2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Rudd? (2 Viewers)

[umop 3pisdn]

Garrett, for example, has already heartily endorsed Tim Flannery, whose ideas are much the same as Brown's. So Labor have this problem of professing to be stronger on climate change than the Coalition, but not being willing to do anything that the experts (doom preachers) demand, particularly while they're still so anti-nuclear.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,21203850-664,00.html
What you really have to do if you believe in stopping climate change.

Minister for Trade, Warren Truss brought this up in parliament today, sort of.

He mentioned about 1 in 8 of our export dollars comes from the coal industry, and much higher than that in Queensland. It also keeps some regional areas alive.

Apparently Bob Brown is now describing our coal as a sort of global heroin supply feeding the world's addiction, so the > 30,000 coal industry workers are like heroin dealers, and at the same time Labor are negotiating preference deals with these guys.

 

[Nick Minchin]

Garrett slips up in an Oily moment

PM eyes $19bn to fix roads

 

[Scanorama]

pfft if John Howard could change his mind on GST, I can't see anything wrong with Garrett changing his mind on the US base

 

[ZabZu]

There was a funny article in the paper about the Garret/US forces issue, i think it was a comment by Labor's defence spokesman. He said its ironic that Brendan Nelson has criticised Garrett for comments he said 15 years ago when it was around that time Nelson was a member of the ALP.

 

[Nebuchanezzar]

These politicians all seem to believe that two wrongs automatically make a right. Damn politicians. But yeah, I can sympathise with Garrett. He joined a party to make a difference but he has to shut up until the election is over.

 

[frog12986]

pfft if John Howard could change his mind on GST, I can't see anything wrong with Garrett changing his mind on the US base

John Howard didn't make a living as a 'protesting' rocker who utilised his ideology (or the ideology of the era) to make a quid..

 

[Sparcod]

I saw on the news earlier today the results of a two-party preferred poll for Bennelong (Johnny Howard's electorate). Labor beat the Coalition 55% to 45%. Interesting stuff.

 

[frog12986]

I saw on the news earlier today the results of a two-party preferred poll for Bennelong (Johnny Howard's electorate). Labor beat the Coalition 55% to 45%. Interesting stuff.

Tim Dunlop makes a good point (one of his very few) about this on news.com.au

http://blogs.news.com.au/news/blogocracy/index.php/news/comments/bennelong_dreaming/

 

[Nick Minchin]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

Rudd enters the danger zone

The honeymoon has been good for Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd, who must now heed the lessons of history

IF history is any guide, federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd has entered the danger zone from which he will emerge as a genuine prime ministerial contender or be discarded as the latest in a long line of political skyrockets. The headline figures in today's Newspoll results look good for Labor but the detail contains mixed messages both for Mr Rudd and John Howard. The Prime Minister's strategy of bringing the political debate back on to the firm ground of Iraq last week appears to have stopped the slide and rallied voter support for the Coalition. Mr Rudd, having now set the bar for popularity at a record level, must convert that voter recognition into credibility and enduring support.

The record shows this to be the hard part. As Paul Kelly reported in The Weekend Australian, the Government has identified Mr Rudd's political modus operandi, promising all things to all people so as to not offend, and has begun its campaign of demolition. How can Mr Rudd simultaneously be green on climate change but anti-nuclear and pro-coal? How can he oppose Work Choices but be pro-small business? How can he both pull Australian troops out of Iraq and keep them there at the same time to not upset our American allies? And as the Government builds the pressure on Mr Rudd, it will come increasingly from the fringe of his own party, reluctantly being dragged towards the middle ground without consultation. Former Midnight Oil singer turned politician Peter Garrett's support for US bases last week might well be a turning point.

History shows Mr Rudd's honeymoon popularity is the norm, not the exception. Bill Hayden, Andrew Peacock, Alexander Downer, Simon Crean and Mark Latham were all, it seemed at the time, destined to be king. [...]

http://www.ozpolitics.info/election2007/pollchart-newspoll-tpp-comparative.png


Rudd getting a bit full of himself, says Howard

 

[Nebuchanezzar]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

Alexander Downer and Simon Crean were never destined to be king. Convinent that they totally miss mentioning Hewson too. Anyway, I don't see how these 'how can Rudd to x and y simultaneously' can be considered a big deal, when Howard does them more often, all the time. How can you be complacent regarding gloabl warming and proactive the next? How can you be anti-capital-punishment and yet support it for Bali bombers? How can you support whatever the fuck "choice" means when private schools are bathing in oney whereas public schools are crumbling? So yeah, nice biased article.

By the way: That Bennelong thing is very valid, and quite interesting. If they know he'll lose it, they'll move him out, but at what cost? Will the Australian electorate see him as weak? Will he stick it out to try his luck? Very interesting indeed.

 

[withoutaface]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

If the Libs lose Bennelong, then they've most probably lost the election and would be in need of a new leader anyway.

 

[Sparcod]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

Bennelong either swallowed up a lot of Labor voters or everybody who was originally there are swingers or both.

If the Libs lose Bennelong, then they've most probably lost the election and would be in need of a new leader anyway.

A lot of people don't mind the Liberals winning the next election.......they just want Johnny to lose his seat.

 

[Geezer28]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

I'm in an awkward position. I like Kevin Rudd, I hate Julia Gillard, but I hate Labour, and I'm getting tired of John Howard, but I think the Coalition is the only way to go. Every time in the past 50 years that Labour has come to power, they have fucked the economy so badly, the Liberals had to come in and fix it up. Sure, they give away nice things like social securities, paying for the unemployed to live, they give and give and give... until they have fuck all treasury left. Whitlam, it is true, did much for femenism and public health (I think he established Medicare?) But truly, he did so in such a way that put the economy into a huge economic deficit. Hawke overspent, at the advice of Treasurer Keating.. and Keating took advantage of Hawke's decline in popularity to run for PM, and got it! Then he followed in Labor suit. They've all spent until the money has run dry. And hell, I'm not defending Howard. I don't really like him at all. In my opinion, Rudd is a much more formidable candidate, and if Rudd were leader of the Government right now, that's where I'd be voting. Until then, I will have to revise my vote carefully.

 

[frog12986]

A Liberal Party member who is against people making money?

It's not his money-making that is the issue ..:rofl:

 

[ZabZu]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

I'm in an awkward position. I like Kevin Rudd, I hate Julia Gillard, but I hate Labour, and I'm getting tired of John Howard, but I think the Coalition is the only way to go. Every time in the past 50 years that Labour has come to power, they have fucked the economy so badly, the Liberals had to come in and fix it up.

I dont like Julia Gillard either since she's part of the left faction. But at the moment the ALP is dominated by the right faction and they will have the say regarding economic issues. We've seen this recently with Rudd overruling Garrett on the forests in Tasmania.

Hawke and Keating are a major reason why the economy is in such good shape today. They did many reforms that were/are beneficial to the economy such as floating the dollar, reducing trade protection, deregulation of the financial sector, industrial relation reform (enterprise bargaining) and Keatings recession (which caused inflation to plumet). Obviously there are other factors such as good economic management by Howard and Costello.

 

[Nick Minchin]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

Head girl teaches new boy a lesson for copying answers (Nicholson Cartoon)

Another 7.30 Report debate:

Julie Bishop and Stephen Smith debate education | (Transcript)

 

[wheredanton]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

I'm in an awkward position. I like Kevin Rudd, I hate Julia Gillard, but I hate Labour, and I'm getting tired of John Howard, but I think the Coalition is the only way to go. Every time in the past 50 years that Labour has come to power, they have fucked the economy so badly, the Liberals had to come in and fix it up. Sure, they give away nice things like social securities, paying for the unemployed to live, they give and give and give... until they have fuck all treasury left. Whitlam, it is true, did much for femenism and public health (I think he established Medicare?) But truly, he did so in such a way that put the economy into a huge economic deficit. Hawke overspent, at the advice of Treasurer Keating.. and Keating took advantage of Hawke's decline in popularity to run for PM, and got it! Then he followed in Labor suit. They've all spent until the money has run dry. And hell, I'm not defending Howard. I don't really like him at all. In my opinion, Rudd is a much more formidable candidate, and if Rudd were leader of the Government right now, that's where I'd be voting. Until then, I will have to revise my vote carefully.

'Labor' and use paragraphs next time.

 

[Nick Minchin]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

Well the Rudd Honeymoon is finally over.

Labor had a shocker of question time yesterday when the government sucessfully linked federal Labor to the W.A corruption scandal.
The opposition counter-attack failed dismally. Rudd said nothing, leaving Albanese to throw away valuable questions.

Burke scandal engulfs Rudd

KEVIN Rudd's bid for government has suffered its first serious blow after the Labor leader admitted to bad judgment in meeting disgraced former West Australian premier Brian Burke on three occasions.
The Opposition Leader faced accusations he'd been "morally and politically compromised" and lacked ticker during an explosive parliamentary debate, which ended his three-month electoral honeymoon.
Despite attacking a series of government ministers for failing to recall key details of meetings with AWB executives, Mr Rudd admitted he was unable to remember details of three occasions on which he had met Mr Burke, including a dinner at Perth restaurant Perugino on August 1, 2005.
The revelations threaten to drag the West Australian corruption scandal - which has already forced the resignations of three state ministers - into the federal election campaign.
It also ends Mr Rudd's dream start as Opposition Leader, which has seen Labor overtake the Coalition in polling, and Mr Rudd emerge as preferred prime minister over John Howard. [...]

Perfect storm shakes up Rudd
Leader suffers strife of Brian
Rudd slips in Burke's backyard
Rattled Rudd glad to see the back of Burke
Danger is Latham's L-plate tag could stick

 

[Nebuchanezzar]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill, Minchin. A) No-one gets what happened. B) No-one cares what happened. C) No-one watches nor cares about Question Time anyway. I'm not at all surprised that the media jumped on this. I mean, it's the first gaffe that Rudd's made so far, as opposed to the fourty or so that Howard has made since Rudd became leader, most of which have been pretty big news.

 

[Triangulum]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill, Minchin. A) No-one gets what happened. B) No-one cares what happened. C) No-one watches nor cares about Question Time anyway. I'm not at all surprised that the media jumped on this. I mean, it's the first gaffe that Rudd's made so far, as opposed to the fourty or so that Howard has made since Rudd became leader, most of which have been pretty big news.

Agreed. I doubt that Joe Punter (outside of WA, anyway) has a clue who Brian Burke is, and the government's case linking Rudd to him is fairly tenuous at best. High-ranking opposition members meet with lots of people. Three meetings with someone whose crimes were not at the time well-known is hardly evidence of corruption.