate. I also just heard Phoney say, at the forum, if you have optic fibre broadband you will be chained to your houses.

Maxie Dautremont

18/08/2010Good looking post.

Lyn

18/08/2010Hi Jason Twitter on to the 2 months gaffe: RT @robcorr: [b]Lodged two months ago due to a leak that hadn't happened yet[/b]; costed by an independent firm founded by a Lib premier. Uh huh. about 1 hour ago via Chromed Bird Reply Retweet http://twitter.com/1petermartin Coalition costings, Peter Martin http://petermartin.blogspot.com/2010/08/coalition-costings.html

Lyn

18/08/2010Hi Ad A couple more: EmmaJChalmers Hmm Hockey said policies were in for costing for two months but they only dumped Treasury for an accountant last week. about 2 hours ago via web Retweeted by samanthamaiden and 8 others http://twitter.com/samanthamaiden Yeah - what about those people that use their computers away from their home. How are they going to lug the fibre around! #rootyq 41 minutes ago via TweetDeck http://twitter.com/Pollytics

MsSaraGreenwich

18/08/2010I'm excited to be finally posting online after all these years. There really is no mystery about it, is there? I just dropped by your blog and had to write something. I'm a recent college grad, journalism major if you must know, and I absolutely love photography. I've got my website up but it's nothing to brag about yet. None of my stuff's been posted. Soon as I figure out how to do that, I'll spend the day posting my best shots. anyhow just thought I'd drop a line. I hope to return with more substantial stuff, stuff you can actually use. SPG

best pocket knife

18/08/2010I like your post, the fact that your site is a little bit different makes it so interesting, I get fed up of seeing the same old boring recycled stuff all of the time.

Jason

18/08/2010Knock out win to Julia I would say, Abbott looked as slow and as washed up as the mouth Mundiene.

Lyn

18/08/2010Hi Jason Ashleigh Gillan just reported 83 votes to 75 in Julia Gillard's favour.

NormanK

18/08/2010Ad astra Thanks for your piece. I've been ranting to myself on this subject rather than inflict it on TPS. "Vision", "leadership", "two parties are the same", "real politicians","uninspiring" and "spin" have been driving me crazy. As an example, Madonna King over at The Drum http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/17/2984809.htm?site=thedrum added to the wealth of human knowledge with this piece of inane self-absorbed jaded drivel. [quote]Neither side wants to shower you with policy surprises, to earn your vote with big ideas that will capture your imagination and paint a picture of our country in five years time.[/quote] Guess she's been following a different campaign and makes no allowance for it only being three years since Kevin Rudd laid out a bright new future scenario. Are we so bored that everything must be re-invented every election? Too much wine or not enough? Julia Gillard did brilliantly tonight in Queensland. A commanding convincing performance in contrast to the slick snake-oil salesman who is also doing well of late but positive beats negative hands down. I had to wait until the last answer to the last question to hear what I most wanted her to say. "Kevin would tell you it's alright to vote for me - in fact he would encourage you to do so." Now all we need is to hear him say that. If only Abbott had wandered a little further into the wilderness on the NBN - he really has no idea and his advisors are to blame. Fancy believing that fibre and wireless are mutually exclusive! This better explains for me his remarks about putting all of our eggs in one basket, I just wasn't sure what he was trying to get at. Something will be invented soon that is FASTER than the speed of light and MORE infinitely upgradable? He also obviously can't see that the NBN fibre is going to revolutionize wireless capacities across Australia and it will be his beloved private enterprise which will exploit it. I can't wait for the first serious analysis of the Coalition costings. If you were rusted-on Liberal or undecided, this afternoon's press conference was credible so let's hope some holes can be blown through the side of that particular ship. AC Prolific and profound. Cheers.

Graeme

18/08/2010Jason, Lyn I'm sure I heard Joe Hockey say two months once, then Robb repeated it twice. It makes me wonder whether there was ever any intention of releasing the figures to Treasury. Maybe the 'leak' was just a little too convenient?

Lyn

18/08/2010Hi Graeme and Jason ABC have reported, the 2 months gaffe, but fail to remind anyone about the leak causing the Coalition to use the Accountancy firm: Coalition promises to slash debt, double surplus, Emma Rodgers, ABC But Mr Robb says the accountancy firm, which the Coalition says is the fifth biggest in Australia, has spent [u]two months [/u]scrutinising the policies, which would be "as good, if not better" than the Treasury. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/18/2986742.htm

Jason

18/08/2010Graeme, Yes that's what I thought I heard! but it just goes to show like everything else Howard done it was only ever there to hinder an opposition. If those that designed it have no faith in it says it all really.

Lyn

18/08/2010Hi Everybody Here is Grog's excellent column, thankyou Grog: [i]Election 2010: Day 33 (or Oh, Rooty Q, I love the way you talk), Grog, Grog's Gamut[/i] the Lbs had hired the accountancy firm WHK Howarth [b]about 2 months ago to do the costings – which kind of puts the bullshit about them not submitting them to Treasury because of the leaks into its proper light .[/b] They obviously never intended to go through with the complying to the Charter of Budget Honesty. http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/

Jason

18/08/2010Lyn, My dad seems to think the firm used by Robb and Shrek was founded by former WA Premier Court.

nasking

18/08/2010Hi all, agree w/ the positive comments on Julia's performance: Gillard Nailed It...Hits It For Six (People’s Forum in The Murdochracy) http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/gillard-nailed-it-hits-it-for-six-peoples-forum-in-the-murdochracy/ My wife & I were really impressed with Julia Gillard tonight. She was confident, relaxed, highly articulate and really reached out to the people of Brisbane in the audience at the Bronco’s Club. She looked like a PM on her way to a 2nd term. I think many in the audience warmed to her, plenty of pics with Julia requested...and apparently she won the strawpoll vote. Quite impressive considering the bluntness and oft interrogating nature of some of the questions she received. Tho, she did not get the vote of the commentators & hosts on ABC 24 who acted like they were on another planet. They seem to think it was “a draw”. As did some on SKY. All I can say is, thank gawd that lot aren’t judging student’s speeches in schools. I think they need to keep to their day job. Tony Abbott got some of his points across…but generally came across as flat. He didn’t pull it out when he needed to...a mediocre performance I thought considering the many “underarm lobbed” questions. More at the Cafe. Cheers...and have a good night. Keep up the great work here at The PS. N’

Bilko

19/08/2010their costings reflect their climate change policy as enunciated by the mad monk, hence not submitting them. she'll be right, trust me, some older phoney than tony once said. so my round up is no new policies only jwh recycled ones, no future for the country means no future for abbott, he will be dumped by the end of Aug after losing on Sat live long and prosper Australia

Lyn

19/08/2010[b]TODAY'S LINKS[/b] [i]Election 2010: Day 33 (or Oh, Rooty Q, I love the way you talk), Grog, Grog's Gamut[/i] the Lbs had hired the accountancy firm WHK Howarth about 2 months ago to do the costings – [b]which kind of puts the bullshit about them not submitting [/b] Them to Treasury because of the leaks into its proper light . They obviously never intended to go through with the complying to the Charter of Budget Honesty. http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/ [i]D-day minus 2, William Bowe, The Poll Bludger[/i] Queensland marginals – Brisbane, Moreton and Blair – look to be out of reach for the Coalition http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2010/08/19/d-day-minus-2-2/ [i]This is not Normal, The Piping Shrike[/i] Barry Cassidy thinks that after the tumultuous first few weeks of the campaign, it was now returning to a more traditional campaign http://www.pipingshrike.com/2010/08/this-is-not-normal.html [i]Fairfax Media Bias, JJ Fiasson, The Daily Bludge[/i] This morning, however, the headline changed. First to “Gillard ahead by 4 setas: Poll”, and now it says “Gillard to cling on by 4 seats: Poll” as per the image. http://dailybludge.com.au/2010/08/fairfax-media-bias/ [i]"Costings" Is that all there is? Peter Martin[/i] It began work on the federal Coalition's costings in mid-June, well before its leader Tony Abbott announced last week he was abandoing Treasury and Finance and would instead have his policies costed by "a respected, reputable, well known accounting firm". http://petermartin.blogspot.com/ [i]Gillard carves out victory in Wednesday roast, Tim Leslie, ABC[/i] "What about all those people who use their computers away from their homes, why should they be chained to a fibre cable?" he said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/18/2986841.htm [i]Quigley openly slams Coalition’s broadband policy, Renai LeMay, Delimiter[/i] This is, I believe, a much better option for the Australian public than giving billions of dollars of taxpayer funding to subsidise commercial companies to marginally improve today’s broadband networks.” http://delimiter.com.au/2010/08/18/quigley-openly-slams-coalitions-broadband-policy/#more-7269 [i]Election rant 5: government gluttony, David braue, ZDNet[/i] The Howard Government certainly wasn't afraid of bureaucracy: it oversaw the creation of Australian Communications and Media Authority, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Australian Government Information Management Office, http://www.zdnet.com.au/election-rant-5-government-gluttony-339305298.htm?omnRef=NULL [i]The moment of truth, Ben Eltham, Inside Story[/i] But honesty doesn’t go very far in politics, especially in the face of virulent campaigning by a cynical opposition and the tabloid press http://inside.org.au/the-moment-of-truth/ [i]Real World Talking Points, Tobias Ziegler, Pure Poison[/i] Astounding parallels in the recent writings of those non-barbarian non-elites who earn a living promoting conservative talking points. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/2010/08/18/real-world-talking-points/#more-6906 [i]Seeing Red About The Election, Margo Kingston, Webdiary[/i] Underneath the flippant veneer is an Election Campaiigns For Dummies, a lesson for the less-politically-tragic of us on how predictable politicians' paths can be. http://webdiary.com.au/cms/?q=node/3103 [i]Bizarre: Prime Ministerial candidate in Australia thinks there is more oil than previously thought , Crude Oil Peak[/i] Tony Abbott from the Liberal Party produced himself as a peak oil sceptic during a Town Hall style public forum in Brisbane, Queensland http://www.crudeoilpeak.com/?p=1810 [i]Gillard pulls off a narrow victory , Peter van Onselen, The Australian[/i] Julia Gillard managing to pull off a narrow victory in the community forum in Queensland is the political equivalent of a landslide win. The close Labor win could be a sign of things to come as counting begins on Saturday night. Certainly Gillard's win last night makes that more likely. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/commentary/gillard-pulls-off-a-narrow-victory/story-e6frgd0x-1225907021554 [i]Tony Abbott: Categorically unfit to govern, MaxU, The Adventures of Max U[/i] This man is not suitable to lead anyone anywhere, let alone 20 million Australians in the 21st century. And Mr Rabbit, what is a "tertiary hospital"? http://maxuincrazyland.blogspot.com/2010/08/tony-abbott-categorically-unfit-to.html [i]The "Pie-Eaters", David Havyatt, Anything Goes[/i] Sheehan shows the traditional technique of a right-wing commentator - never let the facts get i the way of an argument. http://davidhavyatt.blogspot.com/

George Pike

19/08/2010I can clearly imagine Tony Abbott having his little champagne and caviar parties on the lawns of Kirribilli House with his old mates Twiggy and Clive and Rupert and Stokesy etc etc! I can't see him meeting foreign leaders on the world stage for any serious talks on climate change or communications technologies or asylum seeker issues however..can you???

Ad astra reply

19/08/2010LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/Lyns-Daily-Links.aspx

Hillbilly Skeleton

19/08/2010Hi guys! Back from a big day in the Campaign office yesterday, and Scrutineers School last night! Boy am I going to need some serious downtime after this wekend. :) Anyway, our candidate gave us a little speech and she is being positive about our chances of hanging onto Robertson, after the human headline that was Belinda Neal. I hope so, because we have the better candidate, IMHO(and,yes, I would say that!). Interesting point made by our candidate that Antony Green has actually called our seat a hold for the ALP! I'll believe it when I see it, but it was a comforting thought. Anyway, I, too have been wading through some links for you today(some from ALP HQ I will admit, but they do make good points), and others. * http://www.alp.org.au/federal-government/news/coalition-won-t-deliver-local-projects/ * http://www.alp.org.au/federal-government/news/coaltion-s-true-budget-position/ * http://www.alp.org.au/federal-government/news/more-smoke-and-mirrors-on-innovation-from-the-coal/ * http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/coalitions-surplus-claims-sunk-by-attack-on-hollow-log/story-fn59niix-1225907049110 * http://www.smh.com.au/federal-election/figures-checked-by-firm-with-liberal-ties-20100818-12f8u.html?skin=text-only * http://www.smh.com.au/federal-election/figures-checked-by-firm-with-liberal-ties-20100818-12f8u.html#poll * http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/coalitions-surplus-claims-sunk-by-attack-on-hollow-log/story-fn59niix-1225907049110 * Have a good day! I will attempt to get back here as much as possible, but certainly after Saturday. :)

Lyn

19/08/2010Hi Ad Jason's Dad correct, his father said that the Accontants who did the Liberals costings are part owned by former Liberal Premier, Court, Here it is: [b]Figures checked by firm with Liberal ties , Peter martin , SMH Horwath's founding partner in 1938 was Charles Court, later Sir Charles, the long-serving Liberal premier of Western Australia and [/b] It began work on the federal [b]Coalition's costings in mid-June, well before its leader, Tony Abbott, announced last week he was abandoning Treasury and Finance and would instead have his policies costed by ''a respected, reputable, well-known accounting firm''. [/b]http://www.smh.com.au/federal-election/figures-checked-by-firm-with-liberal-ties-20100818-12f8u.html?from=smh_sb

Ad astra reply

19/08/2010nasking I agree with you about Julia’s performance last night. She was confident, articulate and not fazed by nasty questions. She has grown noticeably during the campaign and now looks like the assured PM we need. She did not trip up once. Tony Abbott was competent but his manner of speaking and answering irritate me and I find many of his answers doubtfully believable, especially after his admission that he sometimes lies. Today’s NPC address will give us a guide about how the MSM is going to treat her. I hope that she injects into her address more of the ‘vision’ the media says it’s craving for, and that the journalists treat her kindly and that Laurie Oakes has no more ‘bombshells’.

Lyn

19/08/2010Hi Ad Look what Phoney is doing now, Oh dear! I hope it's the end to his nonsense on Saturday night: Sleepless nights a risk for Abbott , Patricia Karvelas, The Australian TONY Abbott has declared he will campaign without sleep or rest because he wants the nation to know he is serious about becoming prime minister. He will visit pubs, talk during graveyard shifts on radio in the dead of the night, and watch workers stack shelves in supermarkets. Today he said that if he won he would be the hardest working prime ministerial candidate in history. It's a big claim. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/commentary/sleepless-nights-a-risk-for-abbott/story-e6frgd0x-1225907201955

Ad astra reply

19/08/2010Graeme, Lyn, Jason, Bilko, George, HS I think we have not heard the last of the Coalition ‘costings’, ‘savings’ and ‘debt reduction’. The firm used is clearly a firm used by the Liberals, which does not mean it is shonky, but it seems as if it was asked mainly to check the arithmetic, not the assumptions, which apparently were given to them. As it’s the assumptions that really count and the modeling that is used, if they are wrong the figures will also be. It seems as if already several assumptions are being challenged, and use of some of the contingency funds as ‘savings’ has been categorized as illegitimate. Wayne Swan is already in full attack mode, and no doubt will have an account of black holes and shonky assumptions and figuring ready for the press in the last couple of days. The fact that they have had their costings with Horwath for two months, shows what a charade the carry-on about the ‘leak’ really was. And ‘these people’ want to run the country!

Ad astra reply

19/08/2010Folks Julia Gillard did well at the NPC today. She reiterated her vision and plans, which we have heard before, and announced just one new policy - paid paternal leave for two weeks from mid 2012, fully costed. What impressed me most though was that she was not prepared to take without challenge the cynicism and negativity inherent in some of the questions. She simply said she did not share their cynicism, and then said why. Lyndal Curtis, not surprisingly, was among the most cynical, and although Julia seemed to placate some of the other cynics, Lyndal sat there with a sour look on her face throughout, no doubt feeling somewhat chastened in front of he colleagues. She looked just as she sounds on ABC radio. I was surprised that Lenore Taylor asked an acerbic question, but at least she seemed satisfied with the answer. I hope that when she is elected PM she will takes steps to challenge the culture of the media and move it away from the continual carping criticism and cynicism that infects the writing of so many journalists. We need them to leave their partisan bias outside and give us the facts and figures, and if they feel they simply must offer an opinion, that they at least let us know that it is just THEIR opinion, and no one else’s.

janice

19/08/2010Ad astra, [quote]Julia Gillard did well at the NPC today. [/quote] Agree with you there and she did brilliantly at the Q/Rooty Hill Forum. I am predicting Labor winning with 80 seats.

George Pike

19/08/2010Julia mastered the NPC with ease alright...very impressive performance. It was great to see her carve Lyndal to shreds...and Lenore was actually laughing along with Julia and everyone else eventually. I think the media know full well that she is far and away the most credible option for PM...Malcolm Turnbull has totally discredited himself with his wierd turnaround on the ETS and the idiotic stance against the NBN..and in my opinion he was the only credible leader the Liberals had to go with really. You can see the look of defeat in Tony Abbott's eyes now, he knows he has lost and he knows he should never really have been in the hunt..and he would never have been, but for the massive bias against the Labor Party from the media that kept him afloat. I feel very strongly that this campaign was wholly and solely about the corporate sector getting thier own preferred government into power and it had very little to do with any sane rational scrutiny of policies. If the public had not been across the detail to the extent where they could analyse the facts the Liberals would have won purely through propaganda. Let's hope the government do something to ensure that scenario can never come about again!

Gravel

19/08/2010Ad Astra, Janice and George, again you have all put into words the same way that I saw things. Julia was great last night, and topped it off with a piece of brilliance today......everything is crossed, fingers, legs, etc., in this household for Saturday night.

Michael

19/08/2010The National Press Club today saw Julia Gillard defuse and deflate the 'professionals' throwing questions at her. Last night at the Queensland-located 'town hall forum', something perhaps even more significant and heartening occurred. Especially in the light of Tony Abbott supposedly having 'won' the NSW-located event. As I understand it, both the NSW and Queensland audiences numbered 200. 70 of these folks remained "undecided" in NSW in the after-the-event straw-poll, only 42 did so in Queensland. The majority of those (essentially the same 'type' of voter in both States) who were now "decided", leaned towards Julia Gillard. She swung "undecided" votes to her, in short - not only just 'narrowly' exceeding Tony Abbott's tally for the night as the Murdoch press headlines their reporting on the event. (She had over 10% of his total as her lead on him, not so very "narrow" in statistical terms.) On Saturday, garnering the "undecided"s will, as no previous election has, secure government. That might sound bleeding obvious, but if the 'cliffhanger' the politicians describe and the pollsters predict is the real nature of this election, then "undecided"s who may previously have been more disengaged than engagedly-undecided (if you see the distinction) are brought to Labor by Julia Gillard, then that will be the game-changer. Mind you, I suspect many an "undecided" is finding it easier to be decided towards Labor after the debate-shy antics of Tony Abbott and the revisited voodoo economics style 'costings when you don't actually have costings' antics of Hockey and Robb in the last few days. Much used to be made of an Abbott and Costello leadership team being worth a few headlines. Nothing compared to what these THREE Stooges have come up with. Off-screen inanities from Malcolm Turnbull adding to the mix. And Bishop and Bishop and Barnaby and Pyne and Truss and Andrews and... well, all any of them have to do is open their mouths, really.

jj

19/08/2010Michael you are really clutching at straws. Gillard won something like 83 votes, to Abbott's 75. I mean you criticize the system when it doesnt work in your favor and then you claim it to be "significant" when Gillard does a bit better...come on!

Michael

19/08/2010JJ, hi. "Undecided" is undecided, until someone gets them to decide. Julia is, Tony isn't. Even in straw-poll votes such as these, clutched-at or otherwise. After all, Tony was describing Rooty Hill as the "highlight" of the campaign. Has he said that of the voter's forum he lost?

jj

19/08/2010Just listen to you all! The only thing that has kept Abbott afloat is the media! Nasty questions were asked of Gillard! Lyndal Curtis hates the Labor party! Abbot is irritating! You cant believe anything he says because he admitted that he sometimes lies! He is going to bring back work choices! This government is farcical. They do not deserve to be re-elected! -blowout of $1 billion on the computers in schools. -spent $1 billion on just fixing up a mess that they caused! -dumped a pm for taking decisions that Gillard actually pushed him to make, (ETS dumping, Assylum seekers, insulation program e.t.c.) -no real plan for off shore processing. -no real idea about what the NBN is going to cost or in the end return to the government. -a tax on the mining industry, which is already finding it hard to raise finance. -no improvement in cost of living pressures -$40 billion deficit. -$90 billion debt. -Spent all of the money that was left in the Lib's education and health funds (over $10b) -Gillard cant actually explain what her economic plan is, just repeats the line that she has one. -Cash for clunkers scheme a $400 million waste of money. -secret deal with the greens, with Bob Brown declaring that they will get a $2 billion raise in the tax. -An announced $2 billion rail program in Sydney, which wasnt in the ten year state infrastructure plan, which is far less important than actually building lines to the Nth West and Sth West. -a water policy which involves the feds purchasing air instead of water. -no E.T.S. -no real changes to the whole Australian taxation system. -nothing substantial came out of the 2020 summitt. -Gillard claims that the government had got off track, but when asked if she had given such warnings to the PM, she said she couldn't answer the question, (we all know what that means). -Endless repetition of lies such as: Abbott ripped $1 billion out of health; Abbott has Workchoices in his DNA; Abbott's levy will put up the cost of groceries; Abbott has no economic plan; Abbott likes to tell women how to live their lives; Abbott didnt support stimulus: If Abbott had have been PM Australia would have gone into recession and hundreds of thousands of jobs would have been lost. Lies, lies and a PM who treats us like mugs.

jj

19/08/2010What proof do you have that it was Julia Gillard that swayed the undecideds? None!

Michael

19/08/2010JJ, hi again. "Proof", in terms of your most recent post, was in the numbers. They voted for her otherwise because...? Oh, you mean, Abbott induced the decision NOT to vote for him. Tad negative, JJ? As to your 'protesteth too much' list of the Labor Government's 'failings' in the post before that, even if you were 100% correct, the entire list would be outbalanced by one word that was Coalition policy (in a deputising sort of way) - Iraq.

Ad astra reply

19/08/2010jj Do us a favour. Identify one, just one good thing the Government has done, to counterbalance, just a little, all the awful things you insist it has done. If you can find something the Government has done of which you approve, you may have some chance of persuading us that you are trying to be balanced in your political assessments. Otherwise...

Jason

19/08/2010jj, centrebet ALP $1.27 Liberal $3.72 http://centrebet.com/cust?action=GoSports&ev_type_id=2608&flash_enabled=1&bir_only=N

debbiep

19/08/2010-Cash for clunkers scheme a $400 million waste of money. --------------------- Is it? Not so in many other countries it has worked well. So good infact that one country is starting it again ...search it, as I have many times. And that is just one point jj out if all that you have listed. I think we could all go through your list with reasonable explanations to your view....

jj

19/08/2010Sure: -they continued the aboriginal intervention. -they ratified the Kyoto agreement. -they apologised to the stolen generations. -they followed through with the pension increase. -they gave a round of tax cuts. And things i dont like about the Liberals: -no E.T.S. -no industrial relations reform. -Bronwyn Bishop. -Wilson Tuckey. -No real tax reform proposals. Now you name five things you dislike about the Labor party, and five things you dont mind from the Liberal party. Oh and just by the way, dont be such a hypocrite. Everything you write about Gillard is positive, and if anyone dare try and criticise her then they are, "biased" and "mad".

jj

19/08/2010Oh and Jason, if you look at the individual seat betting market, you will find that it is pointing to the coalition picking up between 11-17 seats. As the book makers have been saying, "the market at the moment isn't making much sense."

jj

19/08/2010Michael, last time i checked, your beloved Labor party supported the Iraq war.

nasking

19/08/2010"Julia Gillard did well at the NPC today. She reiterated her vision and plans, which we have heard before, and announced just one new policy - paid paternal leave for two weeks from mid 2012, fully costed." I agree Aa. Gillard rocked today. "What impressed me most though was that she was not prepared to take without challenge the cynicism and negativity inherent in some of the questions." Yep, she told it as it was. Lyndal was indeed sour. A bit of fun w/ a few truisms perhaps?: Would You Buy Honest John’s Authentic Tony? http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/would-you-buy-honest-johns-authentic-tony/ [quote]It seems that the ‘Authentic Tony’ droid has gone rogue of late…it’s been racing around Australia like a March Hare on heat. Before we know it tho, it might just end up slipping down a hole of its own making. About Saturday night? Unless enuff people decide to buy it off course. Then they can join the ‘Authentic Tony’ droid on its mission to go and go and go…[/quote] :) Cheers N'

Lyn

19/08/2010Hi Ad Morgan Poll just in : Morgan face to face: 52 - 48 to Labor, William Bowe, The Poll Bludger Morgan has released its regular face-to-face poll from its normal weekend polling, and it is most unlike last week’s 57.5-42.5 result, showing Labor’s lead at 52-48 – , http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/

Patricia Lorimer

19/08/2010Hi all, I have just watched The Drum and am really beginning to despair. All joke, joke. Too bad about policies and who can lead the country beyond the election campaign. I believe the ABC's behaviour has been reprehensible. Annabel Crabb, Lyndal Curtis(did you hear her on pm?) and Chris Uhlmann have been greatly diminished. My heartfelt thanks to HS, Ad Astra and Lyn for your tireless work, your commitment and wonderful links which I have greatly appreciated and enjoyed. Michael, George, Jason, Janice, Gravel (I hope you're right about about the 80 seats) et al (not jj), I have an amazing sharing of your comments and values. I love dropping into the 'cafe'. All the best to TPS family, you have much of which to be proud. Fingers crossed for Saturday. No jj, the ALP did not support the invasion of Iraq; there was support given to our troops, which is an entirely different thing.

Michael

19/08/2010JJ, hi. Re your post: Michael, last time i checked, your beloved Labor party supported the Iraq war. Look again: here might be a good place. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/22/1066631499919.html Labor supported the pursuit of terrorists in Afghanistan. Twice as many syllables and quite a few more letters than I R A Q.

Lyn

19/08/2010Hi Patricia Lorimer Thankyou, for your compliments, I am so pleased you get enjoyment from the "Today's Links", there certainly are some worthwhile opinions out there, that make good reading for us all. In all the years since I have been watching politics so closely, I never, in my wildest dreams, thought we would be facing the possibility of an Abbott Government, it just seems almost inconceivable. Now Phoney has embarked upon a 36 hour campaign marathon, is there no end to the nonsense, does he think that every single person he speaks to is going to vote for him, the ego grows bigger everyday. My opinion is that Phoney is a sore loser, so will be interesting to see his behaviour when he does lose.

Ad astra reply

19/08/2010Patricia Lorimer I'm so glad you have enjoyed the discourse on [i]TPS[/i], and hope you will return often. Saturday is an important day for this nation. If Tony Abbott becomes PM, with his paper thin front bench, who know what will happen to us.

Acerbic Conehead

19/08/2010AA, talking about leadership, at the Rooty Hill Revivalist meeting the other day, the congregation put their hands on Anthony the Abbott and anointed him their Messiah. So, it has come to pass that he has decided to embark upon a 36-hour WakeAthon. He will insert the matchsticks until his election and, meanwhile, has retired to the Garden of Gethsemane at Parliament House to pray for the big prize on Saturday the Sabbath. It is the genesis of THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN! So, Anthony and his close band of disciples – his kitchen cabinet (John Howardufus, Clive Palmerass, Barnaby the Rejoicer, and Andrew the Thunderbolt) – have entered the garden after nightfall. Anthony: Right, you lot...I’m going over there close to that bush, to pray for victory – you stay here and try to come up with some good ideas that will exorcise Godless Gillard... [Anthony retreats to the bush, gets down on his knees, clasps his hands in supplication and waits for divine inspiration. However, he is concentrating so much, he doesn’t notice a shadowy figure secrete himself within the bush. It is none other than that deposed and false messiah, Malcolm Turnbullian. On his way to the Parliament House Bar, Malcolm noticed the little fervent band of god-botherers and decides to have a bit of a laugh at their expense. He puts on a loud booming voice] Mal: Anthony! Messiah! My Son! It is I, the Lord... [Anthony nearly has kittens] Anthony: Oh my godfather! Mal: Do not belittle my greatness, Anthony...I am not a godfather...I am God THE Father! Now, what is the object of your prayers this evening? Anthony: Well...daddy...erm...Father...I need to pull a few tricks out of the hat – and quick – so can you help me out? Mal: Hmmm...let me think, my Son...Yes, I know...I’ll make your disciple, John Howardufus, the next President of World Cricket...at least, then, one of your useless crew can say they’ve achieved something worthwhile...heh...heh... Anthony: Yes, Master...O Great One...I will go and fetch him over here now... [Anthony sprints over to where he left the others. However, they are all lying in a dishevelled heap, fast asleep. An empty five litre flagon of cooking sherry, dumped alongside, speaks volumes. After all, they aren’t called the kitchen cabinet for nothing. Anthony pokes at John but he is so fast asleep, he makes Rip Van Winkle look like a whirling dervish with ADHD. Anthony hotfoots it back to the bush] Anthony: Errrr...O Ineffable One...John seems to be indisposed for the moment – any other bright ideas? Mal: Yes, my Son...you will remember that great party trick in the days of yore – the multiplication of the loaves and fishes – well, I think your other disciple over there, Barnaby the Rejoicer, has the potential to re-enact such feats. After all, he just thinks of a number and then doubles it...Bring him over here and I will anoint him... [again, Anthony legs it over to the gang, hoping they have sobered up. However, they are still paralytic and snoring profusely. Anthony is so livid, all he can spit out is, “Can you morons not stay awake with me one hour?” He promptly returns to the bush-who-speaks] Anthony: Erm...O Lord...Barnaby, unfortunately, is a tad unwell – any other brainwaves? Mal: Yes, my Son...I know you will be aware of the ancient proficiency of getting a camel to go through the eye of a needle...bring hither your follower, Clive Palmerass, and I will demonstrate with him how it is done... Anthony: Erm...O Great One...are you sure you aren’t thinking of Goddie Grech – he’s a lot skinnier than Clive... Mal (thundering): How dare you question my Omnificence! There is only one God around here – capiche? [Anthony scurries off with his tail between his speedos and, unsurprisingly, finds Clive snoring his head off, dribble cascading down his voluptuous and multifarious chins. Disconsolately, Anthony heads back to the bush] Mal: I see you are returning empty-handed again, my Son – your disciples are obviously of very inferior quality...Therefore, I have grave doubts you can pull it off this Saturday... Anthony: Hang on a minute, Father – give me one last chance – surely you can confer the ability on Andrew Thunderbolt to shoot lightning down on the boats and smite them? Mal: Look, sonny, I’m not sure your style of religion is what many people want anymore... Anthony: But, but, but...you don’t mean you’re going to cut us loose, Father... Mal: Well, just put it this way, mate...after Saturday, it looks like I’ll have to come down and do the job myself...And another thing – do you believe in re-incarnation – cos I do...

Lyn

20/08/2010[b]TODAY'S LINKS[/b] [i]D-day minus 1, William Bowe, The Poll Bludger[/i] The Australian, [b]all News Limited tabloids bar The Advertiser and The West Australian have backed the Coalition,[/b] while the Fairfax broadsheets and the Canberra Times favour Labor. It can be presumed the Australian Financial Review will favour the Coalition, as it traditionally does. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/ [i]One day to go: election predictions, Ben Raue, The Tally Room[/i] My House of Representatives prediction: 80 Labor (down eight), 66 Coalition (up seven), 3 independents and one Green (up one).My Senate prediction: 34 Coalition (down three), 33 Labor (up one), 8 Greens (up three) and one independent http://www.tallyroom.com.au/ [i]Election 2010: Day 34(or grumble grumble, tweet tweet tweet) Grog,Grog's Gamut[/i] Julia at the press conference looked and sounded like a winner. She took on the questions with confidence, humour and feistiness. http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/ [i]Miles to go before he sleeps, Kim, Larvatus Prodeo[/i] on his own admission, he went into a funk when the Howard government was booted out. Much of the thrust of his campaign, aided and abetted by the Dear Ex-Leader himself, has http://larvatusprodeo.net/2010/08/19/miles-to-go-before-he-sleeps/ [i]Robb and Hockey go the lazy route on savings, Bernard Keane, Crikey[/i] But at every stage the Liberals have acted like they have something to hide on Budget savings, and Tony Abbott has run a mile from the issue. http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/08/19/robb-and-hockey-go-the-lazy-route-on-savings/ [i]Who’ll win, and by how much, Brian Costar , Inside Story[/i] What then will be the result? A Labor victory, certainly, but by what seat margin? http://inside.org.au/who-will-win-and-by-how-much/ [i]Why sleep? Abbott makes last-ditch pitch, Tim Leslie, ABC[/i] Speaking on Fairfax radio, Mr Abbott said he was growing more confident he could win on Saturday night. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/19/2987991.htm [i]An uneasy Australia, Gary Sauer-Thompson , Public Opinion[/i] the tech head's national fibre-to-the-home broadband network, even though investment in broadband has become a significant issue in a national election campaign an uneasy Australia? http://www.sauer-thompson.com/ [i]The idea of an Abbott Government keeps me awake at night too, John, En Passant[/i] Joe Hockey as Treasurer and bumbling Barnaby in a senior role helping set the agenda. The living dead – Phillip Ruddock and Bronwyn Bishop – will be major players. http://enpassant.com.au/?p=8005 [i]Broadband network the one big issue in a desultory campaign , Mungo MacCallum, National Times[/i] cobbled-together technologies, many of which were already considered out of date in more advanced countries - http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/broadband-network-the-one-big-issue-in-a-desultory-campaign-20100819-12rzj.html [i]10 Reasons Not To Vote For Tony Abbott, JJ Fiasson, The Daily Bludge[/i] When Tony Abbott was 20 years old he was charged with indecent assault, there are still questions over what exactly happened http://dailybludge.com.au:80/2010/08/10-reasons-not-to-vote-for-tony-abbott/ [i]Tony Abbott's Action Contract: sll talk and no action (or contract), Chris Owens, Sportolotics[/i] But if I’m wrong, and it is an enforceable contract, just think of the fun we can have taking Abbott’s arse to court for breach. http://sportowens.wordpress.com:80/2010/08/20/tony-abbotts-action-contract-all-talk-and-no-action-or-contract [i]Election rant 6: broadband envy, David Braue, ZDNet[/i] Yet I would suggest that not only are the Coalition fighting wounded, but that they are even envious of Labor when it comes to broadband policy. http://www.zdnet.com.au/election-rant-6-broadband-envy-339305360.htm?omnRef=NULL [i]They can't avoid democracy, The Piping Shrike[/i] If Labor doesn’t win comfortably, then all bets are off., http://www.pipingshrike.com/2010/08/they-can%E2%80%99t-avoid-democracy.html [i]Possum needs a job, Possum Comitatus, Pollytics[/i] After the election, I plan to seriously de-complicate my life http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/ [i]More realness, and a hypothesis, Tobias Ziegler, Pure Poison[/i] So, I guess I’m pondering the question – is the aim in writing these columns to influence this Saturday, or the next three years? http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/

Hillbilly Skeleton

20/08/2010I feel sick in the stomach at the thought of a duplicitous Coalition ruling this country again.

janice

20/08/2010Hillbilly, [quote]I feel sick in the stomach at the thought of a duplicitous Coalition ruling this country again[/quote] Hang in there Hillbilly - Labor WILL win 80 seats. :-)

George Pike

20/08/2010Just been listening to the arch-conservative journalist Lyndal Curtis from the ABC putting all the perfect questions to Tony Abbott to allow him to run his garbage laced spiel without interference. No questions about the cutting of funding in university equity that will deny 100,000s of Australians the right to higher education...so where are all the nurses, teachers, police, public servants etc going to come from in the future I wonder? Then the bitter twisted fraud asked Julia Gillard how anyone could trust her when "one of her broken promises" was the failure to bring the ETS to fruition! Can you believe the disgusting immorality and disingenuity of this hideous creature! How can such utterly worthless and despicable people ever get to work for the ABC? It makes me sick to the stomach to say the least. By the way, I still reckon Labor by 10 seats...despite all the hideous propaganda from the evil little nazis in the media...

janice

20/08/2010ps Hillbilly. I cannot for one moment believe the voters will choose not to have the NBN, proper health reform, better education aimed at providing every child with the skills to get jobs in their futures, an affordable parental leave scheme, etc etc in favour of the mad rabbit's cutbacks across the board, increased middle and upper class welfare together with an extremely mediocre front bench as well as going back to the official residence being Kirribilli House with the obvious WASTE of taxpayer money as the rabbit commutes to and fro from Canberra a la Howard.

Hillbilly Skeleton

20/08/2010janice, It is hard to believe that anyone could even give a passing thought to voting for the Coalition, but they are, and they are because they have someone running at the head of the Coalition who has said that he will say whatever it takes to win office, who is expert at concealing his true agenda and who plays 'Hale fellow well met' better than anyone I have seen since George W.Bush.

Hillbilly Skeleton

20/08/2010And yes, it is true, and it was one of the only admissions Lyndal Curtis managed to get out of Tony Abbott, and probably because Tony Abbott believes he has to pave the way for his ascencion to the throne and to live in the palace at Kirribilli(just around the corner from his mentor, Howard), that he will be 'following conservative tradition' in his choice of residence. Two things to pick up on there. One, he has finally come out and plainly stated that he is a Conservative, not a Liberal; and, two, he will be living in Kiribilli, like his conservative hero, John Winston Howard before him. If he gets into power, just wait and see how the country will change. No hope for children of talent but no means; no exceptional education and training for all our children, just a perpetuation of the economic eleite that is the conservative base, and a welter of constant psychological manipulation to reignite the arch-conservative social agenda. For there is no politician in the world, as far as I can see, who is as manipulative and convincing as Tony Abbott.

Hillbilly Skeleton

20/08/2010Andrew Catsaras, psehpologist and commentator on ABCBreakfast has said today that his analysis of the 'Undecideds' has them breaking 55-45 Julia Gillard's way.

Lyn

20/08/2010[b]TODAY'S LINKS PART 2 [/b] [i]Commentary wrap: Another day,another destiny,Amber Jamieson, Crikey[/i] only months ago was seen as a risky, outside chance and has instead proved himself to voters as a worthy alternative.http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/08/20/commentary-wrap-another-day-another-destiny/ [i]Election weekend talk thread, Tobias Ziegler, Pure Poison[/i] But is it really that close? The trends in the polling and the betting markets both continue leaning toward Labor hanging on — realistically, if the Coalition does pull it off they’ll have defied. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/ [i]Hockey: "It was an audit" Auditing firm: We are not responsible for what he says", Peter Martin[/i] Professor Bob Walker of Sydney University, a 40-year member of the Institute, will lodge a private complaint because he says it is "in the public interest that auditing standards be respected". http://petermartin.blogspot.com/ [i]Greens voters who choose to put Libs below Labor keep Libs out of Power, Jeremy Sear, Onymous Lefty[/i] But it’s not like the Murdoch media have been building to this conclusion, cynically, carefully, drip by drip, for over a year – no, they just report the News. Look, it’s in their name! http://anonymouslefty.wordpress.com/ [i]Does Australia need a shandy man? OzPolitik[/i] I can only conclude as I head to the polling booth, that Australia needs anything but a Shandy Man. http://ozpolitik.wordpress.com/ [i]Don't wimp out at the ballot box, Edwina Byrne, Eureka Street[/i] The more difficult course of action is to take responsibility for the society in which you live, not just on election day but as part of your permanent civic duty http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=22911

George Pike

20/08/2010Hi HS, Your statement is spot on, "For there is no politician in the world, as far as I can see, who is as manipulative and convincing as Tony Abbott." The truth is though, that Tony Abbott would not be getting 30% of the vote if it were not for the hideous propaganda campaign being orchestrated by the media on behalf of the corporate sector. Tony Abbott is where he is today because the government poses a huge danger to the operation of the dirty greedy corporations involved in the energy and mining sectors. If there were no carbon trading policies and no resources tax the Liberals would be verging on irrelevance. The massive power of the elite mass media has been harnessed by the corporate sector to ensure that the progressives can never take any real action against environmental destruction and corporate greed. I warned the government way back before the 2007 election that if they got into power they should do all they can to destroy the power of the conservative media..and they failed to do so..now they face the consequences of that failure. Rudd's first big mistake, one that fell right into the hands of the News Ltd hit squads, was the fact that he did not sack Peter Garret on the spot for incompetence, the second was to listen to the right wing idiots of the factions who convinced him to dump the ETS, the third was to bring the RSPT issue to head BEFORE the election. These are massive strategic errors and Julia Gillard had every right to force her hand after such a horrible set of leadership blunders. I still think that the thought of Tony Abbott as leader will force people to vote for Labor at the last minute...and the gap between Julia and Abbott will be repeated in the overall election result...a ten seat majority to Labor. If I am right, and Labor is re-elected, they should drop Abib like a hot rock, he's a complete disaster, and then concentrate on destroying the power of News Ltd before the bastards destroy democracy in this country for good...something they have almost achieved already, purely for the profit motive of the corporate elites...

Ad astra reply

20/08/2010LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/Lyns-Daily-Links.aspx

George Pike

20/08/2010Look at the way the ABC have twisted this statement to try and undermine Labor...Hale obviously got confused by the ETS-carbon tax smudge that has been deliberately created by the media and climate change sceptics for exactly this purpose. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/20/2988458.htm?section=justin

Bilko

20/08/2010George Pike We are normally on the same wavelength sorry but I disagree with you. Rudd should never have sacked Garrett rather the government should have highlighted the names of the companies whose employees were killed and then counter attacked Abbott using the facts of how many people died in unusual circumstances in hospitals (state controlled regardless) under Abbott’s watch as health minister then cont against the other ex liberal ministers where people died making them culpable. The whole thing was a crock and Rudd failed to stamp on it instead went on onesiders and accepted the blame. He only had to offer sincere regrets and threaten the legal action on the firms involved. He went downhill from there on and gave the mad monk traction to come out with any crap which brings us to the sorry state we are in today 24hrs from an election. We will win, today's Newspoll murdoch controlled what ever is Rupes last ditch stand rather like Custer at the little big horn.

George Pike

20/08/2010Every other sitution like that has been instantly defused with the lopping off of the head of the minister involved..as silly as that is in reality..it is a simple fact of politics. Here is a great read that you will enjoy...puts the REAL campaign issues out there for all to see.. http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2987642.htm

nasking

20/08/2010My latest post: Julia More Than Just A Paragraph, Time Australia To Stop Hiding Behind Old-Fashioned Men http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/julia-more-than-just-a-paragraph-time-australia-to-stop-hiding-behind-old-fashioned-men/ [quote]Julia, a PM for two months? When the likes of “Honest John” Howard got almost 12 years. Doesn’t sound right to me. It’s about time that Australians stopped hiding behind those old-fashioned men...men like Abbott who think more about themselves and their “market knows best” beliefs...than worrying about PBS affordability, decent education for all, worker’s rights and conditions, new technology to spur on new jobs, opportunities and connect all Australia.[/quote] Cheers N'

George Pike

20/08/2010Here is the Australian's editorial on why they have "just decided" (giggle) to back Abbott for the election. No mention here of how their own propaganda campaign has had the most effect on how well Abbott has done on the hustings, just a whole heap of blabber about what a wonderful choice he really is...can you believe it? These guys are REALLY sick! http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/a-vote-to-end-the-curse-of-big-government/story-e6frg71x-1225907514094

Hillbilly Skeleton

20/08/2010"A Grown-Up government", as Joe Hockey is trying to make the Coalition out to be, if elected, or a bunch of cunning,old lags?

Jason

20/08/2010Bilko, I'm with George, While it wasn't Garretts fault as such the buck has to stop with the minister.If you remember Howard would only sack a minister as a last resort and Kevin promised a different type of government. Kevin was the leader and that's what he should have done,If it meant he had to go to a DD on climate change or any of the triggers he had he should have done it. Labor only has itself to blame for the state they find themselves in now.

Paul of Berwick

20/08/2010The number crunching marsupial needs a job. The one who has put maths back into political polling analysis is scaling back his blog.. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2010/08/19/possum-needs-a-job/

Ad astra reply

20/08/2010AC We can only hope your delightful satire is prescient. Certainly, even despite the Grech affair, Malcolm Turnbullian would be far preferable to Anthony Abbott and his motley crew. HS, janice George Your optimism, which I share despite the doom and gloom perpetrated by the media, is laudable. As a regular reader of PB, I am dismayed by the substantial number of Nervous Nellies there who seem easily scared by any dip in Labor support in the polls. While a strong TPP in national polls is desirable, we know it represents a composite of polling in the 150 electorates, and in some cases an illegitimate extrapolation of marginal seats polling, and that the election will hinge of the number of marginals that fall to the Coalition and to Labor. The counts of these varies rather wildly, but even the most optimistic estimates make it unlikely that the Coalition can form government. Antony Green pointed out yesterday on the [i]7.30 Report[/i] that Labor could lose 12 seats and retain majority Government and the Coalition needed 17 seats to form a majority Government. So the task is much harder for the Coalition. Moreover, even if Labor loses Melbourne to The Greens, that amounts to a win for Labor if it came down to one major party forming a minority government. There are still many undecideds and according to Andrew Catsaras alias Socrates they are breaking 55/45 to Labor. If that were so that would make a substantial difference. So let’s not get ahead of the game – by 10 pm on Saturday all the suspense will likely dissipate. Lyn Again thank you for a very comprehensive set of links from sites that give a counterbalance to the MSM stories. HS I heard those Lyndal Curtis interviews too. She has clearly abandoned any pretense of bipartisanship in this election. George I agree with your assessment. nasking I enjoyed your piece. So spot on.

nasking

20/08/2010"Labor only has itself to blame for the state they find themselves in now." Rubbish Jason. It's the media under the rule of emperor Murdoch, their alliance w/ some in the ABC & Ch.9 and elsewhere that have caused so much of the trouble. Hyperbole, distortions, outright lies. Disgraceful stuff. N'

nasking

20/08/2010Abbott when asked point blank just now if he would "change workplace legislation" just farted on about "Workchoices dead & buried" and ignored further questioning on the matter when the questioner yelled out something like "saying WorkChoices is dead is not an answer!". Abbott is lying. N'

Gravel

20/08/2010Can I just say what a great job ALL, bar for one or two exceptions, do on this great blog. I get a lift each day when I read all your comments. Thank you, and I look forward to these conversations continuing regardless of what happens tomorrow.

macca

20/08/2010If Abbott wins tomorrow he will have convinced the international community that 22 million Australians are scared of 30 people in a wooden boat. Still proud to be Australian jj?

Ad astra reply

20/08/2010jj I’ll match you What I don’t like about Labor: - the way in which the ETS debate was deferred – in retrospect, it would have been better to take it to a DD, although the likely outcome of that is conjectural, and is now unknowable. - the influence of the likes of Karl Bitar and Mark Abib of the NSW right on Labor internal politics. - the inadequacy of its PR wing in publicizing the really good things the Government has done. - the inadequacy of its PR wing in publicizing the poor policies or the deception of the Coalition, for example the Coalition costings. - the inadequacy of its educational apparatus in informing the public about its policy initiatives and their implementation. What I like about the Coalition: - its mental health policy, but not at the expense of GP Super Clinics and other primary care initiatives. - its teacher reward program, which is much like Labor’s. - its apprenticeship initiatives, which are like those of Labor. - its bipartisan support for the soccer World Cup - its bipartisan support for Australia’s fallen servicemen. Finally jj, don’t label me a hypocrite – show me when I have said you are ‘biased’ or ‘mad’ when you have criticized Julia Gillard. I cannot recall ever using those words against you, certainly not ‘mad’ – that’s not a work I use very much. But if you can find where I’ve used those words, please point to them.

Jason

20/08/2010Rubbish Nasking, so it's the media's fault what a cop out. As we all know labor is blameless,Maybe after this election those that sit on high within the party might step down and consider what the rank and file might think rather than dictate Keating was right when he said current labor was focus group driven. What do we stand for nasking? now that we have professional party members they're Labor in name only.

Ad astra reply

20/08/2010nasking Despite his protestations about the demise of WorkChoices, we should not underestimate the power of business to push Tony Abbott to make ‘regulatory’ adjustments to alter individual contract arrangements and unfair dismissal. I’ve seen enough of Abbott in the last eight months to accept that he is very devious yet able to convince people of his ‘honesty’ with an array of weasel words. Gravel I’m glad you’ve enjoyed this blog site. Please keep coming. macca If that happened it would demonstrate the potency of lying, deception, misrepresentation, dog-whistling and xenophobia, and the way the media aids and abets all of these.

George Pike

20/08/2010Just heard minchin, beattie, downer and a Labor strategist all say that they thought Labor would win....1.1 million postal votes been registered already...so it's going to be a whopper trunout tomorrow by the looks...exit polls in London 60 Labor, 40 Libs..

adelaidegirl

20/08/2010I agree with Bilko on the Garrett thing. The Rudd government never went in hard enough with facts and figures. They let the media dictate the terms of their government. Can you imagine Whitlam, Hawke or Keating being so weak before the media and the opposition? Rudd really disappointed me by not being more of a headkicker and the way he was rolled really left me disappointed with Julia. I was going to write all sorts of nonsense on my green ballot (ETS - FAIL, boat people - FAIL, internet censorship - FAIL, Libs? - DREAMIN') but then Mark Latham got on the telly (not that I would ever watch 42 minutes) and told us to vote informally. Stuff you, you maniac, I said to mayself. I'm voting Labor!!! Julia should thank him. Labor to win with a reduced, but comfortable margin. I can't wait for tomorrow night! :)

nasking

20/08/2010I'm amazed at how the media has treated Abbott w/ kid gloves. When discussing his book ‘Battlelines’ in July ’09 at the National Press Club, Tony Abbott came up w/ this dopey comment: [quote]“A hardly noticeable five per cent change in class sizes (from, say, 25 to 27 on average) could fund a $50,000 a year pay rise for the best 20,000 classroom teachers.”[/quote] Anyone who knows problems in schools & how to make teaching more effective will tell you that we need smaller class sizes. Yet Abbott wants to increase class sizes. What a dope. N’

nasking

20/08/2010From the same Tony Abbott speech: [quote]The Howard era should be the yardstick against which the Rudd government is judged but it won’t be the blueprint on which the next Coalition government is modeled. Under Howard, there were 2.2 million more jobs, real wages grew by over 20 per cent and Australians’ individual wealth doubled. This happened, not because of the China boom, but because Peter Costello’s first budget sliced almost one per cent of GDP from public spending so that government would live within its means. It happened because workplace relations reform reduced third party-interference in how businesses worked, making them more productive and more rewarding for their employees[/quote] ———– hmmm… N’

Jason

20/08/2010Nasking, Unless the ALP changes radically, there will not be enough rank-and-file members to letterbox and hand out how-to-vote cards, let alone win an election. To regain public support the ALP needs internal reform. Why don't ALP members take the time-honoured labor tradition of the disenfranchised and go on strike: withhold their labor and their financial support from the state and federal offices until a log of claims is met. This could include: • A stipulation that only local members can vote in preselections. • Parliamentary candidates must have been a member of the party for at least three years and have had a job/jobs or community work in the real world, not in a union office or a parliamentary office, for at least five years. • The right of the parliamentary leader to choose the members of the front bench based on ability and knowledge and not on faction membership. ALP members at their next branch meeting could propose such a motion and, by taking such an action, reform will be forced and a revived and representative ALP will again make an important contribution in the political arena at both state and federal levels.

nasking

20/08/2010More from the “tight-arsed” Scrooge Abbott from the same speech: “Australia’s schools and hospitals don’t actually need a revolution. What they need is devolution of authority from head office to the people who work in them and who benefit from them. The basic problem in Australia’s schools and hospitals, particularly public ones, is not lack of money but lack of the institutional freedom that would allow them to respond effectively to people’s most important needs.” ———— So, funding schools more wasn’t what was required eh? Imagine what schools will get under him, particularly public schools. N’

nasking

20/08/2010From the same 'Battlelines" speech by Abbott in July '09 at the National Press Club: [quote]First term oppositions don’t win by taking no risks, becoming “small targets”, and simply criticizing the government.[/quote] LOL. The irony...the irony. N'

nasking

20/08/2010Here's Mr. (hypocrite) Abbott at his best: [quote]Politicians shouldn’t tell lies. But some information (about private conversations and private lives, national security and Cabinet discussions, for instance) is necessarily confidential no matter how much journalists (and possibly their readers) might like to know. Governments shouldn’t break promises but if circumstances change in ways that make keeping a commitment wrong, a full explanation should be given to the electorate. In a perfect world, governments would not make promises which are overtaken by events – but no-one inhabits that world except Kitney’s sanctimonious moral guardians.[/quote] (The Moral Case For The Howard Government, January 23, 2004 This is the text of the speech delivered by the Minister for Health, Tony Abbott, to the Young Liberal Convention.) http://www.australianpolitics.com/news/2004/01/04-01-23.shtml ---------------------- Amazing how this fella shifts his views. N'

Colen

20/08/2010Oh come on. You say how well Jules has done in the media and the next second how the media has built up Abbott. AA, "jj" responded to your queries about his bias. Where is your response to him or can you not find anything fair in Abbott. Do you not want to admit the Jules and the ALP were not front and centre of the Rudd disasters. They anointed him to lead us and god help us they almost foisted Latham on us. Only the majority saw through him. I bet you and HBS would have being crowing how wonder Latham was when he was standing. Regarding the NBN see below what a wonderful piece of technology this will be. One of the items on the political agenda is internet access. The internet of course has become the new plaything for bureaucrats the world over. Unsettled by the amount of freedom the masses have gained through the ability to express views and access non-mainstream views, the political power-trippers are getting scared. Having allowed the internet to grow without too much interference, governments have finally had enough. Hence in Australia we've got the freedom-killing prospect of a government controlled internet filter. Plus the double-freedom-killing prospect of a government controlled internet backbone that will most certainly permit the government to easily implement its diabolical filtering plan. But, it's not the filtering we'll look at today. Instead it's the NBN we'll concentrate on. Let me ask you, would you like a super high speed broadband connection? If you're like me, you're probably not bothered whether your internet speed is fast, very fast or super high speed. As long as you can get onto a web page within a couple of seconds, chances are you'll be happy. But whether you want super fast broadband or not there's a good chance you'll end up getting it anyway. At a cost of around $4,300 per household. According to those reliable and completely impartial boffins at McKinsey and KPMG, the report they compiled - in return for a fee - for the government shows that the National Broadband Network should only cost around $43 billion. "Only"... That's today's estimates of course. But you know how good the coercive sector is at meeting budget targets. That's right, it's not very good at it at all. Although the total cost is predicted to be $43 billion, the number crunchers at McKinsey and KPMG reckon the maximum amount the taxpayer will be up for is $26 billion. Bull dust we say. If that were true this would be the first project in a long time - whether public or private - that will have been completed within the initial budget. Our guess is that you can take that number and at least double it. You don't have to look far for examples of how inefficient and reckless the coercive sector is with taxpayer dollars - look at the election campaign for starters, money being thrown at special interest groups left, right and centre. But then also think about the school building programme, or the housing insulation scheme. What a debacle those have been. Then also look at the latest news from Victoria where new train stations that were forecast to cost $20 million each are now being budgeted for $55 million each. Do you still think the NBN will come in on budget? Will it my foot. Even if we're conservative with our estimates and say that the cost to the taxpayer will "only" double then you're still looking at more than $50 billion. But let's be kind and say the taxpayer expense only increases to $43 billion. Based on roughly 10 million Australian homes that's equal to a cost of $4,300 per home. Now let me ask you. Would you ever consider handing over $4,300 in cash to pay for an internet connection? Thought not. But that's what you'll be doing with the NBN rollout. Except that rather than you paying for it in cash, you'll be paying for it through your tax dollars. But most people haven't figured that out yet. The Australian quotes Damian Rodman from Taxmania, sorry, Tasmania, where the NBN is already up and running: "We love it... It takes less than 30 seconds to download a song and about 10 minutes to download a one gigabite movie." Again, would you really consider it value for money to pay $4,300 just so you can download a song in 30 seconds? Is listening to a new song so important to anyone that it has to arrive in 30 seconds rather than, say 90 seconds or even 3 minutes? And don't forget there's the monthly access costs on top of that of around $75. If you really want fast internet, give Telstra or iPrimus or Optus a call and you can get it. And it won't cost you $4,300 up front. We've had a quick look at the Bigpond website and you can get free installation if you sign up for one of their bundled packages. Or up to $228 if you don't. Of course doing that would mean spending $228 out of your pocket today rather than $4,300 out of your future tax dollars. The idea that the government needs to get involved to provide a fast internet access is not only a joke but it's a fallacy. It's got nothing to do with providing the internet for all Australians or some bizarre idea about broadband healthcare for the bush! It's ultimately about control. It's about the government gaining immediate access to every email you send or receive and every web page you visit. It's nothing more, nothing less. Just like the tax system and welfare payments system is about control. It doesn't matter which party is in power the outcome is the same. More control over your life by the bureaucrats. It's one more incursion on the road to totalitarianism. The fact is, if consumers value something enough they will pay for it without the aid of taxpayer dollars. If they weren't prepared to pay for it without the subsidy then it's clearly something they don't value enough. And we'll guess that 99% of the population don't value super fast broadband speeds if it's going to cost them $4,300. That's why the government has to take control and spend the money anyway - your money. It's the prospect of that happening which stops consumers and businesses from investing in broadband technology. Because they know the government will interfere they stop to see what manipulative impact the government will take and then they move to exploit it. I mean think about it this way. Who really benefits from the NBN? And I mean really. We're not counting the benefit of downloading a song in 30 seconds rather than 90 seconds. To our way of thinking that isn't a genuine benefit. No, the biggest beneficiaries of the NBN are the likes of Apple and others that provide bandwidth hungry content over the internet. And the losers are those firms that don't or can't provide content over the internet. So, for example you could say that the NBN is providing a subsidy to Apple Inc., so consumers can download music, at the expense of say JB Hi-Fi which can't sell CDs or DVDs to consumers over the internet for immediate use. Again, the government decides who wins and who loses rather than allowing the consumer to decide without influence. Our guess is that if you ask most people in Australia whether they would be happy to pay $4,300 for an internet connection the overwhelming response would be no. Unfortunately, the odds are that whether you like it or not you're about to get yourself a bill for that amount payable through your taxes.

Lyn

20/08/2010Hi Ad Essential Research: 51 - 49 to Labor, William Bowe, The Poll Bludger in two-party terms they’re no different from Monday’s, with Labor leading 51-49. . http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/

Lyn

20/08/2010Hi Ad ELECTION NIGHT COVERAGE IN REVIEW Spyreport As election night approaches, we’ll keep you up-to-date with any last-minute changes and further amendments that could swing your television viewing., http://www.mediaspy.org/report/2010/08/20/election-night-coverage-in-review/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=election-night-coverage-in-review

Lyn

20/08/2010Hi Ad [i]Graham Young on polling interpretation for mugs, Mark Bahnisch, Larvatus Prodeo[/i] Mugs are what most of my colleagues in the media are. Why do they do this? Because it suits the narrative they have already seized on, which is that the government will lose. http://larvatusprodeo.net/

Country Hick

20/08/2010Happy voting, everyone. Here's to a cheering Saturday night (or at least Sunday). Country hick, Queanbeyan

Lyn

20/08/2010Hi Country Hick Thankyou for your cheers and cheers to you too. Looks like things are not as bad as Rupert would have us believe, considering Mark Bahnisch's report above, and the Essential poll, just released.

Lyn

20/08/2010Hi Ad Possum reports the betting market: Headline Betting Market Friday, Possum Comitatus, Pollytics probability of Labor victory falling from 74.8% to 69.6%. All up, the headline markets are confident of an ALP win, but one with a small majority somewhere around the 3 to 6 seat mark. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/

jj

20/08/2010AA, For Abbott to bring back workchoices would be political suicide, they would be kicked out staright away...so tell me why the hell would they want to do such a thing. Now i know you will argue that it is in his DNA, big business owns the Liberal party e.t.c. e.t.c. But as you would well know, the number one priority for any political party is to gain power, and the Liberals know that if they ever try and do anything that looks at all like workchoices they will never be re-elected. So just cut the crap. this is all this government has got left: -lies on workchoices -lies on education cuts -lies on health cuts -lies on stimulus -e.t.c. And yet you will vote for them! What a joke this government has become.

macca

20/08/2010<Our guess is that if you ask most people in Australia whether they would be happy to pay $4,300 for an internet connection the overwhelming response would be no.> However, if you asked them if $4,300.00 is a fair price to pay, over ten years,for infrastructure that their great grandchildren will be using I suspect the overwhelming response would be yes. While, politically, you may have tunnel vision, I despair for you if don"t see the future at the end of that tunnel.

jj

20/08/2010Macca, And i think if you asked the public whether in ten years time fiber optic cable would still be the fastest way to do internet than i would suspect they would either say no, or that they had no idea. You see that is the problem, we just dont know, and yet we are spending $43 billion on it. We are going to get a government owned monopoly, that if studies are correct, may be worth only a quarter of its building costs. That is because the government is building this for consumers, not to run as a business, meaning that user costs will be quite low. The government says it wants to eventually sell the thing off, but why would anyone want to buy a thing that is only worth a quarter of what it was built for, and in a climate where technological change is very quick. Another thing i would just throw in the mix is the fact that there will be a clear conflict of interest on the governments behalf. the government will not only own the biggest internet provider in the land, but it will also hold the regulatory levers on the industry. So say in five years time, a new technology comes along that promises to deliver speeds faster than the NBN. With the government having spent $43 billion to build the thing, and with the economic viability of the project being of up most importance for the prospect of privatisation; do you really think that the government would allow this new technology to enter Australia, let alone give it assistance to get it up and running? I think not. No business plan, no cost benefit analysis, no idea about the cost, no idea about the deliverability, no idea about technological changes; really, this mob just have no plain idea!

Ethistan

20/08/2010jj tells us that something is going to come along that is faster than the speed of light... good luck with that rewriting of the laws of physics. This is akin to: "The speed of light will always be faster under a Coalition Government" What you fail to realise is that the NBN is more like a massive highway, we may only be able to drive on it at the moment at 1G/s, but it is easy to replace the "cars" on it to go a lot faster without having to replace the road. Whereas the coalition's plan is more like a back country lane for rural people and a highway for city people, not equitable and not worthy of having *any* public money spent on it. If you and Colen knew *anything* about IT and the hardware it uses, you would know that fibre optics is future proof. It will deliver faster and faster speeds for many decades into the future. The cable itself is capable of limits many orders of magnitude higher than currently utilised, it is just the switches on either end of the line that need to be upgraded. And if you think that the internet is just for movies and songs then you are an idiot.

jj

20/08/2010Ethistan, You would also know that there are variants in the light spectrum which are being worked on to allow more information to travel via the beams.

sawdustmick

20/08/2010JJ Do you seriously want to vote for a bloke when his biggest policy slogan is "I will stop the Boats" Tell us JJ how big an issue is this BS slogan "Stop the boats"? Do you lay awake at night dreaming of, as Tones would have you believe an “Invasion of asylum seeker? When your at the casualty waiting in a queue for hours do you turn to your partner and whisper, I wonder how many more Illegal boat arrivals did we have today? When you are sitting in you local school admiring the new class room or gymnasium do you turn to you partner and whisper, I wonder how many more Illegal boat arrivals did we have today. When you’re working in your office and there is a bit of a lull in the day’s events, did your mind suddenly ponder the question, I wonder how many more Illegal boat arrivals did we have today. When you are stuck in a traffic jam for lack of infrastructure spending do you think to yourself I wonder how many more Illegal boat arrivals did we have today? I guess you get the picture, this Illegal Boat invasion has been a major part of Liberal Party Wedge Politics for a decade started by Rodney and continued on be Vacuum head. Their aim is to have people such as yourself spread this dynamic lifter as far and wide as you can.

macca

20/08/2010Sell Telstra, bring in American management, drive the share price down, sack thousands of qualified staff, degrade services and the network, sack o/s management, pay o/s management million of dollars in compensation, call John Howard, Peter Costello and others astute operators......now that,jj, is a cost effective business plan....and these guys had an idea!!GMAB

Ethistan

20/08/2010Ooh, please tell me about your vaguely worded "variants in the light spectrum" notion. Are you talking more precise light emission devices and spectrometers to distinguish which wavelengths of the visible spectrum are being transmitted down the fibre? Or are you talking about expanding the light wavelength band to include the non-visible spectrum such as ultraviolet, x-ray or gamma light to be sent down the optical fibre? And once you have explained what you mean by this wonderfully vague notion you raise (and try to use as a reason that the NBN will be redundant), please tell me how an optical fibre would not be able to transmit it.

Ad astra reply

20/08/2010Folks I have just posted [i]It should be a one horse race[/i] http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/post/2010/08/20/It-should-be-a-one-horse-race.aspx

Jason

20/08/2010Essential Research: 51-49 to Labor http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2010/08/20/essential-research-51-49-to-labor-3/

NormanK

20/08/2010Jason Thanks for the info. Somewhat encouraging news. jj & Colen Could I suggest that you broaden your horizons and actually READ the headline piece here on the NBN, read the follow-up comments and FOLLOW the links to sources somewhat more dispassionate than the ones from which you seem to be currently quoting. Recycling myths does no-one any good. Incidentally, the tax-payer "risk" on the NBN is $26 billion not the much-vaunted $43 billion. NBN Co will be responsible for raising the remainder. The overall cost per tax-payer will be zero dollars because capacity on the new fibre will be sold to Internet Service Providers so that they can offer packages at varying rates depending on you needs. If you followed links provided here you would find Tasmanians are paying around $40 per month for 25Mbs. The big bad government will have no ability to censor the internet through filters since these filters will be attached to ISPs who will buy capacity from NBN Co and retail it on to the consumer. Good old market decides eh? The more ISPs, the more there is competition, the lower the price to consumers. You do realise that you could learn all of this stuff for yourselves if you channelled just a little of your angst into decent research. macca [quote]"If Abbott wins tomorrow he will have convinced the international community that 22 million Australians are scared of 30 people in a wooden boat"[/quote] I couldn't agree more. Embarrassing isn't it?

Lyn

20/08/2010Hi Norman K Ad has put up a new column, would you transfer your comment over or dare I ask, write us another excellent one similar. cheers

Hillbilly Skeleton

20/08/2010Lol. Now it's "I will stop all bar 3 boats/year". What a joke that man is.
How many Rabbits do I have if I have 3 Oranges?