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Even Tony Abbott doesn’t believe Tony Abbott

Anthony Albanese

by Anthony Albanese

18 May 01:29pm

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Filed under: Election 2010, Tony Abbott

163 comments

Last night under pressure Tony Abbott cracked and told all Australians that they should not believe any statements that he makes. 

I did it my way…Tony Abbott at the Captains Dinner fundraiser for childrens' cancer at Star City last night. Photo: Getty Images.

Tony Abbott said “The statements that need to be taken absolutely as gospel truth are those carefully prepared, scripted remarks”.  This extraordinary concession from ‘Phoney Tony’ was followed by ten minutes of evasion and confusion.
 
We know that Phoney Tony has been receiving acting lessons but quite clearly he’s acting coach forgot to tell him how important it was to stay ‘in character’.

We know that Tony Abbott has extreme views on Work Choices, on social policy, on the public sector, and climate change scepticism but he has been trying to keep that in check. We now know from his own mouth that whenever he speaks it will be unclear whether it is ‘gospel truth Tony’ or ‘heat of the moment Tony’.

Tony Abbott has blown his own credibility out of the water and any Australian who was in any doubt over whether he was trustworthy now must take Tony at his word that he is not.  Perhaps Tony Abbott will now drop the act for good and expose his extreme out of touch views for all to see.

I suspect though, Tony Abbott will continue to say anything and do anything in his search for power regardless of whether he believes his statements to be true or not. 

Phoney Tony is simply unbelievable – just ask him.

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163 comments

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    • CC says:

      03:23am | 07/08/10

      Why would I believe him? He’s just made up of anxieties about all the things his mum warned him about. He looks even more sexually repressed than previous leaders. - He so reminds me of “Alan” in 2 1/2 Men”....smile 
      I actually think the reason why he e.g. “feels threatened by homosexuality” is because he hasn’t himself realised what he is…. Sadly, Labour is utter crap as well. We need a change in the political landscape. Enlightened leaders rather than unintelligent slogans. We all deserve better than these clowns, whe whole lot of them.

      Reply

    • cybacaT says:

      08:41am | 21/05/10

      What I’m hearing on the street is voters like what Abbott had to say.  He was simply stating a clear, obvious, undeniable truth. 

      By resorting to their usual scripted schoolyard taunts such as “phoney Tony”, and then pretending that they always tell the truth, Labor are just exposing themselves as unfit for government.

      Reply

    • Don Clark says:

      07:38pm | 19/05/10

      The Government may have made a bit of a meal of this one, but at the end of the day, they have a pretty fair point.

      For Abbott to try and make a virtue out of saying, in effect, “Yeah, sure I shoot my mouth off, get it in writing” really takes the biscuit. Straight-talking Abbott - shoots from the lip, and thinks that’s OK. We need politicians prepared to do their level best to be better than that.

      Look at this continuing Budget in Reply fiasco. They have had about 6 months to come up with a range of at least big picture or outline positions.  They had the usual amount of time to pick the eyes at least out if the Budget presentation.  It was Abbott’s first big set piece opportunity to show what he had, his frist budget, and his first big chance before the election to lay out his views.

      But Abbott flubbed on all counts, pretty plainly, on the floor of the House, failing particularly spectacularly to show his own savings and spending ideas. So then he said Hockey would deliver the goods, with details of spending and cuts, today, at the usual Press Club speech.

      But Hockey didn’t either - he couldn’t. Still wasn’t ready. God knows why.  Now, Abbott and Hockey, both on air, undertook there would be details. None forthcoming.

      Ah! But wait! There’s more! Yep, folks, now its been buck-passed on down to the hapless Robb to do the heavy lifting, late this arvo. Too late for any online coverage as far as I can see at 7:30pm. What a fiasco.

      It was a ludicrous performance, by both Abbott and Hockey, and deserves an utter roasting. But that’s what happens when you shoot your mouth off, scripted or not.

      Reply

    • Frank Drebbin says:

      03:20pm | 19/05/10

      Albo - you have been smashed on this thread - zero credibility. BATTLER.

      Reply

    • Bryan says:

      12:00pm | 19/05/10

      Mr Albanese judging by the responses here, I would expect that most common people are sick to death of the slick car salesman’s approach that has been trotted out by a number of senior ALP ministers. It is entirely refreshing to see a senior politician say what everyone knows ie; - politicians stretch the truth when put under pressure. Normal people do this! It is not a crime and if it was the entire House of Rep’s along with the Senate would be in the slammer.

      The fact that you are now making such a big thing out of it and can so easily extrapolate how this reflects on Abbotts past comments, should mean that your are all for honesty and openness. So when questions get asked about the Insulation fiasco, the BER fiasco, the PC in schools fiasco and a number of other very serious and important issues you will - no doubt -  along with your leader, lead the charge to submitting all truth and facts. Without any porkies!

      And whilst on the topic of verve and bravado, there is only one thing worse than a comedian trying to be a politician and that is a politician trying to be a comedian. (with the exception of Whitlam, Keating and Costello). I would suggest you put your comedic aspirations in the too hard basket.

      Reply

    • hot tub political machine says:

      11:55am | 19/05/10

      I think the only people left who would be willing to vote for Tony will vote for him regardless of what happens in reality.

      Abbott could probably go on TV and commit acts of violence agaisnt cute fluffy animals and you would still have the spruikers on here spruiking him. Thankfully its middle Australia that decides votes and not those who are surgically attached to Mr. Abbott.

      Reply

    • H of SA says:

      11:29am | 19/05/10

      Nice Work Kerry, its been awhile since I watched lateline but I am very pleased to see we still have at least one television interviewer here in Australia with some courage. The questions he has asked of both our major political leaders over the last week have been very important ones – ones most interviewers seem a little too scared to ask. If my 12c per diem for the ABC gave the nation lateline alone (apart from all the awesome radio in particular) it would be money well spent, is there be any better value for money organisation than the ABC in this country?

      Reply

    • Michael says:

      10:44am | 19/05/10

      Hey, albanese, is that a log in your eye? One so big, you and the rest of labor cannot see the real world!? How about you see if you can talk yourself and the rest of your party into coming clean on any one single issue - and sadly, because we all know you are lying bastards, you’ll have to *prove* it… Then, maybe we’ll take you seriously. Until then, I think its best if you dishonest, filthy, lying power-hungry bastards skulk off and pretend to do your jobs.

      Reply

    • Mike says:

      10:36am | 19/05/10

      Hey Albanese, why won’t Rudd release the 4 letters he has hidden in his top drawer regarding the insulation warnings? Honest Kev yeh right!

      Reply

    • Matt says:

      10:10am | 19/05/10

      Abbott didn’t take acting lessons. He was offered them. So Albanese can’t even tell the truth in a sanctimonious article about telling the truth.

      Reply

    • Timmo says:

      09:26am | 19/05/10

      I was reading the other day about the size of world economies and they had Australia listed as having a GDP of 800 Billion Dollars and I thought, ” That’s pretty impressive”. Of course to my thinking a lot of things we go on about Budget Surpluses and Deficits seem to be very small amounts compared to those figures presented.

      I have the point of view that Money Moves around a lot, sometimes there is more sometimes less. I think Paul Keating said that we should run everything as we would our households economics or something to that effect.

      I think that as we require a strong consumer society to bring about growth and that the old figure of 90 percent of the wealth is owned by 10 percent of the people may still be fairly correct today. It would be obvious that if the general community had more disposable income then their standard of living could be better. Therefore by giving more money and Tax Breaks downstairs then people would tend to spend more and the money would continue to flow upwards, rather that giving all the incentives to the top end where they might deign to throw everyone a bone occasionally.

      I think that Rudd in giving some money back to all the families, and i believe it went to most of us, then he was able to save many from the effects of the sub primes destructive effects, but I also realize that many thousands of people had their homes taken away by the banks which is very sad for them. He also covered and guaranteed all saving deposits so we would not lose our money if the banks went broke as they have done in the European Theatre. But having done that for the people the banks rode on it and still took away peoples homes, so this gave me a pretty good idea about what the banks really stood for. You can’t trust them, maybe a shoebox would be better.

      I think as I wrote above that the money in the community always flows upwards to the Big Business People ,and as a society the Governments of the day should be helping the ordinary people more, and this may be a good more permanent way of controlling the economy, and making it fairer for all. After all it’s not just about the Stocks and Shares or whether certain already wealthy businessmen make more for their already overfilled coffers. I mean, ” How much money do you all want”.  Why so greedy, there are over 20 million of us out here and I think we all need a break from the constant barrage of politics and the worry regarding money all the time.

      For the above suggestions i would finish by writing here that if we look at it we all can control the cost of living ourselves by consuming less. If we consume less, that is, instead of having to have the new car straight away or whatever we desire, drive the old one bit longer. Simplify our lives. We all have as much as we need now to live our lives. I may be wrong but i think if we stop consuming like it’s an illness and think that things will never run out then we not only contribute to pollution of the planet but by taking measures of reducing blatent consumerism then prices will come down further and we will see more savings for us all. We can do it ourselves quite easily.

      They will tell you that if you do that then the economy will go down the gurgler, so maybe that is one of the reasons why we do consume too much. The Economy will not go broke it will just reduce and continue at a reduced level but we may all find a little bit more in our pockets as the costs of Rent, Housing Prices and other Commodities find a more fairer level. Don’t drive the car so much for just a week and you will see what I have written here may be true. The cost of fuel will reduce as demand reduces. It’s really a very simple way. Let’s try it out and see what happens. Stop consuming so much, moderate your desires and look after your simple needs and then we can all have more of the cake that has almost been eaten up.

      Vote for me. I’ll fix it. Oh no, shouldn’t have written that, should I.

      A message for Big Brother. When you are watching all of us very carefully you must remember that something is watching you at the same time. And who is the one who is watching the one who watches and so on an so forth. So just be careful out there. No one gets away with anything in this world and then there are the karmic fields. Watch out everybody. We have to rethink the way we are going along with this life we have it’s not just all about politics and money, it’s about peoples lives.

      Reply

    • GreenFrog says:

      09:10am | 19/05/10

      I am or was green voter, but I feel the Greens have let us down, they have literally (as in W.A) been in bed with the Liberals , so next election I am voting Labor. Abbott is a self confessed liar, so no point in voting for him, once he is elected he will change his mind and say well.. I told you I was a liar!!

      Reply

    • Jane says:

      09:04am | 19/05/10

      Interesting that Rudd had very little to say about it. I wonder why?

      Reply

    • Aaron says:

      03:04pm | 19/05/10

      I have a funny feeling the letters Rudd is keeping secret, about the warnings he was given over the Insulation Scheme may prove he is a liar. But unlike Abbott, Rudd likes to pretend he never lies and is the moral crusader.

    • Dave says:

      09:03am | 19/05/10

      I suspect though, .... politician’s name here… will continue to say anything and do anything in his search for power regardless of whether he believes his statements to be true or not.

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      09:00am | 19/05/10

      Union-commissioned research undertaken this year found that once voters were told what Mr Abbott had said on workplace relations, they became angry at what they saw as him ignoring their decision to vote against Work Choices in 2007.

      You Libbos had better believe it!

      Reply

    • Christian Real says:

      04:19am | 19/05/10

      The Liberals imbeciles are in denial that the leader they idolise has been caught out again as a blatant liar.
      Twice so far on ABC programes The 7.30 Report and Four Corners.
      Another fact is that the then Workplace relations Minister, Tony Abbott breached John Howard’s ‘Code Of Conduct’ when in August of 1998 he set up a slush fund to target Pauline Hanson and One Nation but did not delare it on the register of minister’s Interests until December 3, 1998.
      http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/26/1061663793191.html

      Reply

    • Mark says:

      02:15pm | 19/05/10

      You love ancient history eh Christian?

      And chemicals too you naughty boy you

    • Sirro says:

      12:46am | 19/05/10

      I seem to remember Krudd caught on TV in the parliament picking his ear and eating the wax.  Seem to remember the suckhole Canberra press painted that as a conspiracy against their blue eyed boy.  Its been interesting how quickly the ABC and the Canberra Press have dropped Krudd like a turd all of a sudden. And in the same breath Gillard is being mentioned as positioning for a takeover. Whats actually going on Anthony?  Yours the Union numbers man. You guys finally worked out that standing for nothing and being aligned with no-one means that he isnt the ideal leader of the Labor Party?

      Reply

    • persephone says:

      11:03pm | 19/05/10

      Mark

      that’s obviously an absurd statement.

      How did people get to know about these things, then? Carrier pigeon?

    • Mark says:

      02:13pm | 19/05/10

      Yes pers no help at all.

      Anything else to add?

    • persephone says:

      08:38am | 19/05/10

      So the night club story, the farmer’s family denying he’d thrown the Rudds off his farm, the attacks on Therese’s business management, etc all just got out there by themselves, with no help from the media?

    • preciouspress says:

      11:01pm | 18/05/10

      Australia’s democracy is as strong as any in the world, primarily because the vast majority of our elected representatives are honest and are there to serve. With our predatory media any inconsistency particularly by a front-bencher is picked up and spread wide , therefore MPs have to chose their words carefully. Abbott hasn’t lied but he has been egregiously inconsistent. Admitting that he has, doesn’t make him a ‘straightshooter’ only a careless man whose lack of consequential thinking makes him unfit for high office.
      Australians should bless rather than damn our public servants. Some of them may lie but they will usually be found out.

      Reply

    • Steve Putnam says:

      11:01pm | 18/05/10

      After the 7.30 Report a new Abbott nick-name has started doing the rounds: Phony Blab-it. The man is an utter fool!

      Reply

    • Matt says:

      10:18am | 19/05/10

      Gosh, a politician who has lied twice in 7 years! The current Government is much better. They can usually manage a lie or two every 7 days.

    • Daniel says:

      08:23pm | 18/05/10

      This guy admits he doesnt tell the truth on camera and he has been spoon fed by Howard and he is adicted to Work Choices. Australia dont risk it Vote 1 Greens.

      Reply

    • Amy Brunner says:

      12:49pm | 24/05/10

      persephone

      You need to do a little scrutineering and become informed.

      Anne71

      You also need to do a little scrutineering and become informed,

      and as for your little spit of:-

      “Sorry hon, we’re not a dictatorship yet. Run away and get yourself a mega-weapon, a white cat and lots of minions and then perhaps you can start telling us what to do.”

      Like all the true socialists of the world, you resort to accusing others of just what you would have in mind for the world.

      At no time did I infer that I wanted a dictatorship of any kind.

      It is true democracy that I would like to see in this country.

      Look at the facts, persephone and Anne71, find me one time where the Greens did not give their overflow of Senate votes to the ALP.

    • Anne71 says:

      07:28pm | 19/05/10

      Amy, a vote for the Greens is not always a vote for the ALP. It all comes down to how you allot your preferences, assuming you can be bothered to take the trouble to do so. And I don’t think it is just “disenchanted ALP voters” who follow how to vote cards - after all, the Libs hand those out too,don’t they? But I guess that’s okay because then people are voting the way YOU want them to? Sorry hon, we’re not a dictatorship yet. Run away and get yourself a mega-weapon, a white cat and lots of minions and then perhaps you can start telling us what to do. (I recommend http://www.minions-r-us.com for the minions)

    • persephone says:

      08:35am | 19/05/10

      Amy

      Greens voters are less likely to follow the HTV card than members of any other party.

      If people decide to follow the HTV, that’s their own business. In a democracy, the voter decides what they want to do.

    • Amy Brunner says:

      10:18pm | 18/05/10

      A vote for the GREENS is a VOTE for the ALP, if you follow the HOW TO VOTE CARD, which the Greens and the disenchanted ALP voters do.

      A vote for the GREENS is a VOTE for the ALP, if you follow the HOW TO VOTE CARD, which the Greens and the disenchanted ALP voters do.

      A vote for the GREENS is a VOTE for the ALP, if you follow the HOW TO VOTE CARD, which the Greens and the disenchanted ALP voters do.


      How many times does this have to be said before it sinks in, anyone who has followed the distribution of preferences and the HOW TO VOTE CARDS would know.

      The odd times that the Greens DO NOT direct a preference to the ALP are not worth mentioning.

    • Diamantina Dick says:

      08:18pm | 18/05/10

      This is a repeat screening of the “virginity affair”. PM has gone missing, too gutless to weigh in, attack dogs are out hyperventilating and overreaching. They never learn, wait for the polls.

      Reply

    • nosthow says:

      07:27pm | 18/05/10

      Anthony , Tony Abbott is a real joke and the sooner Labor win the election and this fool is despatched to political history the better. Fancy saying he wants to send under 30’s unemployed over to WA to work in the mines ! God help Australians under an Abbott PMship ! Love your style in Parliament Anthony.

      Reply

    • Ben81 says:

      08:50pm | 18/05/10

      Oh yes, imagine a politician giving an example to illustrate the point that some people should chase work instead of sitting around collecting welfare and complaining that a job doesn’t land in their laps, the nerve of him! 
      Nice bunch of posts from you just now by the way, you sound like the leader of some kind of fan club.

    • Seano says:

      06:50pm | 18/05/10

      I think the big lesson here is that like a used car salesman with Tony Abbott you have to get it in writing.

      And even then you can’t be sure…

      Reply

    • Christian Real says:

      01:41pm | 21/05/10

      Freeman
      The “lefty loonies” as you call them freeman, doesn’t have to do anything to discredit or attempt to discredit Tony Abbott, he is doing a good job of discrediting himself.
      He has been caught out twice now on National Television for lying or(been loose with the truth) on ABC’s 7.30 Report and also on ABC’s Four Corners programe in 2003
      http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/27/1061663854618.html.
      Goodness knows how many other times Tony Abbott has lied or has (been loose with the truth)  when he is not being interviewed on National television.

    • Freeman says:

      10:29am | 21/05/10

      I do love the way some leftie loonies excuse the blatently untrustworthy
      labor gvt while desparetly trying to discredit tony abbott and paint HIM as the dodgey car salesman.

      Ignored the Polls did I? I won $60 betting on labor to win the 07 election based on the Polls. Because there was a string of bad polls against the libs and that was the difference from previous bad polls. if following polls show labor still behind that ruddy is in trouble.

    • Seano says:

      07:38pm | 20/05/10

      I do like the way the same right wing ranters who have ignored polls for the last two years are suddenly crowing about them. How the same ranters who rightly ignored the many, many bad polls Howard received because when taken in context they didn’t mean than much. The same right wing ranters who have ignored the fact that the current polls have Turnbull as perfered PM over Abbott. Amusing.

      I also appreciate the apparent depth of thought you’ve put into the reasons for removing Rudd. Clearly not worth any more of my time.

    • Freeman says:

      09:18am | 20/05/10

      Yeah good one Seano,
      Coz Australia really trusts Ruddy at the moment. latest polls showing that he has a big problem with trust. it seems anything he writes or says aint worth S@#$.

      I think the abbott supporters can be forgiven for putting too much stock in Tony Abbott, we just wanted to be rid of Ruddy (the milky bar kid) soooooo much as it is embarrassing to have a pasty, nerdy, sissy of a PM representing Australia.

    • Seano says:

      05:16pm | 19/05/10

      I don’t think that’s decided yet.

      Abbott on the other hand has guaranteed he can’t be trusted…I guess we’ll have to trust him on that.

    • Matt says:

      10:04am | 19/05/10

      Like Rudd and Gillard won’t means test private health insurance. They put that in writing before the election, but now they breaking that promise. So, even if he puts it in writing you can’t believe Rudd.

    • Diamantina Dick says:

      06:02pm | 18/05/10

      Abbott was too candid for sure, but only because of the shameless exploitation delivered by the likes Albanese.

      The ALP and Rudd in particular should not throw stones. Spin can cut both ways on this issue.

      You don’t even need to get to Rudd’s election promises to see his form.

      His family were kicked off their farm- then they were not.
      His wife never signed AWA’s - then she did.
      etc etc

      Tony needs to get his act polished but Rudd is still the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on the Australian electorate.

      Reply

    • biff says:

      05:22pm | 18/05/10

      Wasn’t it Mr Albanese who joined his leader in issuing a joint statement in 2007 that said:

      ``Take Japan to international courts such as the Court of Justice or to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to end the slaughter of whales,’’ he pledged in a statement with former environment spokesman Anthony Albanese - prior to the 2007 federal election.

      (the above was snipped from Ellen Whinnett’s article in THE PUNCH ‘If Rudd kept his promise we wouldn’t need Sea Shepherd’ dated 10th January)

      Reply

    • JJJ says:

      04:55pm | 18/05/10

      OMG - we cannot trust what politicians say!?!? All this time I thought they were honest and genuine members of society… just like laywers. Dear me - the deception…

      Reply

    • Andrew says:

      04:48pm | 18/05/10

      Dear Mr Albanese
      As someone else said elsewhere apparently it is considered reprehensible to and naive to admit you lie but somehow sophisticated and responsible to avoid admitting that you do. What sort of message does that send young people, the future voters?
      I would rather have a politician admit that they lie than a politician who claims to always tell the truth…whatever side of politics they come from.

      Reply

    • Seano says:

      04:46pm | 18/05/10

      As I’ve pointed out many times this is why the coalition will not win the next election. Tony Abbott, he’s just not that smart.

      Reply

    • Seano says:

      05:10pm | 19/05/10

      And this is your idea of smart is it Mark? Ah yeah…ok.

    • Mark says:

      10:09pm | 18/05/10

      Could be right there Seano but it won’t be this comment that swings it.

      It was a real dumb moment that was for sure.

    • Saskia says:

      04:19pm | 18/05/10

      Hey Anthony 2007 called, he wants the WorkChoices scare campaign back.

      Reply

    • monkeytypist says:

      02:50pm | 19/05/10

      Hi Amy, I’m sorry but you’re quite wrong in your assertions.  WorkChoices was repealed before the start of the GFC.  In any case, for your assertions to have validity, you would have to be able to prove that real wages dropped before the GFC courtesy of WorkChoices, which would allow employers, under your model, not to cut staff because they were being paid low wages.

      However, there is no evidence that low average wages had anything to do with Australia’s weathering of the storm.  Countries with lower average wages than Australia did worse economically speaking.  And a low level of debt didn’t help us to survive the GFC - well, correction, it did.  It allowed us to spend the necessary amount to avoid recession - a step that the Liberal party fiercely opposed (though I very much doubt Howard would have done any differently if he was in office)

      It is quite untrue that the Howard government left Australia with “no debt”.  Our level of private debt was vastly increased and Australia still had an increased level of public debt, albeit one that was quite manageable.  Australia’s level of public debt is still quite manageable, by the way.

      So, @Mark: which part of my quip was factually flawed?  Do you have anything to back up your cheap shot with?

    • Mark says:

      10:10pm | 18/05/10

      Monekey has just shown us the dangers of eating lead based paint as a child.

      Please let this be a warning to you all.

    • Amy Brunner says:

      10:07pm | 18/05/10

      monkeytypist says:04:45pm | 18/05/10

      “And, just think, if Abbott wasn’t so inexplicably determined to bring this unpopular policy back, all of us lefties wouldn’t have a rod to beat him with! “

      Do all you “LEFTIES” realise that the dreaded Work Choices was in force till only a few months ago, maybe, just maybe the flexability afforded to the employers under the Work Choices could have had something to do with the way Australia came through the GFC, or could it have had something to do with the fact that the also dreaded Howard Costello Team left this country with NO DEBT and $15 billion in the bank.

    • monkeytypist says:

      04:45pm | 18/05/10

      And, just think, if Abbott wasn’t so inexplicably determined to bring this unpopular policy back, all of us lefties wouldn’t have a rod to beat him with!

    • Max Power says:

      04:05pm | 18/05/10

      This story is big coming from the party who promised so much at the last election and has delivered so little. We know Rudd and his govt are liars, after all, one of his now ministers told the Australian public, it doesn’t matter what we say during the election, we will change it all once we are in govt. So Labor have no credibility at all.

      Reply

    • Henry says:

      03:46pm | 18/05/10

      Anthony, did the year you spent as a bank teller equip you with the skills to plan Australia’s regional infrastructure?

      I salute you and your year of work outside the taxpayers purse.  You are indeed a renegade amongst your ALP brethren - you crazy free market capitalist you!

      Reply

    • Elmer Fudd (member for Grayndler and wabbit huntin says:

      03:35pm | 18/05/10

      Thank god for Abbott,  every man and their dog knows pollies tell porkies and stretch the truth, how refreshing for Abbottt to admit that.
      Kevvy never lied, no never not once because he is the mister clean church front photo opp poser of Australian politics.
      Ill take a what you see, is what you get Abbott over a sanctimonious flake who increasingly looks like an actor playing a role in a movie.
      Time to put on the hard hat again Kevvy..

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      08:06pm | 18/05/10

      You can’t tell the diffwence between wabbit season and duck season.
      (A common problem with right-wingers).

    • stephen says:

      03:20pm | 18/05/10

      Last cowboy I met mate, I knocked him out at the Barrier Reef Hotel in Cairns.

      Moral : they might not be able to count their cows, but they kin sure count their stars.
      PS Labor people always get things done.

      Reply

    • Cowboy from Cairns now missing 2 teeth says:

      04:14pm | 18/05/10

      Hey I thought you were kinda cute, you winked at me I responded.

      and you vote Labor a dream guy. wink

    • Slime Time says:

      03:19pm | 18/05/10

      Gee i wouldnt say to much in case the surface under me was all- too-greasy Anthony.

      Reply

    • Tim Collins says:

      03:09pm | 18/05/10

      A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous
      pasture in New South Wales when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced toward
      him out of a cloud of dust.
           
      The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, RayBan
      sunglasses and YSL tie, leaned out the window and asked the cowboy, “If
      I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, Will
      you give me a calf?” 
                   
        Bud looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his
      peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, “Sure, Why not?”
      The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer,
      connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASApage
      on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix
      on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans
      the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.
             
      The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and
      exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg , Germany .
             
      Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image
      has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses an MS-SQL
      database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his
      Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response. 
       
      Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech,
      miniaturized HP LaserJet printer, turns to the cowboy and says, “You
      have exactly 1,586 cows and calves.”     
                 
        “That’s right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves,” says
      Bud.
             
        He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on with
      amusement as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.
                 
      Then Bud says to the young man, “Hey, if I can tell you exactly what
      your business is, will you give me back my calf?”     
           
        The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, “Okay, why
      not?”
           
        “You’re a senator in Kevin Rudd’s Labour Government”, says Bud.
           
      “Wow! That’s correct,” says the yuppie, “but how did you guess that?”
       
      “No guessing required.” answered the cowboy. “You showed up here even
      though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already
      knew, to a question I never asked. You used millions of dollars worth of
      equipment trying to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you
      don’t know a thing about how working people make a living - or about
      cows, for that matter.  This is a herd of sheep. ...
             
        Now give me back my dog.

      Reply

    • Seano says:

      07:05am | 19/05/10

      No I got the point Amy, like most conservatives you’re unfunny, long on rhetoric and short on substance.

    • Amy Brunner says:

      09:28pm | 18/05/10

      Seano, you completely missed the point….........

      That little diatribe, to give out the impression of your superiority, just fell flat on it’s face with me.

      Typical, can’t take a joke….


      Well here is a “joke” on Tanner and the ALP, the Greens are out of their box, and going after what they see as the most vunerable Labor Seats.

      For years the ALP have had their “LEFT HAND” the Greens directing preferences to the ALP. With the reciprecol response from the ALP, this being of no consequence of course, the ALP feeling quite safe in this action as they the ALP have never considered the Greens a threat,  HA HA

      I will be watching with great interest how the great Mike Kiaser is going to pull this out of the fire…..........

    • Dan says:

      09:20pm | 18/05/10

      Yes, the old consultant joke with a few embellishments.  It is still funny, no matter what Seano reckons.

    • Seano says:

      06:44pm | 18/05/10

      This joke was originally about an IT consultant. It always made me chuckle because of the large number of know nothing IT consultants I came across in my 15 years in the IT industry.

      I like jokes, I think few things are sacred and certainly no politican or party is above a jest. But I also think if this sort of weak recycled effort is the best conservatives can come up with then they should be very embarrassed.

    • monkeytypist says:

      03:38pm | 18/05/10

      Boring cut-and-paste email forward text is boring

    • James says:

      03:29pm | 18/05/10

      Takes the cake for the best comment ever allowed through the moderator of The Punch website. Congratulations all round.

    • Justin says:

      03:04pm | 18/05/10

      “I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!”

      The whole Captain Renault from Casablanca performance by the ALP has been hilarious. Don’t forget to collect your winnings before shutting Rick’s illegal casino Captain Albo.

      Reply

    • Joe says:

      03:19pm | 18/05/10

      Yeah can you believe all the “whatever it takes”  Labor pollies coming out today to say in the media that everything, absolutely everything, truly honestly, cross my heart,  that they have ever said is 100% true, full stop. Unlike Abbott who is just mr dishonesty!

      Lindsay Tanner didn’t last two hours last night before doing much worse than Abbott by trying to deny what he said.

    • The Guardian says:

      03:02pm | 18/05/10

      The LNP hacks seem quite thin in number today.Typical, as soon as the bullets start to fly they are no where to be seen. Very Costello!

      Reply

    • Luke says:

      02:59pm | 18/05/10

      You Labor robots seem to think that having fake personas and all hiding behind each other and all following what ever Rudd tells you guys to say each morning that your all telling the truth. Get a grip, politcicians in the top job don’t all have to be the same arrogant, “we’re above every one else” people that Labor portray. Abbott is himself and real, how many people act and admitt to the same sort of thing depending on who they’re talking to. We all do it. But I also admitt that it probably won’t do him any favours with the attacks now aimed at him from the Government.

      Reply

    • hot tub political machine says:

      02:48pm | 19/05/10

      Nail. Head. Hammer. Anne 71.

      I can understand not wanting to vote for Labor. But actually wanting to vote for the coalition at the moment is beyond me. I honestly don’t think they care what their leader does anymore - they are going to vote Liberal regardless of what Liberal actually means.

    • Anne71 says:

      12:58pm | 19/05/10

      And you Liberal fangirls don’t seem to see anything wrong with Abbott openly admitting that we should not believe a word he says unless it’s written down. I’m a Labor supporter but I don’t like Rudd. I’m the first to admit it, and come election time I hope I have a credible alternative to vote for. But you seem to be suggesting that we all vote for Abbott regardless of the fact that he is a dishonest, vindictive, manipulative and utterly untrustworthy politician. Who are the real “robots” here?

    • Ben81 says:

      02:59pm | 18/05/10

      “We know that Phoney Tony has been receiving acting lessons but quite clearly he’s acting coach forgot to tell him how important it was to stay ‘in character’.”

      No, he hasn’t. 
      And don’t you have enough stupid parroted catchphrases without adding “phoney Tony” to the list?  Whatever, at least whenever you use it we’ll all know you’ve had to resort to a desperate distraction if you think that’s the best response to anything.

      Reply

    • Jim Wiggs says:

      02:51pm | 18/05/10

      Meanwhile, over at Fairfax, Labor branch stacking is the story of the day…

      Reply

    • Justin says:

      02:57pm | 18/05/10

      Branch stacking is fine Jim, as long as you don’t admit to it.

    • BTS says:

      02:46pm | 18/05/10

      If you follow the theory, then what Tony Abbott said last night wasn’t true, as it wasn’t scripted.

      Reply

    • demeter says:

      02:43pm | 18/05/10

      Phoney Tony.. lol good one Anthony….

      Yeah I would have to agree Abbott has pretty much handed you the election then. No wonder there are all smiles and back slapping in the ALP today. smile

      At least now the ALP can get one with what it does best, by leading the country

      Reply

    • Phil says:

      10:28pm | 18/05/10

      TC

      Currently they are sending it down the drain.

      Based on the 7.30 report tonight with Tanner. I think Albo may be a bit worried that he might get the boot come election time. Mind you with his millions in super and his useless wifes super as her party will no doubt get booted come March next year, they can retire, knowing they have screwed the state and country in unison.

      Anthony. Why dont you answer the questions above, or call a real enquiry into the schools rorts, pink batts etc?

    • TC says:

      04:45pm | 18/05/10

      You may be right but….. leading it where?

    • MJL says:

      02:39pm | 18/05/10

      LOL

      At least he told yhe truth unlike Rudd and your government which goes from one lie to another.

      “once we get in we’ll change everyting” - Peter Garrett

      The only truth that has ever come from your party!

      Reply

    • Mark Young says:

      02:30pm | 18/05/10

      “Tony Abbott cracked and told all Australians that they should not believe any statements that he makes.” 

      He actually said that if you want to hold him to something, hold him to his planned policy announcements.

      Nice work there pal, twisting the facts in order to accuse someone at twisting the facts. Lonely up there on your pedestal?

      Reply

    • Mark Young says:

      09:24pm | 19/05/10

      Hey Monkeytypist!

      Yes, if you speak to any politician you can’t expect them to tell the truth. I’m not saying that they should lie, and they certainly don’t have the right to, but to expect any different will just lead to sadness and disappointment. Heck! Look at this article, ripping into him for saying Abbott has said he may twist the truth, and the goose writing it twists the truth in the very first sentence!! Pots and Kettles, all black.

      Have a good one mate.

    • monkeytypist says:

      02:44pm | 19/05/10

      “With a grain of salt” is not what I asked.  I asked, “has he got the right to lie to me in his answer?”  I wouldn’t accept that in interacting with anybody, let alone somebody asking me to elect them into office.  Can you provide me with an example of a quote from Tony Abbott that I can justifiably believe in now?

    • Farticus says:

      12:40am | 19/05/10

      Interesting persephone, pity your argument falls down in a heap because the parental leave scheme was just a little bit more than an unscripted, unplanned off the cuff remark.  It was pretty much the opposite.

    • Mark Young says:

      05:11pm | 18/05/10

      Monkeytypist! My Friend!
      Unpleasant as it is, YES! If you ask ANY politician a question be it Tony, Albo, Kevin, Julia, Malcolm, Joe etc you have to take what they say with a grain of salt.

    • monkeytypist says:

      03:44pm | 18/05/10

      So Mark, what happens if I ever ask Tony a legitimate question that’s not sitting in front of him in the form of a scripted policy announcement?  He has the right to lie to me in his answer?

    • persephone says:

      03:40pm | 18/05/10

      The irony in this is that actually - if you look at the example Kerry O’Brien used - Abbott did the opposite of what he said he did.

      That is, Abbott’s ‘no more taxes’ line was a considered policy - one which had been discussed in the party room, agreed on, and repeated continually by a number of Liberal Shadows, including Abbott himself, over several months.

      The parental leave scheme which contradicted this was unscripted, unplanned, and made without consultation with or the agreement of his party room.

      So he broke a considered, scripted promise with an inconsidered, off the cuff one and then says we should only trust him when he delivers the former!!

      The only message from this: nothing Abbott says, in speech or in writing, should be trusted.

      Full stop.

    • shabangabang says:

      02:28pm | 18/05/10

      You get em, Albo.
      Perhaps the Libs should stick to letting Tony Abbott talk about the prices of Birthday cakes, and recall John Hewson to talk about truth in politics.
      By the way, how did Pinocchio Abbott fudge his public service savings figures by $1b? What a tool.

      Reply

    • Jason says:

      02:28pm | 18/05/10

      You whiff of desperation Anthony.

      The headkickers from the ALP have come out in force today.

      You and all the comrades.

      Clearly scared of becoming one-term wonders - oh how appropriate that would be for the hapless, shambolic, spinfest that is the Rudd Government.

      I can see what Tony Abbott was on about with saying things “off the cuff” - I think we’re all guilty of it from time to time - the media, naturally is having a field day taking his comments completely out of context & exaggerating.

      With your Union enforced Workchoices scare campaign and now the pro-mining tax campaign underway….both of which are again, desperate and laughable…. you lot better lap up the next few months in your government offices.

      Rudd Labor re-wrote history on winning government & you’ll do the same on your way out, as one-term wonders.

      Reply

    • Mark says:

      03:47pm | 18/05/10

      You wouldn’t be a party shill, would you Jase?

      I can detect several recurring motifs in your posts. You even keep using the exact same wording.

      I think you’ve outed yourself.

    • Sherlock says:

      02:27pm | 18/05/10

      What Abbott said was plain dumb.

      However what makes it really interesting is that everybody reading it knows not only what he said was but that it’s true of every politician.

      So here comes Albanese in a sad attempt to make political mileage out of this and all it makes people think of Kevin Rudd and ‘‘the greatest moral challenge of our time’’ among the other unfilled promises.

      I’m surprised that somebody of Albanese’s experience didn’t realise it may be better to keep his mouth shut this time.

      He should have let Abbott stew in his own stupidity. All Abanese has done is make himself look small.

      Reply

    • luke09 says:

      03:10pm | 18/05/10

      Argee… Albanese, ALP and their supporters should remember the saying about the pot calling the kettle black or is it the kettle calling the pot?.

    • Evan Findlay says:

      06:02pm | 19/05/10

      Jonathan,you are quoting Andrew Bolt. Enough said!

    • Ryan says:

      11:29am | 19/05/10

      @persephone : nope, sorry I can read too and what I read there is not what you are trying to portray.

      I believe he made a statement of fact after discussing the impact of surveys.. “and the FACT that your employer is forced to put in an extra three per cent in your super means that money that otherwise could have gone into your wages, is going into your super basically”

      Perhaps I need a lesson in one eyed Labor reading where I can say something and later claim I meant the exact opposite.

    • persephone says:

      10:10pm | 18/05/10

      Because I can read, and Cut and Paste’s extract makes it clear that Tanner was talking about how the wording of survey questions affect the way people answer them, rather than making a statement about the impact of super on wages.

    • Ryan says:

      04:41pm | 18/05/10

      @persephone : wow I am confused then, you are saying that Tanner is correct in saying that any increases in involuntary super contributions will come from the employee not the employer yet it was just days ago that Rudd and Swann were trying to tell us that this is not the case. So which one standpoint would it be because I am really getting mixed messages here.

    • Jonathan Appleyard says:

      04:19pm | 18/05/10

      How exactly was he correct? He denied saying it!

    • persephone says:

      03:45pm | 18/05/10

      Right, so Tanner was correct - thanks, Cut & Paste.

    • Mr Cut & Paste says:

      03:26pm | 18/05/10

      LINDSAY TANNER: Look, I’m always very cautious about that survey material Ross, and I haven’t seen the particular ones you refer to.  But people tend to get asked questions without being given the flip-side of the choice to consider at the same time.  So, for example, if you ask people a question would you support a three per cent increase in the compulsory super fee, understanding that that three per cent is going to effectively come off your wages, and that if it goes into superannuation, it means that you miss out on what otherwise would have been a three per cent increase in your wages, then I think you might get a different response. People do these surveys without actually explaining to people where the money’s coming from and, in effect, ultimately it’s only us, it’s all Australians contributing, and so it’s not money falling out of the sky and the fact that your employer is forced to put in an extra three per cent in your super means that money that otherwise could have gone into your wages, is going into your super basically…

      There’s going to be, particularly at enterprise bargaining levels, I think some potential for that kind of thing to be pursued into the future.  And we don’t necessarily believe that the case has been made for an across the board increase beyond the nine per cent.

    • stephen says:

      02:39pm | 18/05/10

      The quote that young lady gave Linsday, was in fact an incorrect one.
      He, then, did not want to comment on what he suspected was an inaccuracy.

    • Alex says:

      02:23pm | 18/05/10

      Sir, your interview on ABC AM this morning was despicable. “I would never, conciously, say something that was wrong”
      Are you saying you only speak truth Mr Albanese? That’s certainly the implication you make. Go on, put your name to it - I only speak the truth all of the time - if indeed you so bravely believe that Abbott is a different politician, and unworthy of PM’s office.
      Or is your decision to cover it up in double-speak, full of qualified comments, in the ‘national interest’ like every other policy back-flip against your election promise?

      Wait… the sound of silence….

      The fact that you’ve stooped to the lows of a Workchoices scare campaign when it isn’t even close to being policy for any party shows the sad state of your own party and its politics, led by the chief political un-genius Kevin Rudd. It was so simple to stay ahead Labor. Make robust policies and then carry them through.

      Reply

    • Super D says:

      02:21pm | 18/05/10

      So Abbott has told us not to trust everything he says while the Labor party has proven we shouldn’t trust anything they say.  Somehow I don’t think “who do you trust” is going to feature in either sides election advertising.

      Reply

    • Mark says:

      02:17pm | 18/05/10

      Ahhh, the right wing apologists in overdrive in these replies. It’s hilarious to read the desperate, grasping arguments;

      It’s not self-incrimination, it’s refreshing honesty!

      It’s not a reflection of alterior motives, it’s unprecedented openess!

      It’s not spin, it’s just a hidden reality!

      Reply

    • Dingo says:

      09:53am | 19/05/10

      Mark (2), totally agree with the stupidity of the name calling. I think the ALP need to inform Bruce Hawker that Phoney Tony and Sloppy Joe are not witty or clever slurs.

      Swan and Albanese in particular, behave more like 6 year old children than “grown ups” who are supposed to be running a trillion dollar economy.

    • Mark says:

      10:08pm | 18/05/10

      Your joking my silly namesake are you.

      I have read most of these comments and here is my take.

      Abbott said a stupid thing. Politically dumb. Tactically stupid. But truthful as strange as that may be. I don’t believe a thing Rudd says. And I only believe about 50% of what the Libs say,

      Have another read of the comments. You really didn’t comprehend what was being said. People are sick of Rudd. Hasn’t changed many minds this. All it has done is convince sycophants like pers she has a chance. Most people I know actually said so what they all lie anyway. Shameful really.

      The interesting thing is to read the comments of the left like pers et al still trying to play the man. Trying the laughable spin of making the ETS backdown, one of the most cowardly and craven political retreats ever seen, to be the Libs fault.

      Then you have Tanner who couldn’t lie straight in bed on Q&A last night.

      And then the pretend head kicker Albo here.

      Lol Albo phoney Tony?

      Is that it?

      After all your deceits. After all your failures. All you have is an attempt to link workchoices to him. You have nothing else?

      Just wow. What a let down the name calling is. You idiots need to give Keating a call. At least he could insult like a man.

    • Joe says:

      03:11pm | 18/05/10

      Jason as you can see the Labor front bench have nothing better to do with their time than to go all out in the media against Abbott. Its not like they have a school hall or insulation scheme to clean up or boat people issues to sort out, or carbon to stop. Today was the first time I have heard Peter Garrett for months, I thought they had locked him up or something.

    • Mark says:

      03:01pm | 18/05/10

      Case in point.

      Thanks for the example, Jase wink

    • Jason says:

      02:44pm | 18/05/10

      Mark.  No apologies here my friend.

      A few points though…lets talk about the government, currently in power.

      Rudd Labor.

      Desperate?
      Seen the Unions workchoices scare campaign?  Talk about scrapping the bottom of the barrel.  What about the Union supported pro-mining tax ad campaign?  The relevence to the ACTU?

      And honesty?
      Mr Rudd continues to surprise in this department.  How about the promise to companies involved with the pink batts, we’ll support you he said?  Happy to see a tally of lies put up, Rudd v Abbott.  I think our illustrious Prime Minister would convincingly win.

      And spin?
      Mr Rudd is incredibly talented in this area.  Our Prime Minister is specially gifted at heavy handed spin.  The ETS backflip, that GREAT moral challenge, who could forget.  And what about the endless hopes & aspirations of his future government in 2007? 

      Why have the Labor Frontbench gone HARD on this issue this morning - Mark - it is ALP desperation and deflection - they’re in trouble in the polls, and they will do anything to turn the attention away from the heavily spun, shambolic mess that is the Rudd Government.

    • luke09 says:

      02:13pm | 18/05/10

      Using Albanese’s argument both Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd should fall on their sword for the good of a Australia. Both have questionable credibility. Rudd is no longer trusted and now Abbott is reaching the same status.

      Lindsay Tanner should be next to resign because on Q&A he couldn’t tell the truth that employees will really be paying for their own super increases.

      All sides of politics exaggerate, stretch the truth, the government of the day just do it better.

      Albanese’s article is a perfect example.

      Reply

    • Tokyo Joe says:

      02:09pm | 18/05/10

      If only you put as much effort into your portfolio Anthony than smearing a non-event who won’t become PM.
      I’ll be voting Labor at this election but am hoping when Rudd does get thrown out, you’ll be also lost in the re-shuffle or better yet lose your seat to a Green.

      Reply

    • N says:

      02:07pm | 18/05/10

      Ah the first politician to admit he’s full of sh!t when interviewed; you and your beloved leader could learn a lot from this man Mr Albanese. Short article by the way; guess you have to get back to dreaming up fanciful policy that will never come to fruition….

      Reply

    • Gibbo says:

      02:07pm | 18/05/10

      So by your reasoning Anthony how do you think your party stacks up?

      Shall we start with “The greatest moral challenge of our generation”?
      or what about:
      * Fuelwatch
      * Grocerychoices
      * A laptop for every school kid
      * Keeping the budget in surplus
      * Taking over Health from the states by 2009
      * Taking Japan to the international whaling commission
      * Improving Indigenous health & housing
      * Ending the blame game
      * Luring Nurses back into the system
      * The Healthy Kids Checks
      * Improved Border Security
      * Ending wasteful Government advertising
      * Cutting back on the public service
      * Pulling the troops out of Iraq
      etc, etc, etc.

      But of course if we can go back as far as Workchoices we can also add such classics as Medicare Gold. How did we ever get by without Medicare Gold?

      No lies in that list, eh?

      I can’t wait for your response Anthony.

      Oh, by the way… are there any kids still living in poverty now that 1990 has passed?

      Reply

    • Joe says:

      03:07pm | 18/05/10

      anti-moron - former Treasury secretary John Stone is the first to tell you that there is no strong relationship between money spent on the stimulus packages and growth afterwards. Although it appears Swann tried to trick up his graph to show this in the budget by taking out the countries that didn’t fit his desired results.

    • Adam Diver says:

      02:55pm | 18/05/10

      Is this anti-moron party running this election? I am definately interested to see thier take on pretty much anything, any politician says and then the comments from the party faithful afterwards.

      To be fair to Gibbo though Rudd did promise to be an economic conservative and I am pretty sure he promised to keep the budgets in surplus. A pretty stupid promise to make in regards to managing an economy. I also despise the way the money was spent. It was a free licence for the governemtn to build whatever it wanted and it created a false industry of insulation, and some shcool halls, canteens and covered areas.

    • anti-moron says:

      02:25pm | 18/05/10

      Why would they keep the budget in surplus? The fiscal intervention (that’s Government spending), like it or not was a big contributor to prevents Australia going into economic free fall. The economy moves in cycle as the does the budget, and this is how it should be. Would you prefer a Government who faced with a monumental crisis (economic or otherwise) refuse to act because it’s contrary to their election promises 2 years prior?

      And one more thing - Japan is already a member of the IWC. I think you mean international court.

      ps. I’m not pro-Labor by any stretch of the imagination but I am anti-moron.

    • Paul says:

      02:13pm | 18/05/10

      Go on, provide a response Anthony.

      What is the difference between what Abbott said, and Rudd standing out the front of Parliament telling people in the ‘former’ insulation business that ‘I know. I know”, and that ’ a new scheme will be in place soon’.

      All talk. Dont believe what he says.
      At least Abbott is up front about it.

    • Spike says:

      02:06pm | 18/05/10

      Agree. And for the Liberal minders saying how refreshing and honest Tony was being - riddle me this? How can it be honest to talk about not telling the truth?

      Better get George Orwell to answer that one

      Reply

    • Who says:

      02:04pm | 18/05/10

      Wow we’re just blessed for choice come election time, incompetence or deceit.  Wonderful!

      Reply

    • Who says:

      02:46pm | 18/05/10

      “The problem is that Abbott made a stupid comment and rather than walk away from it he tried to contort himself out of it.  Its the sort of contortion that is possible on Rove or the 7:00pm project but not the 7:30 report.”

      So in other words Tony is incompetent as well.  Great, now we don’t have a choice at all.

    • Super D says:

      02:19pm | 18/05/10

      Actually the choice is between incompetence and deceit or just deceit.

      The problem is that Abbott made a stupid comment and rather than walk away from it he tried to contort himself out of it.  Its the sort of contortion that is possible on Rove or the 7:00pm project but not the 7:30 report.

    • Nick says:

      02:01pm | 18/05/10

      It’s true, no one trusts Abbott, but nobody believes Rudd either. Federal politics is rivaling NSW in the uninspiring stakes, there is just no one to vote for.

      Reply

    • Anne71 says:

      07:17pm | 19/05/10

      I agree, hot tub. Definitely ranks among my top ten Simpsons episodes! smile

    • hot tub political machine says:

      02:50pm | 19/05/10

      “Whichever way you vote your planet is doomed, DOOOOOMED!” ...“Well a refreshingly frank response from Senator Bob Dole”....one of the greatest moments in TV history.

    • Anne71 says:

      12:47pm | 19/05/10

      I know what you mean. Where are Kang and Kodos when you need them?

    • David says:

      02:12am | 19/05/10

      I agree Nick, both options are immensely uninspiring.

    • Fran says:

      01:58pm | 18/05/10

      Im pretty disappointed the leader of the opposition fesses up. I cant see why he would do such a thing? Of course being a pollie and back tracking, back flipping or reneging is all part of the game but what was the point of saying something we already knew?

      At least Rudd sticks to his guns and plows on ahead regardless if it obvious that he back flipped on a policy.

      Reply

    • Christian Real says:

      07:57am | 19/05/10

      Annie
      Climate Change was not a broken promise by Rudd as you falsely claim.
      Who controls the Senate Annie?, the Liberals do.
      And Who has been blocking the Climate Change Bill and other Bills through the senate?
      The Liberals have.
      Put the blame where it really lies Annie, and that is with Tony Abbott and his Opposition Liberal party who keeps blocking these bills.

    • Anthony says:

      10:16pm | 18/05/10

      Persephone, Rudd admits when he has broken a promise, When was that exactly, I know I have seen a lot of other labour mp’s doing the admitting, I can not recall seeing Rudd, besides when he made the apology to the aboriganals when had really done nothing to them

    • persephone says:

      10:06pm | 18/05/10

      Charles

      tried to source your reference, can’t find one. Highly doubt it, as Rudd made it clear in the lead up to the election that he was waiting for Garnaud’s report back before costings etc could be worked out.

      I’m sure every time a Labor pollie opens their mouth, you assume they’re lying. I only do that with Liberals when they actually are.

      Steve

      someone who thinks it’s OK to lie to anyone shows disrespect for them.

      He may not think they’re idiots, but he certainly doesn’t have a very high opinion of them.

    • Steve_of_Cornubia says:

      08:23pm | 18/05/10

      Persephone. I have read, warched and listened to Abbot’s replies and I can see nothing to even suggest that he thinks Australians are idiots. Still, facts are irrelevant to stooges like you, aren’t they?

    • Charles says:

      05:55pm | 18/05/10

      Persephone, wasn’t it Kevin Rudd on the 7:30 Report in 2007 who stared straight into the camera and said an ETS will cost the average person about $1/year?

      Funny thing was we all knew he was lying, and he still does it today.  He is a born liar, who cannot admit when he was wrong (the worst form of liar).  Now the problem for him is that everyone knows that as soon as opens his mouth, the first thing to come out will be a lie.  In fact he is a Prince of Liars, not to mention a hypocrite. 

      Not too much out of him at the moment either, I think the ALP is trying to keep him out of sight hoping we will forget he is PM.

    • annie says:

      05:11pm | 18/05/10

      persephone how many broken promises was it by Rudd 25 or was it more! climate change, cheaper petrol, cheaper grocerys, take over hospitals by june, savagly cut the public service, end the blame game, 2020 sumit, nt housing programme. computers for schools, take japan to court for whaleing, super clinics. sorry no more time to list anymore

    • BTS says:

      03:41pm | 18/05/10

      Rudd’s had plenty of practice at it Persephone, he should be getting better at it.

    • persephone says:

      03:32pm | 18/05/10

      Rudd admits it when he’s broken a promise and explains why.

      With Abbott, he makes it clear he thinks you were an idiot for believing what he said to begin with.

    • Joan says:

      01:58pm | 18/05/10

      The guy who has blown his credibilty is snakeoil salesman Rudd who chucked his ETS in the crap bin along with his other 2007 election promises.  there is probably more truth in what Abbott says than in anything you ever say - especially in parliament.

      Reply

    • mags says:

      09:25am | 20/05/10

      Ah ,Persephoney, as usual you have made my day.  The Senate, including the Greens, opposed the ETS Bill. But don’t let the truth spoil you rant. So what is Penny Nong and her band of overpaid lackeys doing to make the Bill acceptable to the opposing parties to get it through the Senate,huh? Zilch!

    • Dingo says:

      09:39am | 19/05/10

      Timmo, it’s called negotiation.

      If you truly believe in something you argue your case, persuade people and get an outcome. Rudd et al are pathetic non-performing bureaucrats. How long or hard they work is irrelevant when they never achieve anything worthwhile.

      People are “battering” the PM because he made a huge song and dance about his commitment to action on climate change before the election, used it to batter the coalition (who actually were exceeding the Kyoto targets) to win the election, and then dropped the whole issue without explanation. Again, he spent a whole lot of (our) money and put in a big effort to achieve nothing.

      You can’t believe everything Tony Abbott says but you can’t believe anything Rudd says and most of Rudd’s ministers are not much better.

    • persephone says:

      08:27am | 19/05/10

      Anthony

      Rudd also delivered an apology to British child migrants, you might remember.

      He also went on national TV and admitted that he had not been able to deliver on a number of policy promises and accepted responsibilty for this.

    • Timmo says:

      02:49am | 19/05/10

      Joan, from my limited knowledge but from what I have read and seen on the news, this Bill, along with about 30 other important bits of legislation are being blocked in the Senate by the Liberal Party.

      What was the point of Rudd pursuing it any further at this point, so he as put it back on the agenda for a later time. That seems logical to me. He hasn’t thrown it out, the bill will return again later on. So people will have to wait.

      They are battering the PM regarding the Copenhagen Talks, but that was blocked by the Chinese and the Indians and nothing could be achieved there. People know that so why do they keep battering the PM over it. We cut down on our pollution but the biggest polluters such as the US, China and India continue on polluting and because they have more power in the debate they win. It would have happened to Howard or Abbott had they been in power.

    • persephone says:

      09:59pm | 18/05/10

      Er…excuse me?

      Rudd hasn’t backed down on the ETS - he has made it clear that he still stands by it and by the 5% targets.

      The legislation proposed is now out of date and needs to be revamped (there is no world wide trading system, which it evisaged; the start dates are now too tight to implement) but if it were possible to get an amended version through the Senate tomorrow, it would be there.

      Abbott, on the other hand, having taken an ETS to the last election, firstly knifed his own leader rather than support it, secondly broke a promise his party had made to support it in the Senate and thirdly then turned around and came out with a more costly and less effective scheme.

      There’s a world of difference between admitting that you can’t deliver something that you want to, because the quirks of the Senate electoral cycle mean you don’t have the numbers, and saying that you will deliver one, no you won’t, yes you will….

      Rudd did not follow Howard on climate change; he led, and forced Howard to follow.

      As for following Abbott - please name just one single, solitary idea of Abbott’s that Rudd has adopted. Just one.

    • Christian Real says:

      09:08pm | 18/05/10

      Joan,
      Liberals control the Senate, Senate blocks Rudds bills from passing through, It is definately Abbotts fault, put the blame where it really lies Joan.

    • luke09 says:

      04:45pm | 18/05/10

      persephone, so Rudd’s backdown is acceptable and Abbott’s is not, Rudd’s untruthfulness(election promises broken) is acceptable and Abbott’s is not.

    • Joan says:

      04:13pm | 18/05/10

      Don`t blame Abbott on Rudds failings as a leader- what your saying is Rudd followed Howard now he follows Abbott.

    • persephone says:

      03:29pm | 18/05/10

      Joan

      Abbott made exactly the same promise at the last election.

      If he had kept it, there would have been no ‘backdown’ by Rudd.

    • Tplanner says:

      01:55pm | 18/05/10

      The Libs may as well go home from this point. Hockey’s appearance on Q&A on the ABC last night was just woeful. It was just a massive insult for Joe to defend Abbott,  the audience laughter was enough said. Phoney Tony strikes again!

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      08:54am | 19/05/10

      I believe I have a good instinct about who can be trusted.  I won’t be voting for Bob Brown.  Although Abbott is a self-confessed liar, I’d vote for him before Brown.  However I fully support the nerdy guy.  He might get into spin sometimes but he’s obviously not so well practised in deceit.

    • Steve_of_Cornubia says:

      08:18pm | 18/05/10

      Hmmmm. An audience “laughing” at a Liberal on a supposedly serious TV program. ABC by any chance?

      Surprise!

    • Jeff says:

      03:17pm | 18/05/10

      From my lounge chair it seemed like the audience response was about even, and that’s with a Q & A audience who seem to be slanted towards the left. A real world response would likely have tipped in Joe’s favor.

    • Joe says:

      02:57pm | 18/05/10

      Yeah we had better vote for a back-flipping PM who couldn’t handle his insulation scheme or avoid rorting of his school excess building campaign. He is so great.

    • Mark says:

      01:53pm | 18/05/10

      Ha ha… Albanese, how funny. I think I trust Abbott more than you, KRudd and Gillard…. Having said that it doesn’t mean I will vote for Abbott.

      Reply

    • Tony of Poorakistan says:

      01:48pm | 18/05/10

      He tends to give straight answers to questions put to him (unlike a certain pontificating, obfuscating ex-public-servant-come-pm that we know) and these obviously should not be taken as policy statements.

      Reply

    • David says:

      02:04am | 19/05/10

      Have you listened to Abbot in interviews? He is woeful at dodging questions, can barely enunciate a clear response which relates to his preferred talking points (which are exclusively how horrendous labor are and rarely relate to anything the liberals are proposing, because they only have one policy).

      If by ‘straight answers’ you mean poorly constructed sentences and obfuscations then ok… I guess but they’re kind of crooked by definition though. Don’t forget the ‘aaah ah aaah’ every 20 seconds. I imagine his answers will become clearer when he has a target for his answers (aka policies).

      Rudd’s problem is he almost too coherent, when he dodges a question it is bleedingly obvious because he has quite clearly given an unrelated answer. Rudd sticks too close to his talking points and does his best to avoid showing any kind of imperfection or crack in his veneer of public image. Clearly he has failed in this but nonetheless it has produced a very robotic persona in the media.

      In short, Abbot doesn’t give straight answers unless he is asked about a labor policy, on liberal policies and positions he has no target to hit. Rudd is too straight with his answers, pity most of them are tangential or irrelevant to the question.

    • James says:

      07:32pm | 18/05/10

      They aren’t really straight answers if he is going to say something different when asked the same question by another group of people, though, are they.

    • Brian says:

      01:40pm | 18/05/10

      That is fine Albo - noone believes you so that makes you alot more dangerous…....how is that pork-barrelling, I mean infrastructure spending going?

      Reply

    • Scot says:

      03:22pm | 19/05/10

      Albanese has also lied about the road infrastructure on the Nth Coast of NSW. He was there this week handing out cheques for improvements to a sporting field, that was cheap, easy and sleazy. He cannot how ever get the infrastructure sorted like a new bridge over the Clarence River of the upgrade to the Pacific Highway. he is pointing the finger at NSW Labor and he and his Labor mate from Page are on the record now as lieing to the local people. They have been using funds allocated by the Howard government NOT what he has done? All spin.

    • Ron Seath says:

      10:37am | 19/05/10

      OMG Alby Sleaze the fickle one who hands out abuse right left and centre but refuses to accept any home truths. In fact Brian and Jaz have “hit the nail on the head”. Your comments about Tony Abbott are rhetoric trotted out by ALL members of the Kitchen Cabinet, although when I look at the personnel I would call it (in US terms) the Bathroom Cabinet. Not one of you could pass a lie detector test in face ALL of you transgress to the next stage “Coverupgate”. We’ll see have you fair in your seat in the coming election, good luck mate! you’ll need it!

    • Jaz says:

      10:26pm | 18/05/10

      Brian..your right.
      Sleazy Albanese.
      The only thing your government is good at is bending the truth. Then they have the hide to sledge a politician who admits to bending the truth. This government has turned hippocracy into an art form. Albanese you and your kitchen cabinet are the true hollow men. Hand over the keys, collect your cheque and write you memoirs.

 
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