Oz Election Thread #4 - Gillard's Labor

The level political discourse has dropped to in the conservative camp

Oh so THIS is what all those pesky refugees are complaining about.

This picture shows the aftermath of an attack at a Shia Muslim rally at Meezan Chowk in Quetta on September 3 2011 that killed 42 and injured 80 people - mostly Hazaras.

Above them is an Australian-sponsored billboard saying "Don't go on a leaky boat - the illegal way. Just stay where you are".

Just stay where you are. Walk the streets of Quetta or Kandahar and just wait to be blown to high heaven. Just stay where you are. — with Owen Wareham in Quetta, Balochistan.

I officially declare this thread dead if I have to be the first one to post we lost a prime minister tonight. I'm guessing it's almost three years to the day we lost the last one - of course then it was complete surprise as I was in Epernay at the time visiting Moet. This time I'm at home watching a **** load of pollies who's beliefs overlap with mine, but somehow think their jobs are more important than the country's future. Bill Shorten is kind of dead to me. No hate just flat.

The idea that Abbott is the enemy as opposed to the powers that pull his strings and the way we interact with the body politic is sad and empty.

Particularly sad to see the two independents who provided a voice of reason announce their retirements. Vale (politically) Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor - you have served your country well.

The right man has been re-instated. He was elected by the people and axed by faceless men, totally unjustified! Gillard fell on her own sword, having stabbed Rudd in the back and after telling several lies, good riddance.

Dutchy I love you like a brother but the only people who voted for Kevin Rudd live in his electorate. We all vote for our local rep and some state senators.

When someone with a good heart doesn't understand our political system is it any wonder that the press pull the strings. Dance Rupert puppet, dance.

Thank you for your kind words. Having watched the polls during the last few days it would appear PM Rudd will give Mr.Abbott a run for his money, or did Rupert rig them too?

There's a chance he did. Weren't you sickened by the same journalists who mercilessly chewed at Gillard praising her corpse the next day?

Ask yourself what's really changed in the government. Name something.

There's nothing except Rudd is now leader. Reaffirming my assertion that the majority of the electorate is clueless about govt "I'm going to vote for the same policies that last week I wouldn't vote for because the new leader looks like he'd be nice to have a chat with."

We're a country not a reality tv show, or so I used to believe.

Again thank you for your wise words.

"Ask yourself what's really changed in the government. Name something."
Obviously leadership, Mr. Rudd is a far more imposing PM than Ms Gillard ever was, he comes over as eloquent and articulated something his predecessor lacked in my humble opinion.

I will be voting for him as I don't trust Mr. Abbott and his cronies.

I dint phrase that so well. Rupert's can't necessarily rig opinion polls, but he can flavour reportage and particularly editorial any he way he wants. Given the Rudd change happened literally days before the first poll results came in News ( very) limited hasn't had much of a chance to hack away at readers brains.

Happy to watch with you where it goes, but if Rudd gets a dream run in the lead up to that election AND post election, whoever wins, there aren't some odd legislative changes in the area of online media or the capacity of the NBN (or Murdoch dies) I will be pleasantly surprised.

Leadership. How odd. The caucus voted him out because he couldn't 'lead' us to an ETS or a mining super profits tax with a majority govt.

Gillard did both, and more, with a minority govt.

I think what you call leadership I call media presence. Like you Abbott is not someone I want to see leading the country, but I can't derive much joy knowing we pick our leaders on how they seem, rather than what they do, and think that one person is a government.

I understand that the ALP changed leaders because Rudd was their last best hope of preventing being small and powerless in opposition to an Abbott government, but I can't be happy that our politics made that the only choice.

Seeya dutchy!

I guess it's up to me do the housekeeping Olga used to do - with the change of leader we now have a new thread

Oz Election Thread #5 - Rudd's Labor (redux)
http://able2know.org/topic/217300-1

See you over there.

A fitting way to close this thread, and shutting the door on the most productive (believe it or not) parliament Australia has had up to this point.

The New York Times has an Op Ed today that one thing that brought Gillard down was out of control misogyny.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/06/opinion/in-australia-misogyny-lives-on.html

Was it really that bad?

U-oh. I think you answered my question.