“Centre of attention” oppo leader Malcolm Turnbull wants to have his cake and eat it too. After making the Liberals feel all warm and fuzzy by declaring that the Coalition would oppose the stimulus package, now he’s offended that the government isn’t negotiating with him.
“When you say you are going to vote against something, what is left to talk about?”
What’s going on here? As far as I can tell, while The Greens and Steve Fielding have been dealing, Nick Xenophon hasn’t disclosed his hand yet. Is Malcolm afraid that his vote might actually nix the stimulus, and of the consequences? Does he have some private polling that’s more reliable than a sample of Andrew Bolt and Dennis Shanahan or Liberal staffers voting a million times on News Ltd online “polls”? Or is he just (a) blathering about bipartisanship as usual while being partisan (b) unable to shut up and/or (c) off message?
Elsewhere: Possum on how to read tonight’s Newspoll in light of the Beazley analogy.
Update: There goes Malcolm’s key argument:
THE Opposition Leader, Malcolm Turnbull, conceded yesterday that his alternative plan for an economic stimulus package would still require government borrowing of up to $177 billion, compared with the Federal Government’s proposal to borrow up to $200 billion.
Mr Turnbull has argued that the Government’s $42 billion plan would saddle taxpayers with an unsustainable level of government debt and has proposed a scaled-back package.
It’s not about actually wanting to negotiate, he’s just trying to seem more reasonable and less arrogant than Kevin “Get Out of my F**ken Way” Rudd.
Update: There goes Malcolm’s key argument:
Aside from the ongoing arguements about whose package is best, I found Mr Turnbull’s press yesterday (Sunday) in the middle of the rising toll of the Victorian fires, a very jaring note. And today Fielding (a Victorian Senator) bangs on about it. Wake up, we are a little bit preoccupied with what happened in Victoria to really care about your thoughts on the “stimulus package”
Mike@3,
We can all help the Victorian bushfire victims by donating or giving blood. Meanwhile life goes on. You seem to forget these pollies have a lotr invested in their stance on the stimulus package and the worst bushfire in our history is not going to minimise their current obsession. Even this morning, when all the pollies seem to be realising the enormity of the tragedy, Eric Abetz is saying politics as usual must gon on against the background of the bushfire. (But then again, like Turnbull, he’s a Liberal.
As for FF, I’m the last person to spring to his defence. I despise everythinb he stands for. But he actually has friends and family in the area (his brother) and has only just found out they’re all okay.
Xenophon was reported in the Sunday Mail as saying he might vote against the package. He was considering hanging onto Malvolio’s coat tails re bringing the tax cuts forward. Today’s polls might change his mind. Can’t provide a link as I can’t find it online.
Have got to the point with Xenephon that I wouldn’t expect anything else from him. I won’t say anything more as whatever I say would be little more than a long string of foul expletives.
Rudd should go for a double dissolution on this ASAP. (Though by then the country would have gone completely down the tube.)
Is Gillard the most competent politician in Australia?
Probably.
Paul, any double dissolution would be a way off because there are no triggers and you have to wait three months for a bill to be rejected a second time.
Well of course if Xenephon does block the package Mal will be totally responsible for the economic situation of our country. The ‘do nothing in a crisis’ scenario will be easily sheeted home to him and the liberals when they actually believe something should be done urgently.
Xenephon would effectively drop Mal in the soup not Kev.
I’d be interested in the demographics of Xenophon’s voters – are they like Malcolm’s – likely to do much better out of a tax cut than a tapered one off payment slanted towards lower income folk?
Yes, Kim, most interesting. I wonder, also, how they would feel about him effectively blocking government supply? It is no light matter
Sure isn’t, joe2.