New Australian Prime Minister 10:17 - Jun 26 with 2973 views | LOTR | Seems the Labor party has once again descended into civil war. Rudd will win, change the date of the election and take the Labor towards a losing election in August. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
New Australian Prime Minister on 10:22 - Jun 26 with 2964 views | TheBlob | Didn't Gillard get the party nomination by stealth anyway? | ![](/images/avatars/1330.gif) |
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New Australian Prime Minister on 10:50 - Jun 26 with 2920 views | ozexile | I'm no Abbott fan but please let's get rid of this labour government. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
New Australian Prime Minister on 13:05 - Jun 26 with 2824 views | WanderR | Labor is going lose whoever is in charge. | ![](/images/avatars/3063.gif) |
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New Australian Prime Minister on 13:23 - Jun 26 with 2810 views | qprmick |
New Australian Prime Minister on 10:50 - Jun 26 by ozexile | I'm no Abbott fan but please let's get rid of this labour government. |
Careful what you wish for, you don't remember Abbott as Minister for Health. Under the Labor government I am doing very nicely thank you. That may change. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) |
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New Australian Prime Minister on 15:55 - Jun 26 with 2752 views | hoof_hearted | They seem to have parties to the left and right dominated by a few extremists and their sport has all gone rubbish. They are 30 years behind us. Oh - my mistake. I forgot. It's the Bildeberg group now deciding that Australia had to be brought into line because the lizards were getting fed up. | ![](/images/avatars/1464.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
New Australian Prime Minister on 22:59 - Jun 26 with 2678 views | MrSheen | I'm going to miss that accent. Come back Julia! I love the sub-plot of Kevin Rudd and the current Finance Minister, Wayne Swan, being besties from their schooldays, rising up in politics together then falling out worse than Blair and Brown. I guess that's two senior ministers out of a job today. | ![](/images/avatars/1288.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
New Australian Prime Minister on 23:05 - Jun 26 with 2671 views | ozexile | Famous quote" don't judge Australia by its politicians". So true. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
New Australian Prime Minister on 01:06 - Jun 27 with 2634 views | aussiehoop |
New Australian Prime Minister on 13:23 - Jun 26 by qprmick | Careful what you wish for, you don't remember Abbott as Minister for Health. Under the Labor government I am doing very nicely thank you. That may change. |
We pay too much credence to the face of the party these days. A liberal/national govt is always going to be better for business and the economy than labour. Understand your point re doing nicely though. As a young single male earning a relatively good wage I can still spout the rubbish about judging a govt based on what it can do for the country as opposed to the individual... We'll see how long that lasts I guess :) | ![](/images/avatars/3065.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) | Login to get fewer ads
New Australian Prime Minister on 04:41 - Jun 27 with 2615 views | SydneyRs | "A liberal/national govt is always going to be better for business and the economy than labour." Seems to me the economy is doing very well under Labor in spite of difficult circumstances. The mining boom is finally drying up, not Labor's fault just inevitable it would hapen sometime. Company profits are well down due to the global financial situation therefore the government collects less taxes and currently has a budget deficit. Despite the propaganda in the tabloid TV and press, a deficit is perfectly acceptable from time to time. Most businesses and households go into debt to keep going do they not? Everyone thinks they are now an authority on the "economy" because they listen to the 15 second sharemarket and oil price update on Sunrise. The Libs bang on about surpluses yet forget to mention their claimed genius treasurer Costello merely rode on a strong economic wave not of his making. What did he do with the money? Save for harder times? Invest in infrastucture? No, just handed out populist tax cuts and stupid housing grants that helped the market get far too expensive. Australia makes most of its money by digging rocks out of the ground, rocks it is fortunate to have and even more fortunate were in heavy demand by China during the worst of the financial crisis. Neither party can claim credit for having the rocks or the Chinese wanting them to build stuff with, yet both try to. Labor and Gillard have made mistakes, no doubt. Every goverment does, but the way she has been treated by the media is a disgrace. We didn't have a recession while everyone else did, we have close to full employment (have a look at Euro and US stats) and a housing market which is possibly the most expensive in the world while other developed countries have slumped. Tough times eh? Yet all we get is moaning an negativity by people unable to think for themselves who get their opinions from the commercial media, a media which is almost 100% behind the Libs and Abbott. Abbott needs to do and say little because his job is being done for him. Given his proven record over many years of putting his foot in his mouth its the perfect scenario for him. Rudd will likely give Abbott a bigger fight than Gillard could have, if for no other reason than he is male and will not be treated the way she was by the media. It is still likely though that we will get an Abbott government and then he will actually have to do something. It promises to be entertaining given his proven "ability" over a long time in politics. This won't be the last leadership spill we see. Australian politics is at an all time low where nobody stands for anything chasing opinion polls is the norm. The media dictates who the majority of the public support. Anyone who thinks an Abbott government will improve this is kidding themselves. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
New Australian Prime Minister on 06:06 - Jun 27 with 2603 views | isawqpratwcity | The only thing that has got me looking forward to an Abbott government is that we will see his mindless mantras of "Stop the Boats" and "Axe the Tax" to be the facile aspirations that they are. It is ridiculous how Labour got sucked into the Coalition's rhetoric about how Labour can never deliver a surplus and how Labour squandered the surplus generated by the Howard government. Following Coalition cant on this would have plunged Australia deep into the worldwide GFC recession and led to Labour vainly attempting to achieve a balance of payments when the county's debt is manifestly low by comparison annd most economists were advising that a surplus at this time would be unwise. Yes, there is the widely held opinion that the Coalition is the better option for managing the economy, but the GFC gave the lie to that. Howard trumpeted that "interest rates will always be lower under a Coalition government" and that proved not to be the case, too. It is true that Australians let the media do their thinking for them and the media is at best neutral and at worst (eg Newscorp) rabidly pro-Abbott and anti-Gillard. As for the Rudd-Gillard saga, it came about because Rudd was seen to be destined to lose the next election in 2010 and hence lost the support of his caucus. It happens in politics. It happened again last night. But one major criticism of the Gillard government is that it is somehow 'illegitimate' because it is a minority government. That is absolute crap because the disposition of votes at the last election meant that whichever side negotiated with the independents to form a government was always going to be a minority government. As it happened, Gillard would probably have won the 2010 election outright but for the persistent and highly damaging leaks coming from the Rudd camp, designed to make Gillard lose the election and hence expose the folly of deposing Rudd. I'm willing to bet we will not see the same scurrilous behaviour from Gillard supporters this election. So, I am disappointed that we are losing Gillard, a person of genuine mettle, to be replaced by Rudd, a charming, unethical egotist, bordering on sociopath. But that aside, Rudd's re-ascession changes the dynamic hugely. It does give Labour an outside chance of winning the next election, and certainly will result in there being a lot more Labour MPs and senators than there would have been had it been a Gillard v Abbott campaign. | ![](/images/avatars/3653.gif) |
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New Australian Prime Minister on 06:43 - Jun 27 with 2590 views | distortR | I love this. The Australian people voted for Rudd, and got Gillard. Then they voted for Gillard, and got Rudd!! The recent Gillard 'menu' was hurtful and shameful imho. when I lived in oz there were pictures of Abbot in his budgie smugglers. Please do not vote this man in, for god's sake! | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
New Australian Prime Minister on 11:06 - Jun 27 with 2523 views | aussiehoop |
New Australian Prime Minister on 04:41 - Jun 27 by SydneyRs | "A liberal/national govt is always going to be better for business and the economy than labour." Seems to me the economy is doing very well under Labor in spite of difficult circumstances. The mining boom is finally drying up, not Labor's fault just inevitable it would hapen sometime. Company profits are well down due to the global financial situation therefore the government collects less taxes and currently has a budget deficit. Despite the propaganda in the tabloid TV and press, a deficit is perfectly acceptable from time to time. Most businesses and households go into debt to keep going do they not? Everyone thinks they are now an authority on the "economy" because they listen to the 15 second sharemarket and oil price update on Sunrise. The Libs bang on about surpluses yet forget to mention their claimed genius treasurer Costello merely rode on a strong economic wave not of his making. What did he do with the money? Save for harder times? Invest in infrastucture? No, just handed out populist tax cuts and stupid housing grants that helped the market get far too expensive. Australia makes most of its money by digging rocks out of the ground, rocks it is fortunate to have and even more fortunate were in heavy demand by China during the worst of the financial crisis. Neither party can claim credit for having the rocks or the Chinese wanting them to build stuff with, yet both try to. Labor and Gillard have made mistakes, no doubt. Every goverment does, but the way she has been treated by the media is a disgrace. We didn't have a recession while everyone else did, we have close to full employment (have a look at Euro and US stats) and a housing market which is possibly the most expensive in the world while other developed countries have slumped. Tough times eh? Yet all we get is moaning an negativity by people unable to think for themselves who get their opinions from the commercial media, a media which is almost 100% behind the Libs and Abbott. Abbott needs to do and say little because his job is being done for him. Given his proven record over many years of putting his foot in his mouth its the perfect scenario for him. Rudd will likely give Abbott a bigger fight than Gillard could have, if for no other reason than he is male and will not be treated the way she was by the media. It is still likely though that we will get an Abbott government and then he will actually have to do something. It promises to be entertaining given his proven "ability" over a long time in politics. This won't be the last leadership spill we see. Australian politics is at an all time low where nobody stands for anything chasing opinion polls is the norm. The media dictates who the majority of the public support. Anyone who thinks an Abbott government will improve this is kidding themselves. |
"Everyone thinks they are now an authority on the "economy" because they listen to the 15 second sharemarket and oil price update on Sunrise." Definitely don't watch Sunrise :) I do however work in Corporate/Institutional banking and the stats are damning. Business confidence is seriously hampered by labour governments. For what it's worth I'm not Abbott's biggest fan. A country led by Malcolm Turnbull and a strong labour opposition would be my preference, however I don't see this eventuating. Labour is losing a lot of experience and dare I say it talent as a result of this change... The best thing that can happen for them is a whitewash at the election which will hopefully result in the end of Rudd. Only then can they start again and actually have some promise as a viable political party. Too much infighting has seriously eroded their integrity. Definitely echo your comments re a lack of policy debate. I fear that for the next couple of months we will be forced to watch two powerful plebs throw mud at each other with no promise of serious policy debate whatsoever. | ![](/images/avatars/3065.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
New Australian Prime Minister on 11:07 - Jun 27 with 2521 views | aussiehoop |
New Australian Prime Minister on 11:06 - Jun 27 by aussiehoop | "Everyone thinks they are now an authority on the "economy" because they listen to the 15 second sharemarket and oil price update on Sunrise." Definitely don't watch Sunrise :) I do however work in Corporate/Institutional banking and the stats are damning. Business confidence is seriously hampered by labour governments. For what it's worth I'm not Abbott's biggest fan. A country led by Malcolm Turnbull and a strong labour opposition would be my preference, however I don't see this eventuating. Labour is losing a lot of experience and dare I say it talent as a result of this change... The best thing that can happen for them is a whitewash at the election which will hopefully result in the end of Rudd. Only then can they start again and actually have some promise as a viable political party. Too much infighting has seriously eroded their integrity. Definitely echo your comments re a lack of policy debate. I fear that for the next couple of months we will be forced to watch two powerful plebs throw mud at each other with no promise of serious policy debate whatsoever. |
What do I know anyway... Can't even spell "Labor" correctly :) | ![](/images/avatars/3065.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
New Australian Prime Minister on 11:36 - Jun 27 with 2510 views | isawqpratwcity |
New Australian Prime Minister on 11:06 - Jun 27 by aussiehoop | "Everyone thinks they are now an authority on the "economy" because they listen to the 15 second sharemarket and oil price update on Sunrise." Definitely don't watch Sunrise :) I do however work in Corporate/Institutional banking and the stats are damning. Business confidence is seriously hampered by labour governments. For what it's worth I'm not Abbott's biggest fan. A country led by Malcolm Turnbull and a strong labour opposition would be my preference, however I don't see this eventuating. Labour is losing a lot of experience and dare I say it talent as a result of this change... The best thing that can happen for them is a whitewash at the election which will hopefully result in the end of Rudd. Only then can they start again and actually have some promise as a viable political party. Too much infighting has seriously eroded their integrity. Definitely echo your comments re a lack of policy debate. I fear that for the next couple of months we will be forced to watch two powerful plebs throw mud at each other with no promise of serious policy debate whatsoever. |
"Business confidence is seriously hampered by labour governments." This is the prejudice that governments battle against. Absolutely the Rudd and Gillard governments did appropriate measures agasinst the GFC, but was that recognised? You know the Keyesian measures implemented carried the Australian economy through. Nobody gives any credit for that, by misunderstanding or politicking. And, to a certain extent, I agree with you, I would much rather a Turnbull government than Abbott. | ![](/images/avatars/3653.gif) |
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New Australian Prime Minister on 11:39 - Jun 27 with 2509 views | ade_qpr |
New Australian Prime Minister on 11:06 - Jun 27 by aussiehoop | "Everyone thinks they are now an authority on the "economy" because they listen to the 15 second sharemarket and oil price update on Sunrise." Definitely don't watch Sunrise :) I do however work in Corporate/Institutional banking and the stats are damning. Business confidence is seriously hampered by labour governments. For what it's worth I'm not Abbott's biggest fan. A country led by Malcolm Turnbull and a strong labour opposition would be my preference, however I don't see this eventuating. Labour is losing a lot of experience and dare I say it talent as a result of this change... The best thing that can happen for them is a whitewash at the election which will hopefully result in the end of Rudd. Only then can they start again and actually have some promise as a viable political party. Too much infighting has seriously eroded their integrity. Definitely echo your comments re a lack of policy debate. I fear that for the next couple of months we will be forced to watch two powerful plebs throw mud at each other with no promise of serious policy debate whatsoever. |
Well said, you are right on the money with your last paragraph. | ![](/images/avatars/3951.gif) |
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New Australian Prime Minister on 12:39 - Jun 27 with 2486 views | isawqpratwcity |
New Australian Prime Minister on 11:39 - Jun 27 by ade_qpr | Well said, you are right on the money with your last paragraph. |
Do I get the impression that most Aussie ex-pats are Thatcherite wannabees (SydneyRs excepted)? The last six years here are a classic evocation to Keyesian stimulation, and no-one has the guts to admit it worked, and worked bloody well. Suffer in your jocks. | ![](/images/avatars/3653.gif) |
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New Australian Prime Minister on 12:49 - Jun 27 with 2474 views | Clive_Anderson |
New Australian Prime Minister on 12:39 - Jun 27 by isawqpratwcity | Do I get the impression that most Aussie ex-pats are Thatcherite wannabees (SydneyRs excepted)? The last six years here are a classic evocation to Keyesian stimulation, and no-one has the guts to admit it worked, and worked bloody well. Suffer in your jocks. |
I'm guessing they haven't had the British version Keyesian stimulus which seems to be to overspend in the boom followed by spending even more in the downturn to try and create another boom where you can overspend again. Did they manage to avoid the massive credit boom that most of the West seems to have suffered from? | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
New Australian Prime Minister on 12:54 - Jun 27 with 2469 views | isawqpratwcity |
New Australian Prime Minister on 12:49 - Jun 27 by Clive_Anderson | I'm guessing they haven't had the British version Keyesian stimulus which seems to be to overspend in the boom followed by spending even more in the downturn to try and create another boom where you can overspend again. Did they manage to avoid the massive credit boom that most of the West seems to have suffered from? |
And the British (non) version worked? And the Australian didn't? | ![](/images/avatars/3653.gif) |
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New Australian Prime Minister on 13:14 - Jun 27 with 2454 views | isawqpratwcity |
New Australian Prime Minister on 12:54 - Jun 27 by isawqpratwcity | And the British (non) version worked? And the Australian didn't? |
Jeez Clive I cannot find the edit botton to tell you how wrong you are. Australia pumped deollars into home insulation (large labour component and strong global warming/energy saving benefits) and school halls (promote education and assist the building sector). It worked. The Australian economy grew threw that, and subsequent periods. Who else did that? | ![](/images/avatars/3653.gif) |
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New Australian Prime Minister on 13:16 - Jun 27 with 2447 views | Clive_Anderson |
New Australian Prime Minister on 13:14 - Jun 27 by isawqpratwcity | Jeez Clive I cannot find the edit botton to tell you how wrong you are. Australia pumped deollars into home insulation (large labour component and strong global warming/energy saving benefits) and school halls (promote education and assist the building sector). It worked. The Australian economy grew threw that, and subsequent periods. Who else did that? |
Eh? I asked if they saved during the boom to spend in the downturn as the UK didn't. I think doing that and then spending it on say house building would be infinitely better than what the UK did/are doing. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
New Australian Prime Minister on 13:43 - Jun 27 with 2428 views | isawqpratwcity |
New Australian Prime Minister on 13:16 - Jun 27 by Clive_Anderson | Eh? I asked if they saved during the boom to spend in the downturn as the UK didn't. I think doing that and then spending it on say house building would be infinitely better than what the UK did/are doing. |
Australia didn't apprecioate it was in the 'boom' times, much more than Britain, in the post North Sea Oil era. The mining surplus was always directed to 'mioddle income' tax cuts. | ![](/images/avatars/3653.gif) |
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