The NEXT coming Oz election thread!

Yes.

Not to mention we won't sign kyoto because it would be economically bad - without any thought to what a 2 metre rise in sea levels would mean to a nation that has 90% of it's population on the coast.

And also the drive to keep interests rates down, specifically so we'll keep spending above what we earn. People forget why Keating pushed the monetarist levers to raise interest rates - to slow down expenditure on imported goods and raise overseas investment. It frigging hurt at the time but the Liberals aren't shy of taking the reflected glory that period created (low inflation, high employment). Not that it was all good - I think our quality of life has gone to sh*t and many of us are doing an amount of unpaid work that rivals the Japanese.

You're right!:

Home Of The Longest Day
By Noel Hester

Australia has a dubious new prize to put in its cluttered national trophy cabinet. We are increasingly the most over-worked nation in the world.

While most developed countries have been reducing working hours via regulatory initiatives, Australia is one of the few countries to buck the trend. Australia - along with USA and Britain - is one of the few OECD countries to have experienced a reversal in the long-term trend to reducing working time.

New research by a world expert on working time Iain Campbell of RMIT has found that Australia has average working hours that are longer than most other OECD countries. Average annual hours tend towards the top of the rankings, comparable with the USA though not as high as Korea. But the more startling aspect concerns the trend. Since 1982 the increase in average weekly hours for full-time workers in Australia has been dramatic. As a result Australia is quickly moving up the rankings, overtaking countries such as Spain and Japan which have been moving in the opposite direction. If present trends continue Australia could further rise to overtake Korea (whose average hours are, like Japan, undergoing a rapid reduction.)

For a full-time Australian worker the working week increased on average by 3.7 hours between 1982 and 2000. This amounts to over 21 million extra hours per week or the equivalent of 550,000 full-time jobs. This is by far the largest increase in comparison to other OECD countries. The two years from 1998 to 2000 saw a scary acceleration in this trend as an extra 48 minutes was added to the week of an average full-time employee.

(And more ... if you can stand it!)
http://workers.labor.net.au/116/b_tradeunion_hours.html

The two main indicators that effect voters are interest rates and employment. Interest rates are incredibly low as is unemployment. If interest rates ever start rising solidly then thats when it will really hit the fan, as there are so many people with huge mortgages and won't be able to meet the repayments.

Well, if one hour of work per week constitutes "employment" you have to wonder what the real situation is. Also taking into account the number of folk who are under-employed. ..... I imagine there are a lot more people doing it tough than we're led to believe ...

I read a quote somewhere were australians are more rich than they have ever been but also more unhappy. I tend to agree with this. Having spent a lot fo time in Brazil, it is amazing the comparison. The majority of people that live in Brazil are very poor but most are very happy people. Maybe because we are the lucky country, we take things for granted.

Love it, Msolga!

Yes, I can really relate to the confused leftie!

lol, at least you are honest msolga.

What Oz leftie is NOT confused by the election result?

Oh well, maybe you will win next election. Anything can happen between now and the next election. Still, you have Bracksy in State leader, so its not all bad.

Er .... I think Bracks & his government could do with a little re-educating in Labor principles! :wink: .... Labor has been in government for long enough in Victoria to put a bit more effort (& funding) into redressing some of the mess & inequality created in public sector during the Kennett years.

Gee, you are left of left lol. I should call you comrade. For me, it didn't really matter who won the last election, I have no faith in any of them.

I'll let you into a little secret: Mr Bracks is very middle of the road, politically. Many of the "reforms" instituted by the Kennett government have been continued by Labor. He aint no raging leftie!

Maybe people want a bit of both worlds. That is why they vote labour in state polls but liberal in the federal.

Whoops, I just realized I'ved wrongly called Jeff Kennet, Jeff "Kennett" (with 2 ts instead of one) .. Ah, how quickly we forget our past masters! ... how could I forget Jeff, who made our lives so utterly miserable in Victoria!
And where is Jeff now, hmmm?

Running a thing for depression, for one thing - Beyond Blue, or some damn thing.

Jeff CAUSED a lot of depression here in Victoria!

<sigh> The Labor party should resolve the leadership issue ASAP! How much more credibility can they afford to lose with the constant in-fighting, the obvious disunity?