Domestic Politics

[thisphantomfortress]

It comes down to a sense of entitlement. Medicare may be a blackhole of inefficiancy but how dare they charge me money when I chuck a sickie and waste a GP's time!

[Tesla]

It comes down to a sense of entitlement. Medicare may be a blackhole of inefficiancy but how dare they charge me money when I chuck a sickie and waste a GP's time!

That wouldn't even be the biggest waste of GP time happening on the taxpayer's dime.

But you're correct, it's very hard to take back anything.

Edited January 23, 2015 by Tesla

[hedaik]

http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/workchoices-20-unions-vow-to-mobilise-over-sweeping-workplace-review-20150123-12wk2o.html

 

Dunno if this has been discussed yet, but its getting to the point where certain sectins of the media aren't letting the Libs even whisper workplace reform without screaming "Workchoices is back!"

 

And the left always bemoan Murdoch and his influence 

 

Theres no doubt that The Age have their agendas and biases (the EW Link being the most recent), but its far less extreme and sensationalist as the Murdoch papers. 

 

I agree that it would be nice if a review/submissions/debate could be held about IR laws without constantly referring to Workchoices.  

Edited January 23, 2015 by hedaik

[malloy]

http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/workchoices-20-unions-vow-to-mobilise-over-sweeping-workplace-review-20150123-12wk2o.html

Dunno if this has been discussed yet, but its getting to the point where certain sectins of the media aren't letting the Libs even whisper workplace reform without screaming "Workchoices is back!"

And the left always bemoan Murdoch and his influence

Theres no doubt that The Age have their agendas and biases (the EW Link being the most recent), but its far less extreme and sensationalist as the Murdoch papers.

I agree that it would be nice if a review/submissions/debate could be held about IR laws without constantly referring to Workchoices.

I dunno, I think they are both pretty on par these days.

Despite being fairly right wing I have always read The Age, but it is becoming ever more unbearable lately.

[AyeCee]

 

 

http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/workchoices-20-unions-vow-to-mobilise-over-sweeping-workplace-review-20150123-12wk2o.html

Dunno if this has been discussed yet, but its getting to the point where certain sectins of the media aren't letting the Libs even whisper workplace reform without screaming "Workchoices is back!"

And the left always bemoan Murdoch and his influence

Theres no doubt that The Age have their agendas and biases (the EW Link being the most recent), but its far less extreme and sensationalist as the Murdoch papers.

I agree that it would be nice if a review/submissions/debate could be held about IR laws without constantly referring to Workchoices.

I dunno, I think they are both pretty on par these days.

Despite being fairly right wing I have always read The Age, but it is becoming ever more unbearable lately.

 

Agree completely.

Even my left-leaning dad is getting fed up with some of the shit they're publishing now.

[Tesla]

Well with the point of no return surely almost reached by Abbott, do you really think Turnbull is the best chance cadete? yes he is liked more by people across the electorate, but I don't see how a 60yo man is the solution when the Liberals appear completely out of touch.

I'd be more confident with Julie Bishop in charge, even though she wouldn't be my choice under different circumstances.

[thisphantomfortress]

Well with the point of no return surely almost reached by Abbott, do you really think Turnbull is the best chance cadete? yes he is liked more by people across the electorate, but I don't see how a 60yo man is the solution when the Liberals appear completely out of touch.

I'd be more confident with Julie Bishop in charge, even though she wouldn't be my choice under different circumstances.

 

I'm torn on the issue, both Turnbull and Bishop are fairly popular in the electorate and I think it will come down to which of them is more popular in the party room.

 

The only certainty is that Abbott's days are numbered.

[Moraiwe]

A lot people bring up who is more popular in the public/party, but an aspect that I haven't heard mentioned is who is more popular with the big donors of the liberal party. Is this not a big factor? I would have thought many in the party would be very concerned about who could pull in the money.

[jw1739]

Turnbull would be fairly popular with the people IMO, but would definitely take the Liberals a step or two towards the left, especially on issues such as climate change and immigration. And big industry certainly doesn't favour any meaningful action on carbon emissions. I'm not sure that we're ready for another female PM so soon after Gillard. Bishop seems to be doing alright in Foreign Affairs; maybe she could double as Deputy PM rather than whoever we would get as Treasurer.

 

I think Turnbull could be the healing hand that we need.

[Tesla]

Turnbull would be fairly popular with the people IMO, but would definitely take the Liberals a step or two towards the left, especially on issues such as climate change and immigration. And big industry certainly doesn't favour any meaningful action on carbon emissions. I'm not sure that we're ready for another female PM so soon after Gillard. Bishop seems to be doing alright in Foreign Affairs; maybe she could double as Deputy PM rather than whoever we would get as Treasurer.

 

I think Turnbull could be the healing hand that we need.

Deputy PM comes from the nationals in Coaliton governments.

She is already the deputy leader of the Liberals if that's what you mean.

[cadete]

Well what I have been saying for a while its looks inevitable now...

 

From what I can work out Bishop is obviously going to try to contend if she can get the numbers - But she is going to really need some Eastern State Players behind her so I am assuming that if she can it will be Victorian and to a lesser extent QLD MP's who would be most prone to get behind her in light of the recent State Election disasters.

 

Abbott is a fighter we all know that (Its his best quality as a politician - love him or hate him) and his going to try hang in there for as long as possible and obviously if Bishop does challenge he obviously will try fight her off. Obviously the main players on the front bench like Hockey and Pyne will want to stay loyal to Abbott if he thinks he can win because a new leader is probably not going to want to have their immensely unpopular faces too prominent and preventing  the Public Perception of a changed LNP. 

 

Morrison is an interesting place because (Ethics Aside for some of course) he is one of the few Ministers to have successfully implemented an election policy.
However, he also owes a lot of his rise in the party specifically to Abbott so he will obviously have this is mind as I suspect a number of other NSW members.

 

The major question will be if the NSW MP's and specifically those mentioned get to the point where they realise that Abbott is a sunk ship and cant win the election or Bishop in the Party Room and that therefore need another candidate to represent their interests in a leadership challenge against Bishop.

 

Its pretty safe to assume that if they were choosing on personality alone their first choice would be Morrison, however he is inexperienced in the limelight and as Downer and of course Latham have showed in the past inexperienced leaders can quickly turn from a breath of fresh air into someone who looks out of their depth.

 

The other choice for the NSW MP's is obviously Turnbull and their is no doubt that he would want the job but judging by his recent media appearances he is acting very guarded about things which to me probably indicates he knows that Abbott's supporters are sticking thick or that they truly think right now Morrison is a better option if Abbott cannot survive. Of course things can change quickly though so you cant rule Turnbull out.

 

But the scenarios I can see happening are:

 

1. Bishop challenging Abbott... and Bishop most likely winning mind you I wouldn't rule out Turnbull throwing his hat in the ring in such a situation which would make things more interesting but I still think Bishop would probably win.

 

2. If Abbott loses his main supporters then it will probably be Bishop vs Morrison... in this scenario I can only see Turnbull also contesting out of ego because without Abbott in the race it would be pretty clear Morrison would have the backing of the old Abbott NSW camp.

In this scenario I think its too hard to even predict a winner... maybe Morrison because of him having the NSW Establishment behind him.

[Tesla]

I think it's interesting how acceptable a change in PM mid term is under the last couple of governments, but from what I remember the Coalition being upfront about the fact that Howard would hand over to Costello (who was a stronger candidate for PM then any PM since Howard) mid term hurt their chance of reelection.

[cadete]

I think it's interesting how acceptable a change in PM mid term is under the last couple of governments, but from what I remember the Coalition being upfront about the fact that Howard would hand over to Costello (who was a stronger candidate for PM then any PM since Howard) mid term hurt their chance of reelection.

LOL - I can you tell you for a fact I saw all the best polling on that topic at the time and the notion of a succession plan was more popular than unpopular in all the polls... Even Howard concedes now that an earlier swap should have been performed prior to 2006.

Most ALP insiders consider the "You will end up with Costello" campaign one that made little traction with voters and something that should have been better thought out b4 being run with cos Howard's supposed unrivalled popularity actually ended a lot earlier than most ppl assumed it's just a person called Mark Latham came along and distorted shit.

[Tesla]

Honestly it's time the Australian public woke up to the reality of the situation.

A Medicare co-payment is better than no Medicare at all, and that's where we're heading without a co-payment.

Deregulating and subsidising university fees a bit less is a lot better than no government subsidisation and no interest-free government loans for university degrees.

And no I'm not exaggerating, I doubt people in Greece thought they'd end up where they are either. Regardless of how politically unpalatable the idea of no Medicare at all is, if the country ends up on the verge of default like some of the European countries, then we have seen politics doesn't matter much as there really isn't any alternative. EG Even the new communist government in Greece isn't able to do anything to alleviate the austerity measures they are so against.

And saying we are heading down the path of Greece is also not an exaggeration. According to statements made by the head of RBA and head of Treasury today, Australia now borrows $110m a day and even if the economy went back to growing at 3% per year it would still be more than 10 years before a surplus was returned. Very quickly these things can get out of hand, more debt equals more interest, more interest and you need more debt to pay it, it's a horrible cycle. Given the RBA had to cut rates 2 days agobecause the economy is so slow at the moment, it's not unthinkable things could slow down even more and blow out the deficit further.

The fact is, and we've known this for a while, is there is a structural budget deficit, not just a cyclical one. And yes I'm aware that Howard & Costello deserve some of the blame for creating the structural deficit late in their term, but given the strength of the economy and the strength of the cyclical surplus at the time, I dont think they really did anything that bad. Whereas Labor only made things worse during their term. I very much doubt Costello would have done some of the retarded shit Labor did.

The coalition losing popularity for trying to fix the budget is ridiculous. Labor and the Greens should be losing votes for destroying the country bit by bit every single day they block the budget measures.

And no, I'm not some heartless right wing cunt. But the Medicare co-payment and the university fee deregulation really are not that bad. Anyone that says they can't afford either of these is full of shit. I don't support retarded shit like not giving people access to the dole for 6 months, that's a very different policy and will end badly.

Edited February 5, 2015 by Tesla

[bt50]

Honestly it's time the Australian public woke up to the reality of the situation.

A Medicare co-payment is better than no Medicare at all, and that's where we're heading without a co-payment.

Deregulating and subsidising university fees a bit less is a lot better than no government subsidisation and no interest-free government loans for university degrees.

And no I'm not exaggerating, I doubt people in Greece thought they'd end up where they are either. Regardless of how politically unpalatable the idea of no Medicare at all is, if the country ends up on the verge of default like some of the European countries, then we have seen politics doesn't matter much as there really isn't any alternative. EG Even the new communist government in Greece isn't able to do anything to alleviate the austerity measures they are so against.

And saying we are heading down the path of Greece is also not an exaggeration. According to statements made by the head of RBA and head of Treasury today, Australia now borrows $110m a day and even if the economy went back to growing at 3% per year it would still be more than 10 years before a surplus was returned. Very quickly these things can get out of hand, more debt equals more interest, more interest and you need more debt to pay it, it's a horrible cycle. Given the RBA had to cut rates 2 days agobecause the economy is so slow at the moment, it's not unthinkable things could slow down even more and blow out the deficit further.

The fact is, and we've known this for a while, is there is a structural budget deficit, not just a cyclical one. And yes I'm aware that Howard & Costello deserve some of the blame for creating the structural deficit late in their term, but given the strength of the economy and the strength of the cyclical surplus at the time, I dont think they really did anything that bad. Whereas Labor only made things worse during their term. I very much doubt Costello would have done some of the retarded shit Labor did.

The coalition losing popularity for trying to fix the budget is ridiculous. Labor and the Greens should be losing votes for destroying the country bit by bit every single day they block the budget measures.

And no, I'm not some heartless right wing cunt. But the Medicare co-payment and the university fee deregulation really are not that bad. Anyone that says they can't afford either of these is full of shit. I don't support retarded shit like not giving people access to the dole for 6 months, that's a very different policy and will end badly.

Tesla for PM

[hedaik]

Im not against Abbott for his budget measures (although I do think they were a bit too skewed to the middle-lower class), I'm against him for being a straight up lying cunt and being so negative against every cost saving measure that Labor brought in (plus a bunch of other reasons). 

 

Wishful thinking, but I'm hoping the recent trend of one term governments puts some honesty back into the pricks. And yes I do also realise its hard to do when fear campaigns by the opposite party are always successful. 

Edited February 5, 2015 by hedaik

[malloy]

Im not against Abbott for his budget measures (although I do think they were a bit too skewed to the middle-lower class), I'm against him for being a straight up lying cunt and being so negative against every cost saving measure that Labor brought in (plus a bunch of other reasons).

Wishful thinking, but I'm hoping the recent trend of one term governments puts some honesty back into the pricks. And yes I do also realise its hard to do when fear campaigns by the opposite party are always successful.

Continuing a trend of one term governments will have bad consequences for this country. It will mean both parties will continue/increase their level of 'vote buying'. These policies tend to be very short sighted in nature.

[Tesla]

Speaking of politicians lying,Daniel Andrews still hasn't released the EWL contract. Meanwhile the opposition has released the letter of guarantee, which basically makes clear that full compensation will be unavoidable.

Meaning that Daniel Andrews now either breaks his promise about not building the EWL, or breaks his promise about not paying the full compensation.

Good work by the Napthine government ensuring Victoria does not become the equivalent of some banana republic or African nation where contracts are unenforceable and therefore the economies are disasters.

I really don't understand what Daniel Andrews and the Labor party hope to achieve from the 'negotiations' with the consortium. Every day that goes by just means more compensation is payable.

Edited February 5, 2015 by Tesla

[thisphantomfortress]

Speaking of politicians lying,Daniel Andrews still hasn't released the EWL contract. Meanwhile the opposition has released the letter of guarantee, which basically makes clear that full compensation will be unavoidable.Meaning that Daniel Andrews now either breaks his promise about not building the EWL, or breaks his promise about not paying the full compensation.Good work by the Napthine government ensuring Victoria does not become the equivalent of some banana republic or African nation where contracts are unenforceable and therefore the economies are disasters.I really don't understand what Daniel Andrews and the Labor party hope to achieve from the 'negotiations' with the consortium. Every day that goes by just means more compensation is payable.

It's an absolute farce. How anyone bought into it is beyond me.

[cadete]

 

Im not against Abbott for his budget measures (although I do think they were a bit too skewed to the middle-lower class), I'm against him for being a straight up lying cunt and being so negative against every cost saving measure that Labor brought in (plus a bunch of other reasons).

Wishful thinking, but I'm hoping the recent trend of one term governments puts some honesty back into the pricks. And yes I do also realise its hard to do when fear campaigns by the opposite party are always successful.

Continuing a trend of one term governments will have bad consequences for this country. It will mean both parties will continue/increase their level of 'vote buying'. These policies tend to be very short sighted in nature.

 

I think you will find that the "One Term Government" thing that we are seeing right now is a phase as the Australian Electorate generally likes to feel secure which is why if the Liberals react quickly to the Abbott situation they still have chance of winning the election.

 

As Telsa has mentioned it also doesn't help such a trend when poor one term governments are dismissed and replaced by new governments who immediately run into problems implementing their key election promises like we are seeing here in Victoria.

 

Also personally for me the two parties fighting for the middle ground... is why Liberal Democracies it is the best form of workable government that we have... 

 

I have to say Telsa that comparing Greek and Australian Politics is far too long a bow to draw... the business of actually running a government is very different to how easy it appears if you look at purely from economical prospective. Then there is the fact that  the machinations of how Greek Politics when compared to those of a government in Australia is like comparing how the Dallas Cowboys operates compared to how Heidelberg United operate.

 

Of course Medicare does need reform but Abbott has clearly taken it to far (His changes are one's nobody can deny will penalise the lower middle classes) whilst Pyne's education policy with its bias towards Group of Eight Universities is ridiculously out of touch with what services this country requires as it moves forward with an ageing population and for our next generations as they move into the technological age.

 

I will put it out there now that if the LNP Medicare/Education Policies are not altered (Its safe to assume a leadership change would have to occur for this to happen) then I wont be voting Liberal... and I will most likely be voting ALP because at least Shorten despite his union shortcomings has a bigger clue on what Moderate Australia wants and needs.

Edited February 6, 2015 by cadete

[thisphantomfortress]

Leadership spill set for Tuesday. Keeping me from doing anything at work.

 

http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/the-pulse-live/politics-live-tony-abbotts-leadership-in-crisis--february-6-2015-20150206-137ks2.html

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-06/pm-tony-abbott-facing-leadership-spill-motion/6075470

[Tesla]

After watching Turnbull for a little bit yesterday, I'm officially in for Malcolm Turnbull PM. Sack Abbott.

I remember why I always used to be a big Turnbull fan, no one in parliment understands business and the economy as well as this man does. He is also a brilliant shit talker which will avoid the problems Abbott had, Turnbull could sell sand to an Arab.

At the very least, I'd hope he could somehow get himself in as Treasurer if Julie Bishop becomes PM.

Edited February 6, 2015 by Tesla

[thisphantomfortress]

He has a proven track record in business and only got dropped last time for not being right enough. I'm warming to the idea of Turnbull as PM.

 

Almost suits cadete's desire for a central candidate even if his party are fairly far to the right ATM.

[Tesla]

He has a proven track record in business and only got dropped last time for not being right enough. I'm warming to the idea of Turnbull as PM.

 

Almost suits cadete's desire for a central candidate even if his party are fairly far to the right ATM.

The reason i've always liked Turnbull is I felt he was closest to my own beliefs of any politician with a legitimate chance of being PM. I don't even remember what gave me that opinion, don't even remember a whole lot of him as opposition leader, and so I could be mistaken. But to me he has always seemed like a guy who is a firm believer in the market, whereas he is probably more to the left on non-economic issues than the average Liberal party politician. And if that is the case then he is pretty similar to my own beliefs, I'm not really right wing, I just a firm believer in the market whereas a lot of my non-economic views could be considered quite left wing.

I was put off him with all the shit communications policy going on though. Not sure how much of that is his own doing and how much of it comes from guys like Abbott, Brandis, and Hockey. I guess we'll find out as I imagine Abbott, Hockey, and Brandis will all go if the leadership changes.

Edited February 6, 2015 by Tesla

[thisphantomfortress]

 

he has always seemed like a guy who is a firm believer in the market, whereas he is probably more to the left on non-economic issues than the average Liberal party politician.

 

 

Yea thats pretty spot on and I think the Libs have marginalised a lot of voters who are also like this through Abbott. I'm very similar all about promoting a free and competative market but socially very small l liberal. Turnbull also doesn't make stupid mistakes in interviews like Abbott does.

[cadete]

He has a proven track record in business and only got dropped last time for not being right enough. I'm warming to the idea of Turnbull as PM.

 

Almost suits cadete's desire for a central candidate even if his party are fairly far to the right ATM.

Personally I think Turnbull is their best chance for the reason you mention but I think it has to be pointed out he was not dumped because he wasn't right enough.

 

He was dumped because he has a sense of entitlement, is horrific at identifying threats in the party room and is not a political fighter... ultimately thats why the Libs went with when they chose Abbott and he has to deserve some credit for his fight as an opposition leader because he really was relentless and achieved his aim.

 

However the Libs dont need an Opposition Leader now they need a PM... and perhaps we can hope that Turnbull is exact opposite of Abbott and what made him a bad opposition leader will be able to make him a good Prime Minister.

 

Personally I cant help but blame this whole situation on Costello - As a Uni Student I was his biggest supporter but the guy should have shown some bloody fight and should be our Prime Minster right now... I still dont know he didn't wait his time his still only bloody 53.

 

If Abbott wins the spill FWIW it wont be the last one we see in the next few months... I also think that Bishop now knows she doesn't look likely to get the numbers from Victoria or QLD and the NSW members seem to be warming to Turnbull due to the relentless news coverage.

Edited February 6, 2015 by cadete

[cadete]

I think Abbott is probably going to win this spill... most likely unopposed (Obviously no surprise here from media reports).

 

But what is being said on and off the phone right now is going to be the real story... of course we all know that the last PM who won a leadership spill unopposed did not get a chance to stand for re-election.

[cadete]

I really dont know what Abbott can do now... 66 - 39 was def not the kind of numbers he was looking for in pushing the day forward to Monday.

 

We can rule Bishop out... clearly there is no Eastern State Support plus the PPL are probably too scared of her work as a Lawyer is some very ugly Asbestos Cases and how she got her seat in the first place was anything but pretty (Biggest Branch Stack in WA History - Plus there is other House of Hancock style stuff I wont mention on here.. not hard to find if really want to know.) 

 

It be interesting to see what Morrison is thinking right now because I still think he is a possible candidate... he can bide his time and take the easier option of being Deputy Leader/Treasurer under Turnbull.

 

However he then has a second harder option of taking the fallen Abbott Banner and promising Abbott's unpopular front bench that he can keep them their jobs (Or at least prominent) and beat off Turnbull.

 

In under three months time we will have a new Prime Minister... Turnbull will probably beat Abbott in a two way race by a small (But not very narrow) margin or Turnbull will take on Morrison in what could be a very close race.

Edited February 9, 2015 by cadete

[thisphantomfortress]

I really dont know what Abbott can do now... 66 - 39 was def not the kind of numbers he was looking for in pushing the day forward to Monday.

 

We can rule Bishop out... clearly there is no Eastern State Support plus the PPL are probably too scared of her work as a Lawyer is some very ugly Asbestos Cases and how she got her seat in the first place was anything but pretty (Biggest Branch Stack in WA History - Plus there is other House of Hancock style stuff I wont mention on here.. not hard to find if really want to know.) 

 

It be interesting to see what Morrison is thinking right now because I still think he is a possible candidate... he can bide his time and take the easier option of being Deputy Leader/Treasurer under Turnbull.

 

However he then has a second harder option of taking the fallen Abbott Banner and promising Abbott's unpopular front bench that he can keep them their jobs (Or at least prominent) and beat off Turnbull.

 

In under three months time we will have a new Prime Minister... Turnbull will probably beat Abbott in a two way race by a small (But not very narrow) margin or Turnbull will take on Morrison in what could be a very close race.

 

My insider has told me Morrison isn't looking for the top job just yet and that he'd prefer treasurer.

[cadete]

 

I really dont know what Abbott can do now... 66 - 39 was def not the kind of numbers he was looking for in pushing the day forward to Monday.

 

We can rule Bishop out... clearly there is no Eastern State Support plus the PPL are probably too scared of her work as a Lawyer is some very ugly Asbestos Cases and how she got her seat in the first place was anything but pretty (Biggest Branch Stack in WA History - Plus there is other House of Hancock style stuff I wont mention on here.. not hard to find if really want to know.) 

 

It be interesting to see what Morrison is thinking right now because I still think he is a possible candidate... he can bide his time and take the easier option of being Deputy Leader/Treasurer under Turnbull.

 

However he then has a second harder option of taking the fallen Abbott Banner and promising Abbott's unpopular front bench that he can keep them their jobs (Or at least prominent) and beat off Turnbull.

 

In under three months time we will have a new Prime Minister... Turnbull will probably beat Abbott in a two way race by a small (But not very narrow) margin or Turnbull will take on Morrison in what could be a very close race.

 

My insider has told me Morrison isn't looking for the top job just yet and that he'd prefer treasurer.

 

That would be what I assume he will do as well...

 

If thats the case it looks like the next election will be Turnbull vs Shorten... and they are a chance, by now means the favourite (The odds are stacked) but they are a chance.

 

The one major hope the LNP has alongside his ability to look more moderate is that Turnbull is from NSW (And Western Sydney generally wins Federal Elections) whilst Shorten really needs Daniels not totally fuck up this EW Link Contract Shit being from a Victorian Union Background himself. 

 

I am also still not convinced that this One Term Government thing is now a permanent fixture of Australian Politics in fact I think it will smoothen out and its important to remember that it is not yet proven as a new feature of Australian Federal Politics.

 

Still the smart money right now would still have to be on an ALP government come the next election.

Edited February 9, 2015 by cadete

[thisphantomfortress]

 

 

I really dont know what Abbott can do now... 66 - 39 was def not the kind of numbers he was looking for in pushing the day forward to Monday.

 

We can rule Bishop out... clearly there is no Eastern State Support plus the PPL are probably too scared of her work as a Lawyer is some very ugly Asbestos Cases and how she got her seat in the first place was anything but pretty (Biggest Branch Stack in WA History - Plus there is other House of Hancock style stuff I wont mention on here.. not hard to find if really want to know.) 

 

It be interesting to see what Morrison is thinking right now because I still think he is a possible candidate... he can bide his time and take the easier option of being Deputy Leader/Treasurer under Turnbull.

 

However he then has a second harder option of taking the fallen Abbott Banner and promising Abbott's unpopular front bench that he can keep them their jobs (Or at least prominent) and beat off Turnbull.

 

In under three months time we will have a new Prime Minister... Turnbull will probably beat Abbott in a two way race by a small (But not very narrow) margin or Turnbull will take on Morrison in what could be a very close race.

 

My insider has told me Morrison isn't looking for the top job just yet and that he'd prefer treasurer.

 

That would be what I assume he will do as well...

 

If thats the case it looks like the next election will be Turnbull vs Shorten... and they are a chance, by now means the favourite (The odds are stacked) but they are a chance because Turnbull is from NSW and Shorten really needs Daniels not totally fuck up this EW Link Contract Shit being from a Victorian Union Background himself. 

 

I am also still not convinced that this One Term Government thing is not a permanent fixture of Australian Politics in fact I think it will smoothen out and its important to not that it is yet to be proven a feature of Australian Federal Politics.

 

Still the smart money right now would still have to be on an ALP government come the next election.

 

 

I think Morrison would be a pretty unpopular choice at the moment as the hardline he took as immigration minister would still be fresh in peoples minds, potentially a future leader of the party but not right now.

 

I was disapointed when Turnbull came out against the spill. I would be interested to know which Victorians voted for it. I used to work for Alan Tudge and he is a lot closer aligned in ideology to Turnbull than Abbott like a lot of the Victorian Libs seem to be.

 

I think if Abbott leads the Coalition into the next election they could be in trouble but Shorten v Turnbull at this stage I wouldn't want to call.

[Tesla]

Need Turnbull in before the budget. Either as PM or Treasurer.

Only bloke I can see selling what needs to be done.

Don't really rate Shorten, even Rudd and Gillard made better leaders, I reckon Turnbull could turn it around if he becomes PM soon.

Edited February 9, 2015 by Tesla

[cadete]

 

 

 

I really dont know what Abbott can do now... 66 - 39 was def not the kind of numbers he was looking for in pushing the day forward to Monday.

 

We can rule Bishop out... clearly there is no Eastern State Support plus the PPL are probably too scared of her work as a Lawyer is some very ugly Asbestos Cases and how she got her seat in the first place was anything but pretty (Biggest Branch Stack in WA History - Plus there is other House of Hancock style stuff I wont mention on here.. not hard to find if really want to know.) 

 

It be interesting to see what Morrison is thinking right now because I still think he is a possible candidate... he can bide his time and take the easier option of being Deputy Leader/Treasurer under Turnbull.

 

However he then has a second harder option of taking the fallen Abbott Banner and promising Abbott's unpopular front bench that he can keep them their jobs (Or at least prominent) and beat off Turnbull.

 

In under three months time we will have a new Prime Minister... Turnbull will probably beat Abbott in a two way race by a small (But not very narrow) margin or Turnbull will take on Morrison in what could be a very close race.

 

My insider has told me Morrison isn't looking for the top job just yet and that he'd prefer treasurer.

 

That would be what I assume he will do as well...

 

If thats the case it looks like the next election will be Turnbull vs Shorten... and they are a chance, by now means the favourite (The odds are stacked) but they are a chance because Turnbull is from NSW and Shorten really needs Daniels not totally fuck up this EW Link Contract Shit being from a Victorian Union Background himself. 

 

I am also still not convinced that this One Term Government thing is not a permanent fixture of Australian Politics in fact I think it will smoothen out and its important to not that it is yet to be proven a feature of Australian Federal Politics.

 

Still the smart money right now would still have to be on an ALP government come the next election.

 

 

I think Morrison would be a pretty unpopular choice at the moment as the hardline he took as immigration minister would still be fresh in peoples minds, potentially a future leader of the party but not right now.

 

I was disapointed when Turnbull came out against the spill. I would be interested to know which Victorians voted for it. I used to work for Alan Tudge and he is a lot closer aligned in ideology to Turnbull than Abbott like a lot of the Victorian Libs seem to be.

 

I think if Abbott leads the Coalition into the next election they could be in trouble but Shorten v Turnbull at this stage I wouldn't want to call.

 

I also worked for the Libs during the end of the Howard Government and I know how you feel because I ultimately left the party knew to finding myself too moderate for some of the later policies they surfaced around 2006-2007.

 

I am sure you are probably aware however that the Refugee Debate at the time was nowhere near as clear cut as many of the Howard Government's Biggest Opponents tried to paint the situation. This was was of course only demonstrated so clearly when Rudd came in and made on the fly decisions without even bothering to consult the Immigration Department and all hell broke lose.

 

He turned a harsh workable model into a complete disaster and then left Gillard up shit creek when she tried with that Malaysia crap to find way to return to some any sort model that could simply steam the tide. Of course Rudd's eventual return and New Hardline Immigration Policy prior to last election both illustrated both how much he truly resembled a mad medieval monarch (Or Mark Latham you can chose) and how well Ruddock had actually performed as an Immigration Minister.

 

Its hard to put the scandals aside and ethical issues (ESP for myself as I am very Pro-Immigration) but the reality was that Philip Ruddock was placed with a very difficult situation and as harsh as it sounds he implemented the best possible workable model for the situation but sadly the model was as ugly as it was effective.

 

It is simple a fact that in doing what he did Ruddock did the job of a good Minister, in fact I dont think you would find too many in the ALP besides those to the far left that would not label Ruddock an Effective Minister or those who have meet him even as an ethical person. 

 

The Current Refugee Policies are not popular with some, but Morrison is clearly being looked upon in a positive light right now because he is the only Minister who has successfully implemented one of Abbott's key promises and its behind a lot other issues on Australia's minds.

 

You cant say this about Abbott himself, Hockey, Pyne, Brandis or even Turnbull TBH and and as I have said before being a good Foreign Minister when you are almost receiving Bipartisan Support really disqualifies Bishop from such a discussion. (Its hard to ever really pick apart any Australian Foreign Minister - Its the Opposite of being a State Public Transport Minister).

 

I think Turnbull was as good as a Liberal Environment Minister as you could have had at the time but the fact poor Peter Garrett (I really feel sorry for the bloke) was such a poor Environment Minister due to the policies he was forced to implement by Rudd and then of course probably does paint Turnbull's time in the job him in a better light.

 

Hopefully such a Ministerial performance can then translate into Turnbull being a good Prime Minister but the one issue I have with him in comparison to Morrison is that its a long held common perception that Turnbull lacks the ability to delegate. Now this was obviously Rudd's problem and ironically now appears to be clearly Abbott's as well... Gillard was much better at it but we never got to see her without the damage of Rudd having already been done.

 

So lets just hope that if Turnbull does become PM we get someone who has learned from the past ten years and fucken delegates.

Edited February 9, 2015 by cadete

[Tesla]

fwiw Abbott is 100% correct with what he said about indigenous people living in remote communities.

Goes for non-indigenous extremely remote communities as well TBH, if they're costing large sums to subsidise people living there via the provision of services etc. below what the true cost should be.

But that's a different story, how anyone can argue for these aboriginal communities to exist when the facts are that there are 115 communities with only 507 people in total in them (an average of 4.4 people) is beyond me. Clearly not sustainable or ideal.

Edited March 11, 2015 by Tesla

[Deeming]

Stan Grant hit the nail on the head
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/aboriginal_leaders_fail_stan_grant_does_not/

[cadete]

Displacing PPL from where their ancestors have always lived has never historically anywhere in the world at any time been a great thing to do... which means that I tend to disagree with at least how Abbott phrased his comments on the issue.

 

But it is a major worry that Child Protection Services in Australia are in such a state of paranoia about being labeled "Racist" or "Children Stealers" that too many issues in relation to children are allowed to happen in this Communities that would be prevented or addressed earlier in other places in Australia. In fact it should probably be noted that in general all government reports on the issue from all of states of Australia point to a similar trend occurring in Child Protection in regards to Aboriginal Children.

 

I think it should also be noted that when these Child Protection Issues were acted upon hastily by the Howard Government through quick interventions into these communities the Libs did receive Bipartisan Support from the ALP (Despite the outrage from some of the Leftist Media) which obviously illustrates how big a problem we have on our hands in these places.

 

I also think it should be noted that Abbott has spent some serious time (Considering the length of his term) in some of these communities compared to former PM's. It should also be noted that something that is not being mentioned by his critics when lashing out at these comments is that he has also made it a major priority of first term to get going an Amendment to the Constitution to recognise our country's indigenous people. (Despite several members of his backbench being very against such a action).  

Edited March 12, 2015 by cadete

[Shahanga]

I see where Tabbotts coming form.  Some of those "communities" aren't more than a few brick sheds.

 

I've spent a lot of time in the outback and in various aboriginal communities (mind you not for a while) but what I saw indicated that the government was a big part of the problem.  It comes as no surprise to me that outcomes are getting worse, despite more money being spent.

 

I think a lot of this stuff needs to be challenged and there should be a serious debate, without anyone who suggests we need to find another way being called "racist".  

 

It would also help if they looked at the "outback communities" as a subset to aboriginal.  The issues for aboriginal people living in towns and cities are pretty much the same as the rest of society.  The remote communities are where the real problems are.

[hedaik]

Abbott has backed down over the EW Link and has said he'll fund another road project instead.

So because of stupid politics and 20 protesters we are now going to end up with a second best option.

Sometimes I think it'd be good to live in China so shit just gets done.

Sidenote: I also think Abbotts an idiot for not funding the metro rail.

Edited March 20, 2015 by hedaik

[Tesla]

Abbott has backed down over the EW Link and has said he'll fund another road project instead.

So because of stupid politics and 20 protesters we are now going to end up with a second best option.

Sometimes I think it'd be good to live in China so shit just gets done.

Sidenote: I also think Abbotts an idiot for not funding the metro rail.

Metro rail is never happening. Costs too much to build, and once it's built they'll just be a whole lot more heavily subsidised trains running through it, bleeding money every year. Doesn't stack up at all. Edited March 20, 2015 by Tesla

[Tesla]

Can we have the funding for the Ring Road that was redirected to the EWL put back towards finishing the Ring Road upgrade. The rest of the federal funding for the EWL can go to a new project, but it seems only right that the federal funds redirected from the Ring Road revert back to the Ring Road in the absence of any other project currently.

Speaking of existing freeways, the Calder could use some money, build a new Calder Park Drive interchange which should be an infrastructure priority TBH and install a managed freeway system so the 80 zone can go.