Ad blocker detected: Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker on our website.
I saw the whole episode. Joe Hockey seemed to apologise for the AWA's - which really was only largely implemented in WA to a positive reception.
But I think that has been lost in the argument. Though I am not worried it has been scrapped.
Maybe their reluctance to move with the times and ditch Howard last year has spurred them to go the other way and undermine everything they had stood for post-election
Costello would never have won it. While he gained favour with me towards the end of the Howard era, he never did much.
My issue at the moment is that Rudd is basically untouchable as far as any serious critique of his policies. It reminds me of the 2001 Tampa crisis.
Egan wrote:My issue at the moment is that Rudd is basically untouchable as far as any serious critique of his policies. It reminds me of the 2001 Tampa crisis.
He is getting a free ride from the media but that will come to an end.
I'm just surprised that some of the young, ostensibly intelligent guys who come to this forum (sorry, Egan) are so empathetic with right-wing politics - especially of the Howard ilk. I trust that the same people are not among the number blaming Rudd for interest rate increases based on economic and inflationary figures derived from the last several months of the Rat's government. Even Malcolm Turnbull (7.30 report, Thursday, as I recall) acknowledges the relative irrelevance of governments in the interest rates issue. It's far too early for anyone to be making any judgements on the performance of the Rudd government. Been in for five minutes, something like that?
And as for the Rat's back-stabbing sojourn in addressing a HJNicholls-type cabel in the U.S., well one can only pity - at best - the miserable little weasel. Here's the same bloke that supported the Vietnam War, took us into an another unwinnable conflict in Iraq, has for a lifetime been committed to screwing over the worker and who clearly suffers from a "small man/small dick" syndrome that would have made him an even greater danger to decent humanity should he have been born in a less than democratic society.
He has always - and forever will be - a sh*t. A bean counter with a contempt for the less advantaged. A festering boil on the arsehole of humanity. Please do not compare him - or any of his embittered doozy cronies - to Paul Keating, who should still be Prime Minister of good old Oz despite his shortcomings. Under a Keating regime, we would be living in a far better, far more just and internationally far more respected community. But that's hypothetical.
We live in a democracy. A fine thing that we can vent our spleen from time to time.
I'll let someone else defend Howard. I was putting myself in the shoes of a Liberal voter. You've backed a party because they stand for all these issues and now they won't even stand up for them. It's not about whether I personally agree with Liberal promises or with Liberal backflips - they said they'd stand for something and now they don't.
Back to Rudd, he really has had a dream run. The Opposition have not got themselves together in any sense of the word to mount an attack and so Rudd carries on his business unchecked but the media have not scutinised him either.
I mean, to me there are a few policies that have media support but need review (private health insurance support, negative gearing, proposed income tax cuts). I understand why the mainstream media don't attack there - they are too popular. But there are other issues that people could take up.
The Government gives us an extra Parliament day - woo hoo says the media. Dig a little deeper! This extra day is House of Reps only without Question Time and Senate sitting days are still at historic lows. Just today comes news that those extra Friday sittings are to be ditched.
Labor's IR plan features a body to be known as FairWork Australia that will have both executive and judicial powers - i.e. a body that may not be constitutionally valid but all the media cares about is ditching Workchoices.
Labor refuses to set a figure on emmission targets during the election campaign, instead deferring to Garnaut. Garnaut comes out with a figure bigger than Labor expected and so Rudd/Wong plays it down by saying they'll consider his report along with everything else.
Education revolution? They've fallen for this. Labor refuses to go to a funding model that will fund schools according to need until after the next election.
The upcoming budget is expected to feature a lot of cuts to programmes. Today there are reports that the Carers Bonus is under threat. Traditionally, the first budget of a new Government is radical. We should expect some tough scrutiny then.
Last edited by Jeffles on Sat Mar 08, 2008 4:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
kilonewton wrote:Getting into government and then calling on 1000 people to tell you what to do whilst in government....
Nuff said
It'll be like the Garnaut report. If the summit dares suggest something beyond what the Government has in mind or beyond what is electorally popular, they won't take the ideas up. This Summit is about keeping up appearances.
For the time being, as I suggested, the jury has to remain "out" on the Rudd government. I'm still guardedly optimistic. But, yeah, there are serious concerns that Jeffles has hit upon.
The mooted cuts to social welfare programmes would be an absolute betrayal of Labor principles if they came to pass (I find it extraordinary that such cuts should even be mentioned at a time when the vulnerable need and deserve MORE help - not less). It's an obscenity that Labor is holding the Howard line in giving 31 billion dollars in tax cuts back to those who in many or most cases simply do not need it (relative to the day-to-day struggles of many others). Plenty of people would reasonably say we should put more into infrastructure, into hospitals, schools and community support services. Maybe even look at scaling back HECS debts for students, some of whom won't be out of hock until they are 35. Jeez, we talk about an "education revolution" but make kids pick up the tab for 20, 30 grand just to do a humble Arts or Commerce degree (heaps more for law, medicine, engineering).
Australia is far from being an enlightened, fair and peaceable society. We have serious social issues with violence, young kids killing themselves on the roads, grog abuse, drugs, homelessness, pokies addiction, mental illness and social disengagement. What sort of society do we want to live in? If we cannot at least attempt to deal with these - and other - issues when we have Labor governments throughout the land (with massive surpluses), then we never will.
The funding of schools should always be needs-based in an equitable society (one of the reasonable principles of the Latham train-wreck era).
The media DOES has an increasingly crucial role to play, absolutely, in keeping the heat on the new government, especially now that the conservative forces are totally rooted and have nothing to contribute (for the time being, at least). With internet technology, even forums such as this can help serve to bring ideas into the public domain and increase the scrutiny of our public figures and their policies.
The 1000-strong talkfest? Well, who knows. If some decent, practical ideas come out of the process then it may be worthwhile. But you do have to wonder what the current Labor group was doing, policy-wise, during its eternity in opposition. Bob Hawke had his own demonstrably productive summit, back in 1983, but I don't recall Gough Whitlam and Lance Barnard "going to the people" in the early days of their government. What needed doing was done. Action was decisive, on Vietnam, conscription, Medibank, aboriginals, higher education, affirmative action. But then some people - including the media - became shitty because they moved "too fast".
Maybe Kevin Rudd has taken some sort of lesson from that. I don't know. But what I do know is that if his first budget screws the less privileged and the vulnerable, while offering up a new plasma, 4WD or overseas holiday for the already comfortably off, then he and we collectively are in strife.
krc wrote:I'm just surprised that some of the young, ostensibly intelligent guys who come to this forum (sorry, Egan) are so empathetic with right-wing politics - especially of the Howard ilk.
How to lose my interest straight away. Infer that conservatives are stupid. Yawn.
Australia is far from being an enlightened, fair and peaceable society. We have serious social issues with violence, young kids killing themselves on the roads, grog abuse, drugs, homelessness, pokies addiction, mental illness and social disengagement. What sort of society do we want to live in? If we cannot at least attempt to deal with these - and other - issues when we have Labor governments throughout the land (with massive surpluses), then we never will.
Interesting you say this, I have been encouraged by two recent policy announcements.
1 - Binge Drinking initiative by Rudd
2 - The Muslim Advisory Committee getting every day Australia's viewpoints.
Just need to fix up/agree with a few more polocies and I am a Rudd voter. I have a feeling that Rudd will increase weekly payments to carers, in responce to the high inflationary effect of a bonus. I doubt he would be stupid enough to make those caring for their family 'worse' off.
violence, young kids killing themselves on the roads, grog abuse, drugs, homelessness, pokies addiction, mental illness and social disengagement.
It's exceptionally difficult to legislate or fund away problems like the ones above. They're essentially issues of personal responsibility and apart from educating the public and then hoping for the best there's little any government can really do.
The left wants more help, the right wants to chuck them all in gaol. The reality is they're the types of problems human societies will almost have because they're simply the uglier side effect of human behaviour and decisions.
For my part I don't see them as political issues. We should try our best at harm minimisation but we're only frustrating ourselves if we think we'll ever truly solve these problems.
Working in the retail industry, I just have to say, I have seen no evidence that the interest rate rises have delivered any slowdown in the West Australian economy.
In fact my income has actually increased since the last interest rate rise.
Will be interesting to see what Rudd does into the future...
Egan wrote:In fact my income has actually increased since the last interest rate rise.
This is good logic and why i fear that an interest rate cut will lead to me getting a pay cut. I think interest rates should be as high as they were in the 1980s and 1970s - imagine what our income would be then!
Kevin's been hard at work lately.
