Oz Federal Election 2013 - Discussion and Comments

[whatmeworry]

So Tony's Refugee solution involves building a tent city in the pacific founded by the company that provided trips to the pacific?
Coalition's 'tent city' trip funded by Toll Holdings

 

[BadgerBoi]

So Tony's Refugee solution involves building a tent city in the pacific founded by the company that provided trips to the pacific?
Coalition's 'tent city' trip funded by Toll Holdings

But surely when they Stop The Boats ™ they won't need any of this!

 

[Pukka]

I really like the large expensive signs that were planted at the front gate of every school in the land.....great use of scarce funds on critical infrastructure.

Didn't they have to take those down because they were classed as political advertising??

 

[Rebekkap]

Yeah, but it's not Labor policy - or Liberal or anyone else but the Greens. On this, as with a few other things, I'm with the Greens, but with neither major leader fully behind it, it's not likely to get up.

Marriage equality actually is Labor policy - it's also Labor policy to give MPs a conscience vote on the issue however.

 

[cove]

While we wait for an election date the economy is suffering from paralysis and business people are pretty scared about how slow everything is going at the moment. There are now job losses being considered by many employers.
A further cut in interest rates is now most unlikely to turn the economy around quickly now that demand from consumers is dropping as they become scared for their jobs.
The proposed FBT changes are going to hit the "not for profit sector" as well as the car industry. The not for profit sector is 5% of the Gross Domestic Product so it has been a serious employer in Australia and there are half a million volunteers attached to them. The FBT change can have very wide consequences and not just in the immediate car industry.

 

[medhead]

Ok I've just seen the picture of rudds shaving cut. Two things.

One: It is clearly not taken by him. Therefore it is not a "selfie". Get it right people.
Two: I have to seriously question the man's shaving technic. Does he get hair that far up his face?

Finally, I would note that the alp leader has declared his support of same sex marriage.

 

[drsmithy]

While we wait for an election date the economy is suffering from paralysis and business people are pretty scared about how slow everything is going at the moment. There are now job losses being considered by many employers.

You are conflating. The economic slowdown has zero to do with whether or not an election date is set.

A further cut in interest rates is now most unlikely to turn the economy around quickly now that demand from consumers is dropping as they become scared for their jobs.

Rates have dropped already dramatically over the last year or two with next to no effect. Thinking another 0.25% would make a difference, regardless of whether it happened 3 months ago, today, or in 3 months, is mad.

People are quite rightfully scared for their jobs by the combined prospects of a) a slowing local economy, b) a slowed global economy and c) an incoming Liberal government.

The proposed FBT changes are going to hit the "not for profit sector" as well as the car industry.

How ?

The not for profit sector is 5% of the Gross Domestic Product so it has been a serious employer in Australia and there are half a million volunteers attached to them. The FBT change can have very wide consequences and not just in the immediate car industry.

Right. So we (taxpayers) should wear the cost to prop up businesses reliant on a blatant tax rort, rather than possibly having those resources redeployed to actual productive endeavour that can benefit the whole economy ?
I guess this is some of that "far left wing" opinion we were hearing about earlier. Taxpayers subsidising non-productive businesses completely reliant on a tax law loophole to have come into existence in the first place is about as socialist as you can get.

 

[cove]

Suggest you read page43 of AFR July 30th "FBT changes wreak havoc" as it is an adjustment.

 

[amaroo]

Didn't they have to take those down because they were classed as political advertising??

hahaha like most ALP initiatives - it ended up in a skip bin.

 

[Skyring]

Marriage equality actually is Labor policy - it's also Labor policy to give MPs a conscience vote on the issue however.

I see. The end result is that it didn't get up and has no chance any time soon.

Liberal party policy is that *every* vote is a conscience vote. Lib MPs can and do cross the floor without being tipped out of the party. They just have to have a good reason for doing so.

I'm still wondering why Julia Gillard voted against it. It's not as if she was a big fan of traditional church marriage in her own personal life. Her business, I guess.

 

[Skyring]

hahaha like most ALP initiatives - it ended up in a skip bin.

Cheap shot there. We've got a lot to thank the ALP for, stretching back to Federation. It's a pity that recent initiatives have been mostly off the mark.

As for political advertising, I think both sides have been guilty, especially as election time approaches. Remember Kevin Rudd getting all upset over John Howard in 2007, complaining about government advertising?

Hypocrisy is something other people do.

 

[markis10]

And who said the PM has not got his priorities right:

PM Rudd: "Cancer is Australia's no. 2 killer, therefore it is no. 1 priority for the Government"

Would have thought the Number 1 killer would be the Number 1 priority!

 

[BadgerBoi]

And who said the PM has not got his priorities right:

PM Rudd: "Cancer is Australia's no. 2 killer, therefore it is no. 1 priority for the Government"

Would have thought the Number 1 killer would be the Number 1 priority!

Probably, but if number 1 is, say, "old age" there's probably not much point?

 

[markis10]

Probably, but if number 1 is, say, "old age" there's probably not much point?

I believe Heart Disease is the number 1, and cynical me thinks the money behind some of the contributing factors helps to keep it from being a top priority.

 

[Skyring]

I believe Heart Disease is the number 1, and cynical me thinks the money behind some of the contributing factors helps to keep it from being a top priority.

Correct. As for government priorities, I think a reasonable correlation factor would be expenditure. How much is the government spending on cancer, specifically, as opposed to health in general?

Forgive my cynicism, but I guess that the government spends more on VIP aircraft than cancer.

 

[Pushka]

I'm not sure if it happens in other states but in SA if a labor politician crosses the floor to vote then they are forced to exit the Labor party. The Liberals have no such requirement.

 

[Rebekkap]

I'm not sure if it happens in other states but in SA if a labor politician crosses the floor to vote then they are forced to exit the Labor party. The Liberals have no such requirement.

The way it works in the ALP generally is that on issues of life and death (things like the death penalty, cloning, stem cell research etc) MPs have a conscience vote. Then there are issues, like same sex marriage, where the party platform specifies there is a conscience vote. Labor politicians can vote with their conscience on those issues without ramifications. On other issues, the MPs have a free vote in the party room, but once the issue is decided by a majority vote then everyone must fall in line.

 

[BadgerBoi]

The way it works in the ALP generally is that on issues of life and death (things like the death penalty, cloning, stem cell research etc) MPs have a conscience vote. Then there are issues, like same sex marriage, where the party platform specifies there is a conscience vote. Labor politicians can vote with their conscience on those issues without ramifications. On other issues, the MPs have a free vote in the party room, but once the issue is decided by a majority vote then everyone must fall in line.

Which to me seems like a good system. If I wish to vote Labor, I don't have a say in who the local candidate is (I'm not a member of any party), so if I'm voting Labor I'm voting for the party rather than an individual candidate who may have views that I don't like on individual issues. I'm not a big fan of the conscience vote. If there are enough views from the party that I dislike, I'll vote for an independent or for a candidate from a different party.

 

[Pushka]

Unless you want your local member to represent their electorate and not necessarily what the broader labor party wants.

 

[BadgerBoi]

Unless you want your local member to represent their electorate and not necessarily what the broader labor party wants.

Then you need to reconsider your vote, whatever your politics you can't have your cake and eat it too. I've been fortunate in the past to have really good independent candidates at all three levels of government so I've had a genuine choice.