The NEXT coming Oz election thread!

QUOTE
Economists expect Mr Costello will have scope to cut taxes in this pre-election budget with the surplus likely to be around $15 billion and much larger than was forecast late last year.
END QUOTE

If he is such a great treasurer, how come we have been taxed $15 billion dollars more than we needed to be ?

Oh Oh, I forgot ... election year=pork barreling
silly me ...

I can't bring myself to read & post all the links about who gained what in the budget & who missed out. Whether the Libs have trumped Rudd's education reforms or not. Or whether this budget will save the day for the Libs or lead to interest rate rises .... There's too damn much stuff to wade through!:

Budget 2007 Key Points:

*Underlying cash surplus: $10.6 billion

*GDP growth forecast: 3.75 per cent

*Consumer Price Index forecast: 2.5 per cent

*Tax cuts: $31.5 billion over four years

*$5b fund for uni capital works, research

*Childcare benefit up by 10 per cent

*$22.3b for road and rail infrastructure

*Solar panel rebate doubled to $8,000

*Overseas aid: $2.58b of new initiatives

If you're interested, this ABC link will lead you to much post-budget information & analysis:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/budget2007/default.htm

Nice try, Mr Treasurer! :

Both sides talked down their ratings in the opinion polls following the budget today. Take your pick who you believe.:

Rudd expects 'pounding' in post-Budget polls
May 09, 2007/the AUSTRALIAN

LABOR leader Kevin Rudd says he expects to take a "pounding" in opinion polls conducted in the wake of the federal budget.

The handouts in Treasurer Peter Costello's budget would give the coalition a boost, but failed to prepare the nation for leaner economic times, Mr Rudd said.

The financial blueprint did not deliver on education, broadband internet, climate change or water, the opposition leader said.

"I expect that we'll take a pounding in the opinion polls as a result of this budget on the politics of it," Mr Rudd told Southern Cross Broadcasting today. ... <cont>

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21701166-601,00.html

OR

Budget might not close the gap Howard
May 9, 2007 - 2:49PM/SMH

Prime Minister John Howard says the public will judge if the budget is good enough for the Coalition to start closing the gap on Labor in the opinion polls.

"Those are judgements the public will make, I'm not engaging in any predictions," Mr Howard told ABC Radio.

"We're clearly behind at the moment and I don't expect any great change in that.

"I expect this to be a very hard fought election and the toughest that the Government has faced." ... <cont>

http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/budget-might-not-close-the-gap/2007/05/09/1178390373993.html

There doesn't seem to be any great elation coming out of this budget, except from the universities.

Weird, isn't it?
It was this government which tightened the financial screws on the universities & now it's loosened those screws. If the Libs are voted back in, come November, they could well tighten the screws again in the next budget. (2008 not being an election year! :wink: )

Now wouldn't that be lovely? ... If the PM was beaten in his own electorate by the charming Ms McKew? Anyway, I can wish! :

Last Update: Sunday, May 13, 2007. 11:19am (AEST)


Maxine McKew (r) is downplaying the latest Bennelong poll results (File photo) (Getty Images)

McKew needs 'miracle' to beat Howard in Bennelong

High-profile Labor candidate Maxine McKew says she will need a "miracle" to take Prime Minister John Howard's Sydney seat of Bennelong at the upcoming election.

The former ABC journalist was speaking after a poll in a Sydney newspaper today which suggested she would win the seat if an election was held now.

The Galaxy poll has primary support for John Howard at 44 per cent, with 46 per cent for Ms McKew.

But Ms McKew says she is not assuming she will unseat the Prime Minister.

"It would require a miracle of gigantic proportions for Labor to take this seat," she said. "The Prime Minister has held this seat since 1974, he is exceptionally well known."

The Prime Minister says he is not surprised by the poll, which shows a 6 per cent fall in his primary vote and Labor leading by 4 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.

"That poll didn't tell me anything I didn't know," he said.

"Bennelong's a hard seat, it has been for a long time and it's been made harder by the redistribution and it's a marginal seat. I know that.

"I have always worked the electorate hard and I'll continue to do so. And I don't take anything for granted, certainly not the people who've elected me to Parliament."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200705/s1921550.htm

I'm finding it a bit awkward posting here about the progress of this election campaign. I really don't wish to appear to be constantly down on the ALP but find it difficult not to be constantly disappointed. Then feeling like I'm being constantly negative, a wet blanket, a whinger ... <sigh>
But Labor has been disappointing. I can't help but agree with the wag on the ABC who described Kevin Rudd, after his budget reply speech as "John Howard without the eyebrows".

And then there's Kevin flying off to Perth to placate those mining big wigs about AWAs. But they will never be placated. They'd prefer the Libs any day & this is all part of the campaign to achieve that! Sorry, but Labor is looking rather indecisive to to me about issues like this one, right now.

Look at it this way: Howard's two most dramatic "initiatives" were (1)involving us in the Iraq war & (2) his IR "reforms". None of us got to to vote on either of those. We weren't consulted & they weren't part of any election platform. He didn't ask for approval. Howard just did it.
At the opposite extreme, it saddens me that Labor seems to want everyones' approval, especially over important issues like IR. It can't be done. There are some folk who have benefitted from Howard's IR laws & some (the vast majority) who have lost out as a result of it. Labor (or Rudd, perhaps) needs to decide where exactly it stands on IR. It's a divisive issue in the electorate. Labor simply can't make both sides happy. Not possible:

Last Update: Sunday, May 13, 2007. 11:49am (AEST)

Room for flexibility in IR laws: Gillard

Federal Opposition industrial relations spokeswoman Julia Gillard says Labor can satisfy the demands of business without reversing its policy on Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs).

Labor has vowed to ban scrap all AWAs if it wins the next election. The business sector, especially the mining industry, says that would be a backward step.

Ms Gillard told Channel Nine there is room for some fine-tuning of Labor's policy.


http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200705/s1921556.htm

Howard coy over election spending money
May 13, 2007 - 10:23AM/SMH

Prime Minister John Howard has left open the possibility of dipping into the budget surplus in a major pre-election spend-up.

Mr Howard would not comment on reports that $8.6 billion remained at the government's disposal to spend before the next election.

"I'm not going to confirm and deny figures like that," he said.

"We brought down a very responsible budget, and we brought down a budget that will not exert upwards pressure on interest rates.

"And as to what happens between now and the election, well, you'll just have to wait and see. But we certainly don't intend to do anything that's going to exert upwards pressure on interest rates.".. <cont>

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/howard-coy-over-election-spending-money/2007/05/13/1178994975471.html

Interesting news today. If an election were held today, Howard would lose his seat. He's trailing the Labor candidate in Benelong.

Bennalong residents are political Animals. They know how to get some sweeties from their local member, but they will vote for the incumbent.

Ms Gillard quote
Federal Opposition industrial relations spokeswoman Julia Gillard says Labor can satisfy the demands of business without reversing its policy on Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs).
Ms Gillard told Channel Nine there is room for some fine-tuning of Labor's policy.
end quote

Either you scrap AWAs or not. What is there to fine tune about that ?

Howard didn't consult workers about introducing AWAs.
The ALP shouldn't consult the employers about abolishing AWAs.
It's time the ALP decided which side of the fence it wants to be on.
You can't run with the sheep and hunt with the wolves.
All the workers want is a FAIR deal.
And with the way the QLD premier is stirring the state with threatened council amalgamations, he will cost labor any chance of government.
Why does the ALP always seem to self destruct ?
Just my 2 cents worth.

Message lost in transit


Illustration: John Spooner

Tim Colebatch
May 15, 2007/the AGE

THE worst fear of any political leader is that one day, the public will stop listening. You no longer inspire trust, and you can no longer arouse interest. You make good points, but they count for nothing. Voters have moved on. It happened to Margaret Thatcher in 1990. It happened to Kim Beazley last year. Now the polls make you wonder if it might be happening to John Howard.

The commentators' verdict was overwhelming: last week's budget was the best that Peter Costello has ever delivered. It was politically smart, yet also tackled serious issues, surprised us with nation-building vision and did it all while staying within the boundaries of fiscal responsibility.

That followed a month when, if you believe two of the Murdoch papers, Howard belted Kevin Rudd around the ropes on industrial relations, as business leaders came out against Labor's policy to abolish Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs).

Yet the Galaxy poll in yesterday's Herald Sun suggests the voters are on another side of the planet from the commentariat. Even after the budget, after the barrage of attacks on Labor's IR policy, it found Labor still led the Coalition by 57 per cent to 43 after preferences, hardly different from last month. And by 52 per cent to 35, voters preferred Rudd's IR policy to Howard's.

The IR judgement should be no surprise. Voters are mostly workers or ex-workers, and on IR issues, there's not much love out there for the bosses. ...<cont>

http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/message-lost-in-transit/2007/05/14/1178995073653.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

Another poll ... the same message.
And Howard's joking about the results? Don't you believe it for a minute.
Stay tuned for bigger & better scare tactics & last minute bribes! :

Labor support shows 'sense of humour'
May 15, 2007 - 9:17PM/SMH

Prime Minister John Howard tonight joked he hoped his government's continued poor showing in opinion polls reflects the Australian public's sense of humour.

Last week's federal budget, which contained tax cuts and new spending measures, appears to have failed to boost the coalition government's popularity.

A Newspoll published in The Australian newspaper today found support for Labor had increased with the opposition receiving 59 per cent two-party preferred support, compared to 57 per cent the previous month.

There was 41 per cent two-party preferred support for the coalition, down from 43 per cent the previous month.

Mr Howard tonight quipped it was possible people surveyed for the poll might have been joking when they said they intended to vote Labor.

"Ultimately we'll find out whether it's not been, you know, an interesting exercise by the Australian public in its innate sense of humour," he told ABC Television.

"We'll find that out on election day."

Mr Howard rejected a suggestion that the public might have stopped listening to his government in the same way it stopped listening to former prime minister Paul Keating before outing his Labor government at the 1996 election. ... <cont>

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/labor-support-shows-sense-of-humour/2007/05/15/1178995158146.html

Meanwhile Kevin & Julia continue with their strange conniptions with those AWAs.: