Turnbull’s presumed pleasure over the Herald/Nielsen poll must have been distressingly short-lived with the Newspoll results showing a 2PP movement from 56/44 compared to 55/45 two weeks ago (see Possum’s post). Possum now has an interesting trend analysis showing a possible small short-term up-tick for Labor from the Budget, but a gradual down trend since mid-April. He takes the graph back to January and in that context there is no great joy for the Coalition. Time will tell.
I’m something short of a political junkie and did no Pol Sci in the course of two degrees. Neverthless a few things popped out of the paper over the muesli that I’d like to share.
I keep hearing from pundits that neither Rudd nor Turnbull wants an early election, but of the two Malcolm is the one who most actively fears a double dissolution. Presumably his virtual cave-in on the Budget apart from a lot of sound a fury was designed to avoid the dreaded DD. It was interesting on Lateline (no transcript yet) that Rudd had done some sums which proved that the Coalition’s deficit would be not one billion less than the Government’s and that the Coalition would take exactly the same time to bring the budget back to balance.
The issue of emissions trading and the CPRS legislation still looks intractable, however. Dennis Atkins’ reckons that Turnbull has no room to move on this one. In effect Barnaby Joyce is leader of the Nationals and Barnaby has said “NO!!!” Atkins points out that Turnbull has had time to read Arthur Sinodonis’s piece recommending the the Coalition wave the CPRS through and promise to fix it when they were in power, but not what Joyce said. Turnbull seems to be pretending that Joyce is just not there!
Meanwhile Paul Williams of Griffiths University, who the MSM often go to for comment here, has stirred the leadership pot by suggesting that Joe Hockey might be a replacement for Turnbull if the latter can’t get any traction and suggests that he might be a better politician with the common touch. If so, Cossie finally and at last would be history.
Brian, I think you might mean ‘Rudd and Howard’. I’ve heard another reason Turnbull isn’t keen is that the Lib coffers are bare. The Viscount might have to bank role a campaign himself.
I think he meant Rudd and Turnbull.
Hang on, who’s on first?
What’s on second?
Rudd and Turnbull. The plumber’s here, Ill fix the post in a minute.
I laughed so much reading that bit about Hockey v. Turnbull I nearly fell off my chair. Here we go again.
Can you also have a go at “form”/”from” in the third paragraph?
I can’t see what the coalition would gain from a DD – sure, some people would be cranky abut having to vote so soon but the rest of us are sick of wee Malcolm’s whining. He’s starting to make blue Peter seem like a viable alternative to me.
But Rudd… here’s a chance to turn “being in opposition means always saying no” into a deathmatch when the destitute remnants of the Howard years really start putting the boot in… to each other. I seriously wonder whether they could hold it together for a whole election campaign or whether we’d see the Nationals fracture off over who ran in which rural seats, Hockey challenge for the leadership when Turnbull fell in the polls and where the business funding would go.
I also loved Gerard Henderson’s wee rant in the SMH this morning about Liberal preferences helping The Greens when really they should be dedicated to keeping Labor in power. Is he a nut or does he just not understand how multi-party democracy works?
Plumber’s gone, post is fixed!
I always thought that Nielsen poll was a bit of an outlier; from talking to people, it seemed that most are very happy about the infrastructure spending, are somewhat pleased about the winding back of middle class welfare and these two things far outweigh any concerns about carrying debt. “It’s no different to having a mortgage to buy a house” is the understanding and in those terms, people are remarkably sanguine, compared to just a few years ago when they were scared stupid by the “debt truck”.
Rudd, Gillard, Tanner, Albanese et al would rip Hockey to shreds, in Parliament and in the media. OK, so he’s a teddy-bear type, supposedly affable, but he still has a huge weight hanging around his neck (courtesy of JWH) labelled WorkChoices. And he’s said exactly nothing memorable since becoming Treasury spokesman. All he’s done since November 2007 is develop his sneer under the tutelage of Costello, who wants him to take over from Turnbull before the next election and, when Hockey loses, the field will be completely clear for Costello as the only one left. God help the Liberal party.
1. Turnbull’s only chance of leading the coalition to a victory is to have an early election. The Coalition may not be able to afford an election right now. But, given the parlous state of the polls, Turnbull needs an election or he may be disappeared.
2. The CPRS is the obvious trigger. I’d expect the Libs to knock it back in June and wait till it is re introduced in three months before making their final decision. The Libs have folded every time to date.
3. The Libs went back to the past when the Downer/Costello diumvirate failed. Why would Hockey’s ascendancy be any different?
Where does Malcolm go from here? He goes to the election and he loses. And then they all pile in to boot him up the butt and someone else comes in.
.
Rupert will punish us for this.
I suspect that the recent downward trend in Labour voting intentions has more to do with the Liberals f*cking up slightly less than usual than it does with anything Labor might be doing.
Trends?
What trends?
Check out this post by Aristotle at Ozforum.
http://www.ozelection2007.info/forums/viewtopic.php?id=5584
The tactics of the government, using the threat of a DD election, appear to be working spectacularly. The Liberals are apparently now indicating that they will pass the alcopops legislation in what could be a trial run of the ETS legislation. I would agree with Antony Green that a DD is more useful for Labor as leverage than as an election.
I also think the Liberals’ fortune is virtually out of their hands. Australian’s don’t vote out governments at the federal level all that often, going by past evidence. The GFC provides the greatest possibility of this government being a one-termer. However, not only has Australia been relatively immune but the government has shown its self to be reasonably sensible, even if there might be some worries about their ability to return the budget to surplus. The electorate needs a reason to kick them out and, according to Newspoll, the number of people who think the coalition could do a better job with the budget, is less than the number who would vote for them over Labor.
That’s such a funny mental image. I can see strings attached to Hockey’s mouth like a marionette, Costello standing above him as the puppeteer.
Trends?
What trends?
I think that’s a bid unscientific, personally i prefer this
I couldn’t help it, I had to comment on The Oz’s website.
Only The Australian could have a headline “Budget backlash trims Labor lead” when Labor’s primary vote went up in their poll by 4%, 2pp up by 1%. I mean this is an inversion of reality worthy of Pravda or Bagdad Bob.
Wouldn’t more accurate headlines read “Labor gets poll boost – budget well received by voters” or “Turnbull’s deficit scare falls flat”?
“That’s such a funny mental image. I can see strings attached to Hockey’s mouth like a marionette, Costello standing above him as the puppeteer.”
My preferred image is of “Peter Costello and The Amazing Dancing Bear”. With Nick Minchin on the other side of good old well behaved Joe.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Mangum_dancing_bear.jpg
thewetmale @ 15, that gives a nice long picture. Consider how happy Malcolm looked when he took over last September. Not much to smile about since.
The latest looks suspiciously like a dead cat bounce.
As someone somewhere else said, Turnbull has improved his approval by 25%, he’s gone from 19%-24%. Overall, it’s too soon to be certain of how the budget has affected polling number. IMHO Possum does well with his alternate trend lines to show how the polls might be trending but ultimately it will take a month or two to know for sure.
Ginja @ 16, the headline has been changed to ‘…trims Kevin Rudd Lead (sic)’ although given how the aus “owns Newspoll” you’d think they’d get it right the first time.
#15
I’d probably agree.
Why not explain your reasoning at Ozforum?
[Serious suggestion, not sarcasm].
Nice idea Hannah’s Dad, i’ve done just that.
Re “Hockey versus Turnbull” didn’t anyone watch “Teddy Bear” Hockey being baited by Kerry O’Brien tonight? Or did everyone think this was just so much more of the same it isn’t worth commenting on?
Hockey is either totally stupid and trained to mouth set evasive responses (by Costello?) or he is a sewer rat lawyer who has a finely developed instinct for evading the truth whenever cornered.
Whatever – what does it say about Costello if he really is pump priming Joe? Or about the Libs if they can’t find someone better than this? Turnbull, for all his shortcomings, is ten times the leader Hockey could ever be.
I liked Hockey’s tie tonight. A pale shimmering lime. I really think he does do well sartorially.
I think you are all underestimating Turnbull’s popularity here. I was out to dinner last night and almost choked on my food when I heard the family next to me talking about Turnbull’s speech and how impressive he was. “Two cents a cigarette, that’s all” indeed.
Plus you have the Rudd factor. Gittens says here http://business.smh.com.au/business/misguided-middleclass-moaners-20090519-be7c.html?page=2 “None of this leaves Rudd as any kind of hero. He came to office promising to increase Howard’s 30 per cent unmeans-tested child-care rebate to 50 per cent. He’s sticking doggedly to his promise to implement the three unfair and now irresponsible tax cuts he pinched from Howard.
And he’s refusing to pass the pension increases on to sole parents and the unemployed, deepening Howard’s division between the deserving and the undeserving poor.
He’s no class-warrior, just another pragmatic vote-gatherer.”
This is where the Libs win out really. Because us lefties are more likely to eat our own when we see this sort of thing and either downgrade the ALP vote by voting Greens or even swallowing our pride and voting Libs in this sort of situation.
I think a double dissolution or dismissal would lead to either Turnbull or Costello being our next PM.
25 tssk
One ruined dinner does not a Turnbull make – of course there are people out there who think he’s OK, we have the polling data which shows this.
The average person on the dole or sole parenting allowances also know that, no matter how badly Rudd treats them, the Libs are worse. Most of this is a recent, painful memory.
I highly doubt that you’re a disaffected lefty, because if you were you’d understand that. The disaffected lefties who don’t are the latte set, who will vote Green and then Labor and then say that they’ve taught the party a lesson.
They don’t vote Greens and then Libs because even disaffected lefties understand that that’s just stupid.
Quite frankly if someone (anyone, please?) an get rid of Costello and Abbott then that would be a good thing for the Liberal party. In one stroke you’d eliminate a major source of time-wasting internal friction, and with the other a constant stream of pro-catholic anti-everything idiocy.
Can’t say I think Joe will do it but Talcum had better get the house in order soon…
steveh, and then if they can shed Andrew Robb and Nick Minchin they might be able to have a credible stance on climate policy. That’s the Libs only. They’ve still got Joyce and Boswell as full-on Plimer fans, apparently.
tssk, I think you’ll find it was three cents a cigarette. That’s 50% more!
I left the room and made a cup of coffee while Hockey was on the 7.30 Report. Okay, he and Turnbull aren’t quite as much of a turn-off as Costello and Howard (or Abbott), but believe me they’re getting there rapidly. (And this morning, the trailer for the new Sherlock Holmes movie was infinitewly more fun than any politician.)
It is clear – litening to Crean this morning (the things I do for you lot) that the ALP is basing its strategy on a major Chinese recovery next year, an economic boom in OZ fueled by this and easy win at the next election. The evil conservatives are of the same view and the hideous prospect of an economic recovery has them running in circles pointing at the debt monster. Only a really demented rusted on retard could vote for this charade. Unfortunately they are always with us.
Huggy
If anyone has time and is interested, Joe Hockey will be at the Press Club today, ABC1 12:30pm giving the Press Club budget reply. FWIW, i thought Joe Hockey was alright on 7.30 last night, i may not agree with his arguments but i think he is a fairly good media performer. To me he came across as a fairly positive and happy fellow despite his message. I think it’s worth remembering that sometimes it’s the pictures that count, not the message.
The thing that’s struck me over the budget coverage is how little of the implications of the GFC has sunk in with the media.
Whether we have an economic recovery sooner rather than later, the GFC is pretty much the final straw as far as the New Right era is concerned. Whole chunks of economic belief have been shown to be twaddle. Yet the media is only interested in returning to surpluses and business as usual.
After Sept. ll, there was so much talk about “the world never being the same again”, yet the implications of the GFC seem to have sunk in with precious few in the media.
twm @ 30 What arguments? All I heard from Hockey were evasions. Do you really think that Australian voters can’t read, hear a properly constructed sentence or notice when a question is not answered? Even a five year old able to look at and interpret pictures can read body language and knows a phoney. Look at the polls. Some may see Hockey as benign, but his general image is big, fat and shifty. And Turnbull, for all his charisma, is convincing no one other than rusted on Libs.
I agree with Ginja @ 31 the commentariat have not understand the implications of the GFC and most of them are still playing the ping pong of national politics. The issue is global and vital. With confidence a major factor required for recovery commentators like Fran Kelly with their often gleeful and partisan picky focus have a lot to answer for.
It feels to me that both Henry and Stevens have real concerns about confidence and their comments this week are more than usually pointed in supporting government.
I loved Ken Henry’s reference to “the reading age of some commentators”.
“With confidence a major factor required for recovery commentators like Fran Kelly with their often gleeful and partisan picky focus have a lot to answer for.”
You sound like Frank Bainimarama on the Fijian media Patricia
I’m not disaffected yet, I just worry some might see the GFC as being the ALP’s fault somehow and if they’d left the stone idol Howard unmoved from his throne we would have somehow magically not been affected by the GFC. Especially with the media, even the ABC giving the Libs a free run. even my wife, not interested in politics at all has asked me why whenever there’s adiscussion of government policy on ABC new they always have Turnbull pop up.
Watching Joe Hockey at the Press Club, he quoted a facebook ‘friend’ as saying that ‘this is the budget that buries generation y.’ Not saying that this is happening, but if the Libs are looking to young Liberal ‘friends’ on facebook for policy and political advice they might be in opposition for a long time.
I think that says a lot about your political leaning; i’m sure a young Liberal would have a very different opinion. What matters is how a swinging voter would see it. I think, if they weren’t paying close attention to the message, some might get a good impression of him.
That’s ridiculous.
No it’s not ridiculous, it is true. Whenever a political item appears on ABC news, an opposition spokesperson is either given right of reply or is featured as the main event. This NEVER happened during the Howard years except during the election period.
The ABC is becoming the opposition oracle of the airwaves.
“The ABC is becoming the opposition oracle of the airwaves.”
Just take the three recently released polls as an example of the truth of this. Nielsen was run on every news report, with Kev and Labor in trouble. No mention of Essential that came up with a totally different result straight after. Newspoll was then lucky to get much of a mention, except with importance given to a Rudd popularity fall and not the actual increase in Labor support. Says it all, really.
Oh Paul Burns, you missed Hockey? What a shame. Red Kezza was having enormous fun toying with him, trying to get a coherent answer. A bit like my cat with a mouse, only Kerry didn’t bite Joe’s head off at the end of the interview. (A pity. I’d pay good money to see that.)
David @ 38 Yes! I saw it as “baiting” the so called cuddly bear, the mouse analogy doesn’t quite work when you think of Hockey’s size. I agree though, it was fun to watch even while I was gasping at what was at worst his outrageous dishonesty or at best his ignorance. He seemed to have no comprehension of the implications of O’Brien’s questions beyond it being a media interview with a chance to spout the party line and seemed to have no real understanding of implications of that for the national economy.
I was surprised that O’Brien didn’t go in for the kill on the Coalition’s main and puny proposal for restoring the economy, apart from pretending there is no GFC.
Hockey spouted their usual line that looking after small business is the only answer and should be supported instead of building school halls and installing pink batts. Who the hell does he think is picking up all the local contracts for the work in every school in the country? Who are the sub-contractors and suppliers in the major infrastructure programs in every state?
Patricia, I agree Joe is hardly anything like a mouse, but Red Kezza was exhibiting the same kind of amused attentiveness as a cat with a creature smaller and (particularly) weaker than itself.
what was the opinion of hockey at the press club today
Point taken, David. And I guess O’Brien didn’t need to go in for the kill, either, just left Hockey there exposed. To mix one’s metaphors even further I thought he was left floundering, just so much blubber!
That comparison is unkind to whales, of course, and the others to bears and to mice.
And yes, GH @ 33 and twm @ 33 I make no effort to hide my leftish leanings, but you should also know that I have an intense personal dislike of Hockey harking back a decade. Hockey’s every appearance galvanises me to comment. I should be grateful to him! He adds drama my otherwise too calm existence.
Apologies thewetmale. What I meant to say was the the ABC were being more robust in it’s quetioning of the current government which can only be seen as a good thing. Pity it couldn’t do the same during the last government but better late than never.
Personally I don’t think Hockey is much of a good media performer at all. Look at his performance on Q&A last week, he looked like a blabbering idiot. The man humiliates himself every time he opens his mouth, he was way out of his league. he tries to gloss over that with his usual bully boy tactics, trying to talk over the top of everyone, the confected smile as if to appear he’s the one that knows best and while not unusual to most politicians flat out refusing to answer questions no matter how many times they were repeated to him. Even that Geoffrey Cousins had to pull him up a few times.
Contrast that with the professional, logical & rational performance of Lindsay Tanner. I almost, almost felt some pity for the Liberal Party. Again Cousins pointed out they’re useless and that we need an effective Opposition to keep the Government honest, something I agree with.
Put it this way my mother’s partner who’s a staunch Liberal voter has always championed Hockey as not only the next Liberal Party leader but as the next PM and she made him sit down and watch the show with her and when it finished he turned to her and said “that man is a complete idiot, I don’t like him anymore”.
Hockey at the press club is repeated same batchannel around 3am record and digest if you have a strong stomach
thewetmale: that’s even worse. The Oz is now airbrushing recent history – just like Pravda!
“What I meant to say was the the ABC were being more robust in it’s (sic) quetioning of the current government which can only be seen as a good thing.”
There’s a big difference between questioning the current government, which it actually rarely does in any meaningful sense, and mindlessly repeating opposition talking points, which it does on a regular basis.
I heard Tanner on the 7:30 Report tonight. What a contrast with Hockey last night! Kerry tried to give him a hard time, but Tanner wasn’t having any of it. It was a real pleasure to listen to an adult explaining the budget to other adults.
Howard-era ban on free speech lifted.
Canberra Times (Australia)
May 20, 2009 Wednesday
Final Edition
Govt lifts aid ban on groups critical of Australian policy
Markus Mannheim; Public Service Reporter
Overseas organisations that receive Australian aid are now free to
vilify the Government without fear their funding will be cut off.
The parliamentary secretary for development assistance, Bob McMullan,
confirmed the shift in policy, saying the Howard government was wrong
to punish not-for-profit groups that criticised Australia.
“I’ve made it clear to NGOs in Australia, to AusAID and around the
region that people are entitled to criticise us,” he said at an
international anti-corruption forum in Canberra.
“They might have to live with the fact that we’ll criticise them
right back and have a debate, but we will not penalise people for
speaking out.”
East Timorese aid groups were outraged in 2005 when former foreign
minister Alexander Downer stripped a small human rights organisation,
Forum Tau Matan, of a $65,830 grant.
AusAID officials later told the Senate the government broke the
organisation’s contract because it had criticised Australia’s
hardline negotiations with East Timor over oil and natural gas
reserves in the Timor Sea.
Forum Tau Matan was among 13 organisations that signed a petition
which demanded Australia respect international law and stop
“belittling” East Timor.
Two years after AusAID broke the contract, the organisation rejected
a $US20,000 ($A26,000) World Bank grant because some of the money
came from Australia.But Mr McMullan condemned the way the former
government had treated the organisation.
“We think civil society needs to be fearless,” he said. “They will
not have their funds cut for simply criticising the Australian Government.”
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop dismissed the announcement.
“… Mr McMullan should be focused on how he will ensure the foreign
aid budget is sustainable given the Government’s growing debt,” she said.
Oxfam Australia welcomed the new approach.
The organisation’s policy director, James Ensor, said listening to
the views of people in developing countries was essential for
ensuring aid was effective.
“It shows the maturity of the Australian aid program that the
Government is not seeking to restrict debate, but is willing to
listen to views that it may not always agree with,” he said.
Forum Tau Matan coordinator Joao Pequinho was also pleased with Mr
McMullan’s comments.
Australian officials assured East Timor’s aid community that AusAID
would no longer blacklist non-government organisations.
LE there are a few people in government with rolled gold integrity and decency. Bob McM would have to be one of them.
Lefty E, you’ve transported me right back to the Howard era. I don’t know if what you have written is real or satire! My guess is that it’s real.
Indeed, i feel that many people confuse robust questioning and annoying pedantic ‘gotcha’ questioning. One day people will be frustrated that Tony Jones is badgering Rudd unnecessarily and the next they will applaud red Kerry for insisting on answers from members of the opposition. People complain when journalists obsess over small details like Rudd and Swan refusing to say 300 and billion next to each other, but if the politicians were as sensible as Lindsay Tanner, and were prepared to explain things to the public as if they are adults, that wouldn’t be an issue for the media. People praise Rudd for ‘speaking over the media’ and not being forced to play the media’s game and then you’ll hear stuff like
I know it’s the opinions of two different people, talking about two differnt elements of what the ABC does but…
Cognition, meet Dissonance.
Never! I find that impossible to believe. However if we are to assume that you are not meaning to be taken literally, that there were often media reports that had Howard ministers talking and no one from the opposition, i am sure there would have been someone from some organisation offering an opposing viewpoint.
In the Nielsen poll the 2PP changed from 58-42 to 53-47. Even accounting for being cautious, that is a large enough change to be reported IMO. I don’t think i have ever hear the Essential poll being reported on the ABC, there could be good reasons for this, there could be bad reasons, but they are consistent. The significant movement in Newspoll was the approval ratings, the 2PP having moved by one point, so it was rightfully listed as a second order issue.
I think that’s enough for now, i really should get to bed.
adrian, if all the ABC does is repeat the Opposition’s talking points thats a good thing for several reasons.
-free speech
-keeping the government mindful of the people
Of course conspiracy nuts like me like to think the same thing didn’t happen under the Howard government. Which led to Rudd using Sunrise instead to publicise his agenda.
Of course it might be down to laziness or the ALP not cutting through at the time. Or possibly the ABC not wanting to look biased.
As far as I’m concerned as an ALP supporter the ABC will never look biased kicking the ALP. ALthough Kerry O’Brien might want to control his eyebrow arching when a member of the opposition says something stupid. It’s unbecoming, rude and biased
BTW for media cheeks the SMH has it on the front page earlier this week. It had the polls down as Rudd losing 10% popularity down to 67. However the way the font was arranged one glancing at it would read his popularity as dipping by 67%. And LeftyE, good news about NGO’s being free to speak again. I hope they prove they have a voice and complain against Rudd’s treatment of the unemployed.
tssk @ 52,
I notice Kerry O’Brien has permanently arched eyebrows these days.
All real, TWM! Downer gagged all NGOs in the region that received OZ govt funding. He and Howard were serious obstacles to free speech in the region.
I only wrote the top line – the rest is the CT articles.
tssk
Kerry O’Brien is a journalist, not an actor.
There is no requirement for him to mask his feelings.
And repeating Opposition talking points is not keeping the government mindful of the people, because the Opposition does not represent the people (necessarily).
That Howard-era ban on free speech may have been lifted, Lefty E, but news of the change is so far unreported in any other form of media.
Thanks for drawing our attention to it because it seems to have sunk without a trace, possibly even from The Canberra Times website. I suppose they considered that issue boring and unewsworthy when a poor aussie women, who stole a bar mat, was in imminent danger of 40 dollar fine in Thailand. And besides that, it might reflect badly on John Howard.
Yes, and repeating opposition talking points is akin to propoganda. Not something readily associated with democracy.
The problem with the ABC is that they have some very good, impartial journalists such as Kerry O’Brien and Tony Jones, who generally give both sides a hard time.
But these journos were hired before the Howard shake-up of the ABC and the stacking of the board with hard right idealogues.
Since then,
propogandistsjournalists such as Chris Ulhmann, Sabra Lane and the most staff of ABC news rooms are unashamedly partisan. Even those who use to be considered lefties or impartial, such as Virginia Trioli have fallen into line with the prevailing ethos for obvious reasons.Anyone who thinks that a partisan national broadcaster is good for democracy needs their head read.
Aussie mum fined by nasty foriegners!! Oh noes!!!
I wonder if we will hear much about the report into systematic child abuse by the Catholic Church in Ireland, including sending offenders to distant lands such as Australia to continue their evil work.
Somehow I doubt it.
the mouse analogy doesn’t quite work when you think of Hockey’s size.
Maybe more of a big fat rat, Patricia WA @39? And mice deserve everything they get-there can never be enough talon in the bait boxes, imo. Yes, I’m a pathological mouse hater; there’s just something about rodents, can’t put my finger on it……
tssk @53, way back when Adelaide had 2 papers, one of which was The News, owned by our friend Rupert, it printed a graph favourable to the ALP upside down to give the Libs traction in a state election campaign. I wouldn’t put anything past Rupert’s mob and their bedfellows the (il)Liberal party.
Lefty E @49, Downer took a leaf out of GOP tomes in their treatment of NGOs and o/seas aid recipients. It was in response to criticism from church groups about the Rodent government’s treatment of the unemployed and other disadvantaged groups. The threat was that NGOs critical of government social policy would have their NGO status removed and would be treated as profit-making organisations subject to the tax and other regimes applied to businesses. Glenn Milne wrote a lengthy highly critical article of the bans when they were introduced.
I’m delighted that this government has lifted the bans.
“I’m delighted that this government has lifted the bans.”
And so am I. My hope is that it will apply locally as well.
Maybe then the beans will be spilt on the fatally flawed jobnetwork system that the government is currently providing life support.
joe2 @61, my son was a victim of the infamous jobnetwork system, which was as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike in finding him employment. I understand that’s the experience of many, many job seekers. He found his job without any assistance from them, but they still had their had in the till for the government fee. What a rort!
Yep – despite all the back-slapping, Australian effort at “nation-building” in the region have been quite counter-productive in many respects, and absolutely f*ckd in some.
Let’s gag free speech and introduce standing armies! Welcome to democracy, benighted Pacific dwellers!
As Ive often argued here: there is NO justification for increasing the defence budget based on our “regional stabilisation” needs. Those needs are an argument to increase funding to the federal police. The ADF is an excellent front end force when there’s armed actors – and close to useless as a subsequent policing mission.
Back to the original question: “Turnbull – where to now?”
Perhaps he could leave us all alone to continue to support the economy with endless consumption.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25517180-29277,00.html
Probably more about the Iraq war but, there’s a great piece of stencil graffiti around Newtown with a soldier abseiling down a rope, out of a helicopter. It’s together with a slogan ‘Democracy, we deliver.”
I would agree about having police do the policing and the defence doing the defending.
Adrian, I’ve noticed distinct right-wing bias on economic matters at the ABC. People who have written about bias in the media in the U.S. point out that, yes, on lots of social issues most journalist lean to the left. But as journalists tend to come from upper middle-class backgrounds, and tend to lean distinctly to the right on economic matters.
I could almost guarantee that most ABC journalists attended private – mostly Catholic? – schools.
Chris Uhlmann is a shocker for his comments on the deficit (he’s also become something of a darling to the likes of Andrew Bolt).
There is a serious bias problem at the ABC – right-wing bias on economic matters.
The news is pretty bad too. This morning I wondered why we had to be subject to the views of a certain ex US vice president on torture etc. Why would anybody be interested in what he has to say on anything?
I’m pretty interested in Cheny’s views. Mind you I’d prefer his pulpit was in the dock in court…
The opinions and actions of Cheney are obviously relevant in the debate about how the US government will carry out what was once referred to as the war on terrorism, let alone any future wars it may be drawn into. Paying attention to his views and actions doesn’t mean you agree with him.
Then again, why would anyone be interested in what the VP before him has to say.
OK the wet male there’s really a valid comparison to make about one ex-vice-president criticising a current president and voicing odious views regarding torture of which we are all aware, and another ex vice-president presenting facts about climate change of which many were unware at the time. One defending torture, another educating people about the major issue of our time.
They’re both vice-presidents after all.
Or ex-vice presidents…
I’m pretty sure Gore has criticised Bush. I think Cheney’s appearances are about more than just spouting his own views, see @67. I don’t for a second doubt that Al Gore has done us a favour by advocating for Global Warming issues, however i think it is only with partisan glasses that we could claim that the news should only report one vice president speaking about the issue that concerns him the most. The majority of the media, certainly the ABC, seeks to (and i think this is a good thing) present reasonable and newsworthy opinions from all sides in roughly equal measure, and although i don’t like Cheney’s opinions on torture, they are clearly the opinions of a large segment of those engaged with the debate of the issue.
Actually, auto-correction inc, you were probably right the first time. President Bush remains “President Bush” after he leaves office. Same probably goes for the sadist V.P.Cheney I would imagine.