Oz Federal Election 2013 - Discussion and Comments

[whatmeworry]

The baby boomers of Australia must be spewing over Tony Abbott's 22 billion dollar paid parental leave scheme, considering most are past reproductive age and can't cash on another Liberal welfare benefit designed for the rich.

 

[whatmeworry]

And how can we trust a man who stands in front of a poster of Hitler?

Tony Abbott had no problem standing in front of signs that called Julia Gillard a cough and a witch.

 

[OATEK]

Tony Abbott had no problem standing in front of signs that called Julia Gillard a cough and a witch.

Yes, and he was pilloried for it so why should KR not get the same treatment.

 

[Hvr]

What has Rudd been punching?

And how can we trust a man who stands in front of a poster of Hitler?

Strewth even no news acknowledged it was part of a history display which featured both Axis and Allied leaders.

A POTENTIALLY embarrassing picture of Kevin Rudd with a poster of Adolf Hitler behind him ended a day in which the PM was again accused of rudeness. The Prime Minister was touring a school in Sydney's west when he was invited into a classroom to chat to legal studies students, oblivious that the wall behind him was plastered with large posters of dictators including Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

Other posters carried images of allied heroes, however, as the display focused on World War II figures.

Read more: Rudd and Hitler pic. What do you think about it? | News.com.au ​

My bolding of the word "oblivious".
​

Tony Abbott had no problem standing in front of signs that called Julia Gillard a cough and a witch.

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Totally different circumstances. His hatred of Julia knew no bounds and he wasn't unhappy this occurred whilst denying it was his fault.

Yes, and he was pilloried for it so why should KR not get the same treatment.

Not really a couple of comments that were howled down because "it was accidental".

 

[Pukka]

The baby boomers of Australia must be spewing over Tony Abbott's 22 billion dollar paid parental leave scheme, considering most are past reproductive age and can't cash on another Liberal welfare benefit designed for the rich.

Not that I'm a fan of it but its not a welfare benefit designed for the rich just because it includes the relatively well off it doesn't follow that's where the majority of the cost of the scheme will come from . He's put himself in the firing line by setting the bar so high but its like Kevin Rudd saying the LCT is a tax on Ferrari's. Yes it includes Ferrari's but that's not where the majority of the tax comes from its the $60-70k cars ( I assume but whatever its certainly not the Ferrari's) that generate the most tax.

"It is noteworthy that women aged 18 to 49 years who earn more than $100,000 represent only 1.7 per cent of all people with taxable incomes according to the most recently available ATO data."

 

[Pushka]

Just sick of the posters in here who think it's ok to insult the posters not the discussion

Shame about that cooking show intrusion on what we were told was a high priority day for the Syrian situation. Can't squeeze in any time for electioneering but did manage a quick trip to Brisbane for filming.

As far as Rudds poster picture, Abbott was pilloried for that picture and still is but I guess expecting the same to happen to Rudd is like expecting the same principles.

 

[amaroo]

Just sick of the posters in here who think it's ok to insult the posters not the discussion

.

I find them very easy to ignore.....don't even bother hitting the ignore function - it just comes naturally:!::idea:

 

[Skyring]

Rudd flies to and from Brisbane - at our expense - just to do a cooking show. He claims it was a longstanding commitment.

But he couldn't be bothered showing up at the election debate with the LNP candidate for the seat of Griffith, another equally longstanding commitment.

Wonder how he went with his makeup...

 

[Pukka]

Rudd flies to and from Brisbane - at our expense - just to do a cooking show. He claims it was a longstanding commitment.

But he couldn't be bothered showing up at the election debate with the LNP candidate for the seat of Griffith, another equally longstanding commitment.

Wonder how he went with his makeup...

I've seen better

 

[OATEK]

"hatred of Julia knew no bounds..." is just a very unhelpful comment for your cause, especially as KR says he is not into negativity (cough cough). TA is just a politician, and as long as you try to make out there is some monstrous side to him you won't turn the tide. TA might not be the most likeable, but I doubt that anyone else who came so close to PM would be any less combative than he was given the machinations of JG achieving
minority government. I think most casual observers would agree that no one showed more "hatred" towards JG than KR!

Yes the Hitler poster was an accidental occurrence, but to constantly imply that the "Juliar" one was deliberate on TA's part is to give him far more credit than he really deserves.

 

[Pushka]

I'm thinking the hatred between Gillard and Abbot (well, apparently this is the case, and I'd say it may well be one way anyway) pales into insignificance when compared with that between Rudd, and, well, probably the whole Labor Party. With many of them publically stating as such in the media.

 

[Limewood]

Wonder how he went with his makeup...

Going on Pukka pic not to good, or was that before

 

[Moody]

Just sick of the posters in here who think it's ok to insult the posters not the discussion.

My intelligence is insulted daily on this thread .... but I try not to let it get me down. All part of the circus that passes for politics in this country.

Shame about that cooking show intrusion on what we were told was a high priority day for the Syrian situation. Can't squeeze in any time for electioneering but did manage a quick trip to Brisbane for filming.

Even Tony Abbott can multitask on a good day. I seem to remember footage of him doing GI Joe impressions this week ... he looks more like Putin every day (but without the charisma). Anyway, somehow this was a very important policy statement that has gone well over my head. And the Kitchen Cabinet segment is supposed to feature both KR and TA, but I assume Tony did not film his segment either.

As far as Rudds poster picture, Abbott was pilloried for that picture and still is but I guess expecting the same to happen to Rudd is like expecting the same principles.

Let me get this straight, Pushka, because I find this statement absolutely incredulous. Kevin Rudd visits a school and talks to the class about .... well ... whatever politicians talk about. Let's face it - this is standard election stuff that they both do, and is meant primarily as a photo opportunity. A very clever News Limited photographer notices a picture of Hitler on the walls (part of a history assignment) and uses a nice long lens to frame Kevin Rudd in front of it. Then a very clever News Limited subeditor thinks he can use the photo to play a very stupid game with the moronic punters, who are unlikely to read the whole story that reveals how fraudulant the image was.

And this is supposed to be comparable to Tony Abbott speaking publicly in front of abusive slogans that targeted the then Prime Minister in a sexist and quite frankly disgusting manner?

Let us examine the definition of moron :- "a person having an intelligence quotient of between 50 and 70, able to work under supervision".

The $64 question is always "Is this an insult or merely a description." YMMV.

 

[footy99]

The election betting and polls trends are becoming concerning. Almost back to the last days of Gillard, with a clear unfettered trend in one direction. I couldn't give 2 hoots who wins, but landslide victories encourage extremism in politics. We at least need 2 fairly well represented parties in the house. Hopefully the ALP can pull itself together and restore at least a semblance of balance over the next fortnight. A QLD-style result in the national election is not good for anyone.

 

[Pushka]

So you have no comment to make about Rudds grave announcement yesterday morning with regard to the Syrian situation, postponing electioneering during the day because of that, and then jetting off in the tax payer funded jet to make a tv production. Clearly he never intended to do any electioneering yesterday because that tv would have been scheduled a while ago but used the Syrian situation as an excuse.

Abbott's segment was filmed a few days ago.

 

[Pukka]

The election betting and polls trends are becoming concerning. Almost back to the last days of Gillard, with a clear unfettered trend in one direction. I couldn't give 2 hoots who wins, but landslide victories encourage extremism in politics. We at least need 2 fairly well represented parties in the house. Hopefully the ALP can pull itself together and restore at least a semblance of balance over the next fortnight. A QLD-style result in the national election is not good for anyone.

If I was an ALP supporter this would worry me

 

[Moody]

So you have no comment to make about Rudds grave announcement yesterday morning with regard to the Syrian situation, postponing electioneering during the day because of that, and then jetting off in the tax payer funded jet to make a tv production. Clearly he never intended to do any electioneering yesterday because that tv would have been scheduled a while ago but used the Syrian situation as an excuse.

Abbott's segment was filmed a few days ago.

If you rely upon News Limited for your facts, then you leave yourself open to looking like a fool. Seems they were doing their standard hatchet job on Rudd, but were caught lying and then made it worse by trying to deny it ever happened. You would think they know how everything on the internet is in the public domain. Kevin Rudd denies delaying Syria briefing for Annabel Crabb show

And what is the quip about "jetting off in the tax payer funded jet" supposed to mean? Is Kevin Rudd now supposed to pay for his own travel on this election campaign? Does Tony Abbott?? Is this a contender for the most useless attempt to score a political point on this overlong thread??? Of course it's not - the "scandal" of Rudd appearing in front of a picture of Hitler went straight to #1, and I can only hope that it remains the low point of this discussion. I'm not holding my breath ....

 

[drsmithy]

As far as Rudds poster picture, Abbott was pilloried for that picture and still is but I guess expecting the same to happen to Rudd is like expecting the same principles.

I cannot even begin to imagine how any rational person would consider the situations to be vaguely comparable.

 

[Skyring]

The election betting and polls trends are becoming concerning. Almost back to the last days of Gillard, with a clear unfettered trend in one direction. I couldn't give 2 hoots who wins, but landslide victories encourage extremism in politics. We at least need 2 fairly well represented parties in the house. Hopefully the ALP can pull itself together and restore at least a semblance of balance over the next fortnight. A QLD-style result in the national election is not good for anyone.

Looking at Antony Green's Election Calculator, the latest Newspoll figures are giving Rudd 58 seats to Abbott's 89, with three others. This is comparable to Rudd in 2007 (83/65), Howard in 2004 (87/60) and 1996 (94/49).

Bit of a mixed bag there. Rudd's first term was so much of a disaster that he was removed by his own party, Howard's last term was really one too many with control of the Senate proving too great a temptation, and Howard's first term was marked by a series of reforms such as the gun buyback which set a solid foundation for a long prosperity.

Whether a lopsided Parliament is good for the nation or not - and I think the "goodness" hangs on many factors, not just the numbers - the matter of balance is important, with media scrutinising government, and opposition questioning any departures from normal business.

In general, we can expect a lopsided result whenever there is a change of government, particularly when the previous one has reached it's useby date. 1972, 1975, 1996 were occasions when a close election had seen one last term of incompetence and farce before the voters made sure of the result.

A new government's first term is usually marked by caution and competence. Complacence and corruption sets in during the later terms, as we most often see in State and Territory governments.

 

[Moody]

If I was an ALP supporter this would worry me

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If I was an Australian this would embarrass me