Oz election thread #3 - Rudd's Labour

I agree.

With moi?

yep.

Well goodness me!

Though I would prefer his brother, any day! Much nicer man!

But can you imagine how disgusting his smirk will become if he is coopted into the leadership by the desperate Libs? After much very public adoration, singing of praises & mass grovelling, of course!

Smiles like a dingo.

We had Kevin Rudd visit our department at work this week. The news said he "mingled with the workers". Well if by "workers" they mean people who earn over a million dollars a year, then it may be true, but he didn't come near any of us who actually do the work in the department. A quick stop in the control room, and he was gone.
Then there was the big announcement, of BlueScope securing the contract to supply the steel for 3 ships. A total of 9000 tonnes of steel over 3 years worth 20 million dollars. At the moment our only running blast furnace is going as slow as it's technically able to go, producing 5700 tonnes of iron PER DAY. $20M wouldn't pay our plant's wages bill for a month.

Here he is standing outside the control room above the casting floor. I was about 20 metres away, looking up at the higher lifeforms.

There's always an announcement (I used to lose count of how many times the same thing would be announced in different places in different months when I worked for gov - and Mrs Hinge still does). I think the recovery will be built on the burgeoning press release and media relations industry. That and hard hat manufacture.

I agree that smirky would only take the job if the party prostrated themselves and begged and cooed.

I dare not wish that it will happen though - it would be the end of the Libs as a sensible force to be reckoned with - I hope you win the bet.... Then maybe our duopoly of political power might be the ALP as the conservative force and the Greens as the leftish reformers. Be still my beating heart.

You're sounding rather disenchanted with Kev & co, Wilso.

Don't get me wrong, hinge. I don't want Captain Smirk to win the leadership of his dreams. ("At last, at last!!!" he drools. ) I just think it will happen .... Anyway, I'll bet you a fiver on that.

You saying that Labor could go even further right? Crikey.
The Greens are the closest thing we have to leftish reformers now, I think you'll agree. I must say I do like the idea of Bob & co with a bit more real power, though! (Did you notice that the first Greens candidate was elected to the lower house in WA on the weekend? Yay! )

I'm not real happy with the Greens at the moment. They're coming off too radical. Admittedly, I've got a personal stake in it. Make no mistake, that if the Greens got everything they wanted, I would lose my job and my home. Tradesmen my age weren't getting jobs during the boom. I lose my job now, and I'm screwed.

Hey Wilso - I'm curious what trade is yours. I think of Australia going carbon neutral as an incredible opportunity for the trades. I think of the manufacturing opportunities for solar equipment (panels, batteries, grid connection equipment) - then selling that expertise overseas. What about revitalizing the car manufacturers by designing, retooling and making something a damn site greener than a Prius? I could rabbit on endlessly - I think business has a lack of imagination in this area, probably due to being risk-averse, and the government is doing enough to allay those risks.

I understand completely your trepidation - you've got responsibilities, and I'm sure you worry about the world your daughter will grow up in. We have little choice but to tectonically shift the basis of our economy - we either do it by choice or it's forced on us. The measure of our humanity is how we support the people affected by that shift.

I'm an electrician (in the steel industry). And after 26 years, my skills are highly specialised in that area.

yes.

No possibility of adapting/upgrading your skills to meet the requirements of new industries, Wilso?

I'd certainly have the ability. But NOBODY hires tradesmen in their forties.

Really? That seems incredibly short-sighted when there's such a shortage of skilled tradesmen, Wilso! Is this because more experienced trades people cost more to employ? (That's how it is in education - the less experienced the teacher, the cheaper the wage. Very appealing to cash-strapped schools.)

I wouldn't think so. Most trades jobs are covered by awards, and are paid on classification rather than experience. We have a grading system, and I'm on the top grade, but that's based on education alone, not experience. There's plenty of tradesmen years younger than me earning the same, because they've had the same training.