Tony Abbott - New Opposition Leader

[serfty]

IIRC:

The Whitlam introduced Medibank in the 70's. It was the precursor to Medicare and basically did what Medicare does today.

The Fraser government kept Medibank (as part of an election promise IIRC) but turned it into a private health insurance.

The Hawke government introduced Medicare to fill the void left by the neutering of Medibank as a public insurance scheme.

It should be noted that before Medibank "Public" was introduced, private insurance companies had a profitable market with private "medical" insurance which partially covered GP visits etc., similar to what today's Dental or Extras type cover does for dentistry and other niche health branches.

 

[drron]

According to yeasterday's Australian it may not matter what the world does about global warming if some Chinese experts have their way-
Strange climate of neglect | The Australian
"The South China Morning Post has reported this week on how China, while participating at Copenhagen as a leader of the now bitterly divided developing world, may be quietly anticipating global warming with as much relish as trepidation. For "if 3600 years of history is anything to go by, Chinese civilisation has flourished when temperatures have been at their warmest and declined when the climate cooled".
Xie Zhenghui, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' International Centre for Climate and Environmental Sciences, says: "In my opinion, the sooner the temperature increases, the better. The longer it takes, the more extreme weather we will have to face.
"Extreme weather is the hallmark of transitional periods. Once we enter the warm and stable periods like those in the Han and Tang dynasties, we will be fine."
Wang Zijin, an environmental historian at Beijing Normal University, says: "In the long term, warming may not be a curse but a blessing [for China].
"If the temperature continues to rise, we may not see the return of elephants but it will be very possible that rice and bamboo can again grow along the Yellow River. Xinjiang, Gansu and Inner Mongolia will become much more habitable than today."

 

[Dee Thom]

According to yeasterday's Australian it may not matter what the world does about global warming if some Chinese experts have their way-
Strange climate of neglect | The Australian
"The South China Morning Post has reported this week on how China, while participating at Copenhagen as a leader of the now bitterly divided developing world, may be quietly anticipating global warming with as much relish as trepidation. For "if 3600 years of history is anything to go by, Chinese civilisation has flourished when temperatures have been at their warmest and declined when the climate cooled".

drron, I recently read a book by Gavin Menzies called "1423, the year China discovered the World". Part of the book revealed that Greenland could be circumnavigated in the early 1400's. Accounts held in Oslo Archives recount the wedding of Sigrid Bjornsdottir in 1408, describing her farms and livestock as substantial flocks of sheep, and cattle, feeding on lush pasture. This occurred prior to a mini ice-age that started around 1450, and is now ending. It was caused by the shift in the earths axis by 03deg 40' northwards, a far cry from the icy barren Greenland we know now................

Cheers Dee

 

[kpc]

"I think everyone should have some familiarity with the great texts that are at the core of our civilisation," said the Federal Opposition leader.
"That includes, most importantly, the Bible

AdelaideNow... All kids must read the Bible, federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says

I wonder what non Christian voters think of this statement....:shock:

 

[NYCguy]

AdelaideNow... All kids must read the Bible, federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says

I wonder what non Christian voters think of this statement....:shock:

I'll tell you what they think... Abbott has really lost the plot, and it appears that he's determined to drag the Liberals back to the 10th century.

 

[samh004]

He must be trying to lose the next election, all Rudd has to do is bring that back up and I’m sure Abbott wont be able to stop himself from extolling the virtues of teaching your kids his views.

 

[medhead]

AdelaideNow... All kids must read the Bible, federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says

I wonder what non Christian voters think of this statement....:shock:

You'll probably find that most non-christian voters know the bible better that Tony. Know your enemy!

Really this is not a very damaging statement, "our" civiliasation is based on the bible and many people study it to understand why/how it has been so important over time.

Another great text that Tony should be asking us to be familiar with is the Koran.

 

[bambbbam2]

Really this is not a very damaging statement, "our" civiliasation is based on the bible

Who is "our"?

I think it is a damaging statement - Aussie voters have never been keen on any politician who tries to go religious. That's why they all play it down.

The problem for Abbott is that he relied on the votes of the religious right of the Libs to get elected, now they want their views pushed.

 

[notzac]

AdelaideNow... All kids must read the Bible, federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says

I wonder what non Christian voters think of this statement....:shock:

Well, speaking as a non-Christian voter, I'm entertained .. Mr Abbott appears to be doing his very best to lose the next federal election. He certainly hasn't got my vote...

 

[medhead]

Who is "our"?

I think it is a damaging statement - Aussie voters have never been keen on any politician who tries to go religious. That's why they all play it down.

The problem for Abbott is that he relied on the votes of the religious right of the Libs to get elected, now they want their views pushed.

Abbott is religious right!
As for being damaging, it is an irrelevance in today's society. People will ignore him. Not sure how that is damaging. Maybe if someone missed Abbott's history and didn't realise that he a a right wing nut case. Besides Rudd is in a similar boat, so there is very little point of difference.

And besides, as I said, most not religious people uinderstand the importance of studying your "enemy". You need to understand what you don't believe in, in order to be able to not believe in it. Otherwise, one would just be ignorant.

As for Aussie voters never being keen on religious politicans, maybe for the last 20 to 30 years. But go back to Menzies and the story is a bit difference.

 

[coco50]

I'll tell you what they think... Abbott has really lost the plot, and it appears that he's determined to drag the Liberals back to the 10th century.

I thought they were already there under Howard.

 

[Dee Thom]

I thought they were already there under Howard.

Ah ! How quick we forget that over the years the LNP when returned to power, has had the task of rebuilding the Australian Economy, but LAB has always had a handy surplus to start their spending stupidity............

Cheers Dee

 

[Alanslegal]

When the world nears its end, I bet God won't send Tony Abbott a message to build an Ark.

 

[straitman]

When the world nears its end, I bet God won't send Tony Abbott a message to build an Ark.

... or a few people around here :!:

 

[medhead]

Ah ! How quick we forget that over the years the LNP when returned to power, has had the task of rebuilding the Australian Economy, but LAB has always had a handy surplus to start their spending stupidity............

Cheers Dee

Rebuild the Australian Economy:!: You are kidding aren't you. In terms of rebuilding the economy all Howard did was finish the work started by Keating. Even Howard himself acknowledges the great things that Keating did for the economy in Australia. And if you want further proof you just need to look at the continuous run of economic growth, yes it last all of the Howard years and costello and howard were very good at highlighting that fact. But the run actually started after the recession we had to have. About 3 or 4 years before Howard got anywhere near holding the reins.

Personally, when the result is 14 + years of economic growth and an economy that has avoided recession, unlike the rest of the world, then I'm inclined to agree that it was the recession we had to have.

 

[straitman]

Rebuild the Australian Economy:!: You are kidding aren't you. In terms of rebuilding the economy all Howard did was finish the work started by Keating. Even Howard himself acknowledges the great things that Keating did for the economy in Australia. And if you want further proof you just need to look at the continuous run of economic growth, yes it last all of the Howard years and costello and howard were very good at highlighting that fact. But the run actually started after the recession we had to have. About 3 or 4 years before Howard got anywhere near holding the reins.

Personally, when the result is 14 + years of economic growth and an economy that has avoided recession, unlike the rest of the world, then I'm inclined to agree that it was the recession we had to have.

This is a windup isn't it :?:

 

[medhead]

This is a windup isn't it :?:

No, Bill sorry it isn't.

If you think it should be just ask yourself why Howard did not undo Keating's economic reforms.

 

[Dee Thom]

If you think it should be just ask yourself why Howard did not undo Keating's economic reforms.

I seem to recall Whitlam and his three "C" co-pilots, took dear old Aus to the brink of being bankrupt, leaving Tall Mal, and Little Johnny to try and pull us all back from the brink.............

Cheers Dee

 

[oz_mark]

I seem to recall Whitlam and his three "C" co-pilots, took dear old Aus to the brink of being bankrupt, leaving Tall Mal, and Little Johnny to try and pull us all back from the brink.............

Whitlam predated Hawke and Keating by some time, and I don't think are comparable in the way they managed the economy. Fraser and his mates inherited a difficult position, but I am not so sure that they did as much in the reform space as they could have. In terms of true economic reform and rebuilding, I do have some sympathy for the position of medhead as to when the most significant reforms were made.

Which brings us to today, where we have a prime minister that seems loathe to debate anything and just tells people to get out of the way. At least in the past, pollies would actually sell their position and argue their case. Maybe Abbott will be able to force Rudd into debate in a way that Turnbull was unable to achieve.

 

[Keith009]

Rebuild the Australian Economy:!: You are kidding aren't you. In terms of rebuilding the economy all Howard did was finish the work started by Keating. Even Howard himself acknowledges the great things that Keating did for the economy in Australia. And if you want further proof you just need to look at the continuous run of economic growth, yes it last all of the Howard years and costello and howard were very good at highlighting that fact. But the run actually started after the recession we had to have. About 3 or 4 years before Howard got anywhere near holding the reins.

Personally, when the result is 14 + years of economic growth and an economy that has avoided recession, unlike the rest of the world, then I'm inclined to agree that it was the recession we had to have.

Well said!