MyPollie: Time to tell the leaders what you really think

TimB says:

07:01am | 20/12/10

You gave Rudd a 2? Generous. As far as I’m concerned he should tie with Roxon on a big fat zero.

I’ll agree with the single point given to Gillard, but only because she knifed the incomptent Rudd. About the only positive thing she’s done.

That being said, I’ll give 3 points to whichever pollie knifes the even more incompetent Gillard.

TChong says:

07:04am | 20/12/10

EX ALP - you seem to have issues with Nursr Practioners, You claim that NPs have no real hospital/ medical experience , while the prerequiite is for those NPs to have done atleast 5 years of clinical work before commencing the courses.
Medical Officers - “Doctors” have far less clinical experience when they commence practice in the Health System.
Please try to find out the facts.

PaulB says:

07:30am | 20/12/10

The GFC is not a non-event and it is far from over.  I just hope our Banks have remained prudent and steered clear of America’s toxic, larcenous Banks.

Ex ALP voter says:

07:48am | 20/12/10

TChong I’m thinking of a word…..what is it…..yea now I remember, it is called propaganda. NP do not have the same training, expectations, responsibility, accountability, or full work experience including overtime as a medical officer in a hospital. So if I hang out with pilots ever so often, read a few manuals and get away with a few crash landings, does that make me qualified to fly a plane? A very commendable effort in giving us the wrong impression (from my point of view).

ps: I don’t have anything against NPs, I just don’t think we need to add another unnecessary layer (NPs) to health and neglect another more significant layer (doctors). If the NP wants to be given those rights they have to manage the whole patient.

JMCC says:

08:12am | 20/12/10

Shame on you old mate, memberof the AMA? Lib’ dressed in ALP clothing, what a dishonest blog you should bow youe head in shame

David of Adelagado says:

08:16am | 20/12/10

Kevin Rudd has a severe personality disorder and is possibly insane. Malignant narcissism is one of his problems but he is a complex melting pot.  His tears for the stolen generations were not for those people but were actually an expression of his love for himself. The drama and emotion of being at the centre of such a grand display of public emotion simply brought him to tears of joy. It was a narcissists ultimate dream come true. He needs to be sacked before he disgraces us further.

Rebecca says:

08:33am | 20/12/10

I think Rudd deserves a few extra points for the Aboriginal Apology…. you gotta admit that was good

john says:

09:51am | 20/12/10

@Rebecca,
Now we are all sorry, even aboriginals.

Likes Joining Dots says:

10:02am | 20/12/10

If you check the MyPollie charts, Rudd scored 10/10 in the “robust” language index.  Some believe this may have skewed his overall rating towards the positive.

Jon says:

10:15am | 20/12/10

Roxon and the nursing union should be ashamed of themselves, throwing votes the ALP way for nurses to get in on earning more money by doing jobs they are clearly not trained for. Quid pro quo? This clearly needs investigating. It is one thing to claim the AMA and doctors are greedy but another to allow unqualified nurses to get away with doing jobs that they aren’t qualified for. What regulatory college is doing the training program or standardised exams for them? Are they getting the same training in all hospitals? Do they have acredited supervisors? Do they have CPD (continued proffesional development) requirements? Are they ALL trained with the same syllbus? This is really fishy!

Roxon gets a -10/10!

Public Speaker says:

11:45am | 20/12/10

Jon you are a useless moron, Nurse practitioners are trained at University with a masters degree, after not just hanging out with doctors but actually doing all the work. If you actually get off your high horse most patients lives are saved by nurses not doctors, who rely on nurses to pick up when something wrong is done, and if the patient is deteriorating. Do you think the doctor actually sees his patients for more than 3 minutes while nurses spend 8 to 12 hours with them. The course actually teaches them how to diagnose, prescribe etc. After they have finished their masters degree Nurse Practitioner have 5 to 6 years of university training in medicine. What does a Doctor have oh yes 4 years of medicine training, plus 4 years of an arts degree studying about philosophy. Get your facts right. Nurse Practitioners don’t want to take over the Docotrs job, but as in the USA they can actually supplement it, and bring down health costs. Lets be true to ourselves you need a 6 week appointment to see a GP if you get sick, now wouldn’t it be nice to actually see someone who could start the process and then be able to refer you to a GP as an urgent case thus seeing a GP in two days when you might have Cancer, then having to wait 6 weeks. Nurse Practitoners are employed by the Docotrs in the USA as they can get them working along side them bring in patinets and taking alot of the load off them. They appreciate them , here in Australia the AMA hates them, as they see them as competition and not as partners. Its time Doctors got off their high horses and saw how things are and that they are not GODS but ordinary men who need a hand as there is a doctors shortage in this country, and if a profession can actually do a good job and help aptients as it is about patients and not money then it has to be a good thing

Alf says:

01:13pm | 20/12/10

Ah, so now that the facts have been read out, you claim it is “propaganda.” What about the years of peer reviewed research that has been done? Are you going to say that they are invalidated due to your opinion? Get the facts straight please. For example, allow me to point to this study:

http://www.bmj.com/content/324/7341/819.full

Systematic review of whether nurse practitioners working in primary care can provide equivalent care to doctors

I am not gonna bother posting the full abstract as only the truly curious and analytic will read through it (as peer reviews will) but the conclusion from this systematic review is as follows:

“Conclusion: Increasing availability of nurse practitioners in primary care is likely to lead to high levels of patient satisfaction and high quality care.”

Granted that this is 2002 paper, but I can happily point out more recent ones should you require. One only needs to look at scholar.google.com and type in “nurse practitioner australia” to look at the hundreds, if not thousands, of heavily scrutinised research articles written on the subject of nurse practitioner viability.

Also, I have observed and experienced first hand on the usefulness of nurse practitioners in the emergency department of my local hospital which I have worked in for four weeks to fulfill a degree requirement which I will deign to mention. Every doctor in the department were grateful to have her there and the patients as well. Not once have I seen a patient ask for a doctor when the NP told them what she was and whether they would prefer to see a doctor. And besides, the NP consults the senior doctor in charge before making any significant diagnosis, which is precisely what nurse practitioners are there for, to be able to assist doctors in a larger capacity in order for them to be able to make more sound decisions and to look after more critical patients.

However, you sound largely conservative so I’d like to point out this interesting article as well:

http://www.badscience.net/2010/05/evidence-based-smear-campaigns/

“A new experiment published this month in the journal “Political Behaviour” sets out to examine the impact of corrections, and what they found was far more disturbing than they expected: far from changing peoples’ minds, if you are deeply entrenched in your views, a correction will only reinforce them.”

tl;dr I just wrote plenty of evidence that should change anyone’s stance on the subject but will no doubt instead reinforce a conservative’s mind set.

Bitten says:

01:28pm | 20/12/10

NPs vs. Drs?  Listen up people:  it doesn’t matter what your job title is, what your qualifications are or what you do. If you’re sh&t at your job, you’re sh&t at your job. No amount of hiding behind a union or a professional body, whining about how overworked you poor martyrs are will protect you. And yes: nurses get a great rap for being the selfless angels and the doctors are the evil ego-monsters, but here’s the reality: nurses can be sh&t at their jobs just like doctors can.

Lets all try a bit less pissing up walls and a bit more being good at our jobs, whatever they may be.

Andrew says:

02:29pm | 20/12/10

The whole ‘nurse practitioner vs doctor’ debate is a complete white elephant.  The real issue is the crippling cost of hospital administration.  There are now 3 non-medical staff in the hospital system for every medical staff (doctors, nurses, etc).  This compares to about a 1:1 ratio only 25 years ago, when there were no computers to help with admin tasks, etc.  The result of this farce is obvious - no money to fix our hospitals, and doctors and nurses both being overworked.  But of course, the government’s solution to this problem is to create a new committee or task force, ie more administrators, most of whom are completely incompetent.  Middle and upper management of public hospitals is bloated far beyond what is required, and the only way they can justify their jobs is to spend more and more public money on useless projects.  What is required is an immediate freeze on any new administrative appointments, until numbers have at least halved, and perhaps reclassifying a lot of the managers to positions where they are actually contributing something.  And, shock horror, even go back to the old system where DOCTORS with years of experience in the hospital system were given the administrative roles as well.

Jon says:

07:03pm | 20/12/10

Lets see. if I can explain this to the simple minded.

NPs are not doctors and they never will be. They can ONLY do a fraction of what a medical practioner can do.

We currently have a OVER supply of medical grads and this will be increasing, we have a UNDER supply of nurses in hospital as demontrated by the recent NSW/Queensland nursing strikes. So why not invest in training doctors to be doctors and nurses to be nurses.

NPs will be an additional cost layer to the health sector,

NP get to set their own limits in prescribing etc. This do it yourself assessment is DANGEROUS.

I’ve had my say, the brain washed masses can suffer in their own problems. Roxon is not a good Minister and that is a fact.

PK says:

04:30am | 21/12/10

II wish that some people would give over on the use of the expression “peer reviewed” as if it lent some sort of authority to their evidence. Or at least go out and learn what the process entails. The overuse of the expression seems to have diffused through the community after getting a good workout from the nuttier Global Warmists such as Graham Readfearn. ALL papers published in various scientific journals are “peer reviewed.” It is simply a device by which the editor avoids getting egg on his face by publishing absolute drivel in a field where he may not have expertise. The use of the expression as endowing some sort of imprimatur on the contents of a paper is either ignorant or dishonest.

Alf says:

01:00pm | 21/12/10

Umm, Jon, you do know that before NPs can actually do anything, they must have a document proposing their scope of practice and have to first get the approval of not only the director of nursing in their hospital, the proposed document has to be also read and signed by the director of pharmacy as well as the director of medicine.

And once that approval has been met, it has to be read by a special committee that will review it and then its keeps going up and up until it reaches the minister for health who will then give the approval for the NP to practice.

If you say that it is still dangerous, then I suppose nothing can be done to convince you. As I said, I’ve had first hand experience working with them and can see the benefits they’ve brought into healthcare.

KLR says:

01:04pm | 21/12/10

I agree, not another layer in the health system, some NP’s have also forgotton what the job really is!!!

mickijo says:

02:32pm | 26/12/10

If we have an OVER supply of medical grads, why are we importing doctors from third world countries.

Bill says:

07:31am | 20/12/10

I agree biff…If I am to comment and rate ANY of Australia’s politicians I too want to be able to use vile, disgusting, putrid language with a generous sprinkling of blue words….No other choice of words would reflect how I feel towards the sad self indulgent, self serving incompetent lot.

Bobster says:

09:14am | 20/12/10

Ditto Joe Tripodi.

Kenneally - 10/10 for doing the impossible and getting rid of both of them. Next stop - Tony Kelly!

Bobster says:

09:29am | 20/12/10

Yeah, that ALP Government what won WWII was particularly bad. Mob of do-nothing no hopers.

Healthcare and tertiary educations suck too.

And what was all the financial deregulation, tariff removal and dollar floating nonsense?

Don’t even get me started on Aboriginal affairs.

The ALP - I wouldn’t feed ‘em.

Andy D says:

10:12am | 20/12/10

I think we have a clear winner in the “utterly ridiculous sycophantic partisan claim of 2010” award…

“that ALP Government what won WWII”

Bobster, please tell me you were joking when you said that the ALP Government won World War Two? Nobody with any degree of sanity could actually believe such a moronic idea as that, could they?

Bobster says:

10:48am | 20/12/10

Why not? John Howard saved world from refugees. Labor won the war.

I thought this was a ridiculous argument contest?

Andy D says:

12:22pm | 20/12/10

Bobster, it’s a poor writer who, when called out for writing something stupid, pretends he was just exaggerating for effect.

Bobster says:

12:47pm | 20/12/10

Lucky I wasn’t pretending.

TimB says:

07:29am | 21/12/10

Typical Bobster. Says one thing, gets called on it and runs away claiming he was misunderstood. All the while deliberately misinterpreting things other people say to suit his own arguments.

Still haven’t mastered those communication skills I see.

Bobster says:

08:21am | 21/12/10

Still haven’t re-taken the year 9 comprehension course either, Tim?

I love that you see claiming a worldwide refugee crisis is the fault of the ALP is a perfectly legitimate argument in your view.

I suppose in light of that it’s understandable that you’d struggle.

You’ve got about as much depth as kitty litter.

TassieRooster says:

08:41am | 21/12/10

Bobster;
So that would be the same Labor government who only really got behind the war effort after Mother Russia was attacked? My father was a jungle warfare instructor in QLD & NT during the war & he could tell a tale or two about the wharfies stealing the from ships supplying our blokes fighting up north. He and his unit had to actually guard the wharfs at one stage, but the Labor government hushed it all up and it never made the papers (have to look after their comrades). He imbued me with a lifelong loathing of S.C.U.M (Socialists, Communists, Unionists, Marxists). People like you actually, Bobster.

David says:

08:48am | 21/12/10

The problem with all these comments is, that the conclusion we come to is that the Labor party are incompetent.But to the contrary,they are not incompetent,they are Marxist “communists” deliberately trying to destroy our country with their “critical theory” and “social engineering” and in that respect are a raging success! Divide and conquer is the mantra!

TimB says:

09:05am | 21/12/10

‘I love that you see claiming a worldwide refugee crisis is the fault of the ALP is a perfectly legitimate argument in your view.”

Hmm.

*looks at my post again, doesn’t find anything even remotely like that*

Upon looking at what I actually did write though, it seems I have to alter it:

“Typical Bobster. Says one thing, gets called on it and runs away claiming he was misunderstood. All the while deliberately misinterpreting things other people say to suit his own arguments, not to mention completely making things up.”

There, fixed.

Once again Bobster, instead of admitting your own failings you attempt to attack me on the basis of something I didn’t say. Kudos.

I’d normally advise you to keep trying to master the fine art of communication, but I see know that it’s a lost cause. It’s clearly too advanced for you to handle.

Bobster says:

10:09am | 21/12/10

@ TimB,

You’re completely right. You didn’t say that. Thatmosis did, and he was the one I was responding to.

“You only have to look at the latest tragedy bought on by a Labor Policy and see that its not their fault but the navy’s, the people smugglers,” he said.

You consider it an unreasonable inference to suggest this implied humanitarian crises are the fault of the Labor Party while the Liberal Party would solve all such ills?

Coupled with this:
“This Government will not take responsibility for any policy that goes wrong claiming instead that external forces are actually to blame.”

I would suggest it is perfectly reasonable to infer such a meaning.

Bobster says:

10:28am | 21/12/10

@ TassieRooster

Must have missed that one.

I take it you fit in well with your grandfather then - you don’t appear to understand the meaning of socialist, Marxist, unionist or communist.

That’s ok. It’s to be expected from fascists.

(P.S, TimB, be very careful. Couple of layers of meaning in that one, make sure you spot them all.)

TimB says:

12:01pm | 21/12/10

@ Bobster Well you we’re pretty blunt with most of that. About the most subtle thing I could find there was your Facist remark. Possibly a subtle way of referring to Tassie Rooster as a Nazi, leaving me tempted to call Godwin down upon you, but I really couldn’t be bothered.

Back to your inferred meaning from Thatmosis’s post I can see how you can reach that conclusion. However I think you infer too much. The point of his post (as i understood it) was that Labor are at least partially to blame for what happened and are seeking to absolve themselves of said blame by throwing it on everyone else.

The situation has arisen because of a combination of factors:

-Instability in the refugee’s home country

This is the fault of whoever is responsible for all the troubles in those countries (and it’s generally NOT the USA before someone jumps on that)

- Shonky people smugglers running shonky boats. Partially the fault of the smugglers themselves, partialy Indonesia et all for not cracking down.

-Bad weather. Gaia’s fault. She’s a bitch no matter how many Greens worship her.

- Australia’s soft border protection policies acting as a lure to draw these boats *here* specifically.

And that Bobster, that right there is entirely Labor’s fault. Especially when they were warned repeatedly that this could happen. So they should shoulder their rather significant share of the blame.

You’re right in that the Coalition policy can’t magically fix the situation. But they can (and did) reduce the magnitude of it by quite a significant amount by addressing the aspect of the problem our government is responsible for.

Bobster says:

02:45pm | 21/12/10

Dammit, TimB. You nearly got it. I’ll let you keep guessing but you’re getting close with the Godwin call. I’ll give you a hint: Fascist is to the left what xxxxxxxxx or xxxxxxxxx is to the right. 

But on the boats issue - you’ve finally got to the end of it. I reject the pull-factor argument. There’s not such great media coverage in the average refugee camp and I highly doubt Australian immigration policy is front page news anywhere other than here.

Here’s a useful comparison - Explain to me, off of the top of your head, the border protection policies of Ghana?

In essence, that’s why I consider thatmosis’ argument, and by extension your argument, ridiculous, and worthy of juxtaposition with the idea that Ben Chifley single-handedly won World War II.

I’m sorry that was so hard to understand. In future I’ll contain myself to single claused sentences or, failing that, dot points.

TimB says:

05:36pm | 21/12/10

Bobster you’re lying. Look at the content of that post.

“Yeah, that ALP Government what won WWII was particularly bad. Mob of do-nothing no hopers.

Healthcare and tertiary educations suck too.

And what was all the financial deregulation, tariff removal and dollar floating nonsense?

Don’t even get me started on Aboriginal affairs.”

Every one of those points after the WWII one was deadly serious. But here you are trying to tell us that the WWII was was a deliberate exaggeration. Bull. It was called out for the stupid argument that it was and you’re trying to use “nuance and subtlety” as a defence. Sorry it sn’t subtlety if it was never there in the first place.

Back to the main argument, your rejection of a pull factor is wrong. Dead wrong.

From: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/24/2551337.htm

“An Iraqi refugee in Indonesia has told the ABC he plans to board a boat to Australia because he is encouraged by changes to asylum seeker policies”

“One man said he plans to attempt the boat journey even though his refugee status is already confirmed, because he has heard he is more likely to be accepted by Kevin Rudd’s Government than its predecessor.”

“One of the Iraqis here has been in Indonesia for nine years and as a confirmed refugee, he need only await resettlement by the UNHCR.

In 2001 he left from Lombok to Australia before the Australian Navy intercepted the boat he was on and turned it back to Indonesia. But from family already in Australia he has heard that the country and its leader have changed.

“Kevin Rudd - he’s changed everything about refugee. If I go to Australia now, different, different,” a second asylum seeker told the ABC.”

From:http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/seventh-asylum-boat-signals-change/story-e6frg6po-1111118339168

“Earlier this month the International Organisation for Migration’s chief of mission in Indonesia Steve Cook told The Australian there had been a “considerable” increase in people-smuggling activities, which could be linked to changed Australian policies.

“People-smugglers have clearly noted that there has been a change in policy and they’re testing the envelope,” he said.”

Finally, the infamous graph:

http://blogs.news.com.au/images/uploads/boats11_thumb.jpg

Boster, if after reading that you still think that there are no pull factors, then you are seriously delusional.

Feral Wombat says:

07:14pm | 21/12/10

Menzies won WW2 from the opposition benches, just as Tony is currently ruling Australia from the same position.

Bobster says:

09:17am | 22/12/10

Based on your previous posts - particularly the one’s where you seemed to have difficulty working out if I was quoting you or someone else - I am very impressed that you know what nuance and subtlety are. (Given up on the fascist thing though? I suppose self-reflection can be tough sometimes.)

Mind you, it is nice to see you believe the Labor Party is the only party ever to provide healthcare, education or attempt to address aboriginal affairs.

That statement speaks volumes about your personal politics.

It was a pretty effective post in light of that. I consider it a success.

So your argument is one bloke decided to come to Australia because he’d heard of relaxed asylum seeker policies, ergo, all asylum seekers are just taking the piss?

It’s probably their fault they wound up in that situation anyway though, wasn’t it?

Bastards. Why can’t they learn to run their countries as well as you run this one.

I’m sick of the third world free-loading off of the cash-strapped West too - we have achieved a meeting of the minds.

Well done.

TimB says:

10:29am | 22/12/10

@ Bobster- I have no trouble working out who you’re quoting. But when you reference someone else’s post as if I said it as a way of supporting an attack on me, then we have a problem. I know you’re not quoting me. It’s the entire point and ruins the foundation of your entire attack, so don’t do it.
The fascist thing wasn’t aimed at me so I don’t really care. Only brought it up in response to your silly challenge.
Subtlety and Nuance are things you should put in your posts from the start. You don’t get to make a stupid post and claim them after the fact. It doesn’t work that way.

And yet again you make stuff up. Where did I say I agree Labor was the only party to provide healthcare, education or attempt to address aboriginal affairs? All I said that those were points you were serious about. Do you disagree? Were you in fact joking about that, like you claim you were joking about the WWII thing?

My argument is not “one bloke” there were quotes from 3 different sources there. If you honestly think that means that there are only 3 people in the entire world who are saying these things you’re extraordinarilly naive.
Not to mention the rather telling graph. Interesting to note you completely ignore the parts of my argument you can’t refute. And no admission you were wrong on the Pull Factors either.

So what have we got here:

-Bobster making a stupid post then claiming it was a joke to cover his mistake.

- Bobster making a false argument against me based on a quote from another poster

- Bobster making stuff up about what I said in order to avoid the unhappy truth about his aforementioned stupid post.

- Bobster (whether by accident or design) completely not understanding the point of my main argument, and using this misunderstanding (feigned or otherwise) to try and get himself out of admitting how incredibly wrong he is.

Honestly Bobster. Twist yourself into any more knots and I’m going to sprinkle salt on you and serve you as a pretzel.

Bobster says:

01:15pm | 22/12/10

TimB, it is reasonable to expect that if you come out in support of another’s statement, that you support the sentiment of said statement, is it not?

Forgeting the fact that you completely missed the point of my original statement, blamed me for it and then (quite brilliantly) used that fact as a method of completely defeating your own position, you are now clinging desperately to one ABC report suggesting there are a handful refugees who may be keeping an eye on Australian policies by virtue of the fact that they have family here.

Compelling stuff, mate, especially when you somehow see it as an utter justification of your view that the only thing wrong with the world is a few people showing up in boats on Australian territory.

You also seem to assert that Australia is the only country in the world that suffers from this indefatigable scourge of desperate refugees.

Honestly, TimB, if you stopped mining for stories that reinforce your own narrow and callous world view you might come to accept that maybe, just maybe, the appalling conditions in which people forced to try their luck on leaky boats live could be a greater factor in pushing refugees out of their homelands than the abolition of TPVs.

Once again, you’ve got about as much depth as kitty litter.

TimB says:

01:46pm | 22/12/10

Bobster I’m going to tell you one more time. Learn to read and stop making stuff up.

I came out and supported Andy who quite rightly called you out on your backpedalling. You’re the one who once again tried to make the issue about something different so as to avoid the truth of what was said.

Again I keep telling you. I am not clinging to *one* ABC report. There were 3 different links there. I could have found many more sources. But I don’t have to. 
If you have a theory that Australia’s border protection laws aren’t having an effect on people smuggling, then all I need is *one* piece of evidence that disproves that viewpoint, and then it is disproved. I’ve supplied 3. You’re wrong. Game over.

“Compelling stuff, mate, especially when you somehow see it as an utter justification of your view that the only thing wrong with the world is a few people showing up in boats on Australian territory.

You also seem to assert that Australia is the only country in the world that suffers from this indefatigable scourge of desperate refugees. “

Now you’re seriously starting to annoy me. When did I say that I thought it was the only thing wrong in the world? When did I say we were the only country with a problem? Just off the top of my head I know Canada has an issue too.

Stop putting words in my mouth, and (I cannot stress this enough):
Stop. Making. Things. Up.

For god’s sake.

I *know* there are other factors beyond the control of the government. I also know that these factors are going to push refugees out of their homelands no matter what.

I also know that it is the Labor government’s policies that are luring them *here*. This is what you have trouble comprehending. Australia is a far more attractive prospect than many other countries for these people, and due to our geography it is far more dangerous to get to.

I am now done with this argument. You base your arguments off of ridiculous fallacies, assumptions, exaggerations and allround bullshit that you make up on the spot.  Facts mean nothing to you. You cannot be reasoned with. You are beyond logic itself.

You are in effect, a lost cause.

Ryan says:

09:10am | 20/12/10

GetUp is a branch of the ALP, of course they wouldn’t be promoting something that points out the blatant failures of this government.

Charlie says:

11:44am | 20/12/10

Yeah, i guess thats why the were pressuring voters to put the Greens first at the last election…must have missed the memo Ryan.

Ryan says:

12:57pm | 20/12/10

@Charlie: and since when is the Greens anything other than the Labor party in a Green outfit. At the moment they are dictating Labor policy, clearly they are one and the same.

Charlie says:

02:14pm | 20/12/10

But Get Up is simply not a Labor outfit, its purpose whilst guided by disgusting left ideas like accountability and educating voters, is not to side with one party or any party- its work over the past two elections has illustrated this.

Ryan says:

03:19pm | 20/12/10

@Charlie: yeah right, pull the other one mate.. GetUp is as partisan as the unions, their blatant campaigning for Labor/Greens in the past election shows, no one is stupid enough to believe that they don’t have an agenda, they are at arms length to the Labor party so they can denigrate the Labor/Greens opposition, run filthy smear campaigns on the Labor/Greens opposition and the Labor/Greens party can claim they had nothing to do with it.  No one is stupid enough not to see that this is the ONLY aim of GetUp.

Ryan says:

03:27pm | 20/12/10

@Charlie: here you go, it took me two minutes to find that most of GetUp’s funding comes from the Unions, the same unions who own Labor. They are as partisan as they come, doesn’t matter how many times you say it, the PROOF is in their actions, not to mention a joke of an organisation.

Martin says:

08:50am | 20/12/10

Howard did not impose the incompetent Labor Government on us.  People who believed in and voted for Kevin 07 did.  Along with a left wing media who are now just waking up to the reality that they were fooled.

Bobster says:

09:33am | 20/12/10

Can we pass a law forcing everyone who utters the phrase “left wing media” to wear bells when in public?

I think these folk are dangerously deluded.

Wallaby says:

10:10am | 20/12/10

Sorry Martin I have to agree with Whisperer. If Howard had just dumped Work Choices the Coalition would have been returned. That would have saved us from the mess we are now in.

notsurprised says:

08:39am | 20/12/10

This is going to burst your bubble, but the GST was devised by Keating during the Hawke/Keating government. You can place your head back in the sand now.

Bob says:

08:44am | 20/12/10

Whatever are you on, mate? I hope your day improves!

Levi says:

08:56am | 20/12/10

Not just one shark Nosthow, several sharks. Bull sharks. They’d be doing the world a favour. One less ALP voter means one less bleeding heart moron in the world

NicoleG says:

09:25am | 20/12/10

nosthow, how many times have I told you to wear a hat when you’re out in the sun? You’re rambling. Again.

Wallaby says:

10:15am | 20/12/10

Put your tin foil hat back on mate. Those aliens are planting strange thoughts in your mind again.

Andy says:

10:15am | 20/12/10

Did anyone know,nosthow loves a bit of fishing?
His-her special brand of fishing involves going to the wharf, swearing at little kiddies, removing clothing, smearing a nasty concoction of tuna oil and chicken gizzards over every exposed surface, and hurling himself into the water.
He thinks it’s clever, and “new”, and is never subdued by his lack of actual success, so please, spare a thought for his neighbors, and go peacefully on your way.

nosthow says:

10:18am | 20/12/10

@NicoleG - young Gavin came up to me the other day Nicole to tell me he’d joined the Liberal Party - “nossy sith weaks ago eye couldnt even spel Libberabel now eye arr won” ! God bells his heart. I said to him “Gavin see there is a place for the intellectually challenged !” - “fanks nossy” hes said and walked off straight into a lamp post ! I predict he willl be future Liberal leadership material in 5-10 years folks !  hahahhhhhhhhhhh

Vaunted says:

11:48am | 20/12/10

Nosthow, you know what’s best about your posts? It’s that your name appears in bold print at the top. That way ordinary people can imagine what’s coming next and skip right over your self-absorbed, conceited, vacuous, sputtering, twisted, witless, abusive babble. Idiots like you make me utterly ashamed that I ever supported the ALP.

Likes Joining Dots says:

11:53am | 20/12/10

Breaking news: nosthow mauled by guppy in inflatable wading pool.

Paramedics, despite working feverishly were unable to save the budgie smugglers.

Tones asked me to pass this one - have a good chrissy mate.

Woody says:

12:13pm | 20/12/10

Andy
That’s not very nice.
Woody is not happy with the disgusting person you turned out to be.
Woody never said anything about the disgusting things you used to do with your “toys” when you were a teenager

Andy says:

12:28pm | 20/12/10

Awww, c’mon Woody.
Just engaging in the spirit of the original post. Call it “reverse fishing” if you like, but disgusting’s a bit harsh.
And that freaky third person stuff should remain the domain of B grade actors, and failed sport stars.

nosthow says:

12:37pm | 20/12/10

@Vaunted - now stop tellling porkies Vaunted you know you never supported the Labor Party huh fella ! Does Mummy know you are on her PC ?

Woody says:

12:54pm | 20/12/10

Really Andy
Little children, removing clothing?
What on earth are you thinking?

Jessie and Hamm are really upset and Buzz says you are next on his list after Emperor Zurg.

Andy says:

01:08pm | 20/12/10

Woody, you might be projecting a little there, champion.
The swearing at the little kids, is in no way connected to the removal of clothing, which I imagine is to facilitate the smearing of chicken gizzards.
In any case, I can’t be held responsible for whatever nosthow get’s up to.

Vaunted says:

01:35pm | 20/12/10

@nosthow, as I said, witless.

john says:

01:37pm | 20/12/10

@nosthow, your history is abit foggy, its no big secret to get the GST howard comically slept with Meg Lees of the Australian Democrats, here’s a reminder of what really happened.

http://ejournalist.com.au/v4n2/cartoons.pdf

She vowed to keep the bastards honest, time and time again we all know what happens to politicians when we are betrayed.

nosthow says:

01:41pm | 20/12/10

@Likes Joining Dots - love your sense of humour fella - top stuff !

Reg says:

04:22pm | 20/12/10

@Notsurprised ... what- ever Keating surmised about a GST, he also discarded. A Value Added Tax of the Thatcher variety was the off-spring of your faux liberal mate John Howard. You can go back to the sand-box now.

Eddy says:

04:33pm | 20/12/10

Um, I believe you forgot to mention Tony’s admission that at time he tells Porkies.
Truthfully, that may be all the time, how can we tell the difference ?

Brett says:

09:16am | 20/12/10

10 bonus points for referencing another brilliant South Park episode Elphaba. South Park has a solution and commentary for every situation. Its always a choice between a giant douche and a turd sandwich.

Elphaba says:

09:25am | 20/12/10

@Brett, I couldn’t resist…. both descriptions could not fit New South Wales’ horrendous options better.

Reg says:

10:56am | 20/12/10

The NSW opposition must be shitting razor blades at the prospect of curing all the states ills as depicted by all their supporters. How long do you give them to make the repairs chaps?

Lizzie says:

11:09pm | 20/12/10

I’m going to vote for Bart Simpson! I think he’s Labor? Maybe not? And this my friends is what I think of the standards of politicians in this country, As my old Dad used to say “If you come across an honest politician….shoot him before he turns bad!” There were no female politicians in his time. They were too busy having babies & stoking the wood fire. Victoria have followed WA in getting rid of Labor. I’m not too sure yet if that was a wise move….but what else are we to do!!

Charlie says:

11:45am | 20/12/10

goodness, Pete that may be too open, heavens knows what scary truths may come out with such a site.

Ross says:

11:50am | 20/12/10

Pete are you wearing a bell

Adam Diver says:

01:53pm | 20/12/10

@ Ross, at least petes bell looks better then your sand headware

Andy says:

10:20am | 20/12/10

Oh yes! The special mention to Julia’s tailor.
Obviously blind, and poorly skilled. Just like those that thought it was a good idea for her to be installed as PM.
How many cheap couches have been sacrificed in the making of Joooolya’s wardrobe? I “wanna” know.
Let’s set up a committee.

Mouse says:

08:24pm | 20/12/10

I’ll be in on that Andy!  I “wanna” know who does her make-up, orange cheeks, EPIC fail!

Peter says:

09:46am | 20/12/10

Why a 7/10 if he is incapable?

Jon says:

10:18am | 20/12/10

He is capable and he gets 7/10 for just not being J Gillard aka worst PM ever!

Richard says:

02:16pm | 20/12/10

so run yourself

Elphaba says:

06:09pm | 20/12/10

@Peter - you didn’t whinge for the past 3 years, did you?  Because you realise not voting means you can’t whinge, can’t claim govt benefits, can’t use the hospital system, public roads, public transport… all because you can’t be bothered to do the bare minimum participation your country asks of you.

You can’t even come up with a good reason as to WHY the govt of the day frustrates you.

People like you make me sad.  Whinge, gripe, demand better, but don’t abstain from voting.

Mouse says:

08:52pm | 20/12/10

Yes, it’s easy being a smart mouth in parliment chambers, with a captive audience. You can say what you want, to whom you want and have the cheers in the background. Bit different when you are the head honcho though. It’s not too bad I suppose, she has got a bagful of advisers and media staff .They must have coached her on how to reply to most situations. The bags under the eyes are from staying up all night reading what she has to say the next day.  Pretty funny though when she has to think of something off the cuff all by herself. Assange, illegal! Classic!  Where is bloody Arbib when you need him??

Mouse says:

09:06pm | 20/12/10

Thanks tmlc! Just went there to have a peek. Interesting and you can vote on any sitting member. Tony has a 62% rating, Gillard 19%, Kevvie 21%.  Worth having a look at.

Bobster says:

11:48am | 20/12/10

Since when has that worked? South Australia has actually started physically beating their leaders and the message still doesn’t get through.

iansand says:

01:09pm | 20/12/10

Yep.  Apathy is a blessing.

Gerard says:

07:23pm | 20/12/10

Bullshit. How much longer do you think this “stable political system which has kept us safe, secure and prosperous” is going to last when no one bothers to hold governments to account? Once we’ve all finished “thanking our lucky stars”, we might suddenly wake up to realise that governments have been given free reign to pursue their own interests to the point that we exist for their benefit, rather than the other way around. In NSW at least, this has already happened.

Elphaba - still giggling says:

12:21pm | 20/12/10

I laughed and I laughed when I read this…

Thanks for making my day, John!

Tombowler says:

02:51pm | 20/12/10

Wow…

At what point did we hit the undeniable low of having the inevitably partisan and stupid analyze politics “independently & impartially” and then write about through whichever particular prism of party-rhetoric suits their political persuasion?

Oh wait! With GetUp (would it have been that hard to a put a space in their you f@#$ing hipsters? My God!)

The problem that will always taint such ‘impartial’ organisations is that most of a more conservative persuasion are too busy with real jobs in the private sector to bother.

Further successful people tend to avoid anything claiming to be ‘grassroots’ as it inescapably involves people with macbooks wearing cheap suits that were clearly made for smaller individuals….

jeffb says:

05:04pm | 21/12/10

Why do conservatives always feel the need to comment on what other people wear?

TimB says:

10:35pm | 21/12/10

I dunno Jeffb, why do Labor drones always feel the need to comment on Tony Abbott’s swimwear?

Likes Joining Dots says:

12:41pm | 20/12/10

Aitch B

From what I hear, the robot from Lost in Space is talking to his lawyers.

Adam Diver says:

01:57pm | 20/12/10

@ Likes Joining Dots - Just LOL

Mouse says:

08:09am | 21/12/10

Thunderbirds are go!!!  lol

jeffb says:

01:29pm | 20/12/10

I don’t get the love for the Howard government. In reality it was virtually 11 years of stagnation, just look at the infrastructure problems we face right now, and this was during a mining boom period. From memory the only positives I can think of are gun reform and perhaps the GST.

Does Australia really have that short a memory?

Jim says:

09:20am | 21/12/10

jeffb…the Labor fanboys would have you believe that it was 11 years of stagnation. In fact it was 10 years of repaying $96bn in loans that Hawke/Keating subjected this country to, 9 years of which was under a Labor majority in the senate which blocked just about everything.
$96bn - didn’t leave much money for infrastructure improvements did it? Howard still managed to give the states unprecedented amounts of money to spend on it though - so where did state Labor put it all???

jeffb says:

12:15pm | 21/12/10

Thats just not true at all. While one of the issues they chose to tackle was debt it didn’t take them 11 years to pay it off. They chose not to invest in Australia’s future so they could deliver bigger surpluses which they eventually put into “future fund”. They made the choice that all debt is bad, a view that still exists to this day, when they could have invested in our country to allow it to continue to grow.

This is history thats clear for everyone to see, not some Lib/Lab pissing contest.

Perhaps its not a short memory but a fundamental misunderstanding of economics that are behind some of the love for the Howard government.

Jim says:

06:46pm | 21/12/10

Jeffb, with interest etc it was not until 2006 that Costello and Howard announced that the budget was finally out of the red. Total cost to repay what Keating left - $96bn….10 years. It’s all a matter of public record.

What bit don’t you understand?

It’s scary to think of what the eventual cost of Rudd/Gillard will be for the next 2-3 generations.

jeffb says:

11:13pm | 21/12/10

Do you have a house loan Jim?

Suzy says:

10:05pm | 21/12/10

Is there another Kevin Rudd in Australian politics who I haven’t heard of before.  The only one I know of definitely doesn’t fit this description.

Bobster says:

01:06pm | 20/12/10

Tony’s vision was only do-able because it was exactly what we already had.

Well, it was almost exactly what we already had. Tony’s version would have been marginally slower than ADSL2+.

Guess Who says:

02:32pm | 22/12/10

Yes, it’s a shame more people didn’t realise this… don’t throw your vote away. Better yet, let’s get rid of this ridiculous preference system. It stinks!

jeffb says:

12:46am | 21/12/10

“It’s the last thing that genuine patriotic Australians would want.”

Why?

Sure some Australians have always been afraid of being swamped by migrants, conveniently ignoring that they themselves are migrants and Australia’s economy is largely built around a growing population. They also usually don’t understand the limits that water and food production place on Australia’s population, always putting the number far below what it is in reality.

None of that is a reason not to pursue good policy in our national interest.

Apart from lacking public infrastructure due to a decade of neglect from various governments there is no reason for Australia’s population to continue to grow.

Teejay says:

04:15pm | 20/12/10

@TDJ - Don’t reject that suggestion - I’ll shout you the bullets - in the meantime if somebody felt like organising just three or four bi-elections in ALP held marginals, we could end this misery with a simple vote. Take them on a leaky boat trip to Chrissy island.

Shaila says:

07:37pm | 20/12/10

I totally agree Margaret!

hellena says:

05:52pm | 20/12/10

yeah, Slipper is such a nonentity, I completely forgot about him, I mean, he doesn’t actually DO anything. I’d give him zero, for an empty space, that sucks in money. Why on earth the ALP didn’t run a decent candidate in the seat, I have utterly no idea…I would have voted for a decent Labor candidate, and I’m a Liberal…

Joombi O'Flaherty says:

05:21am | 21/12/10

Since emigrants leave a country and immigrants arrive in a country, it seems rating B Bridge’s intelligence is an impossibility, as there is no score low enough.

NicoleG says:

05:28pm | 20/12/10

Agreed ! Although you’re far too generous with Gillard. I give her -10/10. She doesn’t know her elbow from her ass.

David says:

08:58am | 21/12/10

Hey Cate,that is Hilarious….but oh so true,and she wouldnt know the difference anyway!

Suzy says:

09:48pm | 21/12/10

NicoleG - her elbows aren’t THAT big.

QCat says:

06:30am | 21/12/10

Please make it so

Suzy says:

09:50pm | 21/12/10

Hear hear!!