Comments on: Turnbull wins

By: money-bags

money-bags — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:18:02 +0000

I won I won, Oh God I won, Let me introduce my solution to Climate Change,
a $10,000,000 rainmaking machine, it works, honest

By: JP

JP — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:09:13 +0000

I agree with others that rural voters would be OK with their independent supporting Labor in return for a bucketload of pork.

But to suggest that Nats voters would be OK with the Nats doing the same thing is too much of a stretch. The disdain that Nats voters have for Labor is visceral and lifelong. All talk of agrarian socialism, or policy similarities, is beside the point. These people vote from the gut, and they hate Labor – end of story.

It might be different in Queensland or WA, but if the Nats left the Coalition, and gave even the slightest hint of supporting Labor, I’d back pretty much every NSW Nat seat to go to the Libs.

By: philatvvb

philatvvb — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:39:22 +0000

Having also wriggled through the wormhole…agree mainly with Poss’s summation of RARA politics with the added bit about getting lots of local projects funded by whoever will come to the party, no matter which party. These are by nature small projects that don’t have an impact beyond the farm gate (or estate agent’s front door). I think Turnbull will be more interesting to watch than Nelson: for all of Nelson’s supposed Labor leanings and mod-squad hipness, he seemed pretty much a colour-by-numbers pollie. Turnbull brings a genuine commercial,as distinct from textbook or what-Treasury-told-me economic, perspective that Parliament hasn’t seen for while. He’d be silly to be seen to be catering to business wants and I suspect he won’t. Well at least initially.

By: calyptorhynchus

calyptorhynchus — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:51:37 +0000

Well, the only two things I know about Turnbull are that he allowed himself to be out-manoeuvered by Howard over the Republic Referendum, and then served under Howard. Doesn’t say much for his political skills or his principles.

By: Trubbell at Mill

Trubbell at Mill — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:41:37 +0000

Yeeehaaa!
Trubbell’s arrived in the Possum Box! I’ve wriggled through the Crikey registration wormhole…
and found myself in some parrallell universe where teh Libs are now led by a Republican who gave a doorstop today about how Liberals have always been terrifically concerned about ‘fairness’ and ‘helping the unfortunate’ and ‘giving a hand up to those who miss out on economic advancement’…
I guess it won’t take long for Robb and Co to point out that this isn’t what ‘the base’ wants to hear.

By: Harry "Snapper" Organs

Harry "Snapper" Organs — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:22:58 +0000

Well, Poss, seems like QT was a bit of a fizzer. ‘Spose you’ve got to give the bloke a bit of time to fire up, what with probably being a bit jet lagged and getting the gig and all, just a day later.

By: caf

caf — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 06:53:11 +0000

Fair enough, I’ve never had the on-the-ground experience in a country electorate.

By: Aurelian

Aurelian — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:20:25 +0000

Well I just finished watching Question Time, and in my humble opinion it wasn’t classic viewing. Turnball asked only 2 questions at the beginning as I recall, both about the recent bank collapse in the US, which I thought rather gave the impression he was interested on behalf of his stocks and those of his good chums.

I think Nelson, probably inadvertally, didn’t give Mr T enough time last night to prepare some really good knockers.

By: David Richards

David Richards — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:33:44 +0000

If Aquaman only manages a dead-cat bounce that disappears, or no bounce at all… what do the minions do then?

Also noted that on the day Aquaman gets the top job, Alan Jones goes back on air. AJ said that the cancer had gone, when he should have said the cancer was back.

By: Possum

Possum — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 02:28:17 +0000

I think the strength of ideology in the bush is a vastly overstated thing. In a toss up between making a deal with either major party – if the independent didn’t side with the team offering the best deal for their constituents, they wouldn’t take too kindly to it (which is now the danger to the Nats in WA in one respect). Bush politics has always been more noise than action – the vocal noisy rump that supposedly represents the political views of RARA land is almost always made up of local real estate agents, News agents and farmers that are up to their eyeballs in National Party politics and not particularly representative of the wider community around them.

Most people wouldn’t give a toss if their Independent backed Labor in a hung parliament, as long as they got something valuable out of the deal. RARA seats might be conservative by nature and age profile – but not to the point of irrationality. Windsor before the election basically said he’d back Labor in a hung Parliament situation.