Tony Abbott tied himself in knots trying to explain to Kerry O’Brien tonight why, if he chose to use 2008 as a baseline for his immigration cuts (which is misleading, as the intake is on the way down), the then level was acceptable given that it was a factor of Howard government policies.
The public no longer support immigration the way they did under the Howard Government. We’ve got to rebuild support for the immigration program, as happened under John Howard.
Oh really? Not if you believe a Morgan poll taken this month. Read why at Andrew Norton’s blog.
(Apologies to Lewis Carroll.)
I believe the great thing about this debate is it is finally moving immigration away from race. Those on the left and in the environmental movement who have opposed the pro growth agenda and economic obsession of the migration program can at last be heard saying what they have long thought. One can oppose immigration on environmental grounds and on anti capitalist grounds. If immigration is simply being used to prop up the capitlaist economy then it can be roundly condemned. This issue is not splitting on left right grounds. The conservatives are split as are the left.
That is excellent.
Spana’s summing up on this is neat.
I wonder what he made of QA, given the 730 report and then the direction QA took.
As for Abbott’s nonsenses, I get rather stressed after a bit at his relentless spinning, have to call him “top” Tony.
He wants population policy in all of its various permutations, back to some prelapsarian Howardist paradise, but I think of the brutality towards toward refugees, from the time of the Kossovas fleeing the Balkans, as part of the cynical politicisation process and the nasty nonsenses concerning Rau and Solon.
And the surreptitious employ of work visas to provide sweat labor on building sites etc, whilst all the while saying that “we would decide who comes to Australia”, eg as if not subjecting workers to a jobs rat race at a time when unemployment was high, as in the early part of the decade.
Come to think of it, the Tories failed so badly and brutally with this despicable aboriginal Intervention, that you have wonder if they have scored the big F on all forms of ethnicity, they have had to confront.
what the fuck is this shit? he and his mates in the OO drive an anti-immigrant racist campaign and then he gets to claim that the govt lost the popular support for immigration that Howard had?
This would be the Howard of Tampa and “I understand the cronulla rioters concerns.”
Spana, you are fast becoming a useful idiot for the christian right.
The reason the numbers went down is because of what I explained here.
It’s about a fall off in student numbers after a large increase, not so many Kiwis coming here as economic conditions improve, and Australians who came home during the CFC venturing abroad again.
I understand tourists and working holidaymakers are down too. The word seems to be getting around that we don’t like people coming here much, as well as problems caused by the high dollar.
Also Labor stopped some of the education and 457 rorts.
Abbott is persisting with his stupidity which Gillard nailed him on during the debate.
This poll shows Australians are overwhelmingly against population growth. Perhaps many don’t realise that population growth is driven mainly by immigration. More likely is that polls are manipulated.
http://candobetter.org/node/1926
The transparently dissembling Abbot in action once again, speaking the ‘pure’ gospel. Maybe he should follow Julia and propose a citizen’s assembly to build public support for the immigration program.
Abbott only looks like an idiot to those who have bothered to research the issues.
An uncomfortable moment on the 7:30 Report will only look bad if its assimilated by the wider electorate and to this happen if Abbott actually punches O’Brien in the face.
Gillard must turn these uncomfortable bits into consumable sound bites of eight words or less if they are to actually translate into votes.
She was having a go at this in the Masterchef trailer the other night where she mentioned the risks of stopping boats i.e. the skippers immediately sink them. In this she was favoured in that the Leader’s debates get a mass audience which 7:30 Report does not.
The other way would be is if Tones got so incoherent he actually turned into a laughing stock and the journos started openly mocking him.
I fear that the upcoming Mining ad campaign will succeed in leaching more votes off the ALP and so give up the return of the Blacmange-Brained Horror Zombies aka LNP Govt.
52-48 is a bit thin for my liking as a buffer to those ads.
TONY HAS LOST THE ELECTION…. “….NEXT!”