Oz Election Thread #4 - Gillard's Labor

Agree on Butler - bright future in the party perhaps?

I think Coonan's appointment is very recent (just checked, it was in the news Aug 26) - maybe La Trioli mentioned it in the guest intro? I missed that.

Totally agree about the pokies discussion - even though the three boys tried to steer it a humanistic discussion 'Sneery' and the 'Board Member' derailed it. Couldn't believe they labelled it 'highly political'. Huh?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-29/clarke-and-dawe-on-australias-economy/3087866

For those who haven't seen it, how the [url]Australian Trade and Industry Alliance[/url="http://www.getcarbonpolicyright.com.au/about-us.aspx"] anti-carbon tax should have been....

Can we have this ad on TV instead?

Malcolm Fraser: ‘we have lost our way’

Welcome to our “In Conversation” between former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and Melbourne University political scientist Professor Robyn Eckersley.

First elected to Federal parliament in 1955, Fraser is one of the major figures in the history of the Australian Liberal party, famously coming to power as Prime Minister after the dismissal of Gough Whitlam by Governor General John Kerr in 1975.

To many, Fraser has undergone a Damascene political conversion in recent years. To others, he’s sold out the Liberal party and its core values.

Reviled by the left for replacing Whitlam and for some of his policy decisions as prime minister, Fraser has resigned his membership of the Liberal party and become and outspoken critic of many of the party’s policies, notably on refugees and indigenous affairs.

In this conversation, Fraser explores a range of subjects from his earliest political experiences to his most recent interventions in public life:

Why Tony Abbott is a “dangerous” politician

How the Liberals are now an “extreme right” party

Australia’s record on refugees and asylum seekers

Why Australia has lost its way in foreign affairs

The need to reform the public service

Australia’s media and the Murdoch dominance

We hope you enjoy it.

http://theconversation.edu.au/malcolm-fraser-we-have-lost-our-way-3734

fascinating how we now see Frazer as the closest thing to a Leftie we have anywhere near government.

Did he change, of have our expectations of government become so low?

According to Fraser he hasn't changed, the liberal party has. Fraser welcomed the Vietnamese boat people remember, and has always between supportive of indigenous apirations (believe it or not). Geez I hated his government though - particularly his treasurer. They oversaw a really rough time in our economy (in my memory worse than Keating's recession we had to have) where I lived had 45% youth unemployment. On the bus to school once a fortnight I'd see the dole queue stretching literally blocks from the dole office at 8 in the morning.

It's an interesting read - not sure how much is revisionism. I do remember seeing Gough and Malcolm do a joint interview a few years back - there was obvious and surprising camaraderie between them.

The Labor Party has changed too.

We helped **** Vietnam with the bloody Yanks, so we should have received the (conservative) boat people with open bloody arms. I wonder what Fraser thinks of the current Yank-and-Oz buggered boat folk?

George Orwell was a pussy

Baird admits voluntary redundancies are compulsory
By NSW political reporter Mark Tobin
Updated October 25, 2011 12:47:56

New South Wales Treasurer Mike Baird says public sector workers who are offered voluntary redundancies will be sacked if they do not accept them.

Full story

An offer they can't refuse.
Leave, or we'll sack you.
Wonderful.

Meanwhile, in Victoria, the government has given police a big pay rise, compared to other public sector workers who remain screwed.
Perhaps a reward for the police violence toward City Square Occupiers in the city a few days ago?

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/state-yields-to-police-pay-claim-20111024-1mgeb.html

Gotta love these state Liberal governments!

Bodes well for a federal election though - remember that we had labor state govts everywhere while Howard was PM - almost like it's planned that way.

I hope you're right about that.
Me (being a pessimist right now, I think), I was just imagining the combined horror of Baillieu at state level & the Mad Monk at the federal level.
The stuff of nightmares.

Fun times in Melbourne. :

It's grasping at straws but NSW has had a long history of voting one way state and one way federal - if the state budget cuts deep enough, who knows...

anyone see Media Watch last night? The big two parties might be having a race to the bottom re asylum seekers but some parts of the media are way ahead!

http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s3346987.htm

Little Hodiaki.





The teacher said, "Let's begin by reviewing some American history.

Who said 'Give me Liberty, or give me Death'?"

She saw a sea of blank faces, except for Little Hodiaki a bright foreign exchange student from Japan, who had his hand up: 'Patrick Henry, 1775', he said.

'Very good!'

Who said, 'Government of the People, by the People, for the People, shall not perish from the Earth?'

Again, no response except from Little Hodiaki, 'Abraham Lincoln, 1863'.

'Excellent!', said the teacher continuing, 'let's try one a bit more difficult...'

Who said, 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country?'

Once again, Hodiaki's was the only hand in the air and he said:

'John F. Kennedy, 1961'.

The teacher snapped at the class, 'Class, you should be ashamed of yourselves, Little Hodiaki isn't from this country and he knows more about our history than you do.'

She heard a loud whisper: 'F . . k the Japs,'

'Who said that? I want to know right now!' she angrily demanded.

Little Hodiaki put his hand up, 'General MacArthur, 1945.'

At that point, a student in the back said, 'I'm gonna puke.'

The teacher glared around and asks, 'All right! Now who said that!?'

Again, Little Hodiaki said, 'George Bush to the Japanese Prime Minister, 1991.'

Now furious, another student yelled, 'Oh yeah? Suck this!'

Little Hodiaki jumped out of his chair waving his hand and shouted to the teacher, 'Bill Clinton, to Monica Lewinsky, 1997!'

Now with almost mob hysteria someone said, 'You little ****. If you say anything else, I'll kill you.'

Little Hodiaki frantically yelled at the top of his voice, "Michael Jackson to the child witness testifying against him, 2004.'

The teacher fainted.

As the class gathered around the teacher on the floor, someone said, 'Oh ****, We're screwed!'

Little Hodiaki said quietly, 'The Australian people, 2011 When Julia Gillard was elected.'

Little Hodiaki was on a roll until she got the year of the election wrong.

I'm really suffering under this regime. How about you? Wish I was in Syria or the US or UK, they seem to have it much easier...

It's a joke, Hinge.

I'm jaded with both parties at the moment.

Strange how a handful of indies are calling the shots, but at least they ARE calling some shots. Better than smoke and mirrors, I guess.