Re: Aus Federal Politics thread (II)

[Paul Keating]

Even Dick Smith acknowledges Paltridge - it is worth the read!

He's a Tossie & so is honest as the day is long.

Like Bob Brown then?

Doesn't Dick Smith support refugees and compassion on boat arrivals? He's Tasmanian and is honest as the day is long.

Fark you can't even make it up.

[Paul Keating]

Latest newspoll has the ALP on 30% and Abbott ahead as preferred PM. Only reason I am posting this is because if ignored it, skull would have a field day.

[skully]

Yeah cheers, Ponts. A nice start to the the day, thanks.

[skully]

I'm sure Woody, BD, bl and a few others will be chuckling a little as well.

[lardbucket]

Of all PMs since polling began, only Paul Keating has ever had a lower approval rating. How low can she go?

[JGK]

Of all PMs since polling began, only Paul Keating has ever had a lower approval rating. How low can she go?

She could lose her seat I guess.

[Big Dog]

Even Dick Smith acknowledges Paltridge - it is worth the read!

He's a Tossie & so is honest as the day is long.

Like Bob Brown then?

He came from Victoria originally.

[JGK]

And Martin Bryant?

[Bradman]

And Martin Bryant?

Nasty.

[Big Dog]

And Martin Bryant?

And Martin Bryant...what

[Paul Keating]

Nice article in the Australian written by a capital L Liberal.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/back-to-the-banana-republic/story-e6frg9p6-1226083032934

Key quotes

"TWENTY-FIVE years ago last month Paul Keating used a commodity price and dollar slump to warn that Australia risked becoming a banana republic. It sparked the liberalising policy reforms that changed Australian economic history and unleashed the 1990s productivity boom"

***********

"But the Howard legacy from mining boom mark I was an overheated economy, rising inflation and higher interest rates as taxes were cut and family benefits pumped up without offsetting spending cuts.

As Joe Hockey said last week, the "classic mistake" of managing mining booms was to allow "excessive domestic demand and inflation", which the Reserve Bank then had to "belatedly suppress through higher interest rates".

The Howard legacy also includes a hidden deterioration in the budget's structural position even before Labor's stimulus waste. Rather than a $50bn deficit, the budget should be in surplus now given that the terms of trade are at record highs and the jobless rate is below 5 per cent.

This leaves Australia highly exposed if something goes wrong with our luck in the next few years. By now, we should be pouring surpluses into a budget stabilisation fund to build a buffer for our growing reliance on China's volatile development path"

[G.Wood]

I'm sure Woody, BD, bl and a few others will be chuckling a little as well.

I didn't chuckle, I just felt pity for JGK because he wouldn't be able to trot out his old favourite "and yet she is still ahead of the MM as preferred PM" (at least for this week)

[Bradman]

I'm sure Woody, BD, bl and a few others will be chuckling a little as well.

I didn't chuckle, I just felt pity for JGK because he wouldn't be able to trot out his old favourite "and yet she is still ahead of the MM as preferred PM" (at least for this week)

Nailed it. The MM won't be able to go two more years without imploding. Though hopefully he hangs on as long as possible. The last thing we pinkos need is a rational alternative.

[Paul Keating]

I seriously don't know why the SMH printed today's poll about the ALP romping home if Rudd was their leader. We all know that it is Liberal voters claiming they would vote Labor if Rudd was leader.

[Bradman]

I seriously don't know why the SMH printed today's poll about the ALP romping home if Rudd was their leader. We all know that it is Liberal voters claiming they would vote Labor if Rudd was leader.

Interesting conundrum for the ALP. With Rudd as leader, and after Bligh gets wipped, they'll at least hold their own or pick up seats in Qld. But what of the effect in NSW and Vic. You could argue that their stocks can't get any lower so at the very least they might hold steady 'down mexico way'.

If I was one of the 'faceless men' I'd hold onto Julia as long as possible then have her fall violently ill six months out and resign for the good of her health.

[horace]

has there ever been a poll before where both leaders had exceptionally poor results?

neither is worth a crumpet...the poll increases the logic and numbers in next months Lib putsch to rid the MM and install the macquarrie bankster...the alp are in disarray...pity combet has not got the killer instinct needed to knock off the ranga villainette

[bodyline]

While the old Bill works the back room
The National Secretary sharpens the daggers
The Ranga will go the way of the Ruddster
When the new Bill will rise.

My version of Political Nostradamus

The game is already on

[Bradman]

Finding John Faulkner a lower house seat might help.

[Paul Keating]

Actually the person who said that Shorten will be leader at the next election is pretty astute. This person (can't remember the journo) said this after Gillard formed minority governement.

[horace]

maybe there will be two new leaders by the end of the year - accepting the MM is to be excommunicated in July/Aug

[Bradman]

Actually the person who said that Shorten will be leader at the next election is pretty astute. This person (can't remember the journo) said this after Gillard formed minority governement.

Whoever it was, he may be astute prediction wise but a naif in regards to Shorten's electabilty.

[bodyline]

Actually the person who said that Shorten will be leader at the next election is pretty astute. This person (can't remember the journo) said this after Gillard formed minority governement.

Whoever it was, he may be astute prediction wise but a naif in regards to Shorten's electabilty.

Who would you suggest?

[embee]

{Pats Naif on head}

[horace]

the MM sinks further into the mire...clearly he wants to punish the working class through more workchoices type but has no intention of talking about it prior to the next election...has now now fallen out with the ex Minister for Dogs on the Wharves

from abc online

Former Liberal minister Peter Reith has hit out at Opposition Leader Tony Abbott for urging him to run for the Liberal Party presidency, then voting against him.

Mr Reith is furious that he was asked to run for the presidency by Mr Abbott, who then publicly showed his ballot paper to Mr Reith's opponent, the incumbent Alan Stockdale, indicating that Mr Stockdale had secured his vote.

And in revenge he has vowed to push for industrial relations reform, against the wishes of Mr Abbott, who has sought to avoid debate on the issue to avoid a Labor campaign on the divisive Workchoices policy.

Mr Reith said he had suspended his interest" in commenting about industrial relations policy since February because of a promise to Tony Abbott.

"The suspension, by his own hand, is lifted," Mr Reith told ABC radio this morning.

But Mr Reith denied he was bitter about Mr Abbott's about face.

"Tony and I have always got on very well, and so it's certainly not personal."

He said he promised Mr Abbott he would avoid talking publicly about policy to avoid a difficult industrial relations debate if he was elected to the presidency.

"He did ask me to run for the top job and we had quite a chat about it and I said 'Tony, you know my views on workplace relations'," Mr Reith said.

"I said 'look, I'll give up talking about policy because the job of a federal president is to talk on behalf of the organisation'. So that was the deal. So obviously I was disappointed with what happened."

He said he had rung Mr Abbott a couple of times and still had no explanation about why he changed his mind.

"Beats me Fran. I honestly don't know. I really don't. But he certainly asked me and he didn't only ask me, he asked people around him to join in my campaign," he told Fran Kelly on Radio National.

"I honestly can't tell you what happened, I just don't understand it."

And asked if Mr Abbott had "set him up to fail", Mr Reith said: "Well, you never know about politics".

"There's so many bits and pieces running around, it's all very complex. The good news is we're ahead in the polls, this is just a bit of a bubble for a couple of days."

Mr Reith was also angered that a report he had been asked to write on the administration of the Liberal Party had been "buried".

"First of all he [Mr Abbott] asked me to do the report on the Liberal Party and he actually said to me, 'Peter it would be great mate if you could do this because I just want someone to tell it as it is and we all know you're the sort of guy who speaks his mind'.

"I didn't realise then there would be some people wanting to bury the report, which I don't agree with."

True to his word, Mr Reith has begun his campaign for workplace relations reform, saying Workchoices was not necessarily the reason for the election loss in 2007.

"The Workchoices thing has been made - even by our own side - into this sort of huge bogie man. You know, 'we lost the election because of Workchoices'," he said.

"Even if they got back to the legislation we had in '96 which worked really well, which the Democrats all went along with at the time, Australia would be a lot better instead of going backwards which is where we've gone under Julia Gillard."

[Paul Keating]

I just cannot understand why Abbott would short Stockdale in full view of the camera who he voted for.

Is he in year 9?

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