That non-existent Morgan poll discussed in the previous post has now shown its face four days behind schedule. The phone survey of an unusually small sample of 618 respondents supports last week’s Newspoll finding that some of the gloss has come off Labor’s lead, which is at 47 per cent to 37 per cent on the primary vote and 58-42 on two-party preferred. This is down from 62-38 at the Morgan face-to-face poll published the previous Friday and 62.5-37.5 at the previous phone poll from mid-April, and is on both measures Labor’s weakest result since the election.
In other news, News Limited reports that Alexander Downer is “expected to quit Parliament within days”, having “delayed his departure until after Treasurer Wayne Swan tonight outlines Labor’s first Budget in 12 years, so as to avoid distracting from the Coalition’s response to it”. This of course will mean a by-election for his South Australian seat of Mayo.
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the alcopop trio, the three amigos, all had one too many down at Turnbull Motors before parliament today. Hence their drunken performance in the house today.
O.K. Who else is going to watch Elmo man? Tragic that I am. that’s me. On now.
“Chucky’s” mum is in the lower right hand side of my tv…….aaaahhhhhhh!
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There’s an awful lot of head nodding going on over the weak side.
That was a proven tactic in the last campaign wasn’t it?
The libs are still focussed backward. We’re good because we were good type of stuff.
Bishop and Hockey can’t get their head nods and shakes co-ordinated.
Nice glance to Pete there – luv ya Pete (spineless wimp)
gawd… my eyes are glazing over.
here we go (binge drinking)
Emo man can save us!!!
pass the tissues
onimod @202:
I agree with the backwards looking aspect. It seems like Nelson has spent the majority of his speech talking about the past.
The opposition really look like a bunch of bobbleheads don’t they.
So how long till the leadership challenge, then?
I give it three weeks, max.
Backward looking, shrill, lightweight AND deluded.
This mob is a rabble.
Oh look – a crowd favourite. Let’s bash teachers.
I’m a teacher, and the idea of Bishop getting her hands on the profession is horrific.
Who rented the crowd?
Now it’s the “you see Timmy” moment
Are 9% of the population just plain retarded?
They are already changing the furniture in the opposition leaders office for the “Prince from Point Piper”
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Nah – I reckon this is what they (MP’s) want to hear – it’s certainly not the junk from Allbull. He’s talking to his own here – not Australia.
Savings to pay for teachers, alcohol, fuel excise, carers, pensioners, scientists, universities? Nah, just spend it.
Now for the mother hood statement – this is definitely for the troops.
The individual can apparently save the world on his own these days…
Now Toolman is going in to bat, and he can present the posibility of the Senate standing up for the alcohol industry with a straight face. Unbelievable.
Bring on the DD I say.
you must be the only people watching.
BigMal looked like he was grinding his teeth throughout that. You could just see the cogs turning over in his head thinking to himself how much better his speech would have been.
Steve Lewis on Sky is nailing Nelson as an economic dill for saying inflation is ok at 4.2%.
Hockey waving alcopops around in Parliament. Explains a lot.
Alco-cordial for kids, the Nelson Turnbull platform.
More contradictions from Nelson. (He’s never voted Liberal in his life, you know). I think his leadership is terminal. Long dark night of the soul for his side of politics for some time yet, I reckon. I don’t think this weak performance does anything other than highlight how inept he is.
The only thing keeping Nelson there is far-right manouvering and in-fighting. Nelson keeps arguing for things that he has already taken opposite sides on. Inept.
The new free milk at playlunch
(yes, I’m that old, it was still around till at least the mid-70’s when I went to school).
It will be interesting to see how it rates… am I right in remembering that Rudd nearly outrated Costello last year?
Nelson is showing his Union Colours
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/15/2246234.htm?section=justin
My long term prediction is that the next conservative PM will be from Victoria. Now while the Victorian top dog is beating the others off with ease, but then refuses the leadership when it’s offered to him (won’t even fight for it) federally, then the crisis becomes pretty apparent.
The problem is the top dog, and the culture he’s cultivated.
On reflection, Nelson’s speech was pretty well a repudiation of all of the things Howard did or did not do.
Funny stuff in the Queensland Parliament today when the National Member for Gympie decided to pick up his bat and ball and walk out:
Mr LUCAS:
When we look at the unemployment statistics from March it is a very great pity to see that Australia is at 3.9 per cent, south-east Queensland is at 2.9 per cent and the Wide Bay-Burnett area is at 6.1 per cent and yet their representative–
Mr Gibson:
No thanks to your government over the last 10 years.
Mr SPEAKER:
I warn the member for Gympie under standing order 253.
Mr LUCAS:
Their representative in this place not only wants to junk a $1.6 billion project–and he can have his wrong view on that–but where is his replacement injection of capital into his community that will ensure jobs growth in the future? There is nothing there. There is a policy to provide less water at a higher cost. There is no economic injection of $1.6 billion. All he is saying to people in the Gympie area is that, due to his kooky water policy and his voodoo economics, there will be nothing for them there. Would he have the dairy farms back again–the ones that we know have been in long-term decline? Other people in this House–even on the member’s side–ultimately want to work to create employment opportunities in their electorates. The member for Gympie stands condemned. The opposition of course is anti dam. It is anti employment, anti business and anti Gympie.
Mr GIBSON:
I rise to a point of order. I cannot find myself remaining in the parliament when these lies are being told. I will depart.
Mr SPEAKER:
I say to the member for Gympie that he was on a warning under standing order 253. He then stood and uttered the unparliamentary term ‘lies’. I ask him to consider the situation. He has interjected many times this morning. Sometimes when you give it you have to cop it. I say that applies to both sides. If the member for Gympie wishes to leave the chamber, I could have sent him out of the chamber for what he just did. If he wishes to leave the chamber, that is a matter for him.
Mr LUCAS:
We are employed and entrusted by our communities to represent them in this House. For someone, in a fit of immaturity, not being asked by the Speaker but because they do not like what happens in this place, to walk out says something about the quality of representation that the member of Gympie is giving his electorate. Never in my 12 years here have I once seen an opposition member do that. We have had very many great contests and arguments in this place, but to spit the dummy and walk out when his electorate is being discussed is simply disgraceful.
Yep, BK – he gave the ALP a big chance to use a lot of quotes from last year against him
Tried to watch it, became violently nauseous, threw the cat at the tv and stormed out. Cat is a liberal voter (self-interested, like all cats) so no great loss!
Would love to see them block supply, but they don’t have the balls.
So the Libs want to cut the budget surplus by $6 billion, what does their modelling say the effect on inflation will be?
Wow 5c a litre on petrol – that will save me 2 bucks a week. Dills.
Gawd, it was awful. Onimod, I think you’re right, but it’s going to be a very long time. After all, Glen is OS till September!
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If they do block supply Kev will just ignore them and wait until they lose control of the senate in July.
I’d love a DD but fiscal conservative that he is Kev wouldn’t waste the money.
They should call the police to arrest Half Nelson for dishing out the bucket loads of crap through TV screens of viewers during his budget reply speech.
The liberal party couldn’t give a stuff about petrol excise. They failed to act in 11 years. They increased petrol prices with the introduction of the GST.
The benefits of carers and pensioners have fallen substantially in real terms under the previous government. Now they are all of a sudden the party of compassion and fairness. What a laugh.
Let’s get real. The liberal couldn’t give a stuff about alcopops, health, education, infrastructure, the environment, inflation, small business or employees.
The liberal party believes in one thing and one thing only – TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH.
Oh, and a baby bonus for the wives of their rich mates in the eastern suburbs of Sydney.
ruwake@230: The oil companies will just increase their profit margins. Pure popular politics.
May 28th is looking like an ominous date for Nelson. It is the next Party room meeting after this ludicrous, boring speech and no doubt the knives will be out after this effort has been digested.
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/info/sittings/index.htm
There’s a couple of wys this budget will play out:
1. Kev will also do nothing to feed the fire. These are spats to be dealt with by the underlings.
2. This is real brinkmanship that the ALP really can’t lose. The Libs have threatened and a back down would be the ultimate humiliation – therefore it’s push push push with a united line and see just how many contradictions can be exposed. Tie the lot of them together and apply the brand.
Unless something more compelling is engineered, a real issue (and it’s not going to come from the libs), then I suspect the branding operation already well under way will continue. It’s leaving the rest of the team free to work.
John Quiggin says: ‘Put a fork in him he’s done.’
http://johnquiggin.com/index.php/archives/2008/05/15/put-a-fork-in-him-hes-done/
Hang on, did they just suggest cutting the petrol excise by the amount the GST adds? That was one of my old suggestions. Pity the wrong side is suggesting it, as it isn’t going to happen now.
How long do you really think a reduction of 5c a litre would last? Besides that’s $2.50 a tank. Sounds good but is a pittance for the average person. Where would the 1.8 billion be taken from needed to fund this?
Brenda will be printing his own shopper dockets next.
And here is the full text of the speech.
http://www.liberal.org.au/info/news/detail/20080515_BrendanNelsonsBudgetReply.php
Over all I give the budget a 5/10
I’m impressed by the idea of setting up funds for future building programs in Education (Costello’s intative) but Swan has explanded this to cover the broader Edcuation system and also set one up for Health.
I have no problem with the changes to the Medicare levy and have no issue with the means testing of the baby bonus although I’m unimpressed by talk about at what point does a person become rich.
But that is where the music stops, for Swan has failed to take the axe to the Disability Employment network which clearly is not working, for a country facing a skilled shortage where are the needed changes to the way we address the Two million people out side the workforce.
While I am a beer drinker I’m disappointed in the new tax on pre-mixed drinks.
Over all a wet lettice budget.
The news of Downer leaving Mayo, people talk about the Democrats going close in 98, if my memory serves me correct the boundaries were very different, in saying that the Liberals should hold Mayo just as I’m starting to feel the Nats will hold Gippsland.
One thing about this budget, the ALP have buckleys in any future Higgins by-election, something tells me Costello isn’t going anywhere and may well return to the frontbench at some point anyway that wont change much for the ALP should win the next election in 2010.
I agree with Nelson regarding the tax rise it will do little about binge drinking however i do agree with his idoitic view that their should be no increase.
The government maybe should look at increasing the legal drinking age to 21 when people are responsible. Thoughts?
I am a bit ambivalent here.
What is Horatio’s ideas does he have any?
And to not allow the other tax increases is this guy for real?
Interesting to note though on the front page of that rag the Australian today ( which i saw in a shop (never buy the crap)
How the price of alcopops’ hurts an average Aussie, tomorrow they will carrying on about Drunk drivers, the hypocrisy of that other dill Murdoch and his cronies.
Sorry meant to say i do not agree with his idoitic view on tax rises.
Just with regard to raising the drinking age (243)… the issue (as it is with all drugs) is striking the balance between harm minimisation and reducing use.
If a substance is legal, it will be used by a far larger percentage of the population than if it is illegal (duh). The same is true of the legal age at which it can be purchased (i.e. more 18-21 year olds drink than would do so if the legal drinking age was 21). So if you want to have the fewest people drinking (or smoking or whatever), you ban alcohol. Or increase the legal age.
However, that tends to have the effect of increasing illicit production/sale/use, and can contribute to a ‘hiding’ of the problem, because it is illegal.
Just on a purely neuroscience note, there’s no doubt that the brain of an 18 year old is differently susceptible to the effects of alcohol than that of a 21 year old (note I didn’t say ‘more’). I’m not convinced that that is sufficient reason to increase the legal drinking age.
I only argue for reducing excise to cover the GST cost on the excise on the grounds that shouldn’t be a tax on a tax.
Bizarre situation when you have an opposition leader criticising a new government for inaction over certain issues (pensions, petrol tax), thereby criticising themselves given that the policies were of their own making (weren’t they in government only months ago?)
The media really needs to cane Nelson & the Liberals on this patehtic reply to the budget.
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Dangerous Says:
If a substance is legal, it will be used by a far larger percentage of the population than if it is illegal (duh).
Not necessarily. Making cannabis legal (within certain districts) in the Netherlands did not increase consumption (by the locals).
And the numbers of people in Australia (especially younger people) who have tried cannabis is very large.
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Perhaps I should have said ‘on average’, as that is certainly the state of the published literature. In any case, the number of Australians who have tried cannabis is significantly lower than the number who have tried tobacco or alcohol, almost certainly because of their legal status.
Via LP, the New LIberal Party Theme Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohsPRiQwDbY
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