Comments on: Emo man meet ute man: Liveblogging Nelson’s budget reply

By: Kim

Kim — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:28:09 +0000

Known, and loved her.

Dr Cat, we linked to Zoe’s aforesaid post in several of our budget posts here at LP. (Prior to this one.)

By: Pavlov's Cat

Pavlov's Cat — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:26:58 +0000

Bernard, if the idea was a coincidence then I beg your pardon. I accept that it’s an idea more than one person could have, and I was mainly intending to draw attention to Zoe’s brilliant post, which deserves as many readers as it can get — particularly as many of the regular bloggers and commenters here have known (of) Zoe for years.

By: Bernard Keane

Bernard Keane — Fri, 16 May 2008 09:54:03 +0000

Pavlov’s Cat, thanks for the insinuation of plagiarism. I wasn’t aware of “Zoe’s blog” before tonight and certainly don’t nick people’s ideas (at least, not without attribution). My editor gets the credit for suggesting the piece on Nelson’s reply.

Regards
Bernard from Crikey

By: Jane

Jane — Fri, 16 May 2008 08:17:27 +0000

The thing I love most of all about the Opposition’s rabbiting is that they’re getting stuck into Labor for the very things they had over 11 years to fix. Julie Bishop’s little dummy spit on Lateline last night was a case in point, when she wasn’t waxing lyrical about how safe Brendan’s position as Poisoned Chalice Holder was.
When she was asked why the Rodent government hadn’t lowered the excise on fuel while they were in power, we got the tired old excuse of the $96 billion they had to pay off, which only gave them 7 years to do something about the cost of fuel. And all said with hardly a blink and a completely straight face. Mind you the lie detector had to be retired when it blew a fuse.
Then the fake outrage about the alcopop non-issue and onto the Medicare/private health cover bull. Apparently, changing the 1% threshold has removed choice from the health insurance equation, because now people can choose whether to have private insurance or not and because you’re now free to choose whether you want private health cover or not you’re being denied the freedom to choose private health cover…or not. I know I felt pretty dizzy after being exposed to her extraordinary logic and had to choose whether to have a good lie down or not.

By: Kim

Kim — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:31:19 +0000

Update: Nelson transcript here.

By: Carl

Carl — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:05:25 +0000

Old habits die hard, he just couldn’t help attacking our ‘underqualified’ teachers.

They just don’t seem to get the basic idea that if teachers are underqualified, orthe health system is failing its because THEY failed to do something about it!

By: Kymbos

Kymbos — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:48:37 +0000

Quiggin has nailed him on the alco-pops.

http://johnquiggin.com/index.php/archives/2008/05/15/put-a-fork-in-him-hes-done/

By: Andos

Andos — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:26:38 +0000

Carbonsink: but, like Brendan said, Australia can’t fight global warming alone, and if we get it wrong our economy will die! Much better to increase demand for petrol by lowering the excise.

By: Pavlov's Cat

Pavlov's Cat — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:25:26 +0000

Bernard Keane appears to have been reading Zoe’s blog (see date on linked entry). There’s no acknowledgement or anything, but, well …

I feel a new chapter of my proposed book Femmobolshoblogohemisphere: Blogging and Gender coming on.

By: onimod

onimod — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:23:44 +0000

23 carbon
bugger the climate mate - it’s every man and his bundy for themselves!!

By: joe2

joe2 — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:20:27 +0000

Hell, what’s the prob with an “oppressive burueaucracy”?

That is what has made this country great!

By: carbonsink

carbonsink — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:19:13 +0000

The 5c/L cut to the fuel excise is perhaps the dumbest policy of all. How’s that gonna help climate change Brendan?

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:16:40 +0000

Sky had a compile of Crean, M*** L*****, the Beaze and Rudd budget replies and they were much rowdier than this one (I watched most of them at the time, is there anything less likely to stick in the mind than a Budget reply speech? A Rove monologue perhaps? The name of last seasons’s Big Brother winner?). But the Govt this time around were absolutely silent even when provoked. Nice discipline.

Now Steve Fielding is on with his pet jerry can. Sheesh.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:15:20 +0000

And therein lies the rub!

How’s Brendan going to deliver his capital gains changes, for instance?

As they used to say about Goldwater - in your gut you know he’s nuts.

Somebody should have run a self-contradiction meter.

“In my medical career, I dealt with the human cost of alcohol abuse”.

“Binge drinking is going down among young women”

“The kids will just switch to other drinks!”

“I will convene a binge drinking summit”

“I am being decisive not holding summits!”

Oh, and he’s angry.

By: jo

jo — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:11:20 +0000

should read - the Howard Govt, now Opposition will die in a ditch….

sorry, just taking my cues from Brendan…they are still the guvment.

By: jo

jo — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:05:02 +0000

they don’t go quietly this mob.

the highest taxing and highest spending govt in oz history - i.e the Howard Govt will now die in a ditch before allowing a tax on pre-mixed drinks.

glad they still have their priorities Right.

By: Leinad

Leinad — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:01:09 +0000

“to stand up for oppressive burueaucracy” - oops!

By: joe2

joe2 — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:00:08 +0000

All that nodding, in sequence, behind Bren, reminded me of clowns in an amusement park.

By: Leinad

Leinad — Thu, 15 May 2008 09:59:50 +0000

The Nation Must Hold Up The Five Fundamentals To Beat Back The Nine Undesirables And The Three “Mehs”.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 15 May 2008 09:56:22 +0000

“fewer social engineers” Brendan, not “less social engineers.” Shame.