The NEXT coming Oz election thread!

Yes I saw that msolga. I sat there gob smacked at the minister's answers and explanations. I couldn't help thinking "Does this man REALLY believe what he is saying ?"
Just about had to go out the back and puke!
Wouldn't it be nice to see these fellows out of a job next year and have to go and negotiate an AWA with an anal retentive employer.
Personally, I can't wait.

Maybe WOrKCHOICES was not a good choice after all.

Hockey faces polling battle

AAP

4 October 2007

WORKPLACE Relations Minister Joe Hockey faces a battle to retain his seat with Labor polling in his electorate showing a 13 percent swing against the Coalition since the last election.

Mr Hockey has held the North Sydney seat since 1996 and retained it at the last election with a 10 percent margin.

Fairfax newspapers reported today that the polling surveyed 400 voters and found Labor leading the Coalition 53 percent top 47 percent.

They were not asked to choose between Mr Hockey and his Labor rival, the former ABC weatherman Mike Bailey, but between the two parties.

The poll also found Labor Leader Kevin Rudd was more popular among North Sydney voters than Prime Minister John Howard.

http://extras.townsvillebulletin.com.au/rss_article.php?news_id=283031

Tasmanian Pulp Mill decision.

http://www.able2know.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=2883530#2883530

Sigh.

More pulp, more paper is what we need, yes?

Who cares about retaining a beautiful, pristine environment? No $$$ in that!

... something tells me that that particular issue is hardly settled, though!

Just watch!

Africans overboard?

And Labor's not that much better, either.:

Andrews changed reasons for refugee reduction: Labor
Posted Wed Oct 3, 2007 7:00pm AEST

The Federal Opposition says Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews appears to have changed his justification for slashing Australia's intake of African refugees.

Mr Andrews has come under fire for saying the cut was partly driven by concerns African refugees are not integrating properly in Australia.

Labor Immigration spokesman Tony Burke says the capacity to integrate has always been taken into account when visa checks are done in the countries refugees are fleeing.

But he says Mr Andrews is giving a new reason for reducing the intake of African refugees.

"The reasons he's giving now and getting a lot of publicity for are not the reasons that were given at the time of the decision," he said.

"The decision enjoyed bi-partisan support because it was being made for the same reasons that both sides of politics have always made these decisions.

"That is that the Government has gone to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and said 'where in the world can we help best?' and the Minister has brought back a submission to Cabinet."

http://www.abc.com.au/news/stories/2007/10/03/2050297.htm

Interesting, very interesting ....
The federal government has been systematically reducing the number of refugees from Africa migrating to Australia for years now.

A couple of months ago Kevin Andrews announced that the number African asylum seekers to Australia would be cut drastically/phased out, in favour of those "closer to home", like those from the Middle East.

So what brought about this fresh announcement yesterday? Why was there a need to point out that African migrants were not "assimilating" into the Australian community (& were therefore not wanted)?

Something to do with the death of a young Sudanese man who was bashed at Noble Park (Melbourne), then later died. A terrible incident which could be exploited to appeal to certain types of people in the Australian community? Why was this necessary at all, given that he had given entirely different reasons for cutting back on African refugees already?

Shameless opportunism, that's what! (Hey, it worked with "Children overboard"!)

Shame on you, Andrews!

And this is the best "evidence" he can provide to back up his statement? :

Andrews releases 'evidence'
Dan Harrison
October 4, 2007 - 5:10PM/the AGE

Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews has released a summary of allegations against African migrants which he says contributed to his decision to slash the number of refugees Australia accepts from the region.

A day after conceding that a failure of African migrants to "integrate" into Australian society had prompted the decision, Mr Andrews told journalists in Melbourne he was acting to maintain community confidence in Australia's immigration program.

People had expressed to him concerns about the difficulties experienced by African refugees in settling in Australia, he said.

"I have received advice from my department and community organizations across Australia," he said.

"It has been conveyed to me that recent refugee and humanitarian arrivals from the region of Africa are continuing to experience difficulty in successfully settling in Australia and the result is high levels of community concern."

Earlier today, the chairman of Victoria's Multicultural Commission has lashed out at the Mr Andrews, calling him incompetent and irresponsible after he announced this week that Australia would not accept any more African refugees until July 2008.

George Lekakis, the Chairman of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, said the minister was not acting in the best interests of refugees.

"I think it's a very irresponsible approach to community relations and a grave hypocrisy whereby a responsible immigration minister, who has ultimate authority for the welfare of refugees in Australia, can exhibit such incompetence in the way he's managing his portfolio responsibilities."

Mr Lekakis criticised Mr Andrews' motivations for raising the issue in the wake of the bashing death of 19-year-old Leip Gony in Noble Park last week.

"The sinister thing about it is he's politicising it, which is totally unfair to a very vulnerable group in the community," he said.

But this afternoon Mr Andrews released a summary of allegations about African migrants, which he attributed to "feedback from various ethnic organisations" about events in their local community.

"Concerns about the establishment of race-based gangs, reports of altercations between African groups in nightclubs and at community functions, disagreements among prominent African community organisations over accusations that some are receiving favoured treatment in accessing community services," he said, listing the points in his dossier.

"Tensions have arisen between some African families involving conflict and assault, concern among some community leaders as to the increase in crime among some African youths, and reports of a developing trend of young African males congregating in parks at night, often to consume alcohol."

Mr Andrews said he would not release the documents upon which his summary was based because he feared doing so would discourage community groups from providing information to his department in future.

with Sarah-Jane Collins



http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/ministers-evidence/2007/10/04/1191091265333.html

Didya see John and Brian last night?

Workchoices is now 'workchances'

Yep, I saw them, hinge. Hilarious!

Bligh rebuts Minister's 'racist' comments on Sudanese
By Alison Caldwell/ABC news online
Posted 4 hours 9 minutes ago


Anna Bligh says the Minister's 'racist' comments are borne out of desperation in the lead-up to the federal election (File photo). (AAP: Dave Hunt)

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has launched a scathing attack on Federal Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews over his comments about the Sudanese community.

She described the comments as "racist" and as coming from the "deep south of America in the 1950s".

Prime Minister John Howard says that is completely wrong and outrageous. He is defending Mr Andrews' stance.

But an African immigrants' group has lodged a formal complaint with the Human Rights Commissioner, accusing Mr Andrews of racial discrimination.

And Senate candidate Pauline Hanson has backed the Minister's decision to reduce the number of African refugees allowed into Australia.

Until Ms Bligh's criticism, the ALP had said little about the issue of African refugees and their ability to settle in Australia.

Mr Andrews has been happy to speak to the media about the issue at length each day, but Labor kept relatively quiet on the subject for the best part of the week.

On Wednesday, Victorian Premier John Brumby offered qualified criticism of the move to cut the African refugee intake.

But today, Ms Bligh took the criticism much further.

"Kevin Andrews' comments are basically making a judgment about the character of people on the basis of their race," she said.

"There is no more pure form of racism.

"And to have it come out of the mouth of a federal Immigration Minister of this country is something that I think Australians will see for what it is: a very transparent and desperate act in the lead-up to a federal election."

Speaking on ABC Local Radio in Queensland this morning, Mr Andrews again defended his decision to reduce Australia's African refugee intake, listing alleged shortcomings in their behaviour.

"A number of incidents around race-based gangs, altercations between various groups from Africa, disagreements amongst prominent African community organisations, tensions within families - here in Melbourne that's quite evident - altercations between various African groups at community functions and nightclubs, et cetera," he said.


Low crime rate

The highest proportion of Sudanese immigrants in Queensland is in Toowoomba.

Citing police data, Ms Bligh said Sudanese refugees are not involved in crime any more frequently than any other sector of the Australian community.

"Those Sudanese refugees are actually under-represented in the crime statistics," she said.

"What that tells me is that these people are law-abiding citizens, by and large that they are not committing crimes at a rate any higher than the average citizen from any other part of the world."

The Prime Minister was also in Queensland today, and he defended Mr Andrews, saying the refugee intake decision has nothing whatsoever to do with the soon to be announced federal election.

"I've heard Kevin Andrews' explanation and I fully agree with him," he said. ...<cont>

http://www.abc.com.au/news/stories/2007/10/05/2052475.htm?site=elections/federal/2007

Tasmanian pulp mill coalition. :wink: :

Strange, isn't it, that they despise each other so much! They have so much in common!:

AGE poll:
10 ministers face wipeout: poll warning
Michelle Grattan
October 6, 2007/the AGE

UP TO six cabinet ministers could lose their seats if the average state swings recorded by Age/Nielsen polls in the past six months are repeated at the election.

Another four ministers could also be swept away by average swings that ranged from nearly 15 per cent in South Australia/Northern Territory to 5 per cent in Western Australia.

The Age polls taken between April and September show a 9.8 per cent average two-party swing to Labor, with big variations between states. However, both sides believe the numbers will tighten during the campaign, and Labor's lead before the 2004 election showed that pre-election polls are not necessarily a guide to the result.

But Labor is better placed than the Howard opposition was before its 1996 victory. On the Age poll averages, 46 seats are under threat.

As John Howard and Kevin Rudd continued campaigning yesterday, speculation intensified that the Prime Minister might call the election tomorrow. Sources said that commercial TV stations were on standby for the switch from Government to party advertising that occurs after an election is called.

But well-placed Government sources expect Mr Howard to wait another week. Punters have wagered heavily on November 24 as the most likely polling date. Mr Rudd said the delay was bad for retailing and called for fixed, four-year terms.

In the April-September Nielsen polling, Victoria registered an average swing of 7.9 per cent, lower than NSW (9.9) and Queensland (12.3). The Queensland swing, if replicated in the election, would deliver 16 seats; Labor would get 12 seats in NSW, and six in Victoria.

The huge SA/NT swing would deliver eight seats; the small movement in WA only two. Tasmanian figures have been calculated separately, over 12 months because of the small numbers: they show an average swing of 8.3 per cent, which would give the ALP Bass and Braddon.

The minister most at risk is Malcolm Turnbull, who would lose on a 2.6 per cent swing. Also at risk is Special Minister of State Gary Nairn in the bellwether seat of Eden-Monaro (NSW), on 3.3 per cent. Minister for Ageing Christopher Pyne, who holds the SA seat of Sturt by 6.8 per cent, would also be in danger. Mr Howard has a well publicised struggle in Bennelong, on a 4.2 per cent margin. The numbers in Queensland put a question mark over Longman (6.8 per cent), held by Family and Community Services Minister Mal Brough.

Caution is needed in assessing the state figures, which are subject to relatively high margins of error. But on the numbers, Assistant Treasurer Peter Dutton (Dickson, Qld, 8.9 per cent) would have a fight. In theory, but less probably, so would Trade Minister Warren Truss (Wide Bay, Qld, 12.3 per cent) and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer (Mayo, SA, 13.6).

Pollster John Stirton says that overall, polling numbers have been very consistent in the past six months. "This is consistent with what we saw in the 1996 election."



http://www.theage.com.au/news/federalelection2007/ministers-poll-warning/2007/10/05/1191091367488.html

Anyone surprised by this?:

Two in three AWAs fail fairness test, authority says
Posted 1 hour 12 minutes ago
Updated 1 hour 0 minutes ago


Of the 38,000 AWAs that have been assessed, only 12,800 have passed the fairness test. (ABC News: Cristen Tilley)
New figures show about two in three workplace agreements have failed the Federal Government's new fairness test.

The Workplace Authority says so far, it has assessed a quarter of the more than 150,000 agreements lodged by employers.

Of the 38,000 that have been assessed, only 12,800 have passed the fairness test.

The Opposition says that proves that the Government's workplace system is a bureaucratic nightmare, with a massive backlog of agreements awaiting assessment.

The authority says the figures show the fairness test is working and more than 25,000 agreements were assessed in September alone.

http://www.abc.com.au/news/stories/2007/10/06/2052522.htm

Hey hinge, reckon they stole this line from Clarke & Dawe's script script on the 7:30 Report?