Roy Morgan returns to its normal Friday routine with a face-to-face poll of 1055 respondents conducted last weekend, showing Labor’s two-party vote again has a six in front of it after dipping below in the previous week’s phone poll.
Other news:
• The ABC reports the hearing into Labor’s appeal against its 12-vote defeat in McEwen has been adjourned, and will “resume next month”.
• In an article in yesterday’s Australian, former Labor Senator and professional number-cruncher John Black reported on research conducted by his firm Australian Development Strategies indicating that Labor’s pitch to “working families” in fact led to a swing away from it among childless women. This did much to explain the phenomenon demonstrated on this map of swings in Melbourne showing a stable result in the city and inner suburbs giving way to progressively larger Labor swings in the mortgage belt. Black goes so far as to claim, a little extravagantly, that “a continuation of this trend in 2010 could give the Greens enough primary votes to come ahead of the Liberals at the next election and could cost Rudd Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne), Housing Minister Tanya Plibersek (Sydney), Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese (Grayndler) and Resources Minister Martin Ferguson (Batman)”.
• In further number crunching news, Antony Green and Possum Comitatus have drawn my attention to a demographic review of Newspoll data published in March at Australian Policy Online by Ian Watson, freelance researcher and Visiting Senior Research Fellow in Politics and International Relations at Macquarie University.
• Yet more number crunching news: the 2007 Australian Election Study, providing comprehensive post-election survey data from 2000 respondents, can be accessed from the Australian Social Science Data Archive.
• Much goodness from the Australian Parliamentary Library: Scott Bennett and Stephen Barber’s research paper on the 2007 election, and electoral division rankings on various measures from 2006 census data.
882 Comments
Gary Morgan thinks Nelson’s proposed 5c cut in fuel excise is too small. He wants 15c.
We all face a bit of adversity in our jobs from time to time, but just imagine how Dr Death and Allbull are feeling after being notified of the latest Morgan F2F.
Yowzer!
Rudd is going to have a baby while still on his honeymoon at this rate…
I hope his travel insurance covers it.
Looks like the Party room meeting for the coalition next Wednesday could be an eventful time.
There is also an EMRS poll for Tassie if anyone cares
preferred Premier
Will Hodgman 39% (liberal)
Paul Lennon 17 % (Labor
Pegg Putt 14 % (Green)
http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,23740341-3462,00.html
I care, Scotty – thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Scotty, funny that they forgot to mention how many were in the sample. It wasn’t just the Hodgman family was it?
Let’s have a think about the business of a pollster.
First, core business – the process of collecting and weighting data.
From there, one might branch out a bit and do a little bit of analysis. it’s really secondary to the process of collecting and weighting the data, and you wouldn’t want to do or say anything that dissuaded clients from wanting to pay you, would you? If you had a point to make it’s probably safest to stick a question in amongst the ones you’re getting paid for.
If the polling reveals something pretty obvious, then it can’t hurt to say it out loud:
Gary Morgan says:
“The Rudd Government’s first Budget has the “thumbs up” — 56.5% of Australians (up 4.5%) now say that Australia is “heading in the right direction” — a strong endorsement of the Government’s Budget.
(I’m not so sure, but I’ll get back to that)
What on earth would possess you to come out with:
Gary Morgan says:
“Soaring petrol prices are putting a strain on family budgets and working Australians need relief at the bowser if they’re not to stop the spending on retail and internal travel that help prop up the economy.
“Brendan Nelson’s pledge to cut the fuel excise by 5c is a small step in the right direction that the Government should follow — why not a 15c cut?
“Either the RBA must cut the high interest rates at its next meeting or the Rudd Government needs to respond to these concerns or risk sending Australians into a recession “we don’t have to have.”
The mind just boggles when I read that.
I wouldn’t have thought that knowing what the next opinion poll is going to say a couple of days before the rest of the country gives rise to any sort of expertise in economics, let alone the heady world of political economics.
Sheesh! Talk about watering down your core business.
Back to what the Morgan poll really says.
Yes – the movement is to the ALP, compared to the last poll which moved to the Fibs, which…… yada yada yada.
[according to a combination of face and phone Morgans] Since early March there appears to be a drift away from the Government, while the second to last poll seems a little iffy, meaning comparisons to it are pretty meaningless too.
steve @ 6
Steve i am sorry if i have given you the impression i was trying to mislead you. I was merely trying to spread the word of its existence. The lack of detail is more to do with me not being in the mood to be bothered with all that effort. The most significant statistic if you ask me is that around thirty percent are still saying none of the above. EMRS is not the most accurate poll in the world. But it is mostly in context of its past polls which are showing clear decline. Also that Tasmania is probably demographically less complex than most mainland states. As Newspoll does not do Tasmania, in short it is the poll we got.
New post up on the EMRS Tasmanian poll.
“Labor’s pitch to “working families” in fact led to a swing away from it among childless women.”
Well, it’s a good thing for the Libs that they have silver-tongued SNAGs like Bill Heffernan to woo this demographic over to the Liberal Party.
Kakuru
Maybe Big brother would have got better ratings if it was like Bill heffernan Wilson tucky, Barnaby Joyce and Alexander Downer ect.
ah Bill heffernan and those national’s press conferrances are funny.
While they came third in primary vote, the Greens passed the libs on preferences, got into the two candidate prefered and changed the seat from safe Labor to marginal Labor (54.71%).
http://vtr.aec.gov.au/HouseDivisionFirstPrefs-13745-228.htm
I don’t think Mark Riley of channel 7 news fame likes Kevin Rudd. He just presented a real hatchet job on Rudd’s comment that he has done all he can re petrol prices.
Riley stated that this comment by Rudd was the silliest thing he has said since coming to government. They even interviewed a typical working family. I’m convinced 7 are running a political agenda.
Channal 9 they suggested the rising petrol prices could be a life saver for Nelson.
Well it was a silly thing to say. He has done all he can… which means he is useless. It’d be better to just say his Government will continue working and doing all they can to relieve cost of living pressures in a responsible way etc. etc.
They should also be reminding people that a few months ago the Liberals were telling us we’d never been better off.
I’m surprised Andrew O’Keefe is still employed by them as he was very pro Rudd on the Election Day Sunrise special.
BTW, Did Prue McSween fulfill her promise to leave the Country if Howard lost ? Or was it a “Non-Core” promise, like her hero Rattus ?
Nelson has got to get a better line on Petrol. His suggestion the Kevin Rudd should be doing more on Petrol is almost laughable. I know he’s got his own wheelbarrow to push on his unfunded 5 cents excise cut but excise could be cut to zero and petrol would still be $1.20 a litre and the budget would be in the red (It would cost ~$21 billion). It is a worldwide market we belong to and they have got to get to that fact.
As Mr Black idea of the Greens beating the ALP inner city, this has supposed to have happen at the past 4 elections and so far it hasn’t happened. There are three things which have to be overcome.
1) The Greens need to get in front of the Liberals. They managed to do this last year but I think the inner-city Liberal vote is likely to have reached the low point last year. Howard was very unpopular with the small “l” Liberals, I can see some of these people coming back to the Liberals at the next election*.
2) They need to get the ALP primary significantly below 50%. That happen in Melbourne in 2001 largely as a protest vote on the Tampa issue. But an ALP primary vote of 49% is close enough because of preferences from micro candidates. Tanner last year was over 50% before Liberal preferences distributed on the back of FF and Democrats voters.
3) They have to stop a leakage of Liberal preferences to the ALP. Sometimes Liberal voters aren’t that keen on the Greens and prefer a Red to a Green. Hence if the Greens can’t get that under control, the ALP could probably get away with a primary vote of 46%. In Melbourne last year 17% of Liberal Voter preferred Tanner to the Greens candidate.
Of course, there is no guarantee that the Green will be able to keep any lower house seats that they gain at the next election. Previous experiences have shown that members of all parties often are no up-to-speed on all of their own policies and when you one of a very small group you tend to get picked on by the media.
All that said, the ALP does need to be careful of its left flank as it always a threat but as long as Bob Brown** is leader I would not suggest that there is going to be too much trouble.
* The Liberals might go down the extremist path of the NSW branch but then I don’t see them preferencing the Greens.
** The Greens supporter base has not grown very much given that they are now the new third force in Australian Politics. Question should be asked about his leadership but their is naivity on this issue within Green circles.
B. S. Fairman, I reckon, Brendon (I’m a doctor) thinks he’s on to an absolute winner with the petrol pain line. Perhaps he thinks it’s like putting someone in pain on morphine, or someone with anxiety on a benzodiazepine, preferably permanently, and in the case of benzodiazepines, multiple versions of the same. It still gives me the absolute irrits how ‘their’ ABC report stuff. I clicked onto the online site today, and I swear, every second story was about the Tories view on everything. That Penny Wong announced a significant return of water flow to the Murray via the water buy back number, disappeared within about 5 nanoseconds.
Federally the Greens are irrelevant, if they ever manage to get the balance of power in their own right in the Senate they will end up just like the Democrats.
It is easy to make a lot of noise when you are politically impotent.
How many Pollbludgers out there have adopted a pensioner because that wretched Mr. Rudd did not include them in the budget? According to Today Tonight here in Adelaide they were “swamped” with offers and presumably the same line was offered in every state. Hmmm I wonder how many offers they really got. Yet another example of blatant media bias. I know it’s been said before but where has the media been for the previous eleven and a half years when it came to the supposed plight of the pensioner.
15 LTEP – It was an honest thing to say, given that he doesn’t control world oil prices. The Libs can’t say he isn’t being honest about it can they? Their so called solution is looking more and more ridiculous as the prices go up.
Rudd has always said “there is no magic bullet” ,while saying they maybe able to help around the margins. Of course our unbiased media have taken that to mean he promised to bring prices down.
I am just hang out for Nelson to start calling for the nationalisation of our oil industry. It’s funny because he just might
The party of the free market is blaming Labor. . .for letting the free market work.
If the petrol price keeps going up I hope Labor will have a minibudget to cut more spending to give more tax cuts to the lower income taxpayers.
Now there’s an idea that I might agree with even if it did come from Nelson, Blair.
Harry, yeah the ABC irritates me too.
When the Libs were in government all we heard on The World Today was Liberal ministers spruiking on. Now that they’re in opposition, all we hear is Liberal ex-ministers spruiking on.
It seems that at the ABC they still haven’t realised the government’s changed.
Speaking of denial, Shaun Carney writes an article this morning about the Libs working to a “what will happen in the next three weeks” strategy. Generally a reasonable article, but then he says this:
What could he possibly be thinking to even offer as a possibility that the Libs could be back in power by 2009?
What I was getting at in my post immediately above was that there still seems to be an expectation, even a hope in the national media – from the ABC to the tabloids – that soon, one day, next week, in a month or two, in the near future… the Rudd government will crumble like a house of cards.
Almost every article this week has been roughly on this topic: “What do the Libs need to do to win the next election?”.
That there is no hope of the Libs winning the next election does not seem to occur to their spruikers in the press. Or if it occurs to them, they are keeping a stiff upper lip, trying not to speak the unspeakable truth.
Hartcher’s latest is like this, full of bluff and thunder of how the Libs can get out of the mire and take on the government.
Shanahan’s piece this morning was titled “Rudd’s honeymoon lingers on”… like a bad smell, Dennis? It’s not “lingering” on, it’s triumphing, beating all comers, making Rudd the second most popular PM in history (behind Hawke). “Lingering on” has an air about it of con, swindle, snow-job… not at all descriptive of the reality of the situation.
Carney quotes Lib insiders approvingly as thinking they can get back into government next year(!). When have they been right about anything in politics in the past three years. Why should they start getting wisdom now, all of a sudden.
Almost everything I read lately treats the Labor government as quasi-illegitimate. Full of tricksters and vapourware merchants, symbol peddlars and outright inept. While the Libs seem, by contrast, to have a real message somewhere, if only they could find a leader to uncover it, or wait for Rudd to inevitably implode, or something.
It’s becoming an unhealthy obsession with them: the Lib leadership, Rudd’s imminent collapse, his workaholic nature driving his ministers crazy, his con on Kyoto, Japan, whales, China… name your scam.
Can’t they see the new government is doing well because they are keeping their promises made before the last election? That people think they were let down by the Libs under Howard? That every chance they get the Libs call again for Work Choices or some other failed ex-policy and can’t seem to understand that the public didn’t make a mistake, they took deliberate aim and fired both barrels at the Coalition government last November?
No, it’s all down to some sleight of hand with leadership, a Messiah fixation that will somehow allow them to avoid the hard road of re-equipping their policy portfolio and actually going out and winning government, not stumbling into it.
They just don’t get it do they?
The LNP and its many varied Liberal supporters in Press, Radio and TV need to ponder long and hard on the fact that it was ONLY the incumbent Howard ‘aura’ that saved them from annihilation last election.
This entire group truly does live in denial. They should have realised before the election when all the Howard ministers after a decade in government were still out performed by their counterparts in the debates, that the Rudd team are competent individuals (which Bolt admitted was a problem for the LNP on The Insiders).
The still don’t understand that Howard, Costello and the team did very little useful in 10 years of government and, that the economy was mostly on auto-pilot all that time. They also forget that, all things being equal, that even Howard only scraped his elections in apart from the Latham effort and, that there has been solid Labor support for some time.
But their true denial is with Rudd.
They feel extremely jealous and spiteful toward Rudd because of the way he often humiliated Howard during the campaign and, outperformed the government in most ways. They simply couldn’t stomach that their hero Howard was shown up to be a shallow, limited man with his only claim to fame being often re-elected, however on the back of disgraceful Carl Rove type tactics….bigotry, hate, racism and greed.
They are truly in denial, they still cannot see it. They still cant understand that people like Gillard, Roxon, Pilbersek, Tanner, Swann, Rudd, Wong and others are actually intellectually and politically and publically more capable and gifted than their LNP counterparts.
They think Rudd is going to crumble? The man that held his own on the world stage 10 seconds after being elected, pulled off a tricky bit of work in China and is garnering international respect and admiration….the man who could sit for an hour in front of the public and answer any question that came along.
There must be some sort of mist surrounding the LNP and people like Hartcher, Shamaham and so on where reality doesn’t seep in.
They are hoping that the latest budget might be so unpopular as to cost an election? Or that somehow the Rudd government is going to Sepku?
I think the secret of their next 6 years in Opposition is being revealed in this. They are in the mindset that they will win an election because Labor will lose it…not because they will win it themselves. They are hoping that the other person will fail and thus they will be chosen. Oh how they failed to learn from Rudd, who went out and won the last election.
If Labor is to lose then the LNP will have to win it, take it away. They wont win because of any error Rudd will make. And who are their great hopes? Nelson, Turnbull and Bishop! Even with the benefit of being in government so long, having access to all the departments and briefings and information….yet they still are incompetent.
Wonder if they have stopped to wonder why Rudd has been very very popular for a very long time?
In the mean time they are probably thinking, the LNP wont have to do much, just turn up to the show, because it is their intention as media to try and promote the LNP and sell down Labor no matter what.
So we have the prospect of the LNP press, radio and tv lot ready to lie to Australia and ignore the right or wrong or good or bad of Government policy and performance.. they think they have no responsibility to Australia, only to their own partisan desires or maybe that of their boss.
So we will get read a lot of moronic and deliberately critical economic ‘analysis’ of the the Rudd government.
William, thanks for posting the link to the Australian Parliamentary Library paper, makes for fascinating reading, especially in the role of the media section. Have filed it away for future reference. Like many others here I am bloody fed up with our msm at the moment, pandering to that idiot Nelson and his ridiculous ‘fixes’, as Bushfire Bill said the public took deliberate aim and fired both barrels. Great post BB.
Bushfire Bill #27:
What you are saying is exemplified by the intro to a PM segment just yesterday in fact:
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2008/s2254238.htm
And why so many ex-Liberal Ministers spruiking on ABC constantly: Radio National and NewsRadio? Every little non-issue, and you can count on it: the failed and ousted Liberals will be there spouting their spite … often without the balance of a government reply.
Kina
I agree with your summary of the MSM, the question is, with the opposition getting such a good run why are they having so little luck in moving the public opinion. It goes deeper than that, the comment sections in the MSM blogs are getting more strident in there criticism of the behavior of reporters.
On the ABC yesterday, the Liberal mouth piece from the Institute of public affairs got a royal ticking off, with several listeners making it vary clear they are sick of the crap.
Kina and Bushfire Bill – both great posts.
Watching QandA with my husband the other night, we both realised how incredibly across the detail Rudd was. (OK, we already knew he was a policy wonk, but seeing him in action always reminds you how competent he truly is). We tried to think back to how Howard would have handled some of those questions – for example about pensioners and carers. Rudd could list how many people there were in different categories off the top of his head, Howard would have been lucky to have made any kind of approximate guess that was within the ball park. And Kevin did not shy away from difficult questions at all.
At the end of that show I said to my husband that if this show becomes a regular feature, and Kevin appears on it in any kind of regularity, then the poll numbers are just going to get worse for the Libs. Back when Rudd was the Shadow Foreign Minister and was just getting his head on TV for interviews, you could clearly see what a clever performer he was. Smart, calm, makes the viewer feel good. We said back then that if he could extricate Big Kim from the leadership then he would be a force to be reckoned with, and that is exactly what has happened.
I think watching QandA made it very clear that the ALP are aiming squarely at the middle, and the more we see of Rudd, Gillard, Tanner, Swan, Wong, Plibersek, Roxon et al, the clearer it becomes just how competent they are – and the more popular the government in general becomes. I’m seeing this with the people I work with, neighbours and friends – I still hear occasional criticism, but everyone I am talking to is at least open to listening to the Rudd government – I am even hearing some distinct praise, even if it is a bit begrudging at times. And I live in Sophie Mirabella’s seat of Indi!
Our country has fundamentally changed with the new Rudd government. Suddenly, we are seeing intellectual debate back on the radar – but it is not being framed as elite or only for the “chardonnay sippers”. I would even go so far as to say that people feel that a general decency has come back to the government. I think we, and the MSM, had become so used to broken promises, obfuscation, and word weasling that it is a shock to the system that this new government deals differently. The MSM will be waiting a long long time if they are looking for Rudd to step on his unmentionables. I think he will go down as one of the best performing PMs we have ever had, and maybe our most popular.
Middle Australia loves Rudd.
This article by Mark Davis, should be compulsory reading for “ALL” MSM media commentators.
{Now the most definitive election exit poll undermines the revisionist interpretations being promoted by some of the protagonists in last year’s poll.
The survey shows:
? Industrial relations and global warming were the biggest vote-changing issues.
? Rising interest rates did not cost the Coalition as dearly as thought.
? Voters respected Mr Howard but were virtually in love with Mr Rudd, giving him the highest “likeability” rating in the survey’s 20-year history.
? Low-income battlers moved decisively back to Labor.
? The Coalition would have struggled under Mr Costello.}
{The Australian Election Study is a postal survey of 1873 voters at last year’s poll by a team of researchers led by Ian McAllister of the Australian National University. The Herald’s analysis of this data shows the election was a story of a politically-engaged electorate, a prime minister at odds with public opinion on cut-through issues, and an opposition leader who wrapped up the contest months before polling day.
Just under 70 per cent of the survey’s respondents said the Coalition’s Work Choices legislation had been important in their decision. A majority of 62 per cent disapproved of Work Choices. Labor had a strong lead among these anti-Work Choices voters, winning 66 per cent of their first preference votes compared with 17 per cent for the Coalition.
Global warming was also a strong vote-changer.
Asked whether Australia should participate in the Kyoto Protocol, 67 per cent of respondents said yes, 25 per cent said it depended, and 8 per cent said no (Mr Howard’s position). Of those supporting Kyoto, 55 per cent voted for Labor compared with 30 per cent for the Coalition.}
Clearly, the so-called “Howard Battlers” turned on the Coalition.
{Perhaps it was the battlers who had the last word. In 1996, 49 per cent of people in unskilled and semi-skilled occupations voted for the Coalition and 35 per cent for Labor. But last November, this was reversed as the Coalition’s share of battler votes plunged to 37 per cent while Labor’s rose to 51 per cent.}
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/05/23/1211183103011.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
This is a most telling statement in the whole article that most commentators have still not come to grips with.
{the election was a story of a politically-engaged electorate, a prime minister at odds with public opinion on cut-through issues, and “an opposition leader who wrapped up the contest months before polling day”.} (emphasis mine).
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/05/23/1211183103011.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
It’s mainly ABC, OO (and all News Ltd papers) and 7 who continue to shamlessly campaign for the return of the Coalition. But lets face it they have been doing this full on for the last 2 years and Labor is still riding high. It’s just that in their frustration at Kev’s continuing popuality they are getting more shrill and more nonsensical in their comments.
They don’t seem to be having any effect, their carers & pensioner beat ups didn’t shake the polls neither has all this petrol BS. Meanwhile Allbull has lost credibility and was shown to be a liar (to do with petrol tax) and Brenda is a figure of ridicule. No one would want the fool running our country he’s an embarassment to the planet.
enjaybe #20 hey those adopted pensioners had better watch it or nasty Mr Rudd might tax them on all this extra income the are receiving.
I reckon a lot of pensioners would be upset about this Adopt a Pensioner crap. If my mum was still alive she’d be one of them, a proud woman, brought up 5 kids in the 50s, husband WW2 vet with a drinking problem who worked in saw-mills for not a lot of money. Mum used to go pea picking to try to keep food on the table, there was no welfare then. She’d see this latest gimmick as an insult.
I sent this e-mail off to Hinch’s blog site. His reply was weak.
“As a person who prides himself as a journalist of integrity, it surprises me that you continue to misrepresent Rudd in regard to his so called promise to lower prices of goods and petrol. He, of course did nothing of the kind. He clearly stated that there was “no silver bullet” but would instigate ways of keeping the prices as low as possible.
My challenge to you Derryn is to find any Rudd quote, either before or since the election, verifying your contention.
You also said Rudd stated that “the buck stopped with him” in regard to prices. Wrong again Derryn. He said that in regard to hospitals and you know it.
You’re letting your dislike of Rudd and Labor get in the way of your journalistic integrity Derryn, big time.”
Derryn replied – “Gary. I have no ‘dislike for Rudd and Labor’ as you put it. My job is to question the government – the same way I questioned the Howard Government. dh”
This from the man who once said he thought Downer would make a good PM way back in … 2006-7.
So he signed it dh – sounds about right.
He left out the u in the middle
Nah, only the ‘i’, ‘c’ and ‘k’ in the middle and ‘e’, ‘a’ and ‘d’ at the end
41
MayoFeral
I guess my ‘joke’ was way to subtle. You have spelt it out very clearly indeed. Hinch is a dh of the highest order. Likes to pretend that he supports those who can’t support themselves (the battlers I guess) but it’s a front to hide the fact that he’s really a society circle brown nose who uses populist issues to make out he’s a man of the people.
Steve K @ 42 – Like his ‘Struggle Street’ mate in Sydney?! LOL
And let’s not forget the “best friend workers ever had” currently living it up in Jamaica watching the cricket at the workers expense.
Hope all the ‘adopted’ pensioners are being paid in one dollar coins, I understand that they are the most suitable ones to feed the pokies.
The ‘best friend the workers ever had’ seems to be spending a lot of time out of the country since being WorkChoiced by the electorate. (What a pity he did not retire much earlier).
44- You too can sponsor a pensioner for just a dollar a play….
Rudd was late on stage for his speech. Channel 7 said the reason for his tardiness was that he wanted to make adjustments to his speech while over at 9 they said he became lost in the building as he tried to avoid the protesters. In fact Brumby, on stage, confirmed 9’s version. What are 7 up to? By the way, 7 headed their piece “Better late than never”.
The Poisoned Dwarf reckons Downer is “the comeback trail”.
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,23751087-5005374,00.html
First its Costello, now its Downer. Please, oh please say its true. Hell, we just had an election to get rid of these clowns. If it takes another election defeat so be it.
Good old Dolly. Party in turmoil. Need of firm handling. No prospect of knight on white charger. Dolly to rescue in fishnet tights. Mercy dash. Endless enjoyment for observers from the left.
Hmm maybe another investigation into AWB, some documents released under FOI? Rendering prisoners to Egypt, Tamap, SIEVX….what did he know?
Regarding fuel prices and 5 cent tax cuts, I can only agree with BS Fairman and others that it is errant nonsense and I hope Rudd and Swan don’t fall for it. Fuel would still be expensive ($1.20+/litre) even if the tax were zero and as Blair said, the budet would then be in deficit with no room to move to compensate those really in need. Nelson still hasn’t said how he would pay for the cut, or agreed to pass the anti-inflation measurs in the budget. I think it is a good marker to identify journalists with a strong right wing bias when they fail to question Nelson about those things.
Those who have bought large, thirsty 4WDs should bear responsibility for their error, not be subsidised for it. We might as well give tax rebates to gambling addicts. If they can’t afford the fuel they need to buy a more economical car; its that simple. The fuel prices aren’t going down any time soon. IEA forecasts are that after 2012 the rate of price increase for oil wil actually accelerate.
Its sobering to reflect that Gerge W Bush recently went to Saudi Arabia and convinced them to raise oil output by 300,000 barrels per day. Sounds a lot but its what they use in under an hour! If the USA can’t shift this market we should not kid ourselves that we can.
The only long term solution is federal investment in pubic transport and shifting to local production of more economcial cars. (At present the former government’s “AusLink” rules mean that Federal transport funds don’t go inot urban public transport.) There is no short term solution to fuel prices other than tax relief for those on lower incomes (in the budget) and fiscal discipline to push interest rates lower (also in budget).
When petrol is $2.00 a litre the suggestion of saving 5c per litre becomes meaningless. This is where Nelson, if he hasn’t already, will lose the argument.
Pyne, on Lateline was asked to explain how such a plan would be payed for. He couldn’t answer it. Just saying they will cost it before the election is no answer.
Just in time for Downer’s comeback – an investigation into AWB
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/rudd-probe-into-iraq-kickbacks/2008/05/24/1211183189576.html
Milne’s latest article seems like he’s putting the boot into Brenda.What gives?
“BRENDAN Nelson’s Liberal Party leadership has been dealt a new blow with revelations another senior shadow frontbencher rejected his Budget plan for a 5c a litre fuel excise cut.”
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23753303-5006301,00.html
He is probably worried about Nelson getting lucky and recovering some ground on Rudd and making it harder for the LNP to dump him.
The dilemma for the LNP is that they need a night watchman to absorb the punishment but because figures start to recover they find it hard to part with him. They will have to determine if figures recover because of him or because of gravity. Thus when the time comes and lines are drawn…the blood might flow.
Spot on, Socrates. The best way to lower the price of fuel is to reduce demand for it, with genuine investment in public transport. People who do not own cars deserve recognition for the ’sacrifice’ they make-maybe carbon credits, tradable for free public transport. Better still, the Commonwealth could provide cash subsidies -let’s say at about 100%- for public transport fares.
Kina, you’re spot on, too. Dr Nelson is a ligature on an aneurism, under internal and external pressure. We should call him Catgut. Eventually, he will dissolve.
2 points.
I note that the Parliamentary Library article shows that the Greens received a positive swing from non-metro voters in the 07 election. Seems there may be more support for them in rural regions than often supposed.
But more interesting perhaps are the results of the poll regarding Downer that the Adelaide Now site has [follow the links from Vera's post for the poll].
The results currently are:
“Do you want to see Alexander Downer:
Return to frontbench 22% (35 votes) Take over Treasury 5% (9 votes) Take over leadership 23% (37 votes) Quit politics 48% (76 votes) Total votes Total of 157 votes”
I vaccilated between ‘quit’ and ‘take over leader’.
fred, how about another option for Dolly, being blasted into space (where no-one can hear him) , 100%
54 Constant Lurker, that is the best news I have heard for a while. It would be interesting to see what an open, independent inquiry would make of the AWA saga.
AWB even- mixing up my military contractors.
The AWA Saga is a sorry one. I still see little vans running around Sydney with the famous logo on them. I once asked a driver what they did nowadays – AWA – and he told me they were “total systems configurators”, which meant “installers of other companies’ equipment”. A lot of Australian tech companies ended up like that.
Meanwhile, on Insiders, Barry Cassidy continues to prove that he thinks internal Liberal Party affairs are of paramount importance to the nation. They’ve been discussing Alexander Downer’s federal “leadership” ambitions, Uncle Joe Hockey’s state leadership ambitions, and right now Joe is defending the petrol excise policy, and has just quit putting Swan down as not really a proper economic guru like Costello or Turnbull.
Both sides of this interview still in denial.
Now Joe is saying the alco-pop tax increase will lead to young girls having their drinks spiked (and then presumably sexually assaulted).
Why did I get out of bed?
I am well and truly sick and tired of the MSM now taking up the Libs’ meme that Rudd promised to lower petrol prices and the cost of living. He did no such thing. The fact that the media have picked it up when they also know he said no such thing is pathetic.
And yet again on Insiders we just hear about the Libs: the Libs’ leadership woes, the Libs’ internal debates on policy and economics, the Libs tussle between Dolly and Minchin, blah blah blah.
Just out of interest, this is Insiders politician interview lineup for 2008 so far:
25/5 – Joe Hockey
18/5 – Brendan Nelson
11/5 – Malcolm Turnbull
04/5 – Wayne Swan
27/4 – Martin Ferguson
20/4 – Julia Gillard
13/4 – Andrew Robb
06/4 – Stephen Smith
30/3 – Brendan Nelson
16/3 – Lindsay Tanner
09/3 – Julie Bishop
02/3 – Nicola Roxon
24/2 – Andrew Robb
17/2 – Julia Gillard
10/2 – Malcolm Turnbull
They’re not talking up the Libs’ meme. They’re talking up the fact that the Libs’ meme is being talked up.
But not by them of course. It’s always other journalists, the roughneck ones at the other TV shows and the dreaded tabloids who are doing the talking up.
Insiders merely reports the news that people are saying what they are saying, wiithout feeling the slightest duty or even vague urge to examine whether it’s true or not.
There’s a difference, apparently. One reports the “fact” that someone said whatever-it-was they said. The other tyoe if journalist reports on whether what is being said is true. Plenty fo the former, but I’ve been hard-pressed to find any of the latter.
Antonio explained it all to us a few weeks ago. Quite simple, really, when you get the mindset right.
Thanks for that, Fiztig (#64). Interesting. So, 14 programs so far this year. We are in the first few months of a brand new government – and the preponderance of Insiders‘ coverage is given to members of the failed, former government. Wouldn’t political followers (audience) want to be seeing their new government given reasonable airtime for appraisal? Meet-and-greet etc? Staggering the coverage to those just ousted doesn’t make sense (or balance).
P.S. Hilariously, this is most likely Cassidy’s “revenge” for Rudd not going on his show just before the election.
Oh, flog me with a limp lettuce leaf, Barrie.
bluddy hell! if they keep putting that imitation cane toad Akerman on insiders i’m thinking of giving it up, the man’s a bloated ignorant dill and a waste of airtime, he definately isnt capable of balanced analysis or political nous, it’s bad enough with the dwarf and his ilk but the revered Piers is way over the top, after getting that off my chest i think i’ll go make a good strong cuppa to get my blood pressure down.
The good thing about “Insiders” is that only the politcal tragics are interested enough to watch it. The average Joe couldn’t care less. As far as the MSM is concerned, their view on Rudd is being ignored and has been since Rudd became leader. The polls show this. Piers is good for a laugh. What a waste of space.
The good thing about my Sunday mornings is that I have stopped watching The Insiders. They might as well rename it “Inside the Liberal Party”. If they wish to understand their own minds they should look up the philosophical definition of the “self-referrential fallacy”. I just spend an enjoyable hour reading the SMH instead. Then I logged onto Poll Bludger to read some on line opinions. Good bye TV News-tripe. I won’t miss you.
How often does Insiders get a scoop? Almost never. If a pollie wants to get an important message across that will have a good chance of flying early in the new week it will be via a door stop or 9s Sunday programme. Insiders is irrelevant.
So Dolly Downer wants to be Shadow Treasurer. And we all guessed that budget was going to do Nelson in, but instead it looks like it has done Turnbull in. Nelson has not improve, there is just no clear alternative given how poor a performance Turnbull has given in the past two weeks.
This can’t be good for them; Nelson is not cutting through and is about as popular as a fart in an elevator (amusing for a little bit but then just stinks). If can’t replace him as there is no acceptable alternative, their pain is only going to get worse.
Speaking of the SMH, there was an excellent article on Peak Oil, or perhaps as it should be called now “Peaked Oil”, beceause we have indeed passed the peak.
It is worth taking some time to understand this issue, which will have a significant impact on both poltiics and economcis over the next ten years. After that it won’t matter, because we will have either begun to transition the economy to new forms of transport energy or entered a long term recession.
In my view the best sources of information on Peak Oil are ASPO and the International Energy Agency. Their report “Medium Term Oil Market Report” of July 2007 really started the ball rolling. It can be downloaded from their website at http://omrpublic.iea.org/mtomr.htm
There are a couple of points to realise for Australia:
- world oil supply and demand are now roughly in balance; hence price spikes.
- on current trends by 2012 there will be a shortfall in oil supply of 11%
- Australia supplies 60% of its oil internally and imports 40%. However our supplies are light crude so we import a larger share of diesel (over 1/3)
- biofuels are not a viable solution even ignoring food price impacts. If all the cropland in Australia were converted to biofuel crop production we ‘d have no veggies or grain and still only have 30% of our fuel needs.
- We use about 75% of our oil for energy, the rest for making fertiliser and plastics. So oil price rises will increase prices of those too. Farmers will hurt.
- Of transport oil usage (2/3 overall) about half (1/3 overall) is petrol for cars. This can be reduced with more public transport in cities and more economcial cars.
- About 1/4th of overall oil use is diesel for freight trains and trucks. This is economicaly vital and has no easy substitute without years of work electrifying train lines. I believe the day may soon come when remaining oil stocks will be rationed towards this use.
So politically, in my view the Australian car industrie’s policy to make big sixes is a dinosaur. As is the AusLink rule where Federal transport funds do not go to urban public transport. At present only the mining-royalty-rich states (Qld and WA) can afford to invest in public transport. Finally, inefficient, incompetent and/or apparently corrupt transport organisations liek Sydney Rail must be reformed. We can’t afford to waste that many resources on something the nation needs to work properly.
Hope this wasn’t too much of a diatribe, but I work in this area for a living and I am concerned that urgent policy action is desperately needed.
Their ABC Online headlines
Petrol will always be cheaper under Coalition: Hockey
Downer leaving job decision up to Nelson
Petrol prices ‘threatening rural dialysis patients’
Minchin plays down Opposition fuel tax row
Then there’s this
“The Federal Government will review whether the GST charged on top of the petrol excise should be scrapped.”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/25/2254856.htm?section=justin
Kev is pretty clever, he’s putting the public focus of the fuel prices back on the Libs by first talking about the Iraq invasion as a factor, the other night and now he’s brought up the hated GST on petrol. Everyone associates the GST with Ratty and Smirk.
I hope they get rid of the GST on electricity bills as well, that would be popular. Maybe if they still had a tax at a lesser rate and called it the enviroment tax. People would accecpt that and it’d help us reach our targets.
http://news.theage.com.au/national/labor-to-investigate-petrol-tax-changes-20080525-2hx3.html
“The tax inquiry will more broadly consider whether the entire petrol excise regime should be scrapped and replaced with a specially designed environmental tax.”
where is my Liberal Party sponsored free petrol? Why stop at five cents when they can make the stuff totally free?
http://petermartin.blogspot.com/2008/05/brendan-didnt-go-far-enough-free-gas.html
Akerman claimed this morning that Rudd supported gay marriage and that he has the quotes to support it. I’ve just tried to find such quotes and all I could come up with were quotes saying he didn’t support it. What is Piers on?
Do you think there will be many people out there who know who Brough is?
78
“when the Brough breaks the baby will fall”???
Piers wouldn’t let the truth get in the way of his fantasies. I’ll really start to worry when ABC 7pm news starts using him and his quotes in their political news stories!
Rudd is as gay friendly as Fred Nile!!!!!
Petrol will always be cheaper under the Coalition? What is that? The ‘04 election campaign take 2?
In opposition Rudd was going to let the states and territory’s do whatever the wanted to do on Gay marriage or civic unions. But it seems he has changed his mind in Government, and threatened to over rule the A.C.T., which is why they didn’t go a head with their laws.
Ackerman is wrong to assert that Rudd supported gay marriage. Rather he was just going to leave it as a state and territory issue. I don’t know why he changed his mind.
He changed his mind because the territory didn’t do as he liked.
Seven News update is reporting that the Government is to scrap the GST on Petrol; I can see this being held up as evidence by the opposition in a few months as the government not doing as it has said. In reality it is just bad Journalism.
After Labor lost the 96 election, the party was strongly united behind Beazley and almost won the 98 election yet spent 11 years in opposition. Labor went on with a further three (Crean, Latham & Beazley again) opposition leaders before Rudd finally became PM.
The question that I ask is how many opposition leaders are the liberals going to go through before their next PM? Nelson, Turnbull, Abbott, Pyne, Downer, Costello, Hockey etc…
Julie might go through more partners than Debbie did doing Dallas. LOL
Maybe the problem could be with the media! The current crop of fat old lazy hacks are just not performing in being able to turn the opinion polls. It might be time for them (the media) to start considering some new talent.
“Petrol will always be cheaper under Coalition: Hockey”
When Hockey and Howard were in they allowed the petrol market and grocery to be controlled by two companies, little competition, no oversight and the philosophy that “there is nothing wrong with businesses seeking to maximise their profits”, ie charge what you want, it is free enterprise.
Oil hit over $80 a barrel during the Hockey/ Howard years and petrol $1.45 to $1.50 a litre, oil is now over 50% higher at $135 a barrell, and petrol at $1.55 a litre, probably would be higher at $2.00 a litre if the “maximise profits” mantra of Howard Hockey was still in.
The petrol/ retail inquiries of Rudd have probably slowed the profit gouging, the Woolworths boss admitted before the retail inquiry that they got a bigger margin (ie higher profits and prices) in Australia than New Zealand because of less competitors. I would assume this would apply to petrol too.
Who knows whether Rudd personally supports Gay marriage (who cares, it’s moot) Once he became leader he made decisions, formed and presented the various bits of their policy platform for election. On GM it was decided that if elected, the Rudd Gov would legislate to remove many/most (all?) of the various unfair doobies that affect gay couples(super, tax whatever) but they would NOT support Gay marriage. They won and he did exactly as was promised
No fault, no foul
What was great was that when Piers made the claim about Rudd supporting gay marriage on Insiders this morning, all the other panelists (David Marr, Misha Schubert and Barry Cassidy) all reacted with the same ‘what planet are you on and what have you been smoking’ reaction. Barry Cassidy even went as far as saying something like ‘we’ll wait and see the quotes in your next column’.
Gay Marriage
Yep – I agree that it’s discriminatory, but unfortunately, through many reasons, some purposeful, some not, it’s not that simple any more.
Sure, the government could show some leadership on the issue, but it seems that they’ve decided that they’re not going to.
At this point you can either argue with them, or change the underlying reason they disagree, which is very likely populist in origin. Given that they’ve decided they’re only going to go so far, I think pushing them is a bit of a waste of time. It’s the general population’s attitude that’s going to have to change before government will support it.
Rudd’s personal opinion is irrelevant – he’s the elected representative of an elected party.
Pies is a rather sickly cane toad who because is of his weirdness is not taken seriously except by pathological haters of Rudd.
I wonder what happened to Cassidy in the past. Maybe Keating gave him a few reality lessons and he has hated Labor since. Certainly his show is all about propping up the Liberals and down selling Labor. He would also be still smarting from the big slap across the face Gillard gave him when he was pouting over Rudd not attending his show. Cassidy ought to sit back and think, why would someone appear on his show when they know the only intention of the was to attack Rudd and Labor during an election period. And Cassidy pouts?
This 5% excise Nelson is chasing is pure nonsense and everyone knows it, including most of his party, but the press and Liberal spruikers will give it as much positive air as they can whilst trying to keep a straight face.
Can anyone imagine the state of the country if Nelson and his team were leading? God help us. You would have Bishop pushing WorkChoices 2 and 3 endeavoring to make legal slaves of everyone and, every liberal supporting enterprise being given government hand outs, Murdoch getting even more rewards in legislation and, an attempt to out-law the Labor party aka Thailand through whatever means they could. The economy being flooded with more handouts and middle class vote buying and inflation looking for 8%
And with the LNP now looking to kitchen table issues are getting into a battle about who can help the average Australian the best? If so then Labor has won and ‘turned’ the Liberal party. Maybe Rudd will end up Laborfying the Liberals – except they still need to kill of WorkChoices type stuff permanently. That will still be a killer if Bishop and Co still don’t publicly kill it off.
The blogging scandal in the Victorian Libs is still smouldering.
“THE Victorian Liberal party descended further into crisis last night, with allies of leader Ted Baillieu seeking to expel the young members involved in the recent blogging scandal, and one of the bloggers vowing to fight to stay in the party.
Speaking to The Sunday Age, John Osborn, sacked earlier this month along with fellow Liberal staffer Simon Morgan for setting up an anti-Baillieu blog, said last night that he considered moves for his expulsion from the party “as a double punishment for a single act, driven more by a desire for political scalps than regard for principles of procedural fairness”.
It is understood he will resist any attempts for a suspension or expulsion from the party and make use of all avenues of appeal under the party’s constitution, raising the spectre of months of destabilisation.”
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/national/crisis-deepens-for-baillieu/2008/05/24/1211653824521.html
Liberals in Disarray
In the wake of John Howard’s electoral defeat, the Liberal Party is not only out of power federally, but also in every state and territory. A series of recent blunders and embarrassments by State Leaders and Senior staffers across the states certainly haven’t helped the situation. It’s left the former political party at its lowest ebb ever. Senior members of the party are now scrambling to find a solution to turn the party around.
http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/cover_stories/article_2459.asp
Interview: Jenny Macklin
May 25, 2008
LO: Sure, but Brendan Nelson’s promising a 5 cent a litre cut in petrol excise. You won’t do that. But what about the suggestion this morning that the Labor Government will consider dropping the GST component that’s imposed on petrol above the excise, a tax on a tax? Are you serious about looking at that?
JM: Well, that’s one of the issues that we will address in this major tax inquiry that the Treasurer announced, and he has announced the detail of that inquiry, that we will look at the issues that you’ve just outline and a wide range of other critical matters that haven’t been looked at for such a long time. So it is very important that we do that. But honestly, you wouldn’t know what the Liberal Party believes. I see that Alexander Downer now is considering coming back onto the front bench of the Liberal Party. He wants to be the Shadow Treasurer. I understand he’s indicated to some in the Liberal Party that he doesn’t think that the fuel policy that Brendan Nelson’s put forward is economically responsible or sensible. So, if Alexander Downer wants to come back onto the front bench, he should renounce that economically irresponsible policy, totally uncosted. It would see the Budget surplus wrecked by the Liberal Party, and I think if Alexander Downer’s serious, he needs to come out and renounce that policy immediately.
http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/political_transcripts/article_2463.asp
onimod Says:
May 25th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Come on get real, the reason why people like Rudd is you actually know what he stands for, even if you don’t agree and the party is in power because of the man.
Now I know I’m being a little bit blunt here but like it or not hetrosexual relations can involve something more than the relationship between the couple; that is marriage often ends up being about more than the two people involved. What I can understand is why homosexual couples can’t get over it and leave marriage and the family court to couples that are likely to result in families.
On the other hand if homosexuals want to go for civil unions why not, however as children are seldom involved I can’t see the civil un-union court ever being as messy as the family court.
William,
Can I suggest that you consider starting a thread on the Australian Joint Standing committee on electoral Matters – 2007 Federal Elections
The committee is currently reviewing the 2007 Federal Elections.
The Parliamentary web site can be found Here
One of the Issues I have placed on the agenda is the need to review the method used by the Australian Government in calculating the Australian Senate Surplus Transfer value and the method used in counting the ballot
The method of calculating the Surplus Transfer value MUST be based on the value of the vote and not the number of Ballot papers (See submission)
The other option I would like to see adopted is a reiterative counting system where the count is restarted on the exclusion of candidates the count continues until all vacant positions are filled without the need for further exclusions.
The current system was designed in the early 20th century to facilitate a manual count. With the use of electronic computerized counting it is possible to review the system used to ensure that the count reflects accurately the one vote one value principle and true proportionality of the ballot. The current system has serious errors built-in to the system that distorts the value and results of the election.
Hopefully the Joint Standing Committee will address these issues and adopt the recommendation contained in my submission.
This issue not only e3ffects the senate election but also other multi-member public elections as most tend to adopt the Australian Senate system. the distortion in the counting system currently used is more prevalent in those election where above the line party voting is not used. Ideally this should Abe address prior to the 2008 Victorian Municipal elections. Tis review is also of interest to State elctions
I would welcome any constructive discussion and debate on this issue
If anyone thought that Joe Hockey might be a goer as leader one day they might think again after his comments on The Insiders this morning.
Joe reckons the tax on alcopops is going to lead to girls getting the drinks spiked.
You only need to follow that line of thinking a little way to realise what he is thinking and saying.
JOE is saying this – If alcopops are too expensive then young girls wont get so drunk on them and so their drinks will be spiked. Huh?
Who will spike their drinks and why?
OK so girls not getting so drunk will not do the sort of thing they might do when drunk and so someone will spike their drinks to get them/force them to do what they wont?
It is fairly clear what Joe is on about with this comment. Young girls not getting so drunk so wont be available for being ‘voluntarily’ abused. Thus thinks Joe men will spike their drinks so as to still have their way, sexual assault, rape.
What he says can only mean that in Joe’s logic is that it is better for women to get drunk and have wanton sex than to stay sober, be drugged and raped.
Wonder no one has picked up on this in the press. It is a pretty low comment.
SO the Liberal party is trying to win votes off men who might miss out because of sober women?
Hockey is a scum bag. I read his comments early today and had a similar reaction. A decent, balanced interviewer wouldn’t let his comments pass without a serious test but he appears to have not been challenged. I’m surprised that he hasn’t advocated for the removal of all taxes on alcopops so that young men and women can get totally smashed for just a few bucks with little or no risk for their health or safety.
Honestly, this alcopops argument is the worst possible issue that the libs could have taken on board. They really are a shattered lot. Even Nelson knows that it is wrong but he is willing to put the safety of young women ahead of his own political survival – another scum bag for sure.
Did any of my Perth bloggers watch the 7pm news on ABC Saturday night, had TV on and getting ready to hit the town, when I’m sure the presenter of the news said that “the Rudd honeymoon is now over” . Is it possible to get a podcast or whatever of the daily 7pm news?
Just shows how low Barry Cassidy has fallen to let a horrible comment like that pass without seeking clarification.
I don’t watch ABC news anymore because of the tabloid lows it has sunk to. But my sister straps herself into the armchair, props her eyelids open with matchsticks, stuffs a gag in her mouth and watches it for me.
She’s in Sydney (as am I) and she reports to me tonight that “The Rudd honeymonn is over” line was also used on Sydney ABC TV news.
So it ain’t just Perth JC.
I seem to recall hearing that the scripts to anything bar local stories are compiled from the Sydney Newsroom.
It is awful policy from Nelson and one roundly condemned for years. Even Hilliary Clinton tried it for a little while then let it drop.
Apart from making a hole in the Budget, it neglects that a 5c reduction in price will quickly taken up by the fuel companies who wont miss the opportunity to make a bonus billion. Who is going to know if the fuel price increase of 5 cents over a month was natural movement or fuel companies filling the gap left by the excise reduction.
So Nelson basically wants to cut billions from Govt revenue and give it to fuel companies for what? A bit of political popularism that has already been half killed by dissent within his own ranks and economists generally.
What next? If a 5 cent reduction in fuel why not on other things taxed? Reduce tax and this and that? Nelson in his attempt at popularism would be willing to obliterate the economy?
But it is really Turnbull who has lost economic credibility. Trying to trash the Head of Treasury ( his own head only months ago) and the Reserve Bank Governor (his own Governor months ago), saying one thing then the opposite becomes evident…..well Turnbull has made a mess of it all.
Things have gotten so bad that even Downer thinks he might have a chance….now that really does show how bad the LNP has become. Downer was among the least acceptable before the election, for good reason, and now even he looks as good as the rest. They are all useless. Their only saving grace is that any opposition in a two party state will always garner a large percentage of the vote.
From the Radiowise newsletter.
http://www.radioinfo.com.au/news_item.php?id=7509
Unfortunately you have to be a paid up subscriber to read the full story.
Does anyone believe Rudd’s comment, that he has done all he can for working families, will cause him any political difficulties? The journalists and opposition seem to be going into raptures over it. I just don’t think it will have any effect.
I’ll say it again. Where were these pensioners last year?
Thx for the confirmation BB and FC. I wasn’t sure if I was hearing things. Is this the start of the confirmation that all things are over – our ABC saying so!!!
Funny all these people were so quiet during the Howard years. Too scared to speak up or think they might actually get something now that he is gone.
Why were they declaring Rudd’s honeymoon over?
Now, all, just got home after my birthday weekend. Did my own polling, during. Have not read your posts. The Labor voters of the less than analytical kind are seriously upset with Kevin. Particularly those who are not of yet pensionable age but entertain enormous sympathy for the elderly poor. Who think back, even to 1948, for whatever reason and oddly enough the year of my birth.
Who believe that Kevin implicitly, or more likely believe explicitly, that it was a lay down misere that Kev would deliver the pensioners, aged at minimum, instant financial relief. Not ifs, no buts, no review, but now! They expected it after the long, mean, Howard years. They were used to Howard failing to do a thing. They hoped and hoped. They expected Kevin to deliver. Click. They are seriously, not merely disappointed, totally disillusioned!
Well, its a good thing the pensioners make up a small part of the population, politically speaking. Having said that I believe they will do well out of Kev before the next election. Why didn’t they pressure Howard?
The other thing that must be said is that this anger is not showing up in the polls yet.
I said, will you hear, it was not the pensioners I was listening, listening to. I did not argue, I heard. These people are intending to hold the State Government responsible, in the first instance. For whatever reason, that is the deal.
I am not a pensioner .. just older than 25
well older than 50 also
I can’t say that Downer and Turnbull on the front bench would be good for the LNP. Turnbull will always be worried about Downer’s intentions. Nelson would be happy though, gives Turnbull something else to worry about.
Just imagine the back biting. We know how petulant Downer can be.
The honeymoon over?
What? They mean that Rudd’s lead might come down to normal levels now that the media has hand in hand with the LNP have spent 18 months trying to character assassinate Rudd? I guess Nelson and Co will be elated when Labor falls from the high 50s which it must do eventually.
It is inevitable that by the next election the Labor party will be maxing out at around the 55/45 level. But even that is a very large lead. It is inevitable because the novelty wears off, people who had unreal expectations will be disappointed, the press will have had 3 years of trying to assassinate Labor.
However if Rudd wins it will be great, if he does it with 53.5/46.5 that will be even better.
But to be honest, if the press was describing the Liberal party’s real performance and abilities and its policies truthfully, with honest analysis the general public wouldn’t go near the LNP. With the current group Australia would be at risk with these people in power.
The LNP and its team is absolutely awful with limited policy making talent or leadership talent. Lacking direction and who knows what their platform is? ARE the media really saying that this group are an acceptable alternative government?
If Rudd squeaks through the next election he should go through media ownership regulations with a flame thrower and most certainly divide up the ABC into an entertainment/education and news/current affairs group and, remove any future possibility of a neocon controlling thought police ever being appointed again.
And when Rudd retires one day just how much in demand would he be with the corporate world? Costello cant find a job, Rudd will be knocking them back.
Has anyone read Milne’s latest rant in the Oz?
Apparently the Labor candidate for Gippsland is a former mayor of somewhere or other who was also a Festival director. A year or more ago the festival included a production called Beautiful losers which was rather rude.
Shock, horror, the sky is falling on the Labor Party! An apocoplypse is about to descend!
Is this goose for real?
I believe pensioners will be a large demographic for ABC TV which means they would have seen Rudd on TV the other night.
I have no doubt that the Labor election machine is in full swing planning.
It would be good if the Labor States got themselves into proper order soon, especially NSW where they are ruining the brand name. They ought to be careful or get caught out like Howard did. Along will come a Rudd type and all of a sudden they (NSW Liberal) decide to be coherent for 5 seconds until the election.
Yes, I do know how to spell apocolypse.
I do mean to say, that none to whom I have listened has expressed an intention to vote Liberal, federally next time, yet. Obviously and because there is nowhere to go.
The disillusionment and clear sense of entrapment may easily result in a backlash against State Labor, which they seem in my State at least, to be pretty well asking for. Tasmania thread speaks for itself.
Of course, it is the responsibility of the murdoch press to make sure Labor doesn’t get elected in Gippsland. Any stupid little thing will be news if it can be spun in a negative manner. Don’t assume that these people are jounalists.
Turnbull will be starting to get nervous about now. It will dawn on him that he will have to debate Rudd three times during the next election campaign. By then Rudd will be well and truly polished and more impressive than usual. Turnbull will still be the waffling wind bag.
IMHO, the problem with Nelson’s 5 c/l excise cut isn’t what it does to the budget, but that it’s a diversion and impediment to tackling the problem.
The fact is that the combination of peak oil and climate change is propelling us into a new paradigm that will require new solutions, not desperately applying band-aids in a vain attempt to retain the status quo. That simply is no longer possible.
However, I don’t get a sense that the government has grasped the extent of the problem either. Its thinking also seems to be fixated on managing the consequences of escalating petrol pricing instead of working on alternative transport solutions. The plans to remove LPG subsidies being just one example.
fizdig at 64, i’ve posted about this before. I cant believe how many opposition MPs have been the guest on Insiders, and other ABC shows, and coverage on the news. The ABC is a complete joke
Crikey and any others,
I am curious exactly who amoung the pensiones is sayign they are bitterly dissappointed? I don’t mean to identify individuals but demographic groups. Please be specific about age groups and status. I strongly disagree with the notion that all pensioners need more money. Some do (eg disabled & carers), but many don’t. Statistically, those 55 to 70 are the wealthiest group in our society. Curiously, the over 75s are actualy poorer than the generation after them. So who exactly is saying this?
I raise this question again because if there is one group in our society who are in for a rude shock in the next decade, it is those imagining they can retire at 55 and comfortably live till 80+ at public expense. Unless you are in the top 5% of income earners (hence no pension neede) it isn’t possible. The numbers just don’t add up. Retirement at 55 was always a pyramid scheme paid for by population growth and all the working women who had to give up their jobs when they got married in the 50s and 60s. Pension schemes were started with payouts at age 65 when male life expectancy was about 68. Now with people starting work later and living longer, retirement also needs to be delayed.
Anyone who dobts what I say should study the social history of what happened to Sweden and Finland in the 1980s and 90s with their low populaiton growth and long life expectancy. They had to change some of their retirement income schemes because they were unsustainable. France and Germany are now grappling with the same problem.
Time to put an end to this idyllic illusion (fully funded retirement before 65+).
Further to my previous post, here is a link to a good paper on Swedish pension reforms
http://www.nek.uu.se/pdf/wp2002_6.pdf
Good news Labor and the PM have done all they physically can to provide help with the Family Budget! Lol!
JOM
Obviously they haven’t done all they could. The trouble is they have already done more than they should. Nor have they cut all the fat that should have gone, including some business welfare, which is absurd in a booming economy. See Ross Gittin’s column this morning, which isn’t flattering for Rudd or Nelson:
http://business.smh.com.au/rudd-needs-to-start-leading-20080525-2i1p.html?page=1
Socrates #127,
You should be emailing the link to the PM and the Labor Party for the PM said, we (I assume the Labor Party) have done all they physically can to provide help with the Family Budget.
What was Howard doing for 11.5 years if Rudd has done everything in 6 months?
Good question John, but I really don’t think you want to be reminded of the answer!
Cheers Fulvio would it go something like this being Australia most successful Prime Minister?
JOM
By Howard’s Lies, that is an exaggeration of almost Liberal proportions!
Ah John, thinks he sees a head to kick and pops his up to be kicked. The conservatives (medis included) think they have Rudd on this and that everyone out in voter land now hates him. The average person wouldn’t even know he said it. The next set of polls will continue to show Nelson a dud and the Libs languishing.
Successful at what exactly?
Here’s your opportunity to trot out the campaign lines again.
Guess what – they didn’t work at the last election – didn’t convince a majority.
an the reason they’ll work now is…(fill in the blank)?
He might have been successful in your own little world, but that’s exactly the problem. Some perspective beyond your immediate is required.
Please.
Lol, Howard was yesterdays man, todays man, Kevin Rudd, has declared he’s finished the job just 6 months into a new government, I suppose it leaves him with more time with Cate, Hugh and the rest of the gang.
Howard was a successful PM? Successful at being the second PM to lose his seat. Wow he was well liked.
One would think four terms would be considered a success.
JOM
Just because I try to be honest in assessing Rudd’s performance for better and worse, doesn’t mean I can’t also recognise the extraordinary degree of dishonesty and mediocrity that characterised Howard’s government. In fact, I saw some at first hand.
Howard was successful at getting himself elected four times, not much else. Even if that is your only criteria for success (election) Howard is obviously inferiro to Menzies, so there is no rational criteria by which Howard could be described as Australia’s most successful PM. For economic criteria, growth rates of GDP and GDP per capita were far higher in the 60s, so you can forget about claims along those lines to. Howard was cunning not clever and in terms of outcomes just lucky, plus frankly he faced an opposition that was weak in defending Labor principles (sorry Kim but its true). Thats the only reason he got elected four times.
If election is your only yardstick for a politician’s success, given that Howard is one of only two sitting PMs to lose his own seat, does that make him our second most unsuccessful PM?
Is this the same JoM.
I thought you were a bit deeper than news.com.au comments previously?
Oh, now you want to cut Howard loose John (yesterday’s man). I would too if I were you. He wasn’t that good.
Gary #135, JWH sould have done the Beazley thing and looked for a safe seat?
I’m trying Onimod.
Up until now Rudd had shown a polished performance he went into the election giving the perception that he could stop prices from rising now he has said he has done all he can after 6 months… To quote Seinfeld, “It’s gold Jerry, Gold!”
What do you think of Nelson John? Will he last?
Do you think Rudd’s comment will save Nelson?
John, it’s only gold for those who take any interest in politics. It will go over most people’s head. It will certainly be forgotten when the Libs change leaders.
I like Nelson he has done a great job and should be given at least a year to 1.5 years to prove himself.
Will he last… I think it depends on how much he persues Rudd over his comment and yes Rudd’s comment did save Nelson. Which ever way the petrol price debate goes it will forever be known as Nelson’s baby. If prices continue to go up people will ask how come we have to wait a year to see if a review recommends GST excise be removed.
So if/when petrol prices reach $2.00 people will thank “thank heavens they are now only going to be $1.95. I don’t know about you John but that really doesn’t do much for me.
First “thank” should be “say”.
Are you really suggesting John that if Labor brings the petrol price down people will be thinking to themselves “Brendan did that”? Hardly.
Tell us the old old story JOM. First he is just going to stay until the budget, now it is the end of the year, then it will be till the budget next year, then till the end of next year, then, hell why not keep him till the next election?
My used by date for Nelson is this Wednesday’s Party room meeting anything past there is just being deliberately damaging to the Australian economy by ensuring political uncertainty.
Gary I do see your point and yes it is valid but 5 cents reduction across the board means other commodities will also be cheaper.
Plus its action now, Rudd seems to or at least I have the impression delay things and pass it onto reviews etc. Make a decision and stick by it.
Exactly what the Libs should do on Wednesday decide to dump Nelson and stick to the decision.
Steve Rudd’s comment saved Nelson. The only people to benefit in a change of Leadership in the Coalition would be Labor.
Gary, #148 depends how much blood the Libs extol.
JOM,
The problem is that if the excise is changed in 12 months or whatever, the heat goes out of the issue and leaves the Libs with very little to say other than “We support the Government’s moves”. Not a vote changing message.
The real problem with petrol at the moment is that oil is $130 per barrel and that the cost of running a car has escalated so quickly. The adjustment to family budgets is the issue causing most of the pain. Again, if petrol returns to $80 then the heat also goes out of the issue. Most people can see this although the commentariat, as always, have their egg beaters in over drive. Those paid to be outraged are outraged. Some people may be spouting off, but whinging has always been a national sport and is not always reflective of how they will vote in 2-3 years.
Tax cuts come in to play July 1, so people will have a little more in their pockets to cope.
Steve, Nelson’s 5 cent cut in petrol excise has the PM on the back foot why would you get rid of Nelson now?
JoM nothing can save Nelson. Clear the decks and get serious. The problem for the Libs is that they are unable to make tough decisions and stick to it.
John, at 5c off all commodities people will laugh at how little that is. Besides who is to say when you take the 5c off petrol that that will not be eaten up very quickly. It is tokenism at best. Why do you think Costello and Howard rejected the idea. By the way they also rejected taking the tax off a tax in regard to petrol. Not only did they not act they didn’t even check it out.
This notion that a government just needs to act rather than review the options fascinates me. As Costello used to say we have a trillion dollar finally balanced economy and Nelson wants quick decisions that are half thought through. Of course if the government did act quickly and it went horribly wrong, guess what Nelson would be saying then? Does the term “policy on the run” sound familiar?
hmmm? what was that about honeymoon & over?
somebody had better tell these good folk!
“Mr Rudd’s arrival though sparked massive interest with many Traralgon shoppers stopping to chat and have their photographs taken with the PM during his walk through the CBD.
Mr Rudd did not rule out another visit to the electorate before the by-election. ”
http://latrobevalley.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/pms-endorsement/776792.aspx
Bugger – “finally” should be “finely”.
GG I agree with what you said about adjustment. You said, “whinging has always been a national sport and is not always reflective of how they will vote in 2-3 years” Rudd rode on the back of whinging all the way into office.
JoM, just declare Nelson’s honeymoon over and move on. Nothing wrong with politicians getting out while they are ahead is there?
“PM opens Kirribilli to charities”
I bet the Rodent is spewing.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/national/pm-opens-kirribilli-to-charities/2008/05/26/1211653887495.html
I think it’s Gold in the Howard world John – where people abrogated their responsibility to read a little deeper into the crap that politicians spout.
The electorate believed everything Pete and John said up until their sham relationship was exposed and trust was lost.
Somewhere in the last 3 years the electorate divorced their view from that of the former government and slowly started to understand what politicians were capable of influencing, what they weren’t, what they should be commenting on, and what they had no right to. it made them realise the ride they’d been taken on. There is now a slightly more than capable understanding of the effect of international factors on our domestic situation.
In short, Rudd does not treat the electorate for a bunch of fools and simpletons that the Murdoch press, former government and current opposition market themselves to.
Now, you can either throw your hat in to the ring with the above listed jokers, or you can sit on the sidelines [even join in if you're so inclined] and wait for the next crop of intelligent conservative politicians to evolve.
Paring the world down to the Glen Milne view from the gutter, where stealing your older brother’s Hustler magazine when you were 10 means the apocalypse is coming is a PROVEN LOSING STRATEGY.
Yes, Rudds statement might have been spun in to a real negative in the pressure cooker atmosphere of the last two weeks of a campaign, but in the context of the first year of a new government it’s meaningless.
The mistake both the opposition and press are making is that the little things are only meaningful when they form the incisive indicator of the big picture; otherwise they are ignored.
The big picture is that one of the most popular new Prime Ministers, and his competent government have changed the direction the country is moving in, and the electorate likes it.
Sure – they liked the previous lot once, but times have changed. The past has gone.
GB, You are right it is tockenism at it best and tockenism feeds perception. If 5 cents is so insignificant then why are 4 cent shop a dockets so popular?
More importantly why are 4c shop a dockets so ineffective in creating positive perceptions against world oil price rises?
#162
Nice post onimod. Perceptive. And hopefully accurate in that the past has gone. Time will tell. I’m mildly optimistic.
John, there are people out there who use the dockets, Im not one of them, but they would be in the minority. The higher the price of petrol goes the more insignificant 5c a litre seems and in reality is. By the way John can you explain to me how Nelson would pay for the 2 billion dollar shortfall in the budget each year, the cost of giving everyone 5c off? This policy is a dog. Costello and Howard were right, not to mention Turnbull, Downer and Hunt.
Onimod, Rudd sold the perception that he can do something about rising prices etc and now he has turned around after simply six months and said there is not much more I can do. If prices keep going up he’ll know about it!
Wish I had thought of that Steve (164). Bloody good question.
GB there is a 22bn surplus… I’m sure Labors, so called razor gang will find the money.
HANG ON … tax Alcopops
No John, Rudd sold the idea he would have a go at doing something (unlike the then government) but emphasised “there is no silver bullet”. The press and opposition, for political purposes, are creating the perception you are talking about.
Steve I don’t know.
If memory serves me correctly didn’t Swan in his shopping with Swanny guide on youtube prior to the federal election last year advocate the use of shop-a-dockets as one way of keeping prices down?
So what services or programs do you want to see cut to pay for this EVERY year, good or bad economic times. I say that because once its in woe be tide the government that has to remove it.
JOM 169
Are you suggesting that the coalition will pass such tax measures in the Senate? Or are they still playing economic vandal while pretending to care about the nation?
171 JoM, I do think that the world oil price might have moved a little bit since then.
JoM, I also seem to remember that at the start of the Iraq war opponents were tipping the price of oil to go over the $100 per barrell mark and the Howard government assuring us that it wouldn’t.
BG no need to cut we have a surplus!
Socrates we’ll have to wait and see.
Steve just a bit
BG no need to cut we have a surplus!
Socrates we’ll have to wait and see.
Steve just a bit
JoM, glad you repeated the comment, it was much more interesting the second time around. So waste the surplus propping up and subsidising oil companies is now good economics is it JoM?
Lol the Iraq. I believe on Insiders yesterday Piers Ackerman showed a graph highlighting the Iraq war has played a minor role in the price of oil. Things must be going good in Iraq, The Age hasn’t bagged GWB aboutit for a while now.
Yes, it is sheer genius to take a whole oil producing country out of the world supply chain.
Steve, 178, What’s Rudds suggestion? Oh that’s right he’s thrown in the towel after 6 months.
Steve, 180, so Iraq isn’t selling any oil to the world?
Let me say it again John. 2 billion dollars out of the budget A YEAR to prop up a token gesture (you agreed it was) through good and bad economic times. You believe that is good financial mangement? Costello and howard disagreed with you. I can find the quotes of Howard saying why that was bad economics John if you like.
You continue with this distortion of Rudd’s comments John and then build a case aound the distortion.
It certainly isn’t anywhere near full production.
JoM
If you relying on Akerman (correct spelling) then your case is pretty desperate!
Thomarse, anything to save Nelson’s hide on Wednesday morning is the liberal game being played at the moment. They don’t want to face the truth that his time is up, honeymoon over and time to leave.
I’m sorry John but clinging on to this one comment of Rudd’s like it’s a lifeline smacks of desperation. As I said earlier, for most people it will pass about a kilometre of their head. The parliament watchers and political fanatics (probably the same beast) will get something out of it but that’s about all. Nelson will still be seen as inadequate and the Libs in turmoil and Rudd will still be seen a the necessary new broom.
Even dolly Downer can see Leadership sharks circling, why can’t JoM?
I guess we’ll just have to see how it plays out.
I’ve said my piece.
I’ll look for a new topic now..
So much so that Downer would rather join the feeding frenzy of the leadership pack than be a diplomat.
I saw the Q & A program on ABC last thursday night and when the Prime Minister said he had done all he could – HE WAS REFERRING TO THE BUDGET.
So there John of M – and all the journos know it!
The journos should all get together, lock themselves up in a room and bang each other senseless over their frustration that Rudd is on track to being the best PM Australia has had since the second world war. Yes.
Has there ever been a more stupid and idiotic populist policy than cutting the excise by 5 cents.
The oil companys would be laughing. How do you know if the price goes up that it is due to global oil prices or not.
The liberals are a mess. Labor under Latham were even far more competent.
191
Don’t get caught in the same prophesy world the Fibs and their supporters are in.
For most politicians, especially the Fibs, just reaching office is the goal – hence the lack of relevant policy development and implementation once they get there.
Good decisions take time to implement and even longer to evaluate.
The ‘quick fix’ mentality that’s developed over the last decade or two has shown itself to be not very reliable politically, or in the evaluation of the politics either.
As fred also pointed out at 165, I’m cynically optimistic, no more.
Rudd has just warned in Question time that whichever of the five prospective Liberal leaders is responsible for blocking budget measures will pay a huge price.
The first hint of a double dissolution hit on the Liberal Party possibly.
“The member for Wentworth is going so bad that even Alexander Downer wants his job ”
Goodonya Swanny.
Michelle Grattan, in today’s Age, talks about the destructive instability brewing between Turnbull and Nelson. The leaked email from Turnbull expressing his dissatisfaction with Brenda’s 5c gimmick has done ongoing damage to both players. She predicts more leaks to come from Liberal HQ, symptomatic of a declining discipline which set in before the election.
She contrasts their situation with that of Labor, who, she says, have been “tight as a drum” since a year before the election.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/the-leaks-that-make-a-politicians-life-a-misery/2008/05/22/1211182996702.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
Nicola Roxon got under the skin of Joe Hockey and the rest of the Opposition over alcopops once again today. Julia Gillard gets all the plaudits as a parliamentary performer, but my favourite minister in QT is Roxon.
#106 Rx
Nitpick: that article is from the 23rd
Lindsay Tanner told the Opposition that they were “giving a rabble a bad name”.
GG@153
Think you’re spot on there re oil. Plus we are already a low-excise nation in terms of taxing fuel (the US is of course the lowest). As we head on up to the $200/barrel mark (although I think this is an exaggerated mark in the short-term) changes to excise will have a diminshing value to people. However, alternatives to the car will become more important, yet we are not making the provisions and expenditures there that will be required. I note from todays Daily Telegraph (http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23756325-5006009,00.html)
that there are charges that RailCorp is struggling with systemic incompetence (although any commuter could tell you that, and apparently today did, at a RailCorp press conference). Although Iemma is about announce another 150 buses are to be bought (for $112m), this isn’t going to alleviate the fact that many of Sydney’s roads are already at capacity. Substantial funding for all forms of public transport might help, but then all Australia city’s should be planning for this too.
Triton #197 Thank you, my mistake.
StewartJ @199,
There is however, opinion that the sudden surge in oil prices in recent months is a bubble that will burst.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/may/22/oil.bubble.economics
199 Stewart J
It still strikes me as a bit silly that the talk is still all about the pain and how someone else might relieve it for us. There are plenty of cities and even whole countries who have made conscious decisions about what the solutions are/might be, and yet we’re still worried about what the next tank of petrol might cost after a decade of unprecedented national income. How did that happen?
Australians addictions to cars, and big ones at that, really confuses me when I come back from overseas. It’s like we’re living in this little bubble that can’t look outward.
I guess the point is that when the furthest an opposition can see is a tax on alcopos, then I think we’re a long way from being ‘relaxed and comfortable’.
Just a point on your last sentence about how we should be planning. One of the main reasons for a lack of suvccessful planning process is the fact that future planning will change things, and that will be universally unpopular. Who has been supporting plannning change? None of us. In fact governments have been explicitly and implicitly been telling us there’s no need for change for some time now. Overcoming our culture of selfishness is going to be incredibly painful for some.
201
A bubble it may be, but is that any security against it bubbling again, and again, and again?
The oppostion failed to lay a glove on the government in Question Time today. And they copped quite a bit of stick themselves. Where to now?
204 BK – I was about to write the same thing myself. If that’s the best they can do the opposition have real problems. The government took them apart. The opposition lacked passion and conviction.
JOM would have to have been disappointed with that effort if he saw it.
205 Gary – Today’s session was probably as lame as they have had so far – and that’s saying something!
Really, they will get nowhere until they can pull together a coherent and consistent new brand that offers something for the medium to long term. And this begs the question of who can properly and convincingly represent this to the electorate.
204 Agreed. They looked like a pack of whingers. Bishops personal remarks look petty and weak; Nelsons mock outrage over 5cents; Hockey’s tantrums. It’s still the politics of extremes, and if your opponent didn’t say something extreme, you just exaggerate like an 8 year old and make what he said sound extreme anyway.
Sure – it’ll get people looking at you, but when they’re looking you’d better have something to say that makes them forget the original petulance.
It’s brainless stuff.
A good high school debating team could tear them apart at the moment.
It’s what comes from having no platform of your own to talk about.
Where to…?
The next newspoll.
Busy day today. Lots of people to visit and see about various projects. So I wanted to get off to a fresh start with the clean taste of toothpaste in my mouth and not regurgitated bile.
Which is why I didn’t read Glenn Milne’s column in The Australian until 4.30pm.
Is this guy back on the sauce again? Either that or it’s Glenn, and not the Phoenix Voyager who is sending those pikkies and data back from Mars or whatever planet he is currently on… (because it’s clearly not this one).
“Earth to Glenn Milne…. come in… Earth to Glenn Milne…”
“[crackle...hiss...sputter]“
First there was this, on Rudd and Labor in general:
And then this, on the candidate for Gippsland:
Beautiful Losers, indeed. Rudd, like Howard before him, is about to learn there’s nothing beautiful about losing.
“Worst week”? “His own inadequacy”? “Rudd’s failings”? “Impression nationally”? “Beautiful losers”?
Somehow or other Rudd is written up by the Tiny Poisoned One as being responsible for high petrol prices, sexploitation of young children and therefore his own political demise (which, forgive me for pointing this out) hasn’t shown up in any polls yet. … must be one of those “delayed effects” Glenn and Dennis keep on telling us about.
Meanwhile Nelson has seized the national agenda from Mr. 75%:
Just as you think it’s safe to go out in the dark again those “elites” (in this case, of the economic variety) come to scare the horses and cast aspersions on the common sense of practical Aussie voters who believe that it’s OK to ruin the budget bottom line in a futile gesture that will be swallowed whole by the oil companies in one month of price gouging and manipulation (i.e. “the market”) without so much as a burp to wash it down with. By the way, one of those elites would be Malcolm Turnbull, Shadow Treasurer and Leadership Hopeful, who reckons slicing a measly 5c of petrol is a stupid, silly idea and bad policy, too. But let’s not that get in the way of a good elite-bashing.
But of course, as Glenn would remind us: he doesn’t want to be Prime Minister. We’re not talking about policy. here We’re talking about The Politics. Completely different story. and this is where Glenn’s genius comes to the fore. The Little Man with the Big Question.
In The Politics Rudd is a perv-supporting loser who’s own inadequacy and failings are becoming a national embarrassment to everyone but himself. Nelson, on the other hand, although prepared to wreck the Budget with his excise scam that will never be put into effect, is some kind of political genius, and everyone would admit this if only it wasn’t for those pesky,pointy-headed elites who point out that enacting his 5c reduction in petrol excise would be inflationary, pointless and tantamount to fiscal self-mutilation on a grand scale.
Whadda they blardy know, Glenn? Eh? They’re just every financial, business, journalistic and economics expert (including the Shadow Treasurer) in the blardy country. Blardy elites. They should just pi$$ off and leave Rudd to wallow in his own ineptitude?
Blimey, Glenn: whatever spirituous or other liquid you’re into at the moment, give it up baby! It’s ruining what few brain cells you have left in that small, but perfectly-formed little head of yours. We want you around for the comedy of what you write, not to manufacture self-parodies like today’s effort and ruin it all. It’s all about verisimilitude, internal consistency, suspension of disbelief. If you write too many of these clangers we don’t think you’re funny any more.
We do the laughing. You do the writing. But not too silly, or else we think you’ve gone peculiar all of a sudden.
Got it, Glenn?
This morning on 3AW Alison Carabine (Canberra political journalist) stated that the opposition and Nelson had a spring in his step and that Rudd had presented them with a stick to hit the government over the head with. So much for the spring in the step and the stick. May the government be hit that hard from now on. It’d be like being hit with wet lettuce.
Alison on radio now says this because of the petrol price rises. “This could be the end of Kevin Rudd’s honeymoon.” Very negative against Rudd.
“The opposition is winning the political war on this.” What a bloody joke.
After a party loses office, many of its publicity people have to find new jobs in the mainstream media. They’re a ready-made propaganda unit for their old employers. In the Adelaide Advertiser, for example, not only do we find a weekly column by Alexander Downer’s former chief of staff, Chris Kenny, but there’s also one by Alexander himself. Compounding the situation, a lot of Labor sympathisers in the MSM have now moved to jobs with the new government. leaving the field open for the doomsayers and knockers. It happens both ways. Such is life.
How on earth are journalists canvassing the views on the Australian population from bloody Canberra?
This could be the end of civilisation too, but I doubt it, and I’m sure there’s equally as much evidence at this stage.
A journalist she is not.
I do hope Glenn Milne is reading Pollbludger, and esp Bushfire Bill at208. He needs some feedback but doesn’t seek it. I realised only today, courtesy of Crikey, that he (GM) does not open his Australian column up to comments.
Interesting that the previous federal government was one of the sponsors of the Gippsland Arts festival that has fueled Milne’s righteous indignation ( information courtesy of PM).
CL,
Andrew Landeryou was all over that this morning.
http://andrewlanderyou.blogspot.com/2008/05/gross-hypocrisy-nats-score-own-goal-in.html
‘elite economists’
do you think Milne was straining a bit there? Far out!
Neither channel 9 or 7 news services (Melbourne) had anything on federal politics tonight, that’s how much impact they thought the opposition had.
This has got to be about the base. Australia was not settled by Puritans and mainstream Australia is not easily socked (eg. They watched “Underbelly” by the millions).
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/alp-candidate-backed-offensive-show/2008/05/26/1211653901960.html
Phil, it’s been bad enough skipping my afternoon talkback program after Dolly and his missus infested the studios, but the worse insult is to have to skim past the issues section of the Advertiser {my favourite part} every monday morning because Dolly’s ego has him thinking we want to hear his fatuos meanderings,for heavens sake someone point the ‘man’ to the exit and push him through,a good many South Australians would be extremely grateful.
The Libs got crucified in QT today – what odds on a censure motion tomorrow?
Interesting poll. People tend to support Nelson’s petrol plan but not Nelson as leader.
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23761023-5001028,00.html
Why not ask them if want their cake and to eat it too?
217 Ha
I thought Nelsons outrage moment was spectacular enough to make the news.
Mustn’t have filled the 7 seconds.
Milne -
You’d swear he wouldn’t have time with ‘teh insiders’ with his unbending attendance to a particularly strict church all day Sunday wouldn’t you?
Nah.
He’s just mixing someone else’s puritanical beliefs with his own navel gazing. Surprising that it’s only fluff he’s managing to find, isn’t it?
221
what’s wrong with “7″?
It’s a perfectly good number.
Will Mr Rudd come out and publically support the number seven?
The classic in that poll is the combined 49% support for:
a) Nelson or Costello or Allbull
b) none of the above or couldn’t give a rats
that’s right – b)
Yep, Nelson’s got Rudd on the ropes now…
clowns
Glenn Milne’s personal attributes and drivers are well known and those who’ve dealt with him will always – for the rest of their lives in most cases – hold strong views about his trustworthiness and accuracy.
But don’t you reckon that flaming the hell out of the commentariat is pretty weak because they are having a go at the Government (albeit one most of us like)?
Ain’t that their job comrades?
And isn’t he making some relevant points along the way?
225 emily
the problem is the content, not the job
I haven’t seen most of them make a relevant point for years, mostly because most of them want to make the news rather than report it an analyse it. It’s the chicken little problem. Earwax is important, and yet the reasons for going to war in Uraq weren’t. Alcopops are vital, and yet the bungling in the federal police isn’t.
I could go on.
Besides, if they can’t hold themselves to account, are we supposed to ignore it?
Fair point onimod, I don’t mean to say the fourth estate is beyond reproach. I’m just dropping in and no doubt reading a bit of preciousness in when I’ve missed the guts of the debate.
It’d be a bad run if the press wasn’t having a go, and there’s a bit to have a go at, while the Opposition bleeds out for the next three months.
214
Constant Lurker, I heard that too on PM. laughed, and thought, could Brendon (I’m a doctor) possibly find another foot to stick in his mouth, being a doctor, he might be able to find it. Not know what to do with it, other than what he traditionally does with it, but still, he knows it’s a foot.
225.
Emily, I think you’ll find that some people who post here take a very close look at not only what is reported but how it is reported, also, at how, for instance, so called ‘balance’ at the ABC, isn’t, when you look at, for example, the content of stories over a day. Today’s Online reporting was a good example. Have a look at it and tell me there isn’t something strange going on.
The petrol watch scheme is a fantastic concept. It WILL WORK in lowering prices because, for the first time, motorists will be able to compare the price of petrol offered by providers in a practicle way.
The opposition squirm eveytime they hear about it. I think it was Wilson Tuckey who called out in parliament today that it was their idea and labor copied it.
Can you believe it! LOL, one second they oppose it and the next they say labor copied it.
Turnbull, Abbott, Hockey, Downer and Cossie had better be careful! If the MSM keep giving Brenda so much oxygen, he might just lead the party to the next election.
Harry, I did enjoy the irony of Erica talking about media freedom in Parliament House. It’s almost Monty Pythenesque.
I also saw Albo bagging McGauran, numerous state government responses and attacks, and of course Brendan Nelson and the art show.
It would be wonderful if the MSM actually undertook non-partisan reporting and analysis of government actions and policy as well as those of the Opposition. It is something that is badly needed.
But of course as all know and admit – the Murdoch press is basically there to support right wing politics and politicians regardless of quality, the SMH cant make up its mind and The Age is usually a left wing paper.
There are a core group of journalists well known to all that are the hard line Howard and Liberal party lovers and undertake at every opportunity to sell down labor and help the LNP. It is not about fact or proper analysis, just supporting the side they support. The ABC since the thought police were appointed now also do their bit for the Liberal party when they can.
That is the result of 11 years of hard line Howardism.
Milne’s piece is nothing unusual. I suspect when he needs a story he puts his hands down his pants and pulls out a handful to smear across his sheets and calls it journalism. But we are all used to him but he is know where near as bad and redeemable as the Cane Toad.
If you want to hear some decent non-partisan political discussion and analysis watch News Hour on SBS or listen to the BBC. Unfortunately not Australian politics.
I was too busy today and missed all of QT! Was it worth listening too?
Emily, theres political commentators having a go and making a point {thats their job} and then theres so called commentators such as Akerman, Milne and Shanahan who have made it their lifes work to twist and weave anything about the Rudd government into a negative and to laud whatever the coalition does into a shining positive–no matter how illogical.
I dont think anyone in this blog has a problem with honest fair comment about the Rudd government be it good or bad, even some of the died in the wool bloggers here sometimes have a dig at Rudd, theres been some commentators who have earned complete respect for their balanced reporting but unfortunately they’re few and far between, the late Matt Price was one of these–we miss him dreadfully, unfortunately a lot of the current lot are still in la la land and hav’nt accepted that theres been a government change and are still mentally tied to Howards apron strings, this will change with time but untill then all we can do is keep pointing out their comments are complete crap in todays politics.
phew that was a mini novel from me, when is the next newspoll due please? I’ve lost count of the weeks.
Kina, it was a good QT for Labor, but of course the MSM don’t report it that way. I think Swan is developing into our best performer. Also the liberals hated listening to ( forgot his name, memory blank) the assistant treasurer on the fuel watch scheme.
I would like to see the Speaker silence the house everytime the opposition interjects or hurls abuse. They should be made to sit there, on their hands while listening to the government in silence. And if they explode into space, good, all the better!
7 news in Sydney actually had a feel good story about Kev opening up Kirribilli House to charities to use for fund raisers.
The last part said “A view that was only enjoyed by the elites (showing a clip of the Rodents) now used to help those in need”
Video here
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=248153&cl=7978333&ch=248154&src=y7news
211 The Opposition is winning the war on petrol prices…
I think the Libs have spooked Labor on Petrol Prices, although they have not been able to take many points it has made Labor say something stupid, that being looking at the GST on excise which may be about taking off the GST.
For once i agree with economists, doing such would be economically stupid, it is time the Rudd Government had some guts and stated the obvious, oil is running out and therefore we must start looking at alternatives such as Public Transport.
But of course the Labor party seems to have little talent in its ranks which can adequately explain the current oil crisis. Instead a three cent cut would be far better- yep a three cent cut and what difference would this make?
Would have better to attack Nelsons’ stupid policy instead of falling for it, thus Nelson has enticed them and they have fallen for it.
When is Four Corners going to provide us with some quality Australian journalism again- instead of nothing stories like tonight.
Hey Judy nice to have a fellow lurker! I am no fan of Milne but I think he’s in a different category to Ackerman. Although I might be biased, Piers once wrote a column arguing that I was an international socialist in (god forbid) the SMH. Matt Price would be doing his job right now, picking apart the Government, were he still with us, and annoying the hell out us if he were here, and we are all the poorer for his absence.
And Centre, that’s a great approach when your side is in power, I would (and did) hated that stance over the past decade. So I reckon it would be pretty lame of me to try and impose constraints on Parliamentary interjections when the side I like is in power.
I agree Rudd would have been better off ridiculing Nelson on the fuel excise debate for the pointless policy it would be. I mean, he has plenty of ammunition, even from Nelson’s side. Rudd could have made a few points out of this one.
Reviewing or removing the GST on the excise is only tokenism and wont make much difference to anyone except a decent drop in revenue.
Not to labour the point, but journalists used to be in some ways self policing. If they didn’t do it to themselves the driest of the dry – the cartoonists – would do it for them.
These days the only people left in Canberra long term are the supporters of either side, whose very existence is dependant on the drip feed from one side of the other, or the short termers who are looking for a newsreaders job somewhere (anywhere but Canberra).
In the past no self respecting journo would put themselves in the shadow of a party for fear of national ridicule. Unfortunately it’s become de rigueur. Journalists are their own worst enemy at the moment because they’re not calling each other out, and selling each other, and themselves, down the plughole.
At present Rudd is eschewing the former regime’s suckholes and they’re running around like petulant little children. What’s more, even if they were inclined to do real investigative journalism, they’ve forgotten how.
There is so much going on behind the scenes in Canberra right now, but we haven’t heard a word of it publically, except for the odd report of public servants being made to work ‘too hard’.
What are they working on?
Who cares.
It’s easier to turn up to a doorstop, cop the marketing in the face and shovel it out to the masses.
Even better if you’re a clown like Milne who gets the briefing direct from the partyroom – you don’t even have to turn up.
At some point these people have morphed from reporters to opiners who think they can drive the debate. I guess in some ways when you’re briefed ahead of time you can pretend you do drive the debate.
Of course if you were half intelligent you would realise the folly and petty worthlessness (other than financial – Rupert will always pay you for a right wing view) of a life spent doing these childish things, and therein, exactly, is the rub.
236 marky – there you are Marky I actually agree with you on this one. The government needs to stick to their guns. Of course they have not committed to anything yet. Nelson’s policy is also a dog.
In my experience, journos are pretty good self policers. And they come and go, talking of their grand salaries News Limited is paying about $40K for a Grade 2/3 at the moment as I understand it, hardly rich pickings.
Opinion pages are different to journo stories. The Gallery still attracts good journos. They lose them – I’m still lamenting Joe Kerr – but don’t disguise dislike of general critique for lack of objectivism.
I work on the other side these days and what annoys me most about journos is their mindless refusal to agree with my opinion and write the story I want them to write. It’s so irritating! I’ve gone to all this trouble, spent all this time, sucked up all this much – and still they want to find a counter view!
Imagine how the Great Leader feels! Yet I reckon he feels an attacking press is the right press for a good democracy. But then, I was always mindlessly idealistic.
And now the GST on fuel is now open for debate while the excise isn’t. That’s called “a story”. You might call it cowardice, expediency, delivering on promises, giving working families what they ask for in due season… but it’s a story.
Interesting that Kina and Gary agree with me, and that they always agree with one another. Are you both working for the same Labor media unit.
re 234,
aahhaa, It just came to me. Chris Bowen.
Emily, I would hate to think all those fat old lazy hacks were on huge salaries, there is so much more talent around, surely.
243 Emily – you haven’t been “sent” here to “put us straight” have you? I can name maybe 4 genuinely objective journos, Laurie Oakes, George Meglagenous(?), Gerard Henderson and Barrie Cassidy. These people give it to both sides and try to be factually correct.
p.s. I agree with you too Marky.
Centre the speaker is the talented Harry Jenkins. Another untalented dill that the factions have provided.
Gerard Henderson objective! Sorry this guy was John Howards’ speech writer and now he is Brendan Nelsons’. He is a IPA spokesperson and peddles out continuously their bulldust.
Marky, I reckon the liberals should recruit Latham for their leadership. He couldn’t do any worse. lol
Nah, I’m an old girl, ask William if he might recall. I don’t work for any political party, but I do hand out for the ALP on election day. You’re all just driving me nuts and I had to unlurk. God forbid the press might bag us! God forbid when we won Government the opinion pieces might not be favourable! Oh no now the ABC is biased to the RIGHT WING! Tbey might be critical to the GOVERNMENT OF THE DAY!
There’s never anything you can’t recover from about being exposed to genuine press coverage, but again I’d say, I’m an idealist.
That give you a hint?
Should i or not state that i was a Latham fan. He would have made an excellent Prime Minister, as he for one was willing to stand up to this countries current Prime Minister- Rupert Murdoch. He unlike Rudd did not crawl to him and look what happened Murdoch and his cronies went after him and completly ruined him, just because he did not crawl, pathetic.
244 marky – come off it. I’ll say it one more time. YOU are the Labor member not me. I have never been a member of a political party. For a lefty who gets mistaken as a conservative supporter on here and quickly sets people straight you are not beyong labelling people incorrectly yourself are you?
Marky, I too voted for Latham and believe he was done in by the press including Murdoch. We differ however on what type of PM he would have made. At the time i thought he would have been good but since his melt down I have serious doubts about his strength of character under fire. He was badly flawed as we have seen since.
Marky, if you want to be honest with yourself, you know that Latham got a really good go by the media until he blew it. It was then they decided to start sticking the boot in.
Actually i think you are right because being a Labor member these days is very much being like a conservative supporter as for some of their policies. Gary i just state what i see, comments which give us feedback regarding the news nearly every day hence the radio or television or today tonight, sort of like keeping track of what they are saying and telling us all.
Similar to when a party realises a policy a one page media brief is provided or when a minister or member makes a comment.
I will say it again i am a member, i have the platform, yearly card and rights to vote in FEA elections and for State Conferences, did not attend the weekend lovefest tend to be decided beforehand by the factions these days.
How did he blow it Centre.
I suggest you people read Lathams’ book especially the introduction.
Emily,Akerman started out here in the Adelaide Advertiser, my adopted surragate dad, dear old uncle Bob Whitington was the head crime journo there at the time and Bob who was as straight as a die had no time for the cane toad even then, when Bob died some of his investigative papers fell into Akerman’s hands and the petulant dill burnt them, they would have been a great help to SAPOL now in an ongoing case, Bob’s legacy in balanced factual rather than shock value reporting still lives on today, a journo from his training is now a head reporter here, I’ve seen too many journos of the Akerman ilk who would’nt spoil a good story with the truth, I’ve got nothing but contempt for them, have you ever wasted your time watching T.T. or A.C.A? nuff said!
Gary – a few weeks ago you were saying if the Tarago Tax numbers didnt make it into Parliament you’d eat your hat or words to that effect?
You’ll be pleased to know that your hat is safe from the broad culinary experience – Mark Butler apparently used it today during a second reading of an Appropriations Bill
He made policy on the run, Marky (troops home by xmas in a radio interview).
Still, not as bad as cutting the fuel excise.
Judy,he’s horrible. I hate him.no argument there.
Well done Possum, that was a great piece of investigative work on your part. I’ve never liked eating hat, thank heavens for that.
The problem was Centre, the corporate media saw him as a threat to their interests and for that reason they went after him. Hence the taxi driver which was not an issue, his first wife not a issue, his relationships with women not an issue and then their was the dopes within who hated him because he had brains and they didn’t- Conroy, Carr, Lennon ( Tassie Priemer) ex grouper , and some dopey dills from the New South Wales right and not forgetting the union movement
the CFMEU who campaigned against the Labor movement a day from election day, the ultimate betrayal and the idiots who made a deal in Victoria to give preferences to Steve one policy Fielding.
I will say it again go to a library and borrow his and book and read it, you may have a different opinion.
I will say this though i did not agree with his economic beliefs and did not agree with going to an election with to many idealistic policies that may have been a failing but he got little help from his own side and the State Governments who as usual had their own agendas at heart.
Marky, the media went after Rudd as well ( Bourke, strip club, etc…).
Are you saying Conroy likes Rudd because he has no brains?
Latham’s Tasmanian forests policy was a shocker, Marky.
marky
it is useless to cast pearls before swine
ps pancreatitis is the most debilitating disease
bit like the old vd joke
first you think your pissing barb wire
second you know your pissing barb wire
third you wish you were pissing barb wire
Read his book Centre to get a bit of a look at his ideas and what were the machinations behind the scenes during his time as Leader.
Forests policy was not a shocker, it was released to late and was badly handled. A union should not get on a stage with a Leader of a Government who did nothing for them, especially the introduction of workchoices and then people such as Dick Adams and Mr Lennon go out of their way to support Howard also.. treachery at its worst and Lennon thankfully has gone and i am rapt.
Gusface can i have what you are having?
239
Kina @ 239 -
I agree Rudd would have been better off ridiculing Nelson on the fuel excise debate for the pointless policy it would be. I mean, he has plenty of ammunition, even from Nelson’s side. Rudd could have made a few points out of this one.
Ridicule? No! What he should have done is shown Nelson up for the small minded, bereft of ideas, lazy, knee jerker he is by demonstrating real leadership on the issue in acknowledging we have a huge crisis on our hands and starting the process to fix it. Unfortunately, Rudd seems to be just as clueless/in denial.
Back in 2000, Nelson’s small minded, bereft of ideas, lazy knee jerking predecessor, John Howard, froze the fuel excise when increasing petrol prices became politically inconvenient instead of addressing the real problems – that oil is an increasingly scarce resource and a major global warming contributor with a limited future.
I don’t know how many billions in revenue have been lost because of that freeze, but if the money had been used to reduce our dependence on oil we would now be better able to cope with the current crisis. Instead, most of it just ended up in oil company coffers and we are even further up poop creek.
This problem is not going to go away, it will only become worse. So the sooner we accept that we need to do more than apply a few band-aids and start doing the hard, expensive, yards to replace oil as our major transport energy source the better.
Unfortunately, perhaps the ultimate solutions, electric fuel cells and/or hydrogen aren’t yet viable. But there are ways of bridging the gap. Better, more flexible public transport, greater use of LPG/natural gas, tax breaks to encourage denser, less transport intensive, inner city housing instead of increasing urban sprawl – and a host of other things that I haven’t thought of but no doubt others have.
marky-touche
actually a lot of what you wrote is true
othello was a victim of both the machine and chronic health problems, the meds he was on and the dosages can cause quite severe reactions (personal experience can attest to that)
also i believe that alot of the intelligentsia that parades as ‘true believers’ didnt get marks working class ethos-or the fact that he was more in the mold of rfxc than than jbc
so now we have a ‘dry” as pm run by a machine more attuned to power for powers sake than the “light on the hill”
rage on marky as your voice aint alone
I know who rfxc is but who is jbc?
so who is rfxc?
and jbc?
gary
ever met rex? or heard some of his diatribes? f##king life changing imho
(jbc was chiffs sometime nom de guerre/code name during ww2)
thomarse
rex francis xavier connor
“junior” ben chifley
And who is Gusface today?
whose asking?
ahh, rex connor
I have The Dismissal on DVD. If the portrayal of Rex Connor is accurate then I agree with you gusface. A brilliant character and a bloke with big ideas. If only they had gone through the right channels for the money Australia would have been a much better place with his grand ideas put into effect.
cheers gary
i wouldn’t characterise rfx as “grandiose’ more visionary- imagine the royalties etc that we would be rolling in
as an aside i believe mark was influenced by rfx’s rhetoric
an old timer i met in the 70’s said he (rfx) had the billy poos (hughes) about him
without the underhandedness of hughes
For once i agree with Gary, the Foreign Debt would probably not exist.
Night Visonaries and dreamers and rest in peace ben chifley a real true believer.
GB @ 278: Well, we wouldn’t be suffering these crippling uranium shortages, that’s for sure. Compare the original Rex Connor rendition of his speech at the special “loans affair” sitting of parliament (which you can hear along with many other wonderful things at Whitlamdismissal.com) with Bill Hunter’s rendition in The Dismissal, and I’ll think you’ll be very disappointed.
nailing your colours to the mast are we william re uranium perchance?
btw rfx’s crusade was about ownership and equitable arrangements
the ‘loans affair’ speech was a sad postscript to a remarkable “mission statement’ re all OUR mineral wealth- not just yellowcake (uranium)
Thanks William.
Marky I have said before that a 5 cent excise reduction would be the same as giving money to the oil companies as their prices would immediately rise fill the gap, they wouldn’t miss the opportunity. The net result would be a loss in govt revenue and nothing else. It was a bad idea and an opportunity for Labor to get stuck in to Nelson to boot. Rudd’s review on the GST on the excise at least makes sense in that it is looking at should we collect a tax on a tax. However he might do that but for little net result to the consumer.
I come from no media unit. Not even close.
—————————–
It is simple fact that the OO and a number of Murdoch journalists have been gunning for Labor and endeavoring to promote the LNP. It is also plain that the ABC has indeed gone to the right since the advent of the thought police.
It is fact that in the absence of anything tangible they go for the trivia…ie Rudd’s salute to Bush.
It is not unreasonable to expect the media to be non-partisan and offer up decent analysis on real issues. And those that are partisan it should be made clear to the reader that they are partisan to whatever side.
Because we have had a bad media in the past doesn’t mean we should not criticise it, or is the media beyond criticism. Because papers and journalists have become incestuous with parties in the past doesn’t we have to accept it or not criticise it.
The media has on the whole been giving Rudd and Labor a bad go for 18 months. Simple fact and unacceptable. The people get their impressions and data from the media and make their decisions from this, so it is indeed important that they get some semblance of truth and context. AND not spun incessant partisan views.
In my democracy it would be nice to have non-partisan reporting so people can make up their own minds based on analysis and facts. That isnt going to happen so the alternative is to not have too much media concentration to allow a diversity of opinions reaching the public. AND it should be mandatory that partisan journalist be identified clearly as such so that people can filter what the see, hear and read. The few journalists that I deal with do tend to be defensive on this issue.
So, now they tell us:
So I guess all those happy photos during Howard’s time of desert cricket, fun runs, tyre changing competitions, sniling Iraqis being trained, visits to the local casbah and so on were true.
We weren’t in Iraq to fight the evil terrorists, provide a vital bulwark against Islamo-fascism and save the Iraqi people.
We were there completely for show.
“Strong on national defence”, was the mantra from the neocons and Howard urgers.
It was all a crock.
285
Kina
Another result of the Howard years IMHO
Analysis & criticism were discouraged, remember the elites, chattering classes etc etc? The great thing about the 2020 Summit was to signal that that was no longer the case.
I still lurk Pies’ blog–can’t post because I have been banned
–and you would not believe the constant whinging about the ‘left wing press’ with special venom for the Age and above all the ABC.
The silver lining for those a bit left is that all these blogs, Dolt, Pies, Janet, Shamaham have helped Labor win office: the Howard government did not receive real feedback on their policies.
It’s interesting how the press sees any differing views within a political party as a split, like it is somehow wrong to disagree within your own ranks. This happens to both sides of course and has done so with the petrol issue recently. Of course the opposing party will always make hay while the sunshines when it happens to their opponents but it just seems to me to be unrealistic to expect everyone within a party to agree on every policy measure.
Discussion and differences within any party must surely be healthy. Isn’t that the way cabinet government works? They sit down thrash out the arguments for and against, make a decision and all agree to go along with it.
How predictable the Murdoch Press and commercial radio are running hard with this, and talking up the supposed split in the Rudd government. These characters haven’t changed their spots since November 24, it’s obviously time to give Nelson a leg up.
I’m not sure this type of thing really plays out there in voter land. This government had a mountain of goodwill out there at the moment so I think the “fallout” will be minimal. The workings of government don’t excite most punters.
The real issue here is who leaked it and why. This was just normal cabinet government at work and some mongrel has leaked.
Geez Mumble has taken a dislike to Rudd in a big way.
my belated thoughts…
The halfwit locum wants desperately to snare back that prized mantle of being the better economic managers, the reason he fails is because he thinks he doesn’t need policy of his own to do this, he thinks if he can stir enough hysteria it might make the other team pull a bad move and give him something to bang his drum about. if the ruddster sticks to his guns the liberal party will disintegrate in its current form.
the silverbullet to rising oil prices? I reckon only one is to be prudent and use your car less, or get rid of it.
The price will decrease when there is either an increase in supply, or a decrease in demand. There can’t be an increase in supply because supply is currently maxed out because of China and India, so the only way to get the price down is to reduce demand by using what we buy more efficiently.
i thought the production of oil had already peaked and is on the decrease, yet the demand is still rising hense the price will only go one way.
Yep a censure motion in Parliament – geez Brendan is predictable
Did anyone else notice that Nelson’s argument was self defeating? He censured Rudd for being unable to bring down the price of petrol, but promptly refused to promise to bring down the price of petrol.
The Opposition today at QT were a rabble and intent on spoiling tactics as they have been all year. There was nothing constructive in their questions just a resolve to disrupt and cause trouble, and to destroy the Gov’t’s credibilitity on very spurious grounds. They did not seem to have any real ideas of their own and seem to think if you deny something, ignore it or make outrageous statemments you can change its truth. They simply do not have any principles and would be in far deeper trouble if the Press did not provide them with “life support” .
Rudd had evidence based material for his policies. What is it the Opposition don’t understand? The best interests of Australia seem far from their minds and they seem to think the end justifies the means.
The Ferguson leak was reported but was one sided. It is simply more of the same in regard to the pattern of reporting we have had all year. I have never seen journalism at a lower ebb than it is now.
I thought Malcolm made a strong speech, sticking to the ACCC report, Chris Bowen’s reply not as good.
Rudd should stick to his guns, world price is beyond his control, he will work at the margins.
If they had cut a lot more deeply into stupid Howard spending they could have offered a bit more to make up for petrol prices.
The PoisonedDwarf is on Agenda extolling Brendan Nelson’s virtues. He says he got the better of Rudd in parliament and Rudd didn’t perform too well. Which parliament did he watch?
Hahhahahahh Hockey is drowning at the moment.
Warren Truss is showing Hockey how to move a motion of dissent
302 Thomarse – I’m no admirer of the buffoon to whom you refer but I do agree with your comment.
hehehe yeah
Hockey was all petulance, is he a kid or a Parliamentarian?????
Hockey gets even more emotional than Nelson. He wouldn’t make a good leader. Not a good look.
I thought Truss did well.
We won’t be silenced!
Milne mentioned the honermoon being over on Agenda today. LOL
Honeymoon that is.
How will the Libs vote in regard to Fuel Watch?
I couldn’t see the video but from the audio it seemed likely that Joe was about to blow a poppet valve. A distinctlty ruddy face as well, no doubt.
Anger alone (faux or real) is insufficient alone.
So the Libs voted against Fuel Watch or maybe they did or perhaps they did not or possibly they don’t have a clue what they voted for.
What a shambles.
I will probably like Fuelwatch, often having to buy petrol on the go and couldn’t be stuffed lining up in those long queues Tue night.
Seems the really cost conscious and time rich (pensioners) might miss out?
Possum has an article on Fuelwatch
Labor should nail Nelson on where the money for his 5c off petrol plan is coming from. The MSM won’t.
I think the Canberra journalists get carried away with what they perceive the effect of the goings on in parliament has on the average Joe. Milne expressed the view that Rudd has got a Keating or a costello to help him. What Milne forgets that neither of those people were particularly popular out in voter land and their performances in parliament didn’t save their respective governments.
Thst should read HASN”T got a Keating or Costello.
hehehe Gillard & Tanner deliver the barbs but without the bombast of K&C
The LNP are of course hypocrites and should look to their behaviour when in government where they basically shut down debate in both houses of parliament in total contempt of democracy. Howard’s crowd were a threat to a fair parliamentary democracy in this country.
Now, having being booted out they still seek to make parliament unworkable by childish pointless behaviour. They are not only lacking in talent and policy they lack a moral compass and dignity as well.
Hockey seems to have become bitter of late and has joined the petulance crowd. When he turned traitor on Rudd by refusing to attend his daughters wedding it seems he burnt his bridges and decided to descend into Howardism.
—————-
I find it remarkable that some think it fine for the media to misrepresent, context and or fact simply because Labor is now the government.
Labor won government so shouldn’t whinge because it gets attacked by the media? I think some have missed the point or reveal their real political persuasion.
It makes no difference the government – media systemically and systematically misrepresenting the truth of the matter is not ok. AND when done in a way to deliberately and falsely undermine one side and to promote another it is a disgrace and not acceptable. It treats Australians with contempt and the democratic process with contempt.
People who chose governments are almost entirely informed on politics through the media on which they then have to make a decision. Thus any systemic bias in the media leads to people making decisions not based on the full truth or context.
I find it amazing that some can be so blaze about partisan media, as though it is nothing to them. I suggest they have look at China media or old Pravda to see an example of one extreme ‘truth’ media.
Journalists who consistently report in a way to support one side of politics regardless of the merits of the facts, are a disgrace.
I think too many years of Howardism has made many accept and find acceptable consistent negative reporting of non-Liberal party views and parties, for no other reason than they are not helpful to the Liberal party.
One good reason for having diverse media ownership is that it gives greater opportunity for diverse reporting so that the generally population has some chance of sifting the facts from the BS.
This is another example of just how petty the Libs have now become, aided and abetted by their MSM minders.
{The opposition wants Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to repay a $US1,700 hotel cancellation fee despite his decision saving taxpayers $US3,400.
Mr Rudd was booked into a suite at the four-star Willard Intercontinental in Washington for three nights as part of his 18-day overseas trip in March and April.
But at the last minute he decided to stay at the Australian ambassador’s residence instead because it fitted in better with a dinner with expatriate Australians.}
http://news.smh.com.au/national/rudd-criticised-over-hotel-cancellation-20080527-2imf.html
296 good call yesterday ruawake
Sky Nooze has a poll on “Who has the answers on fuel prices?”
Govt 11%
Brenda’s Mob 35%
Neither 54%
Now, given that most Sky Nooze polls favour the coalition, this is instructive. 65% of a pro coalition poll thinks Brenda is talking crud.
321
and as has been posed here – this isn’t an issue.
The MSM is wasting paper and bandwidth again…
Maybe it’s a bit like goading the kid with ADHD at school to see how psycho he can really get?
I missed it today, but it sounds like Hockey will be in the mechanics for a few days to get the gasket replaced. Bloody young kids over-revving….
onimod
The Libs are so predictable. They use a sledgehammer to crack a peanut. If they had let question time finish. Then had a MPI debate on petrol etc they would have had identical news coverage.
But NOOO they have to have a censure – which is always dangerous, Rudd did the obvious thing and changed the wording of the motion.
Then Joe has to spend two hours fluffing about in mock indignation while behind the scenes the ‘leadership team” try to work out what on earth to do.
At least they did not just walk out again. How long will Hockey, Joe remain as leader of opposition business – he stuffed up big time today.
MSM have been having kittens by the litterload over the past month at the failure of their “Build up Brenda” campaigns.
Carers – big flop, Pensoners rage, hate Rudd – no sudden drop of Kev’s popularity. Food prices, petol prices, interest rates, Petrol petrol petrol Rudd’s fault blah blah blah– still Brenda sits at 7%!
If newspoll doesn’t stack a few numbers tonight has Brenda at least a 35% and Kev dropping to 55% and have the coalition within 5 %points of Labor in 2PP
we could see mass suicides tomorrow.
Lord wouldn’t that be sad—NOT!
Nelson’s proposal works out to be $2.50 a week if you use 50 litres a week (about 300kms in a V6 in moderate traffic). How many people are going to be marching in the streets for two bucks fifty?
They’ll be driving in Convoy tooting their horns
The censure motion didn’t make it to 7:30.
I cannot for the life of me think of another situation anywhere where Nelson could get away with the mock indignation he put on show today.
Perhaps that sort of tantrum would be appropriate in firing up a bunch of suicide bombers, but that’d be it.
What an embarrassing twat.
I’d wager that the primary response to that sort of behaviour is to switch off, with the express intention of never switching on again.
Initially I thought the 7% was a confluence of factors. I can now believe that it’s a well considered response.
My next door neighbour has a refrigerated Mack truck with refrigerated trailer. He drives to Adelaide and back each week – it costs $6,000 in fuel.
He delivers Pita bread for a major national bread company. It is cheaper for them to truck it than to set up a factory in Adelaide.
One of his favourite yarns is the prawns he trucked from Cairns to Perth to Melbourne to Sydney then eventually to Brisbane because some bean counter in a major supermarket kept changing his mind where the prawns could fetch the best price.
Crazy stuff like this happens everyday, the bread I buy from Aldi is baked in Sydney and is half the price of the bread baked on site at my local Wollies.
318. Kina, I’m with you on this. I’ve mentioned this before on William’s blog, but maybe Ruawake’s site might be an appropriate site for a systematic monitoring of the ABC in particular? Bit of citizen action? The OO, I think you can just forget.
Isn’t there some type of monitoring organisation that looks into standards of reporting? Some of these journalists and papers must be able to be held to scrutiny somehow.
327. Onimod, yes, what would the reaction be, from Brendon (I’m a doctor) if the Labor Party proposed a squillion bucks on the Christmas Island Detention Centre, the Pacific Solution, Abrams tanks of no use in Australia, helicopters that can’t fly in the dark, and so on? Would he spontaneously combust? Or just say, “Oh Yeah, that is a foot, and what’s it doing in my mouth?” This fool thinks Rudd’s going to call an early election, apparently, and that they’re on to a winner with their current behaviour.
328
Ruawake, Get yourself a breadmaker, only use it for the initial knead, you’ll have a loaf of bread or whatever for 60 cents.
Ican’t believe it!!! well maybe i can –this is the coalition remember.
one of the coalition questions at the estimates committee was who is paying for the Rudd dog to be walked in the Lodge grounds, THIS after Howard kept two fully staffed homes and the use of a fully staffed jet to travel to and from Sydney/Canberra so that Hyacynth could keep up appearances,it also meant that staff had to travel to Sydney and stay overnight when needed.
was’nt it great that Rudd opened up Kirribilli to charities for fund raising? all the coalition is doing is showing up just what idiotic dills they are.
Well it’s my view Kev made a fool of himself this week pretending he was an art critic; but no damage done Nelson followed, they now both look like fools. As for the fuel watch thing, who cares. We are close or past peak oil, the price is going to go up, get over it and start working looking the alternatives.
Wind turbines being proposed for Lal Lal, I wonder if we are going to get support or silence from the greens.
328 – Of course for those in transport industry it cost more but there is the chance to recover cost but recharging the customers more(in that case the supermarket chain). This of course has the added consequences of rising prices and adding to inflation.
As for the states (Costa mainly) complaining about the lost of GST revenue if excise is no longer taxed; since petrol has risen about 38 cents in a year, there not going to be out of pocket one cent in reality. Swan should have accused them of profiteering and put them back in their box.
I predict a surge in populatiry for the government.
It’s counter-intuitive, I know, but every time there’s been a “Let’s Get Rudd” frenzy like this in the past it’s flopped big-time.
Asking people to change their minds on who’s best to run the country just six months after an election (and just two weeks after record poll results) is a bridge too far.
Having said that, Ridd’s government is not helping matters by seeming to cave in on every stunt the Opposition pulls.
They need some backbone.
I get the feeling that Rudd is listening to his spin doctors far too much, and has been for some time.
“Labor has acted on a report commissioned by the member for Higgins who TEMPORARILY sits on the backbench and hopes to INCREMENTLY WORK his way to the frontbench”
LOL, well said Prime Minister.
If service stations display the highest price they intend to offer for the next trading day at 2.00pm, the petrol watch scheme MUST work. If they wish to lower their prices, they can notify motorists on the web site at the same time they make the change.
Note you cheap political point scoring irresponsible imbeciles, Nelson and lightweight Turnbull: COMPETITIVE FORCES WILL NATURALLY LOWER PRICES.
I reckon by as much as 3 cents a litre in my opinion. Also service stations wishing to offer discounts will vary on different days of the week.
It’s an excellent policy and the liberals are going to look even more pathetic when it’s proved that it works.
Centre,
Why must FuelWatch work?
Why do you assume that servo operators (or whoever sets the prices) won’t work out the scheme (just as you apparently have) and load the prices to allow for the fact that they can’t go up again till 24 hours later?
It’s a stunt, in my view, just like the 5c off the excise plan.
Also, how is anyone going to prove that it works?
BB @ 336,
I agree with some of this:
- Nelson is a joke and his presence keeps a natural floor under the Govt’s ratings, so nothing would surprise me with Rudd’s popularity.
- Rudd does listen to the spinners way too much, hence the wimpy budget and general over-sensitivity to criticism. No-one can run a country (or stay in office for a long time) by jumping at every shadow that moves, which is the impression Rudd is giving at the moment.
The government has a lack of talent within its ranks, and this alone is the reason it does have any backbone. Question where has Gillard gone has she been gagged?
One of the only competent people they have and lately she has dissappeared?
Spin doctors well they are everywhere now and put simply as i have said before their is the government and media which now controls this country, hence whatever the media says the government acts upon…
They have lost the plot on petrol and the plot on solar rebates.
Rudd needs to stop being so precious and paronoid and to be acting like a perfectionist.
Dyno it must work because all the service stations will be conscious of what their competitors are offering. If you owned a service station would you be happy that the bloke a km up the road is offering cheaper petrol?
You offer your price, and then you must compete to attract business. We will have stability and LESS teamwork and rorts. That’s what the motorists want.
The government should demand the Liberals repay the hundreds of millions they wasted on their failed unmandated radical WorkChoices experiment.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/howard-ignored-polling/2008/03/06/1204779971065.html
http://news.theage.com.au/work-choices-dead-says-nelson/20071219-1i1i.html
In the meantime Nelson talks up the prospect of an early election.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23766291-661,00.html
He has gone completely troppo. It would be a slaughter.
The Liberals need to change leader – NOW!!!
Dyno, you can prove that it works by providing fair dinkum factual statistics relative to the price of oil on each given day.
But Centre can’t they drop their prices below the stated amount? So won’t they quickly work out that by adding 2-3 cents to what they would previously have charged they give themselves the freedom to still end up at the same profit margin if it turns out that they did misjudge the guy down the road?
Case not proven, as far as I’m concerned.
And the Libs’ 5 cents off (even though it’s just as much of a stunt) is far easier for the average person to understand in terms of its effect on prices.
Even though i hate Nelson and do not for one minute believe he will win an election,
the Labor Party should underestimate him, and sadly they seem to falling for his mantra on petrol and put themselves into a giant hole, Nelson seems to as a result to be setting the agenda.
Put it this way Centre, what do you reckon the price of petrol is going to do in the next two years? I reckon it will go up – significantly.
So then Nelson/Turnbull/Bishop/Hockey/Costello* just says “it hasn’t worked, you’re paying fifty cents (or whatever) more than when Rudd was elected”. It will be a potent line.
Econometric arguments about the relativity of the prices of petrol and crude oil respectively aren’t going to cut it, compared to that line.
* Insert 2010 Liberal leader of choice
Dyno, they would not overstate their price because a competitor could EASILY offer a cheaper price on the net and risk losing a sale!
It wouldn’t be practical to start high. You would set your price and then compete.
Nelson was warning his partyroom today of an election next year? If that happened it would set up nicely for Kevin 11 for the election after that. Does anyone seriously believe a broke Liberal party really wants to fight again so soon?
Dyno for your 348, you could refer to my 345. And yes, rising oil prices is a serious concern. More of a concern than the credit crisis in the US.
Heard the Deputy Treasurer (I think it was) say that in each of the years 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 the average price of petrol in WA (the only state in which Fuelwatch so far operates) was the cheapest of any state. (Except Queensland which has an 8c per litre subsidy by the government.)
Fuelwatch was apparently an initiative of the WA Liberals when in office.
Centre @ 351,
Agree that rising oil prices are a massive concern.
On the credit crunch, no less an authority than Warren Buffett was quoted this week saying he thought the worst of that might be behind us (mind you he also said we’re already in a recession).
Dyno, I would totally agree with your 353. The stock market has copped an absolute hammering. It’s not only volatile, there is absolutely no confidence there.
One thing for certain, when we completely clear the credit crunch, and inflation is controlled, and interest rates start to fall, the market will EXPLODE. But we don’t know when that will be. Don’t miss out???
For those accusing Rudd of a knee-jerk reaction to Brenda’s 5c excise tax cut by announcing a review of the GST on the excise
Last night on one of the TV nightly news, can’t recall which maybe 10, they had a video cilp of the assistant treasurer speaking on the 15th of May (before Brenda did his budget reply and made his 5c tax announcement) saying labor’s tax review would look into the GST on petrol excise. that’s BEFORE brenda’s BS.
So who’s copying who here, but hey don’t let the truth get in the way of taking for gospel what MSM says.
But, vera, the Assistant Treasurer then qualified the comment and backed away from it later on the 15th.
not on last nights news he didn’t, in fact the reporter even commented on the fact brenda was the copycat
The 5c a litre discount will be forgotten a month, if not sooner, after being implemented. Unlike the 4c a litre shopper discount, which shows as a dollar amount on the docket is always visible, unlike the excise tax, which is not visible so is consequently forgotten and the cost of petrol is still too high.
Marky Marky your misreading Rudd too much, you are expecting him to fix all that is wrong in 6 months, just like the Right Wing Ratbags having a go at him just because. The fuel watchdog was a promise and he is implementing the promise.
That also goes for the GST off the excise tax.
I’m not convinced the average Joe out there blames this government for high fuel prices. They see and hear about other countries experiencing the same problem. People just aren’t that uninformed thses days.
I’m also not convinced they believe either party has an answer to the problem. Are you really impressed with a solution that offers about $3.00 a litre off per tank or less as both “solutions” are offering? I’m not. That’s not an answer.
I can tell you one thing though, if there is not a dip in the up coming polls for the government the opposition are going to wonder what they have to do.
How do channel 7 know “working families” are angry with Rudd over petrol? Not according to the last set of polls.
Ever wonder why the anger of the anti Labour forces (ie LNP and Media Friends) is so strong at the moment? Rudd & Swan & Tanner are directly attacking their Economic Credentials! LNP under Howard were always a “one-trick pony” and without their so-called economic credentials they have absolutely nothing.
Now without the assistance of Treasury this is being exposed for what it is and they are frightened – hence the hype, bravado, tantrums and wild statements and outrageous headlines. I think they are fighting their last defence for some time and are desperate.
Their economics always favoured the big end of town and only looked after the “battlers” so they they could keep their vote. Then came Workchoices and enough of the voters could see what was happening and so they lost Gov’t.
Rudd and Co. are interweaving the economy into Health, Infrastructure, welfare, Tax etc and every part of life to do with the Gov’t. This is how it should be and is the holistic approach.
The Gov’t needs to weather this storm. This will influence how many terms they will be in Gov’t.
I think you will find that where they have been portrayed by the Press as “backfliping” and compromising under pressure(which is not always a bad thing and is often simply just being flexible) it is entirely in line with election promises. It is all part of their general policy and part of the whole picture. They are not jumping at shadows.
Not only that Doug but anybody watching the Liberal performance in Question time today could only point, laugh and shake their heads at the rabble of a performance on display.
I just caught Agenda on Sky News. OOh, Milne was on it. How sickening!
He reckons motorists are going to miss out on cheap tuesdays. What about rip off fridays & weekends?
Imbecile.
What about Nelson! He reckons people are going to miss waiting in traffic for half a km to get fuel on tuesdays. Is this bloke the full quid???
Clown.
is there a Newspoll tonight?
Vera, not till next week.
According to Springborg the Pineapple Party seem to be heading for some sort of trainwreck.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Mr Springborg said.
“The train is travelling fairly quickly now.”
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23764029-5006786,00.html
By the way Newspoll is partially revealed on each second Monday night and in the OO on Tuesday mornings.
I just wnat to know who leaked Ferguson’s letter and why. Maybe Rudd should have cleaned out the public service in some areas.
thanks Gary, I thought we were due one tonight
GB , it’s not worth worrying about. It will be chip wrapping by tomorrow.
I agree Steve and the Libs can’t depend on petrol prices to be in the headlines forever either. I’m still yet to be convinced there is anger towards the government over this.
I think all it proves is that divergent views are taken to cabinet and discussed then a decision is made. I’d be more concerned if someone came up with a $10 Billion Murray basin scheme on the back of an envelope while cabinet was meeting.
Notice how quickly Alcopops has disappeared from the headlines
Alcopops – another beat up.
Why would anyone be blaming a new government for the petrol rises when the previous government wasn’t blamed?
So has the Japan snub, interest rates, inflation fighting,carers allowance, old age pension increases, carers allowances, the mortgage stress of the Mad Monk and travel woes of Andrew Robb. But the one consistent unsolved problem is the poor polling of Nelson, that will always be with us.
Exactly, and I wonder how many vox-pops they shot before they got the ones which suited their agenda ?
The general public are not going to get that excited over the 5c excise issue.
Firstly they are aware that significant members of the Liberal party thought it was a bad idea including the shadow treasurer, may be aware that Howard already rejected it, are half aware that it may not be such a great idea and, more importantly 5c starts to become irrelevant when prices are leaping so quickly. People will also be aware that the international price of oil is sky rocketing, thus they don’t see it as an issue very much under Government control.
If you were talking 5c where fuel was 20c a litre you will get some backs up, but 5c on $1.60 wont have the same effect.
Nelson can have his fun with it but the 5c will have not much bite. Maybe he will pick up a few points just for seeming to take a stand on something.
Don’t know how he thinks he will get an early election. Maybe trying to to muddy Turnbull’s waters.
Someone ought to tell Nelson that his angry look is not a good one.
Rudd and Swan should just hold their nerve. The new tax scales will kick in from July and that will give people some relief. If the opposition refuse to pass any budget revenue measures then they make themselves a target. Petrol prices aren’t going down in the short term and will rise in real terms post 2012. So the best thing Rudd & co could do to show leadership is to say honestly to people: “Look, these prices may drop a little but you can forget petrol under $1.20/litre, so buy more economical cars, and we will support local manufacturers to switch to hybrids”. Or fund public transport. There is no quick fix to world oil prices.
Beyond that, there is bugger all they can do without blowing the budget and increasing inflation. That would be a terrible outcome for Rudd and the rest of us.
I think Kev might be sitting back letting the rabble on the other side self destruct. With all the hysterical shouting and sreeching and red faces it’s just a matter of time before one of them bursts a boiler. Gor, imagine having Joe Hockey splattered all over you, yuck what a nasty smelly mess, how would you get that stain out?
Kev seemed to be enjoying himself in QT today going by the clip on SBS late news. Doesn’t look a bit worried to me.
According to the dwarf Kev was rattled. What QT did he watch?
The dill probably hasn’t worked out Kev is sitting on the RIGHT hand side of the speaker now.
Wasn’t the dwarf promised the job of being Smirks press secretary when he became PM? or was it David Spears
Either would be perfect.
Might have been spears? he was Sky chief political reporter before election but now Kieren Gilbert has that title. Could be he jumped the gun then had to get his old job back! lol
I reckon Gilbert does a good job. Speers let’s his bias show.
Where’s Toolman this week?
I wouldn’t mind betting that Heather Ewart scored a little better in her HSC…
I think it was the fecal dwarf that was looking to be Costello’s press secretary.
It was embarrassing to watch him. Why Costello would choose him is beyond me, he has no self respect, is looked down upon and doesn’t appear to have any skills as far as I can see. For a journalist his pieces are fairly poor.
He has become a simple purveyor of trash without a sugar daddy to fantasize about.
Speers is next to irrelevant (and I don’t mean Nelson).
I very rarely read the Dwarf these days as he always seems off with the fairies and gets things totally out of proportion. He does not take comments like he used to and this is probably because he got too many comments bringing him back to reality.
I watched QT today and Rudd and his other speakers seemed to have plenty of confidence. They had evidence based replies. Nelson and co spent much of the time just sneering. They were a rabble – who could possibly elect them?
Where is the Liberal party talent?
If you had any talent would you think about throwing your hat in?
You’d have to be a crazy masochist.
392 They are in Queensland writing a new constitution that has just eliminated the billionaire mining magnate from Western Australia Clive Palmer from membership of his own Pineapple party. Oh Deary me.
This is the thanks Palmer gets for supplying a 100 seater plane , helicopter rides for the Queensland shadow cabinet and financing for the next Queensland campaign. What a ship of fools!
I think the Libs should be encouraged to keep up their QT behaviour, Nelson must be allowed to think that his faux anger is cutting it in voter land. Joe Kebabs a master class in action. The more they do it, the more certain Kev will be of a landslide next election. Keep it up guys!
Their pointless disruption of parliamentary proceedings yesterday was just true to the form established when they were in government. Their shenanigans under the Liberal Speaker, Hwaker, surely among the most biased ever to disgrace the House, tells a lot about the tories’ contempt for parliamentary process, and by extension, the Australian electorate itself.
GG, thanks for the link to the Guardian article on an earlier page, confirms my thinking re the oil price. The current $130 is an aberration caused by international speculators in a feeding frenzy, it is exhibiting many of the signs of a bubble and will follow the fate of all such aberrations. I was chatting to a Qld Labor pollie yesterday and he informed me that cars produced here from 2010 will be designed to run on compressed natural gas, the same as presently used by the buses in Brisbane. CNG is in abundant local supply and we are presently virtually giving it to China. When are people going to wake up to the fact that these scares (a la millennium bug) are simply money making scams for the few?
“I just want to know who leaked Ferguson’s letter and why.”
Most likely within labor and to help Nelson. Keating’s big mistake was doing Downer too quickly, should have left him in place for the election.
Rudd has gone from playing with Howards mind and then Nelson’s to playing with the parliamentary lib party mind.
As soon as Nelson looks weak and indecisive and may be replaced, a leak or slip by labor will happen. The libs go from “Oh my god, we have to get rid of Brendon, even if it means we get Malcolm”, to “Hey, Nelson isn’t so bad, I think we have a chance”.
The MSM very obviously think Rudd has had a dream run for long enough, it’s time to prop up Nelson. I’ll laugh my butt off if Newspoll next week shows an increase in Labor’s ratings(which always happens very time they go on a feeding frenzy to bash Rudd).
Rudd has done nothing for 6 months apart from insignificant things with no substance, ie appologies and Kyoto, which he knew was not working
He has shown himself to be what he is, a person who believes in nothing but power
He talks about the Education revolution, then took laptops out of the FBT, so the kids of today won’t get help with their education.
He talks about being Green, then mean test solar panel (can someone tell me how someone on $35k a year can use solar panel, when they are having enough problem paying for housing and fuel)
He talks about easing inflation, then outspend the last government
He talks about now he will lower patrol prices, then say that was not a promise, he says 5c cut in excise is irresposible, but 3c cut in GST is not, and is being considered.
All spin no action, the honeymoon is over!!! Then again when incompetant governments like NSW Labor, keep getting re-elected just based on spin, the Australian public might be dumber than we think
Another person blaming the Australian people, keep it up you of the follower of the incompetent party.
It’s not evident from all the dismissive comments here, but the Opposition has been getting some hits on the government, e.g., the Ferguson letter. This can only help Brendan Nelson stay on as leader, which is exactly where the ALP wants him.
dovif@401:
The reasons for the way the economy is, is solely the result of the former Liberal government. That’s why they’re in opposition now and will be for a long long while.
After all the interest rate rises because of Nelson, Hockey, Bishop, Costello, Downer, Pyne & Co’s inability to control Howard and the economy, my mortgage has $7k p.a.
Makes little Brendans 5c a ltr look exactly what is is. A p*ssy little attempt to cover up their own incompetence while in government.
And don’t worry I keep sending Brendan and the Liberals in parliament emails asking them to explain why under their fine economic stewardship I’m paying $7k a year more for my house and he wants to give me back $3.00pwk
I haven’t had a single reply. So much for the listening tour.
404 should read :After all the interest rate rises because of Nelson, Hockey, Bishop, Costello, Downer, Pyne & Co’s inability to control Howard and the economy, my mortgage has risen $7k p.a.
Sondeo
That is exactly why I said they should hold their nerve on petrol. Petrol costs are a big issue for some people, especially those who have bought themselves large 4WDs. But for the rest of the battlers mortgage payments are a far bigger issue. Finding enough cash to reduce petrol prices significantly would kill the budget surplus and put upward pressure on inflation andhence interest rates. Nobody except an opposition praying for a recession to show up the government would want that.
To put it in perspective, if you had to choce between giving up your car or your house, I suspect its a quick decision.
Thinking about this further, I wonder if that is Nelson’s game? First block revenue measures in the budget, now try to bait the government into a huge petrol price subsidy – it would all increase the risk of higher inflation and interest rates, which would greatly increase Rudds chances of losing the next election.
The LNP are show terrible judgement in the battles they pick.
Turnbull wants to stand up for the guy who took naked photos of adolescent children as art, despite the fact that it is illegal (art not being a defence).
Regardless of the merits of the argument the public are going to see any sophisticated defence of this as something from the elite world. Too easy then to link Turnbull to defending child porn, as long as it is artistic?
AND blocking Fuel Watch is pointless too. It is not an additional tax or anything the public will see as an imposition and may see as a hope of some control being exerted on ‘oil companies’. The evidence tends to point to it being beneficial but in anycase blocking it could even seem as them hurting Australians.
So they are a bit silly in picking the battles. Just like Hockey saying that a tax on alcopops will lead to drink spiking. (analyse his logic and you will see he is being quite disgusting in what he is implying).
Turnbull, Brown join forces in Henson’s defence
High-profile Opposition frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull has spoken out in defence of artistic freedom after revealing that he owns works by controversial photographer Bill Henson.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/28/2257747.htm?section=justin
Opposition to block FuelWatch: Turnbull
But in a sign of Opposition dissent on the issue, WA Liberal Senator Judith Adams says FuelWatch has been effective in her state.
“I think FuelWatch is working. I mean, what can you do? If that’s the price, some places are a lot higher and others are a lot cheaper,” she said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/28/2257694.htm
Sondeo
We then should examine why interest rate rises
Petrol – Australian government except Rudd who says he can reduce its cost before the last election have very little effect on price
Full employment – Liberal government through workchoice, gave employment prospect to unskilled labour, by giving more incentive for small employers less risk to hire unskilled staff (they can fire them if it does not work out) that is why wages inflation was delayed in Australia. Any Economy with 4% unemployment will have inflation, as employer needs to attract good employees, the fact that inflation was so low was actually
The scrapping of work choice will have two effect
it will reduce the chance of employment of these unskilled staff (so they will not become skilled and useful), so this will be good to ease inflation, unless you became unemployed
this will led to wages inflation, as labour supply is reduced
The last budget did nothing to ease consumer spending, or reduce wage inflation, so the worse is yet to come
Unemployment is heading up, inflation is heading up, wages is heading up under Labor, the next few years will be interesting
Just on the solar,
1. Its mean tested at 100K and only covers grid connect. As far as I know stand alone is still OK. (Could be wrong on stand alone) I could not be bothered researching for ill informed RWDB’s.
2. They are replacing the rebate with a FIT (Feed In Tariffs) scheme to pay people for electricity produced. In the ACT it will be 3.88 x the retail price of electricity.
3. FIT produces an income stream for the connection of solar, not just a one off payment.
I suggest you do a little more research and come back with something more like facts instead of Liberal talking points from LIB HQ.
408 dovif – and all of this began under the previous government. People won’t forget that.
Judith Adams has really helped the Libs cause – NOT.
Well, it seems Shamaham and Milne are won over by Nelson. If the opinion polls don’t move the Libs way this time they are going to look very silly. I suspect their glee is felt up in Canberra but nowhere else, not out in the real world.
This policy was rejected at the last election, you’re going to have to think up something else.
Low skilled workers don’t gain skills in jobs for low skilled workers. They receive skills via education.
Thank you Judith Adams!
Parliament this afternoon should be hilarious, watch the shambolic team of Nelson, Malcolm and Hockey in action LOL
The best thing the government could do now is blow the 5c a litre argument out of the water. Sink it in facts and figures. Use the same arguments the previous government gave. Quote them back to them. Show the cost of parting out with 2 billion per year to save 5c per litre. Explain in detail what it does for the family budget, which is bugger all. Show where it will hurt the family and national budget.
This does two things, it puts the opposition on the defensive and destroys the only argument they have. We all know its a dog, that’s why the previous government refused to do it.
Just a small point.
What’s going on in politics (again) is reminding me of the US high school students president election where popularity is seen as an end in itself, whereas we all know that, at least in the movies, character ends up being the main decider.
The thing that concerns me is the diverging of the popular view from the intelligent view yet again.
The opposition is basing their thrust on individual selfishness, and the government is fearful of it too. The issues we’re wasting our time on at present have really got stuff all to do with Australia reaching it’s potential.
I think a relatively unchanged poll will suggest that the general population can see the frivolousness of the current debating points, whereas the opposite is a worrying sign.
415 agreed
I’m a visual person and a simple ‘possum style’ graph does it for me every time, but I don’t know how the general population will react?
I remember when I grew up the papers always used to have nice little diagrams, pictures and time lines that would explain the latest disaster, discovery or whatever; they seem to have gone.
The issue isn’t the 5 cents, it’s the 5 cents multiplied by the volume of fuel used; a number that at present has no meaning to the general population. It, and it’s affects, needs to be converted to something tangible that reveals the true pain to the populace.
Hectares of Amaxon, rooms of the house, time in years it’s taking off your life etc…
or alternatively it’s frivolousness – how many candy bars, big macs or the like.
Office bearers in the NSW Libreal party have just announced they are quitting:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/top-liberals-quit/2008/05/28/1211654089003.html
According to the SMH, this suggests that the (hard) right faction will entrench its control of the branch, as those resigning were unsuccessful in pushing reforms to limit factional influence.
Another gem for parliament. Nodding dogs.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23772200-5003402,00.html
418
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/senior-liberals-to-quit/2008/05/28/1211654087597.html
Annabel Stafford got it on the web first by a few minutes.
Check the beautiful irony about serving full terms in the final quotation from a “senior Liberal source”:
“I’m a big supporter of Geoff (Selig) and I’m sorry to see him go, but I think spitting the dummy and leaving the table is not the right way to go about it. He was elected by the party to serve the full term.”
I don’t recall a division in question time too often, or ever actually. Does this mean fewer questions or does it just make the day longer?
dovif@408, You’re delusional if you think I or others will swallow that crap.
The current economic mess was created by John Howard with his (” win an election at any cost and stuff the consequences )” throwing wads and wads of government cash into welfare, letting inflation get out of hand , and all the while carefully targeting to get the maximum result for the Liberal Party not the country.
Howard was warned, and so was the government about 20 months before the last election, about its spending but it did jacksh*t about it. Howard ( and thereby the now opposition who let him ) was quite prepared to ruin the economy all for political expediency.
According to Joe Hockey during the last election some wages rose by 50% due to WorkChoices.So any wages blowout can be directly attributed to the Liberals.
But in reality WorkChoices was designed to strip away conditions and entitlements virtually making people slaves with no rights.I had to threaten to take a National fast food chain to court, and expose them in the media for illegally forcing my 16 year old son without my consent or knowledge, to sign a wage stripping AWA. He and five others who also threatened them were dismissed.
Wilson Tuckey not a happy chap. I didn’t catch what he let go at the Speaker after being suspended.
I think he said “I’ve lost all my respect for you.”
So the hard right won out in NSW and some of Nelson’s allies resigned. I thought Nelson was from the Right – he certainly is controlled by the Right in Parliament.
The Hard Right is bad news for the small “l” Liberals and for Australia – win at all costs, end justifies the means and extreme views on society. All characteristics of a view that can tend to fanaticalism.
The Liberals in the long term seem to be “digging their own grave” as voters just do not like extremes.
Rod @399,
Interesting take. With all leaks you need to look at “who benefits”. Mar’n had his defences well rehearsed beforehand. “Yes, my Departmental submission opposed Fuelwatch but we lost the argument in Cabinet and I support the decison that emerged”.
Fuelwatch is the current Government answer to being seen to do something on petrol prices. So it is good for the Government for it to be emphasised. The Libs threatening to block it and the confused reactions of different Libs is just a bonus.
Wasting time on a division in question time? WTF? Usually members just go quietly, without waiting for a vote.
QT is the Opposition’s big chance to score. The less of it is televised, the less chances they have to get a story out there.
You don’t fritter away your opportunities like this.
A very slick and clear government performance thus far.
its is interesting how the debate will evolve into energy security
a lot of fertile ground there-not least howards gas deal with china
i think nelson has stepped on a carefully placed landmine,which may just blow up in turnbulls face as well- political chess at its most ruthless
perhaps we may start to buy back the farm/recieve equitable royalties
Chris Bowen is getting right up the Fibs noses.
He’s actually a pretty good performer – simple and clear.
Nelson is still trying to extract an idiotic (Tony Jones style) guarantee on petrol prices. Rudd has just suggested they’re the party of big oil. That’s an association that might cut through.
It’s not going to do the government too many favours with the oil industry, but there aren’t too many people who see big oil as having the moral high ground either.
FMD Nelson/Turncoat etc did not take up the offer of a briefing on Fuelwatch???
Hahhahahhh Turnbull just wastes a question by breaching the standing orders.
They know everything already apparently.
Socrates @ 381
I agree. A policy to reduce the petrol excise is bad policy. The way you wrote with concern about outcomes for the general community, is to be encouraged, and it sets a good example for other cheerers on this noticeboard.
It seems that Julia has now come across a Workchoices mug, and of course made use of the alternate meaning of that word. She has certainly squeezed every drop of humiliation out of the Opposition over Workchoices paraphernalia.
Julia has been injected, and boy to the opposition like being lectured by her don’t they. The props are back! Nelson is goin to have to turn up the indignation to beat that to tonight’s news.
Why is it that The Duchess of Sturt – who represents my electorate – can always be counted on to make the most frivolous contributions to Question Time? It is as if he just feels he needs his voice to be heard, irrespective of the meaning generated by the generated sound waves.
from Socrates 418 article about ‘Top Libs quit”
“State Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell was also opposed to the reforms, causing the Left to withdraw its support.
Dr Nelson had backed the reforms and has implemented a separate review for similar changes to be made at a federal level”
Federal and NSW Libs at odds with each other, and just when MSM was doing such a nice job on praising all that is Brenda. LOL fools can’t take a trick.