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wombleoz
01 Jan 11 03:12
Joined:
Date Joined: 15 Feb 03
| Topic/replies: 12,882 | Blogger: wombleoz's blog
A nice new clean space for us all to play Cool

A great day for Australia today - January 1, 2011 - we've been waiting for generations for a Parental Leave scheme and today is the the day it begins - thank you Labor and thank you Julia

Vote Green Cool
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Report lazza November 9, 2011 9:07 AM GMT
What is this about Womby....Are you aware of this?...I have no idea if it's even correct...can you fill in the gaps please...thx in advance
Report wombleoz November 9, 2011 9:14 AM GMT
the guy is on persians imo
Report wombleoz November 10, 2011 9:34 PM GMT
good to see Julia getting back on track - Lenore spot on imo

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/at-long-last-julia-gillard-is-marching-to-the-beat-of-her-own-drum-20111110-1n9jp.html

At long last, Julia Gillard is marching to the beat of her own drum
November 11, 2011

Opinion

JULIA GILLARD was clear. The proposed pay rise for 150,000 mainly female community sector workers was exactly what was intended under her Fair Work Act.

And $46,000 a year was definitely not an acceptable full-time wage for the women we rely on to care for the mentally ill, the disabled or the homeless or to counsel people in trouble.

No matter that the increase would cost the federal government $2 billion, even as it struggles to keep its political promise to return the budget to surplus by 2012-13.
Advertisement: Story continues below

She'd find the money somehow, although the fine print reveals she won't have to find it for a while since the funding is spread over six years and doesn't start to flow for 12 months.

The best the Coalition could do was to ask where the money would come from, which is a fair question, but not one the opposition is likely to push too far since its fiscal strategy is also somewhat unclear.

There are also questions about whether the states can find the $2 billion-plus that would represent their share of the bill.

But politically, it was the Prime Minister again on the offensive and on safe ground, advocating the fairness of her industrial legislation and her own commitment to equal pay for women and the values she claims for the Labor Party.

In fact she's been on the offensive for most of the time since the Qantas dispute, with the trip to the G20, the government gaining ground in the debate over the mining tax, the passage of carbon pricing bills, the opinion polls inching up and and both interest rates and unemployment heading down. Next week President Barack Obama is on his way.

And increasingly Tony Abbott is being questioned about whether his promises of mining and carbon tax repeal are ones he can afford to keep.

There are still plenty of problems for the government - its asylum seeker non-policy and the impact of the global uncertainty on the budget to name just two - and Labor's polling is still dire.

If she continues this way into the new year Julia Gillard might just find her political stride for the first time since she became leader and this might just start looking like a Labor government.
Report lazza November 12, 2011 9:44 AM GMT
Prime Minister  Gillard walks into the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to cash a  cheque. 
  As she approaches  the teller she says "Good morning , could you please cash this cheque for  me"?  Cashier: "It would  be my pleasure Miss. Could you please show me your ID?"  Gillard:  "Truthfully, I did not bring my ID with me as I didn't think there was any  need to.  I am Prime  Minister Julia Gillard, the Prime Minister of Australia!!!"    Cashier:  "Yes  Miss, I know who you are, but with all the  regulations,  monitoring, of the  banks because of impostors and forgers, etc I must insist on seeing  ID."  Gillard: "Just ask  anyone here at the bank who I am and they will tell you.     Everybody knows  who I am."  Cashier: "I am  sorry Prime Minister but these are the bank rules and I must follow  them."  Gillard: "I am  urging you please to cash this cheque."  Cashier: "Look  Prime Minister this is what we can do:  One day Adam Scott  came into the bank without ID.  To prove he was  Adam Scott he pulled out his putting iron and made a beautiful shot across  the bank into a cup.  With that shot we  knew him to be Adam Scott and cashed his cheque.  Another time, Pat  Cash came in without ID. He pulled out his tennis racquet and made a  fabulous shot where the tennis ball landed in my  cup.   With that spectacular shot we cashed his  cheque..  So, Prime  Minister, what can you do to prove that it is you, and only you, as the  Prime Minister of Australia?"   GILLARD   stood there thinking, and thinking and finally says:  "Honestly, there  is nothing that comes to my mind."  " I can't think of  a single thing  I'm good at."   Cashier: "Will  that be large or small notes, Prime Minister?"
Report Thebas November 12, 2011 10:38 AM GMT
LaughLaughLaughLaughLaughLaughLaughLaugh
Report wombleoz November 13, 2011 7:58 AM GMT
Lazza Angry LaughLaughLaugh

Interesting times - looks like the media is turning on Abbott, will he still be LOTO after Xmas???
Report jimbob03 November 13, 2011 9:42 AM GMT
they are both as bad as each other
Report earlycrow November 13, 2011 10:04 AM GMT
The ace in gillards pack is abbott is a complete fvck wit
Report wombleoz November 13, 2011 10:15 AM GMT
spot on EC
Report Thebas November 13, 2011 12:10 PM GMT
but gillards pack is still a suit short Laugh
Report wombleoz November 13, 2011 9:49 PM GMT
Abbott is the Joker and has been played already Thebas Wink

Free trade stuff will be interesting to watch play out - some very strange bed fellows on this one.  Nationals/Unions/Greens/ALP left on one side Farmers/Liberals?/ALP right on the other

Will definitely be winners and losers but I do lean towards the argument that free trade opens the door to decent wage rises overseas and a more level playing field in the longer term.

Best Nielsen poll for Labor since March - Preferred PM back to all square - Greens at 14%

The trend is your friend Cool
Report Thebas November 14, 2011 12:21 AM GMT
lol womble i liked that analogy Grin

but then we do agree on something ... in that all politics is played with a stacked deck ... and it ain't in the citizen's favour  Cool
Report Touchdown November 14, 2011 7:14 AM GMT
"The trend is your friend" saying doesn't quite work womble, when your coming off a base of 26% from Nielson.

LaughLaughLaughLaugh

ffs

Of course Labor's primary vote wasn't going to be sustained at that level.

With a Royal Visit and Obama coming to Canberra this week, I would expect Gillard would of received a bounce.
Support is still extremely low.  These numbers now, at an election, would be devastating for Labor.

The realists in the party know the inevitable.  But the Canberra press gallery have you all excited with their farcical talk of a Gillard and Labor revivialLaughLaughLaugh

Again, you, by suggesting Abbott is a clown, play right into the Liberal's hands.
Write him off at your peril. 
On the flip side, a change from Abbott isn't something I would think you would be hoping for.
But with your political antenna being so far off fkn scale, womble, I wouldn't be surprised.

The majority hate this minority government and hate Labor.
Of course there will be polling variations by and large, but this government is finished.

You can talk about "two years to go" as much as you like.
They are toast.

I knew, like as if on cue, you would come out boasting about these poll numbers, yet when you look at them closely, it is really quite sad that these kind of numbers for Labor give you hope.

AnywaysLaughLaughLaughLaugh
Report wombleoz November 14, 2011 9:58 AM GMT
20 points down, now 10 points down - that's a pretty good improvement and Nielsen is the worst of the polls

2 years to go Jez - the trend is my friend Cool

interested in where u stand on the free trade deal btw

Thebas - the deck is stacked, the cards are probably marked but do we really have a choice if we play or not???
Report earlycrow November 14, 2011 10:07 AM GMT
Abbott ain't no clown, he's a fvck wit
Report Thebas November 14, 2011 10:33 AM GMT
womble
Thebas - the deck is stacked, the cards are probably marked but do we really have a choice if we play or not??? 


appreciate the honest assessment

philosophically we don't have to sit down at the table ... if we don't like the game

but yes it will continue to go on around us
Report wombleoz November 14, 2011 11:11 AM GMT
might as well be involved in that case imo
Report Thebas November 14, 2011 9:04 PM GMT
if a dodgy poker game is the only game in town ... best to stand back and observe ... rather than jump in and play and pretend it's on the level imo
Report wombleoz November 14, 2011 9:30 PM GMT
we provide the bankroll though Thebas Cry

Labor pisses me off at times - 3 things today alone

1 - uranium to India, the existing policy is a sensible one and should not be changed

2 - gay marriage, looking like going for a conscience vote rather than as party policy and as a result most likely ensuring it doesn't become a reality

3 - expanding the NT intervention around the number of schools with the welfare cuts to fight truancy rules and talk of expanding it to alcoholics

CryCryCryCryCry
Report secong coming. November 14, 2011 10:38 PM GMT
1. uranium is only exported with strict terms of use now, so allowing some to india on same proviso is a plus imo

2. a) whats wrong going with a conscience vote?
   b) its something that needs a referendum otherwise not just a relatively parliamentarians (elected on other platforms)judging this
   c) whats the rush?
   d) no point quoting polls as you yourself womble dismiss them at any given time when labor/greens are high/low, why is this any different

3. any help (read welfare for at risk indigenous) ought come with SOME strings attached - not in total but some incentive to do the right thing

all in all gillard is starting to show a little more leadership for once instead of being a lame duck

i cant believe she's gunna give out 18K pay rises in certain sectors though and just for women, she'd be surprised how many women AND men are getting paid similar $$ to what the ones she's talking about and wont get anything.......2nd where will all the money come from? the states (broke) will have to chip in...and when the assistance runs out does she think the employers who were paying these wages in the first place will make it up....hardly Shocked
   e)personally nothing against same sex partnerships - i dont care what anyone does withthemselves nor what race anyone is, but all need to respect the law of the land that has stood the test of time imo
Report secong coming. November 14, 2011 10:39 PM GMT
hmmm e) out of order there Crazy
Report Thebas November 15, 2011 7:34 AM GMT
our oz bankroll is wanted by the UN womble ... and they'll stack any deck ... and provide any deciept to obtain it

.. so how can we stop our silly pollies from giving our bankroll away

... they lie to us before elections and rip us off after elections

... our vote means nothing to the liers ... and the red headed one is the worst to grace us in decades
Report lazza November 15, 2011 7:37 AM GMT
Where's the "Greens".....India says "it won't make Bombs"...I for one believe them...NOT!!!
Report Thebas November 15, 2011 8:10 AM GMT
3 weeks ago julia says NO ... today paul howes awu union controller says we must ... so julia says we must

we know who owns her .. we know she has no personal integrity in the sense that she will say one thing and yet do another .. her statements and speeches mean nothing .. without the union tick

regardless of a stance on the subject ... our pm is not her own person .. she must stand down now .. call a general election .. so we can vote hopefully to rid ourselves of this travesty of a leader
Report wombleoz November 15, 2011 9:05 AM GMT
problem is India guarantee not to use our uranium for weapons and then use someone elses - in the end they get more uranium for their bombs - not a good thing imo

conscience vote wouldn't be as big a problem if both sides got it, just Labor having it - Liberals not guarantees it loses - if two people are in love let them get married imo

one rule for all, it's not a black and white issue imo

the $18k pay rises are for carers etc - 85% females in the roles - so not only for ladies, it's just that's how it is - they deserve every penny imo

Thebas - the UN isn't a bad thing - once again - imo
Report wombleoz November 20, 2011 12:17 PM GMT
Newspoll tomorrow - rumours are 52-48, would be nice Cool

My tip Julia will be back in front as preferred PM

Mining tax this week - interesting to see Ian Macfarlane on Insiders today basically saying the Liberals will instigate a mining tax by stealth by encouraging the mining states to increase royalties and then cutting their share of commonwealth grants to share it around
Report wombleoz November 21, 2011 9:16 PM GMT
Jez gone???  I was sure he'd be here gloating today Plain

Good and bad poll for Labor, bad for the Greens, good and bad for the Liberals

2 PP blows out and messes up the trend

Greens down to 10%, temporary blip for mine - based on the reaction to Obama

Finally - and most importantly - Abbott got hammered in the preferred PM figures - going from 9 points up a few months ago to 5 points down now - that's HUGE imo

Looks like the mining tax will pass the HOR's this week - excellent result
Report Aussie Punter November 22, 2011 8:42 AM GMT
Stride past 3000 posts lads ...well done
Report Touchdown November 22, 2011 12:04 PM GMT
Great result in Newspoll.

2PP result strong for the Coalition team and shows there is no "trend" that womble fantasises aboutLaugh

It's a case of a small reprieve from an extraordinarily low base.

This poll, make no mistake, is devastating for Labor on the back of so many royal and presidential visits.

Gillard's standing has improved, but could they worsen?  lol

Abbott behind as preferred PM is expected, as a result of Gillard's efforts standing beside the Queen, The President of the US and now Princess Mary.  This warmness will quickly subside.

Of course Abbott's standing as preferred PM was going to fall when the PM is in the spotlight with royalty and a world leader, ffs, womble.  Crazy  This is not unusual or any particular trend back to Gillard.

Importantly:

Smart brains within Labor are looking with despair at the numbers that count from these results.
The primary vote for Labor.  And the 2PP vote.  Particularly with the usual bounce, not happening this week.
Even the President of the US can't revive Labor's standing.
The Greens vote similarly has tanked.

No one ever said being Opposition Leader was easy.
Steady she goes, Tony.  Cool
Lots of high fiving at Liberal HQ in Barton on Monday, let me give you the tip.
Report Touchdown November 22, 2011 12:11 PM GMT
The government’s spin doctors will talk up Ms Gillard’s personal recovery, taking her slightly ahead as preferred PM. But that is where incumbents should always be. Besides, it matters little.

Of course it matters to wombleoz, ONLY when Gillard is in frontLaughLaughLaugh

Experienced political operators tend to look for one number – the primary vote. And today it has Labor back at 30 and the Coalition at a soaring 48. For the ALP, a primary vote of 30 per cent is in the dead zone, and it has been there for months. Julia Gillard will be longing to get parliament behind her and focus on regrouping over summer. Tony Abbott will be energised.
Report wombleoz November 22, 2011 9:07 PM GMT
welcome back Jez

2 years to go Cool

will Abbott make the distance???  i don't think so, the media has turned expect the leadership speculation to start

great to see the mining tax pass last night, we can only dig it up and sell it once we should maximise our returns imo

and importantly another major reform through in the "year of delivery" Cool
Report wombleoz November 22, 2011 9:08 PM GMT
thanks AP, when there is so much good news to post about it was always going to be a substantive thread Cool
Report Touchdown November 24, 2011 6:46 AM GMT
What a load of crap, wombleoz.

Your the ONLY person in Australia who believes its been a year of decision and delivery.

What a farce today.

The headlines are along the lines of "government in crisis".
This little slipper trick will backfire for Labor.

But at 43-57, desperate times and Labor, mean anything could and will happen.
2 years is a long time, but this ploy shows how desperate Labor is.

Can you imagine the ruffling within the Labor Party to force Jenkins to resign?
Can you imagine whats happening deep within the government?

We need an election and we need to get rid of this circus.
Enough is enough.
Report Touchdown November 24, 2011 6:47 AM GMT
Sorry womble, but your constant dribbling of fairy tale "Labor happy endings" are fanciful and ridiculous.

I am disappointed by the events involving slippery Pete today, but I wish him all the best.
Report Touchdown November 24, 2011 6:47 AM GMT
Today is the fourth anniversary of Labor’s election to government and Julia Gillard has marked it by treating Parliament and the Australian people with contempt.

The contrived resignation of Speaker Harry Jenkins is further evidence of a government in crisis and a Prime Minister obsessed with her own survival above anything else.

By refusing to nominate a Government MP as the new Speaker, Labor has trashed an important parliamentary tradition simply to shore up its numbers.

While Australians are increasingly worried about their rising living costs and making ends meet, Labor is boasting about how ‘clever’ it has been to manufacture an additional vote of the floor of the parliament.

Australians need a Government with a clear plan and direction to provide certainty and confidence in their lives.

After four years in office, Australians are paying a high price for Labor’s contempt for propriety, broken promises, wasteful spending, economic mismanagement, and incompetence.

Tony Abbott and the Liberals have a clear plan to get Australia back on track and provide hope, reward and opportunity for all Australians.
Report Touchdown November 24, 2011 6:51 AM GMT
Wombleoz will be on this place shortly boasting of the "victory" today.

But there was no victory, just political games by a party and a Prime Minister who are desperate.

Willing to put the nation's interests at risk to save their own political hide.

Australian's are the losers from this Labor - Green experiment.
From the Carbon Tax to the Asylum Seeker debacle.
Wherever you look, Labor is a mess.

CryCryCryCry
Report wombleoz November 24, 2011 8:51 AM GMT
If Abbott can't run his own party, how can he run the country???

Great day for Labor - payback for Mal the Rat after many years Wink
Report secong coming. November 29, 2011 4:33 AM GMT
If Gillard can't run her own party, how can she run the country???
Report Joel November 29, 2011 4:44 AM GMT
She could do it with her eyes closed, with one arm tied behind her back, with both legs sawn off.
Report lazza November 29, 2011 7:49 AM GMT
How can just you let Asylum Seeker's out into the neighbourhood...How do they survive...where do they live? ...What about disease?..I mean ..we did a great job with EI ffs...This is not a good thing imo
Report Joel November 29, 2011 7:55 AM GMT
They are no different to you or I lazza.
Report lazza November 29, 2011 8:07 AM GMT
Encosta is just another Horse Joel but he carried the disease....I noticed you skipped the money part of the question..Wink
Report wombleoz November 29, 2011 9:04 AM GMT
it's going to save us a hell of a lot of money Lazza
Report lazza November 29, 2011 10:11 AM GMT
Just after answers Womby...I understand how these poor buggers need help ..and a caged environment is not good either...but our sovereignty ( for want of a better word ) should also hold some place in this argument don't you think?
Report AFL November 29, 2011 10:51 AM GMT
No.
Report Aussie Punter November 29, 2011 11:21 AM GMT
Agree with Lazza here .... Im all for helping the poor buggers who are genuine but need to assimilate them to Aussie way and proper health checks
Report lazza November 29, 2011 7:01 PM GMT
AFL..Does NO mean..Just open up the place?...which is virtually what has happened...I don't know the answer or pretend to...a mate sends his kid to play school or pre school what ever it's called...kid comes home and he plays with her...He broke out with blisters all over his mouth,hands and feet...and apparently that's what it is called..He was off work for a week....I'd never herd of it except something similar in cattle....But I don't think we are getting full disclosure from our health guru's....For example when I was growing up the lady next door was a nurse in a Hospital..The Hospital had a TB clinic...it was open 1 day a month for 8 hours prior mid 70's..in the 80's or late 70's it is open 24/7...I just think we should be careful..very careful!
Report AFL November 29, 2011 9:08 PM GMT
So are you saying we should become the BUBBLE COUNTRY Lassa? Not let anyone in in case they cotaminate us. Since Vietnam boat arrivals, we have had 3 1/2 million migrants 20,000 of which were boat arrivals. Why haven't we been wiped out because of all the infections they have broght in?
We have not been swamped ...nor have we been wiped out because they are so dirty.

FACT>
Report wombleoz November 29, 2011 9:24 PM GMT
security and health checks are done before they are released into the community - they are safer than tourists imo

or do you want to close the borders to them as well???

dollars are saved because it's bloody expensive to process them off-shore - AFL spot on as well, we get bugger all arrivals compared to many countries
Report wombleoz November 29, 2011 9:29 PM GMT
btw - not happy with the increase in the efficiency dividend on the public service, we're expected to do more and more with less and less Angry

some of the other stuff was good - especially whacking LAFHA - should do it more broadly imo

interesting that it's only time we've had AAA ratings from all the ratings agencies (for what it's worth) - world's greatest treasurer doing a good job overall Cool
Report lazza November 30, 2011 12:28 AM GMT
AFL
29 Nov 11 21:08 Joined: 21 Jul 08 | Topic/replies: 2,145 | Blogger: AFL's blog
So are you saying we should become the BUBBLE COUNTRY Lassa?

What part of .."I don't pretend to know the answer"...Don't you understand AFL...But you obviously do know the answer...congrats to AFL LaughLaughLaugh
Report AFL November 30, 2011 2:35 AM GMT
Thanks Lazza......Wink
Report Aussie Punter November 30, 2011 6:19 AM GMT
No different to leeting foreign , well known diseased fruit in under the banner of free trade !!

Womble: Good point on tourists
Report Back High Lay Low November 30, 2011 8:06 AM GMT
The Senate Privileges Committee investigation of Bob Brown will be very interesting.

Extremely serious charges have been levelled against him, jail time is a possibility.

We know that one particular Green senator won't be too displeased to see Brown's political career brought to an abrupt halt.
Report Touchdown November 30, 2011 8:15 AM GMT
They're extreme, out of touch and the the in fighting has begun.

And now Bob Brown is finally under the microscope, I welcome this referral.
Brown deserves scrutiny, like any other leader/party.

Greens accuse Lee Rhiannon of undermining Bob Brown
BY: CHRISTIAN KERR
From: The Australian
November 28, 2011


ANGRY Greens insiders have accused their controversial NSW senator Lee Rhiannon of white-anting party leader Bob Brown over donations.

The Senate backed a motion by Victorian Liberal Helen Kroger last Thursday to refer the Greens leader to the privileges committee over allegations he used his position to assist Wotif travel giant founder Graeme Wood.

Mr Wood last year became the biggest individual political donor in Australian history when he underwrote the Greens' $1.6 million election TV ad campaign.

The motion asks the committee to examine if Senator Brown sought a benefit from Mr Wood to act in his interest. It also asks if Mr Wood improperly influenced Greens deputy Christine Milne.

"We have absolutely nothing to fear from this fairly sleazy move," Senator Brown said last week.

Angry Greens believe Senator Rhiannon set out to embarrass her leader over the privileges reference with a string of media releases and press conferences over donations and a notice of motion on lobbyists as the Senate vote loomed and in its aftermath.

Eyebrows were raised earlier this year when Senator Rhiannon was linked to a report in The Australian on the Wood allegations when they were first raised in the Senate on her anti-donations Democracy4$ale website.

Her activities last week have prompted more suspicions.

"It's too much of a coincidence," one Greens insider insisted.

Senator Milne is seen as the likely successor to Senator Brown, 66. Like him, she hails from Tasmania and is associated with the environmental wing of the party.

In contrast, Senator Rhiannon is seen as a "watermelon Green" -- red on the inside. She had a long involvement in hard-left politics and was a member of the Socialist Party of Australia.

Senator Rhiannon has defied her party leader before, most notably over her support for the anti-Israeli Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement
Report wombleoz November 30, 2011 10:06 AM GMT
wow The Australian writing a negative story about the Greens, somebody pinch me - i must be dreaming Crazy
Report Jez_Punter November 30, 2011 12:19 PM GMT
LaughLaughLaughLaughLaugh

Yeah, thats right womble.

Alright for you to paste The Oz stories involving Liberal MP's, but as soon as its Bob Brown, its no good, ffs.

Are you for real?

You suggesting there is no white anting from Ms Rhiannon????Laugh

You know what?  You probably would.  Because quite simply.
You have no political idea.

I welcome the committee investigating Bob Brown and I suspect he'll be feeling pretty uncomfortable about this and where it could lead.
Report Jez_Punter November 30, 2011 12:23 PM GMT
Wombleoz is pathetic.

When its Liberal or Labor politics, its fair game.
But when its The Greens or Bob Brown, its "oh the negativity of News Limited".

Nice try womble....is that all you can muster???

LaughLaughLaughLaughLaugh how fkn pathetic.
Seriously.

Plenty of Labor and Liberal MP's egging on a Green brawl and quite a few who wouldn't mind seeing Brown go down in flames.

Watch this space....this story isn't going away anytime soon.
Report wombleoz November 30, 2011 9:20 PM GMT
should've known any mention of Rhianon would get Jez excited and out of his shell posting again, he gets a hard on every time he says her name imo Wink

there's nothing to it would be my call, Greens are going along just fine and Bob Brown will be around for a while yet

should be a fascinating ALP conference this weekend, fingers crossed for results for the left on gay marriage, stopping uranium to killing India and killing the Malaysian solution - all 3 would be great but even 1 would be worth celebrating, left sound confident of rolling Gillard on gay marriage
Report Back High Lay Low December 2, 2011 9:33 PM GMT
Very statesman like. First the uranium announced whilst Kev was in India without a clue about it and now this.

    KEVIN Rudd has been airbrushed from Labor history, with Julia Gillard refusing to acknowledge him in a speech to the ALP national conference in Sydney yesterday.

    While Mr Rudd sat smiling in the front row of the Darling Harbour Convention Centre auditorium, Ms Gillard named and paid tribute to former Labor prime ministers since 1940 John Curtin, Ben Chifley, Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating.

    The only names missing from the roll-call were Mr Rudd’s and Frank Forde, who only served eight days in 1941.

    “It was about as subtle as dragging an elephant through snow,” said a key Labor figure, who asked why the PM would risk inflaming tensions.

    The former PM also escaped the memory of Deputy PM Wayne Swan, who tried to compare Ms Gillard to every post-war Labor prime minister except Mr Rudd.
Report Thebas December 2, 2011 10:59 PM GMT
she seems a vile piece of work ... you sense she's clearly 'owned' by someone/something ... a true 'puppet' ... but the scary thing is who is really pulling the strings ?
Report Aussie Punter December 3, 2011 5:43 AM GMT
Very Sad
Report wombleoz December 4, 2011 8:20 PM GMT
it's just not the same without Jez here sprouting his c r a p Sad

Labor let me down on all 3 areas i was hoping for results on - so it'll stay the Greens for me.

And the last Newspoll for the year is pretty accurate I think - Labor 8 points behind 2PP - not a bad place to be with almost 2 years to go.  Abbott WAY behind on preferred PM again, his leadership must be in doubt - gone by Easter would be my call.  Greens in the teens Cool

Will Abbott allow a conscience vote on marriage equality???  Surely it's the right thing to do

It's been a BIG year in politics
Report wombleoz December 7, 2011 8:44 PM GMT
economic growth at 1% for the quarter, sure it's patchy but a great result for this "do nothing government" Cool
Report Jez_Punter December 10, 2011 7:26 AM GMT
Report Jez_Punter December 10, 2011 7:31 AM GMT


This country continues to decay whilst Gillard Labor remains in office.

Tony Abbott and the Coalition are the team to take Australia into the future.
A future with hope, reward and opportunity for all Australian's.

Make no mistake, this government is dying slowly.
Polls will come and go, but change is on the lips of the majority.
Whether its this year, next year or 2013, Abbott and the Coalition stand ready to govern.

Ready to bring back a fair go along with honest and strong government.

"There will be no Carbon Tax under the government I lead". Julia Gillard

"We will stop the boats" Julia Gillard

Wombleoz will continue to parrot the lines of various desperate Labor ministers.....
but its all talk, its all spin and its all politics from Gillard and the ALP.
They are marching to the tune of a minority - an extreme and dangerous one, The Greens.

Summer may bring relief to the ALP and the small bounce in the polls (they couldn't go any lower)
which give Gillard a breather, but rest assured, the fight continues.

This isn't a sprint, its a marathon and marathon's are Tony's favourite Cool
Report Jez_Punter December 10, 2011 7:33 AM GMT
Labor now practises what Greens preach
December 8, 2011
Paul Sheehan, Sydney Morning Herald


When the Australian people voted in last year's federal election, most of them did not vote for the Greens nor did they endorse a Coalition government involving the Greens. But that's what they got.

In the vote for the House of Representatives, where government is decided, 94 per cent of the adult population voted and 88 per cent of their collective primary vote went to parties other than the Greens. Yet in the ensuing 15 months all the big policy shifts by the Gillard government - none of which was put to the electorate - have been towards core policies of the Greens.

The Prime Minister said no to a carbon tax. We have a carbon tax. She said no to open borders. We have de facto open borders. She said no to gay marriage. Support for gay marriage is now Labor Party policy. She put off indefinitely any substance of an emissions trading scheme. The machinery for such a scheme has been legislated. She said little about giving trade unions sweeping new rights. The unions are now acting on sweeping new rights.

Advertisement: Story continues below
Yet another brick in the Green wall was put in place this week when Gillard and her cabinet made a mockery of the tender process, reversed itself again, and wasted millions of dollars again, giving the running of the Australia Network to the ABC, indefinitely.

The Greens, utterly wedded to big government, wanted this tax-funded Australian overseas TV network to be part of the ABC. The Greens will propose legislation seeking to make this happen next year.

It already has, effectively. The network will operate as part of the ABC despite losing the tender process to Sky News and despite the ABC's dreadful 24-hour news network being grossly inferior to Sky News.

On a much larger scale, the government's decision this week to expand the refugee intake from 14,000 to 20,000 a year was another capitulation to a core Green policy.

Having inherited no asylum-seeker problem when it took office in 2007, the Labor government promptly changed the policy, softened the language and reinvigorated the people-smuggling industry.

It then embarked on achieving the worst of both worlds by maintaining a punitive detention policy, opening and filling detention centres around the country, detaining more people for longer than ever before. All while not stopping the boats.

The cost of this debacle has blown out to $1 billion a year. The government has given up, blamed the opposition and will now process asylum-seekers onshore in Australia - Greens policy. It will release them into the community more quickly - another core Greens policy.

To absorb the inevitable increase in asylum-seeker arrivals, it is simply increasing the refugee intake.

Had Julia Gillard taken this policy to the people in August last year, she would have lost the election.

Had she been forthcoming about her views on a carbon tax, she would have lost the election.

Had she revealed her desire to commit Australia to an emissions trading scheme as soon as possible, she would have lost the election.

Another telling detail emerged this week, from Durban, South Africa, where Australia is participating in the latest round of global talks on climate change. The government is supporting a binding agreement to set limits on global emissions.

It is anxious not to become isolated in its commitment to a global emissions trading scheme, which does not yet exist. But the only two governments that really matter on this subject, the United States and China, the world's two greatest polluters, have both been blocking binding commitments.

The week began with another shift to Greens policy with the formal endorsement by the Labor Party of support for gay marriage.

Another core Gillard policy was set aside by her party, if not by its leader, as Labor moved ground on the issue that probably matters more to the Greens than any other.

Now the government is shifting on another Greens issue, increasing the power of the unions. It is reviewing the Fair Work Act, the building block of industrial relations law.

The inevitable result will be that it seeks to make the law more union-friendly than it already is.

The Prime Minister's commitment to paying her debts to the unions was laid bare when she agreed to dismantle the highly effective Australian Building and Construction Commission, which was cleaning up an industry plagued by violence, blackmail and collusion.

The campaign to get rid of the commission (replaced by a building industry inspectorate with far less power) was led by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, which had been fined $3 million by the commission for numerous corrupt practices.

The union's campaign was supported by the Greens, an unsavoury alliance given the industry's long history of corruption.

Unsavoury, but effective within the larger alliance Julia Gillard has made with the Greens.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/labor-now-practises-what-greens-preac...
Report Jez_Punter December 10, 2011 7:36 AM GMT
And so the boat flow continues......what will womble say when another boatload perish????
I suppose he'll have crocodile tears.

What a disgrace.  Open borders.  Free flowing boats.
And Australia without ANY border security policy WHATSOEVER.

Labor's 2010 election campaign featured adverts stating:
"Tough new laws against people smuggling"

Little did the Australia people know that instead of putting people smugglers out of business, they would actually encourage them to flourish.  What a waste of space this government is.  It beggars belief.

Asylum-seeker boat intercepted

by: AAP
From: Herald Sun December 10, 2011


A BOAT carrying an estimated 72 passengers and two crew has been intercepted south-east of Ashmore Islands yesterday evening.

The boat was boarded by Border Protection Command intercepts vessel HMAS Broome, under the control of Border Protection Command.

The vessel was initially detected by a Customs and Border Protection Dash 8 surveillance aircraft, operating under the control of Border Protection Command.

Initial indications suggest there are 72 passengers and two crew on board.

Border Protection Command will make arrangements for the passengers to be transferred to Christmas Island, where they will undergo initial security, health and identity checks and their reasons for travel will be established.
Report Jez_Punter December 10, 2011 7:42 AM GMT
Angela Shanahan makes some succinct points in today's Weekend Oz.

Marriage is between a man and a woman.  Simple as that.

The Coalition and Tony Abbott must not bow to this "Green agenda".

Same sex civil unions and financial arrangements have been in place for some time.

IMO the status quo must remain.  And a conscience vote would be a poor idea.


When it comes to gay marriage, say no to a conscience vote
BY: ANGELA SHANAHAN
From: The Australian
December 10, 2011


IF I were presumptuous enough to give any advice from the suburban homefront to the leader of the opposition, I would say: "Tony, Just Say No to a conscience vote on gay marriage". The Labor Party might not have enough numbers to pass a bill, but a conscience vote for the opposition could deliver enough numbers to get it through.

So all Abbott would be doing would be bowing to Labor and Greens pressure - well actually, Greens pressure. He has been trying to avoid the Captain Catholic tag but he should forget that. The good ordering of society is what any conservative political leader is supposed to uphold. And h shouldn't think too much because his naturally charitable and intellectually complex nature will get him into a mess. Forfeiting a frontbench position is surely, even for Malcolm Turnbull, a small price to pay for exercising one's conscience.

No is not always a negative. Granting a conscience vote on gay marriage won't send up Abbott's standing up with Mr and Mrs Average. It is true they think he is reactive and doesn't have any positive policies, and are ambivalent about his mercurial personality. But this issue gives the opposition a chance to turn the situation on its head.

Ironically, the fight over gay marriage could give Abbott and his wimpy Liberal colleagues the chance to shine as the champions of the regular mum, dad and kids family. So instead of caving in to the deconstructionists the Liberals should use this turmoil as an opportunity to introduce policies to bolster marriage and the responsibilities for child rearing that go with it. The Coalition now has the perfect opportunity to set itself up as the champion of families, the champion of real life as opposed to the looking-glass version.

Abbott became leader of the opposition because of a definite and defiant stand against a carbon emission scheme. This is more important. By not bowing to pressure for a conscience vote on homosexual marriage, Abbott would be placing himself as a bulwark against the radical social deconstructionists. The Coalition would be seen to be standing for something positive.

There is no overwhelming consensus in the community about this fundamental shift in social values and people know it has nothing to do with equality. Among the average married hoi polloi, who already feel like second-class citizens, homosexual marriage is rightly seen as a further downgrading of marriage, a parody of the real thing, because the fight is not just about tradition, it is about the sex. It is an Orwellian attempt to enforce a new moral paradigm about sexual relations by legislative fiat; to give moral legitimacy by conferring political legitimacy.

The enforcers were out on the weekend noisily insulting those who opposed their sexual agenda as bigots: good people, such as Joe de Bruyn, who understand the interests of "working families" which Labor championed before the Green putsch. That didn't matter to these zealots.

As Abbott suggested in his book Battle Lines, marriage is debased and it could be rethought. Even prominent gay journalist Andrew Sullivan said gay marriage could succeed only because normal heterosexual marriage was debased. The Gramscian Long March through marriage and the family has been quite deliberate. Beginning with the liberalisation of divorce, it continued with reform that gave the non-married, straight or gay, the same rights as the married, and has now deconstructed not just marriage but parenthood to the point where the law allows blatant lies on children's birth certificates about their parentage.

We need policies that help married families and the government needs to give the family more status, rather than equating them with any old grouping. Why? For one thing we know children are better off with a married mum and dad. Last week the Institute of Family Studies came out with figures on this.

It's always the same. Stable families produce stable children. Interestingly, the divorce rate in Australia has levelled off. Although a third of children are born out of wedlock, most of those parents marry, and 73 per cent of Australian children live with their mother and father. The average Australian marriage lasts 21 years, so perhaps only those

Those of us who toil daily at the kitchen sink were buoyed by Abbott's narrow election as leader of the opposition. But our hopes someone would put some commonsense policies forward for the average married couple with kids were rather dented when Abbott's only family policy was an overly generous and expensive maternity leave scheme. That would benefit one set of already well-off families, while doing nothing at all for the deteriorating financial situation of the ones who are least well-off.

In Battle Lines, Abbott considered quite a lot of economic measures and few social measures to support the family but has not taken any of them further, except the maternity leave scheme. It seems he is a captive of the discourse of gender-equity theorists whose vision of support for the family revolves narrowly around women and work. Indeed the whole family support and social security structure has been feminised. With the effective disappearance of fathers from the economic and social equation, it is no wonder the agenda is a lesbian-dominated push for gay marriage.

The gay marriage fight gives Abbott the chance to shine as the champion of the mum, dad, kids family. So do it, Tony. Forget the monarchy: we don't need fairytale weddings. We need ordinary families. Look to the good ordering of society, and champion its core institution, the natural family, if you want to succeed.
Report Joel December 10, 2011 8:15 AM GMT
oh ffs he's back Cry
Report Jez_Punter December 10, 2011 8:27 AM GMT
LaughLaughLaughLaughWink
Report wombleoz December 11, 2011 7:52 AM GMT
things would be running much more smoothly if the major parties got out of the way and let the Greens run the show imo Cool

either way they've had a good year

if you're so keen on "stopping the boats" Jez --why doesn't the party you support vote for the governments policy???  although i hope they don't, it's great having the Liberals voting with the Greens to make onshore processing - which is the best policy in the long run - reality.

Labor well and truly back in the game after being way out of reach on months ago Cool

welcome back Jez
Report Jez_Punter December 15, 2011 10:16 AM GMT
Julia Gillard ratings fall in Nielsen poll ahead of reshuffle

From: AAP
December 12, 2011


ON a day when Prime Minister Julia Gillard is set to shake up her Cabinet, the latest Nielsen poll has provided a setback for her.

The poll in Fairfax newspapers shows the Coalition has boosted its two-party lead over Labor by two points to 57-43 per cent.

It also shows Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has gone further ahead as preferred prime minister, leading Ms Gillard 46-42 per cent - last month they were neck and neck.

Ms Gillard's approval rating fell by four points to 35 per cent.

Her party's primary vote has weakened a point to 29 per cent while the Coalition's has gone up four points to 49 per cent.

In the poll of 1400 people, the prime minister's disapproval rating edged up one point to 58 per cent, with Mr Abbott's disapproval rating dropping one point to 53 per cent.

His approval rating was steady at 41 per cent.

Of those polled, only 32 per cent backed the prime minister's policy on selling uranium to India, with 57 per cent opposed.

On gay marriage, 57 per cent approved of same-sex unions, down five points since November.
Report Jez_Punter December 15, 2011 10:17 AM GMT
No word from wombleoz, surprise SURPRISE

LaughLaughLaughLaugh
Report wombleoz December 15, 2011 10:45 AM GMT
I'll wait for Newspoll
Report Jez_Punter December 18, 2011 4:02 AM GMT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bBTI5f2pX2o

Labor's new minister, Julie Collins

LaughLaughLaughLaugh
Report Jez_Punter December 18, 2011 4:04 AM GMT
Cracks appear as Martin Ferguson refuses to back Prime Minister Julia Gillard

BY SIMON BENSON
The Daily Telegraph
December 16, 2011


Senior cabinet minister Martin Ferguson yesterday dropped a potential bombshell by refusing to publicly back the Prime Minister, claiming his first allegiance was to the Labor Party, The Daily Telegraph reported.

As the fallout from Ms Gillard's bungled reshuffle continued, senior Labor sources admitted that supporters of the PM were preparing battle plans for a possible challenge from Kevin Rudd.

And a senior cabinet minister confirmed they thought it likely that a challenge would be brought on by either March or April next year.

"There comes a point when you start to think how much longer can this go on," the minister said.

"In the end it doesn't matter who win or loses, it just has to be resolved."

Mr Ferguson yesterday responded to reports that he and five other cabinet ministers, including dumped cabinet minister Kim Carr, had switched allegiances from Ms Gillard to Mr Rudd.

"I'm loyal to the Labor Party," he said.

"I've got a job as Minister for Energy, Resources and Tourism, which is a pretty demanding workload, and I have a very professional relationship with both Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd.

"It's about continuing to do the job I have responsibility for. I'm not going to respond to press speculation."

His response echoed the equivocation used by both Ms Gillard and Mr Rudd in recent days about whether they liked each other.

Senior government sources said last night the suggestion Mr Ferguson and Senator Carr had switched from Ms Gillard to Mr Rudd was "ridiculous" because it had already been assumed by most in the caucus that they were already in the Rudd camp.

Robert McClelland, who was sacked as attorney-general but remained in the cabinet following the intervention of the NSW right faction, yesterday made a rare appearance on cable television to publicly support Ms Gillard.

He said Ms Gillard had "my full support".

"She's got a new ministry and they're all very keen, of course, to get on with their new jobs," he told Sky News. He then praised Nicola Roxon, the new Attorney-General, and said she would "do an outstanding job".

However, colleagues of Mr McClelland said he was "deeply unhappy" about being dumped and would probably back Mr Rudd in a leadership challenge.

New Health Minister Tanya Plibersek declined to say if Senator Carr would be working behind the scenes to help topple Ms Gillard.

"The government is strong and united," Ms Plibersek said.

"Your speculation about the internal workings of the government are not of interest to me today."

The Daily Telegraph revealed five weeks ago that senior backers of Mr Rudd were urging him to launch an early challenge, believing that he should have struck in November, or even earlier, when the polls were more dire.

The reports at the time were publicly dismissed by a number of key Labor MPs. However, several MPs contacted yesterday, who had previously pledged support for Ms Gillard, conceded there has been a push under way behind the scenes for months and confirmed the story was correct at the time but its publication had "spooked" supporters.

While not claiming they had switched their support, they said the issue needed to be resolved one way or the other in the new year.

"I believe Kevin will challenge. Whether he will have the numbers ... " one Gillard supporter said.

Mr Rudd's backers, who include MPs from both left and right factions from NSW, Victoria and South Australia, said there was no urgency about a return to Mr Rudd but said they believed the botched reshuffle had swung more numbers behind him.

They dismissed reports that any ministers had been offered promotions by Mr Rudd in return for their support.
Report Jez_Punter December 18, 2011 4:15 AM GMT
Where is wombleoz and his crocodile tears, I wonder?



Grave fears held for missing boatpeople after asylum vessel sinks off Indonesia
BY: PAUL MALEY From: The Australian December 18, 2011


MORE than 80 asylum-seekers have been rescued but up to another 160 are missing after an overcrowded boat bound for Australia sank off Indonesia.

The vessel, which survivors said was headed for Christmas Island, went down in bad weather and heavy seas about 40 nautical miles off the coast of Java early yesterday.

Indonesian authorities and survivors say there were around 250 people on the boat, including as many as 40 children, and most were from the Middle East.

The boat is believed to be a traditional fishing vessel with a capacity of around 100.

Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said Indonesian authorities had rescued 87 asylum-seekers and retrieved two bodies as part of a major rescue operation by the Indonesian navy and police.

“This is a terrible tragedy. People have died. There are still people still missing at sea,” Mr Clare told reporters in Sydney.

“Obviously grave fears are held for those on board.

“Local fishermen were on hand to rescue the 87 people picked up,” he said.

The sinking comes almost a year to the day since the Christmas Island boat disaster, which killed 50, and threatens to be one of the worst refugee boat disasters since the 2001 sinking of the SIEV X, which claimed 353 lives.

Australia has offered Indonesia the use of a P3 Orion surveillance aircraft and an Armidale Class patrol boat to help in the search and rescue if required.

Bad weather and 4-metre high waves were today hampering rescue efforts, said Lieutenant Alwi Mudzakir, an Indonesian maritime police official heading the operation.

“We fear that a large number of victims will not be rescued,” he said.

Police blamed the accident on overloading, telling Indonesia's official Antara news agency that the vessel appeared to have been carrying more than twice its capacity.

Lt Mudzakir said some of those who were rescued told authorities that they were determined to seek asylum in Australia.

He said about 250 asylum-seekers - mostly from Afghanistan, but also from Iraq, Iran and Turkey - were taken by four buses from Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, on Thursday by an unidentified group. The group promised to get the asylum-seekers to Christmas Island.

One of the survivors, Esmat Adine, told Antara that the ship started rocking from side to side, triggering widespread panic.

Because people were so tightly packed, they had nowhere to go, said the 24-year-old Afghan migrant.

“That made the boat even more unstable, and eventually it sank,” he said. Adine said that he and others survived by clinging to parts of the broken vessel until they were picked up by local fishermen.

He estimated that more than 40 children were on the ship. Lt Mudzakir said that two children and a woman were among those rescued.

Search team member Brian Gauthier said survivors were receiving assistance in the town of Prigi, around 30 kms from where the boat sank.

Rescuers believed some passengers were still alive and were likely suffering “severe dehydration”.

“They must be evacuated as soon as possible. They can't stay for long in the middle of the sea,” he said.

Indonesia has more than 18,000 islands and thousands of kilometres of unpatrolled coastline, making it a key transit point for smuggling migrants.

Last month, a ship carrying about 70 asylum-seekers from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan capsized off the southern coast of Central Java province, and at least eight people died.

Mr Clare fended off suggestions the latest disaster may cause the major parties to revisit passing laws that would reinstate Australia's Malaysia Solution, the High Court's quashing of which has been blamed for a recent surge in boat arrivals.

Mr Clare said today was not the day for politicking, although he added there would be “plenty of time for that” in the days and weeks ahead.
Report Jez_Punter December 18, 2011 4:17 AM GMT
We need a real solution on illegal boat arrivals.

Not just in Australia's interest, but in the interests of those who are seeking asylum.
And those languishing in camps across Burma, etc awaiting a legitimate opportunity.

Wombleoz, Julia Gillard and the Green-Labor team, ought to hang their heads in shame.

You have blood on your hands.

SHAME.  SHAME.  SHAME.
Report Jez_Punter December 18, 2011 4:18 AM GMT
Only Tony Abbott and the Coalition have a strong plan to strengthen our borders and prevent these senseless tragedies.  The ONLY deterrence to people smuggling is offshore processing.
Report earlycrow December 18, 2011 4:20 AM GMT
Blood on hands lol what a load of crap and to try and include Womble, you should run for a seat jez you would fit in well
Report Jez_Punter December 18, 2011 4:25 AM GMT
Crow, womble supports the Green arrangement of onshore processing and basically waving the green flag to people smuggling.  He must stand by his words.  These tragedies lie at the core of his views and those of this Green-Labor government.  This is not a time to shirk responsibility.  It's now a free for all.  We now have boats CRAMMED and packed to the rafters with Asylum Seekers....check out the numbers on this boat from yesterday.

It is senseless.
We had a strong system under John Howard and the Coalition.
But this government broke it.

It's time to stop the deaths.  To stop these senseless tragedies.
We need some real leadership.
Report earlycrow December 18, 2011 4:26 AM GMT
Spin of the highest order
Report Jez_Punter December 18, 2011 4:30 AM GMT
No spin crow.  It's fair dinkum.

Gillard, womble and co made their bed, now they must lie in it.

The responsibility for these tragedies lies fairly and squarely with Gillard Labor and their supporters.  Onshore processing is NOT the answer, unless you support a flourishing people smuggling trade - which wombleoz seems to.

The Opposition tried to work with the government and moved various amendments without success.
Labor is tied to its beloved Green bed fellow.

This is no spin.  This is a national tragedy, crow.

It's time for real leadership in this country.


Report Jez_Punter December 18, 2011 4:31 AM GMT
I love the way the left try to shirk responsibility.

ffs
Report Jez_Punter December 18, 2011 4:32 AM GMT
If this is the way you wanted it (onshore processing)..accept the fkn consequences.

Spare me the crocodile tears.
Report Jez_Punter December 18, 2011 4:32 AM GMT
Beleaguered Labor caught in a perfect storm
BY: PAUL KELLY, EDITOR-AT-LARGE
From: The Australian December 17, 2011



THE 2011 year inaugurated what is best called the New Australian Stress -- the nation is tied to Asia's growth cycle, susceptible to the economic crisis in the rich world, yet trapped in a domestic political mire that threatens to drown Gillard Labor.

To visitors Australia presents an incomprehensible paradox. The nation that survives the rich world financial crisis better than almost anybody has a Labor government burdened by flawed leadership, division and the worst ratings since polling began.

The disillusionment in Australia seems trivial compared with the problems of Europe and America. It is, however, meaningful in its own right. It testifies to alienation within the political system, equivocation about Australia's future path and the doubt over whether such a weakened government can deliver the reforms the nation needs.

Amid the tumult and contradictions the decisive question is rarely put: is this damaged Labor government capable of addressing the competitiveness and productivity hole into which Australia is sinking?

Beneath our prosperity and complacency, huge problems are accumulating for Australia. Their solution means that Australia, above all, must stand free of the crisis of Western democracy and government weakness in its European and American dimensions. It is poor governance in the eurozone and the US that has undermined the developed world and damaged the lives of citizens.

The eurozone faces a certain recession in 2012. The unknowns are its depth along with the economic and political fallout. While the US picture has brightened in recent months, its economy has yet to recover from the 2008-09 recession. The fear in the Atlantic zone is that the scale of the problems outrank the quality of the leadership. This is the worry that besets Australia.

For Julia Gillard, the year is ending as it began. The shadow over her leadership is lengthening. The effort to invest her government with a better look via a ministry reshuffle has exposed her authority problem and the pervasive threat from Kevin Rudd.

How long will the minority government last? Nobody knows. If Gillard has her way the parliament will run full term. But Gillard, as a realist, would know she cannot survive to the election with a primary vote in the 29-31 per cent zone. That is the death zone. Gillard must lift that vote.

Yet the story of recent weeks is her stalled effort to get momentum. She seems stuck between the entrenched scepticism of the public and her own failures of judgment.

The idea of Rudd's return is astonishing. How would Labor explain it? The perception would be that of a desperate party recycling failed leaders. Any notion of a smooth transition is fanciful. It would be tough and brutal given the depth of feeling across much of the caucus.

Gillard and Wayne Swan are tied together. If they fall, they fall together. Rudd would favour Chris Bowen as his treasurer.

A resurrected Rudd would need to alter the policy framework: that means reviewing the carbon scheme and ties with the Greens. The prospect of Labor staying united would be highly dubious. Rudd would be tempted to an early election figuring his stocks would be highest at his inception. If Rudd became PM it is most unlikely the parliament would run full term.

This year may become ominous in Labor history. It is when Gillard, having formed minority government in 2010, was unable to consolidate and fell away.

Labor's primary vote today is about eight percentage points below its 2010 result, a decline without precedent.

The party faces a new structural problem: fighting the Greens on its Left and the Coalition on its Right, and it has no answer.

Its last resort is to demonise Tony Abbott sufficiently to make him unelectable. But that works only if Labor itself is stable and credible.

Gillard is getting her laws (apart from the migration laws) through the parliament but her main 2011 achievement, the carbon pricing scheme, is unpopular and likely to remain unpopular.

With global action stalled for much of the decade this prompts the question: was Gillard's new passion for pricing carbon driven by Australia's national interest or Labor's political interest in making minority government work?

There is now deep tension between the parliament and the country and Gillard's survival is heavily identified with Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott and now Peter Slipper, figures whose choices probably mean they will not appear in the next parliament.

Abbott's central theme is about trust. His message is Labor's betrayal -- of its promises and its people. This notion has taken hold. It is tied into another idea as old as Australian politics, the hip-pocket nerve. Labor seems to have overlooked that Australia is becoming a more high-cost country.

In her speech last month outgoing Australian Industry Group chief Heather Ridout, who joins the Reserve Bank board next year, spelled it out: the higher dollar had changed prices so our exports are more expensive and import- competing businesses are now high-cost; international investors in their capital allocation "are ranking Australia as a high-cost option"; unit labour costs have been growing at a world-leading pace; our comparative advantage of cheap energy is eroding and Australia's locked-in $23 a tonne carbon price was "way out in front of the pack"; our interest rates and company tax are comparatively high. Ridout branded Australia "the Scandinavia of the Asia-Pacific but without Scandinavian productivity levels".

This hits a raw nerve in Australia's psychology.

The draft energy white paper this week identified $240 billion investment required to 2030 to maintain electricity and gas generation and distribution.

Resources Minister Martin Ferguson put the issue on the line: household electricity prices had risen 40 per cent in the past three years and will continue to rise given the investment required.

The point, Ferguson argued, was the imperative for a market-based approach to energy, greater efficiency, privatisation of assets and no pre-determined views about the best clean energy options.

The politics are apparent: if Labor imposes unnecessarily high costs on households it will be penalised by a ballot box revolt.

Ferguson knows that for too long Labor governments chose high-cost options in the cause of being green and assuming that Labor-voting low-income workers were too dumb to realise they were being played for mugs. That game is up.

Given the present global situation Labor struggles with a perplexing policy conundrum: how to protect Australia from the European crisis yet seize the opportunities from what Labor calls the coming Asian century.

Contrary to impressions, the latter task is the most challenging. There is no precedent in our past for this project. Australia is more divorced than ever in its history from the economic fate of Europe and America.

The shallow talk about exploiting the Asian century conceals the magnitude of the economic, political and cultural changes this involves.

Treasury chief Martin Parkinson in a speech this week, A Year in Retrospect, A Decade in Prospect, said Australia's economic growth was still about trend levels even as Europe's sovereign debt crisis intensified. What are his messages for Australia? Parkinson, in effect, says government must do two things: take hard fiscal decisions to keep Australia's public finances strong but simultaneously pursue an economic reform agenda to manage the global shocks and tackle the decline in our productivity performance.

It is a tall order. Revenue between 2008-09 and 2012-13 is down about $141bn on expectations. Achieving surplus means tough decisions as Swan has emphasised. What Parkinson didn't say, of course, is that Australia, free from any crisis of European or US dimensions, risks complacency undermining its will to reform. With a primary vote of 30 per cent and a minority government how much tough decisions can be expected from Labor?

Yet the Asian uplands await. From 2009 to 2020 the middle-class consumers in the Asia-Pacific are likely to rise from 500 million to 1.7 billion. This should be Australia's future. It is the reason Gillard commissioned Ken Henry's report on the Asian century.

Parkinson says the middle classing of Asia "creates a massive potential market" for Australia. This is not just commodities and energy but in education, manufacturing, tourism and agricultural exports for people with a more protein-rich diet.

Being competitive and productive is basic to this challenge. Yet many of the industries nominated for such Asian success are under pressure today from a combination of the high dollar, high costs, weak productivity and unintended policy consequences.

If this is the future, Labor needs to articulate such vision and prosecute the policy required across the board. The partial retreat of the carbon tax issue gave Labor a new policy chance: to exploit the advantage of incumbency, to set the agenda on its own terms and to tell the public what Labor stands for in 2011 and 2012.

The results, so far, are unimpressive. Nobody is any the wiser. Maybe Labor is too battered and bruised. Maybe it is too fixated on survival to devise an effective governing strategy. Maybe it is too focused on internal problems rather than Australia's problems.

But Labor, in forming minority government last year, has conscripted itself to the challenge. It needs to do a lot of hard thinking over summer and return with a better policy strategy and message for the people.

Otherwise, sooner or later, it will slide out of office.
Report Jez_Punter December 18, 2011 4:33 AM GMT
The two strong lines from this story:

The politics are apparent: if Labor imposes unnecessarily high costs on households it will be penalised by a ballot box revolt.

Ferguson knows that for too long Labor governments chose high-cost options in the cause of being green and assuming that Labor-voting low-income workers were too dumb to realise they were being played for mugs. That game is up.
Report wombleoz December 18, 2011 8:22 AM GMT
you are an absolute disgrace Jez, they are still searching for potential survivors and your here trying to score pathetic political points Angry
Report lazza December 18, 2011 8:25 AM GMT
That's what the polly's said today Womby...Just admit it ..The system isn't working!
Report wombleoz December 18, 2011 8:32 AM GMT
we'll never stop all the boats Lazza, it can't happen - so why spend hundreds of millions trying to push the problem overseas???

we need to work with Indonesia to get them to do more - they need to accept some responsibility for this as well - overall though, they rolled the dice, they lost - as awful as it is to say

it's very sad people are in a position that they feel they need to take the gamble in the first place though
Report lazza December 18, 2011 8:35 AM GMT
Indonesia couldn't care less imo
Report wombleoz December 18, 2011 8:46 AM GMT
true unfortunately Sad
Report AFL December 18, 2011 10:06 AM GMT
RE-People Smuggling trial regarding the SIEVX sinking in 2001

In April 2004 during the committal hearing of Khaleed Daoed in Brisbane, Daoed's lawyer, Walter Sofronoff QC, asked several highly pertinent questions of sole AFP witness Andrew Warton regarding the AFP's lack of pursuit of any Indonesian suspects in the case:


WS: In the evidence that you've collected for the purpose of this case there was evidence of Indonesian soldiers and an Indonesian Immigration official taking part in this smuggling operation?
AW: Certainly some of the witness statements contained those facts. Yes.

WS: And has a single Indonesian official been charged in relation to these matters?

AW: Not to my knowledge.

WS: Did you in the course of your investigation of this matter question a single Indonesian official in relation to this matter?

AW: I questioned a number of Indonesians in relation to this matter. We conducted enquiries in Indonesia and cooperating with Indonesian police so I asked questions of Indonesian police, yes.

WS: You understand what I mean. Did you question any Indonesian official as a possible suspect in this matter?

AW: No I didn't.

WS: Is there any reason why you didn't pursue that kind of line.

AW: The suspects in the investigation were Mr Daoed and others.

WS: But you had evidence from passengers who survived the capsize that an Indonesian officer whose photo hung on the wall received cash from Abu Quassey didn't you?

AW: There was certainly evidence contained in the statements to that effect. Yes.

WS: And you took not a single step to try and find out who that officer was? Not one, right?

AW: No, there was certainly steps taken in relation to a number of inquiries in Indonesia. Many of those steps were... taken prior to my taking carriage of this matter, that being mid-January of last year [2003].

WS: Yes, I'm not asking you for a general answer. You took not a single step to identify that Indonesian official.

AW: Personally that is correct. I did not.

WS: Why not Mr Warton?

AW: Because the focus of the investigation was on those immediately, directly involved in this international people smuggling syndicate.

WS: Well an Indonesian official in uniform whose photo evidently as an immigration official in that country was mentioned in statements, is not somebody that you regarded as directly involved. Is that the reason?

AW: As I say those allegations were certainly raised with the statements. The focus of our investigation was on the principal offenders, mainly Mr Daoed and others.

WS: Well, I'm not sure I understand your distinction between an official who takes a bribe to permit this to happen and Mr Daoed. What's the distinction in terms of principal offender and otherwise?

AW: The distinction is when I took carriage of this matter - mid-January last year [2003]– the principal suspects in this case were Mr Daoed and others. I can't speak for what was done prior to that in relation to Indonesian inquiries but my focus was on the principal people who had organised the venture from beginning to end.

WS: The word 'principal' is an adjective that a policeman applies to a suspect. Correct?

AW: That's correct.

WS: So whether somebody is a principal suspect or not depends upon whether you decide he's a principal suspect or not. Correct?

AW: To some degree I suppose, yes.

WS: And you had evidence from survivors that Daoed had some involvement and you pursued him, that's right isn't it?

AW: That's correct.

WS: And of course you had evidence that Abu Quassey had some involvement, you pursued him, correct?

AW: That's correct.

WS: This man Maythem, I take it you made inquiries about him?

AW: Inquiries have been made, yes.

WS: And you couldn't find him, is that the problem?

AW: Your worship I seek to invoke public interest immunity on the grounds of an ongoing investigation…

WS: You don't want to answer that… Alright. Righto. In any event he didn't drop from your radar screen did he?

AW: Once again I think that goes towards current police investigations.

WS: Righto I won't pursue that. But among all the people mentioned in the witness statements who are involved in this affair you took no steps to try to identify the Indonesian officer evidently involved in smuggling people into this country. That's right isn't it?

AW: Personally I didn't but as I say I can't speak for what occurred prior to my taking carriage of this matter.

WS: You're not aware of any such investigation?

AW: Not personally, no.

WS: And you don't know why Australian Law enforcement has exhibited no interest in finding that person and extraditing them?

AW: That's a question I'm not in a position to answer. I'm the case officer for this specific investigation. That's a matter well beyond my bounds. That's a policy question. It's a broader question.

Seven and a half years on from this exchange and more than ten years after the sinking it appears no Indonesians have ever been charged with offences in relation to SIEVX. When we asked the AFP to confirm this, the reply was: 'As this matter is going through a judicial process, it is not appropriate for the AFP to comment at this time'.

During the 2010 people smuggling trial of Hadi Ahmadi, the defence raised similar questions about named senior Indonesian officials' involvement in people smuggling. In that trial however, suppression orders were issued by the court due to the possibility of negatively impacting on Australia's diplomatic ties with Indonesia.

Since September 2000 the AFP has been working with select groups of Indonesian police on the ground in Indonesia to disrupt and dismantle people smuggling syndicates purportedly in lawful ways that do not threaten safety of life at sea. But a cloud of suspicion has hung over Australia's covert people smuggling disruption program in regard to the 2001 SIEVX sinking following revelations on the esteemed but now defunct current affairs program 'Sunday' in 2002 by Ross Coulthart concerning an AFP informant and explosive speeches by Senator John Faulkner the same year. Unanswered questions include: 'Were disruption activities directed against Abu Quassey? Did these involve SIEVX?'

While we respect Australia's commitment to tirelessly pursue all non-Indonesian parties possibly involved in the organisation of the fatal SIEVX voyage, our 'hands off' policy when it comes to investigating any suspected Indonesian police or military involvement in this affair is deeply troubling.

SOURCE  SIEVX.com
Report wombleoz December 18, 2011 11:44 AM GMT
interesting reading AFL, gives some hints as to why they have no interest in stopping the boats imo
Report Jez_Punter December 18, 2011 6:37 PM GMT
we'll never stop all the boats Lazza, it can't happen - so why spend hundreds of millions trying to push the problem overseas???

we need to work with Indonesia to get them to do more - they need to accept some responsibility for this as well - overall though, they rolled the dice, they lost - as awful as it is to say

it's very sad people are in a position that they feel they need to take the gamble in the first place though


What a dropkick answer, ffs.

Lazza is right, why can't you admit the system is not working womble?

Or are 160 dead asylum seekers the result you were after all along??????
Is this the master plan???  Kill them enroute to Australia????

Onshore processing fuels the people smuggling trade.
Money spent on offshore processing is well placed.
It secures our borders, slows the tide of illegal boat journeys (and deaths)
and it brings to a grinding halt, the people smuggling trade.

Wombleoz supports people smuggling.  He has no interest in stopping it.
Thats the bottom line.  He won't admit it
But his views allow for a flourishing people smuggling trade.

What a dispicable viewpoint.  How can one support such an evil trade?
But by default, thats where wombleoz stands.

He supports onshore processing and the results are clear.
This weekend, we see another examples.
160 dead and a flourshing people smuggling trade.

Well done wombleoz and to this Labor-Green government.

Mission accompolished.

Hang your fkn heads in shame.
Report AFL December 18, 2011 8:23 PM GMT
Just as many died trying to come here under the despicable  Howard Gov't Jez.

They started the training of the Indonessions in DETERENCE  and washed their hands of any responsability, when the Indonession's took it too far, and the deaths started to mount. IMO

But Howard was quite happy to accept the deaths at sea, deny any responsability for them and repeatedly lie about the location of the sinking and use the political fallout as means to gain Gov't.

Now that is DESPICABLE.

Devil
Report wombleoz December 18, 2011 9:48 PM GMT
Jez full of s h i t e same as usual - if he actually followed politics rather than just the Liberal Party website he would know that the Labor Party Platform now supports off-shore processing (i d io ts) - the only reason we don't have off-shore processing now is that the 2 major parties can't get their acts together

The Liberals want

1 - Nauru - which is highly questionable legally, has massive political troubles and from where th vast majority of boat people ended up in either Australia of New Zealand after suffering massive levels of mental health problems

2 - "tow the boats back" something the navy hates doing because it puts everyone's life at risk and something Indonesia has now said it will not accept

3 - TPV's - which have been found to cause massive problems for asylum seekers and was voted against by several Liberal members.

So in truth, they don't have a workable solution either

Jez once again sprouts the lie that I support people smugglers - people I have often called "the scum of the earth" - I have no hesitation in saying that convicted people smugglers should face the death penalty

There are answers out there but they involved countries working together on solutions not us off-shoring our at massive cost economically and morally
Report wombleoz December 31, 2011 7:20 AM GMT
oh well, year is very nearly done - time to wrap the thread up

some highlights of 2011

* The Carbon Tax - about bloody time we took some action, it's not perfect but it's a start - we're on our way to a cleaner future

* The Mining Tax - they haven't got the structure right and they could spend the proceeds more wisely but overall, excellent that we'll see greater benefit from OUR resources

* A step towards a Disability Insurance Scheme - long way to go and it won't be cheap but has to happen

* A good strong economy with low unemployment, low inflation and steady growth despite what's happening around the rest of the world - well done to The World's Greatest Treasurer

* Progress on health care with great funding funding from the  federal government

* Testing of the NBN pretty well complete and the roll out to ramp up in 2012

* Establishing the Parliamentary Budget Office - hopefully everyone uses it like they should

Low lights

* The pathetic attitudes of the major parties towards asylum seekers - ironically we currently have on-shore processing which is part of the longer term answer

* Qantas - how can a CEO do so much damage to his own company and seemingly get away with it???

* Backward steps taken by Labor on marriage equality and selling uranium to India

* The overall quality of Australia's politicians, while there are some good ones - we deserve a better bunch

Best political move of the year

Signing Slipper up as Speaker - gives Labor an extra number and makes things more stable, pretty well guarantees they will go full term

Overall mark out of 10 - 6, a pass in tough times
Report mickeyh December 31, 2011 7:40 AM GMT
So the Carbon Tax and NBN rate as your highlights do they?? Surely you jest.

NBN will go down in history as THE biggest waste of taxpayers money in Australian history. Fair chance it will even become obsolete before completion. Keep this thread somewhere and let's refer back in 5 or 6 years.

As for the "Carbon Tax", try working in an industry that will be heavily affected by this and tell me it's a good thing. Not to mention the fact that it will have close to zero impact in what it's supposedly trying to achieve. Surely it's not just another tax with a pretty environmentalist name attached to it???

As for Joyce and Qantas - good on him and the board for not being "slowly baked" by the unions, as they threatened they would. Labor and their sympathisers are blindingly beholden to the unions. It was about time that someone took a stand, if they hadn't you can be sure the union campaign would be continuing right now, making the most of the xmas and new year period and disrupting far more people than were disrupted the day the grounding took place.

"Fair Work Act" - surely the definition of an oxymoron.

Anyway, we're all entitled to an opinion, you gave yours so there's mine in response.

Happy new year to allGrin
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